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Promises Of The Law - Part 11

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• Chapter 5, Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 11. Deuteronomy 5 and verse 11. We're still on the series, "The Promises of the Law." This is message number 11, and we're dealing with the third commandment. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 5 and verse 11, the Word of God says this: "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 of course, may I remind you, just simply by way of review, that we have covered the first two commandments. I'm not going to review all the other messages that I've dealt with in this series. But in the first commandment, the inherent and the implied promise of that commandment is that if we have no other gods before Him, above Him, or under Him, or equal unto Him, He will be our God and we will be His people. When we looked at the second commandment, we found there that actually there were two promises, or at least a promise of a two-fold nature.

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• The first were negative sanctions, because He said that He would visit to the third and fourth generation of those that hated Him. So if you go into idolatry, there again that curse falls upon you. And of course, the positive sanction is implied very clearly there, that those would be blessed if we did not fall into idolatry and if we honored Him the way He so demanded. And then of course, I went on and explained in the second message on the Second Commandment that if we understand that we are not to make any graven image of any kind, we also have to grasp in some degree the nature of God. We would understand the spirituality of God. We would understand that God is incorporeal, that is, He does not have a body. You remember I explained to you how that there are anthropomorphic terms in the Bible.

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• "Anthropos" is the Greek word for man. "Morphe" is the Greek word for form. So anthropomorphic just simply means man-form speaking. So when you read about the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, beholding the evil and the good, God does not have eyes because God is spirit. That is an anthropomorphic term so that we can understand He's talking about His omniscience and nothing escapes Him. When we read about the hand of God, or the arm of God, that is speaking of His omnipotence. So God places His Word in language that you and I can understand. And of course, if we understand that God is incorporeal, that means that we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is, we worship Him in our spirit, the Holy Spirit, and it is bounded by truth. So let me put it like this: there is an internal worship of God in our spirits, and there is the external public worship of God. It is the internal that pleases God most, because God is Spirit.

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• Now it is true that the external praises His outward glory, for God is to be publicly worshiped. But the truth of the matter is the external worship is worthless unless there is the internal or spiritual worship involved in it. They must go together is what it amounts to. So we worship God in our spirit and we worship Him in the realm of truth.

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• Now when we get to verse 11, we get to the third commandment, and it is very simple and very straightforward. It says, "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." Anytime we hear the third commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," immediately, if you live in the South, you think of cussing. You live in the North, you think of cursing, probably. But whether you call it cussing or whether you call it cursing, that is immediately what enters our mind. But when He says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," He would not only say that we are not to use His name in vain by attaching it to slang words and bywords, but it also means that we are not to use His name irreverently or flippantly or as an exclamation point. Now when you look at the third commandment, actually there are three truths here.

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• First of all, there is a negative expressed, that is, we must not take God's name in vain. That is, we must not cast any reflection or dishonor upon His name. There is an affirmation implied, that is, that we are to take care to reverence and to honor His name. And then thirdly, there is a duty enjoined, in the sense that we are required to make mention of His name. Now when you read this commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," you have to understand the phrase, "the name of the Lord." When you read "the name of the Lord," that phrase applies to who God is.

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• It is His very nature. It is His very being. The name of the Lord includes everything from His nature, to His being, to how He's revealed Himself in His word, in His titles, in His attributes, in His ordinances, in His works. So let me say it again. The name of the Lord stands for His very nature and for His very being. Sometimes the name of the Lord, that phrase, would refer to the whole body of truth that God has revealed concerning Himself and His works.

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• Let me give you the scripture. Micah 4 and verse 5. Let me just read it to you. Micah 4 and verse 5, it says this: "For all people will walk everyone in the name of his God, and we," that is His covenant people, "we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever." So, all people will walk in the name of their God, that is, they will walk in His name and in His untruths which they would consider truth. They are walking in the body of revelation that their false god has revealed. But the covenant people are saying, "We are going to walk in the name of the Lord our God." That is, we are going to walk in the whole body of revealed truth that He has given unto us. So let me just amplify a little bit on the name of the Lord.

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• So if you will hold Deuteronomy chapter 5, but turn in your Bibles to Psalm 20, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Let me just show you, and it's interesting how often we read this phrase, "the name of the Lord" in Scripture and really fail to even consider it or think about it. But notice if you would in Psalm 20 and verse 1: "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; now watch, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion."

