Introduction: These two verses have been the source of much controversy and confusion with the Christian church. Some people believe this text teaches:

 

1. Extreme unction -- a sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church. Those who hold to this ask for a priest to come and anoint the person who is at the point of death with oil and to pray for the remission of his sins. The problem with this interpretation is that the sick person referred to in James "will rise up" and not die. Usually last rites are given to a dying person who does die.

 

2. Divine healing ministries -- where a man travels with "the gift of healing" and lays his hands upon the sick. However, the sick person referred to by James calls the "elders" or pastors of the church to come to him. Benny Hinn is an example of this.

 

3. This kind of healing is no longer relevant -- as in "when miracles ceased, this ceased." Some people believe this text was intended for the apostolic age. The problem with this is simply - God still works miracles according to His will.

 

4. This is the only divine prescription for healing -- the opposite of the previous suggestion. People who hold to this teaching will refuse medicine, doctors and other medical solutions to their problems. The problem with this position is multiple including Paul's suggestion to Timothy, "Take a little wine for your stomach."

 

5. No real Christian need ever be ill -- because healing is in the atonement. You need more faith if you want to be healed. The problem with this position is Scripture's plain teaching that "we still wait for the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:23). Every person dies! This contrary to logic and to scripture.

 

What do these two verses teach, then? If the Bible is relevant to us today, and it is, how does this teaching and this passage apply to us right now?

 

I. There Is A Complication In A Christian's Life . . . "Is any sick among you?" (he is writing to believers)

 

A. Meaning of the word “sick”

1. The word sick in this verse does not speak of a cold, the flu or other normal illness. “Sick” literally means "without strength." It carries with it the idea of someone who is near death, or at least so ill that it is impossible to "rise up."  Some also take the word “sick” and consider the debilitating effects of emotional sickness.

 

2. The word “sick” is used in the Gospels to describe those who were brought to Jesus for healing.  Luke 4:40 says, Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

 

3. The term doesn’t refer to one particular malady but to a variety of illnesses that plague the body.  John 5:3 speaks of “impotent folk” and then goes to give the delineation: “blind, halt, withered.”  The term is used in Acts 9:37 were find the word associated with Dorcas who had become very sick and had died.  The passage goes on to share how God worked an amazing miracle through Peter in Dorcas being raised from the dead.

 

4. The root word for this particular Greek word for “sick” is used in 1 Corinthians 11:30 to speak of those who were physically sick as the result of sin in their lives.  Paul comes to the point by rehearsing why many of the Corinthians were weak, some were “sickly”, and still others had died.  He explained their physical condition was the direct result of willful sin as they had misbehaved at the Lord’s Table.  Paul’s use of the term bears directly, I believe, on James’s discussion in these two verses.  The terms “sins” in verse 15 and “faults” in verse 16 have to do with the believer’s disobedience to God.

 

B. What Causes Sickness?
1. Violations of God's Natural Laws.

Ÿ         Smoking, drinking, over-eating, drugs = health problems!

Ÿ         Well-balanced diet, exercise & rest crucial to good health.

 

2.Violations of God's Moral Laws.

Ÿ         I already illustrated this by referring to 1 Cor. 11:30 and the problem of sickness and death that was in the church at Corinth.

 

3. Satan's Activity Allowed by God.

Ÿ         Job--OT example.

Ÿ         Paul--NT example ("thorn in flesh" = "messenger of Satan").

4. For God's Glory and Our Good.

Ÿ         "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees" (Psalm 119:71).

Ÿ         Man born blind, but his healing brought glory and praise to God. (John 9:1-3).

II. There Is a Call that is Given by the Sick Person . . . "let him call for the elders of the church."

 

A. Who Is Called?

1. The phrase “elders of the church” refers to those men in the church who have an office of spiritual leadership.  That would be the pastor and I believe, would also include the deacons.  In Titus 1:5 the implication seems to lean toward the office of pastor.  Thus, the one called upon in a time like this is the pastor(s) of the church and the deacons.

 

2. Notice that the “elders” are part of “the church”, a local assembly of believers.  This implies that the sick person is part of a local assembly of believers and is known by the Pastor(s) of that local church, and by the people of that church.  I don’t see in this the calling of just any pastor for just any church.  I believe this is another reason why every believer ought to publicly share their testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and associate themselves with a local body of believers and then know the privileges of those who are a part of that church.

 

B. Who does the calling?

1. The responsibility lies upon the person who is sick. The call is issued not by the pastors, but by the member. I believe this is important in light of how we will see this passage worked out as we go on.  Only a person that is still conscious can fully benefit from what James is laying out here.

 

2. In light of the marriage in these verses of sickness and sin, I believe this statement by James is completely appropriate.  Since we have already established Biblically that some sickness is and must be associated with sin in the life of the believer, it is also reasonable to understand the responsibility of the sinning believer to call upon the pastor(s) and deacons to come to their bed of sickness to pray for them that they would be healed from the physical sickness and to confess spiritual sickness (sin) in their life. 

 

3. It needs to be said at this point though, so there will not be any misunderstanding - not all sickness in the life of a believer is the result of some particular sin.  There is sickness and death in this world because of the curse of sin on all of creation, but not every case of sickness and  death should be attributed to some particular sin.  I do believe that if the pastor and deacons are called the issue of sin in the life of the Christian must be approached, and the sick saint ought to examine their heart and life for sin that is unconfessed.

 

III. There Is a Command that is Conveyed to the Pastors . . ."let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."

 

A. They need to pray in faith over them

1. I say the prayer of faith for that is what James calls the prayer that they pray and that the sick person prays in verse 15.  Don’t forget what James wrote right at the beginning of this epistle about praying in faith - James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

 

2. The thought of praying “over them” implies being there with the person, at their bed-side.

 

3. This first statement “let them pray” is the main verb and the central feature; the anointing is subordinate to the main verb and action that is taking place here.  Many put the emphasize on the anointing and not on the praying, but it must be the other way around.

