Question: What are your thoughts concerning the practice described in James 5:14-15: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
Answer: The practice that is recommended by James is difficult for us to understand. Our western minds are not conditioned to the customs that were prevalent in the Middle East during the first century. The advice centers on ministering to the sick, but we are not told specifically whether James is referring to a natural or spiritual ailment.
We will begin our consideration by looking first at one of the key elements in the account; the use of oil to anoint the sick person “in the name of the Lord”. There are two very different situations in which oil is used to anoint in scripture. One is a ceremonial anointing, such as when the high priest or the king was anointed (see Exodus 29:7 and 2 Kings 9:3). This act of anointing was for the purpose of consecration, or sanctifying of the individual.
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Author: The Advocate
Keywords: Faith healing, Sickness, Cures, Healing the sick, Prayers for the sick, Praying for the sick, Recovering for sickness, Recovering from illness, Medicine
Bible reference(s): Mark 6:13, James 5:14-15
Source: “Question Box,” The Christadelphian Advocate.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.