The Lord's Name (3 of 8)
Series: The Ten Commandments from a New Testament Perspective
Eddie Snipes
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Look at Exodus 20:
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.
If you ask people what it means to take the Lord's name in vain, the vast majority of people will say that this is to use God's name in profanity. While this is one way to use His name in vain, this warning has deeper implications than just a curse word. The word vanity used here means, "Emptiness of speech, worthless behavior, or meaningless". To take the Lord's name in vain is not only to use His name profanely, but also to take His name to yourself while you dishonor God by your actions and lifestyle. Consider Matthew 15:8-9
8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
According to Jesus, most of those who claimed to worship God and through religious sounding speech give a pretense of holiness are not honoring Him at all because their heart contradicts their claims. When people depart from God in their hearts, they quickly begin to reshape religion and exchange God's truth for the doctrines of men. Those who claim to be Christians but live contrary to the word of God are taking His name in vain. Many take on the name of Christ while seeking to justify themselves as they live and act contrary to the word of God. This is very true in the church today. Everywhere you look you see people who claim the name of the Lord but in truth their lives take His name in vain. Look now at Psalm 50:16-17
16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you?
Anyone who casts God's word to the side ...
Series: The Ten Commandments from a New Testament Perspective
Eddie Snipes
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Look at Exodus 20:
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.
If you ask people what it means to take the Lord's name in vain, the vast majority of people will say that this is to use God's name in profanity. While this is one way to use His name in vain, this warning has deeper implications than just a curse word. The word vanity used here means, "Emptiness of speech, worthless behavior, or meaningless". To take the Lord's name in vain is not only to use His name profanely, but also to take His name to yourself while you dishonor God by your actions and lifestyle. Consider Matthew 15:8-9
8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
According to Jesus, most of those who claimed to worship God and through religious sounding speech give a pretense of holiness are not honoring Him at all because their heart contradicts their claims. When people depart from God in their hearts, they quickly begin to reshape religion and exchange God's truth for the doctrines of men. Those who claim to be Christians but live contrary to the word of God are taking His name in vain. Many take on the name of Christ while seeking to justify themselves as they live and act contrary to the word of God. This is very true in the church today. Everywhere you look you see people who claim the name of the Lord but in truth their lives take His name in vain. Look now at Psalm 50:16-17
16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you?
Anyone who casts God's word to the side ...
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