THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:
ALL IN A NAME
Deuteronomy 5:11, NLT
I want you all to join me in a little exercise before we move into this sermon on the third of the Ten Commandments. I know that some of you may think you’re too sophisticated for this, but I’m sure you’ll get over it eventually! Last Sunday we had our VBS kids help us learn a little song which listed the Ten Commandments—sung to the tune of a familiar song from The Sound of Music. I want us to sing it again because I’d really like us all to have some tool to learn the Ten Commandments. So…here we go!
One—Don’t worship other gods
Two—No graven images
Three—Don’t take God’s name in vain
Four—The Sabbath is for rest
Five—Obey your mom and dad
Six—Don’t ever, ever kill
Seven—Be faithful to your spouse
(8) And don’t steal, (9) don’t lie, (10) don’t wish for other people’s things!
One of the first duties of parents is to name their children. And like most soon-to-be parents, we studied baby name books and made our lists of favorites. It was a pretty daunting responsibility when you realized that you were giving your child a name that they’d be stuck with the rest of their lives! We wrote down lots of combinations of first and middle names—combined with the last name about which we had no choice! I’m sure about that time my wife Cindy was wishing she’d married a man with a better last name than mine!
We went through the process the first time, choosing both a boy’s name and a girl’s name—back then it was rare to learn the gender of the baby before birth. We had a boy and named him Justin Kendrick. During Cindy’s second pregnancy we went through the whole process once again—a process that became far more complicated two months before delivery when we discovered that the “baby” Cindy was carrying was actually “babies” plural! Then we had to come up with two boys’ names, two girls’ names plus decide what we’d do if we had a boy and a girl! And, as most of you know, we had two girls—26 years ago on Father’s Day, by the way! And we named them Krista Nicole and Kara Danielle. And you know what? The names “Justin”, “Krista” and “Kara” will always be music to our ears. Honestly, those names are in one sense music to their ears too, for everyone loves to hear others acknowledge them by name!
According to the late Dale Carnegie, the sweetest sound a person ever hears is his or her own name. Cindy and I will be headed this week to the General Assembly of the International Church of the Nazarene, an every-four-years event meeting in Orlando this time. For those who have been in the denomination for many years like we have, it’s like a grand reunion time—and it’s hard not to run into people you know about everywhere you turn—many of whom we’re thrilled to get to see—people we’ve known for many years but don’t get to see very often.
You know, it’s one thing to have someone smile and acknowledge your presence as they walk past, indicating that they might think you’re vaguely familiar—but it’s a whole other thing for me to be walking down a corridor and hear someone exclaim with excitement, “Tim Pusey!” They used my name! They know me! Saying my name in such a way expresses significance in me—in who I am!
Our sermon this morning centers on the third of the Ten Commandments—which, in the language of the King James Version of the Bible, instructs us not to take God’s name in vain. We’re looking at this commandment as recorded in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. Would you quote it with me?
Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name (Deuteronomy 5:11, NLT).
The Third Commandment defends the honor of God’s great name. Back at the burning bush, Moses asked for God’s name, and because of His great love for His people, God gave His name to Moses—
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:14-15, NIV).
The name God revealed was His personal name “Yahweh”—which in Hebrew consists of just the four consonants YHWH. It is translated “Jehovah” in our language. Literally it means “I am who I am,” or “I will be who I will be.” It speaks of God’s self-existence, self-sufficiency, and supreme sovereignty. And as the events of the Exodus unfolded before Moses and the people of Israel, they learned that the God who revealed His name to Moses is the powerful God who saves!
God’s supreme name was simply Yahweh, the Lord God. This name is much more than a convenient way to address God. It represents God’s identity! For the Hebrew, the name couldn’t be separated from the reality. For that reason, the name couldn’t be treated lightly. We are told not to take the name of God in vain. We are not to use it flippantly. We are not to use the name of God in an unjustified way. The name has to do with the very being, the essence of the One whom it identifies. To know the name is to know the identity and the nature of the one named. Therefore it is wrong to treat the holy name of God in a frivolous manner—because doing so is treating God Himself in a frivolous way!
We normally associate this commandment with profanity or with careless or irreverent use of God’s name. People use God’s name to call down divine damnation on whatever or whoever happens to be a source of irritation to them at the moment. Or they use the name Jesus Christ as a kind of exclamation point. People can’t seem to cuss without using God’s name!—which is interesting when you realize that many of these same people might even deny the very existence of God. To use God’s name in such flippant or vulgar ways is treating God in the same manner—and, according to the commandment, God will not simply turn His head and ignore such a response to Him.
As Christians, we too need to watch our language. All too easily we repeat what we hear, without giving it a thought. Phrases like, “Oh my God!” and “Good Lord!” and “I swear to God” are just polite ways of misusing God’s name. God has called us to be holy people—and we must learn to watch our language and how we treat the name of God.
This commandment is also broken if we use the name of God to substantiate a lie. If we use the name of God in adding credibility to what we’re saying and then do not tell the truth, we are misusing the name of God.
Elton Trueblood said that this is a commandment warning against taking God lightly. He indicated that we break this commandment when we say we believe in God and that we accept the principals of His Kingdom, but we don’t take Him seriously. This happens when we live much of our lives as though God doesn’t matter—even coming to church on Sunday mornings but living the rest of the week any way we choose! I suppose it would be like saying that I love my wife when I’m with her but actually being unfaithful when she isn’t around.
Another serious way in which we break the Third Commandment is by using God’s name to advance our own agenda. There are Christians prone to announce to others: “The Lord told me to do this,” or even worse “The Lord told me to tell you to do such-and-such.” That’s dangerous!—using the name of God to advance our own agenda. I remember a girl in college who believed that God had told her she was going to marry me—and I’ve got to tell you that God never told me anything of the kind!
God’s Word gives us so much of the guidance that we need, and we do believe in the inward leadings of the Holy Spirit beyond that—but the inward leadings should not quickly be labeled as an authoritative word from God—especially when it addresses the actions of others. And certainly we dare not say that God is telling us to do something that violates the principals laid out in His Word! God’s been blamed for a lot of things—adultery, abuse, theft, murder, unkindness. To carelessly attach God’s name to such actions is to violate the Third Commandment.
We also violate this commandment when we attribute activity to God for which He would not assume responsibility. Let me give you an example. Four years ago, just as we were about to head to Indianapolis for the last General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene, we had a van full of junior high kids and sponsors involved in a serious accident on the highway in Indianapolis, just as they were arriving to participate in a week-long work project in the inner city of Indianapolis. It was terribly frightening! I’ve been reminded of it a lot recently, recalling spending my first several days in Indianapolis in some of the area hospitals and trying to help those who had been traumatized by it all. And in response to such an event, there were undoubtedly well-intentioned people who said, “God must have caused that accident to happen because He wanted to teach those kids some life lessons.”
Let me ask you: What kind of God would do such a thing? I saw those kids and adults within the first 24 hours after the accident happened, and it was an awful thing! The injuries were frightening—and the thought of it all is still disturbing to them! I cannot believe that God would cause that accident in order to teach them some important life lessons. Surely He would not choose to beat those kids and adults up physically and emotionally just as a life lesson! I do believe that God can and has used what happened to help them in their faith walk—but whatever caused the lady driving the other car to lose control and force them off the road, I cannot imagine it to have been the hand of God! God helped them and is continuing to help them all, and we were so grateful that the injuries weren’t more severe than they were. God understands better than any of us the trauma of going through such a thing—and to say that God caused it is, from my perspective, to misuse the name of God.
We violate the Third Commandment when we misinterpret Scripture for our own purposes. It’s so easy to take one idea from Scripture—or even one verse—and lift it out of context, and then use it to support our own personal opinions! We become so certain that God is on our side that we refuse to listen to other believers or to submit to spiritual authority in the church.
Sometimes we use God to endorse our political views, so that He becomes a sort of party mascot. Sometimes people use God to prop up their position—or too flippantly assign God’s stamp of approval on programs and plans in their personal lives or even within the life of the church. But whenever we confuse what we want with what God wants yet try to pass off our plans as God’s plans, we take His name in vain. Most of us have seen this in both sports and politics—as an athlete thanks God after scoring the winning touchdown or a politician thanks God for letting them win. To use God’s name in such ways is presumption and it can easily become a violation of the Third Commandment.
God has revealed His character in His name; and we are not to use that name to support our plans! God is not a genie we summon from a bottle to help us get what we want. He is Lord! He is God! Ray Stedman said,
God does not intervene in our lives to take sides; He comes to take over, so move over! (Ray Stedman)
This Third Commandment strictly prohibits people from attempting to harness God’s power for personal ends or ambitions. Any attempt to manipulate God for our own personal agendas is wrong!
