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Question #194

What are God’s and Jesus’ true names, and shouldn’t we be using them?

What are God’s and Jesus’s true names, and shouldn’t we be using them? All my mother’s siblings were raised in the church, but in the 70s one of my aunts changed and joined a group that was called something like “Assemblies of Yahweh.” Her arguments about the names of our Father and His Son made some sense to me. From what I could tell the organization of worship wasn’t biblical, so I wasn’t swayed. Recently, though, I’ve seen bumper stickers saying things like, “WWJD? He’d use His real name!” and it got me thinking about it again. If it’s OK to call God and Jesus by these English names, why?

The Answer:

The New Testament was written in Greek – the common language of the day – and the New Testament writers and speakers used the Greek word for “God,” which is theos. See, for example, Luke 18:24-27, where Jesus himself uses the name “theos” three times. If Greek speakers in the first century could use the Greek word “theos” in reference to God then why can’t English speakers in our day use the English word “God”? In fact, read Acts 7:37 and Deuteronomy 18:15. The first uses the Greek words for Lord and God where the latter uses the Hebrew words “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” and “Elohiym.” And as for “Jesus,” it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” and again it is the form used in the New Testament. Finally, if you want to honor the name of God and the name of Jesus, then do so by how you live. Those who obey him are those who honor him and who wear his name.

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God's Plan of Salvation

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

You must believe and have faith in God because "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the "Sinner's Prayer" to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus "Lord of your life." Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just "accept Jesus as your personal savior." We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God's grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God's grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)