Even if people do not call you bad names based upon your sins and weaknesses (as I described in last week’s post “Not Your Name,”) they may speak your name with such contempt that you can tell they only see you based upon your past weaknesses or sin. They have come to view your name (and you) as a person not worth their love and respect. But they are wrong. As I said in last week’s post, God sees our infinite worth, and he wants to redeem your name if you experience that contempt. He has done this multiple times in the Bible, so let’s explore God’s redemption of our names.
We recognize the Biblical notoriety of three men, King Saul, Ananias (husband of Sapphira) and Judas (surnamed Iscariot.) Their names became degraded by their evil behavior. Let’s look at their lives and downfall.
Saul, son of Kish, became Israel’s first King. The name “Saul” means “asked for” or “prayed for,” and Saul was a beloved son his father must have asked for. Saul was born into a wealthy family with an abundance of live stock, servants and fields. He was so beloved that when his father sent him to look for some lost donkeys, but he took too long, he said “Let’s go home. By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys,” (1Sam.9:5.) His father began to worry about him and not the donkeys, even though donkeys were highly valued. Yet Saul did not live up to the honor and gifting God had bestowed upon him. Saul attempted to murder David, his loyal servant; his good-hearted son, Jonathan; and others. Saul’s arrogance, selfishness and rebellion against God brought his brutal death. In 1 Sam. 26:21 Saul admitted: “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong,” but instead Saul resumed his attempts to murder David. 1 Sam. 28:16b says, “The Lord has left you and has become your enemy,” and 1 Chron. 10:13a clarifies this, “So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord’s command, and he even consulted a medium, instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him…” This man sullied the name of “Saul.”
The parents of Judas Iscariot showed great hope for their son by giving him his name which means “praise.” They were likely well educated and intelligent people. They praised God for their highly esteemed son who grew up to be an intelligent leader. Jesus chose him as one of his twelve disciples, and the group trusted him with their money bag. But Judas betrayed them and often stole from the bag. He mocked a woman who anointed Jesus with expensive oil (John chapter 12.) Eventually Judas betrayed Jesus to his death, and Jesus called him a “Son of perdition,” (John 17:12.) Judas took a beautiful name of praise and sullied it with mockery, theft, and betrayal unto murder.
Ananias (husband of Sapphira) enjoyed wealth and a good life. In fact his name, as a derivative of Hananiah, means “God has been gracious,” and can be interpreted as “favored by God” or “gift of the Lord.” God was gracious to this Ananias, so that he could afford to sell some of his property and donate part of the proceeds to the New Testament church, and still live comfortably (Acts chapter 5.) But Ananias was not content to have the church think he only donated part of the proceeds of his property sale. He pretended he had given all the money to the church. The Holy Spirit showed Peter that this was not common lying. Acts 5:3a + 4b “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit…You weren’t lying to us but to God!” For this evil, God killed Ananias.
Prior to Acts 9:3, we only know of an evil Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9:1a, “Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.”
Yet God brought all three of these formerly sullied names (Saul, Judas, Ananias) together in the ninth chapter of Acts, with each name assigned to a godly man who lived a life for God, thus redeeming each of these names. While the Pharisee Saul was initially an evil-doer (misguided to think he was doing God’s will) by the ninth chapter of Acts, he repents and returns to God, Acts 9:8a “Saul picked himself up off the ground,” as God had commanded him. Next we meet the good Ananias, whom God calls in Acts 9:10b “Ananias!” Ananias obediently replied, “Yes, Lord!” in the same verse. Then we meet a good Judas in the following verse 11 “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas.”
The good Ananias knew of the evil reputation that went with the name, “Saul of Tarsus.” In Acts 9:13b he says, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!”
Perhaps the most striking part of the redemption of these names comes in Ananias’ next words about Saul’s name. In Acts 9:17, Ananias calls this Saul, “Brother Saul…” This Saul’s name has been redeemed. It took time for others to recognize the redemption of this name, for example Acts 9:26b says, “…he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had become a believer!” Barnabas (verse 27) showed the believers that Saul truly had changed.
We may have sinned, made mistakes or simply been silly, foolish or weak in our past. People may still think of us based upon those weaknesses and sins. They may eventually believe we have matured and changed, as Barnabas quickly did with Saul. People like Barnabas have a gift of discerning, and they see the heart of Jesus in us. Others may express skepticism but over time see our changes. Such people are not wrong, even though they do not accept us as readily as the Barnabas’s in our lives. Not everyone has the gift of spiritual discernment, and those people have a right to wait to see our changes over time. If we were weak or even sinned, we have hurt those people. In a sense, our growth and changes are a form of restitution to those we hurt (whether we sinned or were simply weak.) We must be patient with people who want to be sure we have truly changed. In 1Tim.5:22 we are urged to not act in haste, “Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.” Although this verse is about appointing church leaders, it shows us the importance of watching people’s conduct over time to make sure they are truly strong and godly.
People, who are unsure if we have changed, are not wrong and may even be wise to wait to be sure we have truly changed. Those people can become our strongest advocates. For example, although John Mark deserted Paul (the Greek name of Saul of Tarsus) and Paul was angry. Over time John Mark did change, and he redeemed his name in Paul’s eyes. In 2Tim.4:11, Paul said, “Get Mark and bring him with you for he is very useful to me for ministry.” John Mark fully redeemed his name here.
But some people will always reject us, even when we have changed and proven our changes and maturity over time. These people hold grudges, and they refuse to see the truth. They are in the wrong, and God does not consider them innocent. Many Bible verses speak of the need to forgive, lest people fall into bitterness. For example, Ephs.4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
It is not your fault when people refuse to forgive you or take you back. Even if you did wrong in the past, the sin is theirs now. You have not caused their lack of forgiveness. It comes from the pride in their heart, and nothing you did. They were sinning long before they met you. Jesus described the anger in their hearts in Mark 7:16b “…you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” He elaborated on this in the same chapter (verses 21-23) “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” There is no sin you have committed, and there is no weakness in you that causes others to refuse to forgive you. Their refusal to forgive you is a sin that was already in their hearts, and you did not cause it.
People have a right to be skeptical about our changes and maturity. But they do not have a right to condemn us and believe we are no good and will never amount to anything good. Anyone who says such a thing (and people have told me they have heard such condemning and godless words) speaks from the devil. God always offers us an opportunity to repent and change. Joel 2:13 promises, good if you “rend your heart and not your garments,” and if you “return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil.”
When we repent, God says our name has already been redeemed. He already knows our repentance, and he sees Jesus’ goodness in our hearts. Others may struggle to accept our redeemed name, but God sees it right away. Some, like Barnabas see our changes more quickly. And others come to see the goodness of our hearts over time. As for those who never forgive us and never see our names redeemed, we must let them live in their sinful and dangerous lies and keep our distance from them, lest they hurt us.
The Lord knows our hearts. He knows our names. When we surrender our lives to him, he has already redeemed our names, and we are precious to him. Isaiah 43:4b says, “…You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” Jesus has already redeemed your name! Thanks for joining us in this week’s post. I pray we have blessed you!