In Acts 15, it is apparent that Jews and Gentiles have been saved by grace and both Jews and Gentiles have been called to be holy. This is directly related to being redeemed by God to be his own possession and when God’s make someone his own possession, that person bears his name. In light of that, listen to how holiness and God’s name are connected in the following passage—Deut. 28:9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord…
So notice at the end of Acts 15:14 that God calls them for his name. In essence, they become his possession and are to glorify who he is by their wholehearted devotion to him. This is what he expects when he stamps his name on a people.
Listen to Lev. 22:31 “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you…
We must not miss that dually stated principle so clearly declared in that text—God sets a people apart so that they may set his name apart.
It follows that God never saves so that people can promote themselves by making their own name or reputation great. In fact, coming to Christ may ruin your reputation on this earth.