Confession Of Our Trespasses And

Effective Fervent Prayer!

Adapted from a John Wright sermonhttps://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/confession-of-our-

trespasses-and-effective-fervent-prayer--john-wright-sermon-on-confession-of-sin-143763?page=1

James 5:16 ESV Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one

another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it

is working.In this verse James is teaching Christians some very important things about sins and

prayers.

No Christian can live without committing sin on occasion and no Christian should ever go through any day without going to God in prayer. Again, James is teaching

Christians about two very important subjects. Let’s begin our study of sin and of

prayer.

First, James 5:16a, teaches that Christians can be healed through confession and

prayer.5:16a Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you

may be healed. We have a question.

Is the last part of verse 16a referring to the healing of the body, as in verses 14-15? Or

is it the healing of the soul? Is it referring to forgiveness of sins?

James 5:14 ESV 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. 15 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. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that

you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is

working.

Our answer: Since the first part of the first phrase of 16a is “Therefore,” it is pointing back to 15b And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven, it seems obvious that

the second part of the first phrase of verse sixteen is referring to spiritual healing, not

to physical healing.Look at 16a closely.

James 5:16a ESV Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one

another, that you may be healed.

The problem being discussed in 16a is the guilt of sin.

James is teaching that when the guilty one confesses their sin, then prayer is to be

made in their behalf relating to that sin, not a prayer relating to them being physically

sick.

The Greek word (iaomai ee-ah'-om-ahee) translated healed means ‘to heal, cure,

make whole.’In some passages the word refers to

physical healing, but then in other passages the context bears out that it

refers to spiritual healing. The statements in James 5:16 emphasize that it would refer to spiritual healing. Let’s read a couple of

passages that use the Greek word in reference to spiritual healing.

Matthew 13:15 ESV For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can

barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal

them.‘Here, Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10.

1 Peter 2:24 ESV He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to

sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Here, Peter uses the word “healed” in reference to spiritual healing that comes

through Christ’s death on the cross. James 5:16a, I believe uses the word “healed” in

reference to being forgiven of our sins.

Second, James 5:16a teaches that Christians should confess their sins to

other Christians and that Christians should pray for one another.

James 5:16a, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,

that you may be healed.

James is teaching that God has a condition for receiving forgiveness of sins for the child of God that has committed a sin or

sins.What John says is very much the same as

what James says. 1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

From other passages we learn that we especially need to confess our sin(s) to the

person we have wronged. That our confession is to be as public as

the sin committed.There is nothing inherently in the word

"confess" itself which indicates whether the confession is public or private, or how

public or how private.

I believe that Matthew 18:15-17 can be used to demonstrate that the confession needs

to be only as public as the people who know about the sin. (Dunagan)

Matthew 18:15 ESV "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault,

between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge

may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen

to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Matthew 5:23 ESV So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against

you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother,

and then come and offer your gift.

When we combine the teaching of Jesus, James and John we learn that sins ought to

be confessed as publicly as the sin is known to others.

God knows about each and every sin, even the secret sins.

If God is the only one who knows about a sin we have committed, then it is only necessary to confess that sin to God.

If people in general know about a sin or sins that we have committed then we

should confess that sin in a public manner.

If only two or three know about the sin, then it should only be confessed to those two or

three.

If the number who know about the sin or sins is a large number we would not need to necessarily, physically, go to each one

personally, but the public confession could be made at the services of the church. If the

ones affected are not present when one confesses the sin, the ones affected can be

informed of the confession made by the one coming to the front.

What Jesus, James and John are teaching is that each Christian that is guilty of public

sin must be humble enough to acknowledge their sins, both to God and to

their brethren, and ask God and the brethren for forgiveness.

There is a false teaching and a false practice is based upon James 5:16.

The Catholics use James 5:16 to support their doctrine of Auricular Confession.

The Catholics explain this to refer to individuals confessing their sins into the

ear of a priest.

Catholic places for worship will most always have small wooden booths, similar to phone booths situated on the inside of

the building and close enough to a wall that would allow for a priest to be situated and arrangements made where he could hear

the confession of the one making the confession.

Their teaching and practice is proven false by the fact that James is teaching

Christians that they are do their confessing to one another, as fellow brothers and

sisters of the church and not to some one suppose to be a superior of the church.

Also, if James 5:16a teaches that one is to confess to the priest, it teaches as clearly

that the priest must then immediately confess his sin to the person who is

confessing to him.

I’m sure no priest would agree to such an interpretation.

Another false teaching that is based upon James 5:16 was taught and practiced by

members of the Church of Christ that were caught up in what was called the

Crossroads Movement,then Boston Church of Christ

& nowInternational Churches of Christ (ICC) (ICOC).

Among the cultic practices of the Crossroads Movement is the assigning of

prayer partners.

In the prayer partner set up the upper echelon assigns a "father confessor," to

each new recruit.This father confessor is regarded as

superior, and to that confessor 'the new convert is to confess every sin no matter

how personal or private it may be. (Even to the "sin" of honoring father and mother

above the cult, or the "sin" of taking time from the cult for one's family).

The confessions that are made become the common property of the cult leaders and

may be used to whip the recruits into line. One wise man observed: "If you want to

become the slave of another, tell him your innermost secrets."

