Confess Your Sins That You May Be Healed

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." — James 5:16

The Clearest Passage of All

If one passage sits at the center of everything in these lessons, it is this one.

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." (James 5:14-16)

This passage is widely read and widely misunderstood. Take it phrase by phrase.

Decoding It

"Is anyone among you sick?"

That is the subject. This entire passage is addressed to sick people — mentally or physically.

"And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick..."

Save here is often misread as referring to eternal salvation. It cannot be. James is talking about a sick person. To "save" someone who is sick means to heal them — to save them from the sickness.

"...and the Lord will raise him up."

Not the resurrection. Raise him up from the sick bed.

"And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."

What is forgiven? Sins. Why? Because they are confessed. And what results from confessing them? Healing.

The Passage Restated

Put it back together in plain language:

"If anyone among you is sick, confess and repent of your sins so they may be forgiven and you may be healed."

James is saying that sin is what is causing the sickness, and that confessing it is the path to being healed.

Notice the word therefore in verse 16. It is a connective — it means because of what I just said. Because forgiveness and healing are linked, therefore confess.

And notice the phrase to one another. Not only privately to God. James prescribes confession in the presence of another person. There is something about saying it out loud to a human being that private acknowledgment does not accomplish.

Point to Ponder

"Confess your sins... that you may be healed." The two are joined in a single sentence by the word "that."

Verse to Remember

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." — James 5:16

Question to Consider

Have I ever confessed a specific sin out loud to another human being — and if not, why not?

Today's Practice

This one requires courage.

James prescribes confession to one another. Most of us have carefully avoided that half of the instruction for our entire lives.

Identify one person who could hear something true about you. Criteria: they can keep confidence, they will not use it against you, and they are not personally entangled in the matter.

It may be a pastor, a priest, a mature friend, or a counselor. It should not be someone the confession would wound — do not confess an affair to the person's spouse as your act of spiritual obedience.

Then say one true thing out loud that you have never said to a living person.

You will discover something people consistently report: the thing loses a great deal of its weight the moment it is spoken. Things kept in the dark grow. Things brought into the light shrink.

If you cannot do this today, write down the name of the person you will do it with, and a date.

Prayer

Father, I have confessed things to You in my head where nobody could hear. James says to confess to one another, and I have avoided that my whole life.

Show me who I can tell the truth to. Give me someone safe, and give me the courage to speak.

I do not want to carry things in the dark anymore. Bring what I am hiding into the light so it can finally lose its hold. And where sin has been causing sickness in me, let confession bring the healing You promised. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Things kept in the dark grow. Things brought into the light shrink.