The Third Commandment, Deuteronomy 5:11

1 view

The Third Commandment Deuteronomy 5:11

0 comments

00:00
Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 11 hear the word of the Lord You shall not take the name of the
00:05
Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless Who takes his name in vain?
00:12
May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his Holy Word. Do you believe in freedom of speech? Well, if you're an
00:17
American you're supposed to believe in freedom of speech, right? We're raised on that honor Everyone has freedom of speech. Everyone could speak their mind people should
00:25
Feel free to say whatever they feel like saying should they? Do we really have that right?
00:31
You know kids are taught in school that they're not supposed to say certain words parks often have signs
00:38
Like they do with the the rack down in Yanceyville Prohibit certain kinds of speech
00:46
No profanity it says Public over -the -air TV channels can be fined by the government if they allow certain words
00:55
If you're married you probably learn pretty fast that you're not you better not always say everything you feel like saying Because it might hurt the feelings of your husband or wife
01:04
You'll probably learn that When you pay the price and even here in America, you know with all our talk about freedom of speech
01:10
You can't you can be sued for slander if you say something that is false It was said to hurt another person and then actually did hurt that person if they can prove that You may have to pay up Of course, we mean that freedom of speech lets us openly criticize the government to express our opinions without fear of government persecution
01:29
But still it is illegal to threaten the life of the president some things you can't say and Yet still we
01:36
Americans love to talk about freedom of speech Often it's a good thing to be able to say what we think is right without fear of being penalized for it
01:44
It helps us hold our political leaders to account and so often it's good and useful we
01:49
Americans celebrate freedom and make heroes of those who fought for it the American Revolution the Civil War World War two among others were
01:56
Fought to preserve our freedom and freedom of speech is one of those freedoms that men fought and died for But we
02:01
Christians while we can appreciate the benefits of freedom We hold to a value that is higher than freedom
02:07
It's not the greatest thing freedom. Is it there's something what are you free for in other words? The most the highest most valuable thing is not the freedom to speak our mind
02:18
It's the glory of God now, I'm glad that a lot America allows us the freedom to speak in a way that glorifies
02:25
God I'm sorry that some Americans choose to use that freedom not to glorify him Some choose to use our freedom to blaspheme him
02:34
And yet I'm still not for taking away people's freedom to blaspheme God I'm not in favor of enacting laws like you can find in Leviticus Where people are executed for taking
02:43
God's name and vainly as some when they use it in the light in an empty way Maybe just writing a curse word for effect
02:51
Because even if we even if we could do that we could pass those laws That still wouldn't solve the problem they'd still be blaspheming
03:01
God in their heart and God would know it and On a more practical level if we sought a government to punish speech.
03:09
We didn't like That government could eventually punish us for speech Someone else doesn't like effective some places are already trying to do that And soon our speech our teaching and preaching would be considered considered blasphemy would be considered hate speech
03:26
That's the that's the modern term for blasphemy. It's hate speech and we'd be the ones repressed
03:32
So our political freedom is a tool We can use to help preserve our spiritual freedom freedom from sin from from God's wrath
03:42
For God's glory. So freedom of speech is useful in society in our country, but as Christians, it's not our highest value
03:49
Sure, we want to be free But free to do what? Well free to glorify
03:55
God and that's what we should do and be glad that we're now free We're still free.
04:01
I think to do that. We have exchanged the tyranny of sin For the rule of Christ and are now happy to live under his rule
04:10
So we seek first know what Jesus had to seek first not our own self -rule So we seek just to be free for free to do what now we seek first His kingdom his righteousness to be right with him to be but his kingdom to his rule to believe to live under His ways the commandments are for those who seek to live under God's rule and here in the third commandment
04:35
God tells us one thing and the most important thing for what we do with our what we are to do with our freedom of Speech and this is hard for people in our day to comprehend
04:43
It's a day when freedom just self -expression to let it flow is the highest value the idea that there is a sin called blasphemy
04:51
You know that kind of that ideas is regarded as It best is quaint Is an odd curiosity like an antique from the past?
