The Curse of Religyphus

January 11, 2014       *Notes Not Edited—Proceed at Your Own Risk

The Curse of Religyphus

Romans 2:17-29               

SIS—Religion is fatally flawed and only a real relationship with Jesus Christ will lead to satisfaction—now and in eternity.

Many years ago Solomon described the human condition and that description applies today as much as it did then.  Solomon wrote:

^{Eccl. 1:2} “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

This same human predicament has also been described in Greek mythology.  The Curse of Sisyphus refers to the penalty imposed by the gods upon the Greek King, Sisyphus, for chronic deceitfulness. (Obama came to mind but I digress). Sisyphus was sentenced to roll a large boulder up a steep incline and just as he reached the top, it would roll back down and he would have to start all over. This myth has had quite a bit of traction among writers and philosophers. The ancient philosopher, Lucretius applied it to politicians who were continually seeking power but being frustrated in constant defeat. Kierkegaard saw it a pertaining to anything one loves too much money and mistresses. Albert Camus the pessimistic actor in the theater of the absurd had an unusually positive view. He felt that, though life was absurd and a constant struggle, one should view Sisyphus as happy as “The struggle of life itself is enough to fulfill a man’s heart.” I am somewhat reluctant to take a more negative view than such a negative philosopher but I think Camus has it quite wrong. It is the “curse” of Sisyphus because Sisyphus is eternally frustrated in his efforts. Happiness and fulfillment are just beyond the crest of the incline that Sisyphus never reaches.

This same curse applies to religion as well. I call it the “Curse of Religyphus.” Paul addresses the frustration and lack of fulfillment that comes when man’s approach to God is religion, not a relationship. Having lived my entire adult life for the most part as a professional in a religious institution, there is a bit of a sting in this message. The chastisement of the ancient proverb spoken by our Lord rings in my ear, “Physician, heal thyself” (Lk. 4:23). Truth can be a bitter pill to swallow but remaining in a state of spiritual disease is much worse.

Frustration has plagued individuals since . . . well there were individuals.  Adam and Eve saw their aspirations melt like a snowball in the Sahara when they sought satisfaction in forbidden fruit.  Many has been eating that forbidden fruit for eons whether it be called by the name of fame, fortune, or pleasure. 

Some have chosen a different route around frustration, knowing the potholes plaguing travel down sensual routes.  Many seek to escape the human predicament through religion.  Such efforts inevitably lead to the same frustration.

St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo in the 5th century A.D., taught that the goal of faith is “beatific happiness.”  This meant much more than the momentary happiness that one could derive through the pleasures of life.  And, Augustine was well acquainted with worldly pleasures.  Before he became a bishop, he lived a very licentious life in open rebellion against his Christian mother.

This pursuit of happiness through seeking sensual pleasure did not fulfill Augustine—nor will it ever fulfill anyone; in fact, it cannot as we read earlier from Solomon.

I think it is quite revealing that Augustine jumped from the fire of sensuality to the frying pan of religion.  I’ve seen people do this many times in my ministry.  I’ve seen drug addicts get addicted to religion.  It is an addiction much less destructive physically, but no more satisfying emotionally or spiritually.  One simply cannot “climb the ladder of religion” in hopes of reaching beatific happiness. 

Washington, D.C. has many unusual traffic construction called, may roundabouts. If you miss your cross street off the roundabout, you just keep going around and around and around and getting nowhere. Ironically, this describes the work of our government—going around and around with endless politicking and getting nowhere.  Again, I digress.

This all reminds us of an old joke that goes something like this: A traveler on a country road comes to a creek where the bridge has been swept away by a recent flood. The traveler sees an old farmer standing next to where the bridge used to be and asks, "Is there a way to back track and find some where else to get across the creek?"

The farmer responds, "Yep. Just, go back two miles turn right and... No, go back one mile and turn left..." The farmer stops for a minute, shrugs his shoulders, scratches his head, and then says to the traveler, "Come to think of it, you can't get there from here."

