Clean Transcript

Cursing God - Part 1 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

• Well, let's open our Bible today, if you would please, to the book of Exodus chapter 22 and verse 28. This is the first message of a two-part series on cursing God. I think you will understand just momentarily. So look in Exodus chapter 22 and verse 28. Exodus 22 verse 28, the Word of God says, "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people." Now when you read in Exodus 22 and verse 28, "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people," our text is not teaching that there are many gods. There is only one God, the one true and the living God, who's revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. So you're going to ask, why then does it say, "Thou shalt not revile the gods" if there are no other gods? Well, the answer to that is found, first of all, in Psalm 82. If you want to turn there, Psalm 82 is a psalm concerning the judges. You have to remember that the judges were ordained by God to execute and to enforce His law.

  #1 | 0:11 to 1:37 | cleaned

• So if you look in Psalm 82, let's begin reading there with verse 1. It's a very brief chapter, or brief psalm, I should say. Look at it. Psalm 82, verse 1, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods." There it is again. So notice, if you would, the context. Verse two, "How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?"

  #2 | 1:38 to 2:06 | cleaned

• So we're talking about judges. Then he tells them to "defend the poor and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and the needy, and rid them out of the hand of the wicked." Then he said, "They know not"—this is the judges—"they perverted God's law. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course."

  #3 | 2:06 to 2:27 | cleaned

• Now look at this. "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations."

  #4 | 2:27 to 2:43 | cleaned

• Now, you will also remember in the book of John, our Lord quotes this passage when they accuse him when he said, "I and my Father are one." He said, "You make yourself God." He said, "No." He said, "May I remind you that even the scripture says, 'Ye are gods'?" And that's exactly what he is quoting from in Psalm 82. You'll find that in John 10, verse 33: "The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." I've always smiled at that. I said they've just got it backwards. It was not a man making himself God; it was God making himself man. But then Jesus said in verse 34, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" And of course that is written in Psalm 82 and also in Exodus chapter 22. Now when you look back at Exodus 22 in verse 28, and it says, "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people," so if God then forbids us to curse the ruler of our people, how much more are we forbidden to curse the one sovereign, supreme, and divine ruler of the universe, the one true and the living God?

  #5 | 2:43 to 3:53 | cleaned

• I started to title this message "Pollution, Profanity, and Vanity." I did not do so because ultimately each one of these three things is a means of cursing God. Now when you and I think of cursing, immediately we think of Exodus chapter 20 and verse 7 where God commands, "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." So it's amazing to me that most people will limit what you and I would call profaning God's name to what you and I would recognize and say is cussing and using profanity or taking God's name along with slang and with vanity. Sometime back, I heard a man who was taking God's name in vain and he was attaching God's name with the word "damn." And I looked at him and I said, "Sir, excuse me, but you're cursing the wrong person or the wrong object." He said, "What are you talking about?" I said, "Well, it's not God who damns, it's sin that damns. I said, it's God who saves. I said, so if you want to damn something, you damn sin. Don't damn God. God is our only Savior and our only Lord." And that's certainly true. But if you ask the average Christian the question, "What is taking God's name in vain?" inevitably they're going to say it's cussing.

  #6 | 3:53 to 5:17 | cleaned

• Now, years back, I preached a message which I entitled "Preaching and Profanity." I'm not going to repeat that message, but I am going to tell you today what I said back then as to the essence of profanity. And you might be surprised when we begin to look at the essence of profanity. I think it would also be an interesting study if we went through the Bible and studied the word "curse." And you'd be amazed at how many times the word "curse" appears in the Bible. And of course, there are different Hebrew words that are used as well as different Greek words that are used for "curse." But most people just label all cursing as profanity. And they never distinguish between what you and I would call a biblical curse and a fleshly, humanistic curse.

