Taking God's Name In Vain? (Jehovah, church, believing, Moses)

[yhwhshalomjr]

Are we still profaning God's name?
By using words like "oh my God", and Oh Lord, and Jesus,o
[B]Church members are not using four-letter words or blaspheming or profaning God's name. In part, the third commandment—prohibiting taking God's name in vain—deals with such matters. Rather, the words that some complain about are of another type: mild or watered-down versions of God's names or crude words for certain body parts or bodily functions. Though this sensitive theme may embarrass or offend, it needs to be covered.

For those who might be new to this subject, it is necessary to give warning about "substitute" swearwords such as "gosh," "golly," "jeez," "shoot," "shucks," "heck," "darn," and others. Such words are called euphemisms, literally "good speech." It does not take much thought to figure out what words these exclamations are substitutes for. We do not need them! The English language contains thousands of benign yet descriptive words and expressions that convey the same feeling or reaction[/b]
makes me think when was the last time I used God's name in vainand what do you consider taking His (Holy) name in vain
any thoughts?

[yhwhshalomjr]

When a modern day prophet or minister says to one "Thus sayeth the Lord" I'm sure He does not want anyone saying something that He did not really say
This is taking the Lord's name in vain

[yhwhshalomjr]

the Klu Klux Klan concluded that it was their Christian duty to preserve the white race because the Klan taught that God’s true chosen people are the white people. Right after the Civil War in 1865 the Klan was formed.
was this taking the Lord's name in vain?

[yhwhshalomjr]

what things do we do to honor/dishonor his name? I think people take God's name in vain when they do things in God's name that God is opposed to. and still call themselves Christians.
The Crusades are an obvious extreme example, but one does not have to go to such extremes to falsely claim God's name.

[Omahabound]

Good question.

I've always considered vain use as negative use of the Lord's name. "Oh my God" as an exclamation I'm not certain is using the Lord's name in vain but if someone said "I swear to God that if you don't do what I say, I'll ruin your life," then that would be vain use.

Then again, when do we actually ever use God's name? We speak of Him or His titles but when do we refer to God's name?

[Harold Kupp]

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO:

“TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN”?

Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;
for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

To take the name of God in vain means to swear falsely by using the name of Yahweh to confirm your lie.

CLARKE COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

“Thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of Jehovah thy God.” The Hebrew word which answers to “in vain” may be rendered either way. The two abuses of the sacred name seem to be distinguished in Lev_19:12 (see Mat_5:33).

Lev 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

(“Profane the name”) see Eze 36:20 as follows:

Eze 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

When a sinful people claim to be people of the Lord they profane his holy
name.

JESUS SPEAKING OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT (Mat 5:33)

Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY on Mat 5:33:

We have here an exposition of the third commandment…I. It is agreed on all hands that it forbids perjury, forswearing, and the violation of oaths and vows. This was said to them of old time, and is the true intent and meaning of the third commandment. Thou shalt not use, or take up, the name of God (as we do by an oath) in vain, or unto vanity, or a lie.

ADDITIONAL VERSES ON FALSE SWEARING:

Zec 5:4 I will bring it [the curse] forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT:

“…By false swearing, which, some think, is chiefly intended in the letter of the commandment; so it was expounded by those of old time. Thou shalt not forswear thyself, Mat_5:33. One part of the religious regard the Jews were taught to pay to their God was to swear by his name, Deu_10:20. But they affronted him, instead of doing him honour, if they called him to be witness to a lie

ADDITONAL VERSES CONCERNING SWEARING:

Deu 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

Jam 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Mat 23 :22: And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.


It is clear that the third commandment did not refer to swearing by the name of God as the Israelites were commanded to do so. But rather to false swearing – using the name of God to confirm a lie.

Modern Christianity has trivialized sin by saying the third commandment refers to using the name of “God” in an irreverent manner. They say that using “God” in a disrespectful way is a sin just as murder or adultery is a sin. This brings sin down to a level of simply muttering a few syllables rather than the true meaning of willful sin as being wicked intentional rebellion against God’s commandments.

The book of Hebrews describes the one who commits “willful” sin” in this way: (Heb 10:29)

“…who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing,
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.”


True, it is wrong to use the word “God” in a disrespectful manner but it is not committing “sin”. If it were willful sin then anybody who did so would not be born of God for John states:

1Jo 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.

1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil;

If we take a close look at the language of the Bible it is easy to see that using the word “God” cannot possibly be taking the NAME of God in vain – because the word God is not a name but a TITLE. In English, Greek and Hebrew the words which mean God refer to a title in the same way that President or King are titles. “God” was a title used to describe the Father, Jesus, Satan and even Moses. It would be impossible to take the name of God in vain by saying “God this” or “God that” because God is not a name – it is a title.

Here are some comments about the Greek and Hebrew use of the words which are translated “God” in the Bible.

