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Well, as we come to a conclusion 
of James's epistle here, verses 19 and 20 may seem a bit disconnected, 
and it may seem a bit of an odd way for James to end his epistle. However, it is not random. There 
is a particular sort of construction utilized by James in this last 
section that shows us that it's closely joined together. Notice 
in verses 13, 14, and 19, is anyone among you? Verse 13. Verse 14, is anyone among you? Verse 19, if anyone among you? So James is dealing with the 
local church. James is dealing with our responsibilities 
toward one another. As well, if you look at the sort 
of thematic connection between the previous section and this 
section, it ought to be obvious. Verses 14 and 15, we see there 
is sickness with the possibility of sin in the background. The 
specific sickness of sin is treated in verse 16, and the reality 
that persons may be slipping away into sin and death is treated 
here in verses 19 and 20. So in other words, it is connected, 
there is flow, there is rhyme, there is reason, and James wants 
us to receive this word. And in short, we are not only 
to be doers of the word, according to James 1.22, But it ought to 
concern us that our brothers and sisters are also doers of 
the word, not in some legalistic, pharisaic way where we are the 
measuring rod and we hold down everybody that comes into contact 
with us. but rather we ought to be looking 
out for one another. We ought to, in the language 
of the book of Hebrews, exhort one another daily while it is 
called today, lest we be hardened with the deceitfulness of sin. 
We need, in many respects, to be our brother's keeper. We need, 
in many respects, to look out for one another. We need to be 
faithful in order to help brothers and sisters to depart from sin, 
to embrace and hold on to the truth, and to live as God the 
Lord would have them. The whole passage, verses 19 
and 20, is an encouragement. I mean, it may seem a bit discouraging, 
but it is an encouragement. The person who engages in this 
mission of recovery ought to be encouraged. So that's the 
emphasis in verse 20. But we ought to notice first 
the problem of wandering brethren in verse 19, and then, secondly, 
the encouragement to recovering brethren, brethren who go after, 
brethren who seek to recover those who are wandering. But 
note in the first place the problem of wandering brethren. In verse 
19, he says, brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth 
and someone turns him back. Now, there is a view, John MacArthur 
holds this particular view, that James cannot be speaking here 
of a Christian. MacArthur's position is that 
Christians are never called sinners in the New Testament. I would 
argue just the opposite. James calls Christians sinners 
twice in chapter 4 and then here in chapter 5. The fact that this 
particular person is recovered, the fact that this person is 
brought from the error of his way, the fact is that this is 
indeed a professing Christian. It is somebody within the context 
of the local church, somebody among you, not a raw pagan sinner, 
probably not even the one that has no faith whatsoever in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. But most likely, it is a person 
that has made the good confession, has at some time given a good 
evidence or demonstration of that faith in the Lord Jesus, 
and now is departing, wandering from the truth. The reference 
among you indicates it is one in the church, one that has professed 
saving faith. John Gill says, for this is to 
be understood of one who has embraced the Christian religion, 
become a member of a church, and has walked in the path of 
truth and holiness, but now has fallen into error, either in 
principle or in practice or both. Now, note specifically the danger 
involved. Brethren, if anyone among you 
wanders from the truth, You probably hear a lot about the truth in 
this church because the truth is absolutely crucial. It is 
the truth of Christ that differentiates us from unbelievers. We are not 
going to heaven because we're good. We are not going to heaven 
because we obey God's law. We are not going to heaven because 
we are laden with merit. We are going to heaven because 
of Christ. And what brings us into saving 
contact with Christ is faith. grace through faith in the truth 
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. It is truth that is absolutely 
crucial with the Christian or for the Christian. Notice the 
truth and its connection to our practice. Look at what James 
says. The person envisaged in verse 
19 is one who wanders from the truth. Verse 20, let him know 
that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way. So when 
we reject truth or we wander from the truth, it affects the 
way that we live. In other words, truth and conduct 
are inseparably connected. You can see this, say, for instance, 
in 1 Timothy 6. You can turn there. 1 Timothy 
chapter 6. The truth that we believe affects 
our conduct, for good or for ill, if we wander from that truth. 
