Permission to Speak

GETTING STARTED

At an annual weekend gathering, I shared with my “band of brothers” about a couple of angry outbursts I had directed at a family member over the past year. The next morning, one of them addressed my sin and said, “You do not have permission to explode in anger on your family.” His words struck deep in my soul, and the Holy Spirit’s conviction became clear in my heart. While I was headed down a destructive path, my friend boldly reached out to rescue me. And in that moment, I asked God the Father for his forgiveness.

  • When have the words of another Christ-follower lead you to repentance?

READ THE WORD: JAMES 5:19-20 (ESV)

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. In verse 19, what general scenario did James present to his readers? What is important to note about the “anyone” James wrote about in this passage?
  2. When a fellow believer leads another to repentance, what are the results (vss. 19-20)?
  3. James wrote the command “let him know” in verse 20. Why?
  4. If you recognized the results of leading another to repentance, what would change in how you handle challenging scenarios with the “wanderers” in your life?

RESPOND TO GOD

Whether the wanderer is a Christ-follower or not, silence toward another’s sin leaves destruction; speaking into it leads to life. Knowing this invites us to fight the fear of rejection when addressing the sin of another. Appreciating the forgiveness we’ve received from God moves us to act in love on the behalf of others. Understanding the grave consequences of sin helps us embrace our God-given mission to rescue those who have lost their way.

  • Thank God for the people he has used, and will use, to speak into your times of straying from him.
  • Ask for God’s guidance and wisdom as he leads you to bring back a sinner from his or her wandering.

NOW: Silence towards another’s sin leaves destruction; speaking into it leads to life.

ALWAYS: Leading of people to repentance results in their rescue from death and receiving God’s forgiveness.

THEN: The results of leading a wayward believer to repentance, to be understood by James’ fellow believers, were the rescue from temporary destruction and the receiving of forgiveness.

  1. The cause for the general scenario, addressed by James to fellow believers, was the leading to repentance of a fellow believer. (v19)
    1. The audience that James addressed was his fellow believers.
    2. The first cause for the conditional scenario of a believer was to be led away from God’s truth.
    3. The second cause for the conditional scenario of a believer was to be returned back to God’s truth by a fellow believer.
  2. The results of the general scenario, for the wayward believer, to be realized by the helpful believer, were the rescue from temporary destruction and the receiving of forgiveness. (v20)
    1. The first result to understand by the believer who helped the wayward believer repent was that they would rescue the person from temporary destruction.
    2. The second result to understand by the believer who helped the believer repent was that they would receive for forgiveness.