 

B. They need to anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord.

1. When you start studying this verse and what James means by oil here, many explanations are made about what this oil signifies or accomplishes.  There are several plausible explanations given, but I believe James has in mind the one I will share with you this AM .  At the beginning of the message I mention five views that I believe are not correct for this passage of scripture, and that eliminates many of the suggestions that have been made.

 

2. First of all, I believe that when James says “oil” he is speaking of real oil, most likely olive oil or some other vegetable oil.

 

3. Second, this oil is an aid to faith, an action of obedience to awaken faith, similar to the Lord’s using saliva in His healing ministry (Mark 7:33; 8:23), and from the Old Testament, Naaman’s dipping in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:14).  This application of oil that could be felt by the patient could reinforce the evidence of the ears that the Lord was being invoked by the prayer of faith to bestow upon the sick person, if it should be God’s will, a cure.

 

4. It is important to see the emphasis is upon praying in faith in the name of the Lord - not the oil - for any healing that will take place in this particular situation. 

 

5. Another important point to keep in mind about the use of oil here - Oil is a symbol of  the Holy Spirit.  As such it can be understood that the oil being applied would be a reminder to the sick person and the elders that they were all totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit of God working the will of God out.

 

6. It is clear in the passage that it is not the oil that does the healing - it is God.  This is why the pastor(s) were to pray “in the name of the Lord.”  There should be no misunderstanding about where the healing, if it took place, came from - from God and not from the oil or the pastor(s).

 

IV. There Is a Consequence to These Actions Performed . . . James 5:15

There is no "maybe" here, but rather there is a promise that the sick person "shall" be saved.  Three times in this verse the word “shall” is used.  So what does this mean?  Does this mean that this formula of prayer, if used, obligates God to heal every person it is used with?  Based on what we know God’s Word teaches I have to say No.  Don’t forget the will of God in prayer in this whole thing.  It is not always God’s will to physically heal a believer.  If it was then no believer would die, but we know believers die, all of them.  I believe that what James is stating here is that when it is God’s will and faith has been exhibited by the pastor(s) and the ill person, that person will be restored to full health; they will get up from their exhausting bed of sickness; and if this sickness was the disciplining consequence to past sin(s) in this believer’s life, those sins have been forgiven and the healing is proof that God has forgiven them and restored them to fellowship with Him and their fellow believers.

 

Is it possible then for the pastor(s) and the ill person to pray to God in faith and for His will to be accomplished and yet the ill person does not recover, they grow worse and eventually die?  Yes, I believe this is possible for it happens all the time.  God’s will for that particular believer was for that saint to graduate to glory, which as Paul says is far better than remaining here below.  Does the death of this saint imply that they had sins that God was not going to forgive so He took their life?  No it does not imply that, for not every death can be associated with some particular unconfessed sin(s).  There are times when the association can be made - the Corinthian saints who had died because they had the unconfessed sin of not partaking of the Lord’s Table in a worthy manner.

 

In short, for this kind of prayer to be successful, it must be according to God's will!

"If God does not will a thing, neither medicine nor prayer will accomplish the results which we want. His results WILL come to pass, and happy is the man who is satisfied with the fulfillment of God's wishes rather than his" Spiros Zodhiates.

 

What can we take away with us from this message today?

1. I believe a Biblical process for dealing with sickness and sin is laid out for us in these two verses.  I believe that if any of you are laid low by a sickness that causes you to be unable to even rise up from your bed, you ought to consider calling for the Pastor and Deacons to come and to pray with and for you that God’s will would be done.  I would explain and remind you that prayer and anointing will do nothing if it is God's will for you to die.  We have come to encourage you.  We will call upon you to pray.  Take some time for self-examination. "Seach me O God, and know my heart if there be any wicked way in me."  If after self-examination it becomes clear to you that there is unconfessed sin in your life, then you will be encouraged to confess that sin to God. Then prayer is made to God for God’s will to be accomplished in this sickness.  If it be God’s will to raise you up from that bed of sickness and weariness, then He will do it, and you will know, if sin was confessed, that God heard you and forgave you.  What a boost to your walk with the Lord!  If it is not God’s will to heal, even though sin may have been confessed to God, you and all of us in that situation, need to accept the fact that our great God has something better and more precious in store for us.  Can you accept that?

 

2. I believe God wants us to utilize all the medical means possible, if we can, to deal with physical sickness.  What we have studied in this text this AM should not be understood that God is against doctors and medicine.  We should not put our full trust only in what the medical profession can do for us, for God must be in the picture, but the medical profession can not be left out.  I don’t believe it is a lack of faith on the part of a believer to seek medical help when they are sick.  They obviously need to bring the matter to the Lord in prayer.   But when it is clear that no more help is available from the medical field for healing, then the Lord is looked to.  Don’t take that last statement to imply that the Lord is our aid of last resort, but don’t forget the meaning of the word “sick” in verse 14 - not able to rise up.  This person is very sick and has no hope of recovery accept God healing them, if it is His will. 

 

3. I believe that believers need to learn to pray with great faith in times of sickness and trial and then wait upon the Lord.

 

4. I believe that when sickness does come into our life, we need to ask the Lord to reveal to us if there is any wicked way in us that needs to be confessed.  I believe it would be wrong to disassociate sickness from sin totally and completely.  The Bible makes the connection many times and so should we.  We should not look upon other saints who are going through a time of sickness and surmise that God is punishing them for some unconfessed sin in their life, for that may not be the case at all.  Let’s just keep a close check on our own life in that regard.