Griddlestone's Synonyms Of The Old Testament on the Hebrew word
ELOHIYM:

"We have seen that the name ELOHIYM [430] is properly
A TITLE… " (p.39)

Thayer's Greek Lexicon on THEOS (God):

"4 ...Hebraistically i.q. God's representative or
vicegerent, of magistrates and judges, Jn. 10:34 sq. after
Ps 82:6 ("...ye are gods)

As children of God we have a natural inclination and desire to respect Yahweh and Yeshua and not to speak of them in a disrespectful way. We instinctively know that we should honor them whenever we refer to them. However to say it is sin to use the word “God” (or any other equivalent pronoun) in an improper way is to trivialize the true nature of willful sin; which in turn serves Satan’s purpose of deceiving us into believing that we cannot cease to commit sin.


HK

[yhwhshalomjr]

Originally Posted by Harold Kupp

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO:

“TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN”?

Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;
for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

To take the name of God in vain means to swear falsely by using the name of Yahweh to confirm your lie.

CLARKE COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

“Thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of Jehovah thy God.” The Hebrew word which answers to “in vain” may be rendered either way. The two abuses of the sacred name seem to be distinguished in Lev_19:12 (see Mat_5:33).

Lev 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

(“Profane the name”) see Eze 36:20 as follows:

Eze 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

When a sinful people claim to be people of the Lord they profane his holy
name.

JESUS SPEAKING OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT (Mat 5:33)

Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY on Mat 5:33:

We have here an exposition of the third commandment…I. It is agreed on all hands that it forbids perjury, forswearing, and the violation of oaths and vows. This was said to them of old time, and is the true intent and meaning of the third commandment. Thou shalt not use, or take up, the name of God (as we do by an oath) in vain, or unto vanity, or a lie.

ADDITIONAL VERSES ON FALSE SWEARING:

Zec 5:4 I will bring it [the curse] forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT:

“…By false swearing, which, some think, is chiefly intended in the letter of the commandment; so it was expounded by those of old time. Thou shalt not forswear thyself, Mat_5:33. One part of the religious regard the Jews were taught to pay to their God was to swear by his name, Deu_10:20. But they affronted him, instead of doing him honour, if they called him to be witness to a lie

ADDITONAL VERSES CONCERNING SWEARING:

Deu 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

Jam 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Mat 23 :22: And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.


It is clear that the third commandment did not refer to swearing by the name of God as the Israelites were commanded to do so. But rather to false swearing – using the name of God to confirm a lie.

Modern Christianity has trivialized sin by saying the third commandment refers to using the name of “God” in an irreverent manner. They say that using “God” in a disrespectful way is a sin just as murder or adultery is a sin. This brings sin down to a level of simply muttering a few syllables rather than the true meaning of willful sin as being wicked intentional rebellion against God’s commandments.

The book of Hebrews describes the one who commits “willful” sin” in this way: (Heb 10:29)

“…who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing,
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.”


True, it is wrong to use the word “God” in a disrespectful manner but it is not committing “sin”. If it were willful sin then anybody who did so would not be born of God for John states:

1Jo 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.

1Jo 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil;

If we take a close look at the language of the Bible it is easy to see that using the word “God” cannot possibly be taking the NAME of God in vain – because the word God is not a name but a TITLE. In English, Greek and Hebrew the words which mean God refer to a title in the same way that President or King are titles. “God” was a title used to describe the Father, Jesus, Satan and even Moses. It would be impossible to take the name of God in vain by saying “God this” or “God that” because God is not a name – it is a title.

Here are some comments about the Greek and Hebrew use of the words which are translated “God” in the Bible.

Griddlestone's Synonyms Of The Old Testament on the Hebrew word
ELOHIYM:

"We have seen that the name ELOHIYM [430] is properly
A TITLE… " (p.39)

Thayer's Greek Lexicon on THEOS (God):

"4 ...Hebraistically i.q. God's representative or
vicegerent, of magistrates and judges, Jn. 10:34 sq. after
Ps 82:6 ("...ye are gods)

As children of God we have a natural inclination and desire to respect Yahweh and Yeshua and not to speak of them in a disrespectful way. We instinctively know that we should honor them whenever we refer to them. However to say it is sin to use the word “God” (or any other equivalent pronoun) in an improper way is to trivialize the true nature of willful sin; which in turn serves Satan’s purpose of deceiving us into believing that we cannot cease to commit sin.


HK

[alanMolstad]

it doesn't have all that much to do with cussing.

The idea of the Commandment is to not quote God with things he did not say.

It has become a common cuss term, but it is actually "damning" something in God's name.

Doing this is to put yourself up in the place of God.
In today's world the idea behind the Commandment would be found in the way some say God told them to do things when God never did...
Or to judge one person as "Christian" when they are not, or to say someone is not a christian when they really are.

It's about the way some people take God's name and stick it behind all of their views...and try to make it seem that their ideas are really God's ideas when they aren't.

[Cyber Munchkin]

Originally Posted by Omahabound

Good question.

I've always considered vain use as negative use of the Lord's name. "Oh my God" as an exclamation I'm not certain is using the Lord's name in vain but if someone said "I swear to God that if you don't do what I say, I'll ruin your life," then that would be vain use.

Then again, when do we actually ever use God's name? We speak of Him or His titles but when do we refer to God's name?

Amen....
Bearing false witness in the name of the Lord against another!!

[Currency Pair Crocodile]

I've substituted "O God" with "O man" and "O boy" long ago.