The 3 Commandment
By Reverend T. F. Tenney

The Ten Commandments

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

1. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

2. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3. 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.

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

TAKE CARE OF HIS NAME

Your name represents something – who you are, what you’ve done, how you’ve lived. If you were to do a Presidential roll-call for the past several decades – John F. Kennedy, Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton. Each name brings to mind a face, a time in our history, and perhaps even a specific incident from their individual political careers. Their names are a summary to you of &all those individuals were and did.

So what about the name of the Lord? Proverbs said, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” In Acts, it is recorded, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Paul said, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Never has a name been so powerful. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue  should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is healing in His name, there is forgiveness in His name, there is hope in His name. Salvation is in His name.

This periodical is primarily read by Christian believers – men and women who do not, as a rule, use curse words as a part of their day to day language. Brother Tenney, you may say, I would never dream of taking the Lord’s name vain! The question is, though, what exactly is “taking the name … in vain?” Is it simply just using the word “God” in the context of cursing or is there more to it than that?

Taking the name of the Lord in vain comes down to nothing less than denying His holiness and majesty and power. It is an attempt to somehow pull God down to a common level and make Him equal with us.

Have you ever been around anyone who cusses a lot? Guilty as charged of obviously taking the name of the Lord in vain? Every time those terms are used, an incredible destruction comes into the life of the one who utters them.

But Brother Tenney, I don’t cuss …I wouldn’t dream of saying those words. Here’s a question for you: Do you dishonor the name by not honoring it?

The Scripture says, “Out of the overflow – the abundance of the heart – the mouth speaks…” If your heart is not full of honor and glory for His name it will come out in the language you use, whether you ever utter a four letter word or not.

When I say something profane or crude or bitter, it ought to immediately prompt me to realize that something is wrong in my heart. We need to realize, too, that there are socially acceptable ways to profane Him. One of those is in prayer.

The Lord cautions against vain repetitions – vain means empty. It means saying things over and over, without conviction.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “Ask the Lord for whatever you want. He wants you to have a bigger house, a new car, a better job, new clothes…Just ask it in Jesus name and you’ll get whatever you ask for” Does the Scripture really say anything like that?

Before I ever submit a laundry list of wants and selfish demands to him and then tag on “In Jesus name” at the end – I need to first ask – Am I asking for what He would be asking for? Is this what He wants? Will it bring glory to Him? The chief end of prayer should be that His name is glorified whether I get what I want or not.

Ron Mehl reported that a recent poll said that 60% of Americans say they have used God’s name in vain. I think the number would be 100%. All of us have done it. There have been times when we have uttered His name in prayer, but it was a selfish prayer.

Vain mans empty. What about saying to someone who’s planning a vacation trip to Hawaii – “Well, someone’s got to suffer for Jesus…”It’s jesting – nothing serious at all. But isn’t it a serious misuse – an empty use of His noble name?

There is salvation in that name – no other name given under heaven – Should we so casually misuse it?

A clever quip – a quick laugh – and we’ve dragged the name of our Lord down into it.

He is always there. He hears everything, see everything, knows everything. Practicing God’s presence will affect your speech. He listens to my prayers. He hears my every word.

And note the rest of the passage The Lord will not hold you guiltless…”

There is forgiveness in the name of Jesus. We cannot afford to take that name in vain. He has made provision for us to change our minds, change our hearts, change our direction, and love and serve and fear this wonderful God with such a wonderful and mighty name!

The Above Material Was Published By The Louisiana Challenger, Pages 3,4. May 2000. This Material Is Copyrighted And May Be Used For Study & Research Purposes Only.