_THE WORK OF CONVERTING SINNERS; ITS CONDITIONS AND REWARDS._
"My brethren, if any among you do err from the truth, and one convert
him, let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error
of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude
of sins."--ST. JAMES v. 19, 20.
St. James has just been speaking of the case of a man who is sick, and
needs the prayers of others for his healing, both in body and soul;
for it may be that the sick man has sins to be repented of as well as
ailments to be cured. This leads naturally enough to the common case
of those who, whether sick in body or not, feel their consciences
burdened by sin. They are to make known their trouble to one or more
of the brethren, in order that efficacious prayers may be offered to
God on their behalf. But these cases do not by any means cover the
whole ground. Besides those who feel and make known their bodily
sickness, and those who feel and make known their spiritual sickness,
in order that their fellow Christians may pray to God for their
healing, there is the common case of those who either do not feel, or
if they feel do not confess, that their souls are sick unto death.
There are many who have left the path of life, and are going steadily,
and perhaps rapidly, to destruction, who are ignorant of their piteous
condition; and there are others who are aware of their peril, but are
either too hardened to desire any serious change, or too proud to own
their condition to others and ask their help towards recovery. Are
such unhappy persons to be left to themselves, and allowed to go on
their way to perdition, for want of the aid which they are too
insensate or to haughty to ask?
Certainly not, says the writer of this Epistle. The reclaiming of such
sinners is one of the noblest tasks which a Christian can undertake;
and the successful accomplishment of it is fraught with incalculable
blessings, the thought of which ought to move us to undertake such
work. To save one immortal soul from eternal death is worth the labour
of a lifetime. If to lead one soul astray is to share the devil's work
and incur guilt to which a violent death would be preferable (Matt.
xviii. 6; Mark ix. 42; Luke xvii. 2), to lead one soul back from death
is to share Christ's work (2 Cor. vi. 1) by blotting out from God's
sight the sins which cry for punishment.
We shall obtain a clearer view of the meaning of St. James in these
concluding verses of his Epistle if we begin with the last words of
the passage, and from them work back to what precedes.
"Shall cover a multitude of sins." Whose sins? Not the sins of him who
converts the erring brother. This view, which is perhaps the one which
most readily occurs to those who merely listen to the passage as it is
read in church, but have never studied it, may safely be rejected,
although it has the sanction of Erasmus and to some extent also of the
Venerable Bede. There are two reasons, each of which would suffice to
condemn this explanation, and which taken together are almost
unanswerable. (1) Nowhere else in Scripture do we find any such
doctrine, that a man may cover his own sins by inducing another sinner
to repent. On the contrary, it is one of the terrible possibilities
which attend the work of the ministry that a man may preach
successfully to others, and yet himself be a castaway (1 Cor. ix. 27),
and may move many hearts, while his own remains as hard as the nether
millstone. It is altogether misleading to quote Matt. vi. 14 in
connexion with this passage. There Christ says, "If ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." What
has that to do with converting sinners from their sins? Is "Forgive,
that ye may be forgiven," even parallel to "_Convert_, that ye may be
forgiven"? It is very far indeed from being equivalent to it. The
exact parallel would be, "Convert, that ye may be converted;" and
where in either the Old or the New Testament do we find any such
teaching as that? What we _do_ find is the converse of it: "Be
converted, that ye may convert. Cast out first the beam out of thine
own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of
thy brother's eye" (Matt. vii. 5). And this brings us to the other
reason why this interpretation ought to be set aside. (2) We cannot
suppose that St. James would contemplate, not merely as a possible
case, but as the normal condition of things, that a Christian would
undertake the task of converting others while his own conscience was
burdened with a multitude of sins. He no doubt assumed, and meant his
readers to assume, that before taking this very glorious, but also
very difficult work upon themselves, Christians would at least have
repented of their own sins, and thus have won the assurance that they
were covered and forgiven. As we have seen, St. James shows an
intimate personal knowledge of the teaching of Christ, and especially
of that portion of it which is contained in the Sermon on the Mount.
It is difficult to believe that any one who was acquainted with the
fundamental principle involved in the saying just quoted, about the
mote and the beam, would end his exhortations to the Church with a
declaration which, according to the view of Erasmus and others, would
mean that it is precisely those who have a beam in their own eye who
should endeavour to convert sinners from the error of their ways, for
in this way they may get the beam removed, or at least overlooked.
It is the sins of the converted sinner that are covered when a brother
has had the happiness of converting him. The saying "cover sins" is a
proverbial one, and seems to have been common among the Jews.
