Deuteronomy 5.11

“‘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.’”

1 Corinthians 15.1, 2; 1 Corinthians 15.58; 2 Corinthians 6.1; Galatians 4.8-11; James 1.26

Taking the Name of the Lord in vain is more than what we commonly think of when this commandment comes to mind. While misusing God’s Name in oaths and exclamations is certainly included under things proscribed by the third commandment, these are not the main issue.

We take God’s Name in vain when we fail to live up to our pedigree – when we fail to pursue good works as the expression of who we are in Christ and of our gratitude for His saving mercy. Taking God’s Name in vain is a bit like a batter in a baseball game who takes a bat from the rack, strolls to the batter’s box, then never lifts the bat off his shoulder and is called out on strikes.

God has given us His Name for a purpose, to bring about certain effects. We take His Name in vain when we fail to work out our salvation or become weary in doing good, so that those good works that glorify God are not evident in our lives as they should be.

We also take the Name of the Lord in vain when we take it for selfish reasons, as Simon the magician sought to do in Acts 8. Ananias and Sapphira also took the Lord’s Name in vain when they tried to gain notoriety as generous people in their offering to the Church in Acts 5.

We always need to be careful about our motives. In our “celebrity” culture it’s too easy to want to appear to be holy or generous or bold or spiritual in order to draw attention to ourselves. But God calls us to take His Name for the purpose of drawing attention to Him. When we try to use the Lord’s Name for our own advantage, we are taking His Name in vain.

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.