Revering God’s Name

Exodus 20:7

I. INTRODUCTION
The 10 Commandments in the OT
-In the OT, the 10 Commandments (Decalogue—10 Words) essentially summarize the 600 plus laws found in the
Jewish Scripture (OT)
-the first four: No idolatry, no idols, no misuse of God’s Name, keeping the Sabbath holy God-ward commands,
dealing with our relationship with God
-the other six: honoring parents, no murder, no adultery, no stealing, no lying, no covetousness man-ward
commands, dealing with our relationship with our neighbors
-the 10th (You shall not covet) is related to idolatry (Colossians 3:51), and so Jesus related it to the first four
commandments/ the God-ward commandments in Luke 18 (Rich Young Ruler)
-found in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21

The Greatest Commandment in the NT

-In the NT, Jesus further compressed the 10 into the Greatest Commandment (which is a two-part
commandment)Matt 22:34-402 (Loving God and Loving Your Neighbor)
-this pronouncement is not a negation of the 10 Commandments as if wala nang halaga Matt 5:17 3
-the pronouncement is a clarification Ano nga ba ang ibig sabihin ng mga Laws ni God?; and an exemplification
paano nga ba dapat isabuhay?
PICTURE: Murder (Matthew 5:21-22); Adultery (Matthew 5:27-28)
-it’s as if Jesus moved from the letter of the Law to the spirit of the Law
-from the external performance to the internal convictions
-Why? Because Jesus wanted them to understand the true purpose of the Law

The True Purpose of the Law (including the 10 Commandments)

-The Law will not bring us salvation contrary to what most Jews thought, (keep most of the Law to be saved), or in
our modern times, do more good works to negate our bad deeds what is the Bible’s response?  Galatians
2:164, Ephesians 2:8-9
-The Law has a threefold use as summarized by Theologian John Calvin in the Institutes (RSB) (read three)
a. Reflect who God is and who we are
-for who God is: we see His righteousness and holiness reflected by His perfect standards (1Pt 1:16) Be holy for…
-for who we are: we are sinners, unable to keep the whole Law (Romans 3:20) through the Law comes…
-it is meant to show us our helplessness and inability to fulfill the perfect standard of God so we should run to
our Savior, Jesus (for non-C)

b. Restrain evil
-allows a measure of heavenly justice to be experienced in this fallen world (1 Timothy 1:8-11) 5
-though the Law cannot change a person, it is nonetheless good in that it represents God’s righteous rule
-so if it is applied, even partially, we experience in part God’s good world on earth

c. Reveal how we could please God

-the Law is a reflection of God’s character, of the things that give Him glory and pleasure
-thus, for the believer who seeks to truly and fully love God, the Law is our guidepost, a list of things that will
help us express our love for God
-John 14:15; 1 John 5:3 If you love me, you obey my commands; This is the love for God…
1
Col 3:5 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
2
Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your
neighbor as yourself.”
3
Mat 5:17 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
4
Gal 2:16a 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ
5
1 Tim 1:8 the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane
 Prayer:
-as we study the 10 Commandments, God will use them as a tool to convict our hearts! (2 lang naman yan)
-to run to Jesus for salvation because we see our sinfulness and our judgment
-to love God more, to grow in Christlikeness by obeying His commands reflected in the Law
-Ultimately God will use the Law to make us appreciate God’s grace more! His free gift for us who are unworthy!

Outline:
-In our discussion of the Third commandment, we are called to do two things:
a. Honor God’s Name (Ex 20:7a)
b. Heed God’s Warning (Ex 20:7b)

II. BODY
A. Honor God’s Name
POINT: We must revere, and keep God’s Name holy. Do not use the Name of God in any way that will disrespect
or misrepresent Him or His character, or will disregard His glory.
-Be in awe in our use and portrayal of God through His Name

PROOF:
WORD STUDY: “use in vain” take up in “falsehood,” “Vanity, uselessness” (FSB)
: “Name”In the Bible, this is not just a label, but a reflection of the very character of God
(gotquestions) God Himself, the totality of His being, His glory
-we see different names of God in the Bible because they reflect who He is El Shaddai (God
Almighty), Elohim (God of power and might); Jehovah Rapha (The God who Heals)
-Exodus 3:13-14 (revealed name) “I am who I am” (My character is unchanging, I am self-existent,
self-sufficient and I am who you see me in action and nature) loving, just, sovereign etc.
-Tetragrammaton (YHWH) the Jews avoided mentioning for fear of using it in vain
substituted with Adonai (Lord)
PROBLEM:
-a religious group, claim that Jehovah is the revealed name of God
-if we study the history of the name, however, we’ll see that this is actually a debate on the
pronunciation of YHWH. Because of the lack of vowels, different proposed pronunciations
are given
-Ex. Some say we use the vowels of Adonai to come up with YaHoWaH (Latinized Jehovah) or
Elohim to produce YeHoWiH (where Yahweh may have originated)
-BUT the issue is not in the pronunciation but in the revelation of the God behind the Name
-we are called to know who He is not simply through a Name but through His Nature
-and we know this fully in only one person—Jesus (Col 1:15; 2:9) image of the…the fullness of deity
-Remember John 8:57-59 (Moses rejoiced, before Abraham was, Iam) Jesus claiming
God’s Name on Himself

POINT: God commands us to honor His name for this is tantamount to honoring His character,
nature and being

PICTURE: In what ways is God’s Name dishonored?

