Honouring Christ’s Name
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ
Romans 1:5,6
The words ‘for his name’s sake’ (1:5) which the NIV places at the beginning of the sentence, actually come at the end of Paul’s sentence to form something of a climax. Paul desired to bring the nations to the obedience of faith for the sake of the honour and glory of Christ’s name. God had ‘exalted him to the highest place’ and had given him ‘the name that is above every name’ so that ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Philippians 2:9-11). If God wants every knee to bow to Jesus and every tongue to confess Him, then so should we. We should be ‘jealous’ (as the scripture sometimes says) for the honour of His name – troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored and indignant when it is blasphemed. The highest of all missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission, (important as that is), nor love for the lost who are alienated and lost, (strong as that is, especially in view of the coming wrath of God), but rather passionate and burning zeal for the glory of Christ.
In Acts 4 Peter and John are brought before the religious leaders of the nation. Their crime is preaching that Jesus is the Messiah. Luke records the Sanhedrin’s command ‘But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to any in this name’ (Jesus’ name [Acts 4:17]). In the next chapter possibly all the apostles are arrested. They are again ‘ordered … not to speak in the name of Jesus’ (5:40). Luke notes ‘The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name’ (5:41). John will much later write of Christians who ‘for the sake of the Name … went out, receiving no help from the pagans’ (3 John 7).
The early Christians held the name of Jesus in the highest honour. They esteemed that precious name more than any other name. We can do no less in our day.