05:02
old -fashioned idea That's you know, I best it's kind of it's
05:07
Interesting to consider at worst. It's they would say it's dangerously oppressive
05:14
Although their hate speech is just as oppressive That there is a king of the universe who will punish people what they say even for sincere expressions of their opinion
05:23
That idea is treated as just bizarre today, but that's what God says here. You shall not take the name of The Lord your
05:32
God in vain Why is that What's in a name? So Shakespeare's Romeo said what's in a name a rose by any other name, but still smell as sweet Maybe that's true for roses but for persons
05:47
For self -conscious beings and a name is a symbol for the person. It's a revelation of who they are
05:54
This is especially so in the Bible. The very first request in the Lord's Prayer is Hallowed Be your name
06:03
It being Father's Day. It's good to point out that the name they are being hallowed I mean meant being made hallow being revered
06:12
Protected is father our father who is in heaven Hallowed be your name and that name father.
06:21
Well, we can use it for our earthly father Sure, I guess then we can take it in vain if we want to I don't father's day.
06:27
That would be that would be wrong But our father's name His name should be hallowed should be treated as holy as sacred as special and that name father
06:41
Reveals something about the relationship of God To his people. That's what the name name of God names of God They do they reveal something of God.
06:50
What does father reveal? Well, it feels that he's familiar his relation. He's related to his people.
06:57
He's close to them. He's attached to them He's not just master He's father But his name is also to be hallowed
07:04
So he is to be revered so some people think that Familiar and reverence that they can't both be together.
07:12
God is now God's his daddy and you don't have to revere him. You're just familiar and comfortable and Cued and whatever you want to say to him is he's all okay with it, you know, just kick back
07:23
But no, he's both father it's familiar and he's revered he's hallowed at the same time
07:30
The Apostles declared in Acts chapter 4 verse 12 salvation is found in no one else for there's no other name under heaven
07:36
Given to men by which we must be saved and the name there of course is the revelation to the name of Jesus the revelation of Jesus to treat it lightly without reverence for the person as The seven sons of Sceva did in Acts chapter 19 verse 14
07:49
They used the name of Jesus to cast out demons, even though they didn't believe in Jesus They thought that would work
07:57
There's another magic word to throw around to use and they're kind of their bag of tricks to get rid of demons Well, they brought them trouble
08:03
God allowed the demons to attack them for using the name of Jesus like that Without any respect for the person of Jesus What's in the name?
08:12
There's a lot Names of people often reveal the values of the culture they're in Some cultures value power and in victory and so their their sons they name their sons things like he rules he triumphs
08:25
That's true with Ethiopian culture. A lot of those Ethiopian names mean he rules he conquers he something like that What's testify me
08:33
I'm not sure Yeah, I forgot Other cultures value wisdom or knowledge or peace?
08:40
Mary's shiny's name Huey I means wise love and It tells you something about the values of her native culture
08:49
Maybe tell they should learn all their Chinese names and what they mean. Not right now. They can do that later.
08:55
But they tell you something about the What the culture value copies you're going to name your child something you find valuable honorable
09:03
One tool that some historians have used to measure when and and how fast
09:09
Puritan culture Declined in New England is to measure the percentage of biblical names given to children
09:15
You see the person the biblical names went down Over time and there was fewer and fewer parents started giving their children biblical names instead.
09:24
They would give them you know names of Kings and English history or whatever So when they first came to America and they were these
09:32
Puritans they were zealous for the faith Most names were taken from the Bible sometimes just odd places in the
09:37
Bible names You'd never you know, it's a rubble or something like that Jedidiah, you know the names we don't use it, but you know, you can't name every kid
09:45
John you got it You got to find something unusual But as time went on the other names became more popular
09:53
And some historians conclude that the by that that that shows that the Bible was becoming less and less important To in to New England culture and that's probably true
10:02
Some sociologists believe that names with no meaning and you find this a lot in our culture today Names the parents give to kids.
10:09
Nope. No, no, it doesn't mean anything. There's no connection to history sometimes just Syllables thrown together that that sound nice.
10:18
It's not a family name or anything it that they they think reveals a culture Doesn't believe in anything
10:25
There's no ideals. There's nothing that they can think that's worth naming a kid after That's trying to tragic
10:33
I think Ancient people believe that by naming a thing that one had power over it If you had the power to name it you had power over it and you find that in the
10:41
Bible, you know Genesis 2 human stewardship our authority over creation is Dramatized by God giving to Adam the the authority to name the animals.