Notice in 1 Timothy 6.3. He says, if anyone teaches otherwise 
and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness. So you see, the truth that we 
believe, the doctrine that we hold to, accords to godliness. Notice in Titus 1. Titus 1, at 
verse 1, Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus 
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment 
of the truth, which accords with godliness. Now, obviously, this 
is consistent with our Lord's words in the upper room, or on 
the heels of the upper room, when he prays his high priestly 
prayer. Jesus says to the Father, sanctify them by thy truth, thy 
word is truth. In other words, our growth in 
grace, our sanctification, our progress in holiness is directly 
connected to our hold on the truth. We're not holding the 
truth, we're not going to grow in grace. We're not holding the 
truth, we're not going to be holy. We're not holding the truth, 
we're not going to be faithful in our conduct and in our practice. And so James is serious with 
reference to this particular situation. If anyone among you 
wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, turn one more 
place to John's gospel. John chapter eight to hear again 
from our Lord on how important it is to abide in the truth. John 8 at verse 31, Then Jesus 
said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, 
you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, 
and the truth shall make you free. Again, when we consider 
all that the Bible says positively concerning the truth, why is 
it that we are not more diligent in our study of the truth? If 
we see that our safety, our comfort, our blessing, our privilege is 
directly connected to our hold on the truth, why are we not 
in the truth more and more than we are? Verse 33, they answered 
him, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage 
to anyone. How can you say you will be made free? Jesus answered 
them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a 
slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in 
the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if 
the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. The son and truth 
intimately connected there in terms of the believers. Good 
position. Back to James, we see the recovery 
highlighted, and this is an amazing thing. Verse 19, brethren, if 
anyone among you wanders from the truth, so there's the problem 
of wandering brethren, and someone turns him back. It's a real indefinite 
term there. We know the church had elders, 
because if anyone is sick among you, let him call for the elders 
of the church. But here, it's not the elders. 
It's not that particular body of men given charge to govern 
the church and to teach and preach. It's anyone. It's someone. It's 
probably persons that are connected to that individual that is wandering 
from the truth. They don't need to be reported 
to headquarters. They need to be dealt with. They need to be 
talked to. They need to be prayed over. They need to be exhorted 
and encouraged and loved and helped. That is the emphasis 
of James in this particular passage. If anyone among you wanders from 
the truth, and someone, again, not the elders, it could be elders, 
they certainly ought to be doing this also, but if someone turns 
him back, Brethren, be on the lookout, again, not as a Pharisee, 
not as a judge, not as one who is shaking their fingers at everybody 
that is below them on the scale of sanctification, but rather 
if you see somebody that's been absent from church, somebody 
that's been neglectful in their attendance upon the means, somebody 
that isn't living in a manner that is consistent with God's 
holy word. Go to that brother and encourage them, exhort them 
daily while it is called today, lest you be hardened by the deceitfulness 
of sin. This is an everyman responsibility 
in the context of the church. Now, having said that, I'm always 
afraid that after a sermon like this, everybody will run up to 
each other and say, you know, I've noticed this, and you need 
to repent. Don't do that, not at least tonight. 
Send them an email tomorrow. I'm just kidding. Text them. That's a brave way. We'll text 
you and tell you your fault and your sin. You get the point. 
It's not just for elders. The church is more than elders. 
The church is the church. It's the people of God. It's 
the blood bought. It's the redeemed. It's those who have been set 
apart by God's grace for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 
And as a result, we look after one another. We help one another. 