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• "Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfill all thy counsel. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. The Lord fulfill all thy petitions." Now note if you would, He says in verse 1, "the name of the God of Jacob defend thee," and then He mentions how that God is going to defend by sending help from the sanctuary, by strengthening, by remembering the offerings, by accepting the sacrifices, by granting our desires of our heart, fulfilling our counsel, and enabling us to rejoice in His salvation. And, of course, again, He says we're going to set up our banners in the name of the Lord our God. But all of this is just simply in the name of God.

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• I want you to turn now to Psalm 135. Psalm 135. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 1. Psalm 135, verse 1.

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• Here again, the scripture says: "Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord. Praise him, O you servants of the Lord, ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Look, sing praises unto his name, for it is pleasant." So now the Bible tells us that we are to praise the name of the Lord, and that we are to sing praises unto His name. Just to show you how often we read the word "name" in reference to God and really totally neglect it. But you remember that passage in John 1:11-13, where the Bible says, "He came unto His own, but His own received Him not." Now listen, He came unto His own, but His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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• But notice, believing on His name. So God's name then is Himself. God's name is everything that He's revealed about Himself, not only in His word, but in creation, in His attributes, in His providence. So God's name then is Himself. Everything that God has revealed is His name as well. Therefore, we cannot even swear by creation without swearing by God. I'm going to show you how this third commandment is really intimately connected with what you and I would call swearing, vows, and oaths.

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• For instance, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And notice if you would please, beginning there verse 34. Matthew 5 and verse 34. Please remember now, I'm talking about the fact that God's name is representative of everything that He is and everything that He has done and created. So in Matthew chapter 5, beginning there at verse 34, look what our Lord says: "But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black."

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• "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." Now notice if you would, He said, "Swear not at all. Neither by heaven," why? "For it's God's throne. Neither by the earth, for it is His footstool." You know, I haven't heard this much since I was a boy, but usually some of the old-timers would say something like this: "Well, I swear." That's all they would say, then they would never say anything else. But "Well, I swear," and the scripture says, "Swear not at all." And I'm going to explain this in light of other passages just momentarily, but He says, "Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay." There are a number of people who think they have to make an exclamation point with everything they say by either taking God's name in vain or by using some slang or some cuss word. The truth of the matter is this: if we are men of our word, and if we speak the truth, and if we say what we mean and mean what we say, we do not have to add exclamation points.

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• It's just simply there. It is our word. It is just like that old adage, a man's word is his bond. And so when you speak, God is saying that is it. But now He is saying, don't swear by the heaven, don't swear by the earth. God is the Creator. So if you are swearing by the heaven, if you are swearing by the earth, you are swearing by God.

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• Now turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Matthew 23, because here our Lord really rails upon the Jews and upon the Pharisees because of their misrepresentation and misinterpretation of God's Law. And look what He deals with, Matthew 23, beginning there with verse 16. Matthew 23 and verse 16, look what He says: "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whosoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon." Notice if you would, our Lord is saying you can't swear without swearing by God. And you are not to swear flippantly. You're not to swear irreverently. You're not to swear in such a manner that you're dishonoring Him. It's absolutely, absolutely wrong to do so.

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• Now, God's glory is revealed in His creation, because His creation is indeed the handiwork of Him. And Calvin rightly pointed out, and let me read what he said, just one sentence. He says, "God's name is profaned whenever any detraction is made from His supreme wisdom, infinite power, justice, truth, clemency, and rectitude."

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• Now stop and think about this. God's name is profaned whenever any detraction is made of His supreme wisdom. If you didn't go any farther than that, how many times do we say, ignorantly and innocently, "Why did this have to happen to me? Why is this happening to my family?" What are we doing? In one sense of the word, we are accusing God of acting without wisdom and bringing to pass things in our lives that we don't like and that we don't think are valuable or instructive. So there are numerous ways to profane God's name. And when He said, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," I want you to understand something: you can take God's name in vain and never ever utter a curse word and never even utter a slang word.

