This is the only verse in the New Testament that commands believers to confess your sins to one another. Based on this verse many have run into error. The Roman Catholic confessional is the most prominent example, but there are evangelicals who also misapply this verse, allowing humanistic psychology and the practice of group therapy to govern their confessions.
Although James has just declared the sick person is forgiven, he still says that we are to "confess our faults." That is because if the sick person has committed a sin against another person then confession of sin is necessary, not only for physical healing but also for the healing of his or her relationship with the Lord, the church and the individual offended believer.
In our confessions, we are to be careful not to reveal private sins that have no effect upon others or to confess sins of the heart or mind – acts which the other person is unaware of. The confession is to be accompanied by prayer that is fervent and effectual. As an example of a righteous man praying fervently, he points to Elijah assuring us that he is a man just like us. But when think about who he is, we are not sure that Elijah is just like us. But James insists that he is indeed a man who has a nature just like ours, and on further inspection of the life of Elijah we see common emotions, afflictions, and sins. But why does James use Elijah's prayer for drought and rain as an example of praying earnestly, especially when the prayer is not recorded in the Old Testament? And more pertinent to the context of sickness, why does he not point to Elijah's prayer to raise, or heal, the dead son of of the widow? We will find out in our next lesson.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
