The Value of a Good Name

THE VALUE OF A GOOD NAME

Text: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.” ().

Introduction: Nowadays a family name means little more than the name that designates us as individuals who live at a certain place at a certain time. It’s not always been that way. In biblical days great stress was placed upon the name of individuals and places. The name of a person provided insight into his character and life. Perhaps both our secular life and our spiritual life would be greatly enriched if a greater emphasis were placed on the value and the significance of a good name. A person’s name really stands for his person, his character, his reputation, and his integrity.

Throughout Scripture people are warned against using the name of God in a careless way. To use His name is to involve Him in either their conversation or their activity. God does not want to be misrepresented by the careless use of his name. In much the same way, a family should be vitally concerned about its good name. Rich indeed are the children who receive a good name from their parents. The value of one’s name should be maintained at all times.

It would be helpful if we would recognize and respond properly to the names that have been bestowed upon us as the children of God and as the servants of the Lord. In the New Testament we find at least five names or titles that are applied to us which we should bear with gratitude and wear with dignity and honor.

I. We are called “believer” because of our faith.

We are people of faith. It is by faith that we respond to the love of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through faith that we are justified...declared righteous and given a position of acceptance in His presence. We do not find acceptance in the presence of God on the basis of our keeping the law or on the basis of our moral perfection. It is by faith that we please God, and it is by faith that we achieve significant goals in the Christian life.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews contains the Roll Call of People of Faith...a list of men and women who lived by faith...obeyed in faith...served in faith...acted on faith and died in faith.

Our approach to God begins in Faith...Our journey with God proceeds in Faith. We are believers. That’s a great title but we are not its object. Jesus is. We believe in Him. We trust Him. We follow Him.

The Scriptural line of demarcation has always been wrapped up in this term. One is either a believer or an unbeliever.

II. We are called “brother” because of our love.

The new birth produces a spiritual infant who becomes a member of the family of God. We become brothers and sisters of each other in the family of God. As brothers and sisters, we are to love each other sincerely and steadfastly. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We are to make a positive, creative contribution toward the welfare of others within the family. We are under obligation to be especially gracious and kind toward those who are of the household of faith ().

Jesus pointed out that the world will know that we are His if we love each other. By that same token the world will think ill of the church and be confused by the church if love is not apparent. The reputation of any church in any town, must be characterized by two very important attributes: (1) Faithfulness to the Word and Will of God and, (2) Love that is demonstrated according to the example of Jesus.

To dwell above with saints we love,

That will be grace and glory.

To live below with saints we know;

That's another story!

Are you having difficulty getting along with someone in the family...take the initiative and seek for reconciliation! The title “brother” identifies us as related together within the family of God.

III. We are called “disciples” because of our learning and growing in Christ-likeness.

In the New Testament, the term “disciples” referred to those who were his followers. They listened to his teachings. They were enrolled in his school. They were willing to “sit at his feet” and learn. They understood that Jesus was heaven’s infallible and authoritative teacher. We are challenged not only to hear but to do his teachings. We can never become Christlike in conduct until we become Christlike in our thinking.

William Barclay writes:

It's possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple; to be a camp-follower without being a soldier of the king; to be a hanger-on in some great work without pulling one's weight. Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, "So and so tells me that he was one of your students." The teacher answered devastatingly, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students." There is a world of difference between attending lectures and being a student. It is one of the supreme handicaps of the Church that in the Church there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so few real disciples.

To be a disciple is to accept a discipline. The words disciple and discipline have the same root meaning. Peter wrote about “following in His steps.” That’s discipleship. WWJD!

Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been tried and found difficult! -- G.K. Chesterton.

I was almost your person today, Lord.

Then I thought what it would have been like if Jesus had done the same thing. What if God had almost revealed himself in Jesus Christ? What if Christ were almost born and almost lived and almost died? What if he would have said, "Ask and it will almost be given you; seek and you will almost find; knock and it will almost be opened to you"? What if he would have said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will almost give you rest"? And what if Jesus had told his disciples, "For whosoever would save his life will lose it, and whosoever loses his life for my sake will almost find it"?