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• Now there are a lot of slang words that are prominent today that are really and truly not cuss words. I have a message on preaching profanity. I'm going to just give you an illustration. It's been a habit of a lot of men in the South particularly, to say, considering an object or something, they would say something like this: "It's not worth a damn." And everybody would say, "Well now, that's a curse word." In reality, it's not a curse word. It's a slang word.

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• That is sure. But do you realize where that word came from and how it got into our vocabulary? There are actually two places that it came from. First of all, it came from England. Remember John Bunyan was a tinker. A tinker would go by and fix these pots that had cracked. And so a dishonest tinker would take the pot and he would put a little thin layer of mud, or even a thicker layer of mud, and then he'd put a little metal over that mud, and it looked like it was fixed. Well, until you heated the pot, and the mud cracked, and the weld cracked. And so they got to say, "It's not worth a tinker's dam." In other words, it's not worth damning. In other words, it's not worth fixing because the tinker didn't do it right. The second place it came into our vocabulary is from the Duke of Wellington in India. The dam was the coin of least value in India. It's like our penny. And so when they would say, "It's not worth a damn," it was equal to saying, "It's not worth a cent. It's not worth a penny." Now I'm not going to use the word, except in teaching, etc.

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• I don't go around saying that. But I'm just simply pointing out a lot of language that you and I would consider slang today initially was not slang, nor was it a curse word. It was an economic expression, all it was. So, but the truth of the matter is you have to understand when God says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Let's consider the word "take," for instance. The word in the Hebrew is "nasa," and it literally means to bear, lift up, to take, to carry, to be born, or to be carried. So you shall not carry the name of the Lord thy God in vain. You shall not take it up in vain. You shall not bear that name in vain. So when you understand the word "take" refers to far more than speech. It refers to the totality of life. This is why I said earlier, you can never say a curse word and yet you can profane the name of God. Because your life then would be carrying it in vain.

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• Here you are saying that you are a Christian. Here you are saying that you believe in the Word of God. And yet your actions and your attitudes are actually contrary to the Word of God. So the word "take" literally means to carry, or to bear along, or to carry along. Now He said, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." The Hebrew word for "vain" is the word "shav," which refers to that which is empty, that which is vain, that which is false, that which is worthless, that which is desolating. So actually He is saying, "Thou shalt not carry the name of the Lord worthlessly. You shall not carry the name of the Lord in desolation. You shall not carry the name of the Lord falsely." In other words, your life can take God's name in vain without you ever uttering a curse word, is what it amounts to. Cursing or cussing just happens to be one of the ways that we can take God's name in vain. And by the way, anytime we use God's name flippantly, or irreverently, or blasphemously, or dishonorably, that is a violation of the third commandment.

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• Anytime we murmur against His providence, anytime we dislike what He allows to come to pass in our lives, that is a violation of the third commandment. Because God is God, and His name covers not just what you and I would refer to as His attributes, but it covers everything about God: His nature, His being, His creation, His works, His providence, everything. And so, and I'm going to show you this passage before we close, but God said in the book of Deuteronomy 28 and verse 58, when we violate the third commandment, it is because it is a failure to fear, to fear this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God. Wow. So He commands us, fear His name. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Nehemiah. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. And look at Nehemiah 9 and verse 5. Let me show you a verse that is interesting to show you how great and how glorious the name of the Lord really is. Nehemiah 9 and verse 5. That way I get to read all the names of these Levites. Nehemiah 9 verse 5. Here it is: "Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise." So God's name is so exalted, He said, although we praise it, His name is actually exalted above all blessing and praise. And that's interesting. And yet God has commanded us to praise His name, and we're singing praises unto His name as well.

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• Now, I mentioned earlier, when you think about the third commandment, you immediately think of cursing or cussing. But the third commandment is very closely connected to what you and I would call vows and oaths. We should understand that all false swearing is forbidden in Scripture. Any flippant and light-hearted swearing is forbidden in Scripture. Both of these are violations of the third commandment. And what our Lord says, "Swear not at all," our Lord is talking about what you and I would refer to as flippant, irreverent swearing, like the old-timers who used to just say all the time, "Well, I swear." I mean, that would just be flippant. And what would you be swearing by? You understand what I'm saying? So there are oaths in the Bible, and there are some oaths that should have been broken that were not broken. And I don't have time to get into oaths, but I'm just going to point out.

