Lecture 5 Notes The Third Commandment Flashcards
The Third Commandment
I. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11)
3rd Comm: Relationship to the 1st comm.
i. As with the second commandment, the third commandment relates to the first commandment because it points to our attitudes about God.
1. What we think about Him and how we use His name
ii. While the first commandment specifically refers to the object of our worship, the third commandment refers to the NAMING OF THE OBJECT of our worship
iii. We should use the name of God properly since he is the only one worthy of our worship.
iv. We should not call upon other gods because that would use God’s name in vain by applying attributes only belonging to God to what is false
3rd Comm. Relationship to the 9th Comm.
i. God’s name was often invoked in vows, oaths, and testimony. These actions demand truthfulness.
ii. To use God’s name as “testimony” of truth and still lie is a violation of both commandments.
Theological Justification: A name reflects character
- The use of God’s name is a reflection of one’s understanding of God.
- The Lord’s name is equated with his character in Scripture.
a. “Then Moses said to God, ‘Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” Now they may say to me, “What is His name?” What shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’” (Ex 3:13–14)
- The God of your fathers is a connection to the history of Israel
b. “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.” (John 17:6)
Theological Justification: God’s name is equated with salvation
- “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
- “For ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’” (Rom 10:13)
- “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9–11)
Theological Justification: God’s name reflects his attributes
- Authority (Jer 14:14; Matt 7:22; Luke 10:17; Acts 4:30)
- Protection (Prov 18:10)
- Glory (Ps 86:9, 12; John 12:28; Phil 2:9–10; Rev 15:4)
- Holiness (Ps 11:9)
- Majesty (Ps 8:1)
- Moral standards (Micah 4:5)
- Reputation (Ex 9:16; Ps 106:8; Ezek 36:22)
- Saving power (Ps 106:8; 111:9; Acts 2:38; 9:21; 22:16)
Results of taking God’s name in vain
i. “. . . for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (Ex 20:7)
ii. God promises punishment for those who take his name in vain.
iii. “God will not allow the violator of this command to go unpunished because He will not allow his character to be defamed through misuse of His name.” Mark Rooker
Ethical Impact: Swear Words
i. Actual use of God’s name
ii. Euphemisms
1. Gosh=God
2. Doggone=God damn
3. Darn, dang=Damn (God damn)
4. Jeez=Jesus
5. Good grief=Good God
6. My goodness=My God
7. Golly, by golly=God, by God
iii. How does this violate the third commandment?
1. Treats God’s name as without meaning or purpose
2. Demand things of God
3. Attempts to control God
Ethical Impact: False Prophecy
i. “‘Behold, I am against the prophets,’ declares the LORD, ‘who use their tongues and declare, “The Lord declares.”’” (Jer 23:31)
ii. In OT days, prophets invoked the name of the Lord to declare that they were making a proclamation on his behalf.
1. “Thus says the Lord . . .”
2. Direct revelation from God
iii. In order to convince their hearers of the truthfulness of their words, false prophets used the same phrase.
iv. Contemporary false prophets
1. Claims about the end of the world
a. Harold Camping’s prediction for May 21, 2011
b. Edgar Whisenant’s 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988
2. Claims about being the Messiah
a. David Koresh and the Branch Davidians
b. Jim Jones and Jonestown
Ethical Impact: Prayer
i. “In Jesus’ name, amen.”
ii. “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16:23–24)
iii. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we declare that we are praying in accord with his will
iv. If we pray with selfish motives, we violate the third commandment by taking God’s name in vain.
1. False believers (Matt 7:22–23)
2. Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9–21)
3. Seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13–16)
Ethical Impact: Direction from the Lord
i. “God led me to . . .”
ii. When we declare that God led us to do something, we need to be sure that he really is leading us to do it.
iii. Many people use this phrase to avoid questions about the reasoning for their decisions
Ethical Impact: Oaths and Vows 1
i. Can Christians take oaths?
ii. No oaths allowed (Matt 5:33-37, James 5:12,)
- Jews came up with loopholes for oath taking
Ethical Impact: Oaths and Vows 2
iii. Oaths allowed
1. The Israelites were allowed to use God’s name in oaths as long as it was done properly.
a. “You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.” (Deut 6:13)
b. “But the king will rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him will glory, for the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.” (Ps 63:11)
2. Some people in the NT took oaths.
a. Jesus (Matt 26:63–64)
b. Paul (Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23)
c. An angel (Rev 10:5–7)
d. God (Acts 2:30; Heb 6:16–17)
3. It seems that oaths are allowed as long as they are taken seriously and upheld
Ethical Impact: Testimony in Court
- How should we handle testimony in court?
2. Should we “swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
