Recently I was reading an article written by a friend of mine, Mike McNeil. Mike and I are from the same home church, and he taught at Kingswood University for forty years before taking a teaching position with Kings Church in Saint John. Mike writes a column called Soul Apologetics, and this week the article was entitled: Countries, Commandments, Classrooms, and Culture.
And Mike was basically writing about the same topic we’ve been looking at for the past few weeks, the loss of the common morality that our society used to share. A short list of laws called the 10 commandments, and it was Zig Ziglar who wrote, “If God would have wanted us to live in a permissive society, He would have given us Ten Suggestions and not Ten Commandments.”
In his article, Mike observed, “As far as the 10 Commandments go, does anyone really believe that a poster on the wall saying things like don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t murder, respect your Mom and Dad… is a bad thing ?”
He goes on to write, “By the way, there is already an alternative 10 Commandments being taught to your children, if not written on the wall, at least written all over the media they consume:” And then he goes on to list the new 10 commandments.
1. Have all the gods you want, including yourself.
2. Curse liberally. Let it fly; don’t hold back.
3. Sunday is a fun day. Church is optional.
4. Blame your father and mother for everything.
5. Don’t murder… the wrong people. Only those who disagree with you.
6. You shall not commit adulting. Adultery is no problem.
7. Don’t steal… more than $950 at a time.
8. Treat truth as a social construct.
9. Covet freely…
10. Just make sure to call it reparations.
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve looked at the first two commandments, which 1. have no other gods, and 2. Don’t make idols.
Two takeaways here were, that we worship what is superior to us. That is the very nature of worship and the bible tells us that God is above us and everything else is below us. So be very careful about what you put in the number one spot in your life.
And the second is when we make idols or use religious symbols or imagery to portray God, we are reducing Him.
And maybe you felt those messages didn’t really apply to you. After all, you consider yourself monotheistic, that is you only worship one god, and you have never, ever carved or crafted an idol.
If you were here the last two weeks, you probably left thinking, well he really told them. So, let’s see if I can step on a few toes this morning.
Commandment number 3 is found in Exodus 20:7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. . ..
Very few things bug me as much as hearing the Lord’s name misused.
When I was 15, I went to work on the tugboats out of Saint John New Brunswick and hanging around with sailors it didn’t take long before I had pretty much heard any words that I might have missed in high school.
And so, if you take the time that I spent on Tugboats, oil tankers, fishing boats and the little bit of time I spent with the Military Police in the Reserves I think I’ve heard it all.
For the most part, obscenities deal with bodily functions or body parts and don’t really require a lot of imagination. While I’m not necessarily comfortable hearing them I’m not personally offended.
My dad put it in perspective for me a long time ago when he told me that obscenities were the refuge of illiterates and children.
William Ward said “Profanity is the use of strong words by weak people”
And you know what? When I hear someone cuss I automatically make value judgements about them.
I know it’s not right and probably not fair, but I immediately put them into a stupid category.
Not necessarily uneducated, there are a lot of educated folks out there who fall into the same category.
Author David Seaman writes, “Plenty of educated and seemingly intelligent people also talk as if they had been to hell for a post-graduate course with the devil as their speech instructor.”
They think they sound cool, but to many of us, they just sound stupid.
But it’s different when I hear God’s name being misused, I cringe inside, because it is personal, they are talking about my God, my Saviour.
The sad thing is that society as a whole and even Christians seem to feel just the opposite. They feel like blasphemy isn’t as bad as some other words.
I don’t know how often someone’s told me about a movie, and I’ve asked, “How’s the language?” And I’m told “Oh there isn’t any foul language in it” and then when I see the movie I discover that there are very few obscenities, but the Lord’s name is misused time and time again.
I’ve mentioned to believers about this movie or that movie that I’ve pushed the stop button or walked out on because of the language, and they’ll say, “Well it didn’t have this word or that word in it.” And they are right, but the Lord’s name was misused frequently, and the sad part is that even believers have become immune to hearing it.
And we shouldn’t be immune to it. it should bother us when we hear our God’s name misused. And there are several different ways that it can be misused.
The first of course is the one most of us think about when we hear this commandment and that is when God’s name is misused verbally, you know as a profanity or oath.
Do you remember the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy takes Jesus’ name in vain and his father slaps him and says, “That’s for blasphemy!”
