What’s in a Name?

What is so special about a name? Why do we get upset when someone mispronounces our name or spells it wrong? Our name is a representation of who we are. When bullies call us names, they are trying to demean us and make us less than who we are.

So, what about God’s name? What does it say about Him? Psalm 54:1 says, “O God, save me by your name.” Right there we should sit up and take notice. The name of God is connected to salvation. David was only thinking about being saved from his enemies. But it foreshadows more than that. But let’s look at some other verses that mention God’s name to see what else God’s name reveals.

In Exodus 3:14-15, God revels His name in two ways. First, He says He is “I Am.” Not exactly a name but it tells us that He exists only because of His own person. Not created and always exists from eternity past and to eternity in the future. No beginning or end. Then He says His name is “The LORD” a form of “I Am.”  English Bibles use LORD in all capitals, but the Hebrew is YHWH which we pronounce Yahweh. They wouldn’t pronounce it because His name is holy.

When He appeared to Moses in Exodus 34:6, He said His name twice and explained that His name reveals that He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

In Psalm 20:1, we learn that the name of God protects us. Psalm 79:9 connects His name to salvation and atonement for our sins. Isaiah 30:27 reveals that there is also judgment in God’s name.

Then we come to the name of God who is Jesus. Matthew 1:21 and 23 tells us that Jesus is the one who will save us from our sins and that He is also called Immanuel and that means God is with us. God put on humanity and came to bear our sins. Acts 4:12 tells us that there is salvation in no other name than Jesus.

If you think messing up your name is an insult to you, think of what an insult it is to God to use his name flippantly. Just using “OMG” without proper respect of God and all He is, is a violation of God’s third commandment.

Breaking any commandment is sin and results in condemnation for eternity because the wages of sin is death. But remember there is salvation in the name of Jesus. That means turning to Jesus for salvation will take away even the sin of abusing God’s name. If you want to know more about salvation through Jesus, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.

When Foes Fail

The Bible has some conflicting passages about how we should react when evil people stumble. But we must look at them carefully. For instance, Psalm 52:6-7 says:

The righteous shall see and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
“See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

At first glance this passage seems to encourage us to laugh at unbelievers who get caught up in their riches then lose their wealth or they die and can’t take it with them. On the other hand, we find a conflicting passage in Proverbs 24:17-18:

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.

Should we laugh at those who we know are evil and get their due punishment? Or should we not rejoice in their misfortune? To make it more applicable to the current world situation, do we rejoice when we hear the head of a terrorist organization has been killed?

If I read these conflicting verses correctly, I see the Psalm simply saying that people do rejoice and laugh at the calamity of their enemies. It isn’t a command to laugh at them. It shows that even godly people have insensitivity to the misfortune of others.

The proverb, however, provides us with a better way to behave at the misfortune of our enemies or those who have rejected Jesus. We recognize that God is in control of what happens to them as well as us. When our attitude is wrong, the Lord may spare our foes simply because of our wrong attitude.

Jesus told us to love and pray for people who persecute and abuse us. When we see the rich following their wealth to destruction, when we see enemies of the cross perishing, we should pray for them and seek their salvation.

That’s why every one of my posts calls people who don’t know Jesus to repent and turn to Him for salvation. If you are one of those I’ve mentioned and don’t know Jesus but want to know His love for you, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link

Good & Bad News

The Word of God often brings good news and bad news within a few verses. Psalm 52 is a good example. Verse one sets the tone for this short Psalm.  

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

Look at the contrast as David asks an evil man why he boasts but affirms that God’s love is steadfast. We are told that this guy is evil primarily because he is lying, plotting evil, and verbally cutting down people. But that’s not all, he trusts in his riches instead of God. But David reminds him of God in verse five.

But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch and tear you from your tent;
He will uproot you from the land of the living.

Judgment will come for evil people. They die and they are gone. But there is still eternity and where will they be then? Let’s just put it this way, it is better if you don’t go there. It is better to do as David says in verse eight, “I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” He brings us back to the good news that those who trust in the Lord for their salvation will be wrapped up in His love for eternity.

If you want to accept the good news and escape the bad by trusting in the Lord, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.

After Repentance

What are some important things we need to understand after we have repented from a grievous sin? David provided some insight in Psalm 51:12-13.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

It is common for us to think that our sin has caused us to lose our salvation. This happens even though the Bible makes it clear if we are truly saved, we can’t lose our salvation. The problem is that we lose the joy we had when we were walking in harmony with the Lord. Our guilt gets in the way. Feelings overwhelm the truth. That’s why David asked the Lord to restore the joy of God’s salvation after he repented, and we should too.

Having admitted sin and repented, it then is important for us to make sure we don’t get caught in that same sin again. This is why David asked to be upheld with a willing spirit. When we ask the Holy Spirit to keep us from falling into sin, He gives us His power to sustain us. This is particularly important when we face sins that we know we are about to commit. We should immediately admit our inadequacy and ask for His help.

