“My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/jas.5.19-20.NET

The first observation from this passage is that a person from the church wanders away, placing their soul at eternal risk. James says, ‘If anyone among you wanders.’ The ‘you’ he is speaking about are those in the church he is writing to. So the righteous man, the Christian man, helps his brother return to the way he is supposed to go. The way is narrow and difficult is the path that leads to life. The way is broad, easy is the road that leads to destruction, and most people are on it. So what does turning back look like? What kind of life do we live if we are not wandering from God? Certainly, meeting with God in fellowship through His word and prayer must be the starting place for the person in the right relationship with God. Without opening the Scriptures for ourselves daily, we cannot hear from God daily, which means we will not accomplish His purposes daily. The food of Jesus is every word from the mouth of the Father. Our food must likewise be His word which the Scriptures provide for us. Second, we must do God’s will. The purpose of the Scripture is to reveal God to us and what God wants us to do. Doing must accompany hearing. Obedience to the will of God demonstrates those who are truly the children of God. These people serve men to win men into the kingdom of God. The Great Commission is the mission of every Christian. Our witness begins with good deeds of benefit to people who receive those deeds and desire to know the hope within us so that they, too, might glorify God in heaven. We love our neighbor as ourselves so that our neighbor will love our God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength, even as we do.