1.  The Fatal Flaw of Pride (17-18)

¹⁷ Now if  you call yourself a Jew, and rest in the law,  boast in God, ¹⁸ know His will, and approve the things that are superior,  being instructed from the law.

Paul refers to “resting (some versions say, relying) on the Law.”  The word, nomos, translated, “law,” and the corresponding O.T. word, torah, have an extensive range of meaning in the Bible.  Law can refer to: 1) God’s moral law, the Ten Commandments being a summary example; 2) the Ceremonial law involving the many ritualistic practices in the religion of the Jews; 3) health laws, such as what to eat, how to deal with disease, and such; and 4) the civil laws governing the nation of Israel. 

Here the reference is to the ceremonial law, or the practices related to the Jewish religion.  The moral law of God is eternal and good.  It is also, “unattainable.”  Nobody can keep the moral law of God.  In fact Paul gave the purpose for the Law in Galatians 3:24.  The King James Version gives a clear rendering of the verse:

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The Law, basically the O.T., served two purposes:  1) to show what sin is; and 2) to show that no effort on the part of man, however sincere could ever solve the problem of sin.  It is within that context that Paul states in our text, verse 17 that the “very religious” Jews to whom he was speaking put their faith in their own ability to please God by keeping the law. 

Now if  you call yourself a Jew, and rest in the law, [and, the HCSB leaves this third ‘and’ out for stylistic purposes] boast in God.

Paul clearly wants to establish the fact that these people consider themselves “devout Jews” and they believe that their “religious” practice will gain them acceptance before God.  In fact, Paul says that they were “boasting about their relationship to God.”

We will see as we mover further through the text that those who “bragged about” their devotion to God, fell miserably short in living righteous lives.  Religion always leads to pride—“God, look what I am doing for you.”  Jesus described this religious pride in a story about two men (Lk. 18:10-14):

¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple complex to pray,  one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people —greedy,  unrighteous,  adulterers,  or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast  twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector, standing far off,  would not even raise his eyes to heaven  but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me —a sinner!’  ¹⁴ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified  rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Religion is fatally flawed because it always leads to pride, and the Bible tells us that “pride goes before destruction” (Pv. 16:18).

2.  The Fatal Flaw of POINTING FINGERS (19-20)

¹⁹ and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of the immature, having the full expression  of knowledge and truth  in the law

Pride is a horrible thing—add religion to it and it becomes an unbearable thing.  Religion breeds pride and pride always leads to
“pointing fingers.”  These “devoted religious zealots” saw themselves as gifts to humanity in four ways:  1) guides for the blind;  2) lights in the darkness; 3) instructors of the ignorant; and 4) teachers of the immature (referring to “common people”).  To say it succinctly:  they were “know-it-alls.”  They shined their spotlights of self-righteousness on others and pointed out everyone’s failure with surgical exactness.

Now, I want to be careful here.  There is nothing wrong with pointing out areas of weakness in the lives of those we love.  More mature Christians should instruct those that are less immature in the faith.  Devout followers of Christ should pass judgment on behavior in those that profess to follow Christ but do that which the Bible condemns.  Also, it is the calling of each Christian to stand up against the errors and evils of society. 

It is not so much what these religious “finger-pointers” were doing as it was the spirit in which they were doing it.  The Bible clearly tells us the spirit we should have when dealing with others.  Ephesians 4 says,

¹¹ And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,  ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,  growing into a mature man with a stature  measured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,  by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. ¹⁵ But [speak] the truth in love.

This is a good place to discuss one of the most misused Scripture texts in the Bible.  I’m sure you have heard someone say, “Judge not lest you be judged.” This comes from Matthew 7:1.  Usually people use it with the intended meaning, “humans should never make judgment in regard to others.  The problem with that interpretation is it contradicts verse 2 of Matthew 7. 

For with the judgment you use,  you will be judged, and with the measure you use,  it will be measured to you.

