************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 99-100 ************
Doctrine: The Third Commandment
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on April 14, 2002
Q & 99-100
Exodus 3:13-15; Leviticus 24:10-16,23
"The Third Commandment"
Introduction
"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." Does this commandment have anything to say to us? After all, most of us have been trained from childhood on to never use certain phrases containing the name of God. Also, we are members of strict Christian families in which profanity is never used. And, in our circle of friends and acquaintances little or no cursing is ever heard. I dare say you wonder what the third commandment has to do with your life.
I The Holy Name of God
A The third commandment says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." The name that may not be taken in vain we know in King James English as "Jehovah." In the Hebrew language this name has two forms. The first form is "JaH." We hear this form in the word "Hallelu-JaH" (which means "praise JaH") and in the name "Adoni-JaH" (which means "my Lord is JaH"). The second Hebrew form of the name we are not to misuse is known as the four letters [the tetragrammaton – "tetra" is Greek for "four" and "grammaton" means "letters."] The four letters are Y H W H. In our English language we put vowels between these letters and pronounce it "Yahweh." This second form is used in the Hebrew of the third commandment. So a literal translation of it would say:
You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain;
for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless
who takes his name in vain.
Adam and his children knew and used this name for God (Gen 4:26b) and so did Abraham (Gen 14:22). To Adam and Abraham the name "Yahweh" – being a form of the Hebrew verb "to be" – simply spoke of the fact that there is a God, that He is real, that He exists, that He is the Absolute, the He is the Beginning, that He is the Source of all life and breath, that He is the great "I AM." The name "Yahweh," in other words, speaks of the fact that God is the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth (cf Gen 2:4,5,7,8...). However, it wasn't until God spoke to Moses from the burning bush that its fuller meaning became known. At that point, when God revealed Himself to Moses as "Yahweh," as the great "I AM," He revealed Himself not just as the Source of all life but also and especially as the covenanting God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God Who remains faithful from generation to generation, the God Who is with His people and Who will save His people and Who will overthrow their adversaries (cf Ex 3:14-15; 6:2-8).
The Jewish scribes and rabbis held this name in such reverence and were so scared of misusing it that they refused to say it. Therefore, whenever they came across the name "Yahweh" in public readings of Scripture they automatically substituted for it another Hebrew word for God – "Adonai." Our English Bibles unfortunately continue the same custom. A note in the preface of our pew Bible says the translators have chosen to render the divine name "Yahweh" as "LORD" written in small capital letters (pg IX). Much is lost in our Bible reading if we forget to look beyond the substitute word to the personal, intimate name of God Himself.
B The third commandment, as I said, speaks specifically of taking in vain the divine name "Yahweh." The name Yahweh is also what the Catechism has in mind when it says we are to "neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God" and we are to "use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe."
Yet, we know that Yahweh is not the only Biblical name for the divinity. I spent some time this past week looking at the different names and descriptions of the divine being in the Bible. I would like to invite you to turn to # 14 in The Celebration Hymnal ... I've asked Pastor Tim to READ THIS.
Now as I looked at all these names and descriptions of God I wondered if they too were covered under the third commandment. Does the third commandment cover all of our God-talk or does it only include that God-talk that uses the name "Yahweh"?
The message throughout the Bible is that all of our God-talk must be done with reverence and awe. The clearest statement of this in found in the Westminster (Larger Q111-114) Catechism (Shorter Q53-56):
54 Q WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THE THIRD COMMANDMENT?
A The third commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.
55 Q WHAT IS FORBIDDEN IN THE THIRD COMMANDMENT?
A The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of any thing whereby God makes himself known.
This states it so clearly, doesn't it? All of our God-talk – all of our prayers and Bible readings, all sermons and devotional booklets, all Sunday School and Catechism lessons, all our congregational singing and choir music – must mention God, His names, His person, His being, His attributes, and His works only with reverence and awe.
II Our Use of God's Name
A What exactly does God mean when He forbids us to take His name in vain? And, what does the Catechism have in mind when it tells us we are to neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God?
