Biblical Building Block #25 Confess Your Faults One to Another (James 5:16) -PART 1

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from a Bible Study Series taught at Fellowship Baptist Church, titled “Biblical Building Blocks for Strengthening Relationships.”

Biblical Building Block #25 Confess Your Faults One to Another (James 5:16) -PART 1

James 5:16, “Confess your faults ome to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

1. The Examination:
The context of our text is speaking of one who is sick and afflicted. The Bible is speaking of confession here in the context of the passage that is concerning the believer who was sick physically and had things in their life they needed to get right spiritually. When a person gets sick, especially when it is serious, they need to seek the Lord to see if there is any sin in our life that we have not gotten right. This requires being honest with yourself before God. Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” This is a humbling experience, but it is necessary that we take the time to do this. You cannot hide it from God and the sooner you deal with it the better.

2. The Exhortation:
The exhortation is for the believer to get things right with the Lord. Until we are willing to face that we need help, no one can do anything for us. The one who is sick needs to request the godly pastor to come visit them. The reason is because they desire for God to work in their life spiritually and physically. Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”

3. The Expectation:
The expectation is for God to answer the prayer according to His will. There is no doubt that God wants every Christian to be right with Him. When we confess our sins to Him, He will hear us and cleanse us every time. I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When it comes to our physical burdens God may lift them, lighten them or leave them. In each case, He will supply us with His grace and help us to move forward with our life. We need to trust God and realize that He knows what is best for our life.

Confessing your faults one to another does several things:
1) It makes you right with God.
2) It allows God to heal you.
3) It reconciles the offended person.
4) It clears your conscience of the offense.
5) It takes away the barrier to answered prayer.

Suffering and sickness do not necessarily result from sin. Job, for instance, was afflicted though he didn’t sin (Job 1). Jesus made it clear that a person can be stricken with an illness or condition that has no connection to wrongdoing (John 9:1-3). On the other hand, a sinful lifestyle can result in weakness and suffering. Notice: Why we should confess our faults to one another? So that we can pray for one another. Sin in the church hinders prayer and holds back God’s healing power from being demonstrated among His people. To have conflict and bitterness with another will short circuit one’s prayer life. James touches upon the matter of first confessing our offences to those involved and seeking their forgiveness. To confess our faults to each other refers to resolving conflicts between each other. Jesus clearly taught the same in Matthew 18:19, 35. Our hearts must be free of sin and in complete agreement with the Holy Spirit if we expect to be effective when we pray. If you will deal with your sin, you will see God work in your life. Part of the physical and spiritual healing is confessing our faults to one another. In order to get our prayers answered, we are to confess your faults one to another. This passage in no way justifies the practice of Catholicism’s position on confessing your sins to one of their priests. I Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” As believers we have direct access to God.

Thank you for reading PART 1 of Biblical Building Block #22 of this series. Please visit this website tomorrow for PART 2 of Biblical Building Block #22 of this series.

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