A (53). The third commandment is, 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.

A (54). The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.

Contrary to popular belief, the idea of taking the Lord’s name in vain is not merely about using his expressed name as something that our culture would regard as a curse word. Those already familiar with the various debates may ask whether this commandment principally regards oaths or blasphemy. Isn’t the scope of it the whole of our speech? 

“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” (Ex. 20:7).

The word “vain” itself helps us. What does it mean to do anything “in vain”? It means to do it lightly, without a care, or to stir up some baser affections. And that would even include our disinterest. If I were to ask you about some speech about religious matters, “What did you mean by that?” and if you were to reply, “Oh, nothing. I meant nothing at all by—” What? You meant nothing at all by “God”? Hopefully we have our outlook widened by this law of speech today.

Our outline with be: (1) the root of reverence for His name; (2) the nature of reverence for His name; and (3) the scope of reverence for His name;

The Root of Reverence for His Name

A crucial verse comes from Psalm 138. 

“I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Ps. 138:1-2).

Notice the setting of the triumph of the true God over the false gods. The Scriptures do not hesitate to use the word “gods” in the plural—even arguably about earthly kings in Psalm 82—precisely because there is a great spiritual war, and a whole planet that was under the captivity of these demons disguising themselves in the pagan pantheon of false gods. And do one of the functions of God revealing His Name to His people is to …

God’s jealousy for his own name is the foundation. This is the theology of the third commandment. Enough study in the Scriptures will show us that God gives great significance to names. And no names are more significant than the ones that function as signs of God’s own nature. In fact, God associates his name and his nature. We saw that with the divine jealousy in that text in Exodus 34. There is also the famous case of Genesis 22, where “Jehovah Jireh” meant “The LORD who provides.” So we can view things from both sides: “God’s nature is suggested by his name” and “God’s name is suggested by his nature” 

These two are logically equivalent statements. In other words, the whole of everything that God is — our view of him through speech — is at stake. Calvin remarks that the “purport of this commandment is, that the majesty of the name of God is to be held sacred.”1 So the NAME will be like the sun with all of the other planets of human speech and communication orbiting its glorious light. All of it reflects the same light of the divine name back.

The Nature of Reverence for His Name

The answer to Question 99 of the Heidelberg Catechism adds to what is required: “in sum, that we use the holy name of God no otherwise than with fear and reverence, so that He may be rightly confessed and worshiped by us, and be glorified in all our words and works.”

The third commandment belongs to the moral law. God made mankind with mouths and tongues and voices to communicate his excellence. In the Lord’s Prayer we see the esteem that Jesus had for the divine name: “hallowed be your name” (Mat. 6:9). This is not simply a defensive concern for the name of God. It is more than this. It is a zeal for the advancement of God’s name. We would call it his fame. And this supreme value of God’s fame is a most holy desire that the name of God would be on the lips of every person on planet earth, and that the manner of that speech would be the same as the purest heart of worship — “reverence and awe” (Heb. 12:28). But it also demands that we make much of God and the things of God: “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1). Another proof that this is moral law will become much clearer with the ninth commandment, but a verse in the New Testament shows us how the ninth and the third are connected:

“With it [i.e. the tonuge] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (Jas. 3:9-10).

Can we see how this is moral law. With the tongue. Who has tongues—Only Old Covenant Jews? Whose tongues are specifically for this purpose, and can either bless or curse? Only Old Covenant Jews? Whose speech is for upholding blessing to God through speaking respectfully about the image of God? Just an ancient Jewish thing? Hopefully that cements home the point.

This duty is also a great end goal in all of the rest of obedience. So Israel was told, “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name” (Deut. 28:58); and “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?” (Rev. 15:4)

The Scope of Reverence for His Name

Note the scope here as listed: “the holy and reverent use of God’s NAMES, TITLES, ATTRIBUTES, ORDINACES, WORD and WORKS. First, can we justify this scope with Scripture? Yes. While the passages we looked at already laid a foundation for it, there are others that show that the right way or wrong way of doing things associated with God’s name, for that very reason, does right or wrong to His name:

“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts … Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations” (Mal. 1:11, 14).

Think of the very familiar word: PRAISE. What is this? This means to commend—to make much of.

“Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!” (Ps. 68:4) This is the motive for spreading the gospel, as when God commissioned Ananias to go to Paul,

“But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15-16).

When we realize the implications of all of our speech being sacred, we may be tempted  to think we can opt out, to think we can level our language just to “be safe.” We might reason to ourselves, “Well, if any speech about God is such risky business, then it is better not to talk about him at all!” And isn’t that the point of “Therefore let your words be few” (Ecc. 5:2)? The trouble with this is that everything is already about God, so that one can never really escape from theological talk. Dabney adds “all that suggests Him, in our speech and other media of communication, with each other.”2 Here again we can see the interconnectedness of the commandments. 

As one exception to our rule of dealing with what is required first and then the next week what is prohibted—just to show what we mean by the interconnectedness of the commandments—Does a crucifix violate the third commandment? We have no doubt what the Reformed have said about its violating the second. But our question is whether it also violates the third. It would according to Dabney because the visual medium is communicating. And we remember that according to God, his name is associated with his whole nature. That is because, as we saw, “God’s nature is suggested by his name” and “God’s name is suggested by his nature” are logically equivalent statements. If it can then be shown that God’s nature is communicated by a particular medium, then it must follow that his name is thus communicated by the same. Hence every violation of the second commandment also, indirectly, violates the third as well.

