LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 108

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As we consider this confession, I would like to do it
under the subtheme espoused by Jesus in the Gospel
of Matthew. He says, “So everyone who acknowledges
me before men, I also will acknowledge before my
Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). A key word
translated here is the Greek word ὁμολογέω. Literally,
it means to speak the same word. It could be translated
“to speak together,” “to speak the same language,” or
“to agree.” In the New Testament, the translation I
favor most frequently translates the word “confess.”
But however it is translated, it should be remembered
that the Greek word ὁμολογέω begins with the prefix
ὁμο, which is short for ὅμοίος, which means “same”
or “together.” So it is that the confessing we do is the
confession of the same thing, the same doctrine, the
same faith—and we do it together. Together, we confess
the same faith the Church always has confessed since,
in Adam and Eve, God established the first congregation of believers, when He gave them the promise of the
Savior, created faith in their hearts, and founded the
Church.
“Whoever confesses me before men.” Just think—
when the pastor opens the service in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you
hear the same name of the triune God which has
been heard by the members of the Church universal
since the time of Jesus, and to that name you add
your “Amen,” and you confess thereby your faith in
the same gracious God in whom they believed. When
you speak the words of the Apostles’ Creed or of the
Nicene Creed, you confess with your mouth, together
with those around you, precisely the same convictions
the Church has been expressing for the past 1,700
years. And just think—every Christian since the time
of Jesus has prayed in the same words you pray every
time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, and in so praying you
are united in faith with every Christian who has gone
before you, and you are confessing your reliance on the
same God in whom they believed and to whom they
prayed. Whenever your pastor concludes the Divine
Service with the benediction given to Aaron and
used among God’s people for over 3,500 years, you
hear those words, “The Lord bless you and keep you,
the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious
unto you, the Lord look upon you with favor and
give you peace,” and when you hear those words, you
realize again that the faith which lived in the hearts
of Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel is the

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U P O N T H I S R O C K • Essay

same faith which God has given to you and together
with those around you. You sing “Amen,” and you
confess your unity in the faith with the Church universal.
Nor is this common confession of the faith confined
to earth. We sing the same song as the 144,000
who even at this moment stand around the throne
of the Lamb. Isn’t that what we confess every time
we receive the Lord’s Supper, and the pastor prays,
“Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the
company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying, ‘Holy,
holy, holy Lord, God of Sabaoth. Heav’n and earth
are full of your glory?’ ” Our voices are joined together
with those of the saints and angels in heaven—and as
one Church, one choir, together we confess the Lamb
and sing His praises.
“Whoever confesses me before men.” It is important
in this day of individualism and of the selfie, an age of
hedonism and narcissism and the deification of the
self, that we emphasize the importance of corporate
confession. And I’m talking here not about the confession of sins—we need to do that, too, of course. But
I’m talking about the common confession of the faith.
Although we certainly confess individually, we also
confess together, and because our confession is based
not on our own thoughts or the ideas of brilliant people
but on the Word of God, we all can confess with the
same words. And we do. So don’t ever imagine, even for
a moment, that you are not a confessor.
“Whoever confesses me before men.” From the time
of Baptism until the time of death, the life of the
Christian is a life of confession. In the rite of Holy
Baptism, the baptized is asked, “Do you renounce
the devil?” “Yes, I renounce him,” is the answer given.
“Do you renounce all his works and all his ways?”
“Yes,” is the response, “I renounce them.” And it is a
confession. And if you participate in the commendation
of the dying, before you breathe your last, you will
again confess in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, and
together with Simeon you will pray, “Lord, now you
are letting your servant depart in peace, according
to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples”
(Luke 2:29–31).
“Whoever confesses me before men.” The life of

“Built on the Rock—Confess”