My brethren, if any one among you err from the truth, and one bring him back,
The letter of James ends with no farewell and no blessing. It stops at two people: one who has drifted away, and one who goes after him. That ending raises the questions of this verse. Who is the wanderer? What does bringing him back mean? And whose job is it?
The last thing James says is not a goodbye but an assignment. One writer reads the abrupt close as the letter's last test of faith:
The Epistle ends abruptly. Faith must be shown by love towards those who err. The exhortation applies in a general way, but primarily to those who know the truth and have backslidden. This is learned from the words "if any among you"; the general application is also fully warranted.
Commentators differ on whether the wanderer is a believer or an unbeliever. One writer reads him as a Christian who has drifted from God. He warns that the old word "convert" misleads us today:
It is the restoration of a believer, but one who has wandered from God, that is in view here. Our common version says "one convert him." That wording points our minds to what we call conversion today. But the Lord speaks of Peter's conversion when he too had erred from the truth, and the Lord's grace brought him back.
Others read it more widely, and see one work of grace covering both cases:
Whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his ways is the means of saving that soul. This holds whether the person is a sinner living in his sins or a Christian living badly. He is also the means of hiding a multitude of sins. It is plain what it means for the soul of an unconverted man to be saved. And a Christian on an evil path is at least stopped on the road that leads to destruction.
The drift James names is from "the truth" itself. One writer describes the cure as love in action, and calls it a principle that holds everywhere:
There is also the activity of love towards those who err. Suppose someone departs from the truth, and others bring him back by grace. Our part in this may be simple. Even so, let it be known: to bring back a sinner from the error of his ways is the exercise of the power that delivers a soul from death... The apostle does not speak of the power that acts in this work of love, but of the fact. He applies it to cases that had happened among them. But he also sets out a universal principle: this is how grace acts in a heart that grace itself has stirred.
The verse assumes someone will go after the wanderer. One writer notes how seldom that happens, and what takes its place:
Restoration is rare. That is one of the saddest results of spiritual weakness among Christians. Discipline, even in its extreme form, is no less due to our Lord... than it is necessary for the best interests of the saints. But our God often shows, clearly and strongly, how deeply He cares about the recovery of those who stray and fall. Self-righteousness, in the same case, shows only its bitterness and its indifference. Zeal for the good name of a party, or anxiety to look morally right, is as far as possible from the love we owe to Christ's body and every member of it.
Some treat separation from evil as a reason to give up on the wanderer. One writer answers with the Lord's own picture of the shepherd:
But suppose someone errs from the truth. What then? Are we to be finished with him? Not at all. All the more we should leave the ninety-nine good ones and seek this one until we find him. Is it separation from evil to busy ourselves with the ninety-nine we think are right, and leave the lost sheep? Not at all. That is not the Lord's way.
One writer calls this work an honour, and sets it against a common habit:
Verse 19 refers to the conversion or bringing back of an erring brother. God uses such a person as an instrument to save souls from death and to cover many sins. Do we realise what an honour this is? Some people are always on the hunt to uncover sin, whether in their fellow believers or in the world. The covering of sins in a righteous way is what God loves. Let us go in for it with all our hearts.
- Wanders — the drift is from the truth, and the person is still "among you." Commentators differ: some read a straying believer, some an unconverted person, and some say both are covered.
- Someone — the verse names no office. Grace working in any heart can send that person after the wanderer.
- Brings back — "convert" here means to turn someone around, as the Lord's grace turned Peter around. It can mean restoring a believer, not only first conversion.
- Rare — recovery is rare. Self-righteousness, zeal for a party's good name, and a taste for exposing sin crowd out love.
- Honour — going after the one is the Lord's own way with the lost sheep. God loves to see sins covered, not exposed.
let him know that he that brings back a sinner from [the] error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins.
James ends his letter with no goodbye and no greeting. He ends with a wanderer, and with the one who goes after him. That work carries two promises: a soul saved from death, and a crowd of sins covered.
One writer holds that two very different people can be the wanderer here. The promise covers both, but what follows is not the same for each.
The one who brings a sinner back from the error of his ways is the means of saving that soul. It may be a sinner living in his sins, or a Christian walking badly. He is also the means of hiding a multitude of sins. In the case of an unconverted man, the saving of his soul is simple to understand. In the case of a Christian following an evil path, he is at least stopped on the road that leads to destruction.
Older translations use the word "convert" here. One writer says that word sends us the wrong way, and points to how the Lord used it about Peter.
Here we have the restoration of a believer, but a believer who has wandered from God. The word used in our common version, "one convert him," tends to make us think of what we usually call conversion today. But the Lord speaks of Peter's conversion when he too had strayed from the truth, and His grace brought Peter back. In the language of James, a converted man may be a sinner still.
Commentators differ on which death is meant. One writer says it need not be eternal death at all, and points to what God did among the believers at Corinth.
Saving a soul from death does not always mean saving it from eternal death. It can mean saving it from the judgment of God we saw at Corinth, where many among them were weak and ill, and many had died.
Earlier in the chapter, prayer raises up the sick. This verse names a quieter result and rates it higher.
Here we do not have a striking answer to the prayer of faith. We have a rich cheer for the love that sought and won the wanderer. Sick people healed and raised up in answer to prayer may catch the eye more. But how blessed it is to save a soul from death! In this way our God would encourage a spirit of grace. Love has its victories in a world of self and hatred and evil, and we may know that with thanks.
The covering is not a cover-up. One writer explains what happens to the sins themselves when the wanderer comes back.
The conversion of a sinner removes all his sins from before the eyes of God. It is as if they were thrown into the depths of the sea. He sees them no more, as it is written. They are cancelled at once. This is the sense in which love covers a multitude of sins. They are no longer there as an object hateful to God. If we do not forgive the sins of a brother, the enmity remains before God like an unhealed wound in the body of believers.
Another writer adds how that covering comes about, and where it fits in God's dealings with His people.
In this way a multitude of sins would be covered. Not only by the love that covers sins individually, which we read about elsewhere, but by the work of that love in restoring a soul. Under God's government over His people, that is the sure way for a multitude of sins to be covered.
One writer names what jealousy does with a fallen believer's past, and what love does instead.
If anyone strays from the truth, love will not be indifferent to him, but will seek to bring him back. Sadly, hurt vanity and the malice that comes from jealousy will uncover the sins of the one who went wrong, to serve their own ends. They do it even if he confessed those sins long ago and was restored. Love always covers what has been judged and put away.
So why is this work so rare? One writer traces it to weakness, and names what stands in its place.
One of the saddest results of spiritual weakness among Christians is how rare restoration is... But our God shows again and again, clearly and strongly, how deeply He cares about recovering those who stray and fall. This is the very place where self-righteousness shows its bitterness and indifference. Zeal for the good name of a group or party is as far as possible from the love we owe to Christ's body and every member of it. So is anxiety to look morally respectable.
- Wanders — someone leaves the truth. Writers apply this to an unbeliever in his sins and to a Christian walking badly.
- Turned — "convert" here means to turn back. The Lord turned Peter back, and Peter already believed.
- Saved — the wanderer escapes death. Writers differ on whether that means eternal judgment or God's discipline of His own people, as at Corinth.
- Covered — once the person comes back, his sins no longer stand before God. They are cancelled and out of sight.
- Rare — few do this work. Self-righteousness, party spirit and the urge to expose sin crowd out the love that goes and fetches.