Verse 15: And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
In this verse, James presents a wonderful promise coupled with a timeless Biblical principle. The promise involves prayer that will restore a believer and the Biblical principle regarding the forgiveness of sin.
The Promise of Prayer
Three important points need clarifications at the start of this verse. The first is the phrase “the prayer offered in faith.” All prayer is offered up to God for either supplication (self-needs) or intercessory needs for others. Here the prayer is obviously offered up for someone who is sick. However, James uses a different Greek word for sick than he does in the previous verse; there he is speaking of physical illness. The word used here appears only one other time in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:3), where it refers to being spiritually weary or fatigued. James most likely is referring here to the weariness or discouragement of a shattered spiritual condition caused by sin, mentioned later in the verse. Therefore, verses 14 and 15 are focusing on both issues—physical and spiritual—and should be regarding in this manner.
The question is: who is praying? Is it the elders? The one who is sick? Or both? If James means both, as I believe he does, then their prayer is to be based on solid Biblical grounds—that is what in faith refers to, the content of doctrine which they possess. The proper Biblical basis for prayer will seek to prioritize that God’s will be realized for the matter at hand. This is what John indicated when he wrote:
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [emphasis added] (1 John 5:14)
For example: If I am sick, I do not simply ask God to heal me and make me feel better. Instead I ask: “Lord, if it is your will and if it somehow will glorify you help me in my infirmity to understand your will at this time of my suffering.” And if it is the elders who are praying, their prayer should be along the same lines. We should not expect divine healing in every situation, there is evidence that “God does not always think it best to heal (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8; 2 Timothy 4:20).”1 R.C.H. Lenski clarifies,
The prayer of such a faith does not act as a charm to produce the recovery. Not does it act by way of autosuggestion like mental healing. The elders are not prayer-healers such as we have today. Nor are they miracle-workers. James writes to many churches, and it is preposterous to think that the elders of all these churches were able to work miracles. The New Testament tells us very much about the elders of the apostolic churches, but nowhere does it ascribe miraculous powers to them.2
Secondly, what does James mean by restore? The New American Standard Bible (the text used in this study) is the only major translation which uses the word restore in this verse instead of save3—and they may be the only one that has it correct. The Greek word sṓzō (σώζω) appears in the New Testament over 100 times and has various meanings. The vast majority of instances it refers to spiritual salvation, but it has a broader meaning: “the act of saving, either from a physically ill condition, or a spiritually evil state.”4 The English word restore has the connotation of repair, recondition, or fix, which correlates with the Greek meaning. In this verse it could mean to restore one’s health or to restore one’s spiritual relationship with the Lord.
Thirdly, James states that “the Lord will raise him up.” It is important to note that it is the Lord Who does the raising up, not the one’s praying. So what does it mean to raise up? The word “raise” may mean to be raised up from a physical sickness or it could be interpreted figuratively to mean to wake up from spiritual apathy or lethargy as used by the Apostle Paul (Romans 13:11; cf. Ephesians 5:14).5 This could apply to a physical illness, but it may refer here to a spiritual condition, as the remainder of the verse suggests.
The Timeless Biblical Principle of Forgiveness
And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
In this passage, James implies the possibility that the believer may have committed sin. If so, sin breaks the fellowship of the believer with his Lord. Scripture reassures us that God has provided the means for the believer to regain this vital fellowship with Him. For when the believer confesses his sin He promises cleansing and forgiveness:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
This is the only remedy to restore fellowship with the Lord. Forgiveness of sin is always based upon the believer confessing their sin to God, never to another person. The Roman Church has claimed in the past that only the priest has the authority to forgive sin. This is a violation of Scripture. For the Apostle Peter declares that all believers are priests:
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5; cf. 2:9, a royal priesthood)
Therefore all believers have the privilege of going directly in prayer to the Lord’s throne of grace to obtain forgiveness and cleansing.
The importance of this issue cannot be over emphasized. When the believer sins, if he disregards or is indifferent to confession of sin he will suffer divine discipline. That is what the Apostle Paul is referring to:
But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31–32)
To “judge ourselves rightly” means to determine if our activities line up with God’s Word. If when doing this we recognize that we have sinned and then confess the sin, we will not be judged and come under divine discipline. Dr. Chafer states that divine discipline “comprehends more than correction for evil; it may include discipline, development, or instruction as its objective as well.”6
The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews quoting Proverbs 3:12 explains that God’s love is the reason behind divine discipline:
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. (Hebrews 12:6)
It is His desire for us to “share His holiness” and to produce “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews, 12:10-11).
It therefore becomes an imperative for believers to know right doctrine that will guide their walk of faith. In this manner they will become mindful of specific sins. And being aware of sin in their life, they will confess it to God to avoid the divine discipline and to carry on with their spiritual development in fellowship with the Lord.
[1] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, p.1974 note.
[2] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 10.664.
[3] The New Living Translation reads: “will make you well.”
[4] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1.110.
[5]Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1453.
[6] Chafer, L.S. (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 6.242.
© 2022 David M. Rossi
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