The first thing the third commandment would condemn is any use of God's name without reverence and awe. Examples of this kind of abuse of God's name are all around us. A foul-mouthed man or woman who tries to make speech more emphatic by slipping God's and Christ's name into what they say fail to use God's name with reverence and awe. TV personalities or sitcoms that repeatedly slip in phrases like "Oh God!" also fail to use God's name with reverence and awe. Worldly people who do not care about God or Christ commit blasphemy when they hire a clergyman to give some God-talk at their weddings and funerals. Non-Christians who swear oaths in God's name fail to use God's name with reverence and awe. It bothers me that almost all mention of God and the Bible has been removed from our public schools. Yet mandatory Bible reading and prayer in our public schools – as some Christians demand – is not the answer either. Think about it: in terms of the third commandment it is blasphemous to force atheists, non-believers, Muslims, Hindus, Moonies, and Buddhists to participate in a Christian's God-talk for none of them would use God's holy name with reverence and awe. A much better and Biblical route is voluntary Bible reading and prayer.
It isn't only unbelievers who fail to use God's name with reverence and awe. Ministers who talk in a wedding or funeral service as if the unbelievers they are marrying or burying are Christians fail to use God's name with reverence and awe.
I don't want to say that slang language is necessarily bad. But when Christians deliberately use substitute language in place of God's holy name they are misusing the holy name of God.
Or consider this: you are anxious to go somewhere or do something after supper; in your impatience you don't hear a word of the Bible reading and prayer during devotions. Or what about this for those who are not little children: you are sitting in church and you have fallen asleep during the congregational prayer, you haven't heard a word of the sermon, and you yawn your way through all the songs we sing; your body may be there but your mind is miles and miles away. Simply "sitting through a church service" is much less innocent than most of us are inclined to think. In fact, meaningless worship is an insult to God and His name for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord must do so only with reverence and awe.
B Another thing the third commandment would condemn is any use of God's name for personal or other gain. I always have to laugh when I read the story of the seven sons of Sceva. They thought they could master evil spirits simply by "using" the name of Jesus. Instead, the evil spirits beat them up and chased them naked and bleeding into the street (Acts 19:13-16). I also think here of the many politicians who try to win votes by sly references to God in their campaign speeches.
Some of you who are older might remember the Character Guidance Program of the U.S. military. When the end of the Korean War secured the release of thousands of soldiers from the Chinese and North Korean prison camps, the U.S. military was shocked to learn that a large number of American soldiers had defected. It was discovered that the soldiers lacked the "moral fiber" to resist the physical, social, and mental pressures of brainwashing. So the military, in order to help soldiers better withstand enemy attacks, instructed its chaplains to teach Judaeo-Christian values to servicemen. God, and His name, were being used and therefore abused to strengthen the U.S. military.
Many parents today love to abuse God and His name to help their children along the road to mature adulthood. You know what people often say when you invite them to church: while they personally are not interested, they would like to send their children to Church School in order to expose them to Christian values. A little religion, a little familiarity with God and His Word, a little knowledge of Bible stories is, they think, good for their children. Like exposure to sports, literature, music, and good books, exposure to God and His name helps one become a well-rounded person.
TV preachers who talk so glibly of God and of Christ but are interested only in your donations are using God's name for personal or other gain. One of the worst cases of this sort of abuse came from Oral Roberts. Remember what happened a few years back? According to Roberts, God told him that he would be struck dead if by a certain date he did not raise 4.5 million dollars. Cartoonists had a heyday. What a joke. What a laughingstock Roberts made of God's holy name.
C It is a sinful outrage when God's holy name is not being used with reverence and awe, or when God and His name are being used for personal or other gain. In such situations, says the Catechism, Christians cannot be "silent bystanders." At the very least, we need to remove ourselves from situations in which God's name is being misused – for instance, we need to turn off the TV or put away the magazine or move to another seat in the ball park. At the very most, we need to speak out in protest and witness when this happens.
