Why does James 5:15 say our sins will be forgiven?

Quick Answer: Why does James 5:15 say our sins will be forgiven? James 5:15 does express the believer’s forgiveness using future tense. However, James is simply presenting a hypothetical situation (“if he has committed sins”) and assuring his readers that such a person will be forgiven in that scenario. This passage is intended to be comforting for anyone who might be afraid of a future struggle. Any sin committed will be forgiven because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, once for all (Hebrews 10:14).

Diving Deeper: James writes, “…and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:15). Both the conditional “if” and the use of future tense (“will be forgiven”) may scare some into thinking that the believer’s forgiveness from God is still in question.

However, it is important to note that the only condition presented is that the sins are committed. In other words, James is simply reassuring his audience that if any sins are committed at a future date, they will be forgiven. We are time creatures, and we live day to day. Here, James is comforting us by letting us know that even tomorrow’s sins will be forgiven when they occur.

(Note: Some have tried to link the conditional “if” in the passage to the concept of confession in the next verse (“confess your sins one to another”). In so doing, they claim that believers are not forgiven without ongoing confession of sins. However, the confession in James 5 is to other people, not to God. And our forgiveness is based on the finished work of the cross, not on verbalizing struggles to other people.)

The bottom line is that we believers are forgiven people – past, present, and future (Hebrews 10:14). In fact, James 5:15 is assuring us of this very thing – that even tomorrow’s sins will be forgiven the moment they are committed. We are time creatures, and we often worry about tomorrow. Through James 5:15, God is telling us that we don’t have to worry anymore – He will always be with us, treating us as if we’ve never sinned.

Let’s Make It a Conversation!
1. What does it mean to you that your next sin will be forgiven the moment it is committed?
2. Does this truth make you want to sin more? Why or why not?
3. How does the finished work of Christ help you interpret James 5:15?
4. React to this statement: We confess our struggles to others to get more healthy, not more forgiven by God.