“Open Confession is good for the soul,” or so the maxim goes. Perhaps it
might also be said, “Open Confession is good for your relationship
with God and men.” While Scripture supports both of these statements,
there is something of a haze that lays across the surface of the meaning
of such statements in Scripture as, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that
you may be healed” (James 5:16). Is James speaking of going around and
confessing any sin that you can point to in your life to just about
anyone you are in fellowship with in the church so that they will pray
for you? Or, does he have in mind the practice of “keeping short
accounts” with the brethren? Does he mean going to an offended brother
or sister and asking forgiveness for a particular sin that was committed
against them? Or, as the context might indicate, is James
instructing individuals in the congregation to come to the elders and
confess particular sins of a scandalous nature in order to be healed of a
sickness with which they had been chastened by God? While we may not
come to a completely settled agreement on the precise meaning of James
5:16, there are 2 dangers and 3 applications of our duty that we should
be able to agree upon when reflecting on this subject. Continue at Nicholas T. Batzig
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