Confess Your Sins to One Another . . .

"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

This is one of the best-known verses in the Bible, but usually only half of it is quoted, either the first half of the second half. The King James Version of the second half of the verse is probably still more recognizable: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Why do we quote the first half of the verse without the second half or the second half without the first half? That's rather foolish, isn't it? 

God is telling us something profound and powerful here. It has a parallel teaching in Galatians 6:1 that, when taken together with James 5:16, gives us clear and wise instruction, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted (ESV)."

Every Christian alive struggles with sin. I don't just mean that we all sin, but we all battle sin and we all have deep and intense struggles with particular sins. The closer we grow to Christ, the more aware we become of deep, ingrained sin patterns in our lives and the more intense and potentially frustrating our struggles become. What James 5:16 and Galatians 6:1 tell us is that our struggle to overcome sin will be fruitless without outside intervention by mature Christians.

Here's what we cannot afford to miss: Every Christian alive struggles with sin and no Christian is called to struggle alone. If we hope to battle temptation and overcome sin by the power of Christ, we must fight the way the Lord tells us to fight; we must overcome by following His Word. Really, how can we expect to honor God with our lives if we will not obey what He tells us to do to overcome sin?

But what exactly does God mean when He tells us to "confess your sins to one another"? The Roman Catholic interpretation of this verse is that all believers should confess their sins to a priest, who will offer up intercession for the sinner and assign some penance to be done by the penitent. The Protestant view is not much different, except that we believe in the priesthood of all believers. So, you should confess your sins to a priest, but all believers are priests and any "righteous person" (that is, anyone who is truly Christ's own redeemed) can pray effectively for you. Galatians 6 says the restoration of fallen sinner is to be done by "you who are spiritual."

When you fall into sin, you fall into a pit that you have made. You got yourself into the mess by believing the devil's lies and giving way to your fleshly desires. However, while you got yourself into the pit you cannot get yourself out. You need help. You need someone who can pray for you and help you out, back onto solid ground. The amount of prayer and help you need depends on the depth of the pit.

1. Every Christian needs someone godly in their lives who knows them fully and well, someone other than their spouse. This person needs to have the freedom and trust to ask hard questions and know if he or she is getting honest answers. This kind of relationship takes time to build but is vital for our spiritual well-being. I believe this kind of "ordinary" support that all Christians need is taught by James 5:16.

2. A Christian who is stuck in a serious pattern of enslaving sin needs even stronger help, which can often be found in more trained and experienced counsel and in a small group of accountability. I think this stronger level of support and restoration is what Galatians 6:1 has in mind. God has appointed pastors and elders to shepherd His flock, and they are usually the best people to contact first for this spiritual restoration.

If you don't have someone in your life who prays for you and asks you hard questions, prayerfully seek to begin that kind of relationship today. This should be a same-gender relationship outside of your marriage with someone who is a committed and active Christian. It is a vital relationship that we all need.

If you have fallen into serious sin and are trapped, you need to get help. Make an appointment to see your pastor this week. Don't delay the path to freedom and get even more accustomed to life in the pit.