PRAYER—NO MATTER WHAT CONDITION: JAMES 5:13-14

Verses 13-14: Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

These two verses entail a series of questions inquiring the spiritual and physical condition of James’ readers. They are interrelated because of the instruction James gives regarding how they should respond to these connected circumstances.

James’ first question of those suffering among us may well be of a general nature for there are many types of sufferings: sickness, bereavement, disappointment, persecutions, loss of property, national disaster, and impending death. But this could be regarding the context of chapter 5 and the rough treatment by the wealthy (5:4; cf. 2:6). Either way, he provides pertinent advice: Then he must pray. The Apostle Paul endorsed this command when he wrote:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6; cf. 1 Peter 5:7)

And,

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  

Prayer is the open line of communication with the Lord and the basis for an effective relationship. There is a misunderstanding by some that prayer time is only when we kneel down at bedtime. But the truth is: Biblical praying is the kneeling down on the inside at any time and conversing with God. This is what the writer of Hebrews meant:

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Our requests must follow God’s prayer formula: directed to the Father (Matthew 6:6, 9); in the name of Jesus Christ (John 14:13-14); in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). And most important, Scripture is clear that if we desire for our prayers to be heard we need to be in a sinless state, no unconfessed sin.

If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (Psalm 66:18; cf. James 4:3)

His second question is a check of their spiritual outlook: Is anyone cheerful? The Greek word for cheerful is made up of two words: good and temperament, thus meaning “having the proper positive and hopeful attitude.”1 This is not a cheerful behavior conjured up psychologically or emotionally—this is supposed to be spiritually induced. It necessitates that believers study and thoroughly absorb the Scripture in order to acquire the skills for Christian living which will enable them to cheerfully demonstrate their love for God and others.

For these individuals James instructs them to “sing praises.” In other words, let everyone know of the joy and happiness they possess of being a child of God. This is supported by the Apostle Paul:

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

For believers to be spiritually cheerful and sing the praises of their Savior is when they are enabled by the power of the Word of Christ richly dwelling inside of them—in their stream of consciousness. This is the eternal riches which the believer should aspire to attain. Without the knowledge of God’s Word—wisdom teaching—there can be no basis for expressing thankfulness in our heart to God.

Verse 14 addresses the third question: Is anyone among you sick? This sickness could be any number of issues regarding spiritual or physical infirmities. The sick individual is instructed to call the church elders. It is obvious that if they are unable to do this, then someone else should attend to this need.

In churches today, the elders could include the pastor or the deacons. Ideally, visiting the sick should be the responsibility of well-trained deacons. They are to pray over the them, prayers that comfort the sick individual, assuring them that they are ultimately in God’s hands, for God’s will to be realized in this situation and to make known to God the desires of all concerned for the healing of this individual.

But, although to anoint him with oil is stated next, the Greek indicates that this should be done prior to the praying. This anointing with oil has caused much confusion in Christianity. In the 16^th Century the Roman Church instituted the sacrament of Extreme Unction2 or The Last Rites (later changed to Anointing of the Sick), administered to those who were on their death bed. The Roman Church believes that it cleanses sins and readies them for the afterlife.

However, this anointing of oil is for medicinal purposes. This was the normal procedure in the ancient world, and not a supernatural ritual as A.T. Robertson explains:

The use of olive oil was one of the best remedial agencies known to the ancients. They used it internally and externally...There is nothing here of the pagan magic or of the later practice of “extreme unction.”3

And James states that the prayers and anointing are to be done in the name of the Lord. This phrase denotes our intimate connection with the Lord; just as the prophets spoke “in the name of the Lord” (5:10) we are to do likewise. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he encouraged us that:

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2115.

[2] The word means ‘anointing’

[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, James 5:14.

 

© 2023 David M. Rossi

RUN YOUR OWN RACE, PART II: HEBREWS 12:2-3

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

The first two directives of Hebrews 12:1-3 were examined in Part I: 1) to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin of unbelief and 2) to run with endurance the race set before us. We will now analyze the third and fourth directive in this passage.

Third Directive

We are to be fixing our eyes on Jesus. The phrase “fixing our eyes” is one word in the Greek meaning “to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.”1 The author is adamant that our focus should be upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Lenski states that this directive “adds the supreme motive for running with unfaltering perseverance, supreme because it involves the certainty of attaining the goal."2 The goal being that our run of faith will successfully glorify Christ so that we become effective witnesses of the gospel and examples to other believers.

While our eyes are fixed upon Jesus, our peripheral vision is mindful of the obstacles (trials, testing, misfortunes, etc.) which impede our spiritual momentum. It is essential that we avoid human viewpoint advice in the midst of troubles, such as: face it head-on; pull yourself up by the bootstraps; rise above the situation; knuckle down harder; try to ignore or not think about the situation.

