My Name is Me

There is a growing group of people who believe that you cannot be saved unless you call on the right Name. They quote Acts 4:12:

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."

When I first started studying the phrase, My Name, I didn't know what conclusion I would come to. I was receiving strong pressure from others to never use the name Jesus, because Jesus is a Greek transliteration of the name Yeshua, given to our Savior before birth, that the word Jesus has no meaning, that the name Jesus comes from the god name Zeus. I was influenced to change the spelling to Yahshuah, which I did in my earlier posts.

I started my studies with open mind, leaning toward agreeing, except for the part about Zeus. I have found nothing convincing on that point. And now, it turns out, I don't agree.

Acts 4:12 clearly shows that the Name is the Person. Salvation is found only in our Savior, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach. This agrees with my previous posts, though I didn't know it at the time, and I now understand that when our Savior says "My Name," He means Himself. When he says, "Call on My Name," He is saying, "Call on Me." Can we be so obtuse as to believe that He will not hear those who say the Name wrong, who spell it wrong, who have the wrong accent, who cannot speak at all? He knows the heart, He knows when we call on Him.

Some argue that, since people don't change their names when they move from country to country, that Jesus likewise would keep His name Yeshua (I will keep that spelling for now, so that I won't have to keep repeating the variations), and He should be called Yeshua, no matter what language you speak.

One problem with that thought is that the premise is wrong. Many people, as they migrate from one country to another, change their names so that they can be more easily spelled and pronounced in their new location. Our Savior will hear us, no matter what language we speak. He knows our heart.

Isaiah 9:6 keeps coming to mind, and I can't help but singing it every time I think it:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

"His name shall be called" = HE will be called. He IS His name. 

Returning!

It's been a long time since I have written. In the interim, I have thought much about the Name topic. Many voices have said one thing, and many voices another, but my studies have led me to a different conclusion than you might have thought from reading my previous posts. I will take a little time to put the thoughts together in the coming days.

Saved by none other name - a second chance?

Taking another break from the listing of verses regarding the importance of name in the Bible, this entry deals specifically with the primary Name I am interested in, the name of our Messiah Savior, Yahshuah.

One of the verses that lends credence to the importance of Yahshuah’s name, often quoted by those who believe in the importance of the original Name for personal salvation, are the words of Peter, when he was defending the faith before the Jewish leaders soon after Pentecost:

¹⁰ Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

¹¹ This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

~ Acts 4:10-12

Acts 4:12 yields a number of possible responses:

1. The most common response for English speakers is that Jesus is the commonly known name by which our Saviour is known, that it doesn’t matter what we call Him, so long as we call on Him, especially given the fact that there are so many different languages in the world, and some languages do not contain the sounds of the name, either of Jesus or Yeshua.
2. The second most common response, though more rare, is that you must call him Yeshua/Yahshuah, or something that sounds like that name, or you cannot be saved. You must pray in the name of Yahshuah, or your prayers will not be as effective.
3. A third response is to look at the verse and see exactly what it says. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Yahshuah and His name are synonymous; He IS His name, Salvation. He is the one who saves the world. The verse does not specifically say we have to speak His original name; it is saying that He is the one who saves us.

If one believes that the second option is the truth, in order for God to be fair, which He ultimately is, He would have to give everyone on earth who never heard His true name another chance. When would the second chance happen? For those who believe in the “secret rapture,” which I do not, for it is not supported in Scripture, they might say the second chance comes after the rapture, during the Tribulation. Those who believe in one resurrection for the just and a later resurrection of the wicked just before they are eternally destroyed cannot believe in the second option and at the same time believe in a fair God.

Those who do believe in the second option have found in scripture a collection of verses that demonstrate how God raises those who have not yet known His Name, and gives them a second chance to learn of Him and grow in righteousness. This scenario allows most of the people who have ever lived to be saved. Discussing these verses is outside the purpose of today’s post, and actually outside the range of my knowledge and expertise, though I am studying into it more.

Currently, since I do not completely understand the “second chance” theory (though those who believe it would not want to call it that), I tend to think that the third option is the more likely explanation. By Him and through Him, He who is named Yahshuah, Salvation, is the whole world saved.

I am not forgetting, however, all the verses I have already quoted in this blog that demonstrate the importance of Name to God, which might therefore logically lean me toward #2.

I should have said somewhere toward the beginning of this blog (maybe I already did), that I do not have all the answers; I am learning as I study.