I Need to Tell You Something

James 5:13-16

Verse 16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

    We have been talking about how sin interferes with our prayer lives.  If we are to live an abiding life we need to be very intentional about keeping the lines of communication clear.

    Our key verse today starts with the key thought we have dealt with for a few days, dealing with sin in our lives.  The concept James brings out is that we should be confessing our sins to each other.  This is not a popular activity with Christians and yet it should be.  We don’t like to think about our being sinful and since we don’t like to admit them to ourselves, it is a farfetched idea to actually tell other people about them.

    We may not even think that it is necessary to confess them, but it is a vital part of a healthy church.  One of the important reasons for this confessing our sins to one another is that we can hold each other accountable.  One of the reasons we don’t like to share our sin is because we don’t want others to think less of us.  The truth is that they may already notice our sin and think that we are not at odds with our sin.

    The truth is that if we are not willing to confess our sin, it is possible that we aren’t ashamed of the sin and that means we likely don’t want it out of our life.  If we are comfortable enough living with our sin, it says that we are probably struggling in our walk with the Father.  This is why confession is important.  We need to acknowledge our sins to each other if we are wanting to break its hold on us.

    Confessing our sins to each other actually builds relationships when we are living in the Vine.  By confessing our sins to other branches of the Vine we are building our relationships with each other and that is something that will build the strength of the Church.  Because when we start confessing to each other we learn that others are just as vulnerable as we are.  It is a way of learning to trust each other.  It also gives us specific ways to pray for each other.  And when we learn to be vulnerable and pray for each other, we will start growing closer to God, His ways and each other.

Making It Personal

    Have you confessed a sin to a fellow believer?  Have you allowed another Christian to confess a sin to you?  What did you do with the information?

Making It Personal Kids

    Is it scary to tell someone else something you do wrong?  What makes it easier?  Should you pray about someone else’s sin?

Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for giving us each other to help hold us accountable in our relationship with You.  Give us wisdom in handling the knowledge of each other’s sins.  In Jesus’ name, amen.