(http://www.expositoryreview.com/old-ter/backissues/vol01-2-crossroads.htm)

As time went on the “prayer partner” arrangement became more of a mind

control practice instead of something that pleased God.

The prayer-partner practice when done improperly is as unscriptural as the

Catholic confessional.Let’s move on to some additional teaching

that James gives us on the subject of prayer.

Third, James 5:16b teaches that prayers can be effective and can avail much, but for them to do so, prayers must be fervent and

prayed by those who are righteous.James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous

person has great power as it is working.

The first thing that James emphasizes is that prayer is effective, has great power.This is God’s teaching regarding prayer.

God has James telling Christians that prayer can bring about wonderful results in

our life.

Ephesians 3:20 ESV Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we

ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

In this passage Paul teaches that prayer can be so effective that we can get results that will be beyond what we can imagine.

The second thing that James emphasizes in James 5:16b, prayer is:

“effectual fervent" (KJV)

“working” (ESV)

“energized” (Rotherham)

“avails much” (AKJV)

The effectual fervent prayer - The word effectual is not the most happy translation

here, since it seems to do little more than to state a truism - that a prayer which is effectual is availing - that is, that it is

effectual. The Greek word ( νεργουμενη εenergoumene) would be better rendered by

the word energetic, which indeed is derived from it. The word properly refers to that

which has power; which in its own nature is fitted to produce an effect.

It is not so much that it actually does produce an effect, as that it is fitted to do it. This is the kind of prayer referred to here. It is not listless, indifferent, cold, lifeless, as if there were no vitality in it, or power, but that

which is adapted to be efficient - earnest, sincere, hearty, persevering. There is but a single word in the original to answer to the

translation effectual fervent.

Macknight and Doddridge suppose that the reference is to a kind of prayer “inwrought by the Spirit,” or the “inwrought prayer;”

but the whole force of the original is expressed by the word energetic, or

earnest. (Barnes)

“Fervency” refers to that which is hot and boiling, burning, passionate, enthusiastic,

intense…

For prayers to be prayed with fervency means they are to be prayed with sincerity

and with strong faith and confidence God is going to answer the prayer.

This doesn’t mean they have to be prayed loud and in the form of shouting.

They can be prayed silently and without any verbal expression and still be a fervent

prayer.

James 1:5 ESV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no

doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by

the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from

the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

In this passage James emphasizes that all prayers must be prayed expressing strong

faith in God.

Doubt must not creep into our thoughts as we pray to God.

If the doubts creep in then that prayer ceases to be fervent.

An illustration that might help us to appreciate the importance of fervency and strong faith when we pray, would be when

the light cord is unplugged from the electric socket the light of a lamp will

immediately go out.No more hot electric current is going

through the cord to the lamp when we we suddenly jerk the cord.

To make the spiritual application our prayers cease to be fervent and glowing with the opportunity for effective results

when we express doubt.

A prayer with glowing potential can become cold and ineffective if we do not pray with

fervency and strong faith.

James 5:16 ESV Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one

another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it

is working.

James teaches those who pray are to be righteous.

Luke 1:6 refers to the parents of John the Baptist as being righteous. It explains that

they were righteous as a result of them walking in all the commandments of the

Lord and living blameless lives. Luke 1:6 ESV And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

1 John 3:22 ESV and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his

commandments and do what pleases him.This passage teaches prayers will receive

answers when we keep God’s commandments and do what pleases God. 1 John 5:14 ESV And this is the confidence

that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

James, Luke and John teach us that a righteous person is one who is doing their

best to learn and obey God’s word.They also teach us that we must study and know God’s word so that we can best know

what to pray for.As we learn of what God approves and pray

for those things our prayers will be more effective or effectual.

The last thing that James teaches about prayer is that when you have the right

things being prayed for and the right kind of people doing the praying, then our

prayers “can accomplish much.““Much availeth, the supplication of a righteous man, when it is energized”

(Rotherham);“has great power as it is working” (ESV);

"effectual fervent prayer" (KJV);

"Great is the power of a good man's fervent prayer"(TCNT);

"has great power in its effects" (RSV); "An upright man's prayer, when it keeps at

work, is very powerful" (Wms); "Powerful is the heartfelt supplication of a

righteous man" (Wey).

"to be able, can" (Thayer p. 309); "to be of force, to be effective, capable of

producing results" (Vine p. 90);"have power, be competent, be able“

(Arndt p. 383);"Has much force, present active“

(Robertson p. 66)."great force" (Woods p. 307).

"Be powerful or mighty, and then to prevail, to win out" (Roberts p. 222).

Thus a prayer that can accomplish much must first be prayed by a righteous

individual.In addition, such a prayer can accomplish much because it is a working prayer, an

earnest prayer, a prayer that is the result of someone who is earnestly petitioning,

praying, entreating, the action of prayer which is actively and persistently engaged

in. (Dunagan)

As we bring these words of James to a close in this sermon, let’s not forget that

the first thing that he talked to us about was the importance of confessing our sins.

Conclusion

If you are not a Christian sin in your life hasn’t been forgiven. You need to express repentance, confess your belief that Jesus is the Son of God and obey His command to be baptized having your sins washed

away.

If you are a Christian and there is sin that you need to confess, then we urge you to

come forward as we stand and sing.