Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1740
July 26, 2026
Deuteronomy 5.11 Click here for audio worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“Third Commandment – What is Forbidden”
“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.”
What is Forbidden:
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Misuse of the Name
When we last heard from the Third Commandment, we were exploring what it requires. We heard about the serious nature of the Name of God, so deeply respected by some that the Name is never spoken. In light of that we are required to honor God’s Name and respect His Name as holy and sacred on our lips, in our minds, and in how we live. We are compelled to take the Name with such holy reverence that we use the Name only in ways that show reverence and honor. We are to speak the Name carefully so as not to dishonor God in any way, shape, or form! We are to carry the Name is such a way that brings glory to God rather than give the Name a bad reputation. We are to carry the Name in such a way that our lives reflect the goodness and grace of God. We are required to live in a way that not only claims to be Christian, but also witnesses to the Name of God in faith and with integrity.
Today we are considering what is forbidden in the Third Commandment. When we are considering that which is forbidden, it is easy to know the simple answer when the Commandment is in the negative form, the “you shall not” Commandments. Eight of the Ten are negative Commandments and therefore are clear on what is forbidden. But, there is often more than meets the eye in the scope of what a particular Commandment forbids. I have broadly outlined three areas: misuse of the Name, misuse of the Word, and misuse of the Christian religion.
There are a variety of ways the Bible speaks to misusing the Name of God. Malachi 2.2 speaks of using the Name with honor, “If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.” There are consequences to breaking the Third Commandment and one of the ways we keep the Commandment is to take it to heart. That is such a great phrase in Malachi, “if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my Name”. It lends itself to valuing the Name with such depth and desire that we want to honor God’s Name out of devotion and love for the Lord. We ingrain the Name deep within so that our very identity as Christian is shaped in and by the Name. We bear the Name of Christ, which in turn is bearing the Name of God and the Spirit. So we are called to take it to heart, revere it and honor it with the understanding that it is our life. Imagine if someone were to ask what we do and we were to respond, not with our work or that we are retired from this or that, but what if we responded with, “I bear the Name of God in my life so that others may come to know Him and His salvation.” That might get some odd looks or it might raise some interesting questions.
The Catechism teaches that we are not to misuse the Name out of ignorance. When the apostle Paul was in Greece he saw the inscription “to the unknown god”. In that sense they were misusing the Name of God because they were ignorant of God. So Paul straightened them out by proclaiming the God who created all things (Acts 17.23). Proverbs speaks of misuse of the Name by lack of contentment and treating the Name irreverently in riches or poverty, “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30.7-9).
There is a story in Leviticus about a son who blasphemed the Name and he was put in “time out” until his family understood the Third Commandment. “Now an Israelite woman's son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought in the camp, and the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in custody, till the will of the Lord should be clear to them” (Leviticus 24.10-12). Doesn’t that sound like “time out”, they put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be clear to them? “You go sit in your room until you learn!”
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Misuse of God’s Word
One of the fascinating things in the Larger Catechism is that the Third Commandment is broken, not only by using the Name in vain, but also in the misuse of God’s Word. It says something of the connection between God and God’s Word. It speaks to the importance of the Word and the Name of the One who has revealed His Word. If or when we misuse God’s Word in any way, we break this Commandment. The Catechism lists things like misapplication of God’s Word and quotes Paul’s letter to the Romans when Paul was teaching about our justification in Christ. Having been justified can we just continue in sin without concern? Romans 6.1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” No doubt some leftists in Paul’s day would have misapplied this concept to justify their ongoing sinful lifestyle. Sounds a lot like what we hear today!
The same is true about misinterpreting God’s Word. Matthew 5.21-22, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Part of what Jesus does in the sermon on the mount is to expand God’s Word to its full meaning, no doubt because the religious leaders had diluted the Law by their teachings. This misuse would have also been a sin against God’s Name.
The Word of God represents the Name of God and it cannot be misapplied, perverted, mocked, or opposed. 2 Peter 3.16 speaks to the ways people will twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. Jesus criticized the Sadducees in their discussion about a resurrection, “But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22.29). We honor the Name of God when we treat His Word with the deepest respect. We keep the Third Commandment more faithfully when we rightly handle His Word. 2 Timothy 2.14-17, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.” I would argue that the right handling of the Word of God will help to also rightly handle the Name of God.
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Misuse of the Christian Religion
The next few verses speak to the misuse of the Christian religion. Religion, or how we live out the faith, speaks to the intent of what it means to carry the Name. We cannot claim the Name of God and then live in a manner that profanes the Name. Breaking the Third Commandment occurs when someone or a group pretend to be religious and yet deny the Name. 2 Timothy 3.1-5, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” The Third Commandment forbids us to live in ways that treat the Name of God with contempt.
We are forbidden, in the Third Commandment, to live ashamed of the Name and the Word of God. Mark 8.38. “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Paul thus proclaims, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1.16).
Christian living, our religious practice, is marked by wisdom, bearing fruit, and giving no offense to God’s Name. The Word and the grace of God give us the qualities that honor His Name.
I spoke of the second half of the Third Commandment in the last sermon, but it has been two weeks since then, so let me repeat some of it! The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. How we treat the Name has accountability. We see and hear regularly people in the public who profane the Name in one way or another. We also see those who profess the Name who deny God by their works. We are charged to guard our lips in how we speak the Name and to guard our lives in how we walk in the Name.
What is forbidden in the Third Commandment? Misuse of any kind of the precious Name of our Lord and God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This includes with the Name, His Word, and His establishment of the Christian Church in faithful belief and practice, what we call religion.
Two more texts before we sing our last hymn. Sinclair Ferguson points out two significant texts that speak to the Third Commandment. The first in from Numbers 6.24-27, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” These are the verses that we are familiar with in that we have probably heard them many times at the end of a worship service. It is a benediction that blesses the people with protection, provision, and the light of God’s face. But the next verse is not included in this benediction. Verse 27, “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” The blessing is in the Name!
Ferguson states, “When the people of God received this blessing, God was putting His Name on them. So, to take the Name of the Lord your God in vain was to be someone who accepted the Lord’s benediction and then went away and lived as if he or she had never received it.”
The second text Ferguson highlights is Matthew 28.19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In baptism we are claimed in and by the Name. We are blessed in the Name and claimed in the Name. We are identified with the Name of God. Let us therefore love God and love His Name.
“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield” Psalm 5.11-12.
