“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 ESV).
But last Saturday night I found myself in a Presbyterian sanctuary at a youth rally hearing a wise message about what the third commandment really means.
And it was a lot heavier than you might think.
In Western Christian culture, it's been fed to us that this command basically means, "Don't use God as a curse word, and don't say, 'Oh my God.'"
But it means so much more than that. So much more.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is required in the third commandment?" Its answer is: "The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word and works."
That's a bit more than saying OMG.
We break the third commandment every time we make light of God's word, His promises, His attributes, any of His works.
We break the commandment when we don't worship Him rightly.
We break the commandment when we belittle the people He made in His image.
We break the commandment when we don't speak truth.
We break the commandment when we gossip.
We break the commandment when we speak of God or His Word flippantly.
We break the commandment every day with our speech or our hearts. And God will not just brush that aside carelessly, as if it's unimportant. His name represents who He is. If we use His name wrongly, we are defaming His character.
God is truth and following Him means loving the truth. It means repenting of breaking the third commandment and trusting and loving Him enough to obey it.
Will you join me in doing that?