Pastor Dan
Eddy
Romans
10:8b-15
“Live up to
your name”
2-21-10
I.
Introduction…What’s in a name? What
does your name literally mean?
What
does your name literally mean? Have you ever thought of that? Take my name.
Daniel
means “judge of God” or “God’s vindication.” My last name,
Eddy, means “whirlpool”…like the
eddy currents in a stream…small, swirling, and dangerous. So my name literally
means “God’s vindicating whirlpool.”
Watch out.
Jonases Bartolmeus
Nuboer. You know him as Bart from the Bart and Janet combo. His name literally
means “The Lord is gracious, son of
warriors, a new farmer.” Well let’s see what Warrior Farmer Bart will be
planting on his farm this spring.
My
wife’s maiden name is Berta Jean Ingham…which literally means “Of shining fame, God’s gracious gift, a
place.”
But
here’s my favorite…Pastor Robert Schipul literally means “Shepherd or Overseer of an illustrious ships’ graveyard.”
Names
in our modern culture don’t always match the person or characteristics of the
person who carries that name.
So
when we hear the Apostle Paul say in verse 13 of our
Epistle reading from Roman 10: “For
‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,’” we may
say (yawn) “oh that’s nice.” But
what’s in a name? How does God’s name have power…the power to save…the power to
conquer death…the power to give life?
I.
What does the name Lord Jesus Christ
mean?
You
see I know many of you know this but God’s name is not God…it’s the Lord,
usually spelled out in all caps in your Bible. Or in Hebrew, it is said as
Yahweh or Jehovah. We covered this a few weeks ago in Bible study. What the
Apostle Paul was doing in verse 13 was quoting directly from the Old Testament
prophet Joel, Chapter 2 verse 32. Paul was connecting the Lord’s name with
Christ Jesus.
What
does His name literally mean? Christ’s name literally means “anointed” or “Messiah” and Jesus or Yeshua in Hebrew
literally means “The Lord is our
salvation…The Lord saves.” The name matches the action.
Look
at this banner up here…look at all the names for Jesus. To call someone by
name, especially many different names, means you know them and have a
relationship with them. There are names only close family members and friends
can call you.
And
names also can have great influence. Imagine if White House Chief of Staff Rhom Immanuel calls you and says President Barrack Obama
wants to see you now. The President’s name (whether or not you like him or
voted for him) has a lot of power. You may respond with “How quickly does he want me there, and will the White House serve me
my favorite beer?”
Years
ago there was a TV commercial for the investment firm of E.F. Hutton. The ad
shows two people sitting around talking about investment strategies in a loud,
crowded room. When one of the persons say “Well
E.F. Hutton recommends….” the room became silent as people cup their ears
to hear the next words out of the person’s mouth…hence the slogan was “When E.F. Hutton speaks…people listen.”
Jesus’
name has power because when He speaks His Word through Scripture and as
proclaimed in a sermon like this…the Word of God comes near you…it goes into
your ear and seeps into your heart…it changes your heart from unbelief to
faith…or takes weaken faith and strengthens it. That’s what Paul meant in verse
8 when he quoted Deuteronomy 30:14 “‘The
Word is near you; it’s in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith
we are proclaiming.”
You
can’t keep the Word inside…it comes bursting out as you speak the Apostles’
Creed or sing a hymn or respond in the liturgy. It’s comes bursting out as you
tell others what the name of Jesus has done to your heart and what He can do to
theirs. Remember last week…I said what confess literally means…saying the same
thing God says…the same Word the Lord speaks to your heart.
That’s
what it means in verse 10 when Paul says, “For
it is with you heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved.” You see it’s not the speaking that
saves you…it’s the faith planted in your heart at your baptism that does. When
you speak you are merely reflecting outwardly what has already happened
inwardly because of the love from God, and keeps happening inwardly each Sunday
in worship, so you can continue to speak His name to others. It’s God doing it.
That’s why, through the Holy Spirit, we baptize, and teach…and that teaching
leads to a public confession of faith at First Communion and Confirmation, and
continues throughout life. When Christ Jesus speaks to you and through
you…people listen…and are saved. His name matches His actions.
II.
Why do we call on Jesus’ name?
So
the real question is do you believe Jesus’ Name has this power that I just
described…so strong that in Mathew 18:20 (ESV) Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.”
That’s why we open worship with an
Invocation. We are calling on the Lord to be present here in this most powerful
way. It’s what makes Sunday mornings at 9 more than a social gathering or a
weekly meeting. There is real power here on Sundays. He richly blesses all who
call on Him.
But while we know (point to head) that
God’s Word can do powerful things…each week…do we really trust it? What has your
confession of Christ been this past week? Using His name are you outwardly
expressing what’s happening inwardly? And what does that expression sound like?
Do you believe in the power of Jesus’
name or do you think of His name is more like sports team? I mean how many of
the Green Bay Packer players have ever worked in a meat packing plant? How many
of the Washington Redskins are from a Native American Indian heritage? And how
many Minnesota Vikings could fight like the ruthless North Europeans sailing on
the cold and windy North Atlantic waters, when the football team plays in a
warm covered stadium? They no more live up to their name than I do as “God’s vindicating whirlpool.”
And, as a result, there’s a part of us that may think all this talk about name, word, heart, faith, power, and confession sounds a little too hocus pocus…or maybe just hokey…because we see and hear so much skepticism in the world. Too many unbelievers as they say there are too many unanswered questions, too much uncertainty about Jesus, His name and His power.
