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Hallowed Be Thy Name

Exodus 20:7-7

By Robert D. Pace

The chief concern of the third of the Ten Commandments deals with our speech—how we use God's Name.  And what we say is important.  The Bible says God takes account of every idle word and at Judgment Day He will judge not only our works but also every word we've uttered.  So it's especially important how we treat the most holy name in the universe.

 

One reason I'm preaching this message is because many Christians don't realize how they're breaking this commandment or how they're dealing with the Lord's sacred name.  Let me explain it this way:

 

(Illustration)  I've read a little about how our Air Force pilots are trained for their high altitude adventures.  One aspect involves learning about hypoxia, or, "oxygen starvation."  The cadets are given masks, placed in an altitude simulation chamber, and taken to a simulated condition of 30,000 feet.  One cadet is required to de-mask and answer simple questions on paper.  A brief time later the students asking the questions quickly re-mask their partners that have been writing their answers.  After inhaling several breaths of normal air the writers are astonished at what they've written.  Their notes are unreadable although they were certain they wrote legibly and intelligently. In reality they were only semi-conscious and about to black out. [see endnote, 1]

 

I've found that Believers also need assistance from fellow Christians or they can experience spiritual hypoxia.  Without realizing it their behavior can become secular and unchristian. This is especially true as it regards how we employ God's name.  Christians assume they're treating it appropriately but, in truth, they're abusing it!

 

It doesn't matter which version you read this commandment in it comes across loud and clear:

 

The NIV says: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God."

 

The KJV and NAS are nearly verbatim when they read: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain."

 

The AV says: "You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]."

 

The NRSV says: "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God."

 

The Lord's holy and unsearchable name isn't to be used glibly or disrespectfully. But we're called to handle it sacredly and never in an empty or meaningless way.

 

(Illustration)  When my son Davi was a youngster, he and I were talking about swear words.  He said, "Dad would you use God's name in vain for a million dollars?" I said, "Davi, I wouldn't use His name in vain for a billion dollars."  And I meant that.  I would choose to spew any manner of profanity before I would purposely misuse God's name.

 

(Transition)  Let's mention several ways God's name is wrongfully used.

 

How God's Name is Misused

 

A.      The most obvious way God's name is misused is when it's used as slander or as a curse. When someone says:  "G.D. you!" God's name is shamed and reduced to a swear word.

 

Do you realize when people say, "G.D. him" they're asking God to curse someone that Christ came to die for.  Words do have meaning.  And it's blasphemous to decree God's eternal wrath against someone when the Bible says "God is not willing that any should perish."  People that employ this phrase reveal the wickedness of their heart.

 

B.      God's name is taken in vain when it's used as a mere idiom or glib expression. I believe every Christian here would give a hearty "Amen!" to that but you might be surprised how God's name is defiled like this.

 

(Example) When people throw around God's name as a grammatical punctuation and say: "Oh God!" or, "My God!" or, "Jesus!" or some people like to use Christ's nickname: "Jeez!" that's impugning His name.

 

I know some people that have used God's name like this didn't intend to corrupt or impugn His name.   For them it's ‘just an expression' or ‘figure of speech.'  Or maybe they grew up hearing God's name used like that and it's become a habit.

 

But the Bible doesn't make exceptions for expressions, figures of speech, or parochial sayings.  To trivialize God's name regardless of our excuses is wrong!  Perhaps someone has talked like this for twenty or thirty years and the habit is hard to break.  Well, Moses placed a prohibition against treating God's name with disrespect over 3500 years ago!

 

When we use God's name in a disrespectful or trite manner it corrupts the sanctity and diminishes the stature of our holy, sovereign, Redeemer.  And God doesn't want us treating His name as something insignificant.

 

While we're discussing God's name being used in casual conversation let me mention another caution here.  As harmless as it may appear some people feel that God's name can be used as a playful salute. For example, how many times have you seen this birthday announcement in the newspaper: "Lordy, lordy look who's forty"?

 

You say, "But that's just a lighthearted birthday wish."  "Lighthearted"?  Yes!  But it's tossing around the most holy, reverent, and awesome name in the universe;.  And  God's name it isn't a byword that we can use to kick around like a soccer ball.

 

C.      God's name can be misused when it's taken as an oath.

 

How many times have we heard statements like these: "As God is my witness," or, "I swear to God," or, "May God strike me dead!" or, "By God, I'll finish that by Friday or else"?

 

Do you know what's happening here?  These expressions indicate that God guarantees your pledge.  And you're putting God on the line for something He may not be willing to support.  We can't control circumstances, only God knows what He will and won't do—we don't!