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• A false oath or wicked oath should not be binding. You remember Herodias' daughter danced before Herod and pleased him? And she wasn't a three-year-old girl either, I can assure you. And he swore to her that he would give her up to the half of his kingdom to whatever she asked for. And she said, "I'll tell you what Mama wants, and this is what I want. I want the head of John the Baptist in a charger." And the Bible said that Herod was highly displeased. Nevertheless, because of his oath and those that sat with him, why would you keep an oath that violates the third commandment and violates the sixth commandment?

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• You see what I'm saying? That's a bad oath. So if I told Steve, "I'm going to kill Ron before the sun goes down," am I bound to keep that oath? No, if I do, I'm very wicked. You see what I'm saying? That oath should have never been uttered to begin with. So when our Lord says, "Swear not at all," He is talking about these wicked oaths. He is talking about these irreverent and flippant oaths. Because in the Bible we are commanded to swear by the name of our God. May I remind you, you don't have to turn there, but in Genesis chapter 24, when Abraham was sending Eliezer his servant to get a wife for Isaac, Rebecca, He made Eliezer put his hand under his thigh and swear by God that he would not take a daughter of the Canaanites for Isaac. In fact, the truth of the matter is in Genesis 21, Abraham himself swore by God. Because Abimelech came to him and said, "Look, the Lord has blessed you, and we've treated you well, and you had all this land at your leisure and could do with it as you would. Now what we want you to do is we want you to swear by your God that you're not going to harm us or our children or our children's children." And Abraham said, "I swear." So He swore by God. So you are going to find that in the Bible, in the Old Testament particularly, men indeed swore by God. So I want you to look in your Bibles first of all to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 13. Then we will go to Deuteronomy chapter 10. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 13.

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• Here is an interesting statement: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." That's interesting. "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." Then if you look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 20, Deuteronomy 10 and verse 20, again we read: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name." In each oath, in each vow, there's an act of swearing, and it is a solemn appeal unto God. Now you may not even use God's name, but if you swear, and if you take an oath, if you take a vow, it is still in reference to God.

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• Let me give you something else most people have never thought about. I've preached in a lot of places, and as I was preaching, there'd be men that would say, "Amen." Now, that didn't bother me. I mean, that's wonderful. I don't mind. If you understand what you're saying, see the word "amen" just simply means "truly, truly, verily, verily, so be it, so be it." But it's more than that, because when you get to the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is called "the Amen, the faithful and true witness." And so if Steve says "amen" to what I am saying, he's actually calling Jesus Christ as a witness to what I have just said is truth according to His word. You see that? So to say "amen" is to call Christ a witness. To swear and to take a vow and to take an oath is to do so unto God. Calvin said this:

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• "God's name then is taken in vain not only when one abuses it by perjury, but when it is lightly and disrespectfully adduced in proof of frivolous and trifling matters." I speak with respect to oaths. I've talked to a lot of people, especially sometimes in counseling, and some say, "I swear this is the truth," you know. Really, it has to be pointed out that our lives oftentimes violate the third commandment. Every church you have what are known as hypocrites. Yeah, Pharisees. You have lost church members. You have people that profess to be God's people that are not God's people. They talk with their lips, but their lives indicate everything opposite of what they profess. I've heard people say oftentimes, "Well, I don't go to church because of hypocrites that are there." And my response has always been, "Well, you must love them a lot, because you're going to spend eternity with them." Well, what is the hypocrite got to do with your life? I mean, you understand what I'm saying. You can be genuine, you can be real, even though they're not. But let me show you this in the Bible. I want you to turn to Isaiah 48, and I want you to see this in reference to swearing, because obviously that is involved in salvation. I'll explain later. But look, if you would, in Isaiah 48, beginning there with verses 1 and 2.

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• So many today profess to be God's people that have no desire to really love Him or serve Him. But look in Isaiah 48, beginning there with verse 1. The Bible says: "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name." So look what God says. Here are these people who swear by the name of the Lord, but they're not swearing in truth. They're not swearing in righteousness. They like to call themselves Christians. They like to stay themselves upon God. But He said, they're not My people. They're not My people. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, that He mentioned particularly Judah. You remember it was in Judah the tabernacle and later the temple existed, where the priests and the Levites were, where the law was. Now I want you to look in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 5. Just turn over a few pages. Jeremiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 1 and 2, to show you the corruption that existed in Jerusalem.