Then
we are tempted to reject His name, OR think Jesus’ name should be more like us,
who we are and how we act. Let me give you an extreme example to illustrate my
point.
This
week Parade Magazine’s Sunday
supplement edition features an article on Sir Elton John the English Pop
Superstar who has around 60 top 40 hits, numerous #1 titles from the 70s, 80s,
and 90s. He has almost 30 consecutive years of hits. Anyway, he makes no bones
about the fact that he is gay. But in this article he claims that Jesus is gay,
too.
“I think Jesus was a
compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human
problems."
I
have no doubts that Elton John can be compassionate, can understand some human
problems and can, at times, be very smart, but he wants Jesus to be like him,
without regard for whether he is really following Christ’s true name. What
Elton John says is similar to the Roman Church was doing, to which Paul wrote
the words of our text. No, they didn’t say Jesus was gay, but the Jewish people
in his time twisted God’s Word, saying one needed to obtain salvation by deeds.
Salvation by what I do…by who I am…salvation by my
name…not God’s.
Obtaining by earning versus obtaining
by receiving. We
don’t deserve Christ’s name but it is given to you and me when Jesus died on
the cross and adopted us as His children. We can no more earn Christ’s name or
its power…then I can claim to be President of the
Why
do we need to keep calling on Jesus’ name, if we already have Him in our heart?
How many of you ever heard this as a kid? “Sticks
and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Well names can
hurt…especially when we are called
“stupid,” “idiot,” “fool,” “loser.” True story: About 40 years ago, a
mother named her child: Marijuana Pepsi-Cola…after the two things the mother
liked the most in life. How would you like to have a name like that? Names can
hurt. We need a new name…a name of power.
When
we call upon Jesus’ name we have what He gives…power by His grace…a name that
we can trust…a name when it is spoken we listen. His name matches His action.
The Lord is our salvation. The Lord saves. And we need to be reminded of that
every day.
Our
birth names mean nothing by themselves. Our names have no power unless we have
the name of Jesus in our heart. Jesus, the Name of above all names, Beautiful
Savior, Glorious Lord, Emmanuel, God is with us, Blessed Redeemer…Living
Word…The literal Word made flesh to dwell among us. Christ Jesus showed that He
lives up to His name and it has real power for you when He arose from the dead
as verse 9 states. This is the key, as we speak Jesus’ name. No other human has
ever done that…no other god has the power to do that for you. And the result of
this believing is as verse 11 says we “will
never be put to shame” in the afterlife.
III.
What do we need to do? And Why?
So
this means your name is not really Bart, Janet, Mike, Jennifer, David, Jim,
Cheryl, Eric…it’s this (Hold up sign: INRI). These are
the Latin initials for the name and title that Pontius Pilate put on the
cross...they mean Jesus, the Nazerene, King of the
Jews.
I
have this desk plate in my office. Now it seems silly to me to put this on my
desk: I know I am Reverend Daniel Eddy. But sometimes we need to be reminded of
who we are and what roles God has put us in – in life.
So
when you see this title INRI…I want you to translate it this way… with your
name and the adopted title: “Child of
God, Saved by Christ.” Go ahead and say that insert your name and then say “Child of God, Saved by Christ.” 1-2-3. Now. This
means your name is now Jesus’ name with all its power to love and save you…and
to pass that salvation by Word onto others.
So this morning to help remind you
of your real name and its real power…we are going to give your own name plate
to put on your own cross. This is part of our Lenten Worship Series, “Cross Pieces.” Remember you have the
name Jesus…because your sins died with Him on the cross.
I
want you to take this cross and nameplate and this week remind yourself
everyday…that your name is “Child of
God, Saved by Christ,” and know that Jesus loves you and gave you a new name,
a new life, a new love. If you didn’t get a cross on Ash Wednesday, please pick
up your free wooden cross on the way out this morning.
Remember
calling on His name comes from believing…not magic. Believing comes from
hearing (not just once but over and over). Hearing comes from preaching (Sermon
and others giving witness to the Name of Christ) And God gave us beautiful feet
so we can go and bring this Good News to others.
Christ’s
name as our Lord is so important because a recent Pew Research poll showed that
2/3rds Americans, who said they believe in God, say many religions can lead
them to eternal life. How sad that they will call on other gods by their name
and it will not have the power of Jesus’ name…Yeshua…the
Lord is our salvation. The Lord saves.
IV.
Conclusion
Jesus’
Names match the person and the titles and the power they convey to you and me.
Songwriter Bob Hartman I think said it best with these lyrics as I conclude
today’s sermon:
Some men called Him
Rabbi, good teacher, nothing more
The Son of just a
carpenter who taught along the shore
Some men called Him
Master, Elijah come again
Some left their nets to
follow Him to learn to fish for men
Some say He's Messiah, I
Am, who's always been
The Baptist called Him
Lamb of God who takes away our sin
What's in a name that
the demons flee
What's in a name that
the captives go free
What's in a name that
every knee should bow
In the name of Jesus,
name above all names
There is power and
glory, forever and ever
Forever and ever
No other name can sound
so sweet
No other name is so
complete
No other name can bring
release
The Mighty God, the
Prince of Peace
Your name is
now His name. Live up to your name in Christ Jesus. Amen.