St. Peter also makes use of it (1 Peter iv. 8); and this is one of the
points which make some persons think that the writer of this Epistle
had seen that of St. Peter, and others that St. Peter had seen this
one (see above, p. 59). The source of the saying appears to be Prov.
x. 12, "Hatred stirreth up strifes: but _love covereth all
transgressions_." It is, however, by no means certain that St. James
is consciously quoting this saying, although his evident fondness for
the sapiential books of Scripture would incline us to think that he is
doing so. But the Septuagint of the passage in Proverbs has a
different reading: "Friendship shall cover those who love not strife."
A similar expression to the one before us occurs twice in the Psalms:
"Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people; Thou hast covered all
their sin" (lxxxv. 2): "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered" (xxxii. 1). The fact that the phrase occurs so
frequently renders it impossible for us to determine the precise
passage which suggested the use of the words in this place. (See note
at the end of this chapter.)
The statement that the converted sinner had "a multitude of sins"
which are covered by his returning from "the error of his way" shows
us plainly what is meant by "the error of his way" and by his "erring"
or "being led astray[100] from the truth." St. James is evidently not
thinking of purely dogmatic error, about which his Epistle is almost,
if not entirely, silent. It is conviction as expressed in _conduct_
with which he deals throughout. As we have seen again and again, the
evils which he denounces are those of a sinful life: with the evils of
erratic speculation he does not deal at all. Quite in harmony,
therefore, with the practical character of the Epistle, we find that
with him to "err from the truth" means the apostasy that is involved
in a life of sin. "Of His own will God brought us forth by _the word
of truth_, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures"
(i. 18); and those who allow themselves to be seduced into sinful
courses dishonour their Divine parentage and desert their Father's
home. To recover such from the path of destruction is the blessed work
to which St. James wishes to incite and encourage his readers.
It is important to recognize the fact that it is the _lives_ of
notorious _sinners_, and not the _views_ of those who _differ from
us_, that we are urged to correct. The latter interpretation is not an
uncommon one. The expression "err from the truth" seems at first sight
to countenance it; and to many of us the work of winning over others
to accept our religious opinions is much more congenial employment
than that of endeavouring to reclaim the profligate. But the duty to
which St. James here exhorts us is one of universal obligation. It is
one which every Christian must recognize, and according to his
opportunities perform; and it is one which every one, however
ignorant, simple, and insignificant he may be, is able in some measure
to fulfil. But comparatively few of us are qualified to deal with the
erroneous opinions of others. Not infrequently those which we think to
be erroneous are nearer the truth than those which we hold ourselves.
Even where this is not the case, the errors may be much less hurtful
than we suppose, because, with happy inconsistency, men allow the
goodness of their hearts to direct their conduct, rather than the
erratic convictions of their heads. And again, our efforts to change
the erroneous opinions of others may do more harm than good, for it is
much more easy to unsettle than to establish. We may take away a
plank, without being able to supply an ark; and an inadequate or even
faulty principle is better than no principle at all. The man who
endeavours to act up to erroneous convictions is in a much healthier
state than the man who has lost all convictions whatever. And this is
the danger which always lies before us when we attempt to win others
over from sincere and steadfast beliefs which seem to us to be untrue.
We may succeed in shaking these beliefs; but it by no means follows
that we shall be equally successful in giving them better beliefs in
exchange for them. We may accomplish no more than the miserable result
of having convinced them that in religion everything is uncertain.
Of course there are times when it is our duty to do what we can to
bring others over to opinions which we are persuaded are much sounder
and safer than those which they at present hold; but such times are
very much less frequent than many of us are inclined to believe. It is
obviously our duty to undertake this difficult task when other people
consult us as to their religious convictions; but the mere fact that
we know what their convictions are, and that we hold them to be
perilously unsound, does not establish a right on our part to attempt
to change them. And as regards the passage before us, it is quite
clear, both from the context and from the tenour of the whole Epistle,
that the rare occasions on which we are under the obligation of
endeavouring to convert others to our own ways of thinking are not the
occasions to which St. James refers in these concluding sentences of
his letter.
The duty of reclaiming the lost grows out of the condition of
brotherhood which is assumed all through the Epistle as being the
relation which exists between those who are addressed. This is
manifestly the case here. "My _brethren_, if any among _you_ do err
from the truth." If it be right to clothe and feed the naked and
hungry brother, to pray for the sick brother, and for those who
confess their faults to us, much more must it be right to do all that
is possible to bring back from the way of death those who are walking
in it, to convert them, turn them right round, and induce them to go
in the opposite direction. To believe in God, to believe that we are
His children, and yet to act as if the bodies and souls of others, who
are equally His children, are in no degree in our keeping, and that
their condition is no concern of ours--this is indeed to have that
faith which, being apart from works, is dead.