  #7 | 5:17 to 5:44 | cleaned

• So if you want to know the difference between a biblical curse and a humanistic curse, I would just challenge you to read Deuteronomy chapters 28 and 29, because in those two chapters, God places His blessings upon obedience, and He places all of His curses upon disobedience. And when you get to chapter 29, there are a lot of curses that are listed there. Now, it may surprise you that not all cursing is unbiblical. You say, "What are you talking about?" Well, even the apostle Paul placed some curses upon individuals. So I want you to turn in your Bible, hold it in Exodus 22. If you look in the book of Galatians chapter 1 and verses 8 and 9, Galatians chapter 1. And by the way, as you are turning there, we will come back to 1 Corinthians chapter 16 next. So if you pass 1 Corinthians 16, just hold that one as you turn over to the book of Galatians chapter 1. Okay, so look in Galatians chapter 1 and verses 8 and 9. Look what the scripture says. The Apostle Paul says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." So here is God through the Apostle Paul placing a curse upon anyone who preaches any other gospel than that which is revealed in the scripture.

  #8 | 5:44 to 7:06 | cleaned

• Then he says it again in verse 9, "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Now the word "accursed" in both of these verses is the Greek word "anathema." And it refers to that which is cursed, that which is set aside for certain and sure destruction. So the Apostle Paul then places a curse upon anyone who perverts the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and or preaches any other gospel than that which is revealed.

  #9 | 7:07 to 8:11 | cleaned

• Now, if you look back in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and notice, if you would please, verse 22, you find two other words, one of the same, one a different word. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 22, Paul says, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha." What in the world is "Anathema Maranatha"? Well, once again, the word "anathema" means that which is placed under curse for sure and certain destruction. Now look at this. "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha," that is, at the coming of Christ. So he says, let him be a curse, let him be set aside for certain and sure destruction at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  #10 | 8:11 to 8:41 | cleaned

• So there are biblical curses. There are times when Christians must pronounce a biblical curse against someone. However, outside of biblical cursing, we have been commanded by our Lord to use proper godly language.

  #11 | 8:42 to 9:10 | cleaned

• So if you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 33. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 33. Look, if you would, what our Lord says in reference to our speech. Matthew chapter 5 verse 33: "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths." Now, let me stop there just for a moment. He said, "You have heard that it has been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself." What does it mean to forswear yourself? Have you ever forsworn yourself? The word "forswear" here from the Greek means actually to swear falsely. It means to perjure yourself. So he says you're not to swear falsely. You're not to perjure yourself. He said, "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths."

  #12 | 9:11 to 10:05 | cleaned

• Now that'll come out a little clearer much later. Look in verse 34: "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. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." So, he says, don't swear by your own head.

  #13 | 10:06 to 11:43 | cleaned

• When I was a boy, a lot of the old timers, if they would see something they could hardly believe, they would utter two words or three: "Well, I swear." That's what they would say. And God is saying here, "Swear not at all." Don't swear by Jerusalem. Don't swear by your head. Don't swear by God. Let your yea be yea and let your nay be nay.

  #14 | 11:44 to 12:19 | cleaned

• Now here's why. In Colossians 4 and verse 6, the Word of God says this: "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." So here's what our Lord is saying: if we say what we mean and we mean what we say, we don't have to punctuate it with swear words or slang words. And the reason people use slang words and swear words is simply because their oath or their word is not sufficient. They think they have to punctuate it with something that is atrocious. But this is why in Matthew 5, our Lord said, "Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." So it just says just speak the truth.

  #15 | 12:21 to 13:55 | cleaned

• Now the Word of God says in Romans 12 and verse 14, "Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not." Now I'm going to remind you of this truth. Blessing your enemy or loving your enemy just simply means that we act biblically toward them. That's all. The Bible tells us that love is the fulfilling of the law. So when we are persecuted, we do not retaliate with wickedness and evil. No, we still do that which is right even toward them. We may pray for them, but we do not necessarily curse them.