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• Look what he said, Jeremiah 5, verse 1 and 2. God tells Jeremiah: "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely." Now, here's what God said to Jeremiah. Jeremiah, you run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem. If you can find one man that executes truth, if you can find one man that seeks truth, if you can find one man that swears truthfully and accurately by Me, I'll pardon the entire city. And Jeremiah could not find one. And if you'll look back in Jeremiah 4 and verse 2, He says: "And thou shalt swear," watch this, "thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory." And thou shalt swear. Look, if you would, go back to verse 1: "If thou wilt return, O Israel," that is, they've left God, "saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove. And if thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and righteousness." No words, your life has to back up your lips. Your life has to back up your profession. If you would turn over in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 7, and I'm sure that you are familiar with this passage, because in this passage our Lord warns of individuals who seemingly do great works in His name, and yet they're not saved. Matthew chapter 7, notice if you would please verse 21.

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• Our Lord says: "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." That's what counts.

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• "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?" that is, preached in thy name, "and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." I have several pastor friends that preached for a number of years before they got converted. They were lost. Yeah, a lot of unsaved preachers preach. You remember in Philippians chapter 1, when Paul was in prison, he said, "Some preach Christ of contention, supposing to add to my bonds; others preach Christ in sincerity and in truth." In other words, some preach just... it's kind of like a good friend of mine. He was really considering entering into the ministry, and he really respected his pastor. And he was a young man, and he went to the pastor and he asked him why he entered into the ministry. You know, he was expecting, "Well, God called me into this." But the reply he got was this: "It's a good job." That's what he was. It's a good job. So, yeah, you have these, that is for sure. You remember last week I pointed out that hypocrisy existed in the Old Testament just like it does in the New Testament. You remember that passage in Isaiah 29 and verse 13: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." And then our Lord turns around in the New Testament, He quotes from that passage twice, once in Mark 7 and once in Matthew 15. And in Matthew 15 He said it like this, talking to those Jews: "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

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• Now listen to what else He said: "But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." In vain. In other words, there is no real genuine worship when the life does not back up the profession of the lips. It's what it amounts to. So, it should be clear that this commandment requires us to honor and to value God's name, also to praise His name in truth and in holiness. We are required to make mention of His name.

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• If you would look in your Bibles to Psalm 34 and notice verse 3. Psalm 34 and verse 3. Psalm 34 and verse 3. Look at this.

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• "Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." Do you realize that we are required to exalt the name of the Lord together? And the answer is yes. Now, I've been trying to teach the promises of the law. Are there promises attached to the third commandment? And the answer is yes, obviously. Because if you will go back to Deuteronomy 5 and verse 11, I think you will see this one very clearly. He said, "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." Let me spell that out for you. Here's what God is saying: If you take My name in vain, I promise you that I will not hold you guiltless. I will judge you. I will judge you. I will protect the honor of My name. There's also a positive to this: if we do honor God and we do not take His name in vain, the positive is that God will not judge us, and obviously we will be blessed by Him.

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• So yes, clearly there are promises in this commandment, and one of those promises is that there is going to be blessings if we obey. Now, I think there's another promise attached here that's implicit in this commandment. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 45, and let me show you something. Isaiah 45. I'm going to show you several passages in light of this. Isaiah 45.

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• Because God said, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain." That means we're to honor His name. We're to glorify His name. We're to magnify His name. Our lives shall back up the profession of our lips. So look at Isaiah 45 and let's begin reading there with verse 21 and read through verse 25. I want to point something out. Look carefully. God says in verse 21: "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Now watch: I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."

  #39 | 35:08 to 36:25 | cleaned

• Now, if you'll notice in verse 23, God swore and He said, "Every knee shall bow." The bowing of the knee signifies first submission, secondly adoration. Then He said, not only every knee is going to bow, but every tongue is going to swear. So swearing then is connected to a truthful acknowledgement of God. That's why He said, "Thou shalt swear by His name." You're giving a truthful acknowledgement as to who God is and what His nature is and the truth of His word. Now, look if you would at verse 24: "Surely shall one say," that is the one who bows and the one who swears in truth, "Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness."