So—is it ever acceptable to use God’s name? Absolutely! The Third Commandment instructs us not to misuse God’s name—but it doesn’t tell us not to use His name. God’s name is to be a sweet and marvelous thing to us—a sacred thing, a holy name. Like the rest of the commandments, there is both a negative and positive statement for us. Instead of taking His name in vain, we are to always treat it in a manner of great honor and esteem. God desires that we treat His name as something holy and sacred—which it is! The Lord’s Prayer begins, “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” To hallow is to consecrate, to set apart for sacred purpose. And that’s how we are to treat the name of God—to preserve it for the purpose of worship and praise.
There are many ways to use God’s name properly. His name can be praised, honored, blessed and celebrated. Perhaps one of the best places to learn the proper use of God’s name is in the book of the Psalms. Many of the biblical psalms show us how to honor God’s name:
• “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psa 29:2a and 96:8a).
• “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious” (Psa 66:2).
• “Praise be to his glorious name forever” (Psa 72:19a).
• “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name” (Psa 103:1).
Elsewhere in the Scriptures we are instructed to:
• Call on the name of the Lord (Gen 4:26),
• Trust in the name of the Lord (Isa 50:10), and
• Revere the glorious and awesome name of the Lord our God (Deut 28:58).
By telling us to honor God’s name, the Third Commandment helps us honor God Himself, giving Him the same reverence and respect that we give to His holy name. The Apostle Paul gave perhaps the fullest, most positive statement of this command in his letter to the Colossians—
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).
In other words, what we do and how we live can bring honor and glory to the name of the Lord—and you and I know that’s true because most of know people whose lives have indeed brought glory to the name of the Lord!
In the book of Acts, we read of the marvelous unfolding of the Early Church—as the followers of Jesus Christ spread out and persistently and relentlessly went about Christ’s mission of bringing salvation to all people. As you recall, it was not without obstacles or problems. One such incident sheds light on the importance of honoring God’s name. It’s found in Acts 19.
Paul was in the city of Ephesus, where he spent several years teaching and baptizing people in the name of the Lord Jesus and being the instrument through whom the Holy Spirit was poured out on these new believers. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul—and so some of the Jews who observed Paul tried to use the name of Jesus to help those who were demon-possessed. These were not believers in Christ—only those wanting to manipulate the name of the Lord for their own purposes and recognition. One day, when they were doing this, an evil spirit cried out, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered all who were trying to use the name of the Lord for their own purposes. The man with the evil spirit beat them severely and they ran out of the place naked and bleeding.
Listen now to what happened after that:
When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly…In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:17-20)
When God’s name is honored, His Kingdom grows. His work in the lives of people flourishes when His name is honored!—but it’s a dangerous thing to manipulate or use the name of God for our own agendas! When the name of Jesus the Lord is lifted up and exalted, people come to Him for salvation. People discover a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and their lives are transformed! So, as followers of Jesus Christ, we must do everything we can to always honor the name of the Lord!
The Bible tells us that Jesus obeyed God even to the point of death on the Cross, where He paid for all our violations of God’s law. Then we read in Philippians, chapter 2—
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
And the Lord deserves such honor from us today, doesn’t He? Just as I don’t expect those who truly love me to abuse my name and my reputation, God expects us to handle His name with respect and care too. It’s a vital part of our covenant relationship with Him—and it is our privilege to give such honor to His Holy Name.
May the Lord help us to do just that in the words we speak and the way we live our lives. May my life and yours and may our life together as a church bring honor and glory to the holy name of the Lord!
I was most eager to hear your sermon on this, the third commandment. In my readings lately I’ve read what other pastors had to say about this beyond the obvious to most of us about using God’s name in profanity which is most vulgar to all of us who deeply love the Lord. How good it has been to see the other aspects of this commandment and how it is violated by not only “sinners” but by Christians. Until lately my interpretation of it was mostly with those who use His name as profanity. And it has always astounded me that people (Christians included) who do it seem to have no fear or respect for the awesomeness and holiness of God and act as if they will not be judged for doing it. Your sermon delves into this to show us so many other ways we disrespect our Lord’s name. Good sermon.
Dear Pastor Tim,
Thank you for teaching the bascics that are so desperatly needed. Thank you for letting the Lord speak through you. Bibical teaching is what is needed, there is power in God’s word. I often don’t get to hear everthing in a sermon, so thank you for putting them on the net so that I cna study and put into practice God’s Word. You are in my thoughts and prayers, your friend, Alven PS thank you for the men’s prayer time on Thursday mornings. I have wanted this for years.