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INTRODUCTION:
It was January 8, 1697, at 2 p.m.. Thomas Aikenhead was led to the gallows.
The rope was put around his neck.
The hangman kicked away the ladder.
He hung in the air until his feet stopped moving.
What was the crime that led to the death of this 20-year-old man?
Breaking the third commandment.
The case against Thomas was that for more than a year he had publicly,
consistently and unrepentantly cursed God and Jesus.
According to the Scottish parliament,
the unrepentant cursing the name of God was a crime that could eventually be punishable by death,
and in Thomas Aikenhead’s case, it was.
He was the last person in Great Britian to be executed for Blasphemy
I don’t share this piece of history to suggested we should return blasphemy laws from the 1600s or from the OT
but simply to show you how far we have drifted in our day from what once was sacred, the way we spoke of God.
Just a side issue here is that 9 put these 10 commandments required death for breaking them.
They only one that was not considered a capital crime was the 10, because it was not provable.
But usually coveting leads to or the is the foundation of murder, lying, adultery and so forth.
If you watch TV or listen to a conversation in a restaurant
you will see the name of Jesus frequently used as a cuss word.
God is used as an explicative without reverence.
At one time, not too long ago, the names of God and Jesus were spoken with reverence, as the third commandment says they should be.
The first commandment is about worshipping the right God,
the second commandment is about worshipping the right God the right way.
This morning, we begin the third commandment.
This moves from our worshiping of God to our speaking about God.
God is very concerned with how we treat his name.
Let’s read the commandment.
Exodus 20:7 “7 “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.”
Exodus 20:7 (NIV84)
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Summary: God forbids His name to be used in an irreverent or improper way, either by our lips or our lives.
In this commandment God is asking us to respect and honor his name by how we speak and how we act.
Our approach today is simple.
We’ll start with interpretation and then we’ll move to application.
We’ll look at what this command means,
and we’ll conclude with what it means to us.
Let’s walk through Exodus 20:7 phrase-by-phrase so we learn how to revere His name:
Exodus 20:7 “7 “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.”
“You shall not take.”
Like the first two commands, this one also begins with a very strong negative: “Absolutely do not do what follows…” The word “take” comes from the courtroom and means, “to lift, to carry, to take up, bear and to raise.”
“the name.”
In the surrounding cultures of Israel,
knowing the name of a god gave one access and influence.
Even more so, knowing the name of the one true covenant-keeping God gave His people the special privilege of having access to Him.
In the Bible, a name was not only identification
but an actual identity.
It represented one’s entire reputation.
A name stood for the nature of someone.
God’s name represents the totality of who He is and what He does.
Why does God Take His name so seriously...
God’s name reflects his character and identity.
Biblically, Any time we hear of “the name of the Lord” in a verse or passage, we can substitute “the character of the Lord” in its place.
God’s name represents the sum total of his character.
He is holy, loving, just, compassionate, omnipresent, omnipotent, sovereign, gracious, merciful, patient, infinite, and good.
To pray “in the name of the Lord” is to pray according to his character.
To call upon the name of the Lord is to ask God to act according to his character.
To take shelter in the name of the Lord is to place our trust in who he is.
To be baptized in the name of the Lord is to identify with his character as our salvation, our strength, and our new identity.
“of the LORD your God.”
Look back at verse 2 where we see God declaring who He is: “I am the Lord your God”
and in verse 5: “…For I the Lord your God…”
The first name in verse 7 is Yahweh and means “I am who I am.”
The second name is Elohim, which means, “Mighty One” and refers to the one supreme and faithful God.
There are at least 300 different self-revealed names of God.
Some that come to mind are
Adonai, Elohim,
El Shaddai,
Jehovah,
Jehovah-Rapha,
Jehovah-Shalom,
and Jehovah-Jireh.
“in vain.”
The word “vain” means
“empty, insincere, useless, wasted, with a worthless purpose.”
It refers to being “empty of content or void of meaning.”
We take God’s name in vain when we use it in a frivolous, casual, or careless way.
It’s tantamount to saying, “Your name is worth nothing in my estimation.”
More literally, it means, “You shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God for nothingness.”
“Do not treat my holy name as common and ordinary.
I must be treated as holy.”
“For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
The word “guiltless” means, “to be made clean” or “to lay bare.”
God wants us to know how serious He is about His name.
It’s like those warning signs that say, ‘Danger!
High Voltage!’
If you ignore the sign, you will soon be electrocuted.
The Third Commandment is saying, ‘Danger!
God is a live wire!
Do not touch or trifle with Him.’”
There are serious consequences.
Taking the Lord’s name lightly could result in severe and swift divine retribution.
For a New Testament example consider what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.
They were struck dead on the spot.
The opposite of trivializing God’s name is to give Him the weightiness He deserves.
God will not allow His name to be misused.
Those who treat God’s name as empty will stand empty before Him.
Before moving on, the word “takes”
refers to a person who habitually takes God’s name in vain.
This is comforting because we’ve all fallen into this sin at one time or another.
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