10:52
Here's an elephant. I'll name this elephant Jacob in Genesis 32. That's why you because of that understanding.
10:59
That's why you find Jacob in Genesis 32, you know, he's wrestling Turns out to be he's wrestling with God and he wants to know his name
11:06
He knows his name. He has some power over him. God didn't do it. He didn't give his name instead
11:14
He gives to Jacob a new name. He names him Israel Moses in Exodus 3 does the same thing.
11:21
He will ask God for his name. What's your name and God responds back.
11:27
I am who I am in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 Short to by am
11:33
Yahweh the Lord spelled with all capital letters In English, it is is both revealing and evasive.
11:41
Is that really a name or is that just a statement? I'm not named. I'm the one naming everyone else.
11:48
I am who I am and In its most literal sense. This is exactly the name we are we are not supposed to take for granted the commandment reads do not take the name of Yahweh your
12:03
God in vain Don't take that name vainly Later Jews were so intent on never taking it in vain that they decided simply never to say it at all
12:12
If you never said it, you'd never take it in vain was their reasoning make sense So they replaced it with Adam and I with Lord So every time they were reading the
12:22
Old Testament, they came to the word says Yahweh They would read out of nine once I was doing a Hebrew reading class and I was reading along as best
12:29
I could and I came to Yahweh and accidentally said Yahweh and Supposed to say I don't know professor wasn't too upset
12:36
But that's where we got our tradition of writing Lord in all capital letters But you read the Old Testament you see
12:42
Lord in all capital letters. That's actually in Hebrew That's the name Yahweh that wherever this name appears now the
12:47
Jehovah's Witnesses think that they Think they have a advantage. They have a new revelation by using
12:53
God's name instead of Lord They have a special that gives them a special insight they think a special revelation from God an advantage we're using
13:02
God's name We're not just going by the tradition of using Lord, but ironically they got the name wrong
13:08
You know if you're gonna make a big deal about getting using the name of God you better get it, right? But the name can't the
13:14
God's name can't possibly be Jehovah because there is no J sound in the Hebrew language
13:20
So we think much of this reverence for a name is passe. Well, that's all these, you know old primitive people
13:26
With their hang -up on names and things some we've grown past that we think but still today
13:32
People or things could have a name that is used to invoke Respect or power, you know if we're able to convince people you just got to do something and then you know
13:41
Like legalize human cloning. You just got to do it in the name of progress Well that gives people to pay attention if we're able to get the name of science behind something you know science says then they automatically respect it a
13:58
Policeman might say stop in the name of the law So to be authorized to do something in the name of the government puts the power of the state the nation behind one
14:07
So there's much in the name Is the first and second commandments had instructed the heart and taught us to love
14:13
God So this commandment directs the mouth and the tongue To God because out of the heart the mouth
14:22
Speaks now first it tells us the commandment tells us what not to say using God's name words about God in a way that does not take that name seriously and Tells us something about who this
14:33
God is that he is not only jealous over our hearts That we not have a rival in our lives to him
14:40
But he is also jealous over our speech that what we say glorifies him
14:47
Many people imagine the third commandment is against profanity It's against using obscene words
14:53
That's what some people think Actually, it exists to tell us what kinds of words are actually profane are really profane
15:01
Once several years ago. I got I got two emails back -to -back one after another One of them had what is considered a seriously obscene word
15:10
It was advertising pornography The other one was from some person
15:16
At least I said there were and Nigeria claiming to be a sister in Christ Giving his testimony this great gushy testimony, but how she had been saved and now that she's saved
15:25
She's been convicted that the millions of dollars her late husband. I don't you know, it's not that many millionaires in Nigeria, but for somehow she happens to be
15:36
Married to one who was now he's deceased her late husband had corruptly gotten and Now that money should be used instead of her living off of it should be used in the
15:46
Lord's work So selfless was she and she claimed that she felt led To give the money to me
15:53
Which was really amazing because she didn't even know my name You know, that's just you know You think the same leading that would tell her to give it to me would tell her my name
16:00
Whatever and the money would be wired directly to me if only I gave her my bank account number or something like that Now the question is which are the two emails?