  #16 | 13:55 to 14:40 | cleaned

• Now, James teaches us that for our mouths to issue blessing and cursing is confusion. So if you look in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 3 and look, if you would please, at verse 9. James chapter 3 and look at verse 9. In fact, let's actually begin reading there with verse 8. He says, "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." As someone said, the tongue is like an automatic sewing machine set on fire out of hell. And that's usually it. But look what he says in verse 9: "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God." Now I told you you have to distinguish between a biblical curse and a humanistic, natural, fallen man curse. So, this is what he's saying. You're not to use your mouth to bless God the Father and turn around and humanistically and fleshly and naturally and carnally curse someone who's made in the image of God.

  #17 | 14:41 to 16:06 | cleaned

• Now, let me answer a question. Is it possible for Christians to use foul language? And the answer's yes. We have a tongue. We can say anything we want to say. But there are always consequences to what we do say. But I can show you in the Bible an apostle of Jesus Christ who cursed and swore. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Mark, chapter 14. Mark chapter 14, and I want you to see what is said concerning the Apostle Peter. This is when Christ was taken into the palace of the high priest. The Apostle John had gone in because he knew the high priest, and then he sent word and a little maid opened the gate and let Peter in. So three times now, Peter has denied Christ.

  #18 | 16:06 to 17:27 | cleaned

• This happens to be basically the last time. So look at this, if you would please. Let's begin reading with verse 69. "And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them." Now look carefully. "And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak." Wow. He began to curse and to swear. Now the word "curse" is the Greek form of "anathema." It is "anathematizo," and it literally means to devote to destruction, to declare oneself liable for the severest divine penalties, and to bind oneself to a curse. Wow! And then the word "swear," "omnuo," means to threaten with an oath, or to invoke an oath. So here Peter is cursing and swearing.

  #19 | 17:28 to 18:53 | cleaned

• And I think it's very interesting that his cursing and swearing was done in such a way to demonstrate and to prove that he was not a follower of Jesus Christ. That ought to tell us something about cursing and swearing. And of course you remember in John 21, after Peter had denied our Lord three times here, our Lord asked him three times, "Peter, lovest thou me?" And of course Peter said yes, and finally the third time he said, "Yes, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." So in Mark 14, Peter is cursing and swearing to demonstrate that he is not a follower of Jesus Christ in order to save his own hide so that he would not be condemned with Jesus. And yet when you get to John 21, and I do want you to turn over there, John chapter 21, I want you to look because Peter did repent and Peter did give his life for the testimony of Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice how he gave his life.

  #20 | 18:55 to 20:13 | cleaned

• So in John chapter 21, let's begin reading there with verse 17. "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." So Peter was ultimately crucified as well. So our Lord is saying this is how you're going to die.

  #21 | 20:13 to 21:02 | cleaned

• Now, what I want to do is this: I, this Sunday and next Sunday, by God's grace, I want to explain to you from the scripture profanity, pollution, and vanity. Okay? So today we're just going to cover one subject. I want you to consider the word "profane" and its significance for each of us. There were, and there still are, a multitude of ways to profane God and His name and anything connected with Him. We really do not think today in terms of profanation. Therefore, most Christians are actually guilty of profaning the name of God. And when we talk about profaning the name of God, it's not just the ignorant who are guilty. It's not just the common individual who is guilty. It's pastors, preachers, teachers, and priests who are also guilty. So what I want to do is this: I want to show you, first of all, a number of scriptures that deal with being profane. Now, you're going to find—and I'll show you a number of them from the book of Leviticus. There are a lot of terms in the book of Leviticus that use the word, or verses that use the word "profane" or "profaned."

  #22 | 21:02 to 22:46 | cleaned

• And the reason being the theme of the book of Leviticus is holiness to the Lord. You remember the high priest had a mitre and he had a band around that mitre that said "Holiness to the Lord." Of course, these are used throughout the entire Bible. But the main word that is used in this is the word "chalal." And every time I show you this in the Old Testament it is going to be this Hebrew word.