The issue is the word “judge, or judgment.”  It has a broad range of meaning and can mean “be critical.”  We are to judge the actions of others according to the Scripture for the purpose of “being guides and teachers” but we are not to have a “critical attitude” toward others. 

Religion has a fatal flaw of turning people into “religious know-it-alls” or “finger pointers.”  This is a sure way to lose friends and breed frustration.  I remember an older lady, the “know-it-all type” who ended up in court.  It went something like this:  small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand in a trial--a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a rising big shot when you haven't the brains to realise you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."  The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Williams, do you know the defence attorney?" She again replied, "Why, yes I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He's lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. The man can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him." At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both counsellors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, "If either of you asks her if she knows me, you'll be in jail for contempt within 5 minutes!"

While I was still in college learning to be a minister, one of my professors reminded us:  “People do not care what you know until they know that you care.”  Religion breeds pride and pointing fingers and will always lead to frustration.

3.  The Fatal Flaw of PRETENDING (21-22)

²¹ you then, who teach another,  don’t you teach yourself? You who preach, “You must not steal”—do you steal? ²² You who say, “You must not commit adultery”—do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob their temples?

In these passages Paul probes beneath the religious veneer of these Jews and indicts them by asking rhetorical questions.  They are rhetorical questions because the answer to each is obvious.  These Jews taught others, but did not listen to the teaching themselves.  They preached against stealing and adultery, but did that themselves.  They detested idols but robbed pagan temples.  That last accusation of hypocrisy is the “icing on the cake” so to speak.

Scholars debate how to interpret the word, hierosyleis.  It means literally “you rob temples.”  It could refer to the fact that they preached on giving to God’s work, but they themselves gave little.  It could mean literally they were “temple robbers” of any temple, sacred or pagan.  It is meant to show the greatest hypocrisy possible.  The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament points out that “the robbery of temples, originally the removal of sacred property from a sacred site, is in Greek, Roman and Egyptian eyes one of the most serious of offences. At times of amnesty, murderers and robbers of temples are of ten excluded. Temple robbery is generally classified with treason and murder. Those convicted are denied burial in consecrated ground.”  This was a devastating implication Paul was making in regard to these “religious people.” 

Now, keep in mind that Paul is really pointing out that none of us are without sin.  Our individual sins may very, but our depravity is equal as human beings.  Religion creates hypocrites—people who put on the air of being devout, but they are “pretenders.”  They may be so good at pretending that they have even fooled themselves.

This week I came across a stinging example of what it means to be a “religious pretender.”  There was a man in town by the name of Brighton.  He was a pompous man who was meticulous about his appearance, holding fast to many religious rules. He was a member of the most prestigious church in town and was very bothered by the behavior of the boys in his church so he decided to become their Sunday School teacher. On his first day of class, he decided to begin by teaching the boys the importance of living the Christian life so he asked them this question: “Why do people call me a Christian?” After an awkward pause, one young boy piped up and said, “Maybe it’s because they don’t know you.” (Brian Bill, SermonCentral.com).

That’s what religion creates—Pretenders, full of Pride, and Pointing fingers at others.  But, that is not the most fatal of the fatal flaws of religion.  Religion has a much worse flaw.

4.  The Fatal Flaw of PROFANITY (23, 24)

²³ You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

Once again we see Paul’s reference to pride—that ugly “Father of All Sins.”  In order to fully grasp just how devastating pride is—especially “spiritual or religious pride,” let us go back to the Garden of Eden.  That’s where sin was born in the hearts of Adam and Eve.  And, what exactly was so sinful about their act?  Let’s review it.  We will pick up the story with the pronouncement of the Devil:

⁴ “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman.  ⁵ “In fact, God knows that when  you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,  knowing good and evil.”

