2019-11-24 James 5: 16=18 LET’S PRAY (3): WE CONFESS

LET’S PRAY (3): WE CONFESS (James 5:16-18) November 24, 2019 Read James 5:16-18 -- A woman named Liz was hurt in a car accident. A lawyer showed up and said, “I’ve come to assist you in getting damages.” Liz replied, “I got all the damages I want. What I need is repairs.” This illustrates the greatest problem in most churches. We are looking for help in assessing damages against our offenders. What we need is repairs. Jesus assigned us our top priority in Jn 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” That is our prescription for peace within the body and evangelizing those outside. Love one another. Really! But we are human. Every church experiences failure – broken relationships and broken spirits. So, how do we keep climbing back – pursuing our ultimate objective? Jas’ answer? Take two aspirin – Confession and Prayer – two of the hardest and least practiced disciplines of Xn living. But they will bring healing. We’ve already seen that Jas is primarily addressing spiritual PTSD here. Physical healing, to the extent that the condition is a direct result of sin, is also in view, but the emphasis is on the greater healing of personal and corporate brokenness. The prescription is mutual confession and prayer. I. Confession 15 Confess your sins to one another.” This is not confession to a priest. That practice is nowhere commanded in the NT. So what is this? To whom? How? A. To Whom? 1. God – Confession is always first and foremost – to God! Thus David, having horribly violated both Bathsheba and Uriah confessed in Psa 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” He wasn’t ignoring his offense against the others, but his real offense was profaning the name of God. All sin, big or little, is character assassination of God, so repentance starts with Him. I Jn 1:9, “If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Forgiveness is immediate the moment our hearts bow to His atoning love. 1 2. Offended parties – The word used here is ἐξομολογέω comprised of homo, “same” and logeo, “to say.” So it means to go to someone and agree with them. When you confess to God you affirm that you agree with Him that you have sinned. When you confess to one another, you are saying, “You were right; I was in the wrong. I sinned. Please pray for me and forgive me.” They may or may not pray and forgive – but you have confessed. This doesn’t mean spill your guts before the whole world. It’s not “Confess your sins to God before others.” It’s, “Confess your sins to one another”, that is, to the one or ones you’ve sinned against. This is no command to confess your faults before the whole church unless you wronged the whole church. This is not a requirement to tell everyone about our secret sins. Sin need not and should not be confessed beyond the circle of that sin’s influence. That’s the principle. Private sin requires private confession; personal sin requires personal confession; public sin requires public confession. An example. At the height of his fame, D. L. Moody addressed some theology students. One hot shot raised a quarrelsome question that was impertinent in nature and tone – rudely trying to trip Moody up. Moody was quick with a cutting answer that put the young whippersnapper in his place. Those who heard thought the young man got exactly what he deserved and were happy to see it. But the young man sat down, humiliated with tears in his eyes. Moody continued the talk. But as he finished he said, “Friends, I have to confess before all of you that at the beginning of my meeting I gave a very foolish answer to my brother here. I ask God to forgive me, and I ask him to forgive me.” At the height of his success, he was humble enough to admit his failure. The man was totally astonished but quick to give Moody a hug of forgiveness. Note 2 things: First, the apology was not qualified: I was wrong, but, after all, you did start it.” Far too many confessions are negated on that very point. Second, if he had offended his antagonist privately, he should not have confessed publicly. But he gave public offense; thus did the appropriate thing. True confession to one another includes those offended – and no one else. 3. Mature Mentor – But, there are times when confession to a spiritually mature mentor is appropriate – especially when dealing with a besetting sin – one that continues to cling to you. The help of that person who will bear with you as you sincerely repent and yet repeat can be of immense value in overcoming a habit or addiction that is dragging you down. It can be life-changing to learn to humble oneself with a trusted prayer partner. 2 Heb 3:13: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” This requires trusting someone with knowledge of your successes and failures – not all the lurid details, but enough to offer specific help, encouragement and prayer. That kind of relationship must be with a member of the same gender. Far too often cross-gender relationships cross lines that must not be crossed. Keep it simple, keep it honest and keep it with a friend of the same gender. B. How? So, guidelines for confession. The prodigal son gives a beautiful model. He’d partied away his early inheritance and was eating with pigs when Jesus tells us, Lu 15:17) “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18) I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19) I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’” Great model! First note “he came to himself.” – came to his senses. Confession starts in the heart. It is a heartfelt recognition that God was right; I was wrong. Without this change of heart, whatever else follows is mere manipulation. Second, he determines to tell his dad, “Father, I have sinned against heaven.” Heaven? It’s Dad he shamed. Yet he sees his sin is primarily against God –as we saw earlier. This is so important. When Joseph was tempted to sexually by Potiphar’s wife he said in Gen 39:9b: “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” He knew that to succumb would violate his master’s trust as well as the woman. But the greatest violation, as always, would have been against God. Sin ultimately hurts God more than anyone. Third, he says, “I have sinned against heaven and before you.” So, I’ve primarily violated God, but I’ve also sinned against you. His request for early inheritance should have led to being disowned. It was tantamount to saying, “Dad, I wish you were dead.” But Dad suffered the indignity of selling off property to honor his evil request. And now the boy is acknowledging his great sin – taking full responsibility – a model of confession. And there