James 5:19-20

Coming to the end of James, he talks about a brother who wanders from the truth. This tends to happen in a number of different ways, and I think we can all agree or attest to this happening. You may have seen brothers lead astray who stop going to church. They may even still go to church, but are lead astray in their lifestyle regardless of their attendance to church. They may outright denounce God and their faith, or they may denounce it by an action or the way that they live. Either way, the case James talks about in particular is one who brings this wandering brother back. What is said is that the one who brings his brother back saves their soul from death and covers a multitude of sins. Wandering from the truth means that their headed towards death. Therefore, bringing him back to the truth will save their soul from death. In addition, they cover a multitude of sins. It's assumed that wandering will involve sinning. It's not as if you wander from the truth in order to not sin. Sin is yet another hindrance in coming back to the truth. One may be ashamed to come back knowing what he or she has done while he was away. I am reminded of the prodigal son, who squandered his property in reckless living. It must have been tough to finally admit and come crawling back to his father after what he had done. However, he was greeted with open arms. Perhaps a return back to the truth always involves a covering of sin. If it does not, then it is not a return to the truth. Cover their sins and save their soul from death.