The Third Commandment, Deuteronomy 5:11

Deuteronomy 5:11 and the Third Commandment

Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 11. Hear the word of the Lord. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless. Who takes his name in vain? 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 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 Feel free to say whatever they feel like saying. Should they? Do we really have that right? You know kids are taught in school that they're not supposed to say certain words. Parks often have signs.

Like they do with the the rack down in Yanceyville. Prohibit certain kinds of speech. No profanity it says. Public over-the-air TV channels can be fined by the government if they allow certain words.

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. 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.

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.

But still it is illegal to threaten the life of the president. Some things you can't say and. Yet still we 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.

It helps us hold our political leaders to account and so often it's good and useful we Americans celebrate freedom and make heroes of those who fought for it. The American Revolution the Civil War World War two among others were Fought to preserve our freedom and freedom of speech is one of those freedoms that men fought and died for.

But we Christians while we can appreciate the benefits of freedom We hold to a value that is higher than freedom. 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 God in their heart and God would know it.

And On a more practical level if we sought a government to punish speech. 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. That's the that's the modern term for blasphemy. It's hate speech and we'd be the ones repressed.

So our political freedom is a tool We can use to help preserve our spiritual freedom freedom from sin from from God's wrath. For God's glory. So freedom of speech is useful in society in our country, but as Christians, it's not our highest value.

Sure, we want to be free. But free to do what? Well free to glorify God and that's what we should do and be glad that we're now free. We're still free. 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.

So we seek first remember what Jesus had to seek first not our own self-rule. Is that 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 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.

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. You know that kind of that ideas is regarded as It best is quaint. There's an odd curiosity like an antique from the past old-fashioned idea.

That's you know, I best it's kind of it's Interesting to consider at worst. It's they would say it's dangerously oppressive. 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.

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 God in vain.

The Meaning of God’s Name and the Lord’s Prayer

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. For self-conscious beings and a name is a symbol for the person.

It's a revelation of who they are. This is especially so in the Bible. The very first request in the Lord's Prayer is hallowed. Be your name. 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.

Protected is father our father who is in heaven. Hallowed be your name and that name father. 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.

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 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. What does father reveal? Well, it feels that he's familiar his relation. He's related to his people. 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. So he is to be revered so some people think that Familiar and reverence that they can't both be together.

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. But no, he's both father it's familiar and he's revered he's hallowed at the same time.

The Apostles declared in Acts chapter 4 verse 12 salvation is found in no one else for there's no other name under heaven. 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 skeva did in Acts chapter 19 verse 14.

They use the name of Jesus to cast out demons. Even though they didn't believe in Jesus. They thought that would work. 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. 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? There's a lot. Names of people often reveal the values of the culture.

They're in some cultures value power and Victory and so they're their sons and they name their sons things like he rules he triumphs. 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 I'm not sure. Yeah, I forgot. Other cultures value wisdom or knowledge or peace. Mary's Chinese name QB. I means wise love and It tells you something about the values of the her native culture.

Maybe tell they should learn all their Chinese names and what they mean. Not right now. They can do that later. But they tell you something about the What the culture value copies you're going to name your child something you find valuable honorable.

One tool that some historians have used to measure when and and how fast Puritan culture Declined in New England is to measure the percentage of biblical names given to children. You see that the person the biblical names went down.

Over time and there was fewer and fewer parents started giving their children biblical names instead. 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 Puritans they were zealous for the faith.

Most names were taken from the Bible sometimes just odd places in the 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 John you got it.

You got to find something unusual. But as time went on the other names became more popular. 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.

Some sociologists believe that names with no meaning and you find this a lot in our culture today. Names the parents give to kids. Nope. No, no, it doesn't mean anything. There's no connection to history sometimes just Syllables thrown together that that sound nice.

It's not a family name or anything it that they they think reveals a culture. Doesn't believe in anything. There's no ideals. There's nothing that they can think that's worth naming a kid after. That's trying to tragic.

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 Bible, you know Genesis 2 human stewardship or authority over creation is Dramatized by God giving to Adam the the authority to name the animals.

Here's an elephant. I'll name this elephant Jacob in Genesis 32. That's why you because of that understanding. 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.

He knows his name. He has some power over him. God didn't do it. He didn't give his name instead He gives to Jacob a new name. He names him Israel. Moses in Exodus 3 does the same thing. He will ask God for his name.

What's your name and God responds back. I Am who I am in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 Short to by am Yahweh the Lord spelled with all capital letters. In English it is is both revealing and evasive. Is that really a name or is that just a statement?

I'm not named. I'm the one naming everyone else. 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 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. 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 Old Testament, they came to the word says Yahweh they would read I don't know when so I was doing a Hebrew reading class and I was reading along as best I could and Outline I came to Yahweh and accidentally said Yahweh.