That is not where our counsel should come from. It must come from Our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the author of faith. The word “author” means “the chief leader, one that takes the lead in anything and thus furnishes the example.”3  W.E. Vine states that this word “suggests a combination of the meaning of leader with that of the source from whence a thing proceeds.”4

He is also the perfecter of faith. The essential idea of the word “perfecter” is a finisher or “the one who completes,”5 meaning that by His death and resurrection, He has done everything necessary to secure salvation for all.

Some translations render the Greek article as the personal pronoun our in the phrase “perfecter of faith.” While this it is true that Jesus is the perfecter of our faith, the context may actually be referring to what has just been discussed in chapter 11—the course of life that is dictated by faith.6 This is the run of faith outlined in verse 1 which depicts a vibrant and active faith as exhibited by those mentioned in chapter 11, from Adam to Christ. It is this type of faith which we are to emulate while we rely upon Christ to see us to the finish line of our race.

The translation of the next phrase, “for the joy that was set before Him”, wrongly implies a reason He endured the humiliation of the cross. Note that the word for is the Greek word anti, the preposition of substitution meaning in place of or instead of.7 What this means is that at the time of His Incarnation, Jesus chose to endure the humiliation of the cross instead of experiencing the joy that was set before Him. Before explaining what this joy refers to, note that just as the Lord Jesus had a joy set before Him, we have a race set before us. This phrase set before is one word in the Greek meaning to set before someone a goal or destination.8 Our race set before us has a goal to serve God; Jesus had a destination set before Him. His destination is known theologically as His eternal session—His rightful place in eternity of sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. This is the joy that Our Lord temporarily postponed so that He could instead provide our eternal life.

The writer of Hebrews now declares that Christ endured the death of the cross. The gospel accounts relate all that He had to undergo: the betrayal (Matthew 26:47-56); the humiliating and unjust trials (Matthew 26:57-27:14); the scourging (Matthew 27:26; John 19:1); the ridicule of the Roman garrison and the Jews (Matthew 27:27-30); the bearing of His cross to Calvary (Matthew 27:31-34); the horrendous death of crucifixion (John 19:16-37). There is a false assumption that Jesus fell 3 times on His way to Calvary, but this is merely a tradition that has no Scriptural evidence. He never fell—he carried on completing His destiny.

He also despised the shame. This word “despise” doesn’t mean exactly how we use the word, referring to something that we hate or dislike intensely. Here the Greek word means to care nothing for, disregard, be unafraid of.9 Jesus disregarded the shame and humiliation of the suffering—He never demonstrated bitterness or animosity. We see that He was indifferent to it because He never complained or cursed those who persecuted Him. Peter confirms this:

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. (1 Peter 2:21–23)

Why? Because He knew and accepted the Father’s will for Him. And as a result, He finished His work and is now sitting down forever, at the right hand throne of God.

However, we are not to sit down during our present run of faith. Our reward will come after we depart from this earthly home to be at home with our Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). So in the meantime we are to continue to fix our eyes on Jesus, our example of endurance and determination for our run of faith.

Fourth Directive

The fourth command follows the idea of fixing our eyes on Jesus, considering Him and what He had to endure. The word “consider” means to do so by way of comparison. We need to recognize that Christs’ sufferings were far greater than anything we may encounter. And in spite of His tremendous suffering and ultimate death on the cross He never contemplated giving up and conceding defeat. This would have been disobedience to the plan of God for His life.

By His example of endurance, the believer should be encouraged to carry on the run of faith and not to become fatigued and exhausted—recognizing that our vitally needed strength comes from the power of His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9). This is what the apostle Paul prayed:

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith... (Ephesians 3:16–17a)

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[1] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 10. 214.

[2] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 10.426.

[3] Wuest, 10.215.

[4] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.45.

[5] Vine, W. E. (1996). Collected Writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Hebrews 12:2.

[6] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G5051.

[7] Zodhiates, G473.

[8] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 420.

[9] Arndt, et.al., p.707.

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi

RUN YOUR OWN RACE, PART I: HEBREWS 12:1

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 

Having just concluded chapter 11 with a list of Biblical heroes, the writer1 describes them as a “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us. They are surrounding us figuratively, meaning that their testimony “speaks to us from all sides and in countless ways.”2 We would do well to recognize the important witness which they provide us: the example of the strength and genuineness of their faith—testifying to the efficacy of the faith way of salvation and victory.3 The writer proceeds with a series of directives which are timeless and have great application for us today.

First Directive

We are once and for all time to “lay aside every encumbrance”. Note that ‘every’ implies that there may be many impediments or obstructions which are possibly distracting us in our walk of faith. The writer is using the imagery of a runner who needs to shed extra weight in order to run effectively. For believers to emulate the faithful lives of the past heroes of the faith, our lives need to be continuously evaluated to identify that which impedes us from centering our lives on Christ (cf. Romans 12:2). It is usually the details of life (i.e. work, family, entertainment, etc.) which are the main distractions that will hinder a consistent walk of faith.