16:12
According to the third commandment is the most profane I first understand that to profane something means to take something that is that is sacred that is special that is holy and Treated as something is common something cheap
16:28
So which of the two emails is profane Well, the first one really isn't profane It was honest and straightforward it used crude language
16:38
It was crude sure, but he used crude language because it was selling crude things the second one though used
16:43
Christian language References to God to Christ to salvation all to wrap up a lie
16:52
And not just any lie If I had given her or him probably it was probably a man sitting in some
16:59
Call center in Lagos, Nigeria if I had given this person my bank account number I would soon find not large amounts of money flowing into it, but all of the money drained out of it
17:10
And it it it did this it this person did this to try trying to appeal to my covetousness.
17:18
I Get all this millions of dollars Which is the 10th commandment and in order to steal?
17:24
the 8th commandment But worst of all in order to do that it bandied the name of God about as a smokescreen
17:31
It violated the third commandment it blasphemed and that's true profanity
17:40
In Ephesians chapter 5 verse 4, we're told that there should be no obscenity foolish talk or coarse joking which are out of place
17:46
But rather Thanksgiving so don't don't take this to mean he's saying I can just cuss up a storm if I want to now
17:51
That's not what I mean but there But that's not really what the third commandment is about It's not really about certain anglo -saxon one -syllable words that Victorian culture over a hundred years ago
18:03
Decided that nice cultured people didn't say it's about why we shouldn't speak of God Use the language of God his name his word
18:13
References to his works don't use that as light things things we can use for our purposes
18:19
Whenever we feel like it without really meaning it That hits us right where we live
18:27
Those of us who have been in church for most of our lives have heard the name God Jesus Christ the
18:35
Word of God Similar phrases over and over again And we get used to them
18:42
We become familiar with them. We no longer have a fear that we might use them wrongly if we handle them as just it's common words
18:50
And that we could seriously sin against God we become too familiar
18:56
With what should still make us? tremble Using God's name in vain doesn't just using them the word
19:03
God in connection with a curse word or as a casual exclamation. Oh my
19:10
That doesn't just mean using the name of Jesus as an expletive, you know something you say when you stump your toe Or you suddenly shocked.
19:17
Oh, or you want to get someone's attention I'm serious now. I'll cuss a little this is sinful language.
19:24
That is simple language That is a clear direct violation of this command and we should be more sensitive
19:30
Care more about that using the names of God in Jesus and Christ and so forth in such disrespectful ways
19:37
We should be more sensitive about that than we are those crude four -letter Anglo -Saxon words
19:42
You know if we could make a trade Say with the TV channels and the networks and and say hey
19:49
If you'll never allow the name of God or of Jesus or Lord Use casually never allow it to be used without reference for him
20:00
If you'll do that We'll go ahead and we'll let you use all those four -letter words
20:07
That would be a that would be better As far as God is concerned Hopefully you would think it would be better too
20:14
I think if we are to be true biblical Christians are our sensibilities our Feelings about what it's acceptable about what's not or what's a little offensive and what is highly deeply offensive should be determined by by scripture not by a genteel culture of days gone by and using
20:35
God's name without a sense of reverent fear of him is Highly and deeply offensive
20:43
But we can do that in more than just in curses or in casual exclamations We take his name in vain when we ascribed the name of God to any other
20:52
God than the Trinity or say something is from God that's not really from God or Use the use
20:59
God's name for our own purposes Even with a pretense of religion or use the name of God or a
21:05
Christ Sort of a decoration and ornament on our empty rhetoric on our flattery or when we take the name
21:11
Christian for ourself little Christ and Then we don't live like him
21:19
What's in the name? the name of God Is the Lord Jesus in English?
21:27
Shin Su Yesu in Chinese with the original Hebrew Yahweh El Shaddai Yeshua It's revealed from God.
21:38
It's about God. It stands for him Do we reverence him we hallow him?
21:45
out of the heart the mouth speaks if we hold him to be light in our heart if To be something or someone that we can pick up and use for our purposes to prove we're angry
21:57
You better pay attention to me blah blah blah And you you know, then out of our mouth comes light vain self -serving uses of his name our words show how seriously we take the
22:12
Lord in Hebrew this this Commandment could literally be translated as you shall not lift up the name of the
22:20
Lord Yahweh your God to emptiness For nothing for you know, whatever you feel like doing
22:29
We take on a heavy responsibility Whenever we say that some teaching maybe some leading is of God.
