Confessing to OthersExemplo

What is it?

The word for confess in the Greek New Testament is ἐξομολογέω (ex-homo-logeo). Logeo often means “to speak or to say.” Homo means “the same” (like a homosexual is attracted to the same sex). And ex frequently means “out” (like an exit). Put it all together, and the word means “to speak the same thing out.”

That’s what some brave souls did with John the Baptist. “People went out to [John the Baptist] from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (Matthew 3:5,6). Tax collectors and prostitutes and all kinds of sinners had committed all kinds of sins, so they said exactly what they did out loud.

It is incredibly tempting to share (if you share at all) a sanitized, edited, filtered, less embarrassing version of your sins. But that’s not true confession. Confession speaks of sin in all its ugliness, allowing others, like John the Baptist, to respond with forgiveness in all its beauty. If you choose for the sake of your own reputation to hide your sins, you will never get to bask in the moment that follows true confession, namely, when a fellow Christian who knows how bad you are still tells you how good grace is.

Confess to someone today. Say the same thing out loud. That truth will set you free.