James 5:16

 “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, KJV)

UPDATE:  No, I am not observing Lent.  I just realized that I am posting this on "Ash Wednesday".  And No, "Mardi Gras" was not on my mind.

Lately, I've been thinking about this concept, about confessing your sins to a fellow believer (and yes, I may have had some Matthew 5:28-ish issues last night, maybe more accurately, not following I Corinthians 6:18.  I dabbled in "lighter" and not so obvious content, but it's still not "fleeing") (as well as some occasions where I unintentionally go a few miles over the speed limit, that happened recently a few times (3/19)).  Some say we are to only confess to God.  They say that we are not to seek "absolution" for our sins.  They say that the following Scripture is enough:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, KJV)

I wonder:  What do I do?  I'm not Catholic, Catholicism is full of heresy.  

At the very least, I can confess to God.  Nowhere in the following passages is an additional party needed to receive forgiveness:

“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psalms 32:5, KJV)

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, KJV)

“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:13-14, KJV)

So where does James 5:16 fit in?  What if there is no believer for you to confess your sins to?

Honestly, I don't know.

In the name of potential obedience to James 5:16, I address this post to any who are true believers, those are among the "one to another".

Oh, and I've also implemented Matthew 5:29 concerning last night's issues.  For years, I've been wrestling with doctrine concerning...well, self-pleasure, from Darwin Fish of A True Church (he says that the act in and of itself is not sinful, I agree).  If I have sinned in this matter, it is not Mr. Fish's fault, I may have simply misread his stuff.  So what is the implementation?  Cutting off the practice entirely.  This will solve so many problems, especially the following:

“And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23, KJV)

3/9 UPDATE:  Self-pleasure itself may not be the cause of my issues.  It could be certain internet content (I was dabbling in animated internet content, seeing if there was something safe, yeah, that was foolish, see I Corinthians 6:18).  So, let's try staying away from any spicy content, even if it's tame.