22:37
Oh the Lord led me to blah blah People say that all the time.
22:43
Did he really? It better be the Lord leading you Are we using his name in vain?
22:50
That's why we should be very careful about casually saying, you know The Lord led me when we are really have nothing to prove it but our own feelings
22:56
If we pledge I'll never leave unless the Lord speaks to me directly and then we leave simply because we feel like it
23:03
We've taken his name in vain When we say we we oh, I love God's Word.
23:09
I love hearing his word preach blah blah blah But then we live in violation of it You know, you know he says the word says
23:17
The man is the head of the family. We say that's too much trouble We only obey it when it's convenient.
23:23
We treat it as a bunch of doctrines Maybe we like to hear the doctrines all I love to hear about predestination and election and all that Because I'm reformed.
23:33
I love hearing the doctrines of grace We just don't like the commands
23:39
That weigh on us and tell us how to live that change our behavior When we treat what is really from God as though it isn't important As though he's offering us just light advice
23:51
And we can take it or leave it Maybe our modern way we know better today. Anyway, don't we?
23:58
Then what? Primitive people and their spanking and their patriarchy and all that.
24:03
We know better than that. No, we The words light our opinions are heavy We're treating his name as though it's light.
24:10
We obey the Third Commandment when we take Bible study seriously Treating it like it really is the
24:16
Word of God. This is heavy When we search the scriptures with a meek and teachable mind because it weighs on us
24:25
Weighs heavier than our opinions. We don't think Bible study sermons and the pastor exists to confirm what we already believe because We know it all.
24:34
Anyway, I'm sure of that. I Know about the rapture. Don't tell me any different. I I know
24:41
I want to hear the Word of God we say When in reality, we only we only want to hear our opinions confirmed
24:49
We obey the Third Commandment when we have such a feeling for the gravity of his word That we obey it
24:57
Even when it makes us uncomfortable This is why we had best be humble about things.
25:02
We can't clearly prove just because we want to we want the Bible to say it And we better be determined to obey what
25:09
God has indeed clearly said it should weigh on us because it's heavy
25:16
Blasphemy is using the name of God for our own purposes German soldiers in World War two had the phrase
25:22
God mit uns Sewn under their uniforms. That was great. Well, if you know
25:27
German it means God with us And it was blasphemy it was blasphemy because Not just because of what
25:37
Nazi Germany did it was blasphemy because it presumed that God is and simply must be with Them with us it would but have it would have been just as blasphemous if u .s
25:48
Soldiers had that on their uniforms to some people think that's what we need to do We need to stick the name of God everywhere. That'll make people holy
25:55
No, we better make people holy first and then they could Say the name of God U .s
26:03
Troops may be our other troops may be with God if they humble themselves and call it his name sincerely and reverently
26:09
But to presume God is he must be with us is to violate the commandment
26:15
He's with us because we say yes, we sew it on our uniforms. It's got to be true Our pledge of allegiance
26:21
I think can be better. You know that we are one nation under God If if we understand that's an aspiration
26:29
You know, we're gonna pledge that we better be trying to be one nation under God living his way
26:35
We better start living up to that. We're obligated to live under his ways. He's not obligated to be with us
26:44
We blaspheme when we use the name of God without real fear of him as though he's our pet, you know, our tame pet who comes when he call his name and Religious people are especially prone to this some believe that the elements of the
26:57
Lord's Supper the bread and the and the wine turn into the literal body and blood of Christ if The right person says the right words, especially
27:04
God's name I'll try to say it. I won't try to say in Latin.
27:09
Never mind that that God is bound to do that miracle Because his name is is used in the right ritual.
27:16
You say the right words He shows up and that's blasphemy. We evangelicals have our own version of this blasphemy though We just teaching that God is bound.
