"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
What does it mean to "wander from the truth"? Is it exclusively referring to someone who is drifted into theological error? That's a possibility, I suppose. But it doesn't seem likely. The context has been dealing with confession, so it seems a strong possibility that it could also refer to someone whose actions are contrary to revealed truth. Scripture frequently makes the connection between right doctrine and right behavior. I think that my interpretation is further supported by the connection of wondering from the truth with bringing back a sinner from his wandering. "To bring back a sinner from his wandering" seems to emphasize behavior, though it could just refer to the wandering from the truth.
Now for the hard part. What is meant when it says that if you bring back someone who is wandering, you will "save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins"? I've mentioned that the context deals with confession, well more specifically it deals with prayer during sickness, with the possibility of confession of sin being a necessity. I believe then that the saving from death is saving from physical death. The fact that it uses the phrase "save his soul from death" could call this into question, but I don't believe that it has to. The last phrase, covering of sins, would seem to point to the forgiveness that the person will now receive because of his confession.
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