To CONFESS, acknowledge, agree — literally to 'say the same thing' (homos, 'same', + logos, 'word'): to speak in agreement with. ⚠ At 1 John 1:9, 'if we CONFESS our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive', it means to agree with God's verdict on our sin rather than to argue it — the honest admission set against the three proud denials of the opponents ('we have no sin', 1:8; 'we have not sinned', 1:10). The same verb is the New Testament's word for CONFESSING Christ openly ('everyone who confesses me before men', Matthew 10:32; 'if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord', Romans 10:9) and for the Baptist who 'confessed and did not deny' (John 1:20) — the two confessions, of sin and of the Saviour, being the two halves of one honest speech before God. KJV 'confess'; the legal and public edge is part of the word. → first discussed at 1 John 1:9