The Third Commandment

This morning, we're continuing our study on the Ten Commandments. And if you haven't been here, where have you been? It's been good. It's been challenging. It's been refreshing.

Sometimes the basics are great to relearn, isn't it? Sometimes the essence or the essential things are fantastic to just take in again and reflect on. And that is exactly what the Ten Commandments are for us as Christians. And we saw the first commandment addressing proper use or the proper worship of God. We looked at who God is, that He is the object, the only God, the only object of our worship.

God said, you shall have no other gods before Me. Before Me doesn't mean there's a list of a hundred gods and He's number one and then all those, you know, the ninety-nine after Him. It means not in My presence will you have any other gods. I will not share My throne room with anyone else. And so the first commandment deals with the who of worship, the object of worship, the true one God.

Then the second commandment came and it builds on the first. The one true God is to be worshipped and therefore no idolatry will be tolerated. Things created to either represent God, things that human imagination can come up with about who God is and how He shapes and is shaped and moulded by our thoughts. In addition, we don't worship other idols, which in turn usually comes back to us. And the idea that it was targeting here is the worship of ourselves, selfish gain.

Israel worshipped idols of either Egypt or the new land that they entered in order to be fertile and be blessed and plentiful. And in a funny way, it really was just a worship of self. And God said, you will not worship those idols either. Now this morning, we come to a third commandment and it also builds on the first and the second commandments. It is another layer and, like we said, really, the breaking of the Ten Commandments is really the breaking of the first commandment.

And it really just builds on from the first commandment there. But we'll see that it ties in definitely to the first two. Let's hear God's word in Exodus 20, and we're going to read verse seven. God gave the law and the third commandment. He spoke like this: 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 the name of the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not hold Him guiltless who takes His name in vain. May God add His blessing to His word. This week, I received a phone call from a telemarketer. Isn't that fun, fantastic fun, when that happens?

I thankfully don't own a home phone line, so it's usually on my mobile. And for some reason, I don't get a lot of telemarketing calls, please, and don't share my phone number widely so I can keep it that way. But one snuck through. And it's actually the same company that somehow has my name and my number on their list. They call me and it's often the same sort of thing, and it's not the same person, obviously.

It's a different person, but they unfortunately somehow have my name incorrectly entered into their database. So my name, my last name, Trump, is put as my first name. So they'll call me and it usually, typically goes like this. This is how the conversation starts.

My phone rings, I answer it: KJ Trump speaking. And they begin, hello, Trump. This is so and so from MyCom Australia. How are you, Trump? And as soon as that happens, I know this person doesn't know me. This person doesn't know me.

He doesn't know me from Adam's cat. If they or their company haven't done that little bit of courtesy, this is how I feel: if they haven't done that little bit of research and that just tweak, because every time I have corrected them and said no, my name is KJ, I answer the phone KJ Trump speaking. If they don't do the courtesy of altering their database or, you know, correcting how they address me, then I don't feel inclined to listen to their pitch. Beep. Hang up.

The third commandment deals with the right use of God's name. And critical to understanding this commandment is realising that knowing the name of God and using it rightly is to have full access to Him. When we read Exodus 20, we have to remember Exodus three. Remember Exodus three, the burning bush and Moses meeting God and being introduced to God, the God of his forefathers for the first time. And Moses says to God when God says, you have to go to Israel.

You have to go to Pharaoh and tell them who has sent you. And he says, what do I tell them? Who has sent me? What does God say? Tell them I Am has sent you.

I Am who I Am. I will be who I will be. Yahweh, in other words, has sent you. One of the most beautiful things that happens in the Old Testament, one of the greatest things that happens in the book of Exodus is this moment where God gives His name to His people. And that is the same for us as Christians.

We acknowledge and we know and we can worship Jesus Christ as our saviour because we know who He is. And we find God insinuating it again here in verse seven, don't we? You shall not take the name of the Lord, and we see the capitalisation of Lord, which is not really the word "lord" in Hebrew. It is Yahweh, Y H W H. The unspoken holy name of God.

God, in His preamble in verse two of the law, He says, I am the Lord, your God. You are Mine. I am yours. I've brought you out of Egypt now. This is how I want you to love Me.

