10 Commandments / The Third Commandment
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.
(Ps.106:8)
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(I Cor.6:11)
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...’.
(Matt.6:9-10)
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
(I Pet.4:16)
His Name is majestic in all the earth (Ps.8:1). We are called to ‘ascribe to the Lord, the glory due His Name … to worship the LORD in the splendour of His holiness’ (Ps.29:2; I Chron.16:29). All our inmost being is to praise His holy Name (Ps.103:1). This is so close to the heart of the True Worshipper, Christ, that when He teaches us to pray, the first petition on our lips is simply that the Father’s Name is ‘hallowed’. This is the highest priority in our approach to God. This Third Commandment warns us against neglecting this sense of priority in any aspect of our life, especially in worship.
The first thing we need to do is get a clear sense of what the Commandment is saying. The Hebrew is richer than English translations allow. If you compare a few modern versions, you’ll get a sense of the struggle to capture everything this Commandment is teaching. The prohibition is variously rendered: take in vain; take up lightly; misuse; use carelessly; use thoughtlessly, etc. A strict translation might be ‘You shall not bear the Name of the Lord your God in vain / lightly’. We are used to the idea of the ‘glory’ of God having connotations of His ‘weightiness’. We are here warned against dealing with God as if He were not glorious. To bear His Name as vain is to take it up as a thing of no consequence; it is to speak of and to, the Lord as if He were insubstantial, trivial, meaningless (or futile as the same word is translated in Job.7:3. It is also a word used repeatedly of idols). It is this kind of thinking that lies behind the exhortation to worship acceptably, ‘with reverence and awe’ (Heb.12:28).
But worship doesn’t end when we are dismissed from our services. Christianity is a public faith, and we bear His Name into the world. We take up His Name in our baptism, and bear it constantly (Matt.28:19, and in Blessing, so Num.6:27). There is no trivialising the privilege of calling on His Name (Rom.10:13); trusting in His Name (Ps.33:21); indeed, doing everything in His Name (Col.3:17), and being known by His Name (Dt.28:10). The Apostle Paul prays for the Church, that the Lord would us worthy of His calling, ‘so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you’ (II Thess.1:11-12). When this is not the case, when in life and worship we are not worthy of His calling, His Name is not glorified in us. To this extent we have born / taken His Name vain, thoughtlessly. We have considered Him to be a light thing, not weighty enough to shape us. That is hardly appropriate given that His Name is above every name, and that at His Name, every knee shall bow (Is.45:21-23, cf. Phil.2:9-10). The Lord acts to exalt and preserve the honour of His Name (Ps.106:8; Is.48:9; Acts 19:11-17). When we take His Name in vain, we are working against His purposes. This truly is the epitome of folly (Ps.74:18), and incurs His wrath (see the destiny of those who don’t call on His Name at all, Ps.79:6; Jer.10:25). Indeed, one of the criteria against which we will be judged is precisely the question of whether we ‘revere your name’ (Rev.11:18).
The seriousness with which God’s Name is handled in Scripture is rooted in the realisation that His Name is part of His revelation of Himself. We see this supremely in His dealing with Moses (Ex.3:13-15; 34:6-7). Hence the interconnectedness of the first three Commandments. If we speak of God (i.e. use His Name) and mean by that something less than who He has revealed Himself to be, or indeed mean by that something that is so far removed from who He truly is that it is rendered a false god entirely, then we have transgressed the Third Commandment. Herein lies too the reason for the repeated warnings against false teaching in the Name of the Lord, and falsely claiming the Lord has spoken to (or through) us when He hasn’t (e.g. Jer.14:14-15; 23:25; Zech.13:3 etc.). To speak of God, or even to speak on behalf of God is a glorious thing. It is not to be trifled with. And the Lord will not hold us guiltless if we do (Dt.5:11).
Questions
Why do you think the 10 Commandments are all stated as ‘negative’ prohibitions (i.e. you shall not…), rather than as ‘positive’ commands?
Has your perception of what it means to speak of God as our Lawgiver (so Is.33:22) changed as we have worked through our studies? If so, how?
Do you think it is fair to say that the most basic Christian Creed is ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Phil.2:11)? What do you think it means to speak of Jesus in these terms? How much do you feel this is reflected in your own experience of Christianity?
Read Deut.5:11 & Ps.105:1-7
Historically, the Third Commandment has been tied up with the question of whether it is appropriate for Christians to swear an oath. Why do you think this is? Do you think it is appropriate for a Christian to swear an oath in public, or private life?
What does it mean to say that ‘the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name’ (Dt.5:11)? What did it mean in ancient Israel? What does it mean for the Church today? Why is there discrepancy here?
Why is it not Christian to think that we don’t really need to worry about keeping a Commandment like this one, because Jesus has dealt with our sin at the cross?
Is it possible to be a Christian who isn’t engaged in evangelism? Can we worship authentically if we don’t ‘make known among the nations what He has done’, or ‘tell of His wonderful acts’ (Ps.105:1-2)?
How do you feel about worshipping the Lord our God because of His judgements (Ps.105:7, read through the rest of the Psalm to see how this is unpacked)? In the light of our study on the Third Commandment, what would you say to someone who said they didn’t like to think about God acting in judgement?
Catechism:
173. What is God’s Name?
God’s Name reveals who he is—his nature, his character, his power, and his purposes. The Name God reveals to Moses is “I am who I am” or simply “I am” (Exodus 3:6, 14). This Name means that he alone is truly God, he is the source of his own Being, he is holy and just, and he cannot be defined by his creatures. (Ex.3:6, 14; 15:11; Ps.99; Is.5:16; 42:8; 47:4; Jn.8:58; Rev.1:8)
175. What does “hallowed” mean?
“Hallowed” means to be treated as holy—set apart, sacred, and glorified. (Ex.13:1–12; Lev.22:31–33; Deut.6:7–8; Ps.11:4–7; Lk.2:22–35; 2 Tim.2:19–22)
284. Why is God’s Name sacred?
God’s Name reveals who he is—his nature, his character, his power, and his purposes. All forms of God’s Name are holy.
(Ex.3:1–15; 34:5–7; Ps.8; 54:1; 79:9; Is.57:15; Luke 1:46–49)
285. What does it mean to take God’s Name “in vain”?
“Vain” means empty, meaningless, and of no account. To take God’s Name in vain is to treat it as such. (Lev.24:10–16; Rom.2:23–24)
286. How can you avoid taking God’s Name in vain?
Because I love him, I should use God’s Name with reverence, not carelessly or profanely. (Deut.28:58–59; Ps.86:11–12; 99:1–5; Rev.15:2–4)
287. How might you use God’s Name profanely?
By the unholy use of God’s holy Name, especially through perjury, blasphemy, and attributing to God any falsehood, heresy, or evil deed, as if he had authorized or approved them.
(Deut.18:20–22; Prov.30:7–9; Jer.34:15–16; Ezek.36:16–23; Am.2:6–7; Jd.5–13)
288. How might you use God’s Name carelessly?
Cursing, magic, broken vows, false piety, manipulation of others, and hypocrisy all cheapen God’s Name. These treat God’s Name as empty of the reality for which it stands.
(Lev.5:4–6; 19:26b, 31; Ps.10:2–7; Mal.1:6–14; Matt.5:33–37; Jas.3:5–12)
289. How can you honour and love God’s Name?
I honour and love God’s Name, in which I was baptized, by keeping my vows and promises, by worshiping him in truth and holiness, and by invoking his Name reverently and responsibly.
(Num.30:2; Deut.10:20–22; Ps.105:1–5; Matt.15:10–20; Jas.5:12)
