What Does It Mean to Confess Our Sins to One Another? (Part 2 on James 5:16)

By A. B. Caneday

My response to the question asked of me concerning James 5:16, which admittedly called for knowledge of pertinent passages within the Gospels with regard to Jesus’ teaching concerning confession and forgiveness of sin, prompted a follow-up question. I was asked to provide biblical support for my initial response. Specifically, the questioner asked, “Where in Scripture does it teach or imply that we should confess sins only to those against whom we have sinned?” What follows is my response expanded for this blog entry.

First, it stands to God-given reason and wisdom that we should confine confession of sin to those against whom we have sinned. Likewise, God-given reasoning and wisdom calls upon us to confine the call for repentance from those who have sinned against us. If sin is privately committed, reason and wisdom calls for us to confine knowledge of the sin and of the confession to the one who sinned and to the individuals sinned against. Of course, we are not left to reason and wisdom, helpful as they are. God’s Word provides clear instruction on this issue.

Second, love obligates us to confine knowledge of a sin and of confession of that sin to the one who commits it and to the individual or individuals against whom the sin was committed. The final verses in James’ letter are instructive to guide us on how we ought to understand James 5:16. James instructs, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (5:19-20). In the last clause—“will cover a multitude of sins”—James alludes to Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses” (cf. 1 Peter 4:8). We would be quite wrong to infer that this proverb instructs us that love should prompt us to wink at sin, to “cover” sin by ignoring it. Neither Peter nor James uses the proverb to encourage Christians to overlook sin. Clearly, James understands that love “will cover a multitude of sins” not by ignoring sin but by confronting the one who sins with the intention of bringing the sinner back to the way of truth. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that sin is covered through forgiveness as David declares, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1; cf. Romans 4:5-8), and again, as the psalmist affirms, “You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin” (Psalm 85:2). Covering of sin by love which Scripture admonishes comes through confession and forgiveness. Therefore, love obligates us Christians to cover sins of one another from the sight and knowledge of others through confession and forgiveness, confining knowledge of the sin as much as possible. So, when forgiveness of sin follows confession of sin with requisite restitution, restoration covers the fault rather than publishing it.

Third, does not Jesus make it unambiguously clear that confession of sin is to be confined to those individuals against whom sin is committed? Is this not evident from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:15-18?

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This passage concerns “church discipline.” Church discipline, however, is wrongly conceived of as principally punitive rather than restorative. To be sure, because the Corinthian church failed to implement Jesus’ first procedural steps to bring the sexually immoral man among them to repentance and thus to restoration, the apostle Paul calls upon the church to take the necessary final procedural action to put him out of the church “in order that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5). Paul’s call for final action—excommunication—does not warrant our taking final action first, bypassing the initial steps.

It is crucial that Christians understand the purpose of church discipline, for Jesus calls for procedural steps to be followed, first of all, not to excommunicate but to bring about confession of sin, restitution, restoration, and reconciliation privately between or among individuals. Jesus designs the procedures to confine both knowledge of the sin and the sin’s effects to the individuals concerned, which is to say, to the one who sinned and to those against whom the sin was committed. The procedure has the added benefit of protecting us from false accusations, but only if we obey Jesus’ instruction by following the procedural steps. For, if the first step does not bring reconciliation through confession and restitution, the second step in the procedure calls for the presence of two or three others to bear witness concerning the proceedings which should include (1) why confession of sin is not forthcoming during the initial private meeting of the two individuals,   (Is the charge of sin false?), (2) response to the charge made for the second time (whether the charge is false or true), and (3) whether repentance and forgiveness are forthcoming from the two individuals. If reconciliation is achieved, either by repentance or by exposure of a false charge, the procedure stops. Everything about Jesus’ instructions directs us to restrict confession of the sin within the confines of either the first two steps. Only if the one who sinned becomes recalcitrant and refuses to repent is the matter to be brought to the whole church, and then, if excommunication is to take place, the individual is to be put out of the church for refusal to repent, not for the sin that set the whole procedure in motion.

Lamentably, because Evangelicals routinely ignore these procedural steps great injury is done to individuals, to local churches, to truth, to the gospel, and to the cause of Christ on earth. Real sins are being ignored. False accusations tend to flourish because Evangelicals refuse to follow the three-step procedure which is designed to protect against slanderous accusations. Consequently, gossip and slander destroy individuals. Furthermore, many church members openly persist in sinful behavior without ever being confronted.

It is tempting for those in the church and in church institutions with position and rank to abuse the power afforded them once they fall prey to sin’s temptation. National news reports reveal that more than a few exploit their positions of authority to isolate and to insulate themselves as they nurse sinful indulgences and character flaws. Often, anyone who nurses their own sinful passions are guilt-ridden, not knowing how to confess and how to receive forgiveness of their sins, given their prominent positions. Refusal to confess sin leads to concealment of sin, even to justification of sin. Consequently, like David, whoever takes this course tends to lash out with harshness against others whose sins pale compared to their own (see 2 Samuel 12:1-5).

Thus, for anyone with power who nurses their own sin, when charges of sin against another come to their attention, it is easy to preempt the procedural steps Jesus requires. Instead of insisting upon following Jesus’ procedures, which are designed to expose the truth of such charges, the penchant is to rush to judgment by imposing final action first. Presumption that the charge of sin is correct justifies circumvention, denying the accused any proper private hearing. Rash judgment imposes punitive action after bypassing Jesus’ required procedures. Consequently, neither false accusations get exposed as false nor truthful charges of sin receive proper private hearing, confession, restitution, reconciliation, leading to restoration of the one charged with sin. And then, after publicizing the accusations, whether truthful or slanderous, great injury is done against the accused, yet leaders who circumvent Jesus’ procedures find it easy to excuse their own participation in gossip and slander that invariably follows, just as they find it easy to impose harsh judgment and punishment. Godly character is requisite for everyone who accepts the call to rank and position in Christian churches and institutions.

Ardel Caneday (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Professor of New Testament Studies and Biblical Studies at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has served churches in various pastoral roles, including senior pastor. He has authored numerous journal articles, many essays in books, and has co-authored with Thomas Schreiner the book The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance (Inter-Varsity, 2001).

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