Power of Confession || James 5:16 || Manna for the Mind #208

James 5:16

NASB	NLT	VOICE
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.	16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has a great power and produces wonderful results.	16 So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life.

Jesus has shown us the path to go to God directly when we need forgiveness. His death tore the curtain in the Temple and removed the spiritual barrier that kept us from reaching God on our own. Now, we can approach God at any time about anything. However, confessing our sins, our internal problems, our struggles, our weaknesses to each other is still important in the life of the church and the health of a relationship. When James refers to a “righteous person,” he is not talking about sinless people (because there is one other than Jesus.) James is talking about those who can effectively prayer for others because of their own relationship with God. It’s those people that you can talk to about a certain situation because you know their experience and you know you have a strong relationship with them. Because a Christian has a right relationship with God and talks to God about EVERYTHING that happens – both good and bad, this person will be in your corner. This person should be able to intentionally listen without judgment, ask deeper questions for understanding and getting into the root of things, and be able to pivot into a conversation with you and God about inviting God in and having God go to work. Unfortunately, some Christians are like this – but for the wrong intention. Some Christians will use this same structure, but to gain gossip, exert control, or abuse their power. There will be those the blend in like a grain of sugar in a vat of salt. What I believe is the difference between someone who is real and someone who is fake in this situation is how much they focus on you. A true follower will focus on you, making sure you are loved and heard. A fake followers will focus on themselves, make sure you know they’re helpful and showcasing their own talents to help you. God gifts us the power of discernment, so the Holy Spirit will be able to nudge you in understanding what kind of person is what.

This verse talks about many different principles that are important when talking about confession. If we have done wrong to someone, we must ask that person for forgiveness. Now, they might not. It’ll hurt to hear. It’ll hurt to live with. However, when you reach out for forgiveness, you are passing along the control of the situation. How a person responds to your ask of forgiveness is up to them to manage. Some people might grant it, and things will return to normal; grant it and start fresh; or, as mentioned, not grant it and end the relationship. Whatever happens is what will happen. Asking for forgiveness is a healthy first step to closure. Make sure you take that step. If our sin affects the church, we must confess it publicly. We don’t like gossip. We don’t like to not know. If something happens, own it, and allow the church to move past it. If we need support as we struggle with a sin, confess to those people that can provide support. Allow the people who are trained, experienced, and helpful with your sin into your story so that they know where you are and how they can help you. If, after confessing privately in conversation with God, we still don’t feel his grace and mercy, talk to another believer just to receive the assurance of God’s forgiveness. Christians are taught to not walk alone in our journey through life. Other believers, one’s you trust, are there to motivate, encourage, cheer, teach, and counsel you as you navigate this craziness of life.  

Matthew 18:15-18

NASB	NLT	VOICE
15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.	15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.	15 This is what you do if one of your brothers or sisters sin against you: go to him, in private, and tell him just what you perceive the wrong to be. If he listens to you, you’ve won a brother.
16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed.	16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.	16 But sometimes he will not listen. And if he does not listen, go back, taking a friend or two friends with you (for, as we have learned in Deuteronomy, every matter of communal import should be testified to by two or three witnesses).
17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.	17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she wont accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.	17 Then, if your brother or sister still refuses to heed, you are to share what you know with the entire church; and if your brother sister still refuses to listen to the entire church, you are to cast out your unrepentant sibling and consider him no different from outsiders and tax collectors.
18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.	18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.	18 Remember this: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

These are the guidelines taught by Jesus on how to deal with those who sin against us. To sin is the Greek word: hamartanó (hah-mar-TAH-no). It’s defined as sinning, missing the mark, or to err. From the Old Testament, this represents any act of disobedience against God’s commands. It’s used in the New Testament to describe falling short of God’s standard, highlight moral failure and the need for repentance and divine forgiveness.

Now, it’s important to name that these guidelines where meant for Christians, for sins that were committed against us and not others (meaning don’t use them as a third party), and for conflict resolution in the context of the church, not the community at large. I will be, however, attempting to utilize these teachings for any situation.

Jesus’ words are not a license to attack every person that hurts us or causes any inconvenience for us. They are not a license to start gossip or turn things into a debate, war, or other related acts. Jesus is giving us an orderly way to hand conflicts with increase acts of accountability at each step. They are ways to help rebuild and reconcile after any quarrel. To be able to talk to one another, civilly and respectfully, to reach a middle ground of forgiveness and respect. Sometimes, we need to get an extra third party to mediate. Sometimes we need to add a professional counselor / therapist / mediator to help. We must remember, as I mentioned earlier, that forgiveness is about closure for you. If you mean your ask of forgiveness from the heart and intentionally, then you can close the door to the situation. It’s up to the person you ask to accept your forgiveness or to reject it. The ball is in their court. We cannot control their response, but we do need to live with and respect their response no matter how much it may hurt us.

Jesus urges us to reconcile wherever conflict threatens to damage so that all can live in harmony. Harmony is the ultimate goal, a balance between God’s creation that allows his creation to live into the plan that God created it to live. When someone has wronged us, we often do the opposite. We want revenge. We want someone to feel the way we felt. We seek revenge, engage in gossip and toxicity, and so much more. Overall, we need to go to that person first. It may be difficult, but we should forgive them as often as needed. It’ll make us vulnerable. It’ll make us hurt. It’ll give us the best chance to restore our relationship.

1 John 1:9

NASB	NLT	VOICE
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.	9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.	9 But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done.

Confession freely allows us to enjoy our relationship with Christ. Confessing should ease our consciences, remove our shame, and lighten our burden of guilt. We should feel lighter, guilt-free, and have a sense of ownership that allows us to take control of the thing that we have done. Through Christ, we work towards repentance and a place of restoration with God that allows us to continue doing what he has planned.

Some Christians don’t understand how it works. They can feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over and over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other people believes that God forgives them when they confess, but if they die with unconfessed sins then they would be forever lost and separated from God for eternity. God wants to forgive us. There is never not a time when God wouldn’t forgive us. He allowed Jesus to died so he could offer us pardon of our sinful acts. He canceled the punishment of our sin and dismissed us from all the charges. What does this mean? He’s forgiven and forgotten. He doesn’t hang our past over us. He doesn’t look at us differently because of our past. He takes us as we are, forgives us, and prepares us to move forward to do what he created us to do.

When we’re committed to Christ, he forgives us of everything. Everything we have done in the past, everything in the present, and everything in the future. We should STILL continue to confess (even though God knows what’s in our hearts AND has already forgiven us). It’s not because not doing so will make us lose our salvation. Our relationship with Jesus is secure. We should confess so we can maximize the potential of our relationship with him. It allows us to ensure that we are utilizing our relationship with Jesus so that we can go out and what he commands us and has taught us to do.

Next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #209