family devotions: James 5.12-15

~ On Oaths ~

James 5.12

And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

James is echoing his brother Jesus in Matthew 5.33-37, where Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil." Jesus' commands regarding oaths revolves around the importance of honesty and keeping your word. Jews swore oaths on heaven and earth, but it was believed that only an oath sworn by God was binding. Thus people would swear by lesser things, and if they failed to keep their word, it wasn't a big deal. Lesser oaths became a cover-up for lying, of hiding intentions of not following through and escaping culpability. The Bible is clear in what God thinks of lying and deception. Here are just a few point-blank verses to hone in the point: 

Proverbs 6:16-19: 'There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.'

Proverbs 12:22: 'Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.'

Proverbs 19:9: 'A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.'

Proverbs 24:28: 'Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.'

Psalm 101:7: 'No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.'

Psalm 58:3: 'The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.'

Psalm 34:13: 'Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.'

Colossians 3:9-10: 'Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.'

Revelation 21:8: 'But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.'

James, writing to Jewish Christians living outside Palestine, is undercutting their traditional practice of taking oaths. He's reminding them that in all things, they need to be men and women of honesty and integrity. Letting our yes be yes and our no be no is a call to honesty in our dealings with others. It's wrong to build false trust by swearing on lesser oaths; if we say we will do something, we need to do it. 

~ Different Strokes for Different Folks ~

James 5.13

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 

The religious life isn't constrained to Sunday mornings, and it isn't restricted by our emotions. The religious life is to be practiced every day and in all circumstances. That doesn't mean that the religious life of the happy will be identical to that of the one suffering: James points out that while the happy are to sing praises, the suffering ought to pray. 

The suffering James has in mind is suffering of any kind, indicated by the Greek word he uses; this includes sickness, mourning the death of a loved one, disappointments of all stripes, persecutions big or small, losses of any kind. Christians are not preserved from suffering; indeed, suffering is assumed. That Christians suffer doesn't mean that God doesn't have their back (though, let's be honest, sometimes it can feel that way in the moment); Scripture is clear that God is in control, and we receive both good and bad from His hand for His purposes and our good. 

God may ordain suffering for us to sharpen us into the godly men and women He desires us to be; as the mid-18th century English Methodist Joseph Benson writes that suffering often comes to the Christian 'so that he may be supported under his affliction, so as to be enabled to bear it with patience and resignation to the divine will, and find it to be sanctified to him, and made the means, as of exercising, so also of increasing his grace, and of purifying him as gold and silver are purified in the furnace.' God may ordain suffering for us to discipline us towards holy living, or to call us to a closer walk with Him. One theologian wrote, 'God sometimes lays his afflicting hand upon his people, when they have been negligent of their duty, and he has not heard of them for some time, in order to bring them near to him, to seek his face, pay him a visit, and pour out a prayer before him.' 

When we experience suffering, we are to pray. Often in suffering, it's difficult to put our thoughts into words; sometimes there are little thoughts but many emotions. How, then, do we pray in such a circumstance? The late 19th century Anglican minister Charles Ellicott writes, 'Long petitions, or many, cannot be always made; mind and body may be too weak and ill; but ejaculations - "Arrows of the Lord's deliverance," as Augustine called them, "shout out with a sudden quickness" - these are ever in the power of the beleaguered Christian.' The mid-19th century Presbyterian pastor Albert Barnes emphasized the privilege of prayer in suffering: 'It matters not what is the form of the trial, it is a privilege which all have to go to God in prayer. And it is an inestimable privilege. Health fails, friends die, property is lost, disappointments come upon us, danger threatens, death approaches - and to whom shall we go but to God? He ever lives. He never fails us or disappoints us if we trust in him, and his ear is ever open to our cries.'

So much for those who are suffering - what are the responsibilities of the happy? These are the folk who are in a good place in life. The Greek word James uses is euthumei, and it means to 'have the mind well.' It is to be cheerful or happy. James says those enjoying this condition in life are to 'sing praises.' 

The Greek word James uses for our English rendition of 'sing' is psallo, and it means 'to touch, twitch, or pluck.' It can refer to touching the beard, twitching a string on a bow, or to pluck the string of an instrument. The word was originally applied to instrumental music. In the context of music, it often referred to playing a lyre or harp (the ancient version of our guitar). While some argue that the New Testament demands hymns or songs be sung without musical accompaniment, the New Testament assumes on many occasions (such as here) that instruments can play a part. 