Your God, the personal name of God that He gave to Israel is a status that they are His people and that He is their God. Israel could call on God and He would listen because they knew Him personally now. It was not some long distance phone call from a telemarketer using a bad name, using a last name as a first name. Israel knew God because they knew His name. And so really, the third commandment is a protection of that relationship. It is a protection, a very jealous protection of that relationship.

Now many of us have probably grown up thinking that this command should stop us from swearing, cussing, as the Americans say, using God's name in swearing or blaspheming, to use the name of Jesus Christ as an expletive when we hit our hand with a hammer, to not use "oh my God" like our neighbours do when they hear bad news or some interesting bit of news. And yes, that is a good place for us to start. And you could say that that is what partly is being addressed here, but the third commandment goes far deeper than that. Three things about this law that we're going to look at today. Firstly, let me just see if this works.

If you can just maybe click us through. First thing is that this law is to prevent the damage of God's reputation. The third commandment means don't take up God's name wrongly. Not only don't speak God's name wrongly, not only write God's name incorrectly, not only don't use God's name in a bad context, but whenever God's reputation is at stake, whenever God's character is being linked to this, you are linking it to His name. This command, like the previous two commandments that we've studied, begins with the very strong negative: you shall not.

You shall not. And God is telling us here, absolutely do not do what follows. Do not take My name in vain. And we know that in the ancient world, the ancient Israelites and even orthodox Jews today take this commandment so literally and so seriously that they will not use the name Yahweh. It will not be found on their lips.

They did not write that name on in the Bible. It was translated as Adonai, as the Lord. And so Yahweh, God's covenant name, is not even used ironically by the people that God gave it to. But that's not the point either. What this command is telling us is that it is broader than simply a name.

It is as expansive and as encompassing as life itself to take up the name. That verb that's used here, to take up the name. It's tied to courtroom language. It is a legal transactional language and it was used in making solemn vows, in taking oaths, in making promises that were weighty. And this was a common practice.

We see it if we read the Old Testament that's "as surely as the Lord lives". You've probably read many times in the Old Testament. As surely as the Lord lives, may the Lord strike me down if... solemn vows, solemn promises, that is taking the Lord's name up. And that was done not with Yahweh, God of Israel, but with many other gods. It was a common practice.

So much so that Jesus has to correct His disciples not to swear by God's name either, but He says to them in Matthew 5:37, let your yes be yes, let your no be no. Even now today, that's why so many Christians are very divided on the issue of whether we should swear on the Bible or not. Some Christians say, well, absolutely, I am standing before God. I am using God as my witness that what I'm about to say is the truth. But then there are other Christians that say, no.

My yes is yes. My no is no. If I lie, I lie. And so this command has some of that legal connotations being used, but it's still more broad than the legal courtroom. It's still not just simply saying don't take oaths on God's name.

Don't make promises on God's name. At the heart of the issue is the abuse of God's reputation. If we make a vow and we don't get through with it, if we say we will not lie on God's oath and we lie, God gets dragged into our mess. Claiming to be the people of God and not being the people of God, that is what is at stake here. In essence, it is about hypocrisy that is being talked about.

Hypocrisy. Claiming to be a Christian and taking on the name of our saviour and then living as if we're not. Earlier in this year, there was a report published by a group called McCrindle, who's a like a research organisation, and they published a report called "Faith and Belief in Australia". Faith and Belief in Australia. Fascinating snapshot of the spirituality in Australia.

And in this report, there's a section that dealt with perceptions of Christianity that were most likely to prevent people from exploring the Christian faith. So what are some of the blockages or the preventals of people that were said to be open to their idea of spirituality, open to the idea of a God, from entering into Christianity or finding out more about Christianity? And this report said that nearly 60% said that they would not explore Christianity because of the child abuse scandal in the church. 60% were open. This is not the hardcore atheist, people that were open.

60% said they will not look at Christianity because of the church and its abuse. Now we might say that's the Catholic Church. That is not our problem. We may say that it's just an excuse, really. I mean, it's everywhere and why should Christians be singled out here?

But can you see how easily our actions are tied to God's reputation? Our actions are tied to God's church, the bride that Jesus Christ loves and died for. Why would 60% not find out more about Christ? Because of the way Christians followed Him.

That's the breaking of the third command. And God's name stands for His reputation. And then when we use that name wrongly, we abuse it. Whether that is directly by using it as a swear word or a word of surprise when you hear some juicy bit of gossip like all those girls do on the reality shows. But even more deeply, when we associate ourselves with God and yet drag Him into our mud.

God, we have to realise what a great privilege, what a great honour it is to have received this name of God for us. God could have remained a mystery. God could have created us and He could have said, I don't need to interact with them. I do not need to let them know what I'm like, who I am. And yet God said, I Am and I will show you what I'm like.

We have to realise what a great honour it is to have been given this name. Remember what Jesus did. The very last thing He gave His disciples to do, the command He gave the church to be involved with in the Great Commission. He said that we are to make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And if you are a Christian, if God has called you to be His, then God has given you His name as well.

And He has taken your name with Him. If you have trusted in Him, if you have joined His church, if you have been baptised into that church, you have received His name, just like a husband gives his wife his name, so also the Father has given us His name. And just like a good son or a daughter will also carry that name and will desire to honour that name, honour their parents who have given them that last name, make them proud of them. They know my parents are here this morning. People will know who the Trumps are based on who I am in some way.

It reflects on the family. It reflects on the parents who have given that name, and that in some way is what God is referring to here. To dishonour God's name is to dishonour His reputation. The second thing is that we are not to be frivolous or insincere about the name of God. Look again at verse seven: you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

This command not only tells us about the importance of the name of God, it tells us about the name of God that is honourable. That God's name is honourable. To take up God's name in vain, therefore, is referring to any frivolous or insincere or thoughtless or unsubstantial use of His name. And that can also be shown in a myriad of ways. Think of any irreverent humour about who God is, about what Jesus Christ represents or has done for us, anyone who mocks God in their speech or mocks others with His name.

It might be blasphemy, it might be cursing, it might be a broken oath, but it goes even deeper still. And I think an issue that is more prevalent now than it has been for many, many generations is church culture humour. And it may not necessarily be something in our church that's very prevalent, but I've got friends in bigger charismatic churches especially that can say things like, let's give Jesus a high five. Let's, you know, give Jesus a clap or, I don't know, just a number of different ways that this is God you're talking about here. This is your creator that you are talking about here.

And so what I find fascinating is somewhere there's a switch in them that decides when they worship and honour the name of Jesus Christ as God and Lord, and then at other times, He is as funny or as unsubstantial as a funny cartoon character who we can use as a vehicle for our sense of humour. That is the breaking of the third commandment. We have to be very careful about it because even as a musician, and this might hit a little bit close to us, even as a musician in a worship team, when we have to make decisions on songs, we have favourites and we have the opposite of favourites. And we can make jokes about those songs without realising that these songs are poetry about the name and the glory and the majesty of God. And it's fine. We don't have to like all songs, and we don't play all songs, and we don't select all songs, but there is something about a respect and a reverence, I think, that is still being talked about, which is still at play here when we do.

Can you see in how many different ways this can come up in our lives? Taking God's name in vain means we are frivolous or insincere about God, who He is, what He means to us. Our hearts aren't aligned with the awe and the reverence that we should feel at the glory and the holiness associated with the character and the nature of God. And then lastly, in this one verse, we see that God won't leave anyone guiltless and we see why. At the end of verse seven, we read: for the Lord will not leave Him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Now this is obviously warning from God about the misuse of His name, and we learn here that God takes His reputation seriously. He is jealous about His glory. The third command tells us as well that God will judge those who ultimately hypocritically use His name. In other words, if we take up His name, but we do not take up the character of the God behind that name, if we profess His name but we do not live in accordance with that profession, if we say that we have tasted grace, but we have not tasted grace, as the book of Hebrews says, then we take God's name in vain. And God will not leave those unpunished who take His name in vain.

