James 5:13-16, 19-20.
As it relates to Christian faith, few acts are more maligned and misunderstood than the act of confession. We tend to see confession as little more than an acknowledgment that we’ve done something wrong. We cheated on the test, we looked at the porn, we took the drug, we snuck the drink, we robbed the bank. In that context, confession is tough thing to want to do because it throws open the doors to facing consequences, something else we’re not all that great at. As sinners, we’re not typically motivated to cry out, “Whoa! Hold up! I’ve messed up royally and need to come clean over it!”
Nope. Things like pride and shame and fear among other rampaging emotions make confession a tough thing. When I was a kid growing up in the Catholic Church there was no more harrowing experience than to step into that confessional booth and tell the priest that I had disobeyed my parents, teased my sister, took the Lord’s name in vain and cheated on a math test. But that’s what confession does, right? It brings us to a place of vulnerability that we are by nature never going to be comfortable in.
“Confess” and “Confession” are words that have a preeminent presence in the New Testament. They’re usually linked to the word “Repentance” but where the concept of repenting – rejecting sin – is pretty consistent throughout, confessing has some nuanced variations worth looking at.
We can, of course, openly and audibly confess our sins. I’m going to share some verses in a second that encourage us to do that in the presence of other believers in Jesus Christ. We can also confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the only One capable of covering our sins with His precious blood. One day, we will stand before Jesus in Heaven and He will confess to the Father that we are His. He will confess as our advocate and that will open Heaven to us.
My point being that confession isn’t always the emotional battlefield we make it out to be and in fact, confessing is always a good thing because it always takes from us the burden of whatever we have going on that’s hindering our walk with Jesus. In the confines of a faith-based addiction outreach however, confession is usually linked to a need to tell someone that we’re up to no good and I get how hard that can be. I get the inherent fear that attaches itself to feeling all the feelings when we think about dragging our sin into the light for a trusted few to see.
This week, I want to try and lessen those fears through some wonderful wisdom shared by James, the brother of Jesus in his New Testament letter. I always feel led to tell Christians to study this letter well. It is a virtual Operator’s Manual of the faith. It’s short, easy to understand and absolutely essential in helping you to see just how deeply Jesus’ love for you is.
So, let’s take a look. James 5:16…
“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.”
That’s from the ESV translation. Other translations tell us that these prayers yield wonderful results, are wonderful and effective, and, for you King Jimmy fans out there, “Availeth much.” Now, some of you may pause and say, “Wait a minute. I have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I know that I can confess my sins before Him, and He will forgive me.” And you would be correct in that assertion. From the cross we receive eternal forgiveness and if you’re saved, nothing can change that. But with that, we also need to understand that Jesus sees us as a united body, bound together by our faith in Him. When one of us is hurting and struggling, all of us are hurting and struggling. As a result, when we confess a sin to one another as a united body, we can cry out to Jesus together for the healing we need.
And Jesus is all about it.
Romans 8:1-2. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” How awesome is that! Look, as Christians and as mortal human beings we have two things in common. We’re all going to die some day and we all sin. And the down and dirty specifics of your sin are nowhere near as important as the confession that says, “Today I fell short of Jesus’ expectations. I’m in bad place as a result and I need prayers from my brothers and sisters.” Asking for prayer doesn’t require gory details, Jesus knows full well what we’ve been up to. That said, certainly if you’re dealing with a dangerous addiction situation as a pastor, I would hope you would come to me for any additional treatment help you may need. I will guard your privacy in that case just like a doctor or lawyer would.
James wraps up his letter with this beautiful, empowering and encouraging word. This is James 5:19-20.
“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.”
This is why fellowship and trusting one another in our struggles is so important. It gives opportunities for us to glorify Him by bringing wandering sheep back to the fold.
I’ll close with this. I get how hard it is to do, to expose these transgressions that at times can be pretty gross. But again, it’s not the content of the sin, it’s just the sin. Man’s the one who created the “sin rating system”. Jesus doesn’t see sin that way. Any sin impacts our relationship with Him the same way. Best thing we can do is, in our struggles, turn to one another and then, together as a united body linked directly to Jesus, turn to Him for the help, wisdom and healing we need.