  #23 | 22:47 to 23:14 | cleaned

• And it means to profane, to defile, to desecrate, to make, or to count, or to treat as that which is common, or that which is public. Wow! So let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Leviticus. We'll begin there. Leviticus chapter 18 and look, if you would please, at verse 21. Leviticus 18 and verse 21: God says, "And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of the Lord thy God: I am the Lord." So passing your seed through the fire to Molech—whether it was—and by the way, if it's Molech, Moloch, Melech, Malcom, this is all the same word in the scripture. So God says when you dedicate or give your child to a false god, you are profaning the name of the Lord. He said, "I am the Lord, don't do that. Don't profane my name." By the way, a lot of Christians give their children to false gods. They give them to the state. They surely do. Notice, if you would, in Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 12, look what God says: "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord." So swearing by the name of God falsely is profaning the name of God.

  #24 | 23:14 to 24:57 | cleaned

• Wow. Look in Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 3. Leviticus 20 in verse 3: God said, "I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name." So God says this act of idolatry was not only profaning His holy name, it was also defiling His sanctuary as well. Now if you will still turn right on over to the book of Leviticus chapter 22 and look, if you would please, at verse 32. Leviticus 22 in verse 32: He says, "Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you." In other words, God sanctifies us. God makes us holy. And he says we are to hallow him.

  #25 | 24:58 to 26:07 | cleaned

• That is, we are to recognize his holiness and his sovereignty. Now, let me just quote one. And then I'm going to ask you to turn to Jeremiah 23. Just go ahead and turn to Jeremiah 23. And as you're turning there, I'm going to quote Nehemiah chapter 13, verse 17. Nehemiah said, "Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?" So it's not just God who can be profaned. It's the Sabbath day that can be profaned. You're going to find that anything related to God can be profaned. Now in Jeremiah 23, look, if you would please, at verse 11. Jeremiah 23 and verse 11.

  #26 | 26:07 to 27:01 | cleaned

• I want you to pay close attention to this one. He says, "For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord." Both prophet and priests are profane. Wow. So how in the world did the prophet and the priests become profane? Well, in order to answer that, you need to turn right over to the book of Ezekiel chapter 22 and look, if you would, at verse 26. Ezekiel 22 verse 26: God said, "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." Now before I tell you about this verse, I want to give you two passages that relate to the responsibility or the responsibilities of the priests. Now, we know the prophet was supposed to declare the Word of God.

  #27 | 27:01 to 28:38 | cleaned

• And a lot of times those false prophets are those who claim to be God's prophet and proclaim their own dreams and their own desires and not the Word of God. And God cursed them, especially in Jeremiah 23. But here are two verses. First of all, Leviticus 10 and verse 10: He tells the priests, "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean." So it was the duty, it was a responsibility, it was the obligation of the priests to put a difference between that which is holy and that which is not holy, that which is clean and that which is not clean. Okay?

  #28 | 28:39 to 29:25 | cleaned

• Now the second verse I want to give you is this: Malachi 2 in verse 7. Malachi 2 in verse 7, listen to this: "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." Now stop and think about that. "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth." It was not only the prophet's responsibility, but it was the priest's responsibility to know the law of God, to teach the law of God, because they had to distinguish between the holy and unholy, the clean and the unclean. And the scripture says that he, the priest, is a messenger of the Lord of hosts. He is a messenger of God.

  #29 | 29:26 to 30:19 | cleaned

• He should have the truth. He should speak the truth.

  #30 | 30:20 to 30:23 | cleaned

• Now, what happened in Ezekiel 22 and verse 26, the priests now have profaned God's holy things. He said they put no difference between the holy and profane. They've showed no difference between the unclean and the clean. And he said they've hidden their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. So the priest then held a special office. It was a holy office, and they were duty-bound to reverence the law. They were duty-bound to function according to every law and every rule and every regulation that God laid down. And they were responsible to preserve his law and his statutes and his ordinances from fraud, from deceit, from misuse and abuse. That was their responsibility. And yet what they did is they wrested the law of God. They wrested the truth of God to teach oppression and impiety. And they wrested it to speak that which was not true and not accurate and not biblical.