My Almost Christianity took on a much different light. I realized how many times I had played the game of being one of Jesus' "almost disciples." I recalled how many times I had prayed almost believing and walked through my days as if he were almost risen.

It was not a question of theology. It was a question of lifestyle. Whether or not I had a lifestyle that could match what I said I believed, whether or not, as some have said, I could walk my talk.

-- Tim Hansel, When I Relax I Feel Guilty, p. 51.

IV. We are called “saints” because in Christ we are made holy.

Some people think of saints as being unearthly heavenly creatures who have achieved a degree of perfection that has permitted them to enter heaven on the basis of their own merit. This is a nonbiblical concept. To be a saint is to be a dedicated one. It means to be set apart for God’s use. The New Testament uses the word saint to refer to all believers, to all converts, to all the children of God.

We are not our own; we have been bought with a price. We belong to God. We must recognize this divine ownership and recognize our Savior’s Lordship. By His grace we become like Him. God said, “You are to be holy as I am holy.” When we faithfully place our lives into His hands He is able to mold and shape us into His likeness. We must even allow Him to chip away and carve out in order to bring out the vessel that honors Him.

Gutson Borgium was the sculptor who carved the massive figures of four American presidents -- Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt -- on Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. When asked how he produced the amazing work, he replied, "Those figures were there for forty million years. All I had to do was dynamite 400,000 tons of granite to bring them into view."

So Christ shapes our lives, chipping away those things that must go and replacing them with character that honors Him.

V. We are called “Christian” because of our identity with Jesus who is the Christ.

“The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” ().

Listen to the contents on an anonymous letter that was sent to Diognetus, sometime during the second century.

“Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect, or have some peculiar lifestyle. This teaching of theirs has not been contrived by the invention and speculation of inquisitive men; nor are they propagating mere human teaching as some people do. They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food and the other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the wonderful and certainly unusual form of their own citizenship.

Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect, or have some peculiar lifestyle. This teaching of theirs has not been contrived by the invention and speculation of inquisitive men; nor are they propagating mere human teaching as some people do. They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food and the other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the wonderful and certainly unusual form of their own citizenship.

They live in their own native lands, but as aliens; as citizens, they share all things with others; but like aliens, suffer all things. Every foreign country is to them as their native country, and every native land as a foreign country.

They marry and have children just like every one else; but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are at present "in the flesh" but they do not live "according to the flesh". They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws, and go beyond the laws in their own lives.

They love every one, but are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are short of everything and yet have plenty of all things. They are dishonored and yet gain glory through dishonor.

Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished, they rejoice as if being given new life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens, and are persecuted by Greeks; yet those who hate them cannot give any Reason for their hostility.

To put it simply -- the soul is to the body as Christians are to the world. The soul is spread through all parts of the body and Christians through all the cities of the world. The soul is in the body but is not of the body; Christians are in the world but not of the world. “

The term “Christian” was applied to the followers of Christ because of their identity with Him. Some religious terms identify adherence to certain doctrines or practices or historical movements. The term “Christian” identifies us with Christ. Our early preachers would preach “No Book but the Bible; No Creed but Christ; No name but Christian.” They would preach, “We are Christians only...not the only Christians...but Christians only.”

Illus. The story of the young deserter in Alexander the Great’s army. My name is Alexander, sir. “You either change your name or change your behavior.”

Conclusion: The Bible bestows many good names upon us. We are to wear each of these good names with honor and dignity. In doing so, we bring glory to the name of our God, and according to Solomon we obtain a good name for ourselves which is to be chosen than great riches.

What name identifies you today? Are you a believer in Jesus Christ? Do you recognize that you have brothers and sisters in the family of God? Are you growing as a disciple of Jesus, learning His Word and Walking in His Way? Are you trying to reflect His grace and presence in your life as a Saint...one who is set apart for His work? Are you a Christian? Have you responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?