Have you ever wanted to do that to someone? That kind of hits home with me. When I was eleven or twelve years old. You know, the age when you are trying to be more grown-up than you really are. I tried out one of the new words that I had heard in the schoolyard on my parents.
I very casually slipped it into a joke I was telling them. Trying to appear a little more mature. I was spanked as a child, probably not nearly as often as you might think, but I was spanked, and WI don’t recall any specific spankings that I received.
I do however remember the consequences of my actions that day. And it was very similar to what happened to Indy in the movie.
So, the question is why? Why is this command here? We know the what; Don’t misuse God’s name, but why?
Shouldn’t God be bigger than being offended by name-calling? After all what were we taught as kids, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
And some people just don’t get it. It was Mark Twain who said, “It was Blasphemy? No, it is not blasphemy. If God is as vast as that, he is above blasphemy; if he is as little as that, He is beneath it.”
You have to understand how much more there is to this than simply misusing the name of God. Which by the way we don’t have.
When the Old Testament was written the gods of the surrounding countries all had names, but the Jews wouldn’t even speak the name of their God.
When we think of God in the Old Testament we think of the name Jehovah, but the Jews spelt it YHWH.
Try pronouncing that, it sounds like a table at Ikea.
And even then, good Jews wouldn’t use it verbally. Instead, they would refer to him when they spoke as “Ha Shem” which literally means “The Name”. Often in the Bible, the names used for God are revelatory of His character. God is revealed to us in Scripture by His names. They show us His nature.
He is El Shaddai, the Strong One. He is El-Elyon, God Most High. He is El-Olam, the Everlasting God. He is Jehovah Jirah, the God Who Provides. He is Jehovah Rophe, the God Who Heals. He is Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the God Who Sanctifies.
He is Jehovah Shalom, the God of Peace. He is Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness. He is Jehovah Shammah, the God Who is There.
He is Jehovah Nissi, the Lord Our Banner. And He is Jehovah Roi, the Lord Our Shepherd. Today though we call Him God and that is what is relevant for us today in the third commandment.
When we looked at the second commandment, which concerned making idols I stated that we needed to refuse to reduce God. And while making Idols certainly reduces God, misusing his name also reduces Him.
You see, any time that we diminish and trivialize the name of God by making it lower and less respected we reduce the glory of God. So why do people do it? I don’t know, I found a list recently entitled: "Ten Reasons I Swear" Maybe it will give us the answers we are looking for,
1. It pleases my mother so much.
2. It is a fine mark of maturity.
3. It proves I have self-control.
4. It indicates how clearly my mind operates.
5. It makes my conversation so pleasing to everybody.
6. It leaves no doubt in anyone's mind as to my good breeding.
7. It shows people that I have more than an ordinary education
8. It is an unmistakable sign of civility and refinement.
9. It makes me a very desirable personality among women and children and respectable society.
10. It is my way of honouring God
Well, maybe not, but if those aren’t the reasons people use God’s name why do they?
Sometimes it is very much a reducing issue even if they aren’t aware of it.
Did you ever play King of the Castle when you were a kid? You remember it might have been on a hill or a big snow pile and you’d wrestle with the other kids to stay on the top and be King of the Castle, while the other kids would be the dirty rascals.
Now it would have meant nothing if there had of been nobody at the top of the hill to push off, if you could have just waltzed up the hill without any effort. The game is in pushing the others out of the way and taking the high ground yourself.
People are doing exactly the same thing when they misuse God’s name. God is recognized as holding the high ground. So, if people want to show how important they are then they “shove” God or Jesus off the high ground so they can occupy it themselves.
They are saying, at least subconsciously, “I’m better than God”. What do I mean? Simple when someone makes a statement like “God-damn you” they are saying “I have enough power over God that I can command him to do something, and he will do it. He is my personal Genie.” You never hear someone say, “Bob-damn you” or “Sue-damn you” why not? It doesn’t have the same effect when the name is someone on the same level or lower than you.
The effect that the person is aiming for is to impress people with how important they are; they can even order God around.
In the same way, when someone tries to make a dramatic statement, they invoke the name of our Lord, it’s not uncommon to hear the name of Jesus Christ on the lips of non-believers. Yet you never hear “Tom Brown” or “Mary Jones” used in the same way. Why? Because it would be less impressive, less dramatic and less powerful. And besides they are trying to make an impression, “look at how powerful I am, I can use the name of God whenever I want, and He won’t do anything about it.”
Again, it may be consciously or subconsciously.
Or maybe the reason isn’t malicious it’s simply ignorance. This individual trivializes the name of God without even thinking. In fact, most people who use the Lord’s name in vain through profanity do not even think about what they are doing. They are not intentionally cursing God. Their words are not directed either to God or about God.
Many of these people are not even aware of their profanity. Their profanity is simply a habit, it is simply a pattern of their speech. They’ve grown up with it. Perhaps their parents cursed, or their friends cursed. The use of profanity has become an everyday part of their speech.
They are ignorant as to what they are doing, they are probably unaware that this issue really offends God, I mean God takes it fairly seriously. The entire commandment reads Exodus 20:7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
Did you catch that “The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”
This isn’t always unbelievers either. When I hear a non-Christian misuses God’s name it bugs me, when I hear a Christian misuse God’s name it really bugs me.
Surely you can’t be serious? Denn how would a Christian misuse God’s name? They don’t cuss. No, they don’t use it as a curse word or a swear word, but they bandy it around as if it were just another collection of letters.
You’ll hear them say “God this, or God that” or “Oh my God”.
Listen up, if you use God’s name and you aren’t speaking about God or speaking to God then you are misusing God’s name. It is not just a word, it’s not a word that we use to emphasize a point it is a holy word, which names a Holy God.
It’s also a misuse when you carelessly say things like “God said”, you better make sure that he did. When a person is anointed for healing and the person who is praying for the sick person makes a cavalier remark like “God has healed you” they better make sure that He has.
When we tell people “God wants me to do this, or this is God’s will for my life” you’d better make sure that you’re not just using God’s name to justify what you want to do. Don’t confuse God’s will with your will that you’ve stamped God’s name on.
It’s not just a command about the way we speak. It’s also a commandment concerning the way we live.
When you call yourself a Christian then you are calling yourself a follower of Christ, you are in effect taking his name. And when your life does not reflect your commitment as a Christian then you are misusing his name.
When you call yourself, a Christian and then you live like the devil, what does that say? What are you doing to the name of Christ with the way you are living?
This morning each one of us who takes on the name of Christ needs to examine our lives, we need to search our innermost heart, our deepest motives and our attitude toward other people.
Then we need to ask ourselves this question; can God sign his name to our lives? We need to look at our daily schedule. Our daily routine, and our priorities and then ask; can God sign his name to that list?
Then we need to look at our physical life, at our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Do we play the instrument of our personality for sin or righteousness?
What do your activities, recreation, sex life, service, work, diet, fitness maybe even the way you drive your car say about the one whose name you carry?
Can God sign his name to every activity of your physical temple?
The list is almost endless, isn’t it? Does God co-sign His Holy Name in your finances? What about your home, your habits, your moods, your manners? How about your disposition?
How about your marriage, do you remember the opening line of your wedding ceremony? No? It probably went something like this, “Dearly beloved; we are gathered together in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses.” Does that sound familiar?
It was in the sight of God that you promised to love, comfort, honour and keep your spouse. It was to God that you promised to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do we part. According to God’s holy law.
What about when you stood in front of God and dedicated your children to him?
During the service early did you remember when you dedicated your children? When you promised to guide their feet to the sanctuary and to teach them early the fear of God. Or how about when you became a new church member committing yourself to the vision and dreams of this church? Promising to support it with your attendance and your finances.
How about the hundreds of promises that you’ve made to God throughout your life? “God if you’ll do this, I promise I’ll do that, or I promise that I’ll stop doing something else.”
Can God sign his name to your life? Does your life honour his Holy name? If so, then you are keeping the third commandment. If not then you need to say, “I’m sorry”. And maybe we need to make Colossians 3:17 our guide, Do you remember what it says?
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
In the NIV it reads, Colossians 3:17 NIV And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
So, where are you at this morning? There is a scary verse in the book of James that reads, James 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
I’m not going to ask that you come up and lay your tongue on the communion table as an act of surrender to God this morning, that would be messy, but maybe you need to surrender the way you use God’s name both with your tongue and your life.
Free PowerPoint may be available for this message, please contact me at denn@cornerstonehfx.ca
