READ: JAMES 5:10-20 TEXT: v16 CONFESS FAULTS…PRAY/HEALED
Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
No outside force can wreck any individual church or congregation
Many have tried but signally failed
The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church
When an outside threat is made against the church, we should do what the Apostles did in Acts 4: 29
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word
Elijah desired for the anxious young man to see what protection God has put in place for us from interference of outside foes:
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I
pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes
of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of
horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)
We are safe (under God) from outside attacks
Inside attacks are different matters
O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself (Hosea 13:9)
Again:
Remember therefore from whence thou
art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come
unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent. (Revelation 2:5)
We can wreck the work ourselves - we can self destruct
Is it not significant that James already has rebuked Christians for fighting and warring among themselves (4:2)
What happens if we bite and devour one another?
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. (Galatians 5:15)
Entire congregations have fallen out among themselves, split in to 2/3 different factions and all died out without trace
They destroyed themselves
It is one thing to fight over the introduction of false doctrine or a false practice that threatens to overthrow the gospel
Paul confronted Peter face to face on that one (Galatians 2:11)
He did so in order that the truth/gospel might be maintained
But it is another thing to fight over lesser things and wreck the
witness of a whole church for what can often be personality problems
Therefore James gives here instructions as to how to avoid such a thing
and so maintain a vibrant Christian witness in the local church
1) THE DIRECTIONS THAT ARE GIVEN:
Confess your faults on the another and pray one for another…
A/ Immediate context may well still lie with the one sick (v14-15)
We have been careful not to automatically equate sickness with illness
We are on dangerous ground if we do and this should be rejected
But it does happen and it can be linked in some (but not all) instances
For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among
you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:30-31)
If this is the case (not automatic) then there would need to be a
confessing of sin unto God, if perhaps the Lord would lift the sickness
B/ Such confessing will follow after heart searching before God
The penitent will enter the closet and cry out:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: (Psalm 139:23)
The Spirit/God (whose work it is: bring conviction) will answer that cry
He brings to light even the hidden things
Of course, there will be things of which we are well aware
Perhaps when we were engaging in these things, our conscience smote us
We knew we were doing wrong and we silenced our conscience and did it
But when the Spirit takes control and brings to light the hidden things
Then we are aware of these sins and we seek to have them removed
C/ In such occasions, we need to confess our sins first to God
The closet is the place for that - alone with God
Every sin is first/foremost a sin against God (Psalm 51:4)
Here is the place where the precious blood will be applied: 1 John 1:7-9
But we are also to confess our sins to one another
This is where the reversal of circumstances can take place
Sin brings bitterness in its wake - it breeds suspicions etc.,
But if it is confessed and forgiveness sought (Ephesians 4:32) then the
healing processes may be put in order and the wounds forever
healed
That can happen and should happen between professing Christians
D/ This text says nothing about confessing our sins to a RC priest
RC has horribly abused/text to support her heinous auricular confession
James does not see a priest sitting in a dark box (or whatever)
with probing intimate questions to male and female alike and
pronouncing the penitents to be forgiven on the basis of their Hail
Mary's etc.,
The idea here is between the wrongdoer and the wronged one making up
It is covered for in Matthew 5:23-24
In Rome, the priest does not confess anything to the penitent
He is seen as the official Christ upon earth - another Christ on earth
- as Alphonsus Di Liguori in his blasphemies elevates him to be
E/ Notice too: There is a recognition - i.e. that both sides have faults
Of course, one side may be blameless in the matter at hand
He has harboured absolutely no ill will nor has sought no personal
agenda nor anything at the expense/disadvantage of the other or the
church
He cannot be expected to cook up pretended faults so as to appease the
aggressive/blameworthy party
But can he not make the return of the penitent as easy as he can?
Such a position is exceedingly rare - the offended brother might well
be without fault initially, but as the perpetrator inflicts his sin
upon him, are there not any feelings of excessive anger/revenge or ill
will?
If so…let him confess them too
If there hasn't been - the victim might not even be aware of the
sin (slander/backbiting etc.,) and therefore had no
bitterness etc., - yet let him confess how vulnerable he is to such a
thing etc.,
Let there be no "holier than thou" attitude prevailing
F/ Aim: Restore the harmony/church as easy/quickly as possible
Sin prevents that esp. if allowed to fester
Better to have it confessed/dealt with than put under the carpet
2) THE REASON THAT ACCOMPANY THESE DIRECTIONS:
that ye might be healed
A/ If sin is the cause of the sickness, then we might have good reason
to expect that the confessing/forsaking of that sin will bring healing
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
B/ Certainly it should also bring healing to the fellowship between the people of God where sin has crept in and fractured it
C/ It is to this end that prayer will also be offered in the direction
(Not only confession to one another…but prayer for one another)
In this praying, there will be the earnest seeking/God that confession
will be made - that a sinful stubbornness/denial will not set in
The human heart is a deceitful thing and the state/denial hard to shift
All these things can be quickly aggravated by many other factors
Busybodies getting involved - rumour and counter rumour etc.,
Harsh statements and unreasonable demands and threats
Actions laced with revenge and designed to humiliate
A little spark (3:5) can go a long way in any situation
D/ But let the parties come before God in prayer
What a sanctifying influence this can have in a poisoned atmosphere
Let there be (say) a reading of a penitential Psalm first
Or 2 Samuel 12 where David's self righteous rage was seen to be but a
condemnation of himself and effectual to his reconciliation
Then the offering up of prayer where God's glorious attributes (all
void of any hypocrisy or harshness) may be listed and admired
Then a confession of our own sins before God
(Who can stand in the Lord's presence and say;" I have not sinned?")
Then a praying for the offending brother - for his spiritual good
Prayer for help to receive him back again and an offer (before God) to
make that as easy as possible without compromising the gospel
Let us not be the Elder Brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son
Let us bear 1 Corinthians 10:12 in mind
The tables could soon be reversed and we the ones seeking forgiveness
What if one wanted us crawling on bare hands/ knees over broken glass?
Even if we are entirely pure on the matter…we could easily sin and blot the copy book in this delicate matter
Golden Rule stands: Do unto others as we would have them do unto us
E/ Of course, there is always the great possibility that the offending party refuses to repent and confess etc.,
Here we move into another field/action - where the church body
steps in and disciplines- but if that can be avoided, then let it be
Often these things can be sorted long before it comes to that
3) THE GENERAL ENCOURAGEMENT THAT BOTH EXPLAINS AND SEALS THE DIRECTIONS:
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much
A/ James elaborates further on this in the next two verses
It really is a sermon in itself, but we won't divorce it from its context
Suffice to say this: Prayer works
B/ James isn't clutching at straws here when he writes these words
James himself, as a pastor in Jerusalem, had doubtless tested the
authenticity of his own advice and had seen it work again/again
Church in Jerusalem was a large church with many problems
As far back as Acts 6 there were disagreements and grievances aired
All over the Apostolic church, (wherever folk congregated) there
were problems: Human beings (even redeemed) bring human problems
A classic case is outlined: I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. (Philippians 4:2)
A few verses on…Paul writes:
Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. (v6)
C/ In our praying, we should ever seek to avoid such contentious situations - prevention is a million times better than cure
Pray that God will make you to be a sweet Christian!
Pray that God will prevent you from tramping on toes
Pray (basically) that a guard will be set upon your lips and your
desire to be somebody (usually at someone else's expense) will be
curtailed
Pray for grace to undo the damage that is done
Pray for those who have trampled over you
Pray that in all things that the Lord Jesus would have the pre-eminence
And put feet on your prayers - they are those that avail much
THE END