The joyful Christian is to express his gratitude for God's benevolent favor in His life by worshipping Him. The idea here is a singing from the heart: the psalms, hymns, and 'worship songs' which the New Testament mentions are to be sung in such a way that the heart is engaged. They shouldn't be treated as mere music or external performance. This heartfelt worship, which echoes the seraphim singing day and night around God's throne, is the kind of worship God desires. Paul writes in Ephesians 5.18-20 tells us:

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

The 18th century Presbyterian minister James Macknight writes, 'When rendered cheerful by contemplating the manifestations which God hath made of his perfections in the works of creation, providence, and redemption, or by any blessing bestowed on ourselves, we are to express our joy, not by drinking, and singing profane, lewd songs, but by hymns of praise and thanksgivings offered to God for all his mercies.' Commenting on James 5.13, he writes, 'But as the precept concerning our singing psalms, when cheerful, does not imply that we are not to pray then; so the precept concerning prayer in affliction, does not imply that we are not to express our joy in suffering according to the will of God, by singing psalms or hymns, as Paul and Silas did in the jail at Philippi.” Charles Ellicott weighs in, 'There is a sadness latent in the most jubilant of earthly tunes, but not so with the heavenly; and squiring angels do not scorn to catch our humblest notes, and weave them in their endless song, if they be raised in thankfulness to Him Whom they and all creation praise.'

~ Anointing with Oil ~

James 5.14-15

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will raise you up. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

James instructs the sick to call on the church's elders, who will come to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. The church's elders were tasked with nurturing life with God in the covenant community, with overseeing doctrinal purity and disciplining wayward members. While historically church deacons have taken on more service-oriented roles in the church, elders have a role, too, as we see here. When elders visit a sick member, they are representative of the whole church body; their prayers are those of the congregation, and it's as if the congregation is gathering around to anoint the sick with oil. 

There's debate about the reason for anointing with oil. Some argue that the oil was used medicinally for the sick person, so that the anointing of oil is just another way of saying 'take aspirin.' However, physicians of the ancient world used oil medicinally for injuries rather than sickness. Oil was used for bruises, welts, and raw wounds; the Good Samaritan of Jesus' parable used oil on a man's injuries; and oil was also applied to scratches and bruises on livestock. Given this, and the fact that anointing with oil has a rich history within Judaism from the days Moses to those of the early church, we should reject this argument.

In Judaism, the purpose of anointing with oil was to sanctify, or to set apart as holy, the person or object being anointed (Exodus 30.29). Only the priests and Tabernacle items were originally anointed, but it was later expanded to include kings (1 Samuel 10.1). A foreigner couldn't be anointed (Exodus 30.33), nor could oil be used on any common person, and it couldn't be duplicated by any Israelite (Exodus 30.32). So it seems that the elders anoint the sick to set them apart as holy before God. While this anointing may have been the practice for sick people of all stripes, it's more likely that it was reserved for those considered near death. Such an anointing would be a symbolic message amidst impending death, and it may also have been viewed as an extension of the prayer offered by the elders. James writes that the prayer offered in faith will result in healing, and 'the Lord will raise up' the sick. James may be asserting that the Lord would raise the sick person to health, or he may be indicating that the Lord will raise the sick person up in the final resurrection. 

James adds, 'If you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.' He is acknowledging that there are occasions when illness is tied to sin. While all of us suffer death and decay as a result of Adam's sin (Romans 5.19), the Bible often correlates a person's suffering with sin (e.g. John 5.14 and 1 Corinthians 11.29-30). In these cases, the anointing of oil and the prayers of the elders are powerful for bringing the person to repentance. Matthew Henry writes:

Observe that the saving of the sick is not ascribed to the anointing with oil, but to prayer. In a time of sickness it is not cold and formal prayer that is effectual, but the prayer of faith. The great thing we should beg of God for ourselves and others in the time of sickness is, the pardon of sin. Let nothing be done to encourage any to delay, under the mistaken fancy that a confession, a prayer, a minister's absolution and exhortation, or the sacrament, will set all right at last, where the duties of a godly life have been disregarded.