Today’s sermon audio can be found on Castbox at 158 “But above All” James 5:12-20.

Our primary text for April 12 was James 5:12-20. For our first reading we read 2 Peter 3:14-18. We read from the close of Peter’s second letter because James also wrote some things … that are hard to understand. So we began by reviewing our hermeneutic. Then we briefly considered some of the interpretive challenges these last nine verses of James present to us. Then we started working through the verses. We plan to continue working through these verses in two weeks.

In verse 12 we looked at the various interpretive issues and the meaning of the positive command to let your yes be yes and your no be no. It seems that James was not prohibiting all taking of oaths. Instead, James is prohibiting the same sort of abuse that Jesus challenged in Matthew 5:33-37. Basically Jesus and James command us to be honest and not to drag God into our dishonesty by means of oaths.

In verse 13 we saw that James is telling us to pray all of the time whether we are facing trials or not and whether we have peace of mind or not. We plan to work through the rest of this paragraph on prayer (13-18) in the near future.

Below I have included more notes than usual to list aspects of our hermeneutic and to list some of the interpretive challenges of these last nine verses of James.

Hermeneutic: presuppositions and method of interpretation.

Protestant Doctrine of Scripture

  • Infallibility
  • Inerrancy
  • Truthfulness
  • Reliability
  • Coherence
  • Clarity
  • Sufficiency
  • Necessity
  • Authority
  • Self-Authentication
  • Illumination

Analogy of Scripture: use clear passages to interpret unclear passages.

Analogy of Faith: use sound doctrine clearly taught in Scripture to guide interpretation of unclear passages.

The Bible Is Literature: Therefore, we should read it just as we would read any other literature (bearing in mind that the Bible is also very different from all other literature).

A Plausible Outline of James 5:12-20

  • Let Your Yes Be Yes (12)
  • Prayer (13-18)
    • Pray Whether Suffering or Cheerful (13)
    • Ask for Prayer If You Are Sick (14-15)
    • Remember the Example of Elijah (16-18)
  • Bring Back Sinners (19-20)

Some Interpretive Issues in James 5:12-20

  • Where does James start his conclusion (12)?
  • What does James mean by the phrase “But above all” (12)?
  • Does James prohibit all taking of oaths (12)?
  • What does James mean by the word “elders” (14)?
  • What is the significance of the phrase “anointing him with oil” (14)?
  • Does the phrase “the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick” mean that we should expect always to be healed if we pray (15)?
  • Does verse 16 also indicate we can always be healed?
  • How does James know that Elijah prayed (17, 18)?
  • How should we interpret verses 19 and 20?

"But above All" James 5:12-20

  1. Some Things Are Hard to Understand (2 Peter 3:14-18)
  2. What Are the Interpretive Issues in James 5:12-20?
  3. Let Your “Yes” Be Yes (5:12)
  4. Let Him Pray, Let Him Sing (5:13)

Scripture References: 2 Peter 3:14-18; James 5:12-20; Matthew 5:33-37; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18; James 1:2-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8;