3rd Commandment - Exodus 20:7
[11th November 2008]
Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
The order in which word meanings are listed in The Oxford English Dictionary, is the order of their most common daily use. In the latest edition of The Oxford English Dictionary, sadly, the name ‘Jesus’ is listed firstly as an expletive or swear word, before it is listed as the founder of Christianity. For the person wanting to honour God in all things, this is a tragedy.
The 3rd commandment concerns the name of the Lord. Very few people understand how important this commandment is. In Exodus ch3, the first great revelation of God to Moses, which commenced 40 years of astounding ministry, was the revelation of the divine name ‘Yahweh’ in the burning bush. Knowing who God is, was the first step in the gradual revelation of God’s plan of salvation, from the Garden of Eden to Jesus Christ, whose name will be Wonderful Counsellor, Almighty God and many other glorious titles - Knowing and believing who Jesus is is part of saving Christian faith.
This commandment reflects the power of the spoken word. Spoken words do matter, not just in blasphemy, but also in courts of law. At the judgement seat of Christ we will be held to account for every word we uttered. That alone should be enough to keep us awake at night. Misusing God’s name is slander. It is never innocent because it reduces the name of our Lord and Saviour, to a curse, which is the exact opposite of what it is.
Does this matter? The name of the Lord does matter. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The chief means of glorifying God is in Christian worship. As James warns us, it is terrible if, with our mouths we glorify God, yet curse others or use his name casually. To misuse Jesus’ name is to devalue him. And to devalue God is ultimately to downgrade ourselves – as we are created in his image.
In Christian circles – the use of trite pious phrases such as, “God bless you”, “The Lord knows” can be equally abusive of the Lord’s name, especially if we do not act on our pious phrases. To use Jesus’ name in worship in a way which is not in accord with revealed truth is surely false as well.
This 3rd commandment is the reason why religious Jews choose never to speak out the divine name. Never ‘Yahweh’, rarely even ‘God’; Kingdom of Heaven for the Kingdom of God; City of the Great King rather than the City of God and so on. Names are highly significant in Bible. Jesus’ name means Saviour. Jesus’ names were not given casually. This is perhaps why we should be careful about naming our children. I note T. R. Glover’s comment on the Roman Emperor’s condemnation of the apostle Paul - that the day would come when they would name their dogs Nero and their sons Paul.
If we are warned against misusing the Lord’s name it is because we are in fact invited to use his name properly. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most powerful name in the universe.
It is through the name of Christ that we have access to the presence of God in prayer. Peter used the name of Jesus to heal the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem [Acts 3:6]. In the name of Jesus demons were cast out. But when the seven unbelieving sons of Sceva tried to exorcise demons in the name of Jesus they failed - there is no automatic magical use of Jesus’ name.
Jesus’ name was used in the early church’s evangelism. There is no other name named under heaven by which you may be saved. There is no greater privilege under heaven for a man or woman than to use the Lord’s name – but no greater danger than to abuse it.
As future missionaries: you will one day preach in Jesus’ name; you will pray in Jesus’ name; you may heal in Jesus’ name; or even cast out demons in Jesus’ name. You will suffer for Jesus’ name and you may even die for Jesus name!
So let us have no misuse of the name of God’s wonderful names.