The Bible says,

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:14–16 NIV84).

The Bible advises us to confess our sins to one another—but why? What does this mean? Is this talking about making one’s personal sins public? Is it talking about ritual confession with a church-authorized priest in a confessional booth?

And what is going on that James has connected confessing sins with healing from sickness?

My understanding is that James is guiding believers to apply the methods of God that bring healing to one’s heart and mind, and such healing also has a very positive impact on our physical health. James is not talking about a legal confession, a confession to a church official for some ceremonial absolution, nor is he talking about making personal sins public. He’s talking about confessing to another human being for the purpose of healing one’s heart and mind from the fear and shame that sin brings.

One of the impacts of sin, of transgressing the laws God has built into the operations of reality, of going against love, is that sin causes a change inside the sinner—they experience guilt, fear, and shame.

Guilt, fear, and shame activate the brain’s stress circuitry and trigger the body’s immune system, which increases various inflammatory factors; if not resolved, it contributes to various health problems, such as insulin resistance, obesity, adult-onset diabetes, vascular disease, depression, dementia, and other health problems.

Unresolved guilt, shame, and fear also interfere with sleep, which disrupts the immune system, circadian rhythms, the brain’s ability to clear waste products of metabolism, the body’s ability to reduce the stress cycle—all of which increase health problems.

Additionally, chronic guilt and shame undermine healthy relationships. People with chronic guilt and shame feel insecure, worrying about people finding out about whatever it is they are feeling guilt and shame about. They will be guarded, learn to wear social “masks,” pretending to be what they believe others want, and always keep certain boundaries up to prevent true intimacy for fear of rejection if people knew the cause of their guilt and shame. All of this worsens both mental and physical health.

God’s plan of salvation is the plan of healing, of restoration, of re-creation, of removal of the sin and its damaging effects from the lives of people and restoring them to health, to wholeness, to holiness, to righteousness—and this requires not a legal pardon for bad deeds but the removal of sin, the purging of fear, selfishness, guilt, shame, and all unhealthy motives from the hearts and minds of people.

God promises that if we turn to Him,

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezekiel 36:26, 27 NIV84).

God isn’t seeking to give us legal pardon; He is seeking to give us a new life, a healed life, a pure heart, a right spirit, a recreated and healed mind, motivated with a new spirit of love and trust.

One of the means God has ordained for the removal of fear and shame after one has repented and been reconciled to Him is the confession of one’s sins to another mature, Christian human being. The purpose of this is to purge the fear and shame, the doubt as to whether others could still love them, still care for them, still accept them, still allow them to be part of the community, still allow them to serve and be useful in God’s cause.

As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, they became afraid, ran, and hid because they were naked. They felt exposed. They were afraid of rejection, embarrassment, and humiliation, and they tried to cover their shame with their own fig-leaf garments. They tried to make themselves look good—their “mask” to cover up their guilt and shame.

This is what sin does to people; it damages the image of God within, corrupts the spirit of love with fear and selfishness, guilt and shame, which, if not removed, is corrosive, leading to isolation, which further inflames fear with subsequent worsening of one’s physical health.

Sinners who have repented and received God’s love and forgiveness also need to experience real-life acceptance, connection, reconciliation, love, and being valued by people who know of their sins. So that they can know their sin has not invalidated their life, permanently ruined them, and made them worthless. It is when the repentant person experiences from another human that they are genuinely loved and accepted despite another person knowing their most shameful sins that the shame and fear that cause isolation and distrust are removed.

One of the places this is most effectively practiced and demonstrated is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. When an alcoholic goes to an AA meeting, they introduce themselves, saying, “Hello, I’m Bob, and I’m an alcoholic.” They confess their addiction, and the group responds with, “Welcome, Bob.”

This process demonstrates the healing element of what James is advising. The alcoholic knows they are struggling, knows they have a problem, knows they have let themselves, God, family, and friends down. They have tried repeatedly on their own to stop, but they have repeatedly failed and feel discouraged, helpless, and ashamed, fearing rejection, condemnation, and even punishment. They fear no one could love them if they knew about their sins; their dignity is damaged; they fear to look others in the eye, and, thus, at the AA meeting, they confess their addiction and experience that they are accepted despite everyone knowing of their weakness.

But simultaneously with their acceptance as a human who is valued and loved, the AA group identifies the addiction as destructive, harmful, and something to be overcome so that the addict can be healed and set free. The alcoholic is accepted; the addiction is not. Likewise, Christians are to always love and accept the sinner who is repentant but struggling while we reject the sin and seek to apply God’s methods in achieving victory. Part of this healing action is the loving acceptance of a repentant sinner.

When the repentant sinner experiences the acceptance, love, and appreciation from people despite them knowing about their sins, there is a relief from fear and shame. Their stress circuitry calms, the inflammatory cascade turns off, sleep improves, and physical health improves. The individual can move forward without the “mask,” living an authentic life, making real connections, in which they are known. All of this has a healing impact on our entire being.

This full healing confession is specifically prescribed for addicts in the fourth and fifth steps of AA’s 12 steps, which read:

Step 4: Make a Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory of Yourself

Step 5: Admit to God, Yourself, and Another Human Being the Exact Nature of Your Wrongs

These steps apply the healing principle that James has instructed. In order to heal from sin, we must stop running from the truth that we are broken and admit to God, ourselves, and at least one other human being the truth about ourselves, our struggles, our weaknesses, and our sins. When we do, we experience forgiveness from God, a new heart from God, re-creation from God, love from God, and a new animating motivation from God. And when we confess to at least one other human being and they live in harmony with Jesus and respond as Jesus would, then we experience acceptance. And it is in experiencing this human acceptance that the fear and shame are removed. The removal of fear and shame from one’s heart and mind is a requirement for healing.

If you are struggling with chronic fear, guilt, and shame, I would encourage you to do a searching moral inventory and then go to God, confess all to Him, and ask Him for a new heart and right spirit, experience His presence in your inner being, His love, peace, grace, mercy, acceptance. And then find at least one mature Christian and have this conversation, explaining your longing for God’s healing in your life, and confess your sins to that person so that you can experience that you are loved as a child of God and that your past sins have not excluded you from God’s love, grace, or fellowship in His family.

If you would like to explore the power of prayer and the purpose of the oil in James’ recommendation above, check out our blog Anointing Oil: Real Remedy or Superstitious Ceremony?