Lesson 5: The Third
Commandments
Exodus 20:7 “You
shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will
not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Luke 6:46 “Why
do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I
say?
The main points for this
commandment:
Don't misuse God's name.
We misuse God's name with our mouth
when we use it as a cuss word, and also when we make a promise, or
even say yes, but do not keep our word.
We misuse God's name with our
life when we are called by God's name (a Christian), or we call him
Lord, and yet do not live as a Christian should, and we do not obey
the one we call Lord.
Instead, we should honor God's name.
With our mouth we honor God's name when
we treat God's name with respect, and when we say yes and mean yes
(we keep our promises).
With our life we honor God's name when
live in obedience to God, whose name we bear and whom we call Lord.
Suggestions:
Open each lesson with prayer for the
teacher and the students and this class time.
For stories to illustrate this
commandment, I recommend using one or more of the stories from
Matthew 25. All three stories show us people who called him Lord. Not
everyone who called him Lord was accepted. The obedient were
rewarded. The disobedient found that they were calling him Lord in
vain. They had taken his name in vain.
Besides these stories, Jesus asks a
question very much related to this commandment, “Why do you call
me, Lord, Lord, but don't do the things which I say” (Luke 6:46).
Below, I have included a number of
scripture portions, along with a few comments. This is more for the
Sunday School teachers, than for the children. My goal was to help
those teaching better understand from the Scriptures some of the
ideas related to this commandment, so that the ideas can then be
conveyed in a more appropriate manner for level of understanding of
the children.
Close the lesson with prayer related to
the subject and the students. Pray the Lord's Prayer together.
Stories:
Matthew 25:1-13,14-30,31-46 –
Note that in
these stories, both the good and the wicked call him “Lord” (we
do not read of the wise virgin's calling him Lord). While the
righteous are received, the wicked (who also call him Lord) are not
received. The wise and righteous took the Lord's name along with
obedience. The foolish and wicked took the Lord's name without
obedience, and so took his name in vain.
Luke 6:46-49 [46] “Why do
you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?
[47] Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I
will show you who he is like. [48] He is like a man building a house,
who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a
flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake
it, because it was founded on the rock. [49] But he who hears, and
doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a
foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell,
and the ruin of that house was great.”
Matthew 7:20-23 [20]
Therefore by their fruits you will know them. [21] Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. [22] Many will
tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your
name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty
works?’ [23] Then I will tell them, ‘I
never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
They called
Jesus 'Lord.' Yet in that day, he told them that he did not know
them, and in fact never knew them. He does not speak ill of the good
works they cite as their references. In response to the good works
they hoped would bring them eternal treasure, Jesus points to them as
workers of iniquity. While they were prophesying, casting out demons
and doing mighty works, they were also walking in unrepentant sin.
They worked iniquity. They thought they could serve two masters. They
thought they could serve Jesus Christ as Lord and their favored sins
at the same time. They were wrong. May God deliver us from making the
very same error, resulting in the same eternal consequences.
John 13:1-17 [1] Now before the
feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he
would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who
were in the world, he loved them to the end. [2] During supper, the
devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s
son, to betray him, [3] Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all
things into his hands, and that he came from God, and was going to
God, [4] arose from supper, and laid aside his outer garments. He
took a towel, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] Then he
poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet,
and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. [6] Then
he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, “Lord, do you wash my
feet?” [7] Jesus answered him, “You don’t know what I am doing
now, but you will understand later.” [8] Peter said to him, “You
will never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash
you, you have no part with me.” [9] Simon Peter said to him, “Lord,
not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” [10] Jesus said
to him, “Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed,
but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” [11]
For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, “You are
not all clean.” [12] So when he had washed their feet, put his
outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, “Do you
know what I have done to you? [13] You call me, ‘Teacher’ and
‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am. [14] If I then,
the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet. [15] For I have given you an example,
that you also should do as I have done to you. [16] Most certainly I
tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is
sent greater than he who sent him. [17] If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.
1 Samuel 20:6-17,42 [5] David
said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should
not fail to dine with the king; but let me go, that I may hide myself
in the field to the third day at evening. [6] If your father miss me
at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me that he might
run to Bethlehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for
all the family.’ [7] If he says, ‘It is well;’ your servant
shall have peace: but if he be angry, then know that evil is
determined by him. [8] Therefore deal kindly with your servant; for
you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you: but
if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself; for why should you
bring me to your father?”
[9] Jonathan said, “Far be it from
you; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my
father to come on you, then wouldn’t I tell you that?”
[10] Then David said to Jonathan, “Who shall tell me if perchance
your father answers you roughly?”