1. Frivolous or trivial use of God’s Name
-filler words, expressions, interjection especially if you don’t mean what you say (In prayer, Oh Lord,
Juskolord, Oh my God!)

2. Blasphemous or sacrilegious use of His Name

-Quiboloy-appointed son of God; Jhan Jil Jah-god the mother; the first temptation of “Jesus”
 3. Insincere or deceitful use of God’s Name
-oaths or promises are a common example in ancient Israel where they call upon the weight or
authority of God’s Name (as if God is their witness) in falsehoods or insincerity (ex. They invoke
God’s Name but fail to fulfill a promise, or in order to intentionally deceive someone) God’s
reputation suffers (Lev 19:12; Matt 5:34-35; James 5:12)
-prosperity gospel (they use Jesus’ Name to claim health, wealth and prosperity)

4. Hypocritical portrayal of God’s Name in your life A lifestyle that belies or dishonors God’s Name/
Character
-claiming to be a Christian, but living contrary, hypocritical lives napapasama ang pangalan ni
HesusMatthew 15:8 (Pharisees honor me with their lips but their hearts…); Gandhi

PONDER:
Do you use God’s Name superficially? (Most common probably is Oh my God?) Or perhaps in blasphemy?
(When you patronize music or literature, programs or personalities who do so) Or do you taint God’s Name
and reputation because of your deceitful schemes, by invoking His Name without the intention of fulfilling
your promises? Just to boost your hidden agenda? Does your life belie the goodness, holiness, justice or
grace of God?

PRACTICE:
1. If you are a believer, remember that loving God means keeping His commands. You keep His commands
because He saved you and you are merely expressing gratitude and affection to Him.
-one way is by honoring His Name Third commandment
-afterall, to be a Christian means to follow hard after Jesus
 May our lives never belie, our profession of faith
May our lives never tarnish the reputation and the Name of the God we love
-But of course, even if we are Christians, we cannot do this on our own, so run to Jesus and let His
strength be our strength

2. If you do not know Jesus yet, you don’t have a relationship with Him, perhaps you still think this is just a
trivial issue. Maliit lang naman ito na sin. That you can still earn your way into salvation even if you have
used God’s Name as a curse word in the past.
-Friend, that is not true! God’s standard is perfection, and failing the third commandment, dishonoring
God’s Name even just once cuts you off, bars you from God’s Kingdom, and condemns you to eternity
in hell. That’s how high God’s standard is… So our next point calls you to…

B. Heed God’s Warning

POINT: God will not lower His standard to accommodate us. It remains perfect. And breaking his standard
renders us guilty. For non-Christians, this entails God’s judgment of death. For Christians, this entails God’s
discipline. In both instances, the only solution is to run to Jesus who forgives us from our sins, and slowly
transforms us into godliness.

PROOF: v.7b (warning) The LORD will not hold guiltless those who take His Name in vain.
WORD STUDY: Guiltless—acquit, leave unpunished, hold innocent
-He judges them guilty for failing to meet His standard, for dishonoring His Name

PROBLEM: The non-Christian may ask, “Guilty agad? E isang kasalanan lang naman” James 2:10, Rom 3:23
What is God’s judgment? Romans 6:23 death, the highest penalty falls on the sinner because he broke
the highest law of the highest being (God)
-ang papasa lang ay ang person who never committed even a single sin (Matthew 5:48)
PONDER: Nagkasala na ba ako? Kahit minsan? Na-dishonor ko na ba ang name ni God?  If yes, then,
bagsak ka na! You are guilty. You cannot save yourself! You need a savior! Run to Jesus!
 PROBLEM: The Christian may ask, “Akala ko ba pag Christian e forgiven na ang sin? Paanong guilty pa rin?” Yes,
forgiven, in the sense na the penalty of sin (eternal death in hell) is already taken away (in justification).
-BUT, because we are still in our fallen bodies, experiencing life moment by moment here in this fallen
world, we still struggle against the power of sin, we still fall every now and then, until Jesus returns and
restores this world or He takes us home. So in those times God disciplines us to restore us, that we may
grow more in Christlikeness (in our sanctification) only through the power of the Holy Spirit!  gives
us the power to say NO to sin! (difference with unbelievers) Hebrews 12:6
-Warning: My warning is Gal. 5:136 may we not use our freedom to sin! Nawa ‘di natin ito tinatanong as
an excuse to continue sinning (Saved naman na ako! attitude)
or we swing to the opposite extreme ng legalism, ‘yung hyper-grace theology
-na-forgive naman na ako ni God so no need to worry kahit nagkasala ako no need even to say
sorry His grace has covered this already true if ang tingin mo lang kay God ay ticket to
heaven and not the LORD of your life… walang saving relationship not Biblical

