# G3670 - homologeo **Strong's:** [G3670](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3670/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** hom-ol-og-eh'-o **Part of speech:** verb **Etymology:** *homou* (together / same) + *logos* (word), literally "to say the same word as another" **NT occurrences:** ~26 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **To say the same thing, agree, concede**, the etymological core; to express the same statement another has made. 2. **To confess**, acknowledging what is true (whether about oneself, one's faith, or one's sin). 3. **To profess publicly**, open declaration of conviction or allegiance. 4. **To promise**, giving one's word without reservation ([Matthew 14:7](/codex/matthew-14-7/)). 5. **To praise**, by extension, public acknowledgment of God's character ([Hebrews 13:15](/codex/hebrews-13-15/) *karpon cheilōn homologountōn*). The verb is theologically loaded because it captures **public alignment**, confession is not private belief but external alignment with what is true. ## Theological force *Homologeō* names the **public** dimension of saving faith, distinct from but inseparable from the **internal** dimension named by [G4100 - pisteuo](/codex/g4100-pisteuo/) (believe). Pauline soteriology pairs them: > if you confess (*homologēsēs*) with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe (*pisteusēs*) in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ([Romans 10:9](/codex/romans-10-9/)) The combination is decisive: faith is internal trust; confession is external alignment. Both are integral to saving response, not because confession *adds* to the internal trust, but because saving faith *naturally produces* confession ([Matthew 10:32](/codex/matthew-10-32/), "everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father"). A faith that refuses public confession when called to confess is suspect ([Matthew 10:33](/codex/matthew-10-33/)). ## Key applications **1. Confession of Christ as Lord**, the central NT confession. - **[Romans 10:9-10](/codex/romans-10-9-10/)**, *kyrion Iēsoun homologēsēs*, "confess Jesus as Lord" - **[Philippians 2:11](/codex/philippians-2-11/)**, every tongue will *exomologēsetai* (intensified form) "Jesus Christ is Lord" - **[1 John 4:2-3](/codex/1-john-4-2-3/)**, confessing "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh", the test of true vs false spirits - **[2 John 7](/codex/2-john-7/)**, the antichrists do *not* confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh **2. Confession of sin**, repentance vocabulary. - **[1 John 1:9](/codex/1-john-1-9/)**, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive" - **[James 5:16](/codex/james-5-16/)**, "confess your sins to one another" - **[Mark 1:5](/codex/mark-1-5/)** / **[Matthew 3:6](/codex/matthew-3-6/)**, those baptized by John "confessing their sins" - **[Acts 19:18](/codex/acts-19-18/)**, Ephesian converts "confessing and disclosing their practices" **3. Public confession before persecution**, the martyr-context. - **[Matthew 10:32-33](/codex/matthew-10-32-33/)**, "everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father… whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him" - **[Luke 12:8](/codex/luke-12-8/)**, parallel - **[1 Timothy 6:12](/codex/1-timothy-6-12/)**, Timothy "made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" - **[John 9:22](/codex/john-9-22/); 12:42**, those who hesitated to confess Christ for fear of expulsion from the synagogue **4. Doxological / praise confession**, confession as worship. - **[Hebrews 13:15](/codex/hebrews-13-15/)**, "the fruit of lips that give thanks (*homologountōn*) to His name" - **[Romans 14:11](/codex/romans-14-11/); 15:9**, every tongue confessing to God ## The Romans Road context The verse [Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/)'s "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord" is grounded in v. 9's "confess… and believe." The Romans Road structure: 1. [Romans 3.23](/codex/romans-3-23/), universal sin 2. [Romans 6.23](/codex/romans-6-23/), wages of sin / gift of God 3. [Romans 5.8](/codex/romans-5-8/), God's love demonstrated 4. **[Romans 10.9](/codex/romans-10-9/)**, *homologēsēs* + *pisteusēs* = saved 5. [Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/), universal scope The fourth step is *homologeō*, the personal-confessional response. ## Patristic / scholarly note The early creeds, Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, are formal *homologiai* (confessions). The credal tradition is the church's structured response to "what shall we confess?" Tertullian (*Prescription Against Heretics* 13, c. AD 200) and Irenaeus (*Against Heresies* I.10) appeal to the *regula fidei*, the rule of faith, as the church's earliest *homologia*. The Reformation pressed *confessing* as integral to faith, Luther's *Heidelberg Disputation* (1518) and Calvin's *Institutes* IV (the church and sacraments) develop confession as the *external mark* of true faith. The Reformed *confessions* (Belgic, Heidelberg, Westminster, etc.) are formal *homologiai* in this tradition. Modern evangelical: J. I. Packer (*Knowing God*); Tim Keller (*Center Church*), confession as the public dimension of faith; baptism and the Lord's Supper as embodied *homologia*. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - [G4100 - pisteuo](/codex/g4100-pisteuo/), the paired verb (believe + confess in [Romans 10:9](/codex/romans-10-9/)) - [G2962 - kyrios](/codex/g2962-kyrios/), *kyrios*, the content of the confession - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), root of *homologeō* - [G2098 - euangelion](/codex/g2098-euangelion/), gospel as content confessed - [Romans 10.9](/codex/romans-10-9/), locus classicus - [Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/), universal scope of the offer