  #31 | 30:24 to 31:37 | cleaned

• And they made it to mean what they desired. This is what happened to the Pharisees in the New Testament. I mean, these were the people who thought they kept the law of God, but yet they perverted the law of God and twisted it in such a way they made it mean something that God never meant for it to mean. That's why in Matthew chapter 5, our Lord says, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time... but I say unto you." Over and over he says that.

  #32 | 31:38 to 32:06 | cleaned

• This is what they taught, but here's the truth. And so the messenger of God was to speak the truth, that is for sure.

  #33 | 32:06 to 32:12 | cleaned

• Now, they profaned God's holy things. They treated God with absolute contempt. They treated God as if he was not important, and in doing so they despised him. So I want you to turn now, if you would, to the book of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 1, and I want us to begin reading there with verse 6, and I want you to see how God confronts these priests. Look at this. Malachi 1 and verse 6. Look what God says.

  #34 | 32:13 to 32:51 | cleaned

• "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" Now God is charging them with despising his name. They said, "Well, wherein have we despised your name?" Here's how. Look in verse 7: "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible." In other words, "I don't want to have to do this. I mean, this is tiring. This is old. This is something we do all the time, and you know, we get tired of this. It's the same old thing over and over and over." Oh, that's not all. Look in verse 8: "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?" You remember all the sacrifices had to be without blemish. But now he said, "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts." God said, "I'll tell you what you do. You slay one of those oxen. You slay one of those young calves, and you give your governor a piece of steak that is full of boils and sores, and even though you cooked it you can still see some of the pus in it. Let's see him eat it. Will he accept that at your hand?" And he said, "Look, you're treating me worse than you would treat your governor."

  #35 | 32:54 to 33:34 | cleaned

• Now look at this. He said in verse 9: "And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts." Look in verse 10: "Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." He said, "You wouldn't even shut the doors if they needed to be shut. You wouldn't kindle a fire if it needed kindling." What were they doing?

  #36 | 33:36 to 34:31 | cleaned

• They were not placing any difference between that which is holy and that which was unholy. They were not placing any difference between that which was clean and that which was unclean. They were not putting any difference between that which is common and that which is holy. Thus they were profaning not just God and the name of God. They were profaning everything about God. He said, "You've hidden your eyes from my Sabbaths."

  #37 | 34:31 to 34:53 | cleaned

• You're not keeping my Sabbath. You're not only not keeping my Sabbath, you're hindering other people who are not keeping my Sabbath. You're despising me. Now, let me ask you a question. Since these priests dishonored, disobeyed, despised, condemned, and profaned the name of God, the question is this: why would God put up with such priests? And then you would have to ask, why would God not judge such priests? And the truth of the matter is, He did judge them.

  #38 | 34:53 to 35:33 | cleaned

• Now here's a good question I'm going to ask you. You answer in your mind. Does he still have priests like that? The first answer you would give me is, "No, we don't have priests like that today because that's the Old Testament, that has Old Testament sacrifices and all this kind of stuff, and no, we don't have priests like that today." I'm going to tell you something. We do have priests like that today. And I'm not talking about the Roman Catholic priests.

  #39 | 35:33 to 36:00 | cleaned

• They have their problems as well. You say, "Well, what in the world are you talking about?" Well, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1. And look, if you would please, at verse 6. Revelation chapter 1, verse 6. Look at this. In fact, let's read verse 5 and 6. Verse 5: "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." What has Jesus Christ done for his children? He's made us kings and priests. If you look in Revelation chapter 5, look, if you would please, at verse 10. Revelation 5 in verse 10: Again, he says this: "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." He's made us kings and priests.

  #40 | 36:01 to 37:25 | cleaned

• And by the way, I'm not going to take the time today to go through and show you that yes, we should function as a priest. What did the priest do? They made intercession for the people. Don't we pray for each other? Don't we pray for our children? Don't we pray for our spouses? We are to make intercession as priests. What about sacrifice? Do we offer sacrifice?

