Spiritual Reclamation

Chris Starn

A Living Faith • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

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James 5:19–20 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 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.

Slide #1-2

This is God’s Word, for God’s people, hear it and believe.

James 5:19–20 ESV

This is God’s Word, for God’s people, hear it and believe.

Pray

James 5:19-20

Slide #3

Have you noticed the plants growing in the fields? Farmers used their planter or their drill, depending on what they were planting to get the seed into the ground. Farmers today use equipment that costs upwards of $200,000 or more just to get seed in the ground.

Farmers at the time of Christ, did this

Slide #4

Farmer Sowing Seeds - 4 soils, path, rocks, thorns, good soil

…they broadcast the seeds

Farmer Sowing Seeds - 4 soils, path, rocks, thorns, good soil

In Scripture, the idea of “planting” the Gospel is common, In fact Jesus himself used this idea in a parable.

Jesus showed that the gospel is sown on four kinds of hearts.

Hard Heart

Slide #5

The fields in Israel were long narrow strips with footpaths between each row. So when the farmer would broadcast the seed, some of it fell on the path.

These paths were hardened due to the lack of moisture, the constant pounding of feet, and the blazing sun beating down on them.

When the farmer, God the Holy Spirit, sows the word of God, which is full of life, on the path, which is the hard human heart, it gets trampled on, and the birds eat it up.

These paths, these hear hearts and minds are impenetrable. They are shrouded in the materialistic, self-centered culture of our day.

Slide #6

No matter what you say about Jesus to a person with a hard heart, they will not believe and grow because Satan comes along and snatches the gospel before it can take root.

Shallow Heart

Then there is the shallow heart. Israel is covered with bedrock and a thin coating of soil, similar to some places around here where you have an inch of topsoil and then pure clay.

Slide #7

With the bedrock, you can get quick germination because the rock absorbs the heat of the sun.

But these fresh and vibrant looking sprouts quickly die under the heat of the sun because of the lack of roots.

These are people who hear the Gospel message and are excited, but don’t grow beyond where they started. There are no spiritual roots that develop. When trouble comes, and it always does, they fall away.

This is very common today since much of our theology is man-centered. It many times lacks depth. And even when it is deep, many people do not want to make the effort to dig their roots into deep theology.

Example: Christ is preached with the emphasis on what he can do for us, and receiving him is viewed as doing him a favor. This shallow theology airbrushes the doctrine of sin and minimizes the holiness of God, producing bogus converts.

This is why discipleship is so important.

Slide #8

The presence of shallow theology should make us reflect on the reality of our conversion. Has the Word of God truly take root? Are we growing? Or was there a brief spurt and then nothing?

Infested Heart

Slide #9

Some of the Gospel seed falls on thorn-infested soil, which looks good and promising, but lurking inside is a deadly problem.

Slide #10

The soil of the heart is infested with worries, riches, and pleasures. In other words, self-centered. A person can sit in a church for years and never hear the Word because all they do is worry about their riches and pleasures.

How can you tell if this is your soil? Jesus says in his explanation of this parable that people with this soil have fruit that never matures.

Slide #11

There is no fruit in their lives, no fruit of the spirit, no evangelism, no discipleship. Their focus is on the material possessions of this world, and are probably not Christians at all.

We have fooled others and ourselves.

Good Soil

Slide #12

This soil has a fertile heart. True believers bear fruit.

The initial fruit is inward, which is the fruit of the spirit that we find in . But we can’t stop there. A fruit tree does not bear fruit for itself, but for others to enjoy.

This inner fruit needs to lead to outward fruit, which is what we have been talking about since we first started looking at the book of James.

Significance

The significance of these soils, or hearts, is that this is a picture of the church today. We have people in the church today with unregenerate hearts - the hard heart, the shallow heart, and the infested heart.

Slide #13

It doesn’t matter how big or small the church is or what denomination it is, they all have people with either hard, shallow, infested, or fertile heart.

Slide #14

We can know the true believers in Jesus Christ are the ones who make Him Lord of their lives have fertile hearts that produce fruit.

Slide #15

Now there is no doubt that there are degrees of fruitfulness, and all hearts wrestle at times with the hardness and shallowness and infestation, but God’s Word is deeply rooted, and there is ongoing fruit.

Since we started James back in September, we have seen that James is concerned with people having a real faith, a Living Faith that produces fruit.

Slide #16

A Living Faith produces works that affects every part of our lives, in how we spend our money, how we relate to the poor and to the world, how we use our brain, how we use our whole body, especially the tongue.

Any departure from in any of these areas is a good indicator of a bogus faith and the danger of apostasy.

James calls us to keep each other on track and to lead others to the truth.

James 5:19–20 ESV

The Possibility of Apostasy

James 5:19 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

My brothers, fif anyone among you wanders from the truth

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth

James is concerned that some in the church are in danger of wandering away from the truth.

Who would wonder away? True believers? I don’t think so. Those who accept the Gospel but do not live it.

2 Timothy 3:5 ESV

having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:4–5 ESV

treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Slide #17

This is more than just a wandering of thoughts and theology, this is a wandering of lifestyle.

For James there there is no separation between what we think and believe and what we do.

Slide #18

Truth is something people do.

When we stop doing the truth, we run the risk of what the Bible calls apostasy.

There are two types of apostasy…doctrinal and moral.

One form will always affect the other.

Moral apostasy does affect one’s doctrine. Many people change doctrine to fit their moral behavior.

While on the other hand, many believe false doctrines and live with moral apostasy.

I am sorry to say that the church is full of both.

Our Response

We must be able to recognize apostasy.

Slide #19

So first of all we need to know the truth.

We must also do something about it. We must attempt to restore those who wander from the truth back to the truth.

Slide #20

It is one thing for someone to fall into the trap of apostasy, it is quite another for those who know the truth to just let them wander away.

To save someone from spiritual death is the greatest thing one human can ever do for another.

But it must first be done in...

Slide #21

LOVE - we must not reject those who wander, but engage them with love with the goal of maintaining the relationship.

Slide #22

INTEGRITY - If we want someone to have a strong faith in Jesus Christ, we must have a strong faith in Jesus Christ.

Slide #23

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Integrity of heart, the authenticity of one’s soul, is seen in the eyes and heard in the tone of voice. Restorers must be truly spiritual people.

Slide #24

PRAYER - We must pray for those who are wandering

Slide #25

1 John 5:16 ESV

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Too often instead of sending words up to God, we send words out as gossip.

Our prayers must be specific, detailed, regular, and passionate.

Slide #26

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

CONFRONTATION - We are clearly called to confront the sinner

Slide #27-28

Ezekiel 3:18 ESV

If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.

Paul tells us to warn the wayward brother in and to the Ephesians he reminds them that he never stopped warning them for three years.

No Christians enjoys confrontation. But there are times when we must prayerfully undertake it.

Slide #29

DISCIPLINE - This is always the last resort. Jesus instructs us of the process in

Slide #30-32

Matthew 18:15–17 ESV

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

There are times we must discipline the wanderer for the sake of their soul and the life of the church.

1 Corinthians 5:1–5 ESV

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Slide #33

A commitment to the process of spiritual reclamation done in love with integrity and prayer and confrontation and discipline says one thing: we love the church and believe with James that “Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (v. 20).

Slide #34

May we have a Living Faith, reflected in the righteous, fruitful lives that we live and reclaim wandering souls for Christ!!!

What kind of soil are you? Are you growing? Are you producing fruit? If you are interested in doing so, come and see me. We will talk about discipleship.

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