  #40 | 36:26 to 37:18 | cleaned

• In other words, I have none of my own. The righteousness is His. And "In the Lord I have strength." It's none of my own. I have it in Him. Now look, "Even to him shall men come." In other words, there is, I believe in this third commandment, an implied promise that if we honor God and exalt His name and not take that name, not carry that name in vain, that God is going to use us and make us useful in His kingdom, and He will give us men who come to us for truth. I can think of men in time past. I'm thinking of he's now dead.

  #41 | 37:18 to 37:58 | cleaned

• I buried him a few years back. His wife was a Christian, he was not. She was so concerned over him. She asked me to come visit him. I did, and as I was going in the front door, he was going out the back door. Not just one time, but a number of times, until God got a hold of him, and then he came to me. There was another young man that I remember I witnessed to, and he didn't want anything to do with me. We would be walking on the sidewalk meeting each other, and he would see me and he would cross the street just so he wouldn't have to speak to me.

  #42 | 37:58 to 38:26 | cleaned

• But I'd holler at him anyhow. Well, when God got a hold of his heart and God saved him, I remember at midnight, I would be saying, "Gary, please, just get up and go home. I've got to go to bed. I'll try to answer some more questions for you tomorrow." This is what He's saying. I had one truck driver who came to me. He had literally—he was a big fella—he literally picked up two preachers and threw them out of his house. He picked them up bodily and threw them out. And he came to me, and for eight solid hours I did nothing but witness to him nonstop, and he was asking for it. So this is what I'm saying. God is promising there's going to be usefulness if we honor Him.

  #43 | 38:26 to 39:05 | cleaned

• Now you remember the Bible tells you in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 21, it was by the foolishness of preaching that God chose to save those that believe. Now when we understand, "Thou shalt not take," thou shalt not carry, thou shalt not bear the name, everything that God is, everything that God has revealed, you shall not take that name worthlessly, in vain, uselessly, falsely. It has to reflect on the whole life. So, in that, turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2. Look at verse 10. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10. Look what the Apostle Paul said. You remember the Apostle Paul was in night and day in the deep, he's beaten with rods, he was stoned and left for dead, all kind of afflictions. But look in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10.

  #44 | 39:05 to 39:12 | cleaned

• He said this: "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Now, wait a minute. "I endure all things." Was Paul a vessel fit for... you shall... what did God say to him in Acts chapter 9? He said, "I'm gonna make you a vessel, and you're gonna bear My name before the Jews and the Gentiles and kings." Yeah, you're a chosen vessel. Now look in your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 20. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. Here's what he says. Watch: "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. Now watch verse 21: If a man therefore purge himself from these," that is the dishonorable things, "he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet," or suited, "for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." So if you came to my house with your grandchild and you said, "Pastor, my grandchild would like to go dig in that sandbox out there. Do you have something he can dig with?" I am not going to hand you a sterling silver spoon. I would hand you some old spoon that's worthless. I don't care whether it comes back or not. In other words, there are things in our homes that we really don't care anything about. There are other things in our homes that we care a very great deal about.

  #45 | 39:27 to 40:49 | cleaned

• But the vessels here, He's talking about the body. And so He says, there is in every house things that are useful and worth a lot, there are some things that are worthless. And if a man purge himself from these things that are worthless and vain, he shall be a vessel fit for the Master's use. So when He said, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," He is basically saying we need to get out of our lives any and everything that is worthless and useless and will not bring honor and glory to God.

  #46 | 40:50 to 41:24 | cleaned

• Now, let me ask you to go back to 1 Timothy chapter 6, because 1 Timothy chapter 6, and I want you to look at verse 12. I was talking about oaths. May I remind you that we take oaths and we take vows. A vow is an oath. You have marriage vows. You have baptismal vows. You have all kinds of vows. But in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, Paul tells Timothy: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses," or hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses. What is he talking about? He is talking about Timothy's baptism. You can check any commentator, any scholar you want to, every one of them is going to tell you this is the vow, this is the oath that Timothy took when he was baptized before so many witnesses.

