The Third Word: The Name of the LORD

Let's pray this morning.

Lord, we ask that as we open your word this morning,

as we look just at this one verse,

small and yet it's huge,

about how we are to lift up,

how we are to handle,

how we are to live by your name.

Lord, we pray that you would help us

to grab a hold of this,

to understand this,

correct us where we have messed up,

forgive us for where we have sinned,

encourage us through your command

because you love us.

And we pray all these things in your name.

Amen.

You can be seated.

What names of God should we not say in our conversations?

God, Jesus Christ.

How about OMG?

Jeez, golly.

How about using God's name

when we see something really awesome

or really shocking?

How about if we don't use it at all?

There are obvious names for God

that we as Christians should not take lightly.

And we should avoid saying many of them

in a lot of the context

in which we currently do.

But my goal this morning

is not to spend the next 30 minutes

going over all the names

that we should and should not say.

This command is much more than that.

If all we see in this commandment,

or any of the commandments,

is just a list of do's and don'ts,

then we're going to miss out on a whole lot.

Through the commandments and the laws,

God was revealing his character

and purpose to the Israelites.

He set his love on them

and he set them apart.

And for that reason,

they were called to respond to his commandments

with obedience.

With the goal being

that they would be a reflection of God

to the nations.

How about us?

How about Christians after the New Testament,

after Jesus lived and died and rose again?

What about the Ten Commandments

and the laws for us?

Do they apply?

Yes, they do.

But in a different way.

They're still God's words.

They're still his commandments

and they still reveal his character and will.

But we see them through Jesus Christ.

The Ten Commandments

and the refining of those

through Jesus' teachings

aren't just good rules

for good citizens.

If we are sons and daughters of God,

if we are in his family,

then we have been given

through Jesus Christ,

the power of the Holy Spirit,

a new heart

and power

to obey these commandments.

Okay,

that's just our intro.

In case you were out

for a couple weeks

just to bring you up to speed.

Let's dig in.

The third commandment,

we're going to start with

the command

part of the commandment.

That's the first half

of verse seven.

If you look at it,

it says,

you shall not take the name

of the Lord,

your God,

in vain.

This morning,

in order to help us

get a fuller understanding

of what God is saying

to his people

and to us,

we're going to break

that phrase down,

that first half

of the verse down.

You shall not take.

Now when we hear that,

you shall not take,

and it's combined

with name of the Lord,

we often and rightfully think

about the things

that we shouldn't say.

Right?

It's about God's name.

We hear that command,

do not take,

and in our mind,

we think,

don't say.

And that is true,

but there is more

to this command

than just our words.

And we don't want

to limit what God

is trying to warn us

about for our good.

To take means

to carry

or to use.

Think of the phrase,

take up your cross

and follow me.

It involves

a mental acceptance

of our call.

It involves

a heart understanding.

And it also involves

physical action.

All those are

in the words.

Another example is,

I wish he or she

would take those words

to heart.

This means

to acknowledge

or to be affected

by something.

So it's thinking,

right thinking

about something,

and then it's tied

to an action,

how we would

apply that.

The point

is that this commandment

includes more

than just the words

that we say.

Our thoughts,

our heart attitude,

our actions,

they all come

into this.

And we'll talk

about that

more in just

a few minutes.

You shall not take,

that's the action,

and next we have

the object

of that action.

the object

of this commandment,

and that is

the name

of the Lord,

your God.

Now,

names have meanings.

It seems

in our culture,

at least

here in

America,

that

the meaning

isn't quite

as important.

It's good,

but it's more

about what the name

sounds like.

It's more about

finding a name

that's a little

different and unique.

We don't want

a popular name

that's been used

for 30 years.

We want something

a little different.

Maybe change

the spelling of it

a little bit,

right?

That's pretty common.

How we feel

about a name

is related

more with

thoughts and

experiences

than about

the person.

More about

what we think

about when we

hear that name.

So,

to a larger

degree,

the practical

meaning

of someone's

name

comes through

a variety

of things,

right?

It comes

through

what they've

done

or how we've

been treated

or some

experiences

that affect

that meaning

to us.

So,

in a way,

we're creating

a meaning

for a name.

It's not actually

the meaning,

but there's

something in our

thoughts that's

being created

for that person

and their name.

So,

to demonstrate

this,

think about

the likelihood

of someone

wanting to

use one of

these famous

names

that have

nice meanings.

How about

for a boy,

a name that

means noble?

That sounds

pretty good,

but would you

use Adolf?

How about

for a girl,

you want a name

that means

delicate?

