James 5:16

James 5:16. Confess your faults. Here we are led especially to think on wrongs inflicted upon others offences against the law of love; but there is no reason to limit the term to any kind of sins; it comprehends sins against God as well as against man.

one to another. On this verse chiefly do the Romanists found their doctrine of auricular confession, that it is the duty of believers to confess their sins to the priest. But for this dogma there is not the slightest foundation in this passage; the confession is to be made not to the priest, but to one another; it is a mutual confession, so that the priest should confess to the penitent, as well as the penitent to the priest.

and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. Some restrict this to bodily healing, as in the case of the sickness mentioned above. But there is no reason for this restriction; as the confession and the prayer are mutual, spiritual healing may also be included. The term, therefore, is to be taken generally, including both spiritual and bodily healing. And certainly confession has a healing efficacy. There is no burden heavier to bear than the burden of some guilty secret. Now this burden is lessened, if not removed, by confession. Confession expels sin from the soul, and restores a man to his true self; whereas secrecy retains sin, and causes a man to live a false life.

The effectual fervent prayer. The Greek word here rendered ‘effectual fervent' has been differently translated. Literally it means energetic or operative. Some, regarding it as passive, render it ‘inwrought,' that is, by the Holy Spirit ‘inspired prayer.' Others render it ‘the prayer of a righteous man availeth much in its working;' [1] that is, worketh very effectually. Perhaps the word ‘fervent' by itself, or ‘earnest,' gives the correct meaning; the word ‘effectual' in our version is wholly superfluous; the earnest prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Prayer, in order to prevail, must proceed from an earnest heart, and be made by a righteous man; that is, by a good, sincere, true-hearted man.

[1] So Revised Version.