  #47 | 41:29 to 42:56 | cleaned

• I told you in times past that the earliest baptismal formula consisted of three words, and when you swore "Jesus is Lord," you were in essence denying that Caesar was Lord, and that you were Lord, and you were bowing, and you were kneeling, and you were submitting to the one true and living God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Paul is telling Timothy, you need to remember this vow. You need to remember this oath that you have taken. Jesus is Lord.

  #48 | 42:56 to 43:53 | cleaned

• Now, it's striking when you read Psalm 15. When the psalmist there is talking about those who are fit to abide in the Lord's tabernacle, one of the things he says in verse 4 is "he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." In other words, once he gives a vow, once he gives his word, he does not change. So if I tell Brother Gary I'm gonna sell him my bicycle for 50 bucks, and then I find out it's worth 500 bucks, well, I've already told him I'll sell it to him for 50. I could come to him and say, "I told you 50, and I will sell it to you for 50, because I said that. But it's worth 500. If you would like to give me more, wonderful. If not, I said 50, that's what I'm gonna take. I'm gonna stick to my word." Used to, a man's word was his bond. I've told you in times past, but when I was a boy, I saw my father enter into deals with other farmers worth 40, $50,000, and all they do is shake hands.

  #49 | 43:53 to 44:01 | cleaned

• That was it. And when one farmer died, the other farmers would go to that widow and say, "I had a deal with your husband. I owe him so much money. Here it is." You will not find that today. Today, you get a contract and you get it notarized 40 or 50 times, and they'll still find a way to break it. Because vows and oaths and words mean nothing.

  #50 | 44:01 to 44:50 | cleaned

• God said, we are not to carry that name in vain. If we are His, our lives are reflected in every area of our life. Now, we treat God flippantly and irreverently when we do not give Him the honor and the glory that's due unto His name. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 28. I want you to see this. Look in Deuteronomy 28. I referred to this earlier, and by the way, this passage is in light of the law that has been given, the curses and the blessings. So notice if you would, He's talking about now the curses that are going to fall if you disobey. But notice if you would, Deuteronomy 28, and let's begin reading there with verse 58.

  #51 | 44:50 to 45:37 | cleaned

• Look what He says: "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law," in other words, if you won't listen to Me, if you won't obey Me, now watch, "if thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed." Why? Because you did not fear this wonderful and glorious and holy name, the Lord thy God. Wow. I believe that there is another implied promise: if we do honor Him and do not carry His name in vain, I believe that we will be enabled—and there's a promise here—to live in His fear and what you and I would call godliness, holiness, and true piety.

  #52 | 45:38 to 46:33 | cleaned

• You see, so many people try to deceive others, even try to deceive God Himself. That's what a hypocrite does. That's what a Pharisee does. That's what church members who are not really saved try to do. But you see, 2 Timothy 2 and verse 19 makes this exceedingly clear: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The Lord knoweth them that are His. So you can't fool God.

  #53 | 46:33 to 47:41 | cleaned

• He knows who belongs to Him and who does not belong to Him. And if you name the name of Christ, He said let everyone who names that name depart from iniquity. If we observe the third commandment, we will be enabled to do what the Apostle Paul has told us to do in Ephesians chapter 4 when he says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Walking worthy of being a Christian means that we do not carry or bear His name in vain.

  #54 | 47:41 to 48:42 | cleaned

• Everywhere we are, in every area of our life, we demonstrate the fact that we're Christians and we submit to Him and we honor Him and we glorify Him. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask You, Father, to help us not to bear Thy name in vain, not to carry it, Lord, worthlessly, needlessly, uselessly, and falsely. Father, help us to trust Thee and live for Thee and honor Thee. Help us to magnify Thy name and sing praise of Thy name and glorify Thee, for Thou art God. And may we fear this awesome and wonderful name, the Lord Thy God. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• ♪♪ ♪♪

  #56 | 49:32 to 50:10 | cleaned

• Now, let me ask you to go back to 1 Timothy chapter 6, because 1 Timothy chapter 6, and I want you to look at verse 12. I was talking about oaths. May I remind you that we take oaths and we take vows. A vow is an oath. You have marriage vows. You have baptismal vows. You have all kinds of vows. But in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, Paul tells Timothy: "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses," or hast confessed a good confession before many witnesses. What is he talking about? He is talking about Timothy's baptism. You can check any commentator, any scholar you want to, every one of them is going to tell you this is the vow, this is the oath that Timothy took when he was baptized before so many witnesses.

