James 5:20 - Restoring a Sinner

consider this:
This phrase serves as an invitation to reflect deeply on the importance of the subsequent message. It emphasizes the weight and significance of the action being described. In biblical literature, such calls to attention are often used to highlight moral or spiritual truths that require careful consideration and action.

Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way
This phrase underscores the responsibility and privilege of believers to guide others back to the truth. The concept of "turning" is akin to repentance, a central theme in both the Old and New Testaments. The "error of his way" refers to a path leading away from God's commandments, reminiscent of the warnings given by prophets like Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:30-32) and the call to repentance by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2). The communal aspect of faith is highlighted here, where believers are encouraged to support one another in spiritual growth and correction.

will save his soul from death
The "soul" in this context refers to the whole being of a person, not just the immaterial part. "Death" here is often interpreted as spiritual death, which is separation from God, rather than physical death. This aligns with the biblical teaching that sin leads to death (Romans 6:23), but repentance and turning back to God lead to life. The act of saving a soul from death is seen as participating in God's redemptive work, echoing the mission of Christ who came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

and cover over a multitude of sins.
This phrase suggests the idea of forgiveness and atonement. The imagery of "covering" sins is rooted in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, where the blood of sacrifices symbolically covered the sins of the people (Leviticus 17:11). In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose blood covers and cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7). The "multitude of sins" indicates the vastness of God's grace and forgiveness, as also reflected in Proverbs 10:12, which states that love covers all wrongs. This phrase encourages believers to act in love and grace, participating in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Persons / Places / Events

1. James
The author of the epistle, traditionally identified as James, the brother of Jesus and a leader in the early Jerusalem church. He writes with authority and pastoral concern for the believers.

2. Sinner
Refers to any individual who has strayed from the truth of the Gospel and is living in sin. The term "sinner" in the Greek (hamart?los) emphasizes one who is missing the mark of God's standard.

3. The Church
The community of believers to whom James is writing. The church is called to be a place of restoration and healing for those who have wandered from the truth.

4. Salvation
The act of saving a soul from death, which in this context refers to spiritual death or separation from God. The Greek word for "save" (s?z?) implies rescue and deliverance.

5. Covering of Sins
This phrase suggests the forgiveness and atonement of sins, reminiscent of the Old Testament sacrificial system where sins were covered by the blood of a sacrifice.

Teaching Points

The Call to Restoration
Believers are called to actively participate in the restoration of those who have wandered from the truth. This involves love, patience, and a gentle spirit.

The Power of Repentance
Turning a sinner from their error is a powerful act that leads to salvation and forgiveness. It underscores the transformative power of repentance.

Community Responsibility
The church community has a responsibility to care for its members, seeking to guide them back to the truth when they stray.

Love as a Covering
Love plays a crucial role in the process of restoration and forgiveness. It is through love that sins are covered and relationships are healed.

Eternal Perspective
The ultimate goal of turning a sinner from their error is the salvation of their soul, which has eternal significance.

(20) Let him know.--Or, as it rather seems to be, Know ye; be absolutely sure of this, in a knowledge better than all the Gnostic and Agnostic learning of the day. He which turneth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death--the means thereto being given him by the Saviour of all--and shall hide a multitude of sins; not, of course, his own, but those of the penitent, brought back by this good servant into the fold. So is it possible to be a fellow-worker with Christ (2Corinthians 6:1), and a sharer in His work of salvation, as, in another sense, we too vicariously suffer for the sins and faults of others. (Comp. Colossians 1:24, and Butler's Analogy, part 2, chap. 5)

What St. James was in word that also was he in deed; for he "prayed fervently" for the pardon and conversion of those who killed him. "Hold," said some of the by-standers. when the martyr sank upon the stones, "the Just is praying for you!" Stephen's prayer won Saul for the infant Church: it can hardly be that James's last breathings of pity were unanswered of God.

Verse 20. - Let him know. So א, A, K, L, Latt., Syriac, B has γινώσκετε, "know ye." After ψυχὴν, א, A, and Vulgate add αὐτοῦ. B has it after θανάτου. And shall cover a multitude of sins (καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν). The same expression occurs in 1 Peter 4:8, "Charity covereth a multitude of sins." It is founded on Proverbs 10:12, תְּכַסֶּה אַהֲבָה וְעַל כָּל־פְשָׁעִים, "Love covereth all sins," where the LXX. goes entirely astray: Πάντας δὲ τοὺς μὴ φιλονεικοῦντας καλύπτει φιλία: but cf. Psalm 31:1; Psalm 84:3, in the LXX. It is difficult to believe that St. Peter and St. James independently hit upon the rendering πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν for the Hebrew כָּל־פְּשָׂעִים, as there was nothing to suggest it, the LXX. never rendering כֹּל by πλῆθος. Probably the one was consciously or unconsciously influenced by the other. The striking position which the words occupy here, as those with which the Epistle closes, would make them linger in the memory; and there is nothing to militate against the conclusion, which appeared probable on the occasion of previous coincidences between the two writers, that St. James is the earlier of the two (comp. on James 4:6). The expression used by the apostle leaves it undetermined whose sins are thus "covered," whether

(1) those of the man who is "converted from the error of his way," or

(2) those of the man who wins him back, and through this good action obtains, by the grace of God, pardon for his own "multitude of sins." It has been well noticed that "there is a studied generality in the form of the teaching which seems to emphasize the wide blessedness of love. In the very act of seeking to convert one for whom we care we must turn to God ourselves, and in covering the past sins of another our own also are covered. In such an act love reaches its highest point, and that love includes the faith in God which is the condition of forgiveness" (Plumptre). The Epistle ends abruptly, with no salutation and no doxology. In this it stands almost by itself in the New Testament; the First Epistle of St. John alone approaching it in the abruptness of its conclusion.

. . . Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

consider
γινωσκέτω (ginōsketō)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1097: A prolonged form of a primary verb; to 'know' in a great variety of applications and with many implications.

this:
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

Whoever
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

turns
ἐπιστρέψας (epistrepsas)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1994: From epi and strepho; to revert.

a sinner
ἁμαρτωλὸν (hamartōlon)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 268: Sinning, sinful, depraved, detestable. From hamartano; sinful, i.e. A sinner.

from
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

[the] error
πλάνης (planēs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4106: Feminine of planos; objectively, fraudulence; subjectively, a straying from orthodoxy or piety.

of his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

way
ὁδοῦ (hodou)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3598: A way, road, journey, path. Apparently a primary word; a road; by implication, a progress; figuratively, a mode or means.

will save
σώσει (sōsei)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4982: To save, heal, preserve, rescue. From a primary sos; to save, i.e. Deliver or protect.

his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

soul
ψυχὴν (psychēn)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5590: From psucho; breath, i.e. spirit, abstractly or concretely.

from
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

death
θανάτου (thanatou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2288: Death, physical or spiritual. From thnesko; death.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

cover over
καλύψει (kalypsei)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2572: To veil, hide, conceal, envelop. Akin to klepto and krupto; to cover up.

a multitude
πλῆθος (plēthos)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 4128: A multitude, crowd, great number, assemblage. From pletho; a fulness, i.e. A large number, throng, populace.

of sins.
ἁμαρτιῶν (hamartiōn)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural
Strong's 266: From hamartano; a sin.

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James 5:20 Catholic BibleNT Letters: James 5:20 Let him know that he who turns (Ja Jas. Jam)