We exhort one another. We encourage one another. We 
seek to recover one another when one starts to wander from the 
truth. Other passages that obviously 
speak to this, Matthew 18, if your brother sins against you, 
what are you supposed to do? Talk about him, avoid him, offer 
him up for prayer at the next prayer, no, go to him. Tell him 
his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have 
gained your brother. Galatians chapter six, you can 
turn there because it not only specifies the responsibility, 
but it also gives reasons for it. Galatians 6.1, brethren, 
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual 
restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. A spirit of gentleness 
ought to be part of the way that we go to one another. And then 
note, he says, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Now, 
whatever he means, this much we absolutely positively know, 
that none of us are sinlessly perfect. None of us go to an 
erring brother as if we were Jesus. We go as one that is riddled 
with our own sin, with our own tendency and proclivity to temptation. But we come in a spirit of gentleness, 
seeking to restore the brother who has been overtaken by a particular 
trespass. So back to James, we see that 
this man goes a wandering from the truth. We see that someone, 
anyone within the context of the local church, seeks to bring 
him back. Someone turns him back. What 
should we infer or imply he is being turned back to? If the 
danger was he wandered from the truth, what ought to be our goal 
as recovery-minded brethren? To turn them back to the truth. It's not our therapy. It's not 
our counseling. It's not our sort of experience 
that is going to fix our brother. It's the truth. Now, certainly 
we can open Scripture and read Scripture to them. We can illustrate 
with anecdotes from our lives. That might be helpful. But it's 
the truth, ultimately, that is going to help the brother who 
has wandered from the truth. So that's the problem of wandering 
brethren. Notice, secondly, the encouragement 
to recovering brethren in verse 20. He says, let him know that 
he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a 
soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. He wants the recovering 
brother to know he's incentivizing us is what he's doing. He's incentivizing 
us to action. He is saying that when you engage 
in this particular activity, I want you to know what the ramifications 
are. I want you to know what the blessings 
are. I want you to understand all 
too well what's in view when you go on this mission of recovering 
a wandering brother. This is a beautiful thing. He 
says let him know now. There's some that would interpret 
this as a command know this Others as an indicative here. Let him 
know either way. The end is the same We are to 
know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will 
save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins so the exhortation 
the Incentivization and now specifically the content he says you will 
save a soul from death Now, we are reformed in this church. 
We often celebrate the reality that God saves sinners. We often 
rehearse Matthew 121. It is He who will save His people 
from their sins. Now James is saying or suggesting 
to us that we have the power to save a soul instrumentally, 
not efficiently. God saves sinners. God chooses 
to use means. 1 Corinthians 121, we read, for 
since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not 
know God, it pleased God through what? Through the foolishness 
of the message preached to save those who believe. In other words, 
God doesn't just snap his cosmic fingers and people pass from 
death to life. God has raised up in the first 
place apostles. God sent them out to Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, to the end of the earth to make disciples and 
plant local churches. From thence, he raises up elders 
in the context of the local church. He saves multitudes of sinners, 
knowing that those multitudes of sinners are going to go witness, 
and they're going to testify, and they're going to point sinners 
to Jesus Christ. It's in that way that we save 
a soul. By directing persons back to 
the truth of God's Holy Word, that's where their safety lies. 
We don't have the power to change the heart, but we certainly do 
direct them to the one who has the power to change the heart. 
We, faithfully laboring to recover wandering brethren, pointing 
them to the truth, it is said that we will save a soul, and 
notice the stakes involved from death. You see, wandering from 
the truth is not a good thing. I don't think any of us would 
say it is a good thing, especially those who have been here for 
any amount of time. Again, we put a lot of premium on truth. 
I don't think anybody would say at the back of the church, it's 
OK to wander from the truth. I really don't think any of us 
would say that. But I'm not sure we felt the 
gravity and the weightiness of wandering from the truth. You 
will save a soul from death. That's what's in view here. This 
mission of recovery is most important. And this ought to motivate us 
to be on the lookout, to be helpful to our brothers and sisters. 
