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 5:16
Last week we talked about a pathway to repentance that included moving through regret. Another important piece of that path is confession. We are instructed to confess our sins, even to one another. Aside from being an obedient act, it has great value for our spiritual health.
Confession should be towards the one harmed – and with sin, God is always the ultimate one offended. So confession first should be directed towards God. But sin within the body of Christ also affects the whole body. In reading Bonhoeffer’s “Life Together” he makes a case for our wholeness together and the effect of each other’s actions on one another. Just as injury to one causes damage to the whole, so confession can be done to one and heal the whole.
Confession aids in repentance in that it brings light to secret sin and in so doing, releasing its hold. If sin is allowed to sit buried in the darkness, it can fester and grow. Hidden sin can compound as we commit more in order to hide the first, corrupting relationships and community without our realizing the cause. God sees and He will eventually bring it.
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13
When we confess, we allow accountability to enter the equation in our path to repentance, a changed direction. And this then also leads to reconciliation. Reconciliation strengthens and heals the Body of Christ.
The act of confession opens the heart to receive God’s forgiveness and fosters humility and empathy in our interactions with one another. For those private sins of the heart, do you have someone safe – mature and trusted – that you can share with? Not as a dumping ground but someone who can walk through the struggle and hold you accountable? We need brothers and sisters who will help facilitate growth and reconciliation and also bring encouragement. Are we that safe place?
A renewed discipline of confessing our sins can strengthen the repentant. Let us treat one another gently, confessing our wrongs and receiving confession with humility.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
