If a brother strays …
August 17, 2008
“My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20 NASB)
The one who is in danger of death (thanatos) is one of the brethren (adelphos), one who is among us who strays (planaô) from the truth.
How many times have you heard the latter part of this passage quoted as an exhortation to evangelism? Don’t the two verses together actually refer to church discipline and the danger brothers (and sisters) in Christ face if they stray from the truth?
If James is referring to a member of the congregation who was never really saved, why speak to the “brethren” about someone who is one of them? How do you stray from the truth except you first embrace it? What do you make of the assertion that the danger the brother (or sister) faces is death?