As I said, God saves and he does so through means. Matthew Poole 
said, the work is his, Ephesians 2.10, but often is ascribed to 
the instruments acting under him and using means appointed 
by him and by which he works. John Gill says, in terms of the 
salvation rendered, not efficiently, but instrumentally. And then 
notice in 1 Timothy chapter 4, this is the way we ought to understand 
Paul's word to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4 at verse 16. Paul, 
writing, to Timothy says, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, 
continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself 
and those who hear you. Again, Paul's theology does not 
permit the interpretation that Timothy, in Ephesus, has the 
power to save sinners. Paul made it his aim to preach 
Christ and Him crucified. Paul made it his aim to preach 
the centrality of Christ. And what Paul knows is that Jesus 
alone saves. So for Paul to employ this language, 
and for us to get hung up and say, but wait a minute, we can't 
save people. We ought never to think Paul 
or James meant that we could. We are being instruments in the 
hand of our Father. to go after a wandering brother, 
to point him back to the truth so that his soul will be safe 
rather than suffer death. And then notice, with reference 
to the incentives, he says, we'll save a soul from death and cover 
a multitude of sins. Isn't that beautiful? Kind of goes along with Peter 
stood up. Isn't our God beneficent? Isn't he gracious? You got this 
wandering brother that departs from the truth. You've got a 
recovering brother that goes after him and points him back 
to the truth. And what do we find when he comes back? His 
sins, a multitude of them, are covered. Again, not by the recovering 
brother, but through the blood of Jesus Christ. A reminder, 
a refresher, a pointer to that reality represented to us, say, 
in Psalm 130, verses 3 and 4. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark 
iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness 
with thee that thou mayest be feared. The recovering brother 
might point him to that. Or Psalm 25, the logic of Psalm 
25 verse 11 is absolutely incredible. For your name's sake, pardon 
my iniquity, for it is great. Think about that. Go to your 
bank tomorrow and say, can you please loan me money because 
my poverty is great? What are they going to say? Absolutely, 
positively, 100%, no. You've got to have money in order 
to borrow money. You can't just borrow money if 
you're poor. Well, this is precisely the psalmist's 
argument in Psalm 25. Pardon my iniquity. Why? For 
it is great. See, the recovering brother is 
going to point the wandering brother to that text. The recovering 
brother is going to point the wandering brother to 1 John 1, 
9. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive 
us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You see the 
benefits involved, the incentives involved for the recovering brother. If you go after the wandering 
one, you point him back to the truth, you save his soul from 
death, and you will see him receive a multitude of blessing from 
God. Vis-a-vis, his sins will be covered. Listen to Manton. This is a beautiful 
statement. Just going back for a moment 
to another Mantonism in James chapter 1. Look at James 1 at 
verse 17. It says, Every good and perfect 
gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights. 
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. There, 
Manton comments, but God doth not change. There is no wrinkle 
upon the brow of eternity. The arm of mercy is not dried 
up, nor do his bowels of love waste and spend themselves. Now 
back to James 5.20. Listen to Manton concerning this 
covering of a multitude of sins. He says, for these 6,000 years, 
God hath been multiplying pardons, and yet free grace is not tired 
and grown weary. I think that's a great morsel 
for a sinful soul. We need to be reminded of that. 
For these 6,000 years, God hath been multiplying pardons, and 
yet free grace is not tired and grown weary. Now again, that's 
not given so that we'll go out and sin, that grace may abound. 
But when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even 
Jesus Christ the righteous. The recovering brother is going 
to point the wandering brother to that reality in 1 John chapter 
2. You see, there is incentive here 
for the people of God to look out for their brothers, their 
sisters, their husbands, their wives, their children, their 
parents. Brethren, in the family is probably 
the first place we ought to be applying this particular passage. 