That sounds

good,

but you wouldn't

use Delilah.

Or the

praised one.

That would

be good,

only no one

wants to

call their

child Judas.

None of

those names

would probably

be on any

of our

top tens,

and yet

their meanings

are good,

but what they

represent is

not good

because of

what has

happened,

because of

different

experiences

and how

someone has

lived their

life.

in ancient

times,

however,

they were

often picked

because of

their meaning,

and we see

this throughout

the Bible as

well.

They were

picked because

they were

associated with

a purpose,

or maybe a

specific

physical

characteristic.

Think of

Esau.

Esau and

Jacob.

Esau was

born

hairy,

and so

his name

Esau

means hairy.

quite fitting.

His twin

brother was

named because

it means

tricker,

or one

who

overachieves

because Jacob

was holding

on to his

twin brother's

ankle when

he was born,

trying to

get a one

up on

his brother.

So his

name is

fitting.

Moses means

taking or

drawing out

from the

water,

because he

was.

And then

we have

some names

that were

given for

a specific

purpose.

These were

ones that

God actually

gave,

one from

Abram to

Abraham,

which means

exalted

father.

Sarah,

Sarah to

Sarah,

which means

a woman of

high rank,

princess.

Isaac was

giving the

name because

of his

parents'

old age,

and his

name means

we'll laugh.

when they

found out,

they will

laugh.

And then

of course,

we have

multiple

references to

the greatest

name, and

that is of

Jesus Christ.

Matthew

1.21

says,

you shall

call his

name Jesus,

for he will

save his

people from

their sins.

Names

carried with

them certain

characteristics,

and they had

a purpose.

In our

context,

here in

Exodus 20,

when God

says,

the name

of the

Lord,

your God,

he is

pulling

together not

only a

name.

He is

pulling

together his

character.

He is

pulling

together past

promises and

power.

Everything that

has to do

with him,

the I am

that I am,

was being

brought together

in this

name.

Remember what

has taken

place up to

this point,

right?

You have

his appearance

in the

burning bush.

You have

his control

over nature

in the

plagues.

You have

the deliverance

of the

Israelites.

You have

the desecration,

the destroying

of the

Egyptian army.

You have

food and

water supplied

to the

Israelites

when there

was no

food and

water.

And he

brings them

to Mount

Sinai,

where they

get to

see just

a glimpse,

but a

powerful glimpse

of God's

presence as

the mountain

shakes.

And he

reminds them

that I

am the

Lord,

capital L,

capital O,

capital R,

capital D,

Yahweh,

your God.

We have

just a couple

verses that

we're going to

look at as

we're thinking

about the

name of the

Lord.

Psalm 8,

Psalms 8:1

verse 1.

When David

says,

O Lord,

all capital

letters again,

our Lord,

what he's

saying is

one God,

the true

God,

the God

of Israel,

that is

our God.

Revelation

1.8,

I am the

Alpha and

the Omega,

says the

Lord God,

who is

and who

was and

who is

to come,

the Almighty.

Psalm 83.18,

that they

may know

that you

alone,

whose name

is the

Lord,

are the

most high

over all

the earth.

God is

telling them,

I am

the Lord.

I am

Yahweh,

who made

a covenant

with your

father,

Abraham,

and that

is my

name.

Continuing

that command,

you shall

not take

the name

of the

Lord your

God

in vain.

That

describes how

the name

of the

Lord

should not

be taken

in vain.

In vain

means empty

or pointless,

meaningless,

to have

little or

no effect.

The Hebrew

word is

translated

misuse.

And I

think the

amplified

version does

a good job

of getting

very strongly

to the

point,

in vain,

that is

irreverently,

in false

affirmations,

or in ways

that call

into question

the character

of God.

This is a

serious offense.

Let's look

at the very

first occurrence

of this sin.

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

You don't

have to

turn back

there.

I'll just

summarize it

for you.

Adam and

Eve are

in the

garden.

God

tells them

they can

eat of

any tree

that they

find,

except one.

One tree

in the

middle.

Don't

eat that

one.

You

will die.

Cool.

One tree.

Don't touch.

Everything

else good.

We got it.

But we

all know

what happens

next,

don't we?

The serpent,

the great

deceiver,

shows up

and approaches

Eve.

He says,

you shall

not surely

die.

Satan

takes God's

word and

his character

and he

twists it.

It is in

that moment

that he

takes the

Lord God's

name in

vain and

he doesn't

even have

to say

God's

name.

He

takes God's

name and

his truth

and his

power as

creator of

the universe

that he

just recently

created

and Satan

lowers it.

