Sunday Scripture

 

 Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015.  With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study.  Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer.  The seventh section is Made for Community Challenge Week.  So here we go with the Scripture for the fourth day of that section. 

S= "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."  (James 5:16)

O= The theme of the book of James is Practical Christian Living.  Here in the last few verses of the last chapter of the book, James gives a number of exhortations, in view of the coming of the Lord.  This is one of them.  It tells us to confess our faults [or sins] one to another, and to pray one for another, that we may be healed.

I have some concerns with confessing my sins to another human being (though I will freely admit my faults to them).  Warren Wiersbe, in his Bible study on James, sheds some light on this: "We confess our sins first of all to the Lord (1 John 1:9), but we must also confess them to those who have been affected by them.  We must never confess sin beyond the circle of that sin's influence.". He adds, " There is healing (physical and spiritual) when sin is dealt with." James adds that the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous person has great power.

I really like how Believer's Bible Commentary explains this: "A casual reading of this statement might give the impression that we are to tell other people all about our secret sins.  But that is not at all the thought!  Primarily James means that when we sin against someone else, we should be prompt to confess this sin to the person we have wronged.

"Also we should pray for one another.  Instead of holding grudges and allowing resentments to build up, we should maintain ourselves in fellowship with others through confession and prayer ... Physical healing is linked with spiritual restoration."

A=  I must keep short accounts, not only with God, but with others.  I must not delay confessing, and I must not try to hide my sin.  And I must pray for others.  People have wronged me in the past, but by God's grace I am able to pray for them faithfully and extend love and kindness to them. 

Disobedience to God on any believer's  part can lead to sickness, but healing and restoration are entirely  possible when sin is honestly dealt with.

P= "Lord, I pray that You will help me keep short accounts with others, as well as with You.  Help me not to try to hide my sin or to delay confessing it.  Help me to be faithful in praying for others and not to hold grudges against fellow believers who may have hurt me in the past.  I know that an effective prayer life depends in part upon staying "prayed up", so I ask for Your help to do these things, and I thank You for all You'll do in Jesus' name, Amen."

That's the Sunday Scripture for this week.  Only one more to go in this series!   I'm still praying about what study to share next.