Who knows the spiritual declension of a husband or wife better than 
the husband or wife? Who knows of a decline in their 
spirituality or a desire for the things of God better than 
a wife or a husband with reference to their spouse? Again, not judgmentally, 
in a spirit of gentleness, seeking to restore, not seeking to browbeat, 
not seeking to, you know, take the rubber hose and beat them 
down, but to encourage and exhort them so that they will indeed 
be recovered. So, in sum, James's point is 
that we demonstrate concern for others. Douglas Moos says, not 
only should the readers of James do the words he has written, 
they should be deeply concerned to see that others do them also. It is by sharing with James the 
conviction that there is indeed an eternal death, to which the 
way of sin leads, that we shall be motivated to deal with sin 
in our lives and in the lives of others. John Calvin comments 
on the blessing involved in this mission of recovery. He says, 
nothing is better or more desirable than to deliver a soul from eternal 
death. I think we'd all agree with that. 
You know, there's a certain joy in commending a new restaurant 
to a brother or a sister and say, you know, when you're in 
such and such a town, visit that buffet, it's quite delicious. 
Doesn't compare to saving a soul from death, does it? What ought 
to drive us and motivate us? What ought to fire us up? It 
ought to be that we see wandering brethren turned back. He says, 
and this is what he does who restores an erring brother to 
the right way. Therefore, a work so excellent 
ought by no means to be neglected. Thus our exposition, I want to 
conclude with a few thoughts. First, we ought to appreciate 
the danger of defection from God. Not appreciate, like admire 
it, but understand it. If you want more on this particular 
theme, I suggest the book of Hebrews. Two chapters in particular, 
chapter 6, chapter 10, deals with what's called apostasy, 
a full defection from God. And typically apostasy doesn't 
happen overnight. Persons don't go to church on 
Sunday and then wake up on a Monday having committed apostasy. It 
is typically gradual. It is marked by a wandering from 
the truth. It is marked by a lack of carefulness, 
a lack of discipline, a lack of consistency. Another passage 
is 1 John 2, 19. They went out from us, but they 
were not of us, because if they had been of us, they would not 
have gone out from us. There is such a thing as apostasy, 
and the people of God need to take heed. We need to guard our 
hearts. We need to guard our minds. In 
terms of the manifestation of a defection from God, the text 
is clear. Verse 19, if anyone among you 
wanders from the truth, That's the manifestation. That's the 
evidence. That is a demonstration that 
somebody is on the road to defection from God. Now, I would suggest 
there are some contributing factors to this. Some contributing factors. Why is it? We ask the question, 
do persons wander from the truth? I don't have an exhaustive list, 
but I have three suggestions that we ought to contemplate. 
I would suggest in the first place, laziness. Why would persons 
wander from the truth? Because they don't want to spend 
time in the truth. So laziness might be a contributing 
factor to defection from God. Another one is indifference. Again, we don't see the gravity, 
we don't see the weightiness, we don't see the value, and we 
don't prize truth as we ought. We are indifferent to it. And 
then there's just good old-fashioned, not good in the good sense, but 
sinfulness. Sinfulness. It's often the case 
that persons want to sin. It's often the case that persons 
want to indulge a particular lust. It's often the case that 
persons want to have their secret pet sin, and one of the things 
that they will not do while they're indulging that particular sin 
is to stay in the truth. Because you know as well as I 
do, the darkness hates the light. The cockroach, as soon as the 
light is flipped on, runs from the kitchen. Not my kitchen. 
Thankfully, we never had them. I haven't seen a cockroach here 
in BC. I'm sure they might be somewhere, 
but they're a problem in Southern California. And one of the things 
that happens, you flip the light on and the cockroach runs. Well, 
people that are indulging sin, they don't want truth. It's a 
light that shines upon their waywardness and their wickedness. 
Brethren, take this to heart, the contributing factors. Again, 
just three suggestions, laziness, indifference, sinfulness. As 
well, we ought to appreciate that it's subtle. It's subtle. He wanders from the truth. I 
love the language that's employed here. He wanders. He doesn't 
run from the truth. He doesn't do a 100-yard dash 
from the truth. He doesn't utterly abandon the 
truth. He doesn't say, no truth. He 
wanders from that. You get that, right? This idea 
of wandering. You see your kids sometimes sort 
of wandering aimlessly. You say, go clean your room. 
