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 and rejects instruction has no right to claim His name or declare themselves to be Christians under the covenant of faith in Christ. To do so truly is vanity and God Himself condemns our proclamation of taking upon ourselves the name of Christ by claiming to be a Christian while contradicting the doctrine of Christ. If you keep God’s word, you honor His name; if you do not keep His word, you are denying His name. Look at Revelation 3:
8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
Notice that when Jesus addressed the Church in Revelation, He declared that the church of Philadelphia has not denied His name because they have kept His word. Anyone who takes God’s name to themselves does so in vain unless they keep His word. We can take the Lord’s name in vain by our speech, actions and even worship if we are not acting according to His word.
Vanity of Speech.
Look now at Psalm 139:
20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
We all recognize that speaking wickedly of God is taking His name in vain. This is not only using words of profanity but also saying what is wrong about God. Speaking what is wrong goes both ways. It is not only wicked to speak evil of the Lord but it is also sin to speak good when the Lord warns of judgment. We will examine the scriptures that address both of these. First we’ll look at the life of Job. When Job was in his darkest hour his friends accused Job of doing something to deserve his pain and suffering. Job’s friends claimed that God would never allow such pain to fall on a righteous man and they severely chastised Job when he claimed that he was trusting God and that this curse was by the hand of God. After their criticism of Job, God Himself spoke in Job 42:
7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.
God condemned those who claimed God would never test a righteous man and He said that Job, not those speaking on God’s behalf was the only one who spoke what was right. Keep in mind that Job’s friends claimed to speak the words of the Lord on God’s behalf and even claimed that God gave them a message for Job. Just because someone claims to speak in the Lord’s name means nothing. Anyone who contradicts the word is not speaking in God’s name.
The command to not take God’s name in vain applies to speaking presumptuously in His name and proclaiming prosperity when God has warned of judgment. No one wants to hear about judgment and indeed God does desire to bless; however, if God warns that there are consequences to disobeying His word, we should not dare to contradict Him. Consider Jeremiah 29:8-9
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.
To speak falsely in the name of the Lord is to take His name in vain. Do we not see the same thing within Christianity today? All the modern day so-called prophets claim peace, prosperity and health without calling anyone into obedience, holiness or repentance. Look also at Jeremiah 5:30-31
30 " An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
This is the dividing line between the disciple of Christ and the religious pretender. The disciple of Christ loves the word of God and finds pleasure in keeping His commandments, but the one in rebellion against the word loves the false prophesy. God calls this a horrible violation but the people who love false prophecy find pleasure in the lie. This was proclaimed in the Old Testament but it is also mirrored in the New Testament. People do not change and just as God’s people turned from the truth in the Old Testament times, God also proclaimed beforehand that the New Testament church also will turn from the truth and put their trust in lies and false teachers as foretold in 2 Timothy 4:3-5
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
We are living in that time and anyone who claims to be a Christian but contradicts the word of God is guilty of taking the Lord’s name in vain. The Lord will never contradict His own word and if we are to honor His name, we also must honor His word by our speech and actions.
Vanity of Actions.
Look now at Ephesians 4:1
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Your actions and your lifestyle testify for or against the Lord. There is a legend that Napoleon Bonaparte had a soldier in his army also named Napoleon that stayed in trouble and was a dishonor to the service. Napoleon visited the soldier and lectured him on the honorable name he carried and stated that he should either change his behavior or change his name. We are called after a name that is far more honorable than Napoleon and we are commanded to bring honor to His name. Today everyone calls themselves a Christian but few truly seek to honor His name. Consider the origin of the name ‘Christian’. This comes from Acts 11:
26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Do you know why they were called Christians? The title was given to the early church because they acted like Christ. The church didn’t name themselves; the culture around the church applied this label based on their observation. While it probably wasn’t intended to be a complement, it was a title that the church found to be an honorable identifying name. Many times I have heard unbelievers say things like, “If he is a Christian then I don’t want any part of it”. Today, instead of the culture labeling us as Christians because of our reflection of His name, we are the one’s calling ourselves Christians and the culture labels us as hypocrites because of the actions many do that contradict His name.
The culture is going to scoff and look for faults; therefore, criticism is inevitable. There is nothing dishonoring about being spoken evil of; there is something wrong with living a life that is indistinguishable from the world. In Matthew alone Jesus warned us three times that we will be hated for His name’s sake. If we are hated for being like Christ, we honor His name, but if we are rejected for hypocrisy, we vainly take His name upon ourselves. Look at Matthew 5:10-13
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 " You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
The key to this honorable criticism against us is that the world says all manner of evil against us falsely. If we are falsely slandered, it is an honor, but if it is because of hypocrisy, we dishonor the Lord and ourselves. It is a blessing and honor when you are falsely accused of being evil. The more sinful our culture becomes, the more hatred people will have toward those who glorify the name of Christ. Do not be ashamed if you are called evil for then we can rejoice that God will reward and honor us. It is when we lose the flavor of Christ that we are trampled without honor and without reward. The honor is not in calling yourself a Christian, but having the evidence of Christ in your life so that all recognize you are an imitator of Christ. Our instruction on this matter is explained in Colossians 3:16-17
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Have you noticed that in almost every study the scriptures proclaim the word as the focus of our Christian walk? First you must let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. This comes only through diligently studying the word daily and taking heed to it so it remains (or dwells) in you. From this starting point, we have wisdom to live, the power to teach, the praise to sing and the grace of God in our hearts. Only then do we have the power to do all things in the name of the Lord. If you claim to be a Christian, you either honor the Lord by your actions or you take His name in vain as you credit Him with your un-Christ like lifestyle. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain by your actions, but do all things in His name from a foundation of the word as you obey the scriptures and make them a living part of your life. When we come to Christ, we now live by a new name and must walk worthy of His name.
