Confess your sins to each other
James 5:16 - Regardless of how confession is done — publicly or personally — true repentance is needed
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16 NIV
The Epistle of James was written to emphasize perseverance by the early Christians in the face of persecution and hard times, persuading the readers to live their lives in line with the teachings of Jesus. The content of the epistle covers the gamut of ethical and moral concerns, such as slander, hypocrisy, favoritism, and the lack of humility. Pursuing wisdom aligned with God’s Word is considered important in the text, and prayer in all circumstances is encouraged.
At the beginning of the verse, James suggests public confession, and I was surprised by the length of the various commentaries regarding the practice of confession.
James reminds the readers that mutual confession and prayer delivers healing of body and spirit. Confessing an unresolved sin can free us from the guilt that can burden us both spiritually and physically, and it frees us to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit.
I must admit that I make my confessions directly to God, Who of course is already aware of my sin. Yet it is suggested in Enduring Word’s commentary on this verse that public confession is preferable:
i. To one another: Confession to another in the body of Christ is essential because sin will demand to have us to itself, isolated from all others. Confession breaks the power of secret sin. Yet, confession need not be made to a “priest” or any imagined mediator; we simply confess to one another as appropriate. Confession is good, but must be made with discretion. An unwise confession of sin can be the cause of more sin.
ii. Clarke observes that if this passage actually refers to the Roman Catholic practice of the confessional, then the priest should likewise confess his sins to the people. He also adds: “There is no instance in auricular confession where the penitent and the priest pray together for pardon; but here the people are commanded to pray for each other that they may be healed.” (Adam Clarke)
iii. Noting from the context, sin should especially be confessed where physical healing is necessary. It is possible — though by no means always the case — that a person’s sickness is the direct result of some sin that has not been dealt with, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 11:30.
iv. Hiebert on confess: “The root form means literally to say the same thing; hence, it means that in confession sin we agree to identify it by its true name and admit that it is sin.”
v. “Now, in the primitive church this was openly done as a rule, before the congregation. The earliest manual of the church practice prescribes: ‘you must confess your sins in church, and not betake yourself to prayer with a bad conscience’ (Didache iv.).” (James Moffatt)
David Guzik of Enduring Word goes on to note that:
vii. Public confession of sin has the potential for great good or bad. Some guiding principles can help.
Confession should be made to the one sinned against. “Most Christians display a preference for confession in secret before God, even concerning matters which involve other people. To confess to God seems to them to be the easiest way out. If offenders were really conscious of the presence of God, even secret confession of private sin would have a good effect. Alas, most offenders merely commune with themselves instead of making contact with God, who refuses their prayers under certain conditions. In the words of our Lord, it is clear that sin involving another person should be confessed to that person.” (J. Edwin Orr)
Confession should often be public. James 5:16 illustrates this principle. A.T. Robertson, the great Greek scholar, says that in James 5:16 the odd tense of the Greek verb confess in this verse implies group confession rather than private confession. It is confession “ones to others” not “one to one other.”
Public confession must be discrete. Often the confession needs to be no more than what is necessary to enlist prayer. It can be enough to say publicly, “Pray for me, I need victory over my besetting sin.” It would be wrong to go into more detail, but saying this much is important. It keeps us from being “let’s pretend Christians” who act as if everything is fine when it isn’t. “Almost all sexual transgressions are either secret or private and should be so confessed. A burden too great to bear may be shared with a pastor or doctor or a friend of the same sex. Scripture discourages even the naming of immorality among believers, and declares that it is a shame even to speak of things done in secret by the immoral.” (J. Edwin Orr)
Distinguish between secret sins and those which directly affect others. Orr gives a good principle: “If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself. If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered. If you have sinned spiritually (prayerlessness, lovelessness, and unbelief as well as their offspring, criticism, etc.) then confess to the church that you have been a hindrance.” (J. Edwin Orr)
Confession is often made to people, but before God. At the same time, we notice that James says confess your trespasses to one another. One of the interesting things about confession of sin as I have noticed it in the writings of J. Edwin Orr is that the confessions are almost always addressed to people, not to God. It isn’t that you confess your sin to God and others merely hear. You confess your sin before others and ask them to pray for you to get it right before God.
