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Call to worship: James 4:4-10

Text: James 5:19-20

Summary:

James closes as we should expect, with a call to a love largely neglected in our day. It's a charge to the whole church to hold each member accountable for the constancy of their walk with Jesus, that it be according to the truth. It's an eternally significant charge. Anyone who strays and will not be turned proves themselves inauthentic disciples of Jesus Christ, so that their souls are in danger of final condemnation. Though they seemed found, they were sadly always lost. Against this, the family of God is called to pursue any who seem to be wandering from the truth as it is in Jesus, doing this in the hope of repentance. By such repentance, the one who was in peril is proven true to Christ. They are saved from shipwreck, and the fireball of sin, which would've multiplied itself in their lives, is put out. God's 'more grace' perpetuates more righteousness. This ministry is critical for the endurance of our love for God. Thus the letter of James is concluded.

Sermon Outline:

1. That anyone could wander needs the attention of everyone. (5:19-20)
2. That anyone could wander needs the accountability of everyone. (5:19-20)

Prepare

Discussion Questions:

1. Read James 5:19-20.
2. Who is James addressing? Why is that significant in this letter? Return to 1:16-18.
3. Concerning what does James warn? From what is the wandering one wandering? What, given the content of this letter, might cause someone to wander from the truth? What's the relationship between the suppression of the truth and the love of sin? See Romans 1:18. How about vice versa? If someone will not and does not again repent, what are they proving about themselves? In what danger do they find their souls?
4. Who is responsible for engaging in formative and corrective church discipline? Why might such LOVE be thought hateful and unnecessary today? What is the goal of the one in pursuit of the wanderer? To what are we calling them back? If God grants us success, what are the beautiful effects of this repentance? How does a posture of loving, whole-church discipline and/or discipleship create a culture that preserves our enduring love to God (1:12)? What must we attend to personally in order to give clear-eyed accountability corporately? See Matthew 7:1-5.
5. How has the Lord used this letter to grow you as a Christian and member of our church?