Verse 16: Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
In this verse James continues to examine the issue of sin in the life of the believer. In Scripture sin is designated as “every departure from the way of righteousness, both human and divine.”1 In verse 15 the sins committed and forgiven were violations of the righteous standards of God. James provides the correct order of how believers are to resolve the issue of sin in their lives: confession of sins to God and then to make amends with those who they have offended.
It should be carefully noted what this verse asserts confessing to one another the admittance of wrongdoing. The emphasis here is upon restitution of offenses against other believers, illustrated by Our Lord in Matthew 5:23, 24; Luke 17:4. What it does not mean is the necessity of confessing in a public forum or in a church setting. Just as confession to God is between the believer and God, confession of offenses is between the believer and the brother in Christ who was offended. The epistle of James has detailed many sins committed against fellow believers: partiality (2:1ff); lack of compassion (2:15-16); quarreling (4:1ff); slander (4:11); defrauding (5:4). Now it is time to repair relationships.
Next, James commands that they pray for one another. This could be done at the time when restitution is made or anytime afterwards. The reason for this is that you may be healed. “You” means both the offender and the offended. The word healing here does not refer to a physical healing but a mending of a relationship damaged by the offense of a brother in Christ. Admitting wrongdoings to fellow believers is a clear demonstration of obedience to Our Lord’s command to love the brethren:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34; cf. 1 Peter 1:22)
And we are also commanded by Our Lord to “be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50) and by the Apostle Paul to “live in peace with one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:13b).
A wonderful promise ends this verse accentuating that an effective prayer accomplishes much. What exactly is an “effective” prayer? The word effective means to be operative, be effective, have powerful effects, to accomplish.2 Since this word is at the end of the Greek sentence, it indicates that James places a significant emphasis on the substance of this prayer. This prayer must meet the qualifications necessary to be heard by God. Not every prayer uttered is heard by God. The unbeliever’s prayers are never heard—except for the prayer which responds to the gospel’s offer of salvation (John 9:31; cf. Proverbs 1:28). For believers there is a stipulation: the only time their prayers reach God is when “a righteous man” offers them (Proverbs 15:29; Psalm 34:15).
So, what is a righteous man? He is not merely one who does good deeds—helping old ladies cross the street, etc. He is a believer who emulates the righteousness of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. L.S. Chafer describes the righteous character of God:
God is transparently holy and righteous in all His acts. When combined with love, His righteousness results in grace. God’s righteousness is ever absolute and perfect to infinity: “In him is no darkness at all.” God’s righteousness is seen in two ways: (a) He is a righteous Person (James 1:17; 1 John 1:5) and (b) He is righteous in all His ways (Rom. 3:25-26).3
The logical question now is: How can a believer emulate His righteousness? The Apostle Paul tells instructs us,
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:14)
Putting on Christ is to clothe oneself with the new self, the new man—a new creation (Galatians 6:15; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul explains the character of our new self:
Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:24; cf. Colossians 3:10)
Those who have put on the new self, have been “renewed in the spirit” of their minds (Ephesians 3:23; cf. Romans 12:2)—they have underwent “a renovation which makes a person different than in the past.”4 Further, Paul commands us to continually walk empowered by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 24)—to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) and under the Spirit’s controlling influence. But when a believer sins he grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:10) making it impossible for the believer to be in a righteous standing before God. Therefore the believer must confesses his sins to God (1 John 1:9) in order to be restored to a righteous position with the Lord. Sin in the life of the believer is incompatible with the righteous character of God. This is the reason James maintains that forgiveness of sins against God (5:15) must be resolved before praying for one another. When this is accomplished, the believer will be in a righteous position for prayer to be effective.
Finally, the righteous mans’ prayer has powerful effectiveness because the conditional elements which makes it effective have been realized: offered to God the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ (John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23f) and prayed according to His will (1 John 5:14).
These are the prayers that will accomplish much. The Greek word accomplish means to “have power, be competent, be able”5 and therefore prayer has the power to do much—literally, great things for God and for the believer.
[1] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1957). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 42.
[2] Newman, B. M., Jr. (1993). A Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament. Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; United Bible Societies, p. 61.
[3] Chafer, L.S. (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 7.270.
[4] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G342.
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