Warning Against Profane Living

GOLDEN TEXT: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” —Exodus 20:7

IT IS unthinkable that a Christian should use God’s name, or the name of Jesus, in a profane manner, and we doubt if this is the primary significance of the Third Commandment, although this is the way it is generally understood. Jesus gives us its real meaning when condemning the Pharisees for making void the Law by their own traditions, and for their hypocrisy. Quoting from Isaiah’s prophecy he said, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”—Matt. 15:8,9; Isa. 29:13

Sincerity of purpose in serving the Lord is the primary meaning of this commandment; as it applied to the nation of Israel to whom the Ten Commandments were given, and as it applies in principle to spiritual Israel in this age. The latter is described in Acts 15:14 as a “people for his name.” We become a part of this “people for his name” by consecration and baptism into the body of Christ. Thus we take the Lord’s name, and any degree of unfaithfulness in carrying out our consecration vows would to that extent be taking his name in vain.

In the Lord’s prayer we are reminded of the sacredness of Jehovah’s name—“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” If we properly appreciate the glorious character of our God, and if our consecration to do his will is sincere and whole-hearted, we will be very careful at all times to think, say, and do only those things which will honor his name.

MATTHEW 5:33-37

JESUS said, “Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.” True believers are those who have entered into a covenant with the Lord by sacrifice. (Ps. 50:5) They have made a vow of consecration to do his will, and God’s will for his people in this age is that they lay down their lives following in the footsteps of Jesus. It is a difficult vow to keep, and many times, through weariness of the flesh, we may be tempted to break it. But when we remember all that the Lord has done for us we will gratefully continue to pay our vows unto the Most High.

Jesus condemned the quite prevalent practice of his day of loosely swearing to various sacred things in order to convince others of one’s sincerity. Certainly Christians should not need to do this. Our “word” should indeed be as good as our “oath,” and will be if our consecration to God is sincere.

MATTHEW 23:16-22

IN THIS passage Jesus is not discussing so much the practice of swearing by holy things, as he is the insincerity of the Pharisees in their bickerings over the relative merit of swearing by one thing rather than another—their attempted hairsplitting in matters of right and wrong. Those who above everything else want to know and do God’s will do not approach the matter from this standpoint.

The illustrations used by Jesus were drawn from the life and customs of his time, but we can still apply the principle of the lesson, particularly in connection with our study of the Bible, and in our fellowship with the brethren. The objective we should all have in our study of the Word is to show ourselves approved unto God. (II Tim. 2:15) We might be able to draw fine distinctions of thought and thus impress our brethren with our supposed great ability as students, but would this be showing ourselves approved unto God?

QUESTIONS

Is the use of profanity in speech what is primarily meant by the commandment not to take the name of the Lord in vain?

Could we take the name of the Lord in vain through unfaithfulness to our vows of consecration?

What is the only true aim for Bible study that is acceptable to the Lord?

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