Feb 23
26
Baptist Catechism 58 & 59
Q. 58. Which is the third commandment?
A. 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.” (Exodus 20:7)
Q. 59. What is required in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words, and works. (Ps.29:2; Deut. 32:1-4; Deut.28:58,59; Ps.111:9; Matt. 6:9, Eccles. 5:1; Ps. 138:2, Job 36:24; Rev. 15:3,4; Rev. 4:8)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 29
“A PSALM OF DAVID. Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
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Introduction
As we move on now to consider the third of the Ten Commandments I would like to remind you of something that we learned a while ago. Some time ago we asked the question, “What did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience?” Answer: “The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law” (BC 45). And then we asked, “Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?” In other words, where is this moral law revealed most clearly? Where is it summarized? Answer: “The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments” (BC 45).
So as we study each of the Ten Commandments we should remember that they are a summary of God’s moral law. And what is a summary? A summary is a brief statement or account of the main points of something. When you read a summary of something you understand that there is more to consider. You are only getting a little taste. There is more to be had. We should remember that The Ten Commandments are a summary of God’s moral law.
Remembering this should help us to think more deeply about the Ten Commandments. I’m afraid our tendency is to think of them very superficially. So, for example, we think that if we refrain from carving a little figure and bowing down to it then we have kept the second commandment. But is that all the second commandment requires and forbids? No! Contemplating the commandment carefully, and considering how the rest of scripture develops the second commandment, shows us that more is forbidden and required than that. In fact, “The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances, as God has appointed in His Word.” And it “forbideth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in His Word.”
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.” And this commandment is often understood very narrowly. What do most people assume the third commandment forbids? They assume it forbids using God’s name as a swear word. Does it forbid that? Of course, it does! But the third commandment requires and forbids more than this, and our catechism is helpful to set us off in the right direction.
In previous sermons, I told you that the first commandment is concerned with who we worship. The second is concerned with how we worship. And now you are to see that the third is concerned with the attitude of worship. We are to revere God. We are to honor his name. We are to worship him from the heart.
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Baptist Catechism 59
So “what is required in the third commandment?” Answer: “The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words, and works.”
To “take the name of the Lord” is to pick it up and use it. To take something in vain, is to pick it up and use it carelessly and without thought to its significance.
And pay careful attention to the way that our catechism directs us to think beyond the formal names of God only, and also of “titles, attributes, ordinances, words, and works.” All of these things are to be handled with reverential care because they reveal God. We are not to handle any of these things carelessly, thoughtlessly, or vainly.
Not only are we to use the name “God”, carefully, but also his titles such as “Lord” and “Father”. When we speak of God, his nature and attributes, we must handle those with caution too, lest we misrepresent God. And his ordinances are also to be taken up with great care, for they reveal his truth as well. When we come to the Lord’s Table, for example, we are to come with reverence, for God and Christ are revealed here. His word is to be handled with care. Also, his works. This means that we are to even handle God’s creation with reverence, for the heavens and earth reveal the glory of God. When we look upon a beautiful sunset, we should do so with reverence, brothers and sisters. We should be moved to praise, for something of the name of God is revealed in the sunset. And all of this also applies to the person and work of Christ, for through his words and works he has revealed the name of the Father to us. Christ speaks to God in John 17:6, saying, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” (John 17:6, ESV).
This is why I have said that the third commandment has to do with attitude. God alone is to be worshipped. And he is to be worshipped in the right way — according to his word. But he is also to be worshipped with the right attitude. This is what the third commandment is getting at.
Think of our worship. When you come to assemble with the church on the Lord’s Day, you are indeed coming to worship the one true God. And you are doing it in the right way as we worship together in the way that God has prescribed. But you know as well as I do that it is possible to have the wrong attitude in worship. Sometimes we are very distracted. Sometimes we are careless. Sometimes we come to the Lord’s Table, for example, without thinking of its significance or discerning the sin in our own hearts. The worship might be done right (technically), but if it is approached in a vain way by the worshipper, then it is not pleasing to the Lord. God demands more, brothers and sisters. He wants our hearts and minds.
We “take the name of the Lord” not only when we speak his name with our lips, but anytime we engage with him and his revelation of himself to us. Never should we approach him or speak of him in vain, but always with reverential honor and fear.
Think of this, dear brothers and sisters. You took the name of God upon you in the moment that you believed in Christ. He adopted you as his own. You are now a beloved child of God. You bear his name just like a child bears the name of her parents. And you know that every parent wishes to have the family name honored. And so it is with God.
And so you see that the command to “not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” is about more than using God’s name as a swear word.
When a Christain lives in sin, they violate the third commandment.
When a Christian partakes of the Lord’s Supper carelessly, they violate the third commandment.
When a Christian sits under the ministry of God’s most Holy Word but pays little attention to it or has no intention to obey, they violate the third commandment.
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Conclusion
This commandment is about attitude. It is warning us against the evil of approaching God — in all of the ways that he makes himself known to us, be it through his names, titles, attributes, ordinances, words, or works — in a careless and irreverent manner.
Prepare your hearts for worship, brothers and sisters. Come to worship with love for God and reverence in your hearts. And prepare your hearts day after day, for we God’s children. We bear his name. And we are to testify to the goodness of his name as we live in his world through wish he makes himself known.
“Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.” (Psalm 29:1–2, ESV)