is no recrimination. He doesn’t say, “I’ve sinned against you, but you hurt me first.” He doesn’t go there. True confession can never uses “but.” “I sinned against God and against you when I hit you in the mouth – but, after all, you did call me an idiot.” “But” negates everything. You are not 3 confessing the other person’s fault; you are confessing your own. “But” blames someone else for my behavior. The truth is, all their behavior did was unveil the sin that was already in my heart. Confession doesn’t recriminate. Fourth, he says, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” This is really important. When we truly confess to someone that we’re wrong, we can’t demand the relationship be back where it was. We’ve broken trust and, thus, forfeited the right to say, “I’ve confessed my sin, so now let’s go on as before. Let’s be tight like before.” True confession assumes nothing. It recognizes it has lost the right of a trusting relationship. It does no coerce. It just says, “I want a relationship; I want to clear the problem. I ask your forgiveness, and ask that you take me back as far as you can. But I am not demanding that you put me back where I was.” There is a humility to confession that sees the hurt and damage are real and full reinstatement may not be possible. Finally, he says, “Make me one of your hired hands.” In other words, “I need to serve you. If I can I want to undo the damage I did. I wasted your money and I owe you.” Confession seeks to right the wrong as far as possible – restitution. It can’t be, “Sorry I stole your money, but I sure enjoy the Rolex.” Let’s summarize. When you confess you say, “I know I sinned against God. I also sinned against you. I want a relationship but I do not demand you take me all the way back in – just whatever you can. And I want to make this up to you as much as I can.” Add prayer and healing begins Even if you’re rejected, you will be healed. Your heart will be healed. Now, are there dangers in mutual confession? Of course. Some emotionally needy persons use confession to be noticed They might share in a small group with fake contrition just to get attention. Others are spiritual exhibitionists taking pleasure in telling how sinful they have been, sharing details that ought not be shared. But these should not keep us from practicing mutual confession within the guidelines we’ve given. It is healing – physically, emotionally and spiritually. So, confession is healing and far too little practiced. II. Prayer A. It is Engaged in Humbly – Confession opens the gate to prayer which unleashes God’s unlimited power to work His will in our lives and relationships. But it takes humility to go there. What stops our prayer lives? Pride, harboring sin, covering our faults. Psa 66:18: “If I cherish iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” What keeps prayers from getting 4 no higher than the ceiling? Unconfessed sin, including broken relationships. I Pet 3:7: “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” Mutual confession can heal breaches that cannot be bridged in any other way. It opens wide the gate of God’s mercy and grace when we humble ourselves. Look at 16b: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” See the requirement – righteous person? You say, “Well, that let’s me out. I’m doing my best, but I wouldn’t even call myself righteous, let alone God.” But that is exactly Jas’ point. You’re right. On our own we’re not righteous. None of us. But all of us can be! How? Confession. I Jn 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from what? From all unrighteousness.” So we confess – truly from the heart – that which we know to be wrong in our life. Then what? He cleanses us from all unrighteousness – all of it. That’s what it says. So what does that leave? Righteousness, right? And the prayer of a righteous person – me in Christ – has great power as it is working. Humble confession opens the way to God’s power. B. It is Effective in Healing – Confess and pray “that you may be healed.” As we saw, that’s not an unconditional promise for physical healing, right? So what does it mean? First of all, it speaks to the most pressing issue of all – spiritual healing – a right relationship with God – becoming part of the family. I Pet 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might died to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” That healing happens the moment we come to faith in Christ. But Jas confession is not just to God, but others, which also brings healing. Heb 12:12: Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13) and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14) Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Mutual confession will enable us to encourage one another to the healing of broken spirits (hands that droop) and broken relationships (joints that are out of place). How do we help and encourage each other in these ways -- mutual confession and prayer! That’s why we encourage small groups where this activity is particularly effective. 5 And I think there’s one other promise there. If there is a physical illness that is a result of God’s disciplining hand for some particular sin, that illness will be healed. It has served its purpose. So all the ways we need healing can be ours when we stop insisting on damages (getting even with those who have hurt us) and start seeking repairs (by confessing our part in the conflict and truly praying for each other. Then the same power that enabled Elijah to pray to stop rain and to pray to start rain in accordance with God’s will is ours. We can pray expectantly, looking with anticipation to see how God will answer our heartfelt prayers for peace, restoration, renewal and healing. He’s a big God, Beloved, and our confession and prayer squarely align us with His purposes in such a way that we can watch with great expectation what comes next. Conc – Beloved, the world has a lot of prescriptions for the healing of the soul – vacations, drink, drugs, hobbies, counseling and many others. But they are all a bit like the true story of a patient who went to a psychologist complaining of melancholy. The doctor finally said, “You need amusement. God and watch the comedian Grimaldi. He will make you laugh and that will be better for you than drugs.” The patient replied, “But – I am Grimaldi.” It’s hard for a soul-sick person to offer healing to others. But God’s remedy is simple, tho few will go there because it requires the humility to admit, “I was wrong.” It is confession and prayer. The world would be a different place with more of those. We know God. We can lead the way. Let’s do so. Let’s pray. 6