CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

388 Evangelizology
(4) Is it conversionistic, such as verbally and publicly declaring a one’s faith in Christ’s
atoning death in order to be saved (a one times experience)?
(5) Is it baptistic, such as confessing Christ by being water baptized following one’s
conversion, following the order of the verbs in Matt 28:19 and Mark 16:16?
(6) Is it proactive (declarative), such as in taking the initiative to evangelize Christ
before men as often as possible?
(7) Is it a combination of some of the above?
Interestingly, God has allowed that the NT provides ample examples to assist in its
proper translation and application. For example, please note that the Louw-Nida
Lexicon includes three entries for the verb o`mologe,w:
33.221, to make an emphatic declaration, 508
33.274, to express open allegiance, 509 and
33.275, to acknowledge a fact publicly. 510
Interestingly, two of these three definitions coincide with the Hebrew shaba’, to swear,
to swear an oath, to swear allegiance to:
Deut 6:13, “You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear
by [or: ‘swear allegiance to’] His name”
Deut 10:10, “You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and
you shall swear by [or: ‘swear allegiance to’] His name”
Likewise interesting, is that o`mologe,w relates directly, in some contexts, to evangelizing
(as is noted below). Nuances in the ecclesiastical-theological-liturgical grid of a
translator (as noted above), however, can be and are often injected into the
translation of this important word.
It would seem that Jerome’s translation of o`mologe,w using the verb “confiteor” 511 (by the
way the sacramental application of this term makes for interesting study) 512 has been
508 “33.221 o`mologe,w: to make an emphatic declaration, often public, and at times in response to pressure or an
accusation - ‘to declare, to assert.’ to,te o`mologh,sw auvtoi/j o[ti Ouvde,pote e;gnwn u`ma/j ‘then I will declare to them, I
never knew you’ Mt 7.23; th/j evpaggeli,aj h-j w`molo,ghsen o` qeo.j tw|/ VAbraa,m ‘the promise which God had declared to
Abraham’ Ac 7.17” (ibid.).
509 “33.274 o`mologe,w; o`mologi,a, aj f; evxomologe,omai: to express openly one’s allegiance to a proposition or
person - ‘to profess, to confess, confession.’ o`mologe,w: o[stij o`mologh,sei evn evmoi. e;mprosqen tw/n avnqrw,pwn, o`mologh,sw
kavgw. evn auvtw|/ e;mprosqen tou/ patro,j mou ‘whoever confesses me before people, I will confess him before my Father’
Mt 10.32. o`mologi,a: kate,cwmen th.n o`mologi,an th/j evlpi,doj ‘let us hold on to the hope we profess’ He 10.23.
evxomologe,omai: dia. tou/to evxomologh,somai, soi evn e;qnesin ‘therefore I will confess you before the Gentiles’ Ro 15.9. For
another interpretation of evxomologe,omai in Ro 15.9, see 33.359.
“It is often extremely difficult, if not impossible, to translate o`mologe,w, o`mologi,a, and evxomologe,omai by the
usual expression for ‘confess,’ since this would usually imply that one has done something wrong. It is normally
necessary, therefore, to employ quite a different type of relationship, usually involving a public utterance and an
expression of confidence or allegiance. For example, in Mt 10.32 it may be necessary to translate ‘whoever tells people
publicly that he is loyal to me, I will tell my Father that I am loyal to that person.’ Similarly, in He 10.23 one may
translate ‘let us hold on to the hope in which we have told people we have such confidence.’ Likewise, in Ro 15.9 one
may translate ‘therefore I will tell the Gentiles how I have put my confidence in you’” (Louw-Nida Lexicon,
BibleWorks 7.0)
510 “33.275 o`mologe,w; evxomologe,omai: to acknowledge a fact publicly, often in reference to previous bad
behavior - ‘to admit, to confess.’ o`mologe,w: eva.n o`mologw/men ta.j a`marti,aj h`mw/n ‘if we confess our sins’ 1 Jn 1.9.
evxomologe,omai: evxomologou,menoi ta.j a`marti,aj auvtw/n ‘they confessed their sins’ Mt 3.6. In translating Mt 3.6 in some
languages, it may be useful to restructure the expression somewhat, for example, ‘they admitted to people that they had
sinned’ or ‘they admitted publicly to God ...’
“In Php 2.11 the statement pa/sa glw/ssa evxomologh,shtai o[ti ku,rioj VIhsou/j Cristo,j (‘that everyone may
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’) means simply to acknowledge a fact publicly, and in this instance there is no
implication of previous bad behavior” (ibid.).
511 “Cōnfiteor fessus, ērī, dep. com- + fateor, to acknowledge, confess, own, avow, concede, allow, grant:
confitere, T.: confitentem audire alqm: non infitiando confiteri videbantur: Confessas manūs tendens, in surrender, O.: