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Excuse me, verses 50 to 58. I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, for the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that it's written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory. Excuse me, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Here ends the reading of God's holy word. Father in Heaven, as we come to consider your third commandment, we pray that you would bless the teaching and the hearing, in Jesus' name. Amen. We've been looking at the Ten Commandments when we come to the third one, which is, Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. It's a pretty familiar commandment of the Ten. Almost everyone has heard it at one time or another, but it's also one of the most misunderstood. Usually, Christian teaching on the commandment is limited to something like, Don't swear using God's name. Don't cuss using God's name. Now, when I was 19 years old and not a Christian in my parents' kitchen, my maternal grandmother was there, and I happened to use God's name in vain, just like that. It's the only time in my life that I recall that my grandmother smacked me right across the face. She was ill pleased. And then I kind of looked at her and she said, I don't want everyone to hear those words come out of your mouth again. And they haven't, at least not in front of her. And nobody should use God's name so frivolously. But the commandment here means a lot more than this. The word vain means empty or lacking reality. So taking anyone's name in vain would be to take their name in an empty fashion. What does that mean? It means to use a name as though there was a corresponding reality of a relationship where none exists. Let me give you an example. I don't know that this happened in Canada, but it did in the United States during the Gulf War. Just as it was starting, it turned out there hadn't been a war in the U.S. where soldiers and sailors and marines and airmen were called into battle in quite some time. So there was a whole generation, it seemed, of military service people who had joined the military for benefits. They, at least in the U.S., I don't know if it's the same in Canada. You don't have to blurt it out if it is or isn't. But in the United States, if you signed up for service and you spent your four years in the service, whichever branch, at the end of it, you could take advantage of something called the GI Bill and go to university for free for four years, tuition free for four years. So a lot of people had signed up for that. They also got to travel. Career doors opened that military service often helped with that. There were benefits. But when it came to fight, they wanted out. They didn't sign up for this or so they thought. See, they were soldiers or sailors or airmen or marines in name only. Now, a more recent example of this is people who want to become Canadian citizens, and they do, but their primary allegiance remains with whichever country they came from. So they're Canadians, technically, but they're really more wherever they came from. Now, that all presents a problem if there's a conflict between their nation of origin and their new nation. Having been in ministry as long as I have, I've done my share of marriage counseling. And the difficulties, if they've gone far enough, quite often either the husband or the wife will say, quite dramatically sometimes, this is a marriage in name only. What do they mean by that? What they mean is that they live in the same house. They might share the same checking account. If there are children, they all share the same name. The man and the woman may even go to children's events and smile and cheer and laugh and be nervous together because of the particular recital play, performance or sporting event that their child is in. But there's something missing. What's missing is intimacy or commitment or both. They feel like they're married in name only. When two people enter into a marriage covenant, quite often they take vows that include the words forsaking all others. So when you get married to somebody, you get married and you say, I am going to be your husband or your wife exclusively. And that at the same time means I'm not going to be anybody else's husband or wife at all. It's an exclusive forsaking all others. And that's what the Lord means when he says in Exodus 22 and 3, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. Now, he doesn't mean that he wants to be first among many. He wants us for his own. Isaiah 62.5 says it like this. As a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. That's very intimate language because everybody knows how a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. It's intimate. It's as intimate as it can be. And it's not to say that God is having intimate relations in that way with his people, but the Scriptures use that as an illustration, the most intimate language humans know, to illustrate exactly God's plan toward us. The second commandment describes God as a jealous God. You shall not worship. He says you shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or the earth beneath or the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. And now the third commandment says you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. So when a person takes God's name in vain, it's a serious matter. When a person takes God's name to be their own, it's not to be done frivolously. When a person bears the name of Christ, when a person takes the name of Christ to be their own, when someone calls himself or herself a Christian, it is to be done with our whole heart. It's not to be done in an empty, half-hearted fashion. It's not to be done vainly. I mentioned that a couple can be married in name only. Sometimes they recognize it and it troubles them. Sometimes they know something's missing. Some couples, however, are married in name only and they don't even realize it. They go through their daily routine of working or homemaking or child rearing without much heart involved. The day after day of sameness sort of numbs them into thinking they are really married when they're married in name only. Long ago, maybe without even realizing it, they gave up the vulnerability and intimacy and instead settled for the safety of routine. They're not sure when it happened, but they no longer have passion or desire in their relationship. It's not that they don't get any benefit from marriage. There's a fitting into society they're afforded. There's a companionship instead of loneliness. And there's a division of labor and the day-to-dayness of life, but their routine may bring comfort. There is no passion and there's no heart. Why am I talking about this with respect to the third commandment? I believe that's what God's warning us against when he says, don't take my name in vain. Don't be in a covenant with me in name only. I am your only God. Fersake all others. Christ is the image of God. Make no others. My name is real. Don't take it in vain. To take God's name in vain means at least three things. I'm sorry, to take God's name in reality and not in vain means at least three things. First, it means that we're devoted to truth over traditions. Second, reality over appearances. And third, his righteousness over mine. I don't recall where I got this outline for this. I just know it wasn't mine. First is truth over traditions. God is very concerned about the traditions that Israel has become part of in the 400 years that they were enslaved in Egypt. Now he wants them to come out of their sinful and pagan beliefs and take his name for their own. As a soldier or a citizen takes the name of the king in the country they serve, or a wife takes a husband's name in marriage, but he doesn't want them to do it vainly. He wants them to do it in reality. Now Jesus gives a similar warning in Mark chapter 7. When the Pharisees complained to Jesus about his disciples not following the traditions of the elders, Jesus was furious with them. Their complaint revealed they cared more about their traditions, their routine, than they cared for God's word or their covenant relationship with him, which is why Jesus quotes Isaiah and says, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. You see with their mouth, with their lips, with their voice, with their tongue, they say all the right things. But their heart isn't in it. And he says, in vain do they worship me. They worship in an empty fashion. Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men, neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. You see it? The tradition, whatever it is, the thing that gives them comfort, the thing that made them believe they had a relationship with God when no relationship existed, was the very thing that kept their hearts far from God. Even though in their worship they honored him with their lips, their hearts were far from him. Excuse me. Now there are many blessings being in a church with some history, with some tradition or even a church with a historical liturgical style of worship, but there are dangers too. If we believe our traditions will substitute for truth, then we're mistaken. Remember that God said to the woman at the well, the Father is seeking worshippers who will worship him in spirit and in truth. It's possible to say all the right words. These people honors me with their lips, and yet our hearts are far from him. Like the married couple, numbed by their routine, we could be married to the Lord in aim only without the vitality of a true intimate relationship. We have to be careful that we do not teach as doctrine, as the truth, our traditions. If we do that, then like the Pharisees, we will be worshipping in vain. Here comes Edward to the rescue. Thank you. Hope this helps. So to take God's name in reality means to desire the truth before traditions. I'm going to mention this because it happened recently in our study of the Gospel of John. I got to John chapter 2 and the teacher who overall did a good job, but he showed his hand beforehand. He said that he's a teetotaler. If you don't know what a teetotaler is, that means somebody who doesn't drink alcohol. So, you know, the story in John chapter 2 is that Jesus turns the water into the wine. So he spent a long time, 10 minutes at least, explaining how the wine wasn't as strong then as it is now. There may be some validity to that argument. I'm not an expert on it. But then he said something that sort of revealed that he cared about his tradition a little too much. He said, I would rather Jesus hadn't done this. Really? You, the Bible teacher, thousands of years later, 2000 years later, would prefer that the Son of God, the creator of the universe, who spoke everything into existence, who was sinless, perfect, had become a man and now made a mistake. You see how that works? He loves his traditions too much. I don't know his heart, but I know, and probably if you called him on it, he would say, yeah, I shouldn't have said that because he shouldn't have. But it's very easy for us to embrace our traditions first. To take God's name in reality means to desire the truth over traditions. It also means to have reality instead of appearances. Now, there's a serious warning from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he says, on that day there will be people who thought they had a relationship with Jesus, and yet he will say, depart from me, I never knew you. You who practice lawlessness. And the people are surprised, which means they thought they were married, but it was in name only. They had taken his name in vain. Look what they say, Lord, Lord. I mean, they use the name of God, their Orthodox and their doctrine, calling him by a divine name and yet he doesn't know them. They repeat the name, which indicates an emotional attachment, and yet he doesn't know them. They prophesy a new miracles in his name. They perform acts of service, yet he doesn't know them. So it's also possible to be Orthodox doctrinally, and have an emotional attachment, and be involved in religious works of service, and still on that day be told, I never knew you. Remember our marriage illustration? How many times people have said to each other, it's like, it's like you don't even know me. Married five, ten, or thirty years, but you're not who I thought you were. I never knew you, or you don't even know me. Now, that's different because R.C. Sproul explains that whoever you get married to, it's always the wrong person. What do I mean by that? Or what does he mean by that? He means that nobody ever knows who they got married to, until they're married to them. And then they find out, this is what this person is like. So don't worry if after a couple of months, a couple of years, or five years, you think, I think I married the wrong person. Don't worry, they did too. Everybody does, because you can't really know somebody until you've given them full commitment. And then you find out who they really are. The only difference is the Lord is not fooled. If we're taking His name in vain and believe ourselves to be in a real relationship with Him, then we are the only ones who are fooled. So what's the answer? How can we know? That we know because we take His righteousness over ours. What does that mean? They're related to His name, Lord and Savior. First, they're submission to His will. No one who says, Lord, Lord, but the one who does the will of my Father, He's the King. We can't obey only when we agree. I heard a discussion recently about parents who are explaining the rules to the kids. And the kids may not agree, or they want an explanation, and the father or the mother says, because I said so. Which, you know, from the kid's perspective, boy, that really stinks. That's not a very good explanation. Well, several pastors I've heard, Tim Keller being one of them, says, that's the best answer you can give. See, because if you have to explain the reason for the commandment, or for the directive to your child every time, then they're obeying because they agree with you. They're not obeying because they are submitting to your authority. So if I have to agree with God's command, then I'm the one that's really in charge. Then I'm the one that's really God in that situation. I have to be willing to submit to God's command, even if I don't like it, even if he turns water into wine. What happens when he asks you to do something you don't like? Do I reserve the right to bail out? If I do, the I don't know him, he is not the king, is for me. I probably shared with you before one of my favorite television shows, because everybody loves Raymond, it's been off the air for several years now, but there's an episode where Deborah is married to Ray. Deborah's parents are getting divorced, and Deborah is just heartbroken. And she asked her father, what about your vows? Didn't you mean them? And the father smiles and says, of course we did. Then, see, vows don't work that way. Vows only mean something if they can tell you what to do, even when you don't feel like it. So if my king cannot ask me to do something that I don't want to do, then I am the king. Did Daniel want to go to the lion's den? Did Moses want to lead Israel? Did Jesus want to go to the cross? Didn't he say, if there's any other way, let it pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done? I am a Christian in name only. I have taken his name in vain, if I will not submit my will to his. Now, one of the areas where we don't submit our will to his very readily is our witness. We don't tell others about Christ like we should, like we're commanded to, like we're encouraged to on almost every page of the Bible. And we always have an excuse, we always have a reason, but none of them are any good. The ministry of any church depends on our obedience in this area. So first, I submit to his lordship when he says, I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of slavery. Second, I grasp his grace. The Lord says, wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. And there's a few scriptures I want to share with you as we close. John chapter one says, but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who are born out of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. One of the most famous passages in all of scripture is 1 John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Verse 17 then says, for God did not send the son into the world to judge the world, but the world should be saved through him. Verse 18, he who believes in him is not judged, he who does not believe in him has been judged already, because not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. Two more. Romans chapter 10. Moses writes about the command, writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandment shall live by them, but the righteous man lives by faith, and says, do not say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven? That is to bring Christ down, or who will descend into the abyss? That is to bring Christ up from the dead. What does it say? The word is in you, near you, in your mouth, and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we proclaim, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing the riches on all who call on him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, truly, not vainly, will be saved. And then finally, Philippians 2, verse 9, therefore God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Father in heaven, thank you. Thank you that we are so instructed as to not take your name in vain. Pray that... I know that all, we have all done so at some time or another, and yet with you there is forgiveness, with you there is mercy, and with you we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness, because you have given your life in our place, the propitiation for our sins. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen. Please stand.