A Confession Lesson Pt. 2
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”—James 5:16 (ESV)
Confession has two aspects. The first aspect involves our confession to God (1 John 1:9). But the second aspect involves our confession to man (James 5:16). When James wrote that we were to confess our sins to another brother or sister in Christ, he was writing so that we would also pray for one another. We all need spiritual resources to help us in our battle with sin, but James went even further. We are to confess to one another and pray for one another so “that you may be healed.” If we’ve already confessed and been forgiven, then why do we need healing? When someone refuses to deal with sin in his or her life, God will sometimes bring direct discipline. And in some cases it may be physical sickness. That’s why Paul, when writing about the importance of one’s attitude and behavior when partaking of the Lord’s Supper, wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” He was stating the truth that whenever believers in Christ partake of the Lord’s Supper (Communion), we are inviting God’s direct judgment in our lives. And if we partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unholy way, God may bring physical sickness or even death. It involves the attitude of our hearts before God. If we are genuinely repentant of our sin, then God knows, and we will be in healthy communion with Him as we partake of the Lord’s Supper. But if we know that we are in a state of habitual sin, and we still partake of the Lord’s Supper, then we demonstrate that we do not care or understand what the cross meant for our sins, and we become guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. In other words, we are saying that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross meant nothing.
If we continue in the practice of habitual sin, God will do everything in His power to get our attention, sometimes to the point of bringing physical illness and death. Sin is serious. Although there is discipline from the Lord, there is also a point where our confession to others shows the true reality of our confession and repentance in the sight of God. But to whom do we confess? We confess to another brother or sister in Christ. James doesn’t say to confess to everybody, but he does say that we are to confess to somebody, and that somebody should be another brother or sister in Christ whom we can trust. But what do we pray after our confession? As James instructs in today’s verse, we are to pray for healing, but we also pray for strength, stability, and a full sense of restoration in the heart of the now-repentant brother or sister in Christ. Healing comes in physical ways as the passage for today shows, but it also comes spiritually as the humbly repentant sinner experiences the soul-cleansing power of forgiveness, the bonding that takes place between believers when they humbly confess to and pray for one another, the freedom to live unburdened by shame and unconfessed sin, and the hope derived from Christ’s promise of strength for each day.
The last part of our passage for today says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Who is the righteous person? The righteous person is the one who has trusted in Christ and whose life is characterized by obeying His commandments. As the apostle John wrote, “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him”—1 John 3:22 (ESV). God listens to those who follow Him in obedience and love, inclining His ear to our prayers.
Confession to one another also enables us to pray more effectively for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know the reality and power of sin in our lives, and when we know the deep struggles and sins of others as they know ours, we are able to more effectively pray for the power to resist, fight and overcome all of the temptation that comes our way. So, my dear brother or sister, let’s confess our sins to one another so that we may not continually be held in captivity by our enemy, and then let’s pray for one another so that we may not experience the continued discipline of the Lord. Amen.
Confession has two aspects. The first aspect involves our confession to God (1 John 1:9). But the second aspect involves our confession to man (James 5:16). When James wrote that we were to confess our sins to another brother or sister in Christ, he was writing so that we would also pray for one another. We all need spiritual resources to help us in our battle with sin, but James went even further. We are to confess to one another and pray for one another so “that you may be healed.” If we’ve already confessed and been forgiven, then why do we need healing? When someone refuses to deal with sin in his or her life, God will sometimes bring direct discipline. And in some cases it may be physical sickness. That’s why Paul, when writing about the importance of one’s attitude and behavior when partaking of the Lord’s Supper, wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” He was stating the truth that whenever believers in Christ partake of the Lord’s Supper (Communion), we are inviting God’s direct judgment in our lives. And if we partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unholy way, God may bring physical sickness or even death. It involves the attitude of our hearts before God. If we are genuinely repentant of our sin, then God knows, and we will be in healthy communion with Him as we partake of the Lord’s Supper. But if we know that we are in a state of habitual sin, and we still partake of the Lord’s Supper, then we demonstrate that we do not care or understand what the cross meant for our sins, and we become guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. In other words, we are saying that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross meant nothing.
If we continue in the practice of habitual sin, God will do everything in His power to get our attention, sometimes to the point of bringing physical illness and death. Sin is serious. Although there is discipline from the Lord, there is also a point where our confession to others shows the true reality of our confession and repentance in the sight of God. But to whom do we confess? We confess to another brother or sister in Christ. James doesn’t say to confess to everybody, but he does say that we are to confess to somebody, and that somebody should be another brother or sister in Christ whom we can trust. But what do we pray after our confession? As James instructs in today’s verse, we are to pray for healing, but we also pray for strength, stability, and a full sense of restoration in the heart of the now-repentant brother or sister in Christ. Healing comes in physical ways as the passage for today shows, but it also comes spiritually as the humbly repentant sinner experiences the soul-cleansing power of forgiveness, the bonding that takes place between believers when they humbly confess to and pray for one another, the freedom to live unburdened by shame and unconfessed sin, and the hope derived from Christ’s promise of strength for each day.
The last part of our passage for today says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Who is the righteous person? The righteous person is the one who has trusted in Christ and whose life is characterized by obeying His commandments. As the apostle John wrote, “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him”—1 John 3:22 (ESV). God listens to those who follow Him in obedience and love, inclining His ear to our prayers.
Confession to one another also enables us to pray more effectively for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know the reality and power of sin in our lives, and when we know the deep struggles and sins of others as they know ours, we are able to more effectively pray for the power to resist, fight and overcome all of the temptation that comes our way. So, my dear brother or sister, let’s confess our sins to one another so that we may not continually be held in captivity by our enemy, and then let’s pray for one another so that we may not experience the continued discipline of the Lord. Amen.
I love this- I have always been uncomfortable with unspoken requests - often revealing the sin of pride. It is such an encouragement to be with other believers sharing your struggles and rejoicing together as you see God at work in them. We are often too concerned with appearing perfect, rather than transparent and we miss the blessing of seeing the transforming power of Christ at work.
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