The Third Commandment - 07/31/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

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They have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.

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But what is God's reply to him? I have kept for myself 7 ,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

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So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer the basis of works.

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Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. What then? Jesus failed to obtain what it was seeking.

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The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened as it is written. God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear down to this very day.

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And David says, let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.

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Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever.

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So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means.

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Rather, through the trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make

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Israel jealous. Or if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the

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Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion be?

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Now, speaking of you Gentiles, and as much as I am an apostle to the

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Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order to show, in order somehow, to make my fellow

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Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

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If the dough offered as first feuds is holy, so is the whole lump. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

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But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others, and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches.

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If you are remembered as not you who support the root, but the root that supports you, then you will say, branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in.

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That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief. But you stand fast through faith.

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So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

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Note then the kindness and the severity of God. Severity towards those who have fallen, but God's kindness is to you, provided you continue in his kindness.

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Otherwise, you too may be cut off. And even if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in.

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For God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted contrary to the nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will the natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

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Lest you be wise in your own sight. I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers.

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A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the

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Gentiles has come in, and all this way, O Israel, will be saved as it is written.

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Let's pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for this new day that you have given us.

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The first day of the week, Lord. Your day of rest, and our day of worship.

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So we ask, Father, that you'd bless each one who has gathered here this morning. Fill us with new thoughts, new things,

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Lord, that we for somehow didn't read before. But we know that your word is new every morning.

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And how exciting that is, Lord, that you have preserved your book down over all these years.

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Speak to our hearts, Lord. Speak to our minds this morning. Help us to be more like your son, the

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Lord Jesus. We're praying for Jason today as he brings the word to us.

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May the Holy Spirit speak to him, through him, in the word as it comes forth to us.

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We give great thanks, Lord, for this family gathered together this morning.

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Bless each one, Lord. Fill us with your spirit. All for Christ's sake, amen.

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This morning, excuse me, we continue our study of Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 to 17, the

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Ten Commandments. Thus far, we've covered the prologue of the Ten Commandments, verses 1 and 2, the

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First Commandment, verse 3, the Second Commandment, verses 4 to 6. And this morning, we begin the

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Third Commandment, verse 7. By way of reminder, in the prologue, we are introduced to the origin or the source of the moral law, and God spoke all these words.

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The Ten Commandments were not received by the imagination or the hand of man, but by the finger of the

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Lord God. Two tablets, written in stone, authoritative, and binding for all eternity.

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The First Commandment has to do with the object of our worship, forbidding us from worshiping any other

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God but the Lord God alone. You shall have no other gods before me.

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You shall not place or put any other so -called God before the face of the

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Lord God. The First Commandment teaches us that we must worship the right God, the one and only true

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God. The Second Commandment has to do with the manner of our worship.

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The Second Commandment forbids us from worshiping the Lord God by any means other than what he has specifically prescribed to us in the scriptures.

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You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

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You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

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The Second Commandment teaches us that we must worship the right God in the right way.

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Our worship of the Lord God must be as he has prescribed in the scriptures. The Third Commandment, which we begin today, and it'll probably take us at least two

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Sundays to get through. It also has to do with the manner of our worship. So please turn with me to the book of Exodus.

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Our passage this morning is Exodus chapter 20, verse 7. Let's look at the text together.

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Exodus 20, verse 7. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

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For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. In my opinion, with the exception of the fourth commandment, which is to remember the

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Sabbath day, the third commandment is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied commandments in all of the moral law.

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If you take this commandment at face value, it seems to be primarily addressing our speech.

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Christians must not take the name of the Lord our God in vain. Do not curse, do not swear, do not profane the name of the

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Lord our God. Rather, Christians must honor, Christians must glorify the name of the

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Lord our God. Now the third commandment does have something to say about profaning and honoring the name of the

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Lord our God in our speech. But it also has a much broader and greater application.

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In fact, this commandment pertains not just to our speech, but to all of life, to every area of life in ways that you may not have ever imagined.

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The Westminster Larger Catechism states, question 112, what is required in the third commandment?