Vanity of Worship.
Look again at Matthew 15:
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
We must not worship God in vain. If we claim to be worshipping the name of the Lord but are doing so in vain because we are rejecting the word for man-made ordinances, is this not taking His name in vain? It certainly is for we are claiming something is based on His name that is not from Him at all. Worship must be according to God’s word. Look at how Jesus explained worship in John 4:23-24
23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
What is truth? Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” You cannot have true worship without truth. Let me give an example from scripture. In 2 Samuel 6, King David moved the Ark of the Covenant from his brother’s house to Jerusalem. In Deuteronomy God gave specific instructions concerning the Ark of the Covenant saying that only the Levites, who were designated as priest, should carry the ark. God also commanded that rings were to be built into the ark’s design and it was to be carried on rods by four Levites consecrated for this service to God. These were not suggestions but were commandments of God. To celebrate the moving of the Ark, David gathered thirty-thousand men to worship with him as he moved the Ark. He had his two nephews set the Ark on a cart and carry it to Jerusalem. David danced and praised God as the journey began, but when the ox stumbled, tragedy struck when his nephew Uzzah took hold of the Ark to prevent it from falling. When Uzzah touched the Ark, God struck him down for violating the holiness of the Ark.
Even though David worshipped with sincerity and with spirit, he did not follow God’s truth. He chose two men from Judah instead of obeying the law which required priests from the tribe of Levi. He put the ox on a cart instead of treating God’s symbol of holiness with honor and having four men carry the Ark with rods as commanded by God in the law. For this reason God did not accept his worship. God has not changed. He is still holy and we should still fear Him – and indeed are commanded to do so. His word teaches us how to worship through obedience, holiness and by His Spirit. Spirited praise without obeying the truth of the word is not acceptable. To worship God, we must do so according to the word He has given us. If we worship according to the dictates of our own heart, we are creating a man-centered worship. Do not forget that He is God. We often lose sight of the fact that our God is holy and no flesh can stand in His presence (1 Timothy 6:16). He approaches us through grace and we approach Him by faith through our mediator – Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1 and 1 Timothy 2:5 and Hebrews 8:6). Through our faith we often lose our concept of fearing God because of the familiarity we think we have with Him. Consider these passages that show our need to reverently obey the commandments of God:
Hebrews 12: 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 10: 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
1 Timothy 6: 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
Revelation 6: 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Philippians 2: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Notice that we are to work out – not work for – our salvation. We have already received salvation but we should understand the fear of the Lord and with fear and trembling seek to keep His ways knowing that we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for everything (2 Corinthians 5:10). We like to talk about the love and blessings of God but no one seems to want to face the reality that it truly is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God does indeed love us and if we are faithful, He will abundantly bless us. It is just as important to realize that God will punish sin as it is to take encouragement from the promises of God. God is our loving Father but like a wise earthly father, God must chastise us when we disobey. The Bible says that a child left to himself will cause shame and that if a father loves his son, he will discipline him. The same is true for our heavenly Father. Because He loves us, He chastises us to correct our behavior. Sin in our life robs us of our inheritance; therefore, if God truly loves us, He will deal with our sinful behavior as He teaches us the truth and leads us into the right way. Since God’s commands are based on His own character, we must receive His commandments so that we can have unity with God.
The commandment, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain’ is something we all must take care to obey. With fear and trembling, we must judge ourselves and remove any actions, words or disobedience to the truth which denies His name. When we keep His word, we are assured that we have not denied His name; however, when we proclaim that we stand upon His name and do not walk worthy of our calling, we have taken His name in vain. Humble yourself and seek to apply the word to your life and God will honor you, bless you and show His power in your everyday life. You can’t pick and choose which scriptures you want to accept or which area of your life you will surrender to Him. The entirety of His word is truth and you were bought with a price. Honor God with your life and you will not be guilty of breaking His commandments but will have a close fellowship with your Heavenly Father. Take care to read and understand Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
To set our lives apart from the world and give ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice is our reasonable service. Since God pardoned our sin by purchasing our salvation with His own blood, crucified the old man by His sacrifice and gave us a new life so that we are now a new creation in Christ – it is reasonable to expect us to live that new life within the perfect will of God. It may be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God when we are judged, but it is also a wonderful thing to rest in the hands of the living God as an obedient son or daughter as we become partakers of His Divine nature.
