INTRODUCTION #36
1. Open your bibles to James 5:16.
2. In this verse James teaches Christians some very important things about sins and prayers.
3. No Christian can live without committing sin on occasions and no Christian should ever go through any day without going to God in prayer.
4. Again, James is teaching Christians about two very important subjects.
5. Let’s begin our study of sin and of prayer.
DISCUSSION
I. FIRST, JAMES 5:16a, TEACHES THAT CHRISTIANS CAN BE HEALED THROUGH CONFESSION AND PRAYER.
1. Let’s read James 5:16a, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
(1) The word “trespasses” is in the NKJV.
(2) In the KJV it is translated “faults”. It is translated “sins” in the ASV.
2. 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?
(1) Our answer: Since the first part of the first phrase of verse sixteen is referring to the confessing of sins; it seems obvious that the second part of the first phrase of verse sixteen is referring to spiritual healing, not to physical healing.
(2) Look at verse 16 closely. The problem being discussed in the first part of v. 16 is the guilt of sin. James is teaching that when the guilty one confesses their sin, then prayer is to be made in his or her behalf relating to that sin, not a prayer relating to them being physically sick .
3. The word translated healed is the Greek word iaomai and means ‘to heal, cure, revive, to recover.’ 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.
4. Let’s read a couple of passages that use the Greek word in reference to spiritual healing.
(1) Turn and let’s read Matt. 13:15. Here, Jesus quotes Isaiah. In another N. T. passage Paul quotes the same passage from Isaiah and both Jesus and Paul use the word “heal” in reference to spiritual healing. Let’s read Matt. 13:15, “15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” Jesus is referring to spiritual healing.
(2) Turn and let’s read 1 Peter 2:24. Here, Peter uses the word “healed” in reference to spiritual healing that comes through Christ’s death on the cross. “24 who Himself (Christ) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” Peter is referring to spiritual healing.
5. James 5:16a, I believe uses the word “healed” in reference to being forgiven of our sins.
II. SECOND, JAMES 5:16a TEACHES THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD CONFESS THEIR SINS TO OTHER CHRISTIANS AND THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER.
1. Let’s again, read James 5:16a, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
(1) As we said a moment ago, the word “trespasses” is used in the NKJV.
(2) In the KJV the word “faults” is used. In the ASV the word “sins” is used.
2. 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.
(1) Turn to 1 John 1:9. What John says is very much the same as what James says. Let’s read 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(2) When we combine the teaching of James and John we learn that sins ought to be confessed as publicly as the sin is known to others.
(3) God knows about each and every sin, even the secret sins. If God is the only one who knows about a sin that we have committed, then it is only necessary to confess that sin to God.
(4) If people in a 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 that two or three.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
3. What James and John both are teaching is that each Christian that is guilty of public sin must be humble enough to acknowledge his or her sins, both to God and to his or her brethren, and ask God and the brethren for forgiveness.
4. 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. Places for worship, owned by Catholics, 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 that he could hear the confession of the one making the confession.
(1) Their teaching and practice is proven false by the fact that James it 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.
(2) 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.
5. Another false teaching that is based upon James 5:16 was that taught and practiced by members of the church of Christ that were caught up in what was called the Crossroads Movement.
(1) For a while, I think it has died down, some congregations were placing a new convert with an older member of the church and set up a “prayer partner” situation.
(2) In this “prayer partner” arrangement” the new convert was taught to confess all of his or her sins to the more mature member of the church. The older member was also suppose to confess his or her sins, but most of the time they would not confess their sins.
(3) As time went on the “prayer partner” arrangement became more of a mind control practice instead of something that pleased God.
(4) The prayer-partner practice when done improperly is as unscriptural as the Catholic confessional.
6. Let’s move on to some additional teaching that James gives us on the subject of prayer.
III. THIRD, JAMES 5:16b TEACHES THAT PRAYERS CAN BE EFFECTIVE AND CAN AVAIL MUCH, BUT FOR THEM TO DO SO, PRAYERS MUST BE FERVERNT AND PRAYED BY THOSE WHO ARE RIGHTEOUS.
1. Let’s read the last part of James 5:16b, “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
(1) The first thing that James emphasizes is that prayer can be effective or KJV “effectual”. This is God’s teaching regarding prayer. God has James telling Christians that prayer can bring about wonderful results in our life.
(2) Turn to Ephesians 3:20. In this passage Paul teaches that prayer can be so effective that we can get results that will be beyond what we can imagine. Let’s read Eph. 3:20, “Now to Him [God] who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”.
2. Looking back at James 5:16, the second thing that James emphasizes is that prayers should be prayed “fervently”.
(1) “Fervency” refers to that which is hot and boiling. For prayers to be prayed with fervency means that, for a couple of things, they are to be prayed with sincerity and with strong faith and confidence that God is going to answer the prayer.
(2) This doesn’t mean that 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.
(3) Turn to James 1:5-8. 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.
(4) An illustration that might help us to appreciate the importance of fervency and strong faith when we pray, would be how that if we pulled the light cord plug from the a light socket that the light of a lamp would immediately go out. No more hot electric current would go through the cord to the lamp or light when we would jerk the cord.
(5) 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.
(6) Let’s read James 1:5-8, “5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
3. Again, look at James 5:16. The third thing that James teaches is that those who pray are to be righteous.
(1) Turn to Luke 1:6. This passage 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. Let read Luke 1:6, “6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”
(2) Turn to 1 John 3:22. This passage teaches prayers will receive answers when we keep God’s commandments and do what pleases God. Let’s read 1 John 3:22, “22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
(3) Turn a page and read 1 John 5:14, “14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
(4) 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.
4. Turn back to James 5:16. 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 will “avail much”.
(1) “Avails much” refers to the right kind of prayers, prayed by the right kind of people: (those who are righteous and those who pray with fervency) are prayers that will have great force.
(2) The words “avails much” come from Greek words that are in the present tense, which means that the great force and great good will continue to come for those who live right and pray right.
CONCLUSION
1. 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.
2. If you have sin in your life that hasn’t been forgiven and you are not a Christian, then you need to express belief, repentance, confession that you believe Jesus is the Son of God and obey the command to be baptized.
3. 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.
Acknowledgments for a lot of thoughts in the development of all the sermons on the book of James are to go to:
(1) Bob Winton CD Commentary on Matthew 27:50-54. 464 Ridgewood Drive Manchester, Tennessee 37355. If interested in CD covering many O. T. & N.T. books call (866) 753-8456.
(2) Miscellaneous commentaries by numerous others.