“You will be like God!”  Thus, sin was sown in the soil of pride.  Paul mentions pride in the beginning of our text and here at the end.  It gives us the “book ends” for our lesson on the flaws of religion.  Religion is fatally flawed and will always lead to eternal frustration for two very important reasons: 

1)  It dishonors God by putting man on the throne of life instead of God.  Religion remember is man’s attempt to justify himself (herself) to God through our own efforts.  If we believe that we can contribute to our salvation in any way, then we are saying that Jesus did not need to die on the cross.  God made a big mistake.  The cross of Christ is made of “no effect.”  Religion empties the cross of its power and glory.  Paul in another passage dealing with “religion” (specifically the ritual of baptism) he states:

⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize—not with clever words, so that the cross  of Christ will not be emptied of its effect. ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.  ¹⁹ For it is written:  I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.

Religion essentially says, “Man is as smart as God.”  That greatly dishonors the very God that religion is trying to impress.  I see people nearly every day who are trying to “create their own religion.”  They pick and choose what principles they will apply and which ones they will disregard.  They do not obey the Word of God, but dissect it and debate it.  Religion is fatally flawed because it dishonors God.

2)  Second, religion Profanes God by leading others to “blaspheme God’s Name.”  Recall the flaws we discussed that arise out of religion:  pride, pointing fingers at others, and pretending to be something we are not.  Who is going to be interested in a “religious version of Christianity” with that much baggage?  There is a song I that really touches my heart.  It says,

You're the only Jesus that some will ever see

And you're the only words of life, some will ever read

So let them see in you the One in whom is all they'll ever need

'Cause you're the only Jesus, some will ever see.

There is no doubt that Christianity in America has lost its shine.  The media consistently portrays Christianity as bigoted, hateful, homophobic, uncaring and a list of other unflattering adjectives.  Where did they get such contempt for a belief system founded by Jesus Christ?  Jesus Christ is revered by in most religious systems—from Buddhism to Islam.  Yet, Christianity is so often bashed in public discussions. 

The story is told of a time when the missionary, E. Stanley Jones, met with Mahatma Ghandi, the great reformer and Hindu leader.  Jones asked him, “Mr. Ghandi, you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?” Ghandi replied, “Oh, I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Turning Christianity into a religion did that.  Religion PROFANES the very Name of God by dishonoring the work of Christ on the cross and causing others to hold Christianity in contempt.

I wonder how many of us in this room today are guilty of “profaning” the Name of God by acting as if we can please Him with our own efforts?  I wonder how many of us are more “religious” than truly involved in a deeply devoted relationship with Jesus Christ?  It pains me to look at my life and see so much religion, and so little of a true relationship with My Lord. 

Remember Sisyphus?  He was condemned to “eternal frustration.”  He would push a boulder up a steep mountain only to have it roll all the way back down just before he reached the top.  Then, he started all over.  Is that what our relationship with God has become?  We roll the boulder of Sunday morning worship up to the crest of the mountain of ecstasy only to have it roll back down again?  We roll the singing.  We roll the praying.  We roll the preaching.  Then, seven days later, we do it all over again?  Could it be that we are living under the “Curse of Religyphus?”

Let’s break free.  Let us put aside any notions whatsoever that we can do anything to please God apart from loving and serving His Son, Jesus Christ, out of a heart overflowing with gratitude.  Let’s let the boulder of religion roll into the see of forgetfulness and pursue a relationship with Christ with a passion.

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God Has a Name

January 4, 2015

The “J” Factor: God Has a Name

Exodus 3:1-14                                      NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—For faith to be vital, vibrant, transforming and effective it must be personal.

Let us begin this first sermon of the New Year by reading our text together:  Exodus 3:1-14

As we enter into a New Year, I look around at our world and wonder how much worse things can become.  Our nation seems like a powder keg about to explode.  We literally have riots in the streets.  We have police officers being executed while they sit in their patrol cars.  Record numbers of American adults are out of work.  The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) moves as a scourge across the Middle East, regularly beheading innocent men and women, and even children. 

At the same time that evil seems to be increasing at alarming rates, the Church in America continues to slide further and further into a pit of irrelevance.  In 2009 82% of American adults professed a belief in God.  In the last 5 years that number has decreased by 8%.  Only about 7 out of 10 Americans even believe in God, much less serve Him in any significant way!  During that same time period, belief in evolution increased by 5%. 