We'll say I don't know professor wasn't too upset. But that's where we got our tradition of writing Lord in all capital letters. But you read the Old Testament you see Lord in all capital letters. That's actually in Hebrew.

That's the name Yahweh that wherever this name appears now the Jehovah's Witnesses think that they Think they have a advantage they have a new revelation by using 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 God's name. We're not just going by the tradition of using Lord, but ironically they got the name wrong. 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 God's name can't possibly be Jehovah because there is no J sound in the Hebrew language. So we think much of this reverence for a name is passe. Well, that's all these, you know old primitive people.

With their hang-up on names and things some we've grown past that we think but still today. 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 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 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. So there's much in the name. Is the first and second Commandments had instructed the heart and taught us to love God.

So this commandment directs the mouth and the tongue To God because out of the heart the mouth 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 God is that he is not only jealous over our hearts.

That we not have a rival in our lives to him. But he is also jealous over our speech that what we say glorifies him. Many people imagine the third commandment is against profanity. It's against using obscene words.

That's what some people think. Actually, it exists to tell us what kinds of words are actually profane are really profane. 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. It was advertising pornography. The other one was from some person. At least I said there were in 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. 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 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 Lord's work.

So selfless was she and she claimed that she felt led To give the money to me. 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.

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? According to the third commandment is the most profane.

At first I 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. 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. It was crude sure, but he used crude language because it was selling crude things. The second one though use Christian language references to God to Christ to salvation all to wrap up a lie.

And not just any lie if I had given her or him but it was probably a man sitting in some 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.

And it it did this it this person did this to try trying to appeal to my covetousness. I Get all this millions of dollars which is the 10th commandment and in order to steal the 8th commandment. But worst of all in order to do that it bandied the name of God about as a smokescreen.

It violated the third commandment it blasphemed and that's true profanity. In Ephesians chapter 5 verse 4, we're told that there should be no obscenity foolish talk, of course joking which are out of place.

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. 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 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.

References to his works don't use that as light things. Things we can use for our purposes whenever we feel like it without really meaning it. That hits us right where we live. Those of us who have been in church for most of our lives have heard the name God.

Jesus.

Christ the Word of God. Similar phrases over and over again. And we get used to them. 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.

And that we could seriously sin against God we become too familiar With. What should still make us?

Tremble.

Using God's name in vain doesn't just using them the word God in connection with a curse word or as a casual exclamation. Oh my. 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. Oh or you want to get someone's attention? I'm serious now. I'll cuss a little this is sinful language. That is simple language. That is a clear direct violation of this command and we should be more sensitive Care more about that using the names of God in Jesus and Christ and so forth in such disrespectful ways.

We should be more sensitive about that than we are those crude four-letter Anglo-Saxon words. You know if we could make a trade. Say with the TV channels and the networks and say hey. 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. If you'll do that We'll go ahead and we'll let you use all those four-letter words. That would be a that would be better. As far as God is concerned.

Hopefully you would think it would be better to. 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 little offensive and what is highly deeply offensive should be determined by by Scripture not by a Gentile culture of days gone by.

And using God's name without a sense of reverent fear of him is.

Highly and deeply.

Offensive. But we can do that in more than just in curses or in casual exclamations. We take him his name in vain when we ascribed the name of God to any other God than the Trinity or say something is from God that is not really from God or Use the use God's name for our own purposes even with a pretense of religion or use the name of God or a Christ sort of a Decoration and ornament on our empty rhetoric on our flattery or when we take the name Christian for ourself little Christ and Then we don't live like him.

What's in the name? The name of God. Is the Lord Jesus in English?

Shin-soo.

Yesu in Chinese with the original Hebrew. Yahweh El Shaddai Yeshua. It's revealed from God. It's about God. It stands for him. Do we reverence him we hallow him? 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. 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 Lord. In Hebrew this this Commandment could literally be translated as you shall not lift up the name of the Lord Yahweh your God to emptiness. For nothing. For you know, whatever you feel like doing.

We take on a heavy responsibility. Whenever we say that some teaching maybe some leading is of God. Oh the Lord led me to blah blah blah. People say that all the time. Did he really? It better be the Lord leading you.

Are we using his name in vain? 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. If we pledge I'll never leave unless the Lord speaks to me directly and then we leave simply because we feel like it.

We've taken his name in vain. When we say we we all I love God's Word. 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. The man is the head of the family we say that's too much trouble.

We only obey it when it's convenient. 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. I love hearing the doctrines of grace.

We just don't like the commands. 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.

And we can take it or leave it. Maybe our modern way we know better today. Anyway, don't we?

Know what?

Primitive people and their spanking and their patriarchy and all that. We know better than that. No, we. The words light our opinions are heavy. We're treating his name as though it's light. We obey the Third Commandment when we take the Bible study seriously.

Treating it like it really is the Word of God. This is heavy. When we search the scriptures with a meek and teachable mind because it weighs on us. 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 anyway, I'm sure of that.

