The Lord And His Name Series

1. I read that in China when young people would get out of line with public displays of affection they would take the young people to the police station along with their families and the authorities would berate the family for hours over how the incident brought shame on them and how the parents failed the children and the community.

2. Our names mean more than a title by which we are called. A name means character, reputation, etc.

3. Exodus 20:7 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.

I. We Usually Focus on Words

A. Issue of the Curse – James 3:8-10 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

B. Thoughtless – Proverbs 29:20 20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

C. Idle Words – Matthew 12:36-37 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

II. The Name of God

A. There’s More to the Story

1. A better translation of the Third commandment from the Hebrew points to “carrying” the Lord’s name in vain (similar to carrying/taking the ark of the covenant) – In the South we say, “I’m going to carry my grandmother to the store.” We mean “take.”

2. That means that actions, behaviors, and positions we take in God’s name must not defame Him.

Years ago in Germany, there was a young Jewish boy who had a profound sense of admiration for his father. His family’s life centered on the acts of piety and devotion prescribed by their religion. The father was zealous in attending worship and religious instruction, and he demanded the same from his children. While the boy was a teenager, the family was forced to move to another town in Germany. There was no synagogue in the new town, and the pillars of the community all belonged to the Lutheran church. Suddenly the father announced to the family that they were going to abandon their Jewish traditions and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, the father explained that changing religions was necessary to help his business. The youngster was bewildered and confused and angry. Disappointed and disillusioned by his father’s lack of integrity he eventually introduced an entirely new world-view, envisioning a movement that would change the social and political systems of the world. He described religion as an “opiate for the masses” that could be explained totally in terms of economics and personal gain. Today, millions of people still live under the system invented by this embittered man, and millions more suffered under previous regimes that incorporated its values. His name, of course, was Karl Marx, and his idea was communism. And it all began with his father’s misuse of the name of God for the sake of profit.

B. The Name of God Involves:

1. Authority – Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38

2. Identity (Exodus 3:13-14 – I Am)

3. Character – God is Provider; Healer; Victory; Peace; Immanuel

III. Taking God’s Name to Do Evil – the real point

A. When Irreligious People Commit Evil, God is Not a Part

B. When Religious People Commit Evil, God is a Part

[Crusades/Inquisition – the only “Christians” some people know of –

1. Shows Lack of Character – our words and actions show who we are

Matthew 12:33-35 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

2. Shows Lack of Wisdom – Can’t deceive God when we misuse his name

3. Shows Lack of Respect

a. We have been given a New Name – Revelation 3:12 (Philadelphia) 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.