My point is that Christianity as a factor in American life is rapidly declining, and as a consequence, evil is spiraling.  Let me add some statistics that should give us cause for alarm.

Of the 250,000 Protestant churches in America, 200,000 are either stagnant (with no growth) or declining. That is 80% of the churches in America and maybe the one you attend, if you attend at all.  4,000 churches close their doors every single year.  There is less than half of the number of churches today than there were only 100 years ago.

3,500 people leave the church every single day.  Since 1950, there are 1/3^rd fewer churches in the U.S.

I’ve taken this time to remind us of the “state of the Church” in America to bring us to the point of asking:  “What is wrong with Christianity in America?”  Wrapped inside this question is the solution to a more vibrant, effective, transforming faith.

The answer to that question is rather simple:  for the vast majority of Americans—including regular church-goers—God is merely an idea and not a person.  In order for faith to be vital, vibrant, effective and life-transforming, it must be personal.

God is a person—a person Who has a Name.  In fact, “God,” is not a name at all.  God is a “title.”  God is a category—such as dog, tree, or man.  I am a man but that is not my name.  Man is “what” I am but not “who” I am.  You cannot have a relationship with me simply by knowing what category I am in.  The same is true for the God of the Bible.  When the Person in the category of “God” (and there is only one representative in that category) wanted to establish a relationship with a people (the Israelites) He gave them His name. 

It may be that Yaweh is the “hiphil” stem of hyh which would give the name the meaning of “The One Who Causes Life.”  Whatever the Hebrew meaning may be it most certainly focuses on the “eternal, causeless, creative” aspect of a Personal God.  Many scholars have noted that our cosmos not only shows evidence of a Creator, but of a Personal Creator, or “Intelligent Design.”  Let me explain it this way.  Most scientists recognize the fact that our universe, particularly in reference to earth, is uniquely “designed” to support life.  The parameters necessary for life are so exacting as to be ascribed a name in science—the “anthropic principle.”  From the tilt of the earth’s axis to the strength of earth’s magnetic field, all the conditions on earth are exactly—to the n^th degree—as they need to be to support life.

However, the exacting conditions necessary to support life, cannot of themselves account for life on our planet—or anything else in existence for that matter.  There must be some “Intelligent, Personal” action to set factors in motion for a creation event.  Let me give you an example of how a “personal” intervention is necessary for any creative event to take place.  Take a match for an example.  There are different varieties of matches, but they work basically the same way.  The conditions necessary for combustion exist on the head of the match—often a friction-sensitive material called, “red phosphorous” and a more flammable “white phosophorous.”  A small wooden stick—itself flammable—is dipped with the components necessary to create fire.  Yet, left alone, the match will just sit there.  The conditions for combustion are insufficient to “cause” combustion.  A match lights when a “person” picks up the match and strikes it sufficiently to set in motion the chemical processes to cause fire.  The “sufficient cause” is a person.  Scientists talk about all the conditions that existed to support life—and they are correct.  However, evolution alone is insufficient to account for life because motion requires a mover and the first motion requires a “Prime Mover,” or a personal force.

Now, I’ve belabored the point of the necessity for “personal” involvement to cause anything to happen so that you will better appreciate the “personal” nature of Christianity.  In order for faith to be vibrant, effective, and life-transforming, it must be personal.  Without a “personal relationship” with the God of the Bible, faith is impossible.  The best one can hope for is religion, and religion has never been particularly helpful.  The reason faith does not work for most people is because God is simply an “idea,” not a person. 

Yet, the Bible stressed the “personal” nature of the God of the Bible.  The God of the Bible has a name.  The personal nature of Yahweh is a key issue in Christian theology.  The story of the Exodus is the archetypal story of the Bible setting the foundation for the story of redemption culminating in the work of Jesus Christ.  It gives us one of the most important principles in the Bible:  God’s name.