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Answer, the third commandment requires that the name of God, his titles, attributes, ordinances, the word, sacraments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, his works, and whatsoever else there is whereby he makes himself known, be wholly and reverently used in thought, meditation, word, and writing by a holy profession, an answerable conversation to the glory of God and the good of ourselves and others.

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The requirements of the third commandment are quite comprehensive. It does not just address our speech, but it addresses the entirety of our lives, our thoughts, our words, our deeds.

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There are two parts to this commandment. There is the commandment itself, which is stated negatively.

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You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Then there is the resulting consequence for disobedience to this command.

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The Lord God will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

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Now to fully understand the requirements of this commandment and that which is forbidden in this commandment, we must first understand the importance and significance of the words name and vain.

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For most people, their name is simply a word or a combination of words by which they are designated, called, or known.

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All of us have a name. All of us are referred to by a name. All of us can be picked out or distinguished by our names.

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But in the scriptures, the name of the Lord God is far more important and far more meaningful than merely being a label or an identifier.

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The name of the Lord God is a means of his self -revelation. The name of the

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Lord God is his identity. It is the essence of his divine being.

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It is a description of his nature. It is a description of his character. It is a description of his attributes.

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The name of the Lord God is representative of his entire being, his existence, and his reputation.

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The name of the Lord God is everything by which he is pleased to make himself known.

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This is a figure of speech known as a synecdoche, where one part represents the whole and vice versa.

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Thus, the name of the Lord God, which is the part, represents all of the Lord God, which is the whole.

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And likewise, all of the Lord God, which is the whole, represents the name of the Lord God, which is the part.

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For example, we see this figure of speech used throughout the book of Psalms. Psalm 8, 1.

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O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens.

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In this passage, the psalmist is not only praising the Lord God for his majestic and his glorious name, the psalmist is praising the

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Lord God for his majestic and glorious creation. The Lord God created the heavens and the earth for his glory, praise, and honor.

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Psalm 106, verses 6 to 8. Both we and our fathers have sinned. We have committed iniquity.

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We have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works.

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They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the

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Red Sea. Yet, he saved them for his namesake, that he might make known his mighty power.

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The Lord God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He delivered them out of the house of slavery for his namesake.

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The Lord God was saving a people for his glory. The Lord God was saving a people to make known to them his great and almighty power.

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Psalm 119, he sent redemption to his people. He has commanded his covenant forever.

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Holy and awesome is his name. In all of these passages, the part is representing the whole.

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The name of the Lord God represents his glory in creation and his glory in redemption.

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The name of the Lord God represents the whole of the Lord God. And thus, his name deserves as much reverence and respect as the

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Lord God himself. The name of the Lord God is

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I Am, which is referred to as the Tetragrammaton. In Hebrew, it consists of four letters,

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YHWH, which we pronounce Yahweh or Jehovah, which means

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I am who I am, or I will be who I will be. I Am is a proclamation of the

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Lord God's self -existence. It's a proclamation of the Lord God's self -sufficiency and the

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Lord God's supreme and absolute authority over all. To the

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Israelites, this name, I Am, was so sacred and so hallowed that it was only spoken once a year by the high priest when giving the blessing on the day of atonement.

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To the Israelites, this name, I Am, was so valued and so esteemed that when the scribes who were the copiers of the ancient manuscripts came to the name

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Yahweh, they would stop and they would ceremonially bathe themselves and then they would go back to the scroll with a brand new pen and write out the name.

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To the Israelites, the name of the Lord was so awesome because it was the personal, covenantal, and promise -keeping name that represented everything about the

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Lord God. It represented the whole of God. And thus, the name of the

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Lord is to be greatly honored and revered above every other name.

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In order to fully comprehend the requirements of the third commandment and that which is forbidden in this commandment, it's very important to remember the importance and significance of the word name.

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The name of the Lord is far more comprehensive and far more exhaustive than being a mere label or an identifier.

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But it's also equally important to understand the meaning of the word vain. You shall not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain. Well, what does it mean, vain? Well, the literal meaning of this term is to empty or to clear.

