Name Dropping
The Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther • Sermon • Submitted
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· 19 viewsSummer series based on the Outline of Luther's Small Catechism
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“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 misuse the name of the Lord your God. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks.
Introduction
Introduction
We continue with our study of Luther’s Small Catechism today as we examine the Second Commandment and its meaning.
The outline of today’s sermon will be the word “NAME”” God’s NAME is Holy’ , to Attack God’s Name is to attack God Himself; MISUSE of God’s Name brings judgment and death; but we may call upon it in EVERY Trouble in prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
Name- God’s Name is His Presence
Name- God’s Name is His Presence
Our names mean everything to us. Not only is our name the way we are identified as a person, but it really is our essence. As Christians God knows your name.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
This takes place in Baptism. God knows you by your first and middle name. It should be noted that in Baptism your surname (last name) is never said.
he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Biblically speaking, names always had meaning. Remember Peter’s Confession of Jesus a few weeks ago? What was it that Jesus said to Peter? “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah…” Bar in Hebrew means son. You’ve heard of “Bar Mitzvah?” That means “Son of the Covenant.” If Peter had an English last name it would have been Peter Johnson. Or Johnsen if he were Scandinavian.
So it was with surnames early on. A “Smith” worked with metal. A “Baker” put dough in the oven. A “Cooper” made barrels. Johnson meant that someone’s father’s name was John. Sometimes names indicated where you were from: D’Alessio meant you were from Alessio.
When it comes to God, He has a Name. And His Name has meaning. His Name, YHWH means “I am who I am”. Jesus, in Hebrew the form of Joshua” means “YAHWEH RESCUES”, The Holy Spirit, is the eternal breath. And unlike most surnames today, God’s Name still does what it says. The Great I AM has rescued you through His Son Joshua by faith given by the Holy Spirit from sin, death and hell. When we call out to God, this is always what He does.
Where God’s name is, there God is. We read:
but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
To ATTACK God’s Name is to attack God Himself
To ATTACK God’s Name is to attack God Himself
So when we take God’s Name in Vain, it is a direct assault on the God who has saved you from sin, death and hell. God takes this commandment with all seriousness, and right in the commandment He makes clear “the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.”
Let those words sink in, beloved. He speaking about you. And to you.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Misuse of God’s Name in our Lives
Misuse of God’s Name in our Lives
If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
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What is it that God forbids? How do we take His Name in Vain? What makes our lips unclean?
The meaning speaks of several large categories.
CURSING: Calling God to strike a person dead and send him to hell. Phrases like “damnit”, “go to hell”, “God damnit,” “damn you to hell”, all violate this commandment in the extreme. It misuses God’s name by calling something that by nature He won’t do. He so loved the world, including sinners, that He did what only He could do to save it: Sending His Son Jesus to be damned in our place. It also violates this Commandment and the First Commandment because by saying these things we assume the Name God upon ourselves, and make wrongful judgments that only God can make. Another example of us becoming our own God.
SWEARING: Calling on the Lord to back up truth, which very often isn’t total truth. “I swear to God”. “O My God”. “My God”. “Jesus Christ”. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph”. The devil has made these acceptable terms, even in our lives. They roll off of our lips without a thought. Uttering these words are damnable sins. And yet we don’t even realize we say them.
The Scriptures declare
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Heed these words, dear brothers and sisters. The end is near, and our lips are unholy.
USING SATANIC ARTS: To rely on anyone but the Lord breaks this commandment as well as the First. God forbids fortune telling, mediums, divination, placing curses and hexes, engaging in any form of witchcraft, WICCA, soothsaying, horoscopes, astrology, calling forth the dead, seances, calling forth demons, some of which we would never do, other things we do for entertainment value without realizing the power of darkness wrapped up in them.
The Seventy disciples were amazed that the demons obeyed their rebuke. Jesus words to them,
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
God’s name is holy. You have been baptized into that Holy Name. God and darkness cannot co-exist. Do not live in the darkness, O children of Light.
LIE AND DECEIVE BY HIS NAME- It is bad enough to swear, though God permits it in situations like Court, but to swear and then lie is the epitome of breaking this commandment.
We misuse God’s Name so much, dear brothers and sisters. As Isaiah’s lips were touched with a searing coal from God’s Altar, so God takes away your sin of taking His name in vain by slaying His only begotten Son. That, and that alone, is the only way to take away your profanity.
We are a people of unclean lips, yet God still gives us His Name. He writes on us His New Name. Marked on the Forehead and heart we are forgiven from our unclean lips. We are given the Holy Spirit to carefully weigh our words and actions. We avoid situations where God’s Name would be used illicitly and rightly bring about our damnation.
Call Upon His Name in Every Trouble
Call Upon His Name in Every Trouble
So should we be afraid to use God’s Name?
Not at all. God wants us to use His name, for we bear His Name. He is our loving Father and we are His loving Children. The Psalm for today says:
,
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
We call upon God’s Name in every trouble and He hears and answers us. The Large Catechism tells us
To vex the devil, I say, we should always have this holy name in our mouth, so that he may not be able to injure us as he wishes. For this end it is also of service that we form the habit of daily commending ourselves to God, with soul and body, wife, children, servants, and all that we have, against every need that may occur; whence also the blessing and thanksgiving at meals, and other prayers, morning and evening, have originated and remain in use. 74] Likewise the practice of children to cross themselves when anything monstrous or terrible is seen or heard, and to exclaim: "Lord God, protect us!" "Help, dear Lord Jesus!" etc.
...his is also a blessed and useful habit and very effectual against the devil, who is ever about us, and lies in wait to bring us into sin and shame, calamity and trouble, but who is very loath to hear God's name, and cannot remain long where it is uttered and called upon from the heart. And, indeed, many a terrible and shocking calamity would befall us if, by our calling upon His name, God did not preserve us. 72] I have myself tried it, and learned by experience that often sudden great calamity was immediately averted and removed during such invocation. To vex the devil, I say, we should always have this holy name in our mouth, so that he may not be able to injure us as he wishes. For this end it is also of service that we form the habit of daily commending ourselves to God, with soul and body, wife, children, servants, and all that we have, against every need that may occur; whence also the blessing and thanksgiving at meals, and other prayers, morning and evening, have originated and remain in use. 74] Likewise the practice of children to cross themselves when anything monstrous or terrible is seen or heard, and to exclaim: "Lord God, protect us!" "Help, dear Lord Jesus!" etc.
73] For this end it is also of service that we form the habit of daily commending ourselves to God, with soul and body, wife, children, servants, and all that we have, against every need that may occur; whence also the blessing and thanksgiving at meals, and other prayers, morning and evening, have originated and remain in use. 74] Likewise the practice of children to cross themselves when anything monstrous or terrible is seen or heard, and to exclaim: "Lord God, protect us!" "Help, dear Lord Jesus!" etc.
When we use God’s name correctly, He protects us.
We use God’s Name to pray: in Jesus Name, all things may be brought to the Father; to praise: as we do lifting our voices in song as we gather together, as we read the psalms, as we sing for joy in our lives; and to give thanks for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
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At this Name, in terror quailing, powers of hell are put to flight;
Jesus is the name prevailing over every name by right;
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Now I was cupbearer to the king.
God, in mercy, never failing, Saves us by this Name of might.
We use God’s Name to pray: in Jesus Name, all things may be brought to the Father; to praise: as we do lifting our voices in song as we gather together, as we read the psalms, as we sing for joy in our lives; and to give thanks for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
At this Name, in terror quailing, powers of hell are put to flight;
God, in mercy, never failing, Saves us by this Name of might.