3rd Commandment
Notes
Transcript
If you will recall we are working our way through the 10 commandments
The 10 commandments were given to a nation for a purpose
That purpose was to point them to their need for a savior and to point them to a relationship with God
See the law still serves that purpose for us today
Not only does it show you how to have a relationship with God but it also shows your need for a savior today, that you cannot do all of that by yourself
If you have broken 1 piece of the law then you stand guilty of the whole law and the punishment for breaking the law is death which is eternal separation from God who is in Heaven
Remember the first commandment is to have no other gods before God
That first command sets the tone
There is no other God but God alone
You and I cannot serve 2 masters it won’t end well
Scripture says that you will either hate one and love the other or you will be devoted to one and despise the other
The second command is a build on of the 1st and takes the first one a little deeper
Since there are no other Gods, don’t cheat on God with a picture or a statue of what you think God looks like in heaven
You are to not have any idols
Scripture even goes so far in Deuteronomy that the nation of Israel was to smash the idols of the other nations, and I think it would be safe to say that if you and I had any idols we should smash them and destroy them
These first commandants are all about your relationship with God
How can you have a right relationship with God if you have other Gods and so on with the other commandments
This brings us to this mornings commandment
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
We are not to take the Lords name in vain
So what does that mean
the word vain is defined as Worthless, futile, inconsequential, unrestrained, false
We are to not take the Lords name in vain is because the Lords name means something
We are not to use it as just another word in our language but we are to hold it in high regard
There is no other name or word like
We take this to mean today that we are not to attached the Lords name to curse word or to use it as just any other word in our language
It is not just any
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
God has given Jesus a name unlike any other name or even word for that matter on the face of the earth
Church it is not something to be used as an explanation point at the end of a point we are making
We are to not use it in conjunction with curse words
God is not some worthless name we get to just throw around
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is some weight to the name of Jesus
6 There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might.
When you use Gods name you are also invoking His character
You are essentially attaching the activity or the words you are using to the Character of God and really saying that this is the character of God
The Mosaic law forbade irreverent oaths, light use of the Lord’s name, broken vows. Once Yahweh’s name was invoked, the vow to which it was attached became a debt that had to be paid to the Lord.
D. A. Carson
Think about that if you have every said the Lords name in vain or misused the name of God
Now think about what you hear in you daily business
It would almost seem that as you go about your daily business and you hear the misuse of the Lords name because it is so important to you that if you don’t say anything it should almost make you sick to hear it use the wrong way
Because church there is no other name like this name
You may think your name is great and awesome but does your name save people?
When you made an oath in ancient times you would make an oath by the name of the Lord because it meant something
It would in one of my study notes says
CSB Study Bible: Notes (Chapter 20)
To swear by the Lord’s name was an affirmation of allegiance to him that required appropriate action
Church the name of the Lord is so very different than any other name and has such power and should be held with high regard and reference
Because the junk people or we are attaching it so is not who the God of the universe is
This is what the name of Jesus does
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
This is why it is not just another name or another word in our language
No other name saves but Jesus
Church this is why we are not to use it worthlessly or in vain because it means something and has power attached to that name
But that is the spoken word part of not taking the Lords name in Vain
The Father’s name is most hallowed when we behave in conformity to His will. For Christians to live in disobedience to God is to take His name in vain, claiming as Lord someone whom we do not follow as Lord.
John F. MacArthur
After reading this comment I was taking back
Like most of you I had only ever thought of not taking the Lords name in vain as not just worthlessly using Gods name
In ancient times we understood this to mean not to make an oath in the Lords name unless you meant to follow through with it
Because the Lords name brought with it a sense of follow through and honesty
Then it changed to not just using the name of God as an explanation point at the end of a sentence of when we are shocked
This morning it is still all of those and
For the believer here this morning it is not just the words that come out of your mouth but the way you live your life
Does your life match up with the God you claim saved you
And church if it doesn’t then you are essentially taking the Lords name who is attached to your life through a personal relationship with Jesus and just using it flippantly or worthlessly
See because the Lords name is attached to you though the personal relationship with Jesus
Taking the Lords name in vain is no longer about words but now it is also about the action of your life as a believer in Jesus Christ
The 1st commandment is the foundation and then it is followed by the 2nd command which is then followed by the 3rd
They each build off the previous ones
Church if you expect to grow in your walk then it is important that you heed the command given by God
Do not go about using His name worthlessly or just as another word in our language
Because church it is not
And church we are not to live our lives in disobedience to the Word of God as this is to take the Lords name in vain
So as we move into a time of invitation
The band will come up
If you are here this morning and do not have a personal relationship with Jesus
Remember this morning it is only through the name of Jesus that you and I are saved
IF you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus I would invite you to the front to speak with someone and they can show you through scripture how to repent from your sir and trust Jesus this morning
Or maybe you are here this morning and already have a personal relationship with Jesus but after hearing the command this morning maybe you are convicted of your use of the Lords name
I would invite you to repent this morning and run back to Jesus
Or maybe you simple need to spend sometime in prayer at the altar
Or maybe you need to make another decision
The altar is open