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It refers to making something meaningless or worthless or trivial.

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It means to empty something of all its importance, all its relevance, and all its gravity so that nothing of substance is left.

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To take the name of the Lord God in vain is to use it in a meaningless and frivolous manner.

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To take the name of the Lord God in vain is to use it in a false, inconsiderate, irreverent, superficial, lighthearted, shallow, or any other wicked manner.

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To take the name of the Lord God in vain is to use His name in a manner that empties the

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Lord God of His great significance, in a manner that empties the Lord God of His great weightiness, as if the

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Lord God didn't really matter at all, as if the Lord God didn't really exist at all.

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The world may take the name of the Lord God in vain, but not the children of God.

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In our speech and in our lives, we are not to empty the name of the

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Lord our God. If the name of the Lord our God is to be employed by our lips and by our lives, then it must be employed in a thoughtful, meaningful, and reverent manner.

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In other words, the name of the Lord God is to be hallowed. In the

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Sermon on the Mount, the content of the third commandment is repeated by the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is stated in the positive.

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In our prayers, we are instructed to hallow the name of the Lord our God. Matthew 6, 9.

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Pray then like this. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

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In contrast to taking the name of the Lord God in vain, we must hallow the name of the

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Lord our God. The Greek word that is translated hallowed is the same word from which we derive the

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English word holy. Thus, the term hallowed is referring to treating a person or a thing as holy.

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It means to sanctify or to set something apart for special use. A person or a thing that is hallowed is different and set apart from other things.

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Implied in this term is the separation of something sacred from something that is ordinary, from something that is profane.

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The temple in Jerusalem was hallowed because it was different from other buildings. It was set apart for sacred use.

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The Old Testament priests were hallowed because they were different from other men. They had been set apart by the

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Lord God for special and sacred duty. In the temple, there were objects that were used in service that were holy, that were sanctified because they had been set apart for special use in the temple worship.

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Likewise, the name of the Lord God is also to be hallowed. The name of the

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Lord God is to be considered holy. The name of the Lord God is to be sanctified.

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It is to be set apart entirely from the common and the profane.

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Well, there are many different ways in which we commonly take the name of the Lord our God in vain. The Westminster Larger Catechism provides us with 38 different ways in which we commonly take the name of the

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Lord our God in vain. Question 113, what are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?

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Answer, the sins forbidden in the third commandment are the not using of God's name as is required and the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked mentioning or otherwise using his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works by blasphemy, perjury, all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots, violating our oaths and vows if lawful and fulfilling them if of things unlawful, murmuring and quarreling at, curious prying into, the misapplying of God's decrees and providences, misinterpreting, misimplying, or any way perverting the word or any part of it to profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines, abusing it, the creatures, or anything contained under the name of God to charms or sinful lusts and practices, the maligning, scorning, reviling, or any wise opposing of God's truth, grace, and ways, making profession of religion in hypocrisy or for sinister ends, being ashamed of it or ashamed to it by unconformable, unwise, unfruitful, and offensive walking or backsliding from it.

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That's quite a list, isn't it? Well, like the first two commandments, all men are guilty of breaking this commandment.

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All men have violated the third commandment. All men are violators of the third commandment.

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All men have taken up the name of the Lord our God in vain.

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Now, one of the most common ways that we take the name of the Lord our God in vain is by breaking our word or by breaking our oaths or by breaking our vows.

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Throughout the scripture, there is a very high priority that is placed upon the importance of keeping your word and fulfilling your oaths and vows.

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Now, listen to the following passages and note the intended emphasis, which in your notes is in italics.

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Leviticus 19, 12. You shall not swear by my name falsely and so profane the name of your

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God. I am the Lord. Numbers 30, verse two. If a man vows a vow to the

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Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word.

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He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Deuteronomy 23, 21.

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If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay in fulfilling it. For the

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Lord your God will surely require it of you and you will be guilty of sin. Now, in each one of these passages, what is the intended emphasis?

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The intended emphasis is on telling the truth. The intended emphasis is truthfulness.