[11] Jonathan said to
David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” They both went
out into the field. [12] Jonathan said to David, “By Yahweh, the
God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about this time
tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good toward David,
shall I not then send to you, and disclose it to you? [13] Yahweh do
so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do you
evil, if I don’t disclose it to you, and send you away, that you
may go in peace: and Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my
father. [14] You shall not only while yet I live show me the loving
kindness of Yahweh, that I not die; [15] but also you shall not cut
off your kindness from my house forever; no, not when Yahweh has cut
off the enemies of David everyone from the surface of the earth.”
[16] So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying,
“Yahweh will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.” [17]
Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to
him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
[42] Jonathan said to David, “Go
in peace, because we have both sworn in Yahweh’s name, saying,
‘Yahweh shall be between me and you, and between my seed and your
seed, forever.’” He arose and departed; and Jonathan went into
the city.
This is a good example of
someone swearing in the name of the Lord, and remaining faithful to
what he swore in the Lord's name. In 2 Samuel 9:1-13, we see David
carrying out this promise he made to Jonathan (2 Samuel 9:7). Again
in 2 Samuel 21:7 we see David remaining faithful to the oath he swore
to Jonathan, by sparing his son Mephibosheth.
1 Samuel 24:16-22 [16] It came
to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul,
that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” Saul lifted
up his voice, and wept. [17] He said to David, “You are more
righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done
evil to you. [18] You have declared this day how you have dealt well
with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up into your hand, you
didn’t kill me. [19] For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him
go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which
you have done to me this day. [20] Now, behold, I know that you shall
surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established
in your hand. [21] Swear now therefore to me by Yahweh, that
you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not destroy
my name out of my father’s house.” [22] David swore to Saul.
Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
More Stories and Examples:
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 [14] if
my people, who are called by my name …
Proverbs 30:7-9 [7] “Two
things I have asked of you; don’t deny me before I die: [8] Remove
far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Feed me with the food that is needful for me; [9] lest I be full,
deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and
steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Jeremiah
7:1-15 [1] The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh,
saying, [2] “Stand in the gate of Yahweh’s house, and proclaim
there this word, and say, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, all you of Judah,
who enter in at these gates to worship Yahweh.’” [3] Thus says
Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your
doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. [4] Don’t
trust in lying words, saying, ‛Yahweh’s temple, Yahweh’s
temple, Yahweh’s temple, are these.’ [5] For if you thoroughly
amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice
between a man and his neighbor; [6] if you don’t oppress the
foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and don’t shed innocent
blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
[7] then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I
gave to your fathers, from of old even forever more. [8] Behold, you
trust in lying words, that can’t profit. [9] Will you steal,
murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to
Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, [10] and
come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name,
and say, ‛We are delivered;’ that you may do all these
abominations? [11] Has
this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in
your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says Yahweh. [12] “But
go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to
dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my
people Israel. [13] Now, because you have done all these works,”
says Yahweh, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but
you didn’t hear; and I called you, but you didn’t answer: [14]
therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, in which
you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers,
as I did to Shiloh. [15] I will cast you out of my sight, as I have
cast out all your brothers, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Matthew 6:9-13 [9] Pray like
this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many as are
bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all
honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed.
Other Verses:
SWEARING / OATHS / VOWS
Deuteronomy 6:13 You shall fear
Yahweh your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his
name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 You shall fear
Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and
you shall swear by his name.
Psalm 63:11 But the king shall
rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him,
for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.
Zephaniah 1:4-6 [4] I will
stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place: the
name of the idolatrous and pagan priests, [5] those who worship the
army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by
Yahweh and also swear by Malcam, [6] those who have turned back
from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor
inquired after him.
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 [4] When you
vow a vow to God, don’t defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in
fools. Pay that which you vow. [5] It is better that you should not
vow, than that you should vow and not pay. [6] Don’t allow your
mouth to lead you into sin. Don’t protest before the messenger that
this was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice, and
destroy the work of your hands?
Matthew 5:33-37 [33] “Again
you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not
make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ [34] but
I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the
throne of God; [35] nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his
feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [36]
Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair
white or black. [37] But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your
‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
While Jesus
was on the earth, the people of God had rewritten God's laws to serve
their own evil ways. Some said that if you swore an oath on a certain
thing (see Matthew 23:16-22) you didn't need to keep that oath, but
if you swore the oath on a certain other thing, then you had to keep
the oath you made. It is likely that others said that if you simply
told someone yes or no, you were not obligated to keep your word, but
if you gave your yes or no with an oath or vow, then you had to keep
your word. When the people of God (today, the disciples of Jesus
Christ) decide (and so live) that at times they should keep their
word, and at other times they do not need to keep their word, by this
they are dishonoring the name of God which they bear. This is one
reason Jesus tells us that our yes should mean yes and our no should
mean no. We should not need to make an official vow for someone to be
able to know that we be true to our word.
