Tag: David Thurman

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Names for God

Names for God
We have received a number of emails asking why we use various names for God and for Christ. Different translations of the Bible also vary in their use of names. I suspect God is more concerned about how we follow His instructions for living than which of the respectful names for God we use.

David Thurman wrote an excellent article on this subject in his column in Gospel Minutes for March 23, 2018:

“God said to Moses, ”I AM WHO I AM’; and he said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14). The name of God is “I Am.” The Jews used the letters YHWH to spell this name. In ancient Hebrew, there were no vowels, so when reading Hebrew in ancient times, the reader had to provide the vowels. Over time, the Jews would not pronounce the name of God, afraid that in doing so they would be taking His name in vain. So, they substituted another word, Adonai (meaning Lord) when they spoke YHWH out loud.”

“Most scholars today believe Yahweh is the closest we can come to “I AM” from the ancient texts. It was later, in the 6th century that scholars of that time inserted the vowels from Adonai into YHWH. That resulted in an Aramaic version that was later translated into Latin and then English as “Jehovah.” To this day the original vowels are still unknown. All we know for certain is that God’s personal name was YHWH. Some insert vowels to make it Yahweh, others, Jehovah, depending on which version of the Bible you use. Either is acceptable as long as we use it with honor and reverence to the Lord.”

“Yeshua” is simply the Hebrew word we translate into English as Joshua. It means “salvation is of the Lord.” The Greek (and English) form of this word is “Jesus.” That is why God told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus received His name because He was Savior. If you use “Yeshua” to refer to Jesus, you are simply using the Hebrew form of His name. If you call Him “Jesus” you are simply using the Greek and English form of His name. Both are right and apply equally to Lord Jesus.

The Bible in its various translations used various names for God and for God in the flesh. The important thing is that we always use God’s name in a respectful way.
–John N. Clayton © 2018

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Political Issues as a Barrier

Political Issues
We get a lot of mail related to things that we express in our posts. In recent months some have wanted to know why we haven’t had any articles about the Supreme Court, the political parties, Donald Trump or about the political issues of our day.

Recently our good friend and brother in Christ David Thurman, had a beautifully crafted article in his periodical Gospel Minutes in which he said what we believe is true about how we should handle the political issues of our day. Here is his statement:

“When it comes to morality, God is our only authority. So whatever the Supreme court says about marriage is not relevant to our teaching and practice on the subject. We will still teach that marriage is between a man and a woman. Whatever our society says about sexuality, we will still contend that sex belongs in a monogamous, married relationship between a man and a woman. Whatever our society says about violence in the streets and black lives and police officers being targeted, we are going to contend that all violence is evil and has no place in our society.

“However, much of politics is not morality based. It is merely opinion. I have good friends who grew up in one political mind-set. They are polar opposites to my upbringing and current political views. Yet, we are brothers in Christ and love each other. I am not going to let his/her political view alter my more important relationship in Christ.

Paul puts it this way in Romans 14, ‘One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God, and he who eats not, for the Lord does not eat, and gives thanks to God’ (Romans 14:5-6). Substitute ‘political viewpoint’ for ‘day’ in these verses, and we get the point. One man’s opinion is between him and God. My opinion may differ, but that is between me and God. Each should be convinced before God that what he/she thinks is the right thing for us. That is, God should be involved in our political viewpoint. But, if another man reaches a different conclusion, that is between him and the Lord, not between him and me. Just as the ‘day’ should not be a barrier to fellowship, so politics should not be either.

So, include God in all aspects of your life, including your political thinking. But if another believer reaches a different political position based on his or her understanding of the Lord’s values, then let him or her have that conviction, and do not let politics become a barrier to unity and fellowship.”

Reference: David Thurman in Gospel Minutes February 24, 2017, page 4.
–John N. Clayton © 2017