“Confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful
results.” James 5:16 NLT
Since God
forgives our sins, we in turn should forgive our brethren when they sin against
us. Forgiveness needs to have an important place in our walk with Christ. We need to seek the forgiveness of the party
we have sinned against. If our sin has
had an affect on the entire church body we need to confess it to the entire
church. If we are struggling mightily
with a certain sin, we need to seek loving support from those in the
congregation we trust to give us that support.
If for any reason we doubt that the Lord has forgiven us, we need to
seek out a trusted fellow believer to share our sin with so that that
individual may give us assurance of God’s pardon.
Both when
we forgive and when we are forgiven can be a major step in our growth as a
child of God. When we forgive we have played
a crucial part in the restoration of a brother or sister in Christ. When we are forgiven we are the one that is
restored to right fellowship with our brother or sister and with the Lord. Our sin creates a cloud cover, in a manner of
speaking, between God and us. God is
still there and He stills loves us; the change comes within us. Our focus had shifted and now we bear the
burden of the sin we have committed. The
weight of it can keep us from communion with our Lord out of embarrassment or
guilt. We don’t have a clear conscience
regarding the matter; for we know what we either did or are doing is wrong in
God’s sight. When both God and the
affected party forgive us the cloud is lifted and restoration is complete.
The word
“earnest” in verse 16 means simply sincere
or determined. Therefore, the sincere, determined prayer of
a righteous man makes things happen in the spiritual realm. Who is righteous? If we are born again we are righteous in God’s eyes by virtue of the blood of
Christ. It is a positional thing, not a
literal thing. How God sees us may not
be the actual state we are in at that time.
While we are forgiven, we are seen as totally holy and righteous. We shall strive to attain that status slowly
as we progress down the path set before us with dogged determination
understanding that perfection shall always be outside our reach. Discipleship is not for the faint of heart,
nor is it for those too lazy to pursue righteousness. It is for those who are truly changed and
allow themselves to be led by God’s Holy Spirit. Until next time, walk with the King and be a
blessing!
Resource: Life Application Study
Bible New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012.
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