  #41 | 37:25 to 38:03 | cleaned

• Yeah. What does the Bible say? "Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." We have been made priests unto him. So here's the question: Since you are a Christian and you are a priest, what kind of a priest are you? What kind of a priest are you?

  #42 | 38:04 to 38:45 | cleaned

• Now I want you to listen. I want to show you the word "profane" in the New Testament. I'm going to give you several passages in which the word "profane" is used. And in each instance, it is from the same Greek word, "bebelos." Okay. Now "bebelos" is a word that is made up of two words. I'm going to just give you one word right now. "Bebelos" comes from "belos"—"belos"—which refers to a threshold. So when we come in a door we step over the threshold. Wow. Okay. I'll finish the word a little bit later, but I'm going to show you the scriptures and you're going to see that profanity not only deals with persons, but actions and attitudes and sayings and fables.

  #43 | 38:45 to 39:08 | cleaned

• And it refers to that which is unhallowed, or unsanctified, and that which is common and public. So, turn in your Bibles, if you would, first of all, to the book of 1 Timothy 1, verse 9. 1 Timothy 1, verse 9. Watch carefully. He says this: "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." Oh, wait a minute. Did you hear what I just read? It's not just these wicked deeds that are profane, but anything that is contrary to sound doctrine is profane.

  #44 | 39:08 to 40:52 | cleaned

• Wow. Look, if you would, in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 7. 1 Timothy 4 and verse 7: He says, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness." Now if anything contrary to the truth is profanity, here it is: an old wives' fable, an old wives' tale. It's not true. You may have heard it all of your life, but it's just not true. It's a fable. It's a lie. Therefore he says it's profane.

  #45 | 40:53 to 41:37 | cleaned

• Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 20. 1 Timothy chapter 6 in verse 20: Here it is again. He says, "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust." Now look at this. "Avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called." Vain babblings, that's just talking and beating your gums. It's not true. It's not worth anything. It is absolutely worthless. You know, I thought about this as I read this verse. We could read it like this: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoid profane and vain babblings from Anthony Fauci and from CNN and from all these people who are just babbling off and have no idea what they're talking about." And when science says the Bible is not true, that's vain babbling. That is profanity.

  #46 | 41:37 to 42:47 | cleaned

• Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Timothy 2 and verse 16. He says it again: "But shun profane and vain babblings." Why? "For they will increase unto more ungodliness." Wow. So you can see profanity refers to a lot of things. It's not just cussing. It's just running your mouth when you're just babbling and going forth and spouting out fables and untruths. Wow.

  #47 | 42:47 to 43:47 | cleaned

• Well, look in your Bibles now to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. And I want you to look at verse 16. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 16: He says, "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Now, wait a minute. Esau is called a fornicator. He's called a profane person.

  #48 | 43:47 to 44:26 | cleaned

• Now, dealing with the word "fornicator" is another sermon. But notice he's called a profane person. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible say that Esau cursed, or Esau cussed, as we would say, or took the Lord's name in vain. But yet God calls him a profane person.

  #49 | 44:26 to 44:40 | cleaned

• Well, what was it that made Esau profane? Well, I want you to look back in your Bibles, if you would, first of all, to Genesis chapter 25. Genesis chapter 25. Let's begin reading there, if you would, with verse 32. In fact, let's begin with verse 29. Genesis 25 verse 29: "And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright." Now when Esau said, "I am at the point to die: what profit shall this birthright do to me?"

  #50 | 44:44 to 46:10 | cleaned

• Now, Dinah, you've been a nurse for a long time. Here's my question. Have you seen people at the point of death sit down and eat and then just get up, walk away, do their own thing? They're not at the point of death. They may be hungry, they may be tired, but you don't need to walk away if you're at the point of death. Here's what made him profane in one sense of the word: He despised spiritual things. He despised his birthright.

  #51 | 46:10 to 46:32 | cleaned

• Now, I've told you in time past what that birthright included. I'll tell you again. The birthright, number one, included him being the head of the family since Esau was the eldest. He was the oldest son. That meant he would have taken over after Jacob died. Okay? So, patriarchy. He would have been the head of the family.