How is the conversion of the erring brother to be effected? St. James
gives no explicit directions, but leaves all matters of detail to the
discretion of the worker. Yet he does not leave us altogether without
guidance as to what are the best methods. One of these is intimated by
what immediately precedes, and the other by the general import of the
letter. These two efficacious means for the conversion of sinners are,
not rebuke or remonstrance, not exhortation or advice, not anger or
contempt, but--_prayer_ and _good example_. It is by prayer that the
sick may be restored to health; it is by prayer that sinners who
confess their sins may be healed; and it is by prayer that sinners,
who as yet will not confess and repent, may be won over to do so. And
here the appropriateness of the example of Elijah becomes evident.
Elijah was a prophet, and he knew that when he prayed for drought and
for rain he was praying for what was in accordance with the will of
God; and it is such prayers that are sure of fulfilment. We are not
prophets, and when we pray for changes of weather we cannot be sure
that what we ask is in accordance with God's will. All that we can do
is to submit humbly to His will, and to beg that, so far as they are
in harmony with it, our desires may be granted. But when we pray for
the conversion of sinners we are in the same position as Elijah. We
know from the outset that we are praying for something which it is His
will to grant, if only the rebellious wills of impenitent sinners do
not prove insuperable: for He forces no one to be converted; He will
have voluntary service, or none at all. When, therefore, we ask Him
for the assistance of His Holy Spirit in bringing back sinners from
the error of their ways, we may have the greatest confidence that we
are desiring that which He would have us desire, and are uniting our
wills to His. This, then, is one great instrument for the conversion
of our erring brethren--the _prayer of faith_, which can remove
mountains of sin out of God's sight, by bringing the sinner, who has
piled them up during years of sinning, to confess, and repent, and be
forgiven.
The case of St. Monica, praying for the conversion of her sinful and
heretical son Augustine, will occur to many as a beautiful
illustration of the principle here indicated. He himself tells us of
it in his immortal _Confessions_ (III. xi., xii. 20, 21); how that for
years, especially from his nineteenth to his twenty-eighth year, he
went on seduced and seducing, deceived and deceiving, in various
lusts; and how his mother continued to pray for him. "And her prayers
entered into Thy presence; and yet Thou didst leave me to wallow
deeper and deeper in that darkness." Then she went to a certain
bishop, and entreated him to reason with her son; but he declined,
saying that the time for that had not yet come. "Leave him alone for a
time; only pray to God for him." But she was not satisfied, and
continued to implore him with tears that he would go and see
Augustine, and try to move him. At which he somewhat lost patience,
and sent her away, saying, "Go, leave me, and a blessing go with thee:
it is impossible that the son of such tears should perish." Which
answer, as she often told her son afterwards, she accepted as if it
were a voice from heaven; and all Christendom knows how her prayer was
heard. He himself attributed all that was good in him to his mother's
tears and prayers.
The other great instrument in accomplishing this blessed work is a
_good example_. A holy life is the best sermon, the most effectual
remonstrance, the strongest incentive, the most powerful plea. Without
it words are of little avail; with it words are scarcely necessary.
This is the instrument which St. James throughout this Epistle
commends. Not words, but works; not professions, but deeds; not fair
speeches, but kind acts (i. 19, 22, 27; ii. 1, 15, 16, 26; iii. 13;
iv. 17). Nothing that we can say will ever make such impression upon
others as what we _do_ and what we _are_. Eloquence, reasoning,
incisiveness, pathos, persuasiveness, all have their uses, and may be
of real service in the work of winning back sinners from the error of
their ways, but they are as nothing compared with holiness. It is when
deep calls to deep, when life calls to life, when the life of manifest
devotion at once shames and attracts the life of flagrant sin, that
spirits are moved, that the loathing for vice and the longing for
virtue are excited. The man whose own habitual conduct most often
makes other men ashamed of themselves is the man who not only has the
best of all qualifications for winning souls to God, but is actually
accomplishing this work, even when he is not consciously attempting
it. And such a one, when he does attempt it, will have a large measure
of the requisite wisdom. The earnestness of his own life will have
given him a knowledge of his own heart, and that is the best of all
keys to a knowledge of the hearts of others.
