Lesson 17: God's Holiness Generates a Reminder, part 10

The third commandment reminding us that God is Holy and we are not is, “You shall not use God's name in vain.”

Exodus 20:7 - "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."

This verse is the third test God puts us through, revealing His Holiness and our sinfulness. It is the prohibition of using His Name in vain. We might say, “I do not use God's name in an irreverent manner. I do not use it in a vain or silly way." It is one thing to say you honor God's name with your lips, but another thing to demonstrate it with your words. The word "vain" means "emptiness of speech, or using something in a false or worthless manner." And this is precisely our problem. You see most people think breaking this Commandment is no big deal. But read these verses to see what God says on this matter.

Isaiah 57:15 - "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy…"

Luke 1:49 - "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name."

When we realize that even the very name of God is also holy, it explains why the Jewish people behaved the way they did. They were afraid to even say God's name, let alone use it in a vain manner. In fact, every time they came across God's name when copying manuscripts they would get up, wash themselves, change clothes, and get a new pen for the occasion. Every single time! In fact, they had a saying that said, "When God gave the third commandment, the whole world trembled." Have you noticed that our whole world has totally forgotten this? Of all names to have been turned into a swear word, it is Jesus Christ!


What we need to realize is that this danger is not only for those who use God's name as a swear word, but for every person who uses God's name as a common word. This means using God's name in vain includes such statements as, "By God I will make it this time" or, "Oh, my God!" and so on. You see, using God's name in this way is just as sinful as using it as a swear word because both ways are treating it not as something holy, but something cheap and worthless.

You might think it is only an innocent expression, but it is using God's name in vain and He calls that a sin, and the penalty for sin against a Holy God is death.

Psalm 139:19,20 - "Oh that You would slay the wicked, O God...They speak against You with wicked intent; Your enemies take Your name in vain."

God is telling us we need to mind the words that come out of our mouths because He is a Holy God!

* Thought question: Since everything God calls “sin” is something that harms us, how is using God’s name in a vain way harmful to us?