1.  God’s Personal Name

In the 42^nd chapter of Isaiah, God is comforting His people who will be in bondage in Babylon as this prophecy unfolds.  In general, this passage is a promise to all God’s people for all time after His Servant, Jesus Christ, comes to earth to die to provide salvation for all people.  The interesting thing about this prophetic promise and proclamation of hope is that it is centered around God’s name—the name He discloses Himself.  Isaiah 42:8 says,

⁸ I am Yahweh, that is My name;

I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols.

In most other translations—the KJV, ESV, NIV, and even the NET Bible—the translations use the title, “LORD,” where the HCSB uses the translation “Yahweh.”  You will notice that in all these modern translations the word, “lord,” is in all capital letters.  This is done in modern Bibles to identify what is technically called the “tetragrammaton,” or “four (tetra) letters (grammaton).”  In the original text the “tetragrammaton” represents the four Hebrew letters:  yōd (י, transliterated as a “y”), hē (ה, hay, or h), vav (ו, representing the letter “w” or sometimes “v”) and a final hē.  Thus, we have the letters (consonants), “YHWH” (יהוה , read right to left).  Without vowels this cannot be pronounced, which is not a problem for Jews since they felt the Divine name was too holy to pronounce.  Later, for vocalization purposes the vowels from adonai (Lord), and elohim (God) were added to make the word, Yahweh.  A few thousand years later Yahweh, through Latin into English became our common word, “Jehovah.” 

This personal name for God first occurs in Genesis 2:4:  These are the records  of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time  that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

The term, “Lord God” translates the Hebrew term, “Yahweh elohim.”  Now stick with me we are going to see why all this is important to us today.  In chapter one of Genesis the term for God that is used in describing the Creator was, “Elohim.”  This title for the Creator is used 30 times in 31 verses.  Clearly, the focus of creation is on the Creator, not the creation.  But, in chapter two of Genesis the Holy Spirit inspires Moses to refer to Elohim as, “Yahweh Elohim,” or “LORD God” in our translations.

Before I tell you why that is significant, let me share a bit more about what “Yahweh” means.  For this, let us go back to our text in Exodus 3.  Whereas, Genesis 2:4 is the first use of Yahweh (of many) in the prior to Exodus, it is only in Exodus that God tells us what His divine name means.  In Exodus 3:13-14 we read:

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?” ¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”

Now, don’t slack off on your listening as we examine a little more Hebrew.  God says that the meaning of His name is “I Am Who I Am,” shortened to, “I Am.”  This may sound like a verse from Dr. Seuss but it makes perfect sense when you think about it.  The key issue in God’s name is His “eternal existence.”  God does not have a “was” or a “will be” but only an “Am.”  God is eternal and has no past or future.  The word translated “am” is from the Hebrew root, hayah—he, yod, he—which is the base form for the word, “Yahweh.”  God gives His name in Genesis 2:4 and translates it in Exodus 3:14.  An alternative translation of Yahweh is often given as, “The One Who Causes Life” (the hiphil form of hayah.)

OK, now I am sure you have had enough of this language study.  What does it mean for you and I that the name of God was changed from chapter 1 of Genesis to chapter 2?  Well, what changed in chapter two?  Chapter 1 already gave us the entire creation account, but what is different in chapter 2?  You will note that chapter 2 highlights, or recounts in greater detail, God’s creation of man and women.  In other words, chapter two is more “personal” than chapter one.  Chapter 2 establishes the intimate, PERSONAL, and special relationship God has with man (and woman).

Yahweh is God’s “personal” name that focuses on the covenant relationship He has with man.  Elohim is not a name.  It is a title.  It is a concept.  Without Yahweh, elohim remains distant, transcendent, unapproachable, and incomprehensible.  God gave Moses His “personal” name because God wants a “personal” relationship with us.  God doesn’t want us to simply give an intellectual assent to His existence.  God, Yahweh, wants to share Himself with us.

