Jas. 5:16 ... "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
The Scriptures assure us that everyone commits sin and thus defiles his soul. Most of the third chapter of Romans is devoted to developing this point, but we note particularly these three statements: -1- "There is none righteous, not even one," (v.10); -2- "All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one," (v.12); -3- "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (v.23). Beyond these sobering declarations we are further humbled by I John 1:8, which proclaims, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."
How should we react to the sins these Scriptures attribute to us? There are three possible responses, and people variously resort to one or the other. First, there are those who deny that they actually commit sin. Although it is hard to imagine how anyone could believe such in the face of the above-quoted Scriptures, there are nevertheless those who feel themselves invulnerable to sin for one reason or another. As support for their utter confidence they often use I John 3:9, where the apostle wrote that "no one who is born of God practices sin." This, however, is an abuse of the text. The verb "practices" ("commits" in other versions) is in the present tense, which in the Greek original denotes continuous action more than the idea of time. John is really saying that the Christian, by his adherence to God's word, does not continue in a sin that has been committed. He does not here deny that Christians do sometimes sin, for he has already affirmed that in v.8. Second, some people attempt to hide their sins, ignore them, or belittle their importance and the danger of their consequences. This attempt, as well as the first, is ultimately futile, for it is written in II Cor. 5:10 that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." The third response to sin is that urged in Jas. 5:16 (above). Unless a person has "seared" his conscience "as with a branding iron" (I Tim. 4:2) through self-deception, hypocrisy, and denial, it will signal to him, by the pain of guilt, that he has sinned.
Guilt is a destructive force within the human psyche, operating relentlessly to reduce one's ability to function normally in life until, at last, it produces the collapse of his personality and mental health. Guilt can only be removed through the assurance of being forgiven. And forgiveness is available in obedience by faith to the blood of Christ, for it is written: "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14). A little further we find this appeal: "Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water," (Heb. 10:22).
To receive the removal of guilt through the forgiveness of sin, however, one must honestly face up to his sin and confess it, first to himself and then to God. And if he is a Christian, he must confess it to his brethren so that they may assist him in praying. There is a great cathartic effect in confession. Just to tell someone about your failure, provided the person is sympathetic and benevolent, relieves a great deal of the pressure imposed by guilt upon your mind. And to have that fellow Christian join with you in laying your faults and weaknesses before a truly kind Savior, and to plead His forgiveness and the renewal of your virtue, will build resolve against falling to the same sin a second time. Jas. 5:16 looks, therefore, beyond the immediate problem of sin and guilt to the essential unity of Christians and their fellowship in the Lord in all aspects of life.
