May 18
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BE CLEAR WHERE YOU STAND AND CONFESS TO ONE ANOTHER
12 But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment. 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
– James 5:12-16
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In this letter, James clearly warns us not to make vows or swear by heaven or by earth. He must be referring to an Old Testament verse in Deuteronomy 23:21-23 which goes like this: “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.” James backs it up in verse 12 that you must be clear where you stand. If it is a yes, let it be so and if it is a no, then do the same. Anything in between may be judged against you.
He brings another advice in verse 14 where they go to the elders when they are sick so that they can be anointed with oil and be prayed over. He stresses the importance of praying in faith in verse 15, which restores the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. Isn’t this an act of faith that few churches today practice. We instead, go straight to medical professionals, instead of faith filled believers to pray over us. No wonder our world is plagued with many illnesses. We have become faithless and have not followed this act of faith.
In verse 16, James brings out another important issue that many believers fail to do so. He tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other so that we may get healing. Accountability to another believer by confessing our sins to them manifests our humility to admit that we have transgressed and we need to pray for each other.
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REFLECTION
• Why is being clear and confessing to one another important in a believer’s life?