Then David makes sure we know that telling others how to live a better life when we are caught in the middle of our own sins seldom does any good. If sinners see us sinning in the same way they do, they aren’t particularly interested in overcoming their sins. After repenting and overcoming sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to teach others how to overcome and return to the Lord.

The first sin any of us must master is that of unbelief. If you haven’t believed in salvation through Jesus, all of this is just nonsense, except the guilt feelings. If you want to overcome your unbelief, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.

When Saved

What happens to us at salvation? David gave us a preview in Psalm 51:10-11

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

David asked for that which he couldn’t do for himself. He asked God to cleanse his heart. The problem with every person who has been born since Adam and Eve, except Jesus, is that we all have hearts that want to rebel against God. R.C. Sproul identified that as cosmic treason.

Because we are rebels, we have no natural desire for the one true God. Yes, we may desire other gods or other ways to God than by Jesus Christ. But those ways are all rebellious.

So, like David, we must ask God to cleanse our heart and give us a right spirit. A spirit that desires to be obedient to God. When we turn to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit changes our heart so that our spirit then desires God. Until that happens, we are still rebels. So, we don’t do anything to save ourselves because this is a gift from God.

David saw God take His Spirit from King Saul. He didn’t want that to happen to him. We don’t have to worry about that. Once we have the Holy Spirit given to us, He will never leave us because He seals us for God and is our guarantee that we will remain in Christ all our lives according to Ephesians 1:13-14.

If you want to know more about how to get your heart cleansed and be assured the Holy Spirit will never be taken away from you, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link

Admitting Sins

Admitting our sins may be one of the hardest things for us to do. We really don’t want to think of ourselves as broken or even as evil. Even when we recognize that we are broken or something is wrong, we want the problem to be outside of ourselves. But David knew the real problem and expressed it in Psalm 51:3-4,

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment. 

Look at how he owns his sin. He admits that he knows his transgression. He says they are “my” transgressions and “my” sins. There is no blame shifting. He isn’t the victim of some disease or someone else’s behavior.

When we face the fact that our sins are ours and come from our own hearts, we discover that our sins are always in front of us until we deal with them in a biblical way.

As David did, we must admit that our sins are always against God even when they involve others. David was confessing his murder and adultery, but he first had to recognize he had broken two of the Ten Commandments, and these were offences against God. He labeled his sin correctly calling it evil in God’s sight. He didn’t try to write them off as “mistakes.” He was guilty and God could have justly punished him at that time.

When we try to excuse or relabel out sin, we compound the sin by making it appear that God’s justice is somehow flawed. That disparages His character.

Owning our sin requires us to confess them to God acknowledging that He is right, and we are wrong. No forgiveness can come until that happens. Forgiveness comes from God alone. We can’t forgive ourselves either. But that’s not all. To hear the rest of the story about forgiveness and to no longer have our sins before us, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.

God’s Mercy

My previous post dealt with our greatest mistake. Well, we all sin and even our greatest sin against God has a solution. That is found in Psalm 51:1-2.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

The first thing to do is to ask God for mercy. We cannot come to God and expect Him to forgive us if we expect to be forgiven because we’ve worked hard to make up for our sin.

We can only find that mercy when we realize that He forgives out of his steadfast love. He doesn’t forgive because we deserve it. We ask because God is love.

We can’t doubt that His mercy is limited. Because we have sinned against His infinite holiness, it takes infinite mercy for Him to forgive us.

We also must acknowledge that He is the only one who can blot out our transgressions. We can’t go to a counselor or priest or some religion to be absolved. They may help us understand our sin, but they must point us to Jesus to have our sin removed from God’s record book.

Finally, to become free from our sin, we must look to His cleansing. We can use worldly methods of mindfulness, meditation, and even denial to try to remove the guilt of our sins but the only way to be truly free from guilt is to have Jesus wash us from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin.

To find out how and why God would do this when we don’t deserve it, watch my video on the Gospel on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.

People’s Worst Mistake

 People make many mistakes in their lives. Some are worse than others. This one found in Psalm 50:16 is one you don’t want to make, and it is very common. In Psalm 50:16 God says,

These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

The things these people had been doing were basically sins of the tongue, lying and slander. But the real problem isn’t the specific sins, it is the attitude behind them. Because God didn’t immediately come down on them with judgment, they thought God wasn’t any different than they were.

Our worst mistake is thinking that God is just like us. We think God should judge us on the curve. We do that because we are always comparing ourselves to others and think we aren’t as bad as other people.

We have our own idea of what is fair and not fair. Therefore, we believe God should also be fair according to what we believe is fair when He judges. And of course, that would mean He won’t punish us for our sins.

I could list other ways we think He is like us. But God makes it clear that He won’t be silent forever. There will be a time when we come before Him for judgement, and He won’t be anything like us. That is a definition of what His holiness is.

The only way that we will escape from the punishments of our sins is to turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. You see, God isn’t fair. He put the punishment for our sins on Jesus so we could have His righteousness and be saved. That wasn’t fairness, it was grace to us.

If you want to know how to receive His grace and salvation, watch my video on YouTube or read on this Gospel link.