CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

390 Evangelizology
Titus 1:16, “They profess [o`mologe,w] to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him,
being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed”
Heb 11:13, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, …, and having
confessed [o`mologe,w] that they were strangers and exiles on the earth”
Heb 13:15 (HCSB), “Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a
sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name”
1 John 1:9, “If we confess [o`mologe,w] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
[Did not the Samaritan woman openly confess her sin to the townspeople, this being
her witness to Christ which led to a revival in the town of Sychar, John 4:39-
42?]
1 John 4:2, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses [o`mologe,w]
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God”
1 John 4:3, “and every spirit that does not confess [o`mologe,w] Jesus is not from God…”
1 John 4:15, “Whoever confesses [o`mologe,w] that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in
him, and he in God”
2 John 7, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not
acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the
antichrist”
[Isn’t it interesting that Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not confess their sins
or their sinfulness in their witness (1 John 1:8-10)? Neither do they confess
Christ and the need for the blood atonement]
Rev 3:5, “…and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels”
[a parallel to the words of Jesus in Mark 8:38]
It would seem, therefore, that the word “confess” in English is about the least
intentional and active translation of the word o`mologe,w, as compared with “declare,”
“profess,” and even “acknowledge.”
a) “Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men,” Matt 10:32
Notice that it is before others, and before others plural (“men”), in the context of persecution
because of the name of Jesus:
Matt 10:22-23, “And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who
has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in this city,
flee to the next…”
Notice also that our confession of God, listed first, mirrors Christ’s confession of us in Matt 10
and Luke 12, as well as inversely in Mark 8
How about translating with the word “profess” just like the translation of this word (o`mologe,w) in
Titus 1:16? “Therefore everyone who professes Me before men, I will also profess him
before My Father who is in heaven.”
Notice also the gloss of the evangelistic Anabaptist Martyr, Balthasar Hubmaier, which explains
his interpretation of this verse: “If anyone confessed Christ before men, not fearing them,
though they rage as lions, Christ will confess him, in the presence of the Father, (Matt. 10
Mark 8)” 514
Note, in reference to Hubmaier’s Mark 8, Jesus in the instance of Mark 8 only mentions the
negative, using the verb “being ashamed” rather than deny: Mark 8:38, “For whoever is
ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will
also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (cf.
Luke 9:26)
b) “Everyone who confesses Me before men,” Luke 12:8
c) “If any man should confess Him to be Christ,” John 9:22
d) “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were
not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue,” John 12:42
514 Balthasar Hubmaier, “Conclusions of Balthasar Friedberg, Pastor at Waldshut and a Spiritual Brother of
Ulrich Zwingli. They are Addressed to John Eck at Ingolstadt, But He Forbade Them to Be Examined,” from “The
Writings of Balthasar Hubmaier,” collected and photographed by W. O. Lewis, translated by G. D. Davidson (Liberty,
MO: Archives, William Jewell College Library), 1:38.