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You shall not swear falsely. You shall not break your word. You shall not delay in fulfilling all of your oaths and all of your vows.

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Now, real quick, what is the difference between an oath and a vow? Well, an oath is a solemn affirmation or an appeal to God as to an all -seeing witness that what we are saying is indeed the truth.

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And on the flip side, it's also a solemn affirmation or an appeal to God as an almighty avenger if what we say is false.

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The Greek term carries, the Greek term oath carries with it the idea of binding something or strengthening something.

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In taking an oath, your words are strengthened in the affirmation of invoking the Lord God to attest to your truthfulness.

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It's important to recognize that the Lord God has prohibited not the taking of oaths, but the taking of false oaths.

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The Lord God has prohibited the use of his name in reckless and rash oaths, oaths that swear to his name in vain.

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But in matters of weight, in matters of importance, for the confirmation or the reinforcement of the truth, such as a wedding ceremony or in a court of law or for the ending of strife, the

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Lord God does sanction men to swear by his name. Deuteronomy 10, 20, you shall fear the

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Lord your God, you shall serve him and hold fast to him and by his name, you shall swear.

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Jeremiah four, one and two, if you return, oh Israel, declares the Lord, to me, you should return.

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If you remove your detestable things for my presence and do not waver, and if you swear as the

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Lord lives in truth and justice and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him and in him shall they glory.

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Now a vow on the other hand, a vow is a solemn and binding promise made to God of doing some good thing or abstaining from some unlawful thing.

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Vows were usually made under the influence of gratitude for divine goodness, of some imminent danger, the apprehension of future evil, or even the desire for future blessing.

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In the book of Genesis, Jacob had a dream and in this dream, the Lord God revealed to him his divine favor and blessing and subsequently,

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Jacob made a vow to the Lord God, a vow to give a 10th of all his estate to the

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Lord God. Genesis 28, 20, then Jacob made a vow saying, if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and I will give him and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the

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Lord shall be my God and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God's house and of all that I give you,

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I will give a full 10th to you. So a vow is simply a promise made to the

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Lord God. It is a binding pledge that you will perform, that you will carry out whatever it is that you have vowed.

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And an oath is simply making a statement and calling upon the Lord God to witness to the truth of that statement, invoking a curse from the

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Lord God upon yourself if you're not telling the truth. Now by the time of Christ, like every other commandment, the scribes and the

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Pharisees had completely distorted and twisted the plain truth of the scriptures and they refashioned them to meet their own corrupt requirements.

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The scribes and the Pharisees had taken the principle of truthfulness in oaths and vows and they had distorted its meaning with their legalistic acrobatics.

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It's evident from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that the scribes and Pharisees had shifted the intended emphasis of the

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Old Testament passages regarding oaths and vows so that the passages were understood in a completely different light.

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Now notice their intended emphasis. Changes are in italics. Leviticus 19, 12.

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You shall not swear by my name falsely and so profane the name of your

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God, I am the Lord. Numbers 30, verse two. If a man vows a vow to the

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Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

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Deuteronomy 23, 21. If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall delay in fulfilling it for the

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Lord your God will surely require it of you and you will be guilty of sin. In each one of these passages, the intended emphasis to swear false, not to swear falsely and not to break your word and not to delay in fulfilling all your oaths and vows had been twisted by the scribes and Pharisees and all of the emphasis was placed upon the name of the

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Lord your God. And in changing the emphasis, the scribes and the Pharisees were actually making allowances for deception.

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They were making allowances for falsehood, which is why the Lord Jesus Christ had to clarify the meaning of this commandment in the

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Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5, 33. Again, you have heard it said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform to the

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Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven for it is the throne of God or by earth for it is his footstool or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king.

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And do not take an oath by your head for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply yes or no.

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Anything more than this comes from evil. The reason why we are not to swear by heaven or by earth is because heaven is the throne of God and earth is his footstool.

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The reason why men are not to swear by Jerusalem or their own heads is because Jerusalem is the city of the great king and you can't so much as make one hair white or one hair black.

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Only the Lord God has this power. In this passage, the Lord Jesus Christ is relating every oath to God.