27:25
He is trained like a good show dog to show up and save and our bidding
27:33
If we say the right sinners prayer We say those right sinners prayer. He's gonna say he's gonna show up and save you
27:40
He's got to people are told a prayer not at all found in God's Word People are now taught that if only they say those right words
27:48
Then they are saved even if they have no new love for God they have no change in their life
27:53
They have no reverence in their heart for him You know just you said the prayer you're saying don't go be sure to that no matter how you live after that We think our words turn on and off God's saving power that it's our words that are weighty not his
28:12
Or we might blaspheme by saying casually may God's will be done When we really have no second thoughts about any other will being done than our own
28:20
We use God's name vainly when we use it to support ourselves rather than fear of God Once I got a letter from someone who hadn't attended church in many months
28:31
This person boasted about how despite not obeying God's command, you know
28:36
Not forsake the simile give ourselves together. He or she had been serving God faithfully all along It takes a lot of arrogance to use
28:46
God's name so lightly We take God's name in vain when we use it like frosting on our cake
28:53
It's a little sanctified glaze. So we think to sweeten everything anything we have made but we don't mean it
29:01
Blasphemy is speech that makes part God part of our lies Part of the commitments we make that we might not really keep but he's if it sounds good to stick his name in there
29:14
Make ourselves sound really serious but we might not keep it if it becomes too much trouble as The Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 5 verse 37 and James repeats in James chapter 5 verse 12
29:26
Christians who bear the name of Christ should be people of such honesty That we don't have to make vows.
29:32
We don't have to say so help me God or you know Something like that in a in a in a vow to show that we really mean what we say
29:40
You know, there aren't for Christians. There's not supposed to be different levels of commitments. You know, there's
29:46
There's those we really mean like marriage vows So mean you mean that and then there's though you don't really mean
29:55
That we could break if the feeling strikes us, but it sounds good to make them. So we do that No for Christians, there's just yes, and there's no
30:04
So when we have to make a vow either in court or at the marriage altar and we do it in the name of God We have better know that to break that vow is to blaspheme
30:16
To take his name in vain When we say so help me God in a pledge. We have better remember that that isn't just a serious sounding phrase
30:24
You know just to give an extra punch To the oath to the words make a show of importance
30:30
It's something we're now bound to quite simply not using the Lord's name in vain means Using it like we mean it
30:38
To not use the Lord's name in vain. We need to feel the weight of it The weight of it bearing down on to every area of our lives pressing itself onto us
30:54
And finally to not use the Lord's name in vain we need to feel it We need to feel as personally about it as he does and you see that in this commandment how personal
31:03
God passionate he feels about his the holiness of his name. We're often unwilling to confront others
31:09
Treating the Lord's name Lightly, especially in church Because we're not as outraged by it
31:17
Being treated lightly as he is We not feel the indignation that God feels now if we were treated as insignificant if we were ignored or insulted if we were
31:30
Regarded as vain something empty something somebody couldn't be ignored is not worthwhile.
31:36
Well, we would be hurt Like I get passionate about that, but when
31:42
God's name or his word is thrown around, you know, like a beach ball Are we then incensed?
31:48
Are we outraged? We should be Because God is
31:55
Now the second half of the commandment really doesn't tell us what to do it tells us how to feel
32:01
It does that by telling us how God feels about who he is The the second third and fourth commandments each have statements about God Here is a simple statement that he will not hold anyone guiltless who takes his name in vain
32:17
He's that committed to it And Leviticus chapter 24 a young man found out what that means he used the
32:24
Lord's name Blasphemously, it's part of a curse Probably just like people today, you know use their expletives to make themselves.
32:33
It's not really tough Actor comes out the Tony Awards and wants to sound he really he's really indignant about the politics today.
32:40
He Said, you know, it's not a strong word Fears nothing Not even
32:46
God here use the Lord's name in vain the people around arrested him And Leviticus 24 they arrested him, but they didn't know what to do exactly what to do with him and God had said in the commandment
32:57
That he wouldn't hold such people guiltless. What does that mean? Practically at least in Israel? What does it mean? Well, they found out that it meant something deadly serious
33:06
All who had heard him Say that say the Lord's name in vain were to put their hands on his head
33:15
They were to feel him to feel his life Before they killed him so the lesson
33:23
Not to use God's name lightly Would be branded onto their consciences They weren't you know, they weren't just to let it go.
33:33
Oh, it's just it's just words Are not just they weren't just just let him off with a warning.