POINT: We see that the command to honor God’s Name, together with the rest of God’s commands, is a
demonstration of His perfect standard.
-If you break this—though it may seem trivial to some (You shall not murder, commit adultery)—His warning
is that you are considered guilty still!
 In God’s justice, the issue is not how many commands you’ve broken, but that you have broken even
just one command! Hindi padamihan kundi kahit isa lang, guilty na, bagsak na!
We cannot undo this with good deeds (hindi parang timbangan) marred with sin (Isaiah 64:6)
 Heed God’s Warning You know the solution? Run to the Savior!

PICTURE: This (Judgment for breaking the 3rd commandment) may seem far from our imagination but I can think
of at least one narrative in the Bible of literal judgment because of dishonoring God’s Name Acts 12:19-
23 People elevated Herod’s words to God’s blasphemous statement BUT Herod received the praise
instead of giving it to God an angel struck him down and he was eaten by worms and died.
This is a graphic illustration of how God judges the guilty who takes His Name in vain Heed this warning

III. CONCLUSION
POINT:
-If we assess ourselves, we are guilty one way or another of breaking the Third commandment in our words, our
hearts/thoughts and our actions
-It is not a trivial thing to use God’s Name in vain because it’s tantamount to dishonoring, disrespecting, belittling,
misrepresenting His very nature and character!
-So the one who dishonors God’s name is judged guilty, deserving of the punishment of spiritual death.
-This is what the Law wants us to realize That if we choose to earn our salvation through it, we are cursed to
fulfill all of it perfectly from the moment we are born until we die (Gal 3:10) which is impossible!

PICTURE:
-This religious legalism bound the Jews and kept them from seeing salvation in Jesus.
-This also bound the Great Reformer Martin Luther for many years (in the form of sacraments and good deeds,
tradition) yet he knew his inability to fulfill them he kept going to confessions for fear of missing one or
two sins and so he be sent to hell…
-This was his life until God opened his eyes to Romans 1:17, “The righteous will live by faith!”
-That is, by God’s grace, the Law made Luther see His guilty standing and inability to save himself, and so he
sought a Savior outside of himself He found it in the righteousness of Jesus on whom he laid down his
trust and faith

PRACTICE:
6
Gal 5:13 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through
love serve one another.
 -if you are an unbeliever, may your inability to fully honor God’s Name open you to the reality of your sinfulness
and lead you to admit that you cannot make yourself honor God fully and so you’ll seek the one who can
make you Jesus, the only Savior!

POINT:
-The Law should not be the engine that will drive us towards salvation. No! Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus
alone should be the engine that drives us to obey God’s laws as an expression of Love for Jesus.
PRACTICE: So, if you are a Christian, and like me, you are wondering how you can love God more, grow in His
character more look to His Commandments that reflect His character and express His desires, and delight
-and if you really want to honor Him more in your life because you love Him, begin by having a high view of
His Name, and treating it with reverence, awe and fear

CLOSING:
The command is clear:
1. Honor God’s Name no trivial, blasphemous, insincere and hypocritical use and portrayal of God’s Name
Instead:
-Meditate on God’s Names and ask Him to show you their weight that you may be filled with awe,
reverence and holy fear
-Guard your expressions! Speak about things that glorify God! Season your conversations with salt! Let’s
talk about God and His grace and the gospel!
-If we really want to mean the CHRISTian label, make God your priority! Huwag lang token service. May
nagawa naman ako sa ministry last Sunday ok na yun. Mejo nirereflect ko naman si God among my
peers, sa office or sa friends. Ok na yun. (What does priority mean? I am ready to lay down my life for
the Name Wuhan Christians are sacrificing their lives to share vs umalis mga Mormons..)

And if we fail to do so, which in reality we all have

2. Heed God’s warning we are counted guilty for dishonoring His Name
-For the unbeliever, this entails eternal spiritual death
-For the believer/Christian, this means God’s discipline for restoration
-But in both instances, the solution is the same Run to Christ, who alone can give you a heart of
reverence towards God

Remember: At the return of Jesus, we will again be confronted by His Name… Sabi nga sa Philippians 2:9-11

9 
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Friends, revere God’s Name!