And they sort of wander from place to place without going 
to the room. I mean, they didn't run out the 
front door. They didn't say, no way, I'm not cleaning my room. 
But they wander. They were misguided. They were 
lacking sort of direction until your swift judgment fell upon 
them and directed them back to their room. They wander. See, 
again, I don't think this happens overnight. I don't think wanderers 
from the truth all of a sudden wake up as apostates. Turn to 
one more passage in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 2. 
Different verb, different word is utilized, but the same sort 
of concept here. Hebrews chapter two, notice, 
therefore, verse one, we must give the more earnest heed to 
the things we have heard, lest we, what, drift away. Not absolutely 
apostatized, not absolutely defact, not absolutely run out the front 
door, lest we drift away. And if you notice, these two 
are enjoined. These two are inextricably tied. If we are not giving a more earnest 
heed, then we will be drifting away. See, our Christianity is 
not conducted in a vacuum. If we are not earnestly seeking 
after God, we are drifting away. If we are not earnestly seeking 
after truth, we are wandering from it. That is the exclusive 
position that Hebrews 2.1 sets before us. We must give the more 
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. And we ought to appreciate, with 
reference to the danger of defection from God, the end, the gravity, 
the weightiness, the stakes are high. You will save a soul from 
death. So that's the danger of defection 
from God. Secondly, by way of application, 
the antidote to defection from God. First of all, a recognition 
of the value of truth. If we ought to consider the weightiness 
and the gravity of the stakes in terms of death, as far as 
antidotes go, we ought to recognize the value of the truth. Again, 
we're Reformed, we all believe this, but I think we all need 
to be reminded. This is a defining sort of characteristic of God. 
Psalm 31, the psalmist calls upon the Lord God, and he calls 
Him Lord God of truth. Psalm 138 tells us that Yahweh 
magnifies His word above His name. Now, the name of God is 
supreme in Scripture, isn't it? Jesus taught us to pray in the 
first place, Hallowed be thy name. There's a commandment that 
is given to protecting the name of our Yahweh. But God says that 
He magnifies His Word above His name. We see Jesus define or 
describe to us Himself in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, 
and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. So I would suggest an antidote 
to defection from God is in the first place to recognize the 
value of truth. Secondly, a use of the means 
for the reception of the truth. Now this is where everybody's 
going, okay, here it is again. He's going to nag us into coming 
to church. Precisely. Absolutely positively. I think 
I said many months ago or a year ago I wasn't going to nag anymore. 
I'm going to try not to nag like I used to. If wandering from 
the truth is a bad thing, then be where the truth is preached. 
Be where the truth is in your Bible reading and prayer. Do 
not absent yourselves from the public meetings of Christ's church. 
Do you realize the Puritans that we celebrate, the heroes of the 
faith that we just love, put more emphasis on the corporate 
means of grace than on the private? Now, before you say, well, Butler 
says we don't have to read our Bibles in private anymore. That's 
not what Butler is saying. But there's a particular sermon 
on Psalm 87. Psalm 87 says that Yahweh loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. What's that mean? God doesn't 
hate the dwelling places of Jacob. I'm not saying don't read your 
Bible and pray if I emphasize attendance upon the corporate 
means. But the fact is that Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more 
than all the dwelling places of Jacob. The sermon is that 
public worship is to be preferred over private. Again, this strikes 
us as odd in our hyper-individualistic age. It strikes us as odd that 
anybody would ever say to us, it's absolutely crucial to come 
to church for the reception of the truth. I can do it on my 
own. I have my own Bible. I don't need Christ's church. Now, whether we speak that out, 
whether we verbalize it, whether we actually blog it, that is 
oftentimes sort of an underlying practice in the hearts of God's 
people, at least in North America. The spirit of independence, obviously, 
in the United States of America. There's a spirit of independence 
in Canada as well. We don't think we need preaching. 
