James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes to the church in every part of the world in every generation of the age confess your sins to each other (James 5:16).
Confession of sin accomplishes something that cannot be accomplished otherwise. It brings into the light what has been in the dark. It establishes as truth what has been waiting to be known. It brings the one confessing into alignment with reality, with righteousness, with God.
But, perhaps, the greatest achievement of confession is that it renders the confessed sin powerless against the confessor. Confessed sin can never again be effective against the guilty person. As long as we remain in darkness, we’re in danger of condemnation; but once we’re brought into the light by confession, we’re safe.
This blog is, these days, devoted to topics related to marriage. You could ask, does this James 5:16 Scripture apply to marriage? I would ask, to what could it apply more than to marriage?
When a spouse confesses that they’ve sinned against their spouse – and what spouse hasn’t, in some way, sinned against their partner? – a cleansing happens that’s necessary for a marriage.
As hard a decision as it may be to make the confession, the freedom that comes with it makes it worth whatever pain is associated with it.
And there will be pain. Just as there’s scrubbing involved in cleansing something, there will be hurt resulting from the cleansing of the confession. The wronged will be hurt and the wrong-doer will also.
I know all this from experience as well as from God’s Word.
Since there’s sin, confession and pain, there needs to be healing. James, in the same verse, tells us how to get that healing.
And pray for each other, he writes, that you may be healed. That’s the sinner praying for the offended and the offended praying for the one who hurt them by their sin.
So if I sin against my wife, I confess, and then I pray for healing of the pain I caused. And if my wife sins against me and confesses, I pray for healing of the pain her sin and confession caused her.
Then James reveals where the real power is, since confession has rendered powerless the sin committed. Prayer is where the power is, and it is effective (a.k.a. answered).
This is all just another benefit of being in Christ as a married couple. So let us not neglect this valuable truth and principle from God’s Word.