James 5:19 f. These concluding words return to the thought of James 5:16. How great a thing it is to bring back to the truth one who has strayed from it! Understand [see mg.] that he who has brought a sinner back when he has lost his way will save a life out of death, and - cover a multitude of sins-' (Proverbs 10:12). It is true to James's whole view of belief and conduct; to lose the truthwhat is genuine in belief (see on James 5:13) endangers the ethical power of that truth. Truth, if held with heart as well as head, is an anchor to keep the ship from drifting down the rapids into the abyss of wrong-doing (cf. Hebrews 2:1). Many have strangely thought the teacher's own life intended. Jesus teaches us that we can only save our lives by losing them; it is only when self-forgetfulness is complete that self-preservation is assured. It is very unlike James and the NT to assert that successful preaching can atone for the preacher's sins; contrast 1 Corinthians 9:27.
Related Commentaries of James 5:19
James 5:19
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;