I Know about the rapture. Don't tell me any different. I I know I want to hear the Word of God we say. When in reality, we won't eat oil. We only want to hear our opinions confirmed. We obey the Third Commandment when we have such a feeling for the gravity of his word.

That we obey it. Even when it makes us uncomfortable. This is why we had best be humble about things. 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 God has indeed clearly said it should weigh on us because it's heavy.

Blasphemy is using the name of God for our own purposes. German soldiers in World War two had the phrase God mittoons. Sewn under their uniforms. That was great. Well, if you know German it means God with us.

And it was blasphemy. It was blasphemy because. Not just because of what Nazi Germany did it was blasphemy because it presumed that God is and simply must be with Them with us it would have it would have been just as blasphemous if u .s 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. No, we better make people holy first and then they could Say the name of God. US troops may be our other troops may be with God if they humble themselves and call on his name sincerely and reverently.

But to presume God is he must be with us is to violate the commandment. He's with us because we say yes, we sew it on our uniforms. It's got to be true. Our Pledge of Allegiance, I think can be better.

You know that we are one nation under God. If if we understand that's an aspiration. You know, we're gonna pledge that we better be trying to be one nation under God living his way. We better start living up to that.

We're obligated to live under his ways and he's not obligated to be with us. 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 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 God's name. I'll try to say it.

I won't try to say in Latin. Never mind that that God is bound to do that miracle. Because his name is is used in the right ritual. 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. He is trained like a good show dog to show up and save at our bidding. If we say the right sinners prayer. We say those right sinner prayer. He's gonna say he's gonna show up and save you.

He's got who 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. Then they are saved even if they have no new love for God. They have no change in their life.

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.

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. 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. This person boasted about how despite not obeying God's command, you know, not forsake the simile of ourselves together. He or she had been serving God faithfully all along.

It takes a lot of arrogance To use God's name so lightly. We take God's name in vain when we use it like frosting on our cake. It's a little sanctified glaze. So we think to sweeten everything anything we have made but we don't mean it.

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. 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. Christians who bear the name of Christ should be people of such honesty. That we don't have to make vows. 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. You know, there aren't for Christians, there's not supposed to be different levels of commitments, you know, there's. There's those we really mean like marriage vows.

So mean you mean that and then there's though you don't really mean. That we could break if the feeling strikes us, but this sounds good to make them so we do that. No for Christians, there's just yes, and there's no.

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 had better know that to break that vow is to blaspheme. To take his name in vain. When we say so help me God in a pledge we had better remember that that isn't just a serious sounding phrase.

You know just to give an extra punch. To the oath to the words make a show of importance. 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.

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. 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 God passionate he feels about his the holiness of his name. We're often unwilling to confront others.

Treating the Lord's name lightly, especially in church. Because we're not as outraged by it 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 Regarded as vain something empty something somebody couldn't be ignored is not worthwhile.

Well, we would be hurt. Like I get passionate about that, but when God's name or his word is thrown around, you know, like a beach ball. Are we then incensed? Are we outraged? We should be. Because God is.

Now the second half of the commandment really doesn't tell us what to do it tells us how to feel. 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. He's that committed to it. And Leviticus chapter 24 a young man found out what that means he used the Lord's name Blasphemously, it's part of a curse.

Probably just like people today, you know use their expletives to make themselves. It's not really tough. Actor comes out at the Tony Awards and wants to sound he really he's really indignant about his politics today.

He Said, you know, it's not a strong word.

Fears nothing.

Not even 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 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. All who had heard him Say that say the Lord's name in vain were to put their hands on his head.

They were to feel him to feel his life Before they killed him so the lesson 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.

Oh, it's just it's just words. Are not just they weren't just just let him off with a warning. 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.

God tells Israel twice there. There's such a person must surely be put to death now for us. What does that mean? It shows us how.

Zealously.

God is about the holiness of his name. Now I don't believe that we should start writing letters to our congressman asking them to an act 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 Lord's name used in vain as We grow to be more like God to have the sensibilities and I mean like God in his his 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. 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 are we should be offended by the whence the Lord's name in vain or but also in the fake spirituality of Self-serving religion that also takes his name in but takes up God's name for show and behind it is emptiness.

That's why among the list of sins Paul wrote that should make people candidates for excommunication in first Corinthians 5. Not just sexual sins or crimes. But but being what he calls revilers probably people like that that man in Leviticus chapter 24 who used the Lord's name As a curse word in some fight.

Are also people like though who put up a better show than he did people like the Pharisees who profess to love God maybe even Scrupulously avoided using the name Yahweh so they would never they think use it in vain but in their hearts.

They arrogantly revile others and they hypocritically cover it up with religious talk. Now I'm glad that the US government gives me the freedom of gives me freedom of speech. But as a Christian, I do realize I do not have such freedom before God.