 

That's why Hebrews 6:13 says, "since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself."  God is the only One authorized to swear by His name.  We can't be certain of anything when we employ God's name as an oath.

 

But the Pharisees of the first century were really clever.  They were masters of straining the gnat and swallowing the camel.  They figured out how to make oaths in God's name without technically misusing it.  And they figured out how to swear to tell the truth in God's name, then deceive, without legally lying.  Here's how they did it:

 

(Example)  The Hebrews of the Old and New Testaments considered God's name to be so holy many of them wouldn't even speak God's name—Yahweh or Elohim.  Instead they referred to God as simply, "the Name."  When they were asked which God they served they would say, "We serve "the Name.""  When they took oaths they took a double-step back and swore by "the name of the Name." They did this because they thought the only irrevocable oaths were those connected directly with God's name.  So when they swore in "the name of the Name" they could weasel out of anything because God wasn't immediately connected to their pledge.

 

Is it any wonder that Jesus taught the people of His day: "don't swear by heaven or earth, just let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no"?

 

D.      God's Name shouldn't be used as some magical incantation.  Let me explain.

 

(Example)  In Eastern cultures people would often pray with an incessant repetition of their god's name.  Remember in Acts 19:34 the Greeks "shouted in unison for about two hours: ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.'"  This is what the prophets of Baal did when Elijah brought them to a showdown on Mount Carmel.  For a half day the false prophets repeated Baal's name trying to coax him into sending fire.  It's what the worshipers of the demon gods Dagon and Diana did.

 

There's a reason people practiced this.  By incessantly repeating a god's name the worshipers thought they could attract power from their god into themselves.

 

We have to understand that God's name can't be magically invoked to produce a display of power.  He's name doesn't work like, "Abracadabra" or "Hocus-pocus domin-ocus."

 

The practice of Christianity is completely opposite of many of the worldly and Satanic cults.  No where in the Bible do the prophets or apostles tell believers to employ Christ's name in rapid-fire succession to achieve results.

 

Repeating the name Jesus like a mantra over and over a thousand times won't save anybody.  The Bible says: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

 

Repeating the name Jesus until you blackout won't heal anybody.  The Bible says: "The prayer of faith heals the sick and raises him up."

 

That's why Jesus said in Matthew 6:7 when you pray don't "keep on babbling like the pagan, for they think they will be heard because of their many words." Remember, the third commandment calls us to reverence God's name.

 

Now don't misunderstand me either.  I'm not coming close to suggesting that anyone that repeats the Lord's name more than two or three times successively is guilty of misusing His name.  As a little boy I remember walking down the halls of my church hearing one of the dear saints whispering: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. . . ."  That's why I say, "I can't judge when anybody is guilty of trivializing God's name here." But we must learn to invoke Christ's name with the utmost respect!  Amen?

 

(Illustration)  Years ago I golfed with perhaps the worst golfer I've ever been on the course with. His game would have made a typical duffer look like a PGA expert.  He had recently been baptized in the Holy Spirit and he was bonkers for Jesus. Well, part of his golf strategy involved invoking Christ's blessing into his swing.  Listen, if there's one place the Lord doesn't show up, it's at the golf course. You're on your own there.  The Lord will help baseball players hit 500-foot homeruns and He'll help football players run over 350-pound defensive lineman and score winning touchdowns, but the Lord doesn't go to the golf course! Well, this guy thought he could coax the Lord into showing up.  He would tee-up his ball and before drawing back his club he would repeat about twice: "Alright ball, in the Name of Jesus, go straight!"  It didn't work one time all day.  He lost more balls than I've ever seen.

 

Was he using God's name in vain?  Not purposely.  But had he considered just how holy and awesome that name is I don't think he would have trivialized it as he did.

 

Something happens when we treat the Lord's name frivolously or as an incantation or as common or as a swear word.  And it's this: The Lord's name loses its power for us when we really need it.  God's name can't be used all day as a byword and then later attached to prayers hoping to bring power and authority.

 

When God says don't misuse His name He means don't use it in a meaningless way; don't trivialize it; don't use it like it an incantation by endless repetition; don't swear or curse with it.

 

(Transition) And there's a reason God doesn't want us abusing His name.

 

Why God's Name Should Not Be Misused

 

Look at Exodus 20:7 again: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."

 

There are consequences to abusing God's name and we're inviting trouble when we wrongly employ it.  How does He judge us?  I don't know, but I do know Moses said there were consequences!  Turn to Deuteronomy 28.

 

Deuteronomy 28:58-61

 

I understand that's Old Testament Scripture but Paul said in Acts 13:40, "Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you." We are never held guiltless when we misuse God's name.  Never!

 

In Exodus 34 God called Moses to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. When the Lord appeared to Moses He descended in a thick cloud and the Bible specifically says He "proclaimed his name, the LORD" to Moses.

 

That's interesting.    God could have revealed to Moses the secrets of the universe.  But when Moses was face to face with God the Bible says "God proclaimed His name to Moses"!

 

God was saying: ‘Moses, My name is represented in every word of these Ten Commandments.  And that means, in a very technical sense, that God's name is as holy and awesome as His Word! Why would anyone want to misuse that name?

 

The Bible says the power of His name saves us from the wrath of hell.

 

His name keeps us from the world's evil and from falling into the hands of Satan.

 

His name supplies our needs and answers our prayers.

 

The shepherding power of His name leads us into paths of righteousness.

 

And His name brings comfort and peace.

 

Everything we need is found in Him.  Why would we want to misuse His name?  Why would anyone want to abuse the name of the sovereign Lord of the universe?

 

God's character can't be diminished though it's dragged through the mud or beaten like an anvil.  Ultimately, the damage isn't to God, it's to us.  We forfeit His grace.

 

(Transition)  Moses wasn't the only prophet to teach us how to treat God's name.  Jesus taught is how to invoke that name.  He taught us to invoke it with hallowed reverence.

 

God's Name Should Be Hallowed

 

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray he taught them to say, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" (MAT 6:9).  That word hallowed means ‘to honor and treat as holy.'  It means that we should "recognize God's name is sanctified, set apart, and marked as un-ordinary."  It's transcendent—completely separate and wholly other from His creation.

 

God's name is so different from anything of this world that it can't even be compared to the most glorious magnificent part of creation.  He's infinitely above anything we could imagine!  Like Isaiah saw Him, He's "high and lifted up."

 

And it's vitally important that we understand this about God's name. Because when we understand how different He is than us; that His name is sanctified and higher than any esteemed concept we can apply to Him then He's getting us near the place where He can completely fulfill us. 

 

The reason our American culture, prosperous as it is, is so unhappy and spending billions of dollars to find happiness, is because people have lost a sense of the sacred.  People are trying to find happiness in polluted things and not sanctified things:

 

We need to reclaim an understanding of what is sacred in life and what is profane! Because when people don't realize what is truly hallowed they lose meaning to life!  Life doesn't make sense when we can't identify the sacred.

 

(Illustration)  Ravi Zacharias noted America's moral decay in his book, Can Man Live Without God? In it he noted a "personal ad" he had discovered in a newspaper.  It read, "I am a 58 year-old woman looking for something meaningful, interesting, and fun. I like C-span, Bill Moyers, Times crosswords, Mario Cuomo, [and] Nevada.  I don't like George Will, R.J. Reynolds, computer talk, fundamentalists, [or] California.  I have limited stamina and resources, and looking for ideas for my life."

 

You know what was totally absent from her list of imperatives?  A desire for anything sacred and sanctified!  Guess what?  Johnny Bravo could knock on her front door embodying all her wishes but she'll find everything but meaning and real happiness!

 

(Illustration)  Listen, we should want to stake claim to things that are uninfected by the world. Here's the "personal ad" I really like that I clipped from the Atlanta Constitution years ago.  "Black Christian female seeks Holy Ghost filled black male!" She knew the criterion for finding a meaningful and happy relationship didn't she?  She wanted something sanctified!

 

The most important thing in life is fellowshipping with a hallowed and sanctified God but if you add to that a sanctified spouse, with sanctified children, with sanctified friends, with a sanctified purpose you're really going to enjoy life!

 

Conclusion

 

Here's what I'm saying today.  Treat God's name as it is—holy!  Don't use it as a glib byword or figure of speech or punctuation.  Take it upon your lips with hallowed respect.

 

(Illustration)  I recently read the story of a boy that was the first in his family to attend college. After arriving someone offered him drugs . . . but he wouldn't accept them.  The dealer said, "Come on, nobody will know."  The boy said, "That's not the point.  The point is that my mother cleaned houses and washed floors to send me to this college.  I am here because of her.  I am here for her.  I wouldn't do anything to demean her sacrifice for me."[see endnote, 2]  In essence he was hallowing her name by refusing the drugs.

 

Are your words or actions toward God's sacred name doing anything to demean that name or His infinite sacrifice for you?