Unless the Bible so clearly demonstrated the fact that God wants a personal relationship with His creatures, the idea would be totally incomprehensible to man and infinitely beyond our intellectual capabilities.

We still have the remnants of the Christmas season all around us.  In the shadow of the Christmas season is the bright hope that God, Yahweh, is with us.  Let us recall the words of Matthew, 1:23:

²³ See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,

and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated

“God is with us.”

God is a person.  God has a name.  That name is, “Yahweh.”  It is His personal name disclosed by Himself to tell us He wants a personal relationship with us.  I may not understand “why” He would want a relationship with me, but I need only know that He does.

2.  God’s Descriptive Names

Now, if you are like me, then about now your mind must be numb.  All this talk about “waws” and “yōds” and “hē’s” and tetragrammatons gives us little help or hope if it does not mean something in our everyday life.  Even saying God wants to have a “personal” relationship with me is very problematic.  How can that even be possible?  I cannot see Him.  He does not (though He could) talk with me in an audible voice (which would likely be Hebrew which would not be very helpful to me).  What good is it to know God’s personal name is “Yahweh?”  It is good in every way.  Look again at what knowing the Personal Name of God did for Moses and the Israelites (Ex. 3:15-20):

¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation. ¹⁶ “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.  ¹⁷ And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt  to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸ They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God. ¹⁹ “However, I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go, unless he is forced by a strong hand.  ²⁰ I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles that I will perform in it. After that, he will let you go.

Knowing the Divine Name, the Personal Name, of God Almighty delivered the entire nation of Israel—perhaps over 2 million people—out of the grip of the most powerful man on earth, the Pharaoh.  Now, deliverance from brutal slavery would have been more than enough reward for the Israelites, but God did not send them away empty handed.  Look at verses 21-22:

²¹ And I will give these people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.  ²² Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

God not delivers souls—God delivers the goods!  A personal relationship with Yahweh is “good” by any standard of measure one might want to apply.

God has only one name, Yahweh, but in the Bible God is described by many other names.  I call them “God’s Descriptive Names.”  These names describe the benefits of a personal relationship with Yahweh.  I won’t go over all of God’s descriptive names, but here are a few.

(1)  Yahweh Nissi—Yahweh is My Banner (Ex. 17:15)

¹⁵ And Moses built an altar  and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”  ¹⁶ He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward  the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

“Nissi” refers to a pole with an flag attached. In battle opposing nations would fly their own flag on a pole at each of their respective front lines. This was to give their soldiers a feeling of hope and a focal point. This is what God is to us: a banner of encouragement to give us hope and a focal point.

When we “focus” on Yahweh we have hope and the expectation of victory regardless of what enemy we might face in life.

(2)  Yahweh Raah—Yahweh is My Shepherd (Ps. 23:1)

The Lord is my shepherd;  there is nothing I lack.

Just as an earthly shepherd protected, cared for, and indeed loved his sheep, Jehovah Raah, protects, cares for, and loves us.

(3)  Yahweh Rapha—Yahweh is My Healer (Ex. 15:26)

²⁶ He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you.”

Neither disease, nor death, have the final say in the life of a believer. With merely the Word of His mouth God can put away disease from our lives and through His Son has even conquered death.  A follower of Yahweh will not endure affliction alone, and will not endure it forever.

(4) Yahweh Shammah—The Lord Is There For Me (Ezek.48:35) 

In describing the City of God, Heaven, the Word says:

³⁵ The perimeter of the city will be six miles, and the name of the city from that day on will be: Yahweh Is There.”

Shammah is a symbolic name for the earthly Jerusalem from the root, sham, meaning “there.”  Heaven is not defined by “where it is,” but by “Who is there!”  A follower of Yahweh has the promise of God’s eternal presence from the moment of salvation and for eternity.

(5)  Yahweh Tsidkenu—Yahweh is My Righteousness (Jer. 23:6)

In speaking about the result of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, Jeremiah prophesied:

In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.

