by Tad Lindley
Oftentimes for clarity, when mentioning a married woman I hear people refer to her by both her married name and her maiden name. It works like this: say there is more than one Miriam Moses, to make it clear which Miriam Moses they mean they will say Miriam Moses used-to-be Abraham (as in she is a Moses now, but she used to be an Abraham). That way nobody gets confused and thinks that they are talking about Miriam Moses used-to-be Wassilie. In the case of remarried widows, they get to be double used-to-be’s. Imagine being Mary John used-to-be Mark used-to-be Matthew! Since men don’t get to change our names, we miss out on all of this, but every once in a while across history, God has changed a man’s name.
Abraham used-to-be…
The Bible is full of male used-to-be’s. Let’s start with Abraham used-to-be Abram. Abram (which means “exalted father”) was called by God to leave his homeland and his family. By the time he reached Genesis 17, he was 99 years old. At that point he was the father of one child, a 12 or 13 year old boy, Ishmael. The Lord renamed Abram to Abraham, “father of a multitude”. Within a year of that day, his 90 year old wife, Sarah used-to-be Sarai, gave birth to Isaac, and between the two sons across the millennia Abraham has indeed become the father of a multitude.
Israel used-to-be…
If you have not paid much attention to the Bible, you might not realize that the nation of Israel is actually named after a real guy. His name was Israel used-to-be Jacob. And Israel used-to-be Jacob had 12 sons. These 12 sons got married and had families. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel. But let’s get back to Israel. Israel means, “wrestles with God.” Jacob means, “deceiver.” As you study the life of Jacob, you see that he indeed was a cheater. At one point he actually tricked his legally blind father into thinking he was his twin brother and stole his brother’s blessing. But that’s who he used to be. Eventually he was able to walk away from his past and face God. Now we know him as Israel used-to-be Jacob.
Peter used-to-be…
Peter wasn’t always Peter. Peter was born Simon bar Jonah (bar Jonah means “the son of Jonah”). When he was just a commercial fisherman, he was Simon. After he became a disciple, Jesus gave him the name Peter which means, “Rock”. You will see Peter referred to as Simon (when he is in his own will), and as Peter, or Simon Peter at other times. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. It was this same Peter that preached on the day of Pentecost and told the Jewish people gathered that their salvation lay in repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).
Paul used-to-be…
Once upon a time, a Jewish man named Saul was on his way to Damascus with search warrants to arrest Christians. He was a religious enforcer for the Jewish ruling council. While he was on his way to Damascus, a bright light blinded him and he fell to the ground. Jesus began to speak to him, and in Acts 9, Saul became Paul. Because Saul had been arresting and abusing Christians, it took Paul used-to-be Saul a little while to get church cred, but he went on to become the Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to be used by God to write much of the New Testament.
Corinthians used-to-be…
All of these men that I have mentioned above had their names changed through a close contact with Jesus. I have met people who have changed their own name, or had it changed by others, but I’ve never met a person who has had their name changed by God. And to be honest with you, I would so much rather have my life changed than my name changed. That’s what happened to the Corinthians, they had a whole bunch of lifestyle used-to-be’s. Look at it: Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, men who engage in illicit sex,thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christand in the Spirit of our God. (I Corinthians 6:9-11 NRSV)
The Corinthian church was made up of used-to-be sinners, but they repented of their sin, were baptized in Jesus’ name, and walked away from what they used to be! Corinthian is in fact a derogatory term for people chasing after all kinds of sin. So maybe if you are born again it would be appropriate to say, “I’m washed, sanctified, and justified used-to-be Corinthian!” And if you are not a used-to-be Corinthian, why not?
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