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In some way, the Lord stands behind every oath that is made. So it is better not to make any oath at all than to make an oath and not follow through or even worse to make an oath falsely.

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In our words, in our oaths and our vows, the name of the

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Lord God must not be taken in vain. Our speech must be truthful.

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Our speech must be without guile. Our speech must be without deceit. Our speech must reflect the speech of the

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Lord Jesus Christ. It must be honest. It must be truthful. It must be yes or it must be no.

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Another very common way we take the name of the Lord God in vain is when we profess the name of the

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Lord God but then we do not live accordingly. Titus 115, to the pure, all things are pure but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.

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Both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know

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God but they deny him by his works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

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Ephesians 4 .1, Paul writes, I therefore a prisoner of the

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Lord, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

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Beloved, if your conduct does not match your profession in Christ, if your works do not match your words, if your walk, the daily pattern of living does not match your calling, then you are taking the name of the

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Lord God in vain. You may profess to know the Lord God but you deny him by your works.

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Faith without works is a cold and dead faith. In fact, it's no faith at all.

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Religious hypocrisy is a sin that is far too common in the church today. There are too many professing believers who live in a constant state of rebellion against the

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Lord God and against his glorious name. The word hypocrisy comes from the

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Greek theater. Originally, the word referred to putting on a mask and playing a part on the stage.

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It was a positive word that described an actor's artistic abilities. In the

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New Testament, the word is used with a negative connotation. Hypocrisy refers to someone who is insincere, someone who is hiding behind a mask, someone who hides under a pretense or someone who disguises their thoughts and their feelings in an attempt to mislead other people.

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A hypocrite is a phony. A hypocrite is not real. A hypocrite is not genuine but a pretender.

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This term also refers to someone who is play acting, someone who gives the impression of having certain purposes or motives while in reality having quite different ones.

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St. Augustine remarked, the love of honor is the deadly bane of true piety.

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Other vices bring forth evil works but this brings forth good works in an evil way.

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Hypocrisy is the homage that vice pays to virtue. All forms of hypocrisy are a direct violation of the third commandment, which is why it is so important to remember that as Christians, we bear the name of Christ.

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And if we claim to be Christians, if we claim to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if we claim to belong to the body of Christ but then we live as if we are not, then we take his glorious and magnificent name in vain.

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Beloved, it is because of our sinful lives that our glorious God and Father's name is belittled and blasphemed and emptied of the full weight of glory to which he is due.

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Remember, the name of the Lord God stands for his reputation and when we use it wrongly, either in our speech or in our lives, then we bring the name of the

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Lord God into disrepute. As those who bear the name of Christ, it matters how you live.

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In the book of 1 Peter, we're commanded to honor Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts.

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1 Peter 3, 13 to 17, now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

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But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled.

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But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy. Always being prepared to make an offense to anyone who asks for the reason for the hope that is in you.

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Yet do this with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

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For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil. In this passage, the word translated honor comes from the same

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Greek word as the words holy and hallowed. Peter is telling us that in our hearts, we must hallow

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Christ the Lord as holy. In our hearts, we must sanctify Christ the Lord as holy.

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In our hearts, we must set apart Christ the Lord as holy.

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In hallowing Christ the Lord as holy, you will recognize his divinity. You will recognize his sovereign majesty.

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You will recognize his rule and his authority in your life. In hallowing

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Christ the Lord as holy, you will give him the preeminent place in your heart.

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He will be the sole object of your reverence. He will be the sole object of your praise. He will be the sole object of your worship.

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Christ hallowed in the heart is to put him in a category all by himself. Christ is the foremost.

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Christ is the greatest. Christ is the highest. Christ is the most supreme. And he is your most cherished and valuable treasure.

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There is nothing better than Christ. You hallow and you honor

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Christ the Lord as holy in your heart by submitting to his will, by surrendering your desires to his desires, by submitting yourself to him and his plan for your life.

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Christ the Lord is hallowed when we live and breathe in the reality of this truth. Lord Jesus, not my will, but your will be done.