This is what He will be named:  Yahweh Our Righteousness.

This is perhaps the greatest “good” that can come from a personal relationship with Yahweh.  We are made “right in His eyes” because of the work of His Son, Jesus Christ.  We do not have to flounder in in self-righteous acts to try to justify ourselves before God.  God provides the “righteousness” He, Himself requires.  The N.T. says,

^{2Cor. 5:21} He made the One who did not know sin  to be sin  for us,  so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So, you see by the descriptive names of Yahweh that there are infinite benefits from a personal relationship with Him.  God’s personal name combined with many descriptive names demonstrate just how very important it is to know God as a person, not just a religious concept or philosophic idea.

Yet, there is one more name by which we must engage with God, besides His personal name and His descriptive names.  It is His

3.  Redemptive Name

There is no more important name given under heaven among men than the name, Jesus—the Redemptive Name of God.  Peter and John as they stood accused by the Jewish leadership of causing trouble by healing a man in the name of Jesus, they gave this testimony as their defense (Acts 4:11, 12):

¹¹ This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. ¹² There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”

It is not popular to preach that Jesus is the only way of salvation.  In fact, it is becoming increasingly less popular to preach that the only true religion is Christianity.  In a few years, it may even be illegal to preach this in America, if things continue in the direction we are currently heading.

But, truth is true even when it is unpopular.

God gave us His “personal” Name to make it clear He wants to have a personal relationship with us.  The Bible gives us an abundance of descriptive names of Yahweh to demonstrate the “eternal rewards” of a personal relationship with Yahweh.  The Bible gives us the “redemptive name” of God—Jesus—so that we will no the only way to eternal life.  Jesus, Himself said (Jn. 14:6):

“I am  the way,  the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

In order for faith to be vital, vibrant, transforming and effective it must be personal—a personal relationship with Yahweh through Jesus Christ.

You will often hear people chant the mantra:  “All roads lead to heaven,” or “All roads lead to God.”  This is a damnable lie straight from the Devil’s lips.  The Bible says clearly (Mat. 7:13-14),

“Enter through the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

Now, it is logical to say, the Bible is incorrect.  But, if the Bible IS correct, then all other religions must be wrong.  It is also logical to suggest that all religions are wrong, but it is not logical to say that all religions are right, given the reality that all religions teach different paths to salvation.  If there is ANY WAY at all to be saved, it must be different, unique, and exclusive.  Given this logical constraint I must make a choice:  what way will I follow.

The Bible tells us that God’s Redemptive Name is “Jesus.”  Jesus is God the Son, Who became flesh and died as a sacrifice for the sins of man on the cross.  There is “no other name” by which one can be saved.  All other paths are the “broad way leading to destruction.”

Year after year after year in 37 years of ministry I have watched people flounder like a catfish on a river bank flopping madly to try to get to a place of safety, satisfaction, and purpose in life, to no avail.  I’ve seen very few—myself included—live what I would consider a truly vibrant, vital, transforming, effective Christian life.

After 37 years of seeing this pattern of floundering over and over again, and coming to end of yet another year and the beginning of yet another New Year . . . I asked myself, “Why is it like this?”  Why does Christianity seem so anemic in America.

The answer came back to me as I watched the current movie version of “Exodus—God and Kings.”  I reread Exodus 3 and God gave me the answer to why Christianity doesn’t seem to work very well for most people in America.

The answer was that God was nothing more than a “religious idea”—sometimes a very lofty idea for people—nothing more than a philosophical concept.  God for most people is not, Yahweh, the Creator that so much wants to have a personal relationship with us.

I’ve narrowed my New Year’s resolution down to “one.”  I suspect it may take this whole year—indeed the rest of my natural life to fulfill this resolution.  My New Year’s resolution is:  Do whatever it takes to get to know Yahweh better! 

Pray more.  Study more.  Give more.  Serve more.  Whatever it takes.

I would encourage you to consider joining me in this “one New Year’s Resolution.”

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