  #52 | 46:34 to 47:16 | cleaned

• Secondly, the birthright included a double portion of the inheritance. The oldest son got a double portion of the inheritance. And the reason he got the double portion of the inheritance was because it was his responsibility to take care of his parents when they were elderly and they could not take care of themselves. So he got a double portion. He got a portion for himself and a portion for them.

  #53 | 47:16 to 47:27 | cleaned

• And thirdly, the birthright included the lineage of the Messiah. Wow. So Esau despised this birthright and he sold it for a bowl of red lentils. He was a profane person. You'll understand this word just momentarily.

  #54 | 47:28 to 48:10 | cleaned

• Now, let me show you something else. If you look in Genesis chapter 28, you'll understand there's more to his profanity in the sense that he violated the fifth commandment, which says, "Honour thy father and thy mother." In fact, he acted contrary to his father and mother deliberately, premeditatedly, on purpose.

  #55 | 48:13 to 48:17 | cleaned

• So look in Genesis chapter 28, if you would please, and begin with verse 6. "When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; and Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife." What? Whenever Esau saw these Canaanite women did not please Isaac and Rebekah his father, and then Jacob had obeyed and went after a wife whom his father had commanded him to go after, he then purposely and deliberately went by and violated what he knew to be the known will of his father and mother. He was a profane individual.

  #56 | 48:17 to 49:33 | cleaned

• Now, let me put it to you like this. One can be profane and never curse. In order to be profane, all you have to do is this: live as if God does not exist and live as if God has never spoken. So profanity is far more than filthy and foul language. Profanity is a lifestyle. Profanity is a life that ignores, forgets, overlooks, and despises that which is right and holy, and could care less about God and treats him contemptuously, and in doing so they despise him. That is profanity. That's a lifestyle.

  #57 | 49:33 to 50:06 | cleaned

• Now, how was Esau profane? Well, our English word "profane" actually comes from the Latin "profanum." "Profanum" is made up of two words: "pro," which is a preposition which means "to" or "toward," and the word "fanum" means "temple." So the word "profane" means "to or toward the temple." Now, if we are looking to or toward the temple, what does that mean? It means we're outside of the temple. We're not in the temple. So a profane person, just based upon the Latin word, means you're outside of the temple. You're outside of the presence of God, so to speak.

  #58 | 50:06 to 51:03 | cleaned

• Not in reality, but according to your view. And God has no control over you. You're outside of the temple. So a profane person is someone who lives his life away from God, away from his word, away from his truth, counting God as someone who is common and not worth listening to.

  #59 | 51:03 to 51:51 | cleaned

• Now, I told you that every one of these verses I read to you earlier was from the same Greek word "bebelos." I told you that the word "belos" meant threshold. Okay? That's good. But I also told you that it is made up of two Greek words. The other word happens to be the Greek word "basis," which is from the word "baino," which means to walk or to step away. I told you it meant threshold. So the word "bebelos" literally means to cross over the threshold, to step over the threshold, to go outside of the temple. So what is a profane person either from the Latin term or from the Greek term? It's someone who walks away, who desecrates anything that's holy, who despises God, who refuses to submit to Him, who forgets His law, who forgets His commands, who forgets His statutes, who forgets His ordinances, and treats Him with contempt.

  #60 | 51:51 to 53:36 | cleaned

• Now, any time you see the Roman numerals LXX, that's Roman numerals for 70, that is the designation of the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. And you will find the word "bebelos" is used in the Septuagint to speak of the desecration and profanation of the name of God, of his day, of his land, of his covenant, and of his priests. So here's my question again.

  #61 | 53:37 to 54:15 | cleaned

• What kind of priest are you? What kind of life are you living? Are you inside of the temple? Are you outside of the temple? Are you on the outside looking in or are you on the inside looking out? When I say that, what those who are not profane do as priests: they put on the spectacles of the Scripture, and they look through the spectacles of the Scripture and interpret everything in light of the word and the will and the purpose of God. They acknowledge Him in every area of their life.