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The third commandment addresses every abuse of the divine name, not just cursing, not just profanity, not just irreverence, but also ungodly living.

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The third commandment addresses living your life in such a manner that it brings reproach and disgrace upon the

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Lord God. Living lives that cause the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord God on account of your life, your actions and your words.

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Beloved, if you profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ now, not later, now is the time to live in accordance with your profession.

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This commandment says that when you take up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you had better mean it.

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The reputation of your name is a direct reflection upon the name of the Lord God. The reputation of your name among your family, friends and coworkers, neighbors and strangers will directly reflect upon the

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Lord God and his reputation. So do not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain by dragging it through the mud of your life. Do not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain by living a hypocritical life. Do not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain by continuing in your sin and your rebellion. The Lord God takes his name very seriously.

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And there is a stiff and serious consequence for violating this command. Exodus 20 verse seven, "'You shall not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain "'for the Lord will not hold him guiltless "'who takes his name in vain.'"

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The third commandment tells us that the Lord God will most assuredly judge those who are hypocritical, irreverent and blasphemous in their use of his name.

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Again, the Westminster Larger Catechism states, question 114, what reasons are annexed to the third commandment?

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Answer, the reasons annexed to the third commandment in these words, the

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Lord thy God and for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

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R, because he is the Lord and our God, therefore his name is not to be profaned or any way abused by us, especially because he will be so far from acquitting and sparing the transgressors of this commandment as that he will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.

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Albeit many such escape the censures and punishments of men. If you take up the name of the

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Lord your God in a blasphemous and profane manner or if you profess his name but do not live in accordance with that profession, then you take his name in vain and the

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Lord God will not hold you guiltless. You may escape the censures and punishments of men but you will not escape the righteous judgment of the

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Lord God. Beloved, each one of us will answer to the

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Lord God for all irreverence of thought, for all irreverence of words and all irreverence of deeds.

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Each one of us will answer to the Lord God for our profane and flippant use of his names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words and works.

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Each one of us will answer to the Lord God for our empty prayers, for our empty worship.

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When we worship, when we pray to the Lord God with our lips but not with our whole hearts.

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Beloved, the Lord God will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

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Therefore, Colossians 3 .17, whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the

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Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Beloved, the infinite essential glory and excellency of the

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Lord God should fill us with the greatest reverence and the greatest humility and the most sincere and authentic and careful worship.

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In our thoughts, in our words, in our deeds, we must lift on high the name that is above every name,

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Jesus, to the glory of God the Father. Do not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain. Do not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is under the water under the earth.

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Do not bow down to them and do not serve them. Do not have any other gods before the

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Lord God. Let's pray. Father, our

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Father, there is so much in this one commandment and we confess that we have broken it.

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We continue to break it. Lord, I pray that we would have reverent and holy thoughts of you, that when we lift your name on high, that we would truly mean what we say, that when we use the word

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Lord God, that when we use the name Jesus, Yahweh, when we use these words, that we would mean it.

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Lord, I pray that we would not trivialize your name, but that we would respect it, that we would set it apart and that we would reverently use it.

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Lord, I pray that you would reveal to us the areas of our life where we're out of plum. Reveal to us,

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Lord, in our walk where we're out of plum. Lord, we each one of us struggle with sin.

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Sin has just a tremendous hold on so many of us. Lord, we pray that we would hate our sin, that we would recognize that sin is empty, sin is vain, sin is a life of futility, and you have redeemed us from this life.

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So Lord, I pray that we wouldn't go back. Help us, Lord, to keep our eyes focused on Christ, the author and the finisher of our faith.

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Lord, when we pray, I pray that our words would be sincere and authentic, that our minds wouldn't drift, but that we would be thinking of you.

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Help us, Lord, not to take your great and glorious name in vain. Lord, I pray that we would reflect upon these truths.

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We just thank you for your goodness. We thank you for Christ and his work. Christ accomplished the first command and the second command and the third command.

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He accomplished all the commands. He kept them. And Lord, because of him, we have life.

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We thank you for Christ and his work, and we pray that we would look to him. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.