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Recently, a sister posted the
following information on her Facebook account:
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images.
Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that
liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore...,
Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
"A name to live while dead will
only God betray."
Is there anyone
you are lifting up above Christ? Dead or alive? Preacher? The
church? A group? Who do we talk more about; Christ or ....? Who
do we hear more about; Christ or .....?
I couldn’t agree
more with what this sister posted. And I would like to take this
thought a little further.
“A
Name To Live While Dead”
There are at least
three ways to look at this expression. One is to view it as this
sister has done, in which she referenced that act of lifting up
someone or something above Christ. This is likely what Barney E.
Warren had in mind when in 1911, he pinned the words to the song
The Bible Way. In the second verse, he writes:
A name to live while
dead,
Will only God betray;
Then come as He hath said,
The Bible way.
Surely God is
betrayed when his people exalt others or other things above Him. In
every case where this has happened it has caused confusion and
strife. It is little wonder that B E Warren further wrote:
No human creed or church
Will answer in that day,
When God each heart will search;
Then choose His way.
The many ways of strife
Are leading souls astray;
The word of God is life,
The truth, the way.
Yes, Bro Warren, you
were correct when you said that
there is but one true way. And that
way is indeed the Bible way!
A second
way of looking at this expression is something that is as equally
dangerous. I goggled this phrase and found that it was a common
expression back in the early 1800s. In fact, on August 23, 1846, J.
C. Philpot preached a message titled Pilgrim's Hunger and Pilgrim's
Food at Providence Chapel, in London, England. In reference to
this same expression, in his message he said the following:
“To put
on religion, and yet be devoid of that in which the very life of
God consists!—O what a wretched state to be in! to be a
professor, to go among God's people, to hear God's truth, to
listen to the most heart-searching appeals, and then to be dead
in sin or dead in a profession, and cloak over all your
wickedness with the mask of hypocrisy! I, for my part, would
sooner be a worldly man altogether, than have a religion that
does not stand in the power of God. … I would sooner be a
worldly man altogether, making no profession, but living like
other men in the world, than have a name to live while dead—the
form without the power. Such is the feeling of my heart, and
such the verdict of my conscience.”
In this
case, and individual takes up a profession of religion, goes through
the motions, but has no real salvation from sin. While he claims an
experience with God, and is often called a "Christian" by his peers,
he is yet dead in his sins. He has the name. He breaths in air like
the rest of humanity, yet is dead in his sins. Paul said that “she
that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” (1Timothy
5:6)
The third
way to view this expression is found in Revelation 3:1-3, the
recording of John to the church in Sardis:
"
… I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest, and
art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain,
that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect
before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard,
and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I
will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour
I will come upon thee."
In this
case, an entire church is said to have a name (possibly a good
reputation in the community from a previous time in history), yet
they were now spiritually dead, or in some cases nearly dead.
Somewhere along the line, they
had lost their life and spiritual vision and their present actions
were not being accepted by God. Rather, God called them to repent.
Many
churches and religious movements today fall into this category. They
emphasize their title or church name, yet they fail to live up to that name.
They talk frequently about the “good old days" when they used to
have some life and a vision for lost souls. Yet, they do nothing
about it. In all too many cases,
these churches continue to go through the motions, their particular
form of religion, yet they are
spiritually dead. Without reformation, such churches only continue
to have “a
name to live, while dead”.
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