James 5:16 – 18 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.”
I ran across a term the other day – “virtue shaming.” Evidently now one is not allowed to behave in a virtuous manner because it will cause others who are misbehaving to feel guilty. Ironically, the same people who wish to misbehave generally expect that everyone else will behave properly. For example, the person stealing from his workplace will be outraged if someone pads a bill he is expected to pay; yet, what is the difference? Both parties are cheating! Those who claim not to believe in moral absolutes are generally incensed when others fail to behave in a moral manner.
We human beings have a congenital problem: we are born with the ability to sin. Sinning is simple; anybody can do it. But we are also born to worship. Everyone worships something or somebody. There are those who worship themselves. There are those who worship a sport team. There are those who worship a celebrity. There are even Christians who don’t really worship God so much as they worship a particular evangelist. But all of us are going to worship, and the object of our worship determines our moral character. If we worship a pure and holy God, then we will feel ashamed when we do not behave in a pure and holy manner.
At the same time we are sinning, we also have the ability to feel guilty. The question is, what do we do with this guilt? How can we get rid of guilt? Running away from guilt doesn’t help because we carry it inside us. We can distract ourselves with hobbies or work or alcohol or gambling or drugs or social media or movies or books or travel or shopping; but sooner or later, that guilt will still be there. And that’s where confession comes in.
James advises us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another? Why should we confess our sins OUT LOUD to SOMEBODY ELSE?? Well, for one thing, if we are keeping something inside ourselves, we can always make excuses and give ourselves a free pass. “Well, I was stressed out!” “Well, he shouldn’t have spoken to me the way that he did!” ”If she had only listened to me the first time, I would not have gotten angry!” “That @##$%^ idiot! Where did he learn to drive?” But the minute that we begin voicing our shortcomings, we find that they are much worse than we had imagined.
Why confess our sins to another person? We need feedback from someone else who is gracious enough and wise enough to listen. Confession is not a one – way street; frequently the confessors become the confessees. Confession demands humility, and only a humble person can really pray effectively for another.
Notice that you must be careful about your choice of a person to whom you will confess. This person must be a person of prayer, a person of patience, and a person who has lived long enough and who has seen enough that he or she will not rush to judgement. The idea behind confession as described in James is that once you have confessed your sin, the other person is to pray to God, interceding on your behalf and asking God to forgive you, but not accusing. Satan has been described as ”the Accuser of the brethren,” but many times there are Christians who are more than willing to fill that role as well! You might find that once your friend has prayed for you, he or she will then ask you to pray for him or her.
Is confession for everybody? Absolutely! Nobody should struggle to carry a load of guilt. David the Psalmist expressed this well in Psalm 32: 2 -6
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found.
Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.”
PRAYER: Father God, today many of us are carrying guilt that is eating us alive! Lord, help us to confess our sins to you and to another trusted person. Thank you that you have promised that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you for your love and your mercy and your grace. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen..
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