Post by Sheila on Apr 22, 2024 15:01:52 GMT -5
Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
Almost everyone thinks about the simplest meaning behind this commandment. The many names of God and Jesus should never be used as curse words. This is the most disrespectful thing a Christian can do with these wonderful names. Don't even try to explain away the action by saying "everyone does it". If everyone is doing it, everyone is breaking the commandment. Also, just because God will forgive you this sin if you ask, that doesn't mean you should keep doing it and constantly asking to be forgiven.
There are other ways people misuse God's name. Most of the time people do these things, they don't even realize they're doing it or, if they do know they're doing something wrong, they don't seem to think it's a big deal. Here are three other ways people misuse the many forms of God's name.
People take oaths in the name of God and then don't fulfill the oath. In Leviticus, we can read this is not acceptable. "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God" (19:12). This happens in courts of law when people swear to tell the truth when they already know they're going to lie or make the decision to lie when they're asked a question they know if they answer truthfully the answer will get them into trouble. It can happen when someone is sworn into an office and they know there will be times they're going to do something opposed to the oath. If a Christian takes any type of oath by swearing to God and later breaks that oath they've also broken this commandment. The same is true of those times when you've already lied or done something wrong and then you turn around and say "I swear to God it's the truth" or "Honest to God I never did that". All of these are forms of misusing God's name.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 tells us about prophets who presume to speak in God's name what God hasn't told them. Anyone who claims God told them to spread the word about an event that's supposedly going to happen and then the event doesn't occur has, more than likely, lied about God telling them to spread the message. Think about all the times in the past people have declared God told them the world was going to end on a particular date and it never happened. God wouldn't have told them to spread that message and then not allow it to happen. The so-called prophet has misused God's name in order to get people's attention. This not only applies to people who announce huge events, it also applies to people who approach individuals and tell them God gave them a message to pass along to that person. Be careful in these situations. Don't automatically accept the message just because someone tells you it's from God. People will use God's name and then tell you to do or say something that is opposition to what God expects of a Christian. Be warned, "don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).
Any member of the clergy who preaches anything that opposes the teachings in the Bible is also misusing God's name. Most of those people misuse it by claiming to be called by God to preach because God would never approve of a clergyman who preaches lies. This misuse is strikingly obvious when the clergyman starts his false message with a statement such as "God has revealed to me" or "God has opened my eyes to this truth", then follows that with one or more statements about something that's in opposition to what God revealed in the Bible. If you hear such statements made by your pastor, priest, or other church leader, you need to approach him/her about it and, if they won't recant the statement, it's time you found a new church where the truth is going to be preached and taught. Don't fall prey to false teaching because something sounds good. As we're warned in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, people don't want sound doctrine and "they will gather around them a great number of teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear". While it may sound good and the person in the pulpit says it's a revelation from God, God's name is being misused.
Never use God's or Jesus' name as a curse word. Be careful what oaths you take and, when you take an oath, always make sure you'll uphold the oath. Don't relay messages in God's name when, in fact, God never gave you the message. Lastly, don't preach or teach lies after claiming God told you something that opposes what God has revealed in the Bible.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers
Almost everyone thinks about the simplest meaning behind this commandment. The many names of God and Jesus should never be used as curse words. This is the most disrespectful thing a Christian can do with these wonderful names. Don't even try to explain away the action by saying "everyone does it". If everyone is doing it, everyone is breaking the commandment. Also, just because God will forgive you this sin if you ask, that doesn't mean you should keep doing it and constantly asking to be forgiven.
There are other ways people misuse God's name. Most of the time people do these things, they don't even realize they're doing it or, if they do know they're doing something wrong, they don't seem to think it's a big deal. Here are three other ways people misuse the many forms of God's name.
People take oaths in the name of God and then don't fulfill the oath. In Leviticus, we can read this is not acceptable. "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God" (19:12). This happens in courts of law when people swear to tell the truth when they already know they're going to lie or make the decision to lie when they're asked a question they know if they answer truthfully the answer will get them into trouble. It can happen when someone is sworn into an office and they know there will be times they're going to do something opposed to the oath. If a Christian takes any type of oath by swearing to God and later breaks that oath they've also broken this commandment. The same is true of those times when you've already lied or done something wrong and then you turn around and say "I swear to God it's the truth" or "Honest to God I never did that". All of these are forms of misusing God's name.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 tells us about prophets who presume to speak in God's name what God hasn't told them. Anyone who claims God told them to spread the word about an event that's supposedly going to happen and then the event doesn't occur has, more than likely, lied about God telling them to spread the message. Think about all the times in the past people have declared God told them the world was going to end on a particular date and it never happened. God wouldn't have told them to spread that message and then not allow it to happen. The so-called prophet has misused God's name in order to get people's attention. This not only applies to people who announce huge events, it also applies to people who approach individuals and tell them God gave them a message to pass along to that person. Be careful in these situations. Don't automatically accept the message just because someone tells you it's from God. People will use God's name and then tell you to do or say something that is opposition to what God expects of a Christian. Be warned, "don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).
Any member of the clergy who preaches anything that opposes the teachings in the Bible is also misusing God's name. Most of those people misuse it by claiming to be called by God to preach because God would never approve of a clergyman who preaches lies. This misuse is strikingly obvious when the clergyman starts his false message with a statement such as "God has revealed to me" or "God has opened my eyes to this truth", then follows that with one or more statements about something that's in opposition to what God revealed in the Bible. If you hear such statements made by your pastor, priest, or other church leader, you need to approach him/her about it and, if they won't recant the statement, it's time you found a new church where the truth is going to be preached and taught. Don't fall prey to false teaching because something sounds good. As we're warned in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, people don't want sound doctrine and "they will gather around them a great number of teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear". While it may sound good and the person in the pulpit says it's a revelation from God, God's name is being misused.
Never use God's or Jesus' name as a curse word. Be careful what oaths you take and, when you take an oath, always make sure you'll uphold the oath. Don't relay messages in God's name when, in fact, God never gave you the message. Lastly, don't preach or teach lies after claiming God told you something that opposes what God has revealed in the Bible.
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers