Taking God's Name in Vain
A look at the third commandment and
how we often neglect it.
Taking the Name of God
in Vain
By. Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The third commandment is often the most
memorable because we often hear people using the name of God in vain. We
are reminded of the third commandment especially if we work in a secular
environment, or we have relatives who show forth their rebellious nature
without qualms in the language they use. But in looking closely at the
third commandment we will find more than we bargained for. We as
Christians break the third commandment more often than any pagan who may
be screaming "God D_____t" or "Jesus Christ!"
What does the third commandment say?
"Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless who uses His name in vain." What
does this commandment principally teach? The third commandment forbids
all profaning and abusing of anything whereby God makes Himself known.
(Malachi 1:6-8; Lev. 20:3; 19:12; Matthew 5:34-37; Isa. 52:5.) It is not
simply a matter of cursing or using the name God or Jesus vainly in that
way. It is true that God's name is not to be used in that manner. We are
not to say "God bless you" frivolously when someone sneezes,
or say "Oh my God" when we are excited or ecstatic. Truly, we
use His name in vain when we say those kinds of things. But the use of
God's name is hardly restricted just to language. The commandment shows
us how to worship God aright, as God designs the first four commandments
in this way. The third commandment is rightly divided into two parts.
The first part is the explicit command that we should not take His name
in vain. That is obvious. The second part of the command is not so
obvious. It is the practical implications of the right use of His name,
namely, that we should honor and revere His name every time we use it.
What is this commandment primarily
directed against? The commandment is primarily directed against the
heart and the tongue. The heart is where a man's actions come forth
from. If our heart is irreverent towards God, then we will use His name
in vain, or in an ignoble fashion. Remember, the heart controls the tongue.
This commandment is a bridle for our tongues. It is the bit where God
turns us onto His right path. The commandment is setting up a right
attitude for the heart, and then consequently a right use for the
tongue. So be warned, we are forbidden to use God's name in any other way but in
the right way.
What does it mean to use God's name in
vain? Simply, this means to misuse God's name in any fashion. It is not
just directed against cursing, though that is one way in which His name
is dishonored by people and is used in vain. What are some ways people
take God's name in vain? There are many, but let us look at just a few.
The first way is when we profess God's
name but do not live answerably to it. It means we live hypocritically.
Thomas Watson said, "pretended holiness is merely double
wickedness." Whenever we do not live up to the call of the
Christian life, we take God's name in vain. We are mirrors that should
reflect the perfection of God. If the mirror claims to be Christ's and
reflects tendencies of hell, then we use the name of Christ in vain, and
people see that.
Secondly, when we use God's name in idle
discourse we are vainly using His name; like telling a joke with God or
Jesus in it. God is to be revered by us, not spoken of in a light and
jesting manner. When we speak lightly of God we use His name in vain
because God is not to be taken lightly by anyone.
Thirdly, when we worship with our lips
and not our hearts we take His name in vain. We say we follow Him, and
then worship Him in the secret place of our heart as the hypocrite. How
many Sunday mornings have you come to church, worshipped, and then left
the same as you entered? In doing this you take His name lightly, and
use it in vain. God is a God of promises. When you are not changed by
the hearing of the Word, or the worship given with the saints, you mock
God and all His promises to the church. You take His name in vain.
Fourthly, when we pray to Him but do not
believe Him we use His name in vain. How many prayers have you prayed in
doubt? God promises to make good on all those prayers prayed in His
will. Do you doubt His will? Do you doubt His promises? Do you doubt
when you pray? If you do, you use His name in vain. This is not
positive confession or the power of positive thinking. Rather,
when you pray and doubt, God says you are like a double-minded man
unstable in all his ways. You are like one who forgets his face
after looking in a mirror just a second before. What God is saying
is that when you pray and doubt, you are forgetting the God you are
praying to, and thus, you take His name in vain.
Fifthly, when we, in any way, profane or
abuse His Word, we are using God's name in vain. Every theological
error, misquoted Scripture, every jot and tittle not remembered in the
right way is using God's name in vain. God's name is tightly bound to
His Word. When we have bad theology we use His name in vain. When we
misquote the Bible when a friend asks us to cite a verse or two, we use
His name in vain. Imagine how many times we are theologically incorrect!
Imagine how many times we have misquoted His perfect and precious Word!
Imagine how many times, in this way alone, we have used His name in
vain!
Sixthly, when we swear by God's name
falsely, we use it in vain. Whenever we make a promise and do not keep
it, we are lying as a Christian and making a mockery of God's name. When
we make an oath to God and do not keep it we use His name in vain.
When we make an oath to covenant with the body of believers, and then
leave the church over some non-essential doctrine or ill-feeling, we are
taking the Lord's name in vain. Jesus
even warned us in Matthew 5:33ff not to make false oaths in God's name. The
Pharisees tried to swear by other names-heaven, the earth, the city of
Jerusalem, or by their own heads- so they would not directly swear by
God's name. They thought that by substituting one of these other
"important" phrases that it would allow them to make oaths,
and have a way of escape just in case they did not keep the oath because
they did not formally swear by God's name. Jesus sets them straight;
heaven is God's throne, the earth is God's footstool, the city of
Jerusalem is the city of the great King, and your own head is God's. So
there is no substitution. It all belongs to God and subsequently should
not be used in a false oath. Making a promise and not keeping it can
bring dire consequences when dealing with God. He commands that we do
everything that comes out of our mouths when we make an oath. So when we
make an oath to each other or to God and do not live up to it, we are
using God's name in vain because we are Christians who are to be honest
always.
Seventhly, when we set God's name next to
any wicked action we use His name in vain. An example of this would be
when we baptize a wicked person, or baptize someone in the wrong way. The wicked
and heathen have no right to be
baptized, only the saved are to be. And Matthew 28:19ff tells us we are
to baptize people in the name of the "Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit." We use their names in vain when we baptize those who ought
not to be sealed with their name.
Eighthly, when we use our tongues in a
way that dishonors God’s name we use His name in vain. This is when we
curse and swear. It is when we say "O my God" or any such time
when the Lord's name is used in an irreverent way. Even when we are in
prayer or praise to God and we continually repeat the name
"Jesus" or "Father" irreverently through vain
repetition, we use God's name in vain. It is a sacred name and should be
held in high esteem no matter when we invoke it. For invoking the name
of God is a weighty matter and should not be taken lightly.
Ninthly, when we make rash vows we use
God's name in vain; like Jephthah's vow in Judges 11:31. Jephthah rashly
vowed to the Lord that if he came back victorious from the battle, he
would sacrifice the first thing which came running out of his house;
pig, cow, horse, whatever. When he returned from the battle victorious,
his daughter ran out of the house to greet him, and he had to sacrifice
her to keep his vow and so he did. Such a terrible evil twice over! Let
us not make rash vows to God.
Tenthly, when we speak evil of God in a
circumstance He is bringing us through we use His name in vain. How
often do you grumble and complain against God? Do you find His ways
hard? Is the path that He is leading you down weary to your feet? Do you
want to hop over the fence into the plush meadow to comfort your aching
bones? Do you gripe at the perfect, concise, eternal, unchangeable plan
of God? If you do or if you have, then you have used God's name in vain.
God has the perfect plan laid out for you. When adverse circumstances
come by you should praise Him as Job did, "The Lord gave and the
Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21b)
Do not grumble or gripe like Job's wife who said "Curse God and
die," but be humble before Him knowing that everything He does for
you is for your good. When we grumble against God in hard circumstances
we give a bad witness and consequently use His name in vain.
Lastly, when we falsify a promise as if
we were to do a thing if God does something for us, then we use His name
in vain. When we barter with God to get something we act irreverently
before Him and use His name in a way that does not glorify him. We say,
"Oh God, if you would just take this or that away then I will never
do such and such again." But this is using His name in vain. We are
not to barter with Him but accept His will as it stands.
This is a very short list of ways which
we may use His name in vain. We are to be lights in the world bringing
forth His name in purity and truth. We must not grumble, but be content.
We must not vow rashly, but let our "yes be yes and our no be
no." We must reverently invoke God's name in worship and prayer
with an attitude of fear and trembling for it is a privilege to even
have His name marked upon us. We are to take heed in our beliefs, so
that we do not misrepresent Him and His name in our theology. There is
much involved in keeping the third commandment and in keeping His name
holy. For God says "I will not hold him guiltless who takes My name
in vain." How guilty are we?
Think about how many times in the past
week you broke the third commandment? Christians do not go a day
without breaking it in some fashion. This causes us to mourn our sinful
condition. All our sin is not yet mortified. This causes us sorrow
and rushes us to the the cross since we sin this way against our Lord and Christ. But
we
thank God for Christ. Thanks be to Christ who lived a perfect life!
Thanks be to Christ who fulfilled the Law perfectly for His people and imputed
to His people His righteous deeds which they did not deserve. Without His sacrifice
we would be doomed to hell for just the sin of breaking the third
commandment over and over.
Ponder upon the holiness and purity of
Christ. He kept ALL the commandments perfectly. Every time He
worshipped, He did it with His heart. Every promise He made He kept.
Every time He invoked God's name He used it with reverence and dignity.
Never once did he break the third commandment. So let our eyes be open
to see what the third commandment requires of us, and pray that the Lord
would aid us to keep His name holy every day, and never use it in vain
again. |
