James 5:14-16, “Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
No, absolutely not! There is considerable debate over the meaning of James
5:16 in the Holy Bible. I think the King James Bible translators
intentionally used the word “faults” instead of “sins.” Like many other
passages of Scripture, this passage can be interpreted multiple ways. I
think the Bible is simply teaching us to admit when we are wrong, and fess
up to our faults, rather than cover our wrongs toward others. Marital
disharmony can hinder prayers. 1st Peter 3:7, “Likewise, ye husbands,
dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto
the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that
your prayers be not hindered.” I think this is the context (of
maintaining peace with one another) in which James 5:16 is speaking, and not
confessing sins that don't involve that person.
Granted, that is just my opinion. Most of the modern Bible revisions use the word “sin” instead of “fault,” which I humbly think is a mistranslation, influenced by the Satanic Roman Catholic sacrament of confession. Only God alone can forgive sins. So if only God can forgive sins, why would He want us to confess to men? Certainly, if we wrong someone, we should seek reconciliation and restitution with that person, before we can expect to make things right with God as His child. No believer can be wrong with his neighbour and right with God. Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Another thought on the matter is that the word “confess” means “to say the same thing,” that is, “to agree with someone.” Perhaps the Bible is teaching us, as I mentioned, to agree with others when we are accused, and the allegation is true, rather than lie and cover it up. But again, this would only involve the person whom the offense was against. This is a controversial passage of Scripture, but I am confident that God did not intend for us to confess our skeleton closet to others. Everyone has sins. If it did mean “sins,” just for the sake of argument, then would we have to confess ALL our sins, including sins of thought? Or would we only be obligated to confess certain sins, selectively at our discretion? What sins should we confess to each other? Do you see the can of worms it opens if James 5:16 means “sins”?
Truly, those wise 54 men who translated the King James Bible in 1611 knew what they were doing, and understood the ridiculous idea of confessing our “sins” to one another. I respect the opinion of others in this matter, but I hold my own as well, which I have just shared with you. I will NEVER tell any human being all of my SINS! But if I ever did, you would have to spend about a month listening to me!!! I might tell my pet cat if I ever get one...lol. If I hurt you, God forbid, then I ought to confess to you about it, in an effort to make things right. I am not saying that I am right in this matter, but it is what I sincerely believe from the Bible. It makes sense to me that we should confess our faults against those whom we have offended, so that our prayers will not be hindered. It is a matter of righteousness and love.