He

empties it

of its

full

perfection

and authority

and he

calls God's

character

into question.

Taking the

truth of what

God says

and surrounding

it with

a lie

and with

doubt.

Proverbs

12,

22 says,

lying lips

are an

abomination

to the

Lord,

but those

who act

faithfully

are his

delight.

We can

see another

example of

taking God's

name in

vain.

If we

look at

Matthew

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

in verses

8 and

9,

it says,

these people

honors me

with their

lips,

but their

heart is

far from

me.

In

vain do

they

worship

me.

Teaching

as

doctrines

the

commandments

of men.

He's

saying,

you take

things that

you want

to talk

about and

you make

them godly.

You act

as if you

are holy

and godly

and you

are not.

You build

up your

own beliefs

and your

own

teachings,

but you

don't know

me.

You don't

love me.

We say

that we

love God,

but do

we?

Will we

do whatever

he calls

us to

do because

our love

for him

is greater

than anything

else?

Do we

love like

he loves?

And do

we hate

what he

hates?

We praise

him on

Sunday,

but to

the world,

what do

we worship

Monday

through

Saturday?

We don't

want to

listen or

empty the

name of

the Lord

through our

words or

through our

actions.

We are to

revere and

to fear

him.

We are to

love and

to serve

him.

We are to

lift up and

fill up the

name of the

Lord, to

praise his

name, not

to empty

it of

anything.

Jesus points

out the

importance of

this command

when he's

teaching his

disciples how

to pray.

In Matthew

Matthew 6:9

6, verse

9, he

says,

Our

Father in

heaven,

hallowed be

your name.

Jesus is

showing us

how we

should regard

the holiness,

the

powerfulness,

the

gloriousness,

the

overallness

of God's

name.

We should

be praying

for God's

name to

be hallowed.

Now we

need to

understand that

that doesn't

happen in

the world

unless it

first happens

in each one

of us

personally.

We aren't

praying for

something to

happen out

there.

The world

would be

hallowed if

it's not

hallowed here

first.

So we're

praying for

the

hallowedness,

the holiness,

the separation,

the specialness,

the protection

of God's

name in

us first.

That's what

we're praying

for.

And we

are praying

that God

through the

work of

the Holy

Spirit

would change

our hearts.

Our hearts

are not

holy by

nature.

They're

sinful.

And so

as Christians

we pray

that through

the Holy

Spirit

that our

hearts

would be

changed.

Changed

so that

God

would look

greater

than the

world.

Romans

10

13

For

everyone

who calls

on the

name of

the Lord

will be

saved.

He

chooses

us.

His

spirit

opens

opens

our

hearts.

We

don't

do

that.

We

can't

save

ourselves.

I was

thinking

about the

song

when we

get to

heaven

and our

eyes are

transfixed

on Jesus'

face.

It only

does that

because he

loved us

enough

to change

our

hearts.

His

spirit

opens

our

hearts.

His

spirit

gives

us

the

spiritual

ability

to

call

on

his

name.

Acts

4

12

There

is

salvation

in

no

one

else.

No

one

else.

No

other

God.

No

other

works

that

you're

going

to

do

will

you

find

salvation.

That's

a name

I don't

want to

lessen.

That's

a name

that God

doesn't

want us

to

lessen.

And

that

brings

us

to

the

consequence.

The

second

part

of

verse

7.

For

the

Lord

will

not

hold

him

guiltless

who

takes

his

name

in

vain.

The

Christian

standard

Bible

says

the

Lord

will

not

leave

anyone

unpunished

who

misuses

his

name.

He

holds

us

guilty

for

taking

his

name

in

vain,

for

using

his

name

flippantly,

void

of any

of the

power

and the

awesomeness

and the

salvation

and the

love

that should

come

from

his

name.

In

commandment

number

two,

we

learned

how

God

is

a

jealous

God

and

how

we

treat

him

and

talk

about

him

makes

a

difference.

As

a

Christian,

as a

child

of

God,

we

want

to

live

a

life

that

reflects

his

character.

Not

our

life

or what

we

think

he

should

be.

And

that

can't

happen

if we

dishonor

him

with

how

we

talk

about

him,

about

how

we

use

his

name

or

how

we

misrepresent

who

he

is.

When

we

do

that,

we're

disobeying

God's

command

and

we

stand

guilty

and

punishable

before

him.

Now

we

aren't

talking

eternal

punishment

like

going

to

hell.

This

verse

is not

saying

that

your

salvation,

if

you're

a

child

of

God,

God's

name

in

vain.

