04- 26- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Romans 10:9- 11)
CONFESS YOUR SINS TO GOD
9- “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10- For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11- For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Speaking of “confession”, it has different meaning and interpretation to different religions or religious denominations. Confession according to Unger’s Bible dictionary, from the “(Hebrew word yadah, literally, to use, extend the hand) is used in the Old Testament in the sense of acknowledging one’s sin (Leviticus 5:5) “And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:” (Job 40:14) “Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.” (Psalm 32:5) “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” In the prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple he uses the expression “confess thy name” (I Kings 8:33, 35) 33- “When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: 35- When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them) (II Chronicles 6:24, 26) 24- “And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; 26-When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;”
The Greek word rendered “confession” is “homologeo”, literally, to say the same thing, i. e., not to deny, and so to admit or declare one’s self guilty of what he is accused. It is also used in the sense of a profession, implying the yielding or change of one’s conviction (John 12:42) 42- “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:” (Acts 23:8) 8- “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” (I Timothy 6:13) 13- “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary by, Merrill F. Unger, Moody Press Chicago)
