03/10/2023
OVERCOMING SECRET SINS 1: THE DIAGNOSTIC PART (A)
Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. (James 5:16, AMP)
The Lord has as a matter of urgency drawn my attention to this verse of Scripture for both diagnostic & therapeutic purposes.
The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man or woman is able to do much because it generates a lot of power. How? When they first rid themselves of the direct or tangential influences of sin by opening up to fellow believers.
Sin of course prospers in secrecy while it dissipates the believer’s powers and power potentials. When exposed through interpersonal confession, sin desiccates and becomes powerless like resin in the sun.
The Bible proclaims emphatically,
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, NKV)
Note that the confession type that James talks about here is not the type you do to God, it is the type you do to fellow believers with whom you have interpersonal relationship. The reason being that there are life supplies that the Lord has put in His body that can only be accessed through the effective practice of church life. When confession is made and prayer is made, healings and restorations are enjoyed.
What are the types of sins that should be confessed to fellow believers (especially those with high stature and ranking with the Lord)?
They are what the writer of Hebrews calls ‘the sin which so easily ensnares us,’ (Hebrews 12:1, NKJV).
They are sins built around natural desires and lusts - with enough capacity to bind their practitioners in secrets habits.
They are sins with enough oomph to decimate will power and enslave the believer on the ground even though they are seated with Christ in heavenly places.
This is why some believers today, though tongue-blasting, agonise in many secret sins.
To be continued…
With love from your brother,
Arome Osayi