A summary list is given by Brakel on the “virtues enjoined in the third commandment.”

“First, to speak (and want to hear others speak) of God and divine things with all humility, reverence of heart, and manifestation of respect … Second, to confess the Lord holily and boldly … Thirdly, to glorify God in all that we say or do … Fourthly, to be zealous for His Name and cause … Fifthly, to call upon the name of the Lord … Sixthly, to swear by His Name in a holy manner.”3

Think of how we handle the “ordinances, word, and works.” We speak lightly of “cherry picking” the Bible for those verses that will support a point we want to make, or in more academic circles, to mine the Scriptures only to fit some neat little project that will either satisfy our curiosity or enhance our image to colleagues. This is all to lie about the nature of God by handing His Name as if it were a light thing. This also challenges those of us who care about properly preforming baptism and the Lord’s Supper, so framing our words and other elements in such a way that the maximum attention may be drawn to that grace meant by God in it. To err is human here too; but to not care to do better each time is to take his name, even through our hands, water, bread and wine, in vain.

APPLICATION 

Use 1. EVANGELICAL USE. By this point we should see that proactive upholding of the holiness of God’s name is demanded. That requires both that zeal that we talked about and accuracy. So Psalm 29:1—“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.”

This means that failure to proactively hallow God’s name is blameworthy. So the words of Heidelberg Q.99 include, “even by our silence and connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others.” If we get comfortable around people misusing God’s name, our own consciences will become seared. Before long, that terrible regression implied by Psalm 1:1, will become us, as we move from walking in the counsel of the wicked, to standing in the way of sinners, to sitting in the seat of scoffers.4 In due time we can get comfortable with the holy name being profaned. Keeping the Third Commandment is an active, watchful thing.

Use 2. CIVIL USE. It’s been said that if you want to know who rules, in a time or place, just take quick inventory of who you can’t criticize. As a corrollary of that principle, it can also be said: If you want to know who or what a people worships, in that time or place, look in that same place—Who or what can’t you speak about in a way that deviates from the culture’s catechism? Who can’t you speak against so much, that the very words become shocking, embarassing, indecencies? What subjects will get you universally cancelled if you go there? Behind that defensive maneuver by your employer or your social network is the reigning deity.

In societies that have been influenced by Christianity, there have always been some sort of blasphemy laws. Those who don’t know their history will of course push back against such an idea. But I want to leave aside whether this moral law ought to be civil law in this or that way. On a more general level, there is something very striking about the very notion of this law of speech, that human beings can’t quite get rid of, and which may be a perversion of something good, that actually cannot be gotten rid of. Doug Wilson has spoken of every culture having its “blasphemy laws.” This is actually a very important insight. He says it this way about the reigning god of American culture, “the people,” (demos).

“Every culture has blasphemy laws. They are not always called that, but no society allows citizens to rail against the reigning deity. In our pluralistic times, these blasphemy laws are called “hate crimes” legislation, among other euphemisms, but they are really religious protections to keep the reigning god, demos, from being blasphemed.”5

It is what we always meant by “political correctness.” That label and concept was, not so ironically, just a nice, “politically correct” way to groom us all for the new god. History tells us that, at first, it is called “the people” and “community standards.” But in time, the mob gives way to the tyrant. If you want to know how the secular religion’s third commandment will transition from what Wilson called “our pluralistic times” to its next phase, or how the god “demos” will give way to the god in rank above him, simply turn your view from the American mob to the orders of Islam or Communism. And notice how, while your parents couldn’t speak out against the mob’s desires, you and I are not allowed to speak out against either the more centralized State or against Allah.

Use 3. DIRECTIVE USE. We saw how violating the second commandment also violates the third. Consider for a moment what the first commandment called us to: what it enjoins us positively to do. Now apply this to our speech: (1) our academic speech, (2) our workplace speech, and yes, (3) our social media speech. What does the Scripture say? Let “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). On the flip side, 

“A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?” (Ecc. 10:14)

When we try to solve all the problems of the world with our words, we’re also lying about God because we are investing in ourselves a level of importance that belongs only to God.

So let the one who teaches about God, or even communicate truth about God at all, so teach and so speak that God’s name would be made much of, that no light thought be entertained, and that our words would not form signs to direct others away from God. And let the one who merely “throws around” words, accepting the lowest common denominator of careful speech—because “it’s just Facebook and Twitter, and that’s what our generation has accepted!”—No! God has not given us speech for a lowest common denominator, but for a highest calling that covers every part of life. And of course, in our sermon today, Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:36-37 will give us this truth in the form of a warning. 

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1. Calvin, Institutes, II.8.22

2. Dabney, Systematic Theology, 364.

3. Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, III:128, 29.

4. This idea of the regress is expressed by Charles Spurgeon in his Treasury of David about Psalm 1:1.

5. Douglas Wilson, The Case for Classical Christian Education,