Abounding Grace: The Grace of the Law - Famous Not Infamous

The Third Commandment tells us we aren’t to use God’s name in our speech in a meaningless way. Certainly, this applies to phrases like “OMG,” but this is the lowest expectation of the commandment. The commandment tells us not to attach God’s name to something worthless like an idol. That’s probably a no brainer, but even as Moses is atop Mt. Sinai, the people make themselves a golden calf and call it “God,” affixing his name to something worthless. Moses destroys and devalues the image, grinding it to powder that he made them eat, and later expel. The idol they worshipped became refuse. Quite a statement.

The commandment also directs us to treat everything related to God with respect. This would especially relate to how we treat his image-bearers. When we make fun of someone for their looks, or criticize people for their vulnerabilities, we diminish their Creator. How we treat others says a lot about our respect for God. This also applies to sacred things in worship. Malachi records God’s complaint against his people who disdain worship, first by offering less than their best and second by disdaining the whole process. When the people make their sacrifices, they think to themselves, “What use is this?” Well, God connects their disdain for his worship with disrespect for him.

In addition, the commandment directs not to use God’s name as a control mechanism. Statements like, “God told me,” are sometimes used to manipulate others. I’ve heard television preachers say, “God told me to buy my new $30 million dollar jet,” or “God told me to tell you to send a $1000 gift.” When Israel’s prophets did this, God introduced them to the Babylonian sword. Whenever we “speak for God” we had better be sure that God has spoken.

Join us Sunday, as we worship God and explore this commandment.