There is something fatally wrong about us if we have no strong desire
to bring back sinners to God. We cannot be Christ's disciples without
having it. The man who would go to heaven _alone_ is already off the
road thither. The man whose one consuming thought is to save his _own_
soul has not yet found out the best means of saving it. The surest
road to personal happiness is to devote oneself to promoting the
happiness of others, and the best way to secure one's own salvation is
to devote oneself to the Divine work of helping forward the salvation
of others. Let the fear of giving scandal to others keep us from sin;
let the hope of being a help to others encourage us in well-doing; and
let our prayers be more for others than for ourselves. As Calvin says,
on this passage, "We must take heed lest souls perish through our
sloth whose salvation God puts in a manner in our hands. Not that we
can bestow salvation on them, but that God by our ministry delivers
and saves those who seem otherwise to be nigh destruction."
What is the reward which St. James holds out to us to induce us to
undertake the work of converting a sinner? He offers nothing; he
promises nothing. The work itself is its own reward. To win back an
erring brother is a thing so blessed, so glorious, so rich in
incalculable results, that to have been enabled to accomplish it is
reward enough--is a prize sufficient to induce any true hearted
Christian to work for it. It is no less than the "saving of a soul
from death;" and who can estimate what that means? It is the "covering
of a multitude of sins."
There is no need to make this last phrase include the sins which the
man would otherwise have committed had he not been converted. Sins not
committed cannot be covered. It is quite true that by conversion a man
is saved from sins into which he would certainly have fallen; and this
is a very happy result, but it is not the result pointed out by
St. James. The sins which have been committed during the daily walk
towards destruction are what he has in his mind; and they are not one
or two here and there, but a _multitude_. To aid a brother to get rid
of these by confession and repentance is an end that amply repays all
the trouble that we can take in attaining to it.
"But the number of renegades is so enormous; the multitude of
impenitent sinners is so overwhelming: how is it possible to convert
them?" St. James says nothing about converting multitudes; he speaks
only of converting _one_. "If any (ἐάν τις) among you do err from
the truth, and one convert _him_." To bring over _one_ soul from
eternal death to eternal life may be within the power of any one
earnest Christian. Is each one of us making the attempt? Are we making
our lives as beneficent, as sympathetic, as unselfish as our
opportunities admit of? Do we give a generous, or even a moderate
share of encouragement to the numerous agencies which are at work to
lessen the temptations and increase the means of grace for those who
are living in sin, and to help and encourage those who, in however
feeble a way, are making a fight against it?
"Know ye,[101] that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of
sins." With these words St. James abruptly takes leave of those whom
he addresses. The letter has no formal conclusion; not because it is
unfinished, or because the conclusion has been lost, but because
St. James wishes by means of a sudden close to leave his last words
ringing in the hearts of his readers. In this respect the Epistle
reminds us of the First Epistle of St. John. "Guard yourselves from
the idols" is the only farewell which the last of the Apostles has for
his "little children;" and a very summary statement of what the
conversion of one sinner means is the farewell of St. James to his
"brethren." In both cases it is the abruptness of emphasis, as if the
writer said, "If all else that I have written be forgotten, at least
remember this."
How beautiful to find one noble soul, and enter into frequent
communion with it! how happy to be the means of preserving it from
defilement! but most blessed of all to be instrumental in rescuing it
from degradation and destruction! "I say unto you, That there shall be
joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety
and nine righteous persons, which need no repentance."
NOTE.--It is by no means impossible that in the phrase "cover a
multitude of sins" neither St. James is quoting St. Peter, nor
St. Peter St. James, nor either of them quoting Psalms or Proverbs,
but that each of them is reproducing a saying of Christ's which is not
recorded in the Gospels. The phrase occurs in both Clement of Rome
(XLV.) and Clement of Alexandria (_Strom._ I. xxvii.; II. xv.; IV.
xviii.; _Quis Div. Salv._ xxxviii.), in all which places it may be a
quotation from 1 Peter iv. 8. But in one place (_Pædag._ III. xii.) he
seems to give it as a saying of our Lord's, for he couples it with a
saying which is certainly His (Luke xx. 25). Clement's wording is as
follows: "Love, He saith, covereth a multitude of sins; and respecting
citizenship, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God
the things that are God's;" where one and the same "He saith"
(φησί) covers both sayings. In the _Didascalia_ (II. iii.) the
saying is explicitly attributed to Christ: "Because the Lord saith,
Love covereth a multitude of sins." See Resch, _Agrapha;
Aussercanonische Evangelienfragmente_ (Leipzig, 1889), pp. 248, 249.
[100] πλανηθῇ. This aorist passive _may_ have a middle signification,
but it is simpler to allow it to be passive: the man has been led
astray by evil influences, and he is led back by good influences. It
matters not whether we regard him as led astray by sin (Bengel), or
Satan, or wicked companions.
[101] This is probably the true reading.
_THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF ST. JUDE._