  #62 | 54:16 to 55:01 | cleaned

• They are the ones who make a distinction between that which is holy and that which is unholy, that which is clean and that which is not clean. And they do so based upon the Word of God. So, as God's priests, we have to learn to view everything through the glasses of Scripture, the spectacles of God's Word.

  #63 | 55:02 to 55:29 | cleaned

• Now, let me try to tie this together and make some applications. Here it is. The first one is, I hope you understand that it is simple, easy, natural for a fallen man to be profane. That's what he is by nature. Do you realize how simple it is to be profane? All you have to do is ignore God or think wrong thoughts of God. When you manufacture a God in your mind which is not the God of Scripture, you're being profane. When you think thoughts about God which are not Scripture, you are being profane. When you refuse to obey God, you're counting Him as common. You're being profane. When you refuse to treat God as God, worship Him as God, pray unto Him as God, and praise Him as God, you're being profane. Fallen man by nature is profane. Many Christians in their ignorance live a life of profanity. So, let me point something else out. Profanity is not simply curse words. It is not simply using the name of God flippantly and lightly. It is a life that is lived outside of God's word, outside of God's law, outside of God's principles, outside of God's direction. Profanity is accomplished by ignoring and forgetting God because we do not count Him important enough to consult with Him concerning our plans, our purposes, and our desires. We just ignore Him and treat Him as if He was not God.

  #64 | 55:30 to 57:05 | cleaned

• Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 53. Look at this passage, Isaiah 53, and you automatically should know what is contained in this passage. But I want you to look at the first three verses. It's verse three that I really want to deal with. Look at this, Isaiah 53, beginning with verse one. "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

  #65 | 57:06 to 57:30 | cleaned

• "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Now first of all, this of course refers to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was a common-looking man. This is what this is saying. He had no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there was no beauty that we should desire him. There was nothing that stood out spectacularly about Jesus Christ.

  #66 | 57:31 to 58:01 | cleaned

• He didn't walk around with a halo glowing over his head. He looked just like an ordinary man. Now look at verse 3: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Now the word "esteemed" means to consider. It means to pay attention to. It means to think about. Now watch this: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." We didn't even think he was worth thinking about. It's a waste of our time to contemplate Jesus Christ. It's a waste of our time to read the Scripture. It's a waste of our time to serve God. That's the way those wicked priests were in Malachi chapter 1. We esteem him not. We don't think that he is worthy of our time. We don't think that his word is worthy to be read and to be studied.

  #67 | 58:03 to 58:31 | cleaned

• We don't think that he's worthy that we pray to him and meditate upon his truth and communicate with him. We esteem him not. We're being profane. We're living our life outside of the temple, as if God has not spoken, as if God does not exist. I want to give you one last scripture. I preached from this passage a few weeks back. I want to call it to your attention. Jeremiah 2, verse 32. God asked, "Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?" The answer would be no. Then he says this: "Yet my people have forgotten me days without number." What does that mean? They're living profane lives. Christians can be profane, and unhappily, too many live a profane life because they can go days without prayer, days without reading the Scripture, days without praising Him, days without thanking Him, days without even saying, "Lord, just thank you for life and health." Profanity is cursing God. Living a life without him is profane. It's cursing God. Refusing to acknowledge his word, his sovereign authority and power is profanity, because it does not esteem him as God and as sovereign. Yep. What kind of a priest are you?

  #68 | 58:31 to 59:59 | cleaned

• Are you inside the temple or outside of the temple? Do not live a profane life. Live, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask for your grace, we ask for your mercy, and we pray, Lord, that you would indeed make us holy. May we not have profane lives, may we not live profanely, and certainly, Lord, may we not profane thy holy name, because thou alone art God, and beside thee there is none other. Give us your grace and mercy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

  #69 | 59:59 to 1:00:46 | cleaned

• ♪ ♪

  #70 | 1:00:47 to 1:02:13 | cleaned

• you

  #71 | 1:02:15 to 1:03:53 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:58:52Z