But

it

does

say

that

we

are

held

accountable

for

how

we

speak

and

how

we

treat

God's

name.

What

does it

mean

that

the

Lord

holds

us

guilty?

It

means

that

he

will

not

let

the

sin

go

unpunished.

Now

remember,

these

commandments

are not

directed

towards

the

world.

These

commandments

are

directed

towards

God's

people.

Those

who

don't

love

God,

who

don't

believe

God,

they

don't

care how

they

use

God's

name.

Their

hearts

are

closed.

They

don't

love

him.

They

don't

want

to

live

for

him.

The

punishment

for

their

sins

is

still

laying

on

them.

Their

punishment

is

eternity

from

God.

Eternity

in

hell.

If

that's

you

this

morning,

I

want

to

invite

you

to

come

and

seek

me

out.

Seek

Sean

out.

Seek

someone

else

out

here

that

we

can

talk

and

pray

with

you.

I

want

you

to

know

this

salvation.

I

don't

want

all

of

your

sins,

the

penalty

for

that

to

continue

to

lay

on

you

because

there

will

be

a

time

where

that

penalty

is

going

to

come

due.

But

if

you're

one

of

his

own

children

and

you're

misusing

his

name,

if

you're

devaluing

his

character,

then

he will

discipline

you.

He

does

discipline

and

punish

his

own.

Notice

that of

all the

commandments,

this is

the

only

one

that

specifically

assigns

a

consequence

to

the

offender.

In

the

second

commandment,

we saw

punishment

that was

directed

towards

future

generations.

Yes,

but this

one

points

to

the

one

breaking

the

commandment.

If

you

struggle

with

that

idea

of

God

punishing

you,

or

maybe

you're

thinking

that

that

was

the

Old

Testament.

God

doesn't

work

like

that

now.

It's

all

about

grace.

I want

to share

with you

two

verses

in the

New

Testament

that

will

help

make

that

more,

make

that

help

that

make

sense

to

you.

The

first

one

is

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11:30

chapter

11

verse

30.

That

is why

many

of you,

this

is when

he's

talking

about

taking

communion

and

taking

it

in an

unworthy

fashion.

He says

this

is why

many

of you

are

weak

and

ill

and

some

have

died.

But

if we

judged

ourselves

truly

we

would

not

be

judged.

But

when

we

are

judged

by

the

Lord

we

are

disciplined

so

that

we

may

not

be

condemned

along

with

the

world.

There

is

punishment

for

those

who

live

against

God's

commands

and

it's

for

the

purpose

of

keeping

them

from

condemnation.

Hebrews

Hebrews 12:10

chapter

12

verses

10

and

11

For

they

disciplined

this is

speaking

of

earthly

fathers

for

they

disciplined

us

their

children

for

a

short

time

as

it

seemed

best

for

them

but

he

disciplines

God

disciplines

us

for

our

good

that

we

may

share

his

holiness

for

the

moment

all

discipline

seems

painful

rather

than

pleasant

but

later

it

yields

the

peaceful

fruit

of

righteousness

to

those

who

have

been

trained

by

it

God

knows

we

are

sinners

but

he

desires

us

to be

holy

and

so

he

patiently

teaches

us

he

walks

through

life

with

us

correcting

us

when

we

go

off

the

path

helping

to

grow

us

in our

godliness

and our

Christ

likeness

and

yes

that

does

mean

disciplining

us

when

we

don't

obey

or

when

we

need

correction

now

we

aren't

given

an

exact

punishment

for

misusing

God's

name

it

wouldn't

be

helpful

if

we

had

a

chart

and

on

this

side

all

the

words

of

God's

name

that

you

put

on

this

side

are

all

your

punishments

having

that

would

only

drive

us

towards

a

life

of

legalism

God

desires

his

people

to

live

holy

as

he

is

holy

and

that

happens

when

we

set

our

hearts

and

our

minds

on

him

not

follow

a

list

as

we

read

and

learn

about

him

and

his

word

as

we

talk

to

him

through

prayer

as

we

live

for

him

trying

to

do

what

he

desires

of

us

his

name

is

honored

and

praised

and

in

that

we

are

protecting

ourselves

from

misusing

his

name

the

point

that

I

want

to

end

with

is

the

last

one

and

that

is

the

cause

for

this

commandment

now

we've

already

talked

about

some

of

the

reasons

for

this

commandment

but

I

want

to

make

sure

that

we

leave

with

the

right

idea

about

God

as if

we

leave

here

today

and

our

thoughts

about

God

is

that

he

is

cold

and

distant

some

overlord

who

can't

handle

someone

else

talking