D Let me also talk about promises made in God's name. Every professing member of the church makes a promise before God and His people to serve and worship God above all; yet, we go chasing after other gods and idols. Every bride and groom married in church make a promise before God and His people to love each other until death do them part; yet, we all fight with our spouse and some get separated and divorced. At baptism Christian parents make a promise before God and His people to do all in their power to instruct their children in the Christian faith; yet, is there any parent who completely lives up to this? Anytime we break one of these promises made in God's name we are breaking the third commandment.
E Finally, let me mention that you and I carry around the name of Christ – we go by the name "Christian." The name of Christ is blasphemed if we don't live up to His name. Some years ago a commercial used as its slogan: "Before the name goes on the quality goes in." That's a good slogan for the church. Just as the name of a company is damaged if the quality of its products are poor, so the name of God is damaged if the quality of the products bearing His name is poor.
Topic: Christ's Name
Subtopic:
Index: 2516-2517
Date: 1/1996.9
Title:
From history's pages we learn of a cowardly young soldier in the army of Alexander the Great. Whenever the battle grew fierce, the young soldier would yield. What made it even worse was that this soldier's name was also Alexander. When the commander learned of this, he sent word that he wanted to talk to the errant soldier in person. When the young man arrived at the tent of Alexander the Great, the commander asked him, "What is your name?" The reply came back, "Alexander, sir." The commander looked him straight in the eye and said forcefully, "Soldier, either change your behavior or change your name."
Let us pray that the Lord Jesus never has cause to say that to us who bear His name.
III God's Anger With Misuse of His Name
A "You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." As more than one commentator has noted, this is the only commandment which speaks of guilt. According to the Catechism, blasphemy or misuse of God's name are "horrible sins." The Catechism follows this up by saying this is
SUCH SERIOUS SIN THAT GOD IS ANGRY ALSO WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT DO ALL THEY CAN TO HELP PREVENT IT AND TO FORBID IT ...
No sin is greater,
no sin makes God more angry
than blaspheming his name.
That is why he commanded the death penalty for it.
I'm afraid that the Catechism is overstating itself in Q & A 100. Its only Scripture reference is that sad story of Leviticus we read in our Bible reading. A young lad became angry and cursed the name of Yahweh so the congregation had to lead him outside the camp and stone him to death. But this boy was doing far more than misusing the name of God. Unlike many, we know that this boy was not speaking out of ignorance because he knew Yahweh. He knew Yahweh as the God Who had saved the Israelites from Egypt; Who brought them across the Red Sea; Who led them through the desert; Who gave them water, manna, and quail. So in cursing Yahweh, Whose name and acts he personally knew, this boy was rejecting the covenanting God and His salvation. No wonder he was stoned to death: he had put himself outside of the covenant and the covenant people.
The Catechism also gives the impression that cursing is the only sin for which God required the death penalty. Actually, God also commanded the death penalty for sins against the first commandment (Deut 13:5), the fourth (Ex 35:2), the fifth (Deut 22:21), the sixth (Lev 24:17), and the seventh (Deut 22:22).
B Regardless of the Catechism's somewhat excessive statement we do know that God is angry when His name is blasphemed and abused. As the Catechism puts it, these are "horrible sins." Don't forget, God's name is the core of His revelation. In revealing His name to us God is revealing Himself to us. And, just as God's person is holy so is His name. Therefore, to abuse or blaspheme God's name is to abuse and blaspheme His person.
Conclusion
Do you know why God has revealed Himself – His name and His person – to us? Not to blaspheme Him but to praise Him. His name is a name we are to praise and worship.
Now, how can we do this? How can we use God's name with reverence and awe? How can we give to God's name praise and worship? The message of the Bible is that it is only by coming to Jesus that we can bring to God's name the reverence and awe and praise we have been talking of. Only in Jesus can we fulfill the demands of the third commandment.
Finally, let's remind ourselves again of the place of the law in the lives of God's children. Don't forget, God gave it as a guide for gratitude. We obey the law not to gain salvation but out of thankfulness for salvation. Remember the preface to the Law:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
Or, to put it into New Testament language:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of your slavery
to sin and evil.