Confession should be appropriately specific. When open confession of sin is appropriate — more than the public stating of spiritual need, but confessing open sin or sin against the church — it must be specific. “If I made any mistakes I’m sorry” is no confession of sin at all. You sinned specifically, so confess specifically. “It costs nothing for a church member to admit in a prayer meeting: ‘I am not what I ought to be.’ It costs no more to say: ‘I ought to be a better Christian.’ It costs something to say: ‘I have been a trouble-maker in this church.’ It costs something to say: ‘I have had bitterness of heart towards certain leaders, to whom I shall definitely apologise.’” (J. Edwin Orr, Full Surrender)
Confession should be thorough. “Some confessions are not thorough. They are too general. They are not made to the persons concerned. They neglect completely the necessary restitution. Or they make no provision for a different course of conduct in which the sin is forsaken. They are endeavours for psychological relief.” (J. Edwin Orr)
Confession must have honesty and integrity. If we confess with no real intention of battling the sin, our confession isn’t thorough and it mocks God. The story is told of an Irishman who confessed to his priest that he had stolen two bags of potatoes. The priest had heard the gossip around town and said to the man, “Mike, I heard it was only one bag of potatoes stolen from the market.” The Irishman replied, “That’s true Father, but it was so easy that I plan on taking another tomorrow night.” By all means, avoid phony confession — confession without true brokenness or sorrow. If it isn’t deeply real, it isn’t any good.
One need not fear that public confession of sin will inevitably get out of hand. Orr tells of a time when a woman was overwrought by deep sorrow for sin and became hysterical. He saw the danger immediately and told her, “Quiet, sister. Turn your eyes on Jesus.” She did and the danger of extreme emotion was avoided.
Those who hear a confession of sin also have a great responsibility. Those who hear the confession should have the proper response: loving, intercessory prayer, and not human wisdom, gossiping, or “sharing” the need with others.
See what I meant about lengthy commentary on the subject of confession? And this is just one of several sources that I studied…
After this, James says to “pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Several Bible translations refer to the prayer as being fervent (having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc…). In this case, the word is used in the sense of meaning “intensity of spirit” — so a prayer offered by a righteous person should be emotional and in line with God’s desires.
Adam Clarke said:
ii. “When such a power of prayer is granted, faith should be immediately called into exercise, that the blessing may be given: the spirit of prayer is the proof that the power of God is present to heal. Long prayers give no particular evidence of Divine inspiration.”
In other words, a short and fervent prayer is much more effective than a long and disinterested prayer! Also important in praying effectively is that the person offering the prayer is righteous. Guzik offers a description of a righteous person:
This is someone who recognizes the grounds of his righteousness reside in Jesus, and whose personal walk is generally consistent with the righteousness that he has in Jesus.
After reading this verse and the lengthy commentaries on it, one thing is apparent: most modern-day Christian churches offer no way to make a public confession and then ask others to pray for the sinner. The choices are either private confession to a priest (Catholicism and the Orthodox churches, for example), or a general public statement of sin (without acknowledging the details) and a statement of absolution by the pastor. This latter method is common in many Protestant churches.
Crosstalk.ai had a fascinating commentary on how confession is practiced in various Christian denominations, and its statement on two denominations seems to be descriptive of many churches:
In contrast, denominations such as Baptists and Pentecostals emphasize a more personal confession experience, focusing on individual repentance before God without the mediation of a clergy member. This reflects a broader theological emphasis on personal relationship with God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who convicts and comforts in matters of sin and repentance.
Regardless of how confession is done — publicly or personally — true repentance is needed. Asking others to pray earnestly to God to help you with overcoming your sin is, in the words of James, “powerful and effective”.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, help me to always recognize my sin, to confess it to You if it is personal, and to confess it to others if they are affected by my trespass. May I always have the conviction of the Holy Spirit to identify my sin and the prayers of others to help me overcome my sin. Through my confession, I acknowledge my dependence on your grace. AMEN.