This is linked. This command is linked to Jesus' teaching on the unpardonable sin. Remember the unforgivable sin in Mark 3:29 where Jesus says, whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit is guilty of an unforgivable sin. Blasphemy being the very worst aspect of taking God's name in vain. Whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, Christ said.

What did He mean by that? Did He mean that God can forgive all sin, even the breaking of the first and the second commandments of not loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, strength? Can He forgive all of that, because, and yet rejecting the Holy Spirit is the one sin that He cannot forgive. Is that what He's saying here? He's not saying that.

What's going on in that rejection of the Holy Spirit is when Jesus was performing these miracles, these wonders in front of people, the people of that time, the religious leaders of that time said, He is doing all these things by evil spirits. These wonders, they're amazing, but this is not from God. And they rejected Christ and the working of the Spirit through Christ as the saviour. They rejected Christ as the saviour and it was a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, therefore, that meant that they would not receive Christ as saviour. That is the only sin we will go to hell for: not believing in Jesus Christ.

And that exists today. Our friends who use God's name in vain do not believe in Jesus Christ. Our friends who curse using God's name have no love for Him. They have no respect for Him because He is not their saviour.

He is not their Lord. They will never embrace and have never embraced His lordship. I can't say they will never. They have, up till this point, never. And therefore, if they continue down that path, there will be a final judgement of them and God will not hold them guiltless.

And then for all of us who do take up the name of Christ, who profess Him, who claim Him, but then who may not really love Him and trust Him. Those of us who call ourselves Christian that do not rest in His salvation, they are also guilty of not taking the name of God with honour. They are taking His name in vain as well. We saw this, didn't we, two thousand years ago on Palm Sunday. Remember that event where Jesus came into Jerusalem and people anticipated the coming of the King and they broke palm branches and laid it before Him and they shouted in the streets, Hosanna to the Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord, they said.

And they rejoiced and they glorified God because of Him. And then five days later, they shouted, crucify Him. This Jesus Christ. They took His name in vain that day. But after the cross, and more specifically, after the glorious resurrection, Peter stood amongst that very same crowd.

He stood before the leaders who ran and initiated that revolt. And Peter in Acts 4 told them, this Jesus, the stone that you rejected, the builders rejected, has now become the cornerstone. And he says, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we must be saved. No other name. So Christian, why would we tarnish this name?

Why would we tarnish it with hypocrisy? Taking up the cloak of Christianity. Taking up the mantle, the title of Christian, and yet not living in that way, not honouring Him in that way? Why would we dishonour this saviour who has bought us with His own blood? This morning, we are reminded to honour Him and His name above all other names because it is worthy and honourable above all other names.

When we pray, we should pray like the Lord's prayer opens: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Glorify God. Glorified in this world. This broken, messy country of ours, glorify it and hallow it, and then start in me. Hallow it and make it holy in me.

And then for those who don't know Jesus yet, who might be here and you haven't placed your faith in Christ, you aren't at that point yet at this moment, let me ask you to pray about it. Let me ask you to go to Him. Let me ask you to inquire from Him why He would be holy, why He would be so honourable that you must bend the knee to Him. Friend, He has salvation available for you. He has forgiveness in store for you.

Come and receive it. Come and take it so that you may taste and see grace, that you may also know why we must honour this name that is above every name. Let me pray for us. Father God, we thank you for these words that just scale things back again and make us see ourselves rightly before You. God, we do want to honour You.

We do pray and we do desire for You to be hallowed, to be made holy, to be honoured in our lives. And so, God, we pray that You will do that work in us. Oh, God, may we be wonderful reflectors of Your name and Your glory. And thank God for the things in our lives where we have not taken this name with the reverence and the majesty and the honour that it is due. When we have made light of You, Your church, Your people, Your word, forgive us, Lord.

Grant us in this frivolous world where nothing is sacred anymore. Give us the right perspective and the right honour and the right respect for who You are and what Your reputation and Your character means for us. God, change this in us because we believe that the Holy Spirit can do this in us. We believe in the Spirit. We believe that the Spirit is from You.

Lord, we will not blaspheme the Spirit that is at work, and we ask, Lord, that You will continue and finish that work in us. In Jesus' name. Amen.