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1. Confession, ὁμολογεῖν, is —

(1)  To say the same thing with others. To agree with.

(2)  To promise.

(3)  To acknowledge, to declare a person or thing to be what he or it really is.

2. To confess Christ is therefore to acknowledge Him to be what He really is and declares Himself to be.

(1)  The Son of God;

(2)  God manifest in the flesh;

(3)  The Saviour of the world;

(4)  The Lord.

I. The NATURE of this confession.

1. It is not enough that we cherish the conviction in our hearts, or confess it to ourselves, to God, or to friends who agree with us.

2. It must be done publicly, or before men, friends and foes: amid good and evil report; when it brings reproach and danger as well as when it incurs no risk.

3. It must be with the mouth. It is not enough that men may infer from our conduct that we are Christians. We must audibly declare it.

4. This must be done —

(1)  In our ordinary intercourse.

(2)  In the way of God's appointment, i.e., by Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

5. It must be sincere. "Not everyone that saith Lord, Lord," etc. It is only when the outward act is a revelation of the heart that it has any value.

II. ITS ADVANTAGES.

1. It strengthens faith.

2. It is a proof of regeneration, because it supposes the apprehension of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

3. It is an indispensable condition of salvation. Because —

(1)  God requires it.

(2)  Not to confess is to deny.

(3)  Denial implies want of faith or devotion.

4. Christ will acknowledge them who acknowledge Him — publicly, before the angels, and to our eternal salvation.

III. ITS DUTY.

1. It is not merely a commandment.

2. It is the highest moral duty to acknowledge the truth, and especially to acknowledge God to be God.

3. It is the most direct means we can take to honour Christ, and to bring others to acknowledge Him (see Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8; Mark 8:38; Romans 10:9-10; 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 John 4:2, 15).

(C. Hodge, D. D.)

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KJV: These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

WEB: His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.