The Freedom of Vulnerability
Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) I remember hearing this verse preached about when I was a kid and the pastor saying something like, "I don't need to hear about your sins, don't come confessing them to me! I can't forgive your sins! Only God can do that, just confess your sins to him!" I believe it is true that we only need to confess our sins to God in order to be justified. Jesus is the only priest we need to make mediation and absolution for us, no other human priests are required. But the context of the verse is not about salvation, but about praying for healing from a sickness or affliction. The Apostle James tells us that if we want healing, we should go to the church, confess our faults and sins and have them anoint us with oil, lay hands on us and pray for us.(See James 5:1...