Also, we are to lay aside “the sin which so easily entangles us.” The word sin in the original Greek is not accompanied by an article, which means it is referring to one individual sin rather than various sins.4 Some interpreters view this sin as a particular personal sin. But the Greek is clear, along with the context, that the sin specifically refers to the lack of faith in critical circumstances, in contrast to the faith exhibited by the witnesses in chapter 11. The writer of Hebrews maintains that “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”5 Thus, the lack of faith is tantamount to a failure to trust in God. Dr. Chafer identifies this lack of faith as unbelief:

Unbelief appears as the one and only “besetting [entangling] sin,” which sin is universal. Men do not have individual and varied besetting sins. Each person is characterized by his failure to believe God (note Hebrews 12:1-2, where the one reference to “the sin which doth so easily beset us” is set over against that faith of which Jesus is the Author and Finisher).6

The phrase “which so easily entangles us” is one word in the Greek. It means encompassing, “easily ensnaring, constricting, obstructing.”7 The Latin translation of the Bible (The Vulgate) renders this phrase: the sin standing around us. The Greek grammarian A.T. Robertson observes:

Probably this is the true idea here, “the easily encompassing (or surrounding) sin”...reminds one of the ring of wild beasts in the jungle that encircle the camp-fire at night each ready to pounce upon a careless victim.8

Therefore, this sin of unbelief is like an impenetrable enclosure—corralling in and preventing the believer from an effective walk of faith.

Second Directive

“Let us run with endurance” is a command to action. One may be corralled in by sin and still be standing, maybe even still reading the Bible. But this produces a false sense of accomplishment. For there is a time for standing and seeing the acts of God:

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today” (Exodus 14:13a)

And there is a time for action, for doing, for after salvation is secured it is time to actively develop our walk of faith. And even then, the writer states that it should be, as it were, a run of faith!

Our run should be characterized by endurance. The meaning of this word is steadfastness. What it means to be steadfast is to have firm resolve and be unwavering in purpose, loyalty, or tenacity. MacArthur adds that:

Endurance is the steady determination to keep going, regardless of the temptation to slow down or give up.9

Olympic runners gain their endurance by healthy nutrition, hydration and consistent training. We believers likewise have need of essential fuels for spiritual endurance to run our own race. Believers have two sources: First, the Scriptures. The Apostle Paul’s encouragement to Timothy has great application for us today. Paul instructed him to continue in what he had learned from God’s Word because it contains the wisdom leading to salvation. Paul concluded why this source is essential for running our race:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

It becomes imperative that the believer securely absorb the principle doctrines of His Word into their mentality (cf. Romans 12:2) so that objective analysis and decisions can be made in every moment of life.

The second power source: the indwelling Holy Spirit. Each believer has a particular spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; cf. Romans 12:6ff; Ephesians 4:11ff). Scripture emphatically states that the “Spirit works all these” gifts, meaning that He accomplishes this through us. He utilizes our knowledge of doctrine to enable us to fulfill the objective God has for our own run of faith.  

The believer should firmly resolve that nothing stand in the way of advancing in the Christian life. This race which is being portrayed by the writer of Hebrews is not a race competing against another believer. For the Greek word for race is agon from which we get our English word agony. This race entails conflict, strife and contention. It is a race featuring both a race with a finish line and many individual races—comprising the sequence of the events of life. And during this run of faith there will be the potential for much strife and struggle. But Paul warns us:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

But what must not be ignored is that the believer is also susceptible to “the inward conflict of the soul”10, becoming entangled by sin. Paul instructs believers to “Run in such a way that you may win” (1 Corinthians 9:24). And he provides us with the “how-to” in order to win the race:

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:26–27)

This race is the believer’s run of faith which has been set before us. It is the same race for all believers: to live the Spirit controlled life of faith which enables us to hurdle all of the obstacles and struggles with the worldly forces and the inward conflicts of life. And the end results of the witness of our faith will be to glorify Our Lord and the advancement of the gospel to influence others to accept Christ as Savior.

Let us be of the same winning mentality as the Apostle Paul:

Holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. (Philippians 2:16)

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[1] There is no definite identification of who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews.

[2] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 10.424.

[3] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 10.213.

[4] “A qualitative noun often has in view one individual rather than the class as a whole.” Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 244.

[5] Hebrews 11:6

[6] Chafer, L.S. (1976). Systematic Theology. Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 2.268.

[7] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,  p. 324.

[8] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, Hebrews 12:1.

[9] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Hebrews 12:1.

[10] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.121.

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi