“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 (Exodus 20:7 NKJ)

• The Hebrew translation of the word vain means to misuse, to profanely use, to blaspheme, to mistreat, to misrepresent, to use in a morally disrespectful way.

“You must not MISUSE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. (Exodus 20:7 NLT)

Why do you think God is so insistent about not misusing His name? REVERENCE.

• God was saying: In our relationship, I want you to approach me with reverence.
• Reverence: “Yare” and “Shachah” – Hebrew words. The root concept behind those words is: bowing down in awe and in honor.
• This type of reverence in our relationship with God is timeless. God commands it! God expects it!

Why is God so insistent about misusing His name?

POINT#1: HIS NAME AND HIM ARE ONE

• God’s name is who He is. His name defines: His character. His attributes. Himself.
• If you misuse His name, you are also misusing Him – His character, His reputation, His deity.
• When you surrender to God, you call on His name.

¹³ For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

• God does not want us to misuse His name because the salvation of a lost world is at stake!

POINT #2: HIS NAME IS TO BE CARRIED

“You shall not TAKE the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

• The word take means to lift up and carry.
• What God is saying here: Don’t profanely carry my name wherever you go!

²⁰ When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name.

²¹ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. (Ezekiel 36: 20, 21)

• The word profane means to treat as common. Same root word for profanity.
• Profanity does not only apply in speech but also in conduct.

²⁴ For “THE NAME OF GOD is blasphemed among the Gentiles (unbelievers) because of you,” (Romans 2:24 NKJ)

• To blaspheme also means to reject. Unbeliever would reject the name of Lord because of the way we carry the name of the Lord through our actions.

¹² Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. (1 Peter 2:12 NLT)

POINT #3: HIS NAME IS NOT A “CONVENIENT” WORD

• Another way we blaspheme or use His in name in vain is like this: We use His name for convenience just to get what we want.
• Jesus tells us that in the last days, many people will use His name as a convenient word.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘LORD, LORD,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.

²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied IN YOUR NAME, cast out demons IN YOUR NAME, and done many wonders IN YOUR NAME?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

• God is looking for more than just lip service. He is looking for you to do the will of His Father.
• Here’s the Good News: When we repent and turn from our old ways, there’s forgiveness, there’s grace and mercy.

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. (Romans 3:23-26 NLT)

• Jesus paid the price so that you do have to!
• Jesus took your punishment so that you will not be punished!

CONCLUSION:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?