  #57 | 50:11 to 51:24 | cleaned

• I told you in times past that the earliest baptismal formula consisted of three words, and when you swore "Jesus is Lord," you were in essence denying that Caesar was Lord, and that you were Lord, and you were bowing, and you were kneeling, and you were submitting to the one true and living God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Paul is telling Timothy, you need to remember this vow. You need to remember this oath that you have taken. Jesus is Lord.

  #58 | 51:25 to 52:04 | cleaned

• Now, it's striking when you read Psalm 15. When the psalmist there is talking about those who are fit to abide in the Lord's tabernacle, one of the things he says in verse 4 is "he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." In other words, once he gives a vow, once he gives his word, he does not change. So if I tell Brother Gary I'm gonna sell him my bicycle for 50 bucks, and then I find out it's worth 500 bucks, well, I've already told him I'll sell it to him for 50. I could come to him and say, "I told you 50, and I will sell it to you for 50, because I said that. But it's worth 500. If you would like to give me more, wonderful. If not, I said 50, that's what I'm gonna take. I'm gonna stick to my word." Used to, a man's word was his bond. I've told you in times past, but when I was a boy, I saw my father enter into deals with other farmers worth 40, $50,000, and all they do is shake hands.

  #59 | 52:05 to 53:28 | cleaned

• That was it. And when one farmer died, the other farmers would go to that widow and say, "I had a deal with your husband. I owe him so much money. Here it is." You will not find that today. Today, you get a contract and you get it notarized 40 or 50 times, and they'll still find a way to break it. Because vows and oaths and words mean nothing.

  #60 | 53:29 to 53:57 | cleaned

• God said, we are not to carry that name in vain. If we are His, our lives are reflected in every area of our life. Now, we treat God flippantly and irreverently when we do not give Him the honor and the glory that's due unto His name. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 28. I want you to see this. Look in Deuteronomy 28. I referred to this earlier, and by the way, this passage is in light of the law that has been given, the curses and the blessings. So notice if you would, He's talking about now the curses that are going to fall if you disobey. But notice if you would, Deuteronomy 28, and let's begin reading there with verse 58.

  #61 | 53:58 to 54:48 | cleaned

• Look what He says: "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law," in other words, if you won't listen to Me, if you won't obey Me, now watch, "if thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed." Why? Because you did not fear this wonderful and glorious and holy name, the Lord thy God. Wow. I believe that there is another implied promise: if we do honor Him and do not carry His name in vain, I believe that we will be enabled—and there's a promise here—to live in His fear and what you and I would call godliness, holiness, and true piety.

  #62 | 54:28 to 56:14 | cleaned

• You see, so many people try to deceive others, even try to deceive God Himself. That's what a hypocrite does. That's what a Pharisee does. That's what church members who are not really saved try to do. But you see, 2 Timothy 2 and verse 19 makes this exceedingly clear: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." The Lord knoweth them that are His. So you can't fool God.

  #63 | 56:14 to 57:04 | cleaned

• He knows who belongs to Him and who does not belong to Him. And if you name the name of Christ, He said let everyone who names that name depart from iniquity. If we observe the third commandment, we will be enabled to do what the Apostle Paul has told us to do in Ephesians chapter 4 when he says, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." Walking worthy of being a Christian means that we do not carry or bear His name in vain.

  #64 | 57:04 to 57:43 | cleaned

• Everywhere we are, in every area of our life, we demonstrate the fact that we're Christians and we submit to Him and we honor Him and we glorify Him. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask You, Father, to help us not to bear Thy name in vain, not to carry it, Lord, worthlessly, needlessly, uselessly, and falsely. Father, help us to trust Thee and live for Thee and honor Thee. Help us to magnify Thy name and sing praise of Thy name and glorify Thee, for Thou art God. And may we fear this awesome and wonderful name, the Lord Thy God. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

  #65 | 57:44 to 58:41 | cleaned

• ♪♪ ♪♪

  #66 | 58:49 to 59:18 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:07:14Z