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Homologeo


But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

          What translation of the Bible do you read? I usually use the New International Version (NIV) because that’s the version used at my church. It’s the version I use for this blog. I know of someone people who claim that anything other than the King James version is full of sacrilege. Today’s passage includes a word that illustrates my reason for wanting to have multiple versions available. The NIV says, “If you declare with your mouth….” The original Greek uses “homologeo,” which is translated “confess.”
          The homo part of the word means “same” and the logeo part, “word.” If you say the same words as someone else, you’re not just quoting them, you’re agreeing with them. In the same sense, con means “with” and “fess” has to do with doing or saying. If you do with or say with, you’re agreeing with them. There’s nothing magical about saying “Jesus is Lord.” There is something powerful about agreeing with God that Jesus is Lord. When we agree with God about anything (especially about Jesus being Lord) we are actively at peace with God.
         The other big part of this passage is really the same thing. If we believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. How is that the same as confessing that Jesus is Lord? Believing is the key to confessing. Both confessing Jesus as Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead involve acceptance or submission. They require agreeing with God about the situation, which means they bring peace.

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