We don't think we need teaching. We think all we need is the Holy 
Spirit in our Bible. You certainly need the Holy Spirit 
in the Bible, but you also need the gifts that Christ has given 
to the church. Didn't we see that a few weeks 
ago or months ago when we looked at Matthew 28? Jesus ascended 
on high. He led captivity captive, and 
he gave gifts to men, according to Ephesians 4. The gifts there 
are not tongues. The gifts there are not, you 
know, helps. The gifts there are not, you 
know, healing. The gifts are men. Apostles, 
prophets, pastors, teachers. I'm sorry, prophets, apostles. 
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. And the threefold 
purpose of that is indicated by the Apostle Paul. So never 
miss that place where God's Word is preached. And certainly read 
your Bible every day. Like, do we keep needing to have 
this convo? I mean, just read it. Please. It's a good thing. It's not a 
bad thing. It's a great thing. And don't 
be led by that, well, I got to be in the right frame. My heart's 
not right. My heart's not warm. I'm not going to read it until 
I really feel it. Brethren, the Bible can be likened 
to food in a sense. Sometimes it comes to us like 
a mango. We can't wait to dive in. Other 
times it comes to us like a Brussels sprout. It may not be that which 
we are specifically craving, but we know there is a bounty 
full of nutrients in that Brussels sprout, so we eat it. I may not 
run to, I actually love Brussels sprouts, but I may not run to 
that like I'd run to a mango, but I nevertheless need to take 
it in. If you wait till your frame is right before you read 
the Bible or you pray or you come to church, you will never 
do those things, ever. Well, you know, you just don't 
know what it's like. My heart just isn't throbbing 
for God. None of us have hearts that are throbbing for God. That's 
why we take our hearts to the Bible, and it's there that God 
throbs the heart. You see, don't listen to the 
devil that you have to be in the right frame before you use 
the means. How about you just use the means? It's a beautiful thing. Just 
read. Thirdly, a resolve not to depart 
from the truth. Turn to Psalm 119. You can't 
talk about truth and not think about Psalm 119. It's a celebration 
of God's truth, but a resolve not to depart from the truth. 
I think this is something lacking in the Christian church and among 
Christian people today, this sort of resolve. Resolution is 
a good thing. Daniel resolved not to eat Nebuchadnezzar's 
dainties. Daniel resolved not to bow down 
to that idol on the plains of Dura. Daniel resolved to continue 
to pray to Yahweh. Resolve in the Christian life 
is a good thing. Now, there's obviously a line 
that we shouldn't cross and get proud and arrogant, needing to 
remember 1 Corinthians, lest you be hardened, or rather, lest 
you fall. But in first Psalm 119 verse 
106, notice, I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep your 
righteous judgments. And I think we read passages 
like that and I say, well, you know, it's better to not swear 
than to make a vow and not keep it. That's what Solomon says 
in Ecclesiastes. Brethren, at some point, at some 
level, we've got to deal violently with sin. We've got to deal aggressively 
with sin. And some resolution and resolve 
in our life might go some way to helping us. I have sworn and 
confirmed that I will keep your righteous judgments. Fourthly, 
and still here in Psalm 119, there ought to be in our hearts 
a love for the truth. Again, if it's not something 
we, you know, my heart's not throbbing for it, it's not warm 
for it, it's not, you know, I'm approaching it like, say, a Brussels 
sprout, nevertheless, I love it. I know what value, what supreme 
value it holds forth to me. Notice the psalmist's appreciation 
for the Word of God. Psalm 119, verse 48. Psalm 119, verse 48, my hands 
also I will lift up to your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate 
on your statutes. Verse 72, the law of your mouth 
is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver. Verse 92, unless your law had 
been my delight, I would have been perished in my affliction. 97, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Verse 111, your testimonies I 
have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of 
my heart. Verse 113, I hate the gobble-minded, 
but I love your law. Verse 127, therefore I love your 
commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold. Verse 140, your word is very 