James 5:12 But above all things,
my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor
by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your
“no”, “no”; so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
Colossians 3:9 Don’t lie to
one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his
doings,
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore putting
away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we
are members of one another.
In the Old
Testament, God commanded his people to swear by his name. When they
made a promise, they were to use God's name to show that the promise
was good. “I promise you by God's name that I will do this or
that.” God's people were to take God's name. However, if they made
a promise using God's name that they did not intend to keep, or a
thoughtless promise using God's name that they would forget they
made, then they were taking God's name in vain. God promises to
punish those who take his name in vain. It was also wrong to swear by
God's name and also to swear by the name of another god or idol.
In the New
Testament, Jesus tells us not to swear by anything at all, but to
mean yes when we say yes, and to mean no when we say no. Now we do
not use God's name with our mouth when we say yes or no. Instead, a
Christian has taken God's name on his very self. When a Christian
says yes or no, he is still saying yes or no with the name of Christ
upon him. When a Christian does not tell the truth, he is taking
God's name in vain.
WE ARE CALLED BY HIS NAME
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 [13] “If
I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the
locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
[14] if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.
John 1:12 But as many as
received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s
children, to those who believe in his name:
Proverbs 30:7-9 [7] “Two
things I have asked of you; don’t deny me before I die: [8] Remove
far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches.
Feed me with the food that is needful for me; [9] lest I be full,
deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and
steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
1 Timothy 6:1 Let as many as are
bondservants under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all
honor, that the name of God and the doctrine not be blasphemed.
Romans 2:23-24 [23] You who
glory in the law, through your disobedience of the law do you
dishonor God? [24] For “the name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written. (also: Ezekiel
36:22)
In both the
Old Testament and the New Testament, God's people are called by his
name. Just as a child has the name of their family, a Christian has
the name of God. God's people are people who are called by his name.
Just as a
child's behavior can bring honor or shame to his parents and his
family name, so the behavior of a child of God brings honor or shame
to God's name.
WE CALL HIM OUR LORD / WE SPEAK IN HIS
NAME
Psalm 50:14-15 [14] Offer to God
the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High. [15]
Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will
honor me.”
Luke 6:46-49 [46] “Why
do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I
say?
Matthew 25:1-13,14-30,31-46 –
Note that in
these stories, both the good and the wicked call him “Lord” (we
do not read of the wise virgin's calling him Lord). While the
righteous are received, the wicked (who also call him Lord) are not
received. The wise and righteous took the Lord's name along with
obedience. The foolish and wicked took the Lord's name without
obedience, and so took his name in vain.
Acts 19:13-17 [13] But some of
the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over
those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying,
“We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” [14] There were
seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did this. [15]
The evil spirit answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but
who are you?” [16] The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped
on them, and overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that
they fled out of that house naked and wounded. [17] This became known
to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived at Ephesus. Fear fell on them
all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Mark 9:38-40
[38] John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t
follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him,
because he doesn’t follow us.” [39] But Jesus said, “Don’t
forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name,
and be able quickly to speak evil of me. [40] For whoever is not
against us is on our side. (Luke 9:49-50)
Deuteronomy 18:20 But the
prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods,
that same prophet shall die.”
A Christian
calls Jesus “Lord.” It is good to call Jesus Lord, and to call to
Jesus as our Lord. We pray to the Lord, and call to the Lord for
help. On the Judgment Day, when we stand before Jesus, we will call
him Lord.
While it is
good to call Jesus “Lord,” and it is good to call to the Lord for
help, Jesus tells us it is not good to call him “Lord,” while we
do not obey him. Jesus told several stories about those who called on
the Lord. Some obeyed him in their life, and some did not. Those who
called him “Lord” but did not obey him discovered that they were
calling him Lord in vain. They were taking God's name in vain.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
Matthew 6:9-13 [9] Pray like
this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
[10] Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so
on earth. [11] Give us today our daily bread. [12] Forgive us our
debts, as we also forgive our debtors. [13] Bring us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the
Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
Matthew 5:16 Even so, let your
light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus taught
us to pray. One thing we should pray for is that God's name would be
kept holy. We can pray that we would live so that God's name will be
glorified. Then, with God's help, we should do what is right and good
so that those who see and know us will glorify our Father in heaven.
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