33:38
Don't ever do that again They had to act with speedy sternness So that it didn't become common the kind of macho thing to do to prove how tough you were in a fight
33:49
God tells Israel twice there. There's such a person must surely be put to death now for us.
33:56
What does that mean? it shows us how zealously God is about the holiness of his name now
34:04
I don't believe that we should start writing letters to our congressman asking them to enact laws like that If you do believe that go ahead write your letters but III do believe that we should be outraged whenever we hear or see the
34:17
Lord's name used in vain as We grow to be born like God to have the sensibilities and I mean like God in his
34:26
What he regards as holy and and right and good in our character But we should have the same sensibilities he has the same zeal for God's glory for his name that he has
34:39
And so we grow to be more offended by treating his name lightly Whenever there isn't an expletive, you know, someone just spouts offended by that just we should be outraged by that or You know, maybe that's well, that's the guy at the gym the guy maybe guys playing basketball here later this evening or you
35:00
Are we should be offended by the ones the Lord's name in vain or but also in the fake spirituality of self -serving religion that also
35:10
Takes his name in but takes up God's name for show and behind it is emptiness
35:20
That's why among the list of sins Paul wrote that should make people candidates for excommunication in first Corinthians 5
35:25
Not just sexual sins or crimes, but but being what he calls revilers
35:31
Probably people like that that man in Leviticus chapter 24 who used the Lord's name As a curse word in some fight
35:40
Or also people like though who put up a better show than he did people like the Pharisees who profess to love
35:47
God maybe even Scrupulously avoided using the name Yahweh so they would never they think use it in vain but in their hearts
35:57
They arrogantly revile others and they hypocritically cover it up with religious talk
36:05
Now I'm glad the US government gives me the freedom of gives me freedom of speech But as a
36:10
Christian, I do realize I do not have such freedom before God I I don't want the US government telling me what
36:16
I can and cannot say But I recognize as a Christian God does indeed tell me what
36:23
I can and cannot say He even tells me what I can and cannot think
36:29
He tells me that there are words That I can use even his name
36:36
But I cannot use them in certain light frivolous vein ways
36:43
I See here that God the ultimate ruler will not let me go unpunished if I use his name
36:51
Without the the awe that it is due if I use it for my own agenda. I use it for myself
36:59
To look good Rather than for his glory the government might hold us guiltless if we misuse the
37:07
Lord's name But the Lord will not Why does the
37:13
Lord take his name so seriously? Why is he such a totalitarian that he puts in the
37:20
Ten Commandments a command about How we should talk? Because out of our heart our mouth speaks if we use the
37:30
Lord's name frivolously in vain Imptly without any meaning behind it worthlessly as if it were light as it is as if it didn't bind our commitments as if It didn't make us mean what we say
37:45
Then that's because in our hearts We hold him to be light His holiness
37:54
Doesn't weigh on us Maybe we're just using it for the effect. We can get out of other people without any regard whether he even exist or not
38:03
But what an insult to his glory his holiness is not weigh on us It doesn't press itself down on us changing our lives
38:12
Keeping us always From speaking about him lightly frivolously if we take his name lightly in our words
38:20
It's because we take him lightly in our hearts The third commandment shows us that it shows us the hollowness of our hearts
38:31
So that even if we even if we do straighten out our language So we keep all the censors happy we keep any
38:38
Victorian prude Happy with our Upright language, but we still don't reverence him as Lord deep down That's the problem but the good news is
38:54
That he has given us his name He has revealed himself to us He didn't keep it secret.
39:01
So we would never know it so we could never use it in vain And he has invited us to call it him He has given us the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow
39:11
And he's given us that name not so that he can hold it Hold it against us when we use it wrongly
39:17
Another thing to hold us guilty of because he's not gonna hold us guiltless if we take it in vain not for that That's not his reason
39:24
But so that he we can call to him for salvation
39:30
Salvation from the sin that binds us that lives in our hollow hearts
39:36
So we can be saved from the guilt that we have acquired by a life of not revering him
39:44
He's giving us his name here So that he can save us from the guilt that that we earned he's given us his name as a gift and then as a promise a promise to set us free
40:03
This is it bondage taking away our right of free speech this is setting us truly free
40:11
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord with reverence and awe
40:18
Shall be saved Saved from sin and death saved from their guilt finally set free if You want to be truly free?