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James 5:16a
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
Elders of the church, we have seen, may be called on in the case of severe illness to anoint and pray for the sick (James 5:14–15). Very clearly, the purpose of this is for physical healing, so the book of James does not provide a basis for the Roman Catholic sacrament known as extreme unction or anointing of the sick, which is performed when a person is close to death. Its intent is not so much to bring physical healing but to prepare the individual for dying. Roman Catholic theologians try to ground their teaching on James 5:14–15, but that is a distortion of James’ intent. Yet this is not the only text in James used wrongly to support Roman Catholic sacramental practice. Today’s verse is sometimes cited as at least a partial justification for the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance, wherein a person makes private confession of sin to a priest to receive divine forgiveness.
While the sacrament of penance is unbiblical and private confession to a clergyman is not required by the Scriptures, this does not mean that confessing one’s sin to other people is inherently a bad idea. In fact, as we see in James 5:16a, confessing our sins to one another and praying for one another are sound practices if we understand them appropriately. Looking to the whole scope of Scripture, we see that confessing our sins to one another is done not really to secure God’s forgiveness but so that others will pardon us for the wrongs we have committed against them (e.g., see Matt. 18:21–22). If our sins against one another go unaddressed, they can destroy a church, so offenders should confess to the offended party in order to receive the healing of forgiveness that maintains peace and wholeness in the church. At times, the offended party may even need to go to the offender (v. 15), but we should also note that those who have been sinned against are not called to point out every misdeed. Minor sins are to be covered with love, the offended party releasing the offender even if he never confesses his sin (1 Peter 4:8). It takes godly wisdom to do all this rightly, so it is good to get counsel from people who know the full breadth of Scripture’s teaching on sin and forgiveness well and take all of it into account before confessing sin or confronting an offender.
The goal in all this is to foster healing (James 5:16a). Those who have been sinned against must be willing to forgive if an offender is truly penitent, and offenders must not downplay their sin.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Churches should be the safest places for people to confess their sins to each other. Regrettably, however, confessions of sin are not always kept private when they should be, some offenders use apologies to manipulate people, and some offended people are unwilling to extend forgiveness even when the sinner is truly repentant. As we are able, let us live in such a way to help make our churches safe for confessing and forgiving sin.
For further study
- Genesis 50:15–21
- 2 Corinthians 2:5–11
- Ephesians 4:32
- Colossians 3:12–13
The bible in a year
- Joshua 18–19
- Luke 6:1–26