pure, therefore your servant loves it. Isn't that a great 
attitude and disposition? Verse 162, I rejoice at your 
word as one who finds great treasure. The psalmist considers God's 
word the way you and I might consider finding a bag of money 
on our way home tonight. And then verse 163, I hate and 
abhor lying, but I love your law. So an antidote to defection 
from God. First, a recognition of the value 
of truth. Second, our use of the means for the reception of 
the truth. Third, a resolve not to depart from the truth. Fourth, 
a love for the truth. And dare I say fifthly, a realization 
that within our hearts, there is a proneness to wander from 
the truth. You see, I think we need to know 
our enemies. Isn't it intriguing the way the psalmist ends Psalm 
119? You've got 175 verses of celebration concerning 
God's wonderful law. Verse 176, I have gone astray 
like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not 
forget your commandments. We sing hymn number 400, and 
one of the lines there by Robert Robinson is, prone to wander, 
prone to leave the God I love. I think we ought to realize that 
the seeds are in the heart. And realizing that, we seek to 
fight against it. We seek to love the truth rather 
than engage in this proneness to wander from the truth. A passage 
from Thomas Brooks's, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, 
I think underscore these points concerning an antidote to defection 
from God. He says, all souls, have you 
not found truth sweetening your spirits and cheering your spirits 
and warming your spirits and raising your spirits and corroborating 
your spirits? Have you not found truth a guide 
to lead you, a staff to uphold you, a cordial to strengthen 
you, and a plaster to heal you? And will you not hold fast the 
truth? Has not truth been your best 
friend in your worst days? Has not truth stood by you when 
friends have forsaken you? Has not truth done more for you 
than all the world could do against you? And will you not hold fast 
the truth? Is not truth your right eye, 
without which you cannot see for Christ, and your right hand, 
without which you cannot do for Christ, and your right foot, 
without which you cannot walk with Christ? And will you not 
hold fast the truth? Oh, hold fast the truth in your 
judgments and understandings, in your wills and affections, 
in your profession and conversation. You are better let go anything 
than truth. You are better let go your honors 
and riches, your friends and pleasures, and the world's favors, 
yea, your nearest and dearest relations, yes, your very lives, 
than to let go of truth. Oh, keep the truth and truth 
will make you safe and happy forever. Blessed are those souls 
that are kept by truth. Amen. Brethren, let us see the 
danger of wandering from the truth. Let us see the necessity 
of loving the truth. And let us, as the people of 
God, be looking out for one another, exhorting one another daily, 
while it is called today, lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness 
of sin. And in all things, let us prize 
supremely our Lord Jesus Christ, that one who is the way, the 
truth, and the life, that one who came on a recovery mission, 
that one who came to turn us back, that one who came to save 
us from our sins, that one who in his life and his death and 
his resurrection made the way to heaven for us. Praise God 
Almighty for our Lord Jesus Christ and praise God Almighty for the 
truth. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word. We thank you for the truth, and 
I pray that you would keep us from wandering from it, cause 
us to love it, to prize it, to value it, to see its importance 
in our own lives and in our own hearts. Grant us grace to resolve 
that we will not wander from the truth. Grant us grace and 
the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us on that narrow way 
and give us grace to be of encouragement to one another in the context 
of our families and in our local church. Go with us now. Cause 
your face to shine upon us in this coming week. Cause us to 
rejoice in the goodness and in the kindness of our great God. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, why don't 
we stand and we'll close our service this afternoon with the 
doxology. Roman numeral 16 in your Trinity 
Hymnal. Please stand and we'll sing together. ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him, above 
the heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ 
♪ Amen ♪ Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Please be seated.