Key Bible Passage(s):

Exodus 34:5-7; Numbers 6:24-27; II Thess.1:11-12

Tier 1:

This third commandment is about far more than the question of whether you use the Lord’s Name as a swear word, or whether we take an oath. It takes us to the heart of life, worship and mission. This is something the Church has historically understood, and our Christian forbears have spent a great deal more time and energy exploring this that we tend to today. In this session we look at one Catechism from a bygone age to get a sense of the extent to which this Commandment is expected to shape our speech and attitude.

Tier 2:

God’s Name is not simply a noun, still less and adjective. It is a revelation of His being, and our use or abuse of it will have eternal consequences. How we speak of God belies our attitude to God Himself. Lying behind this Commandment is the deep question of the reverence and awe in which we hold the Living God. We are warned of the dangers of treating God as if He were not glorious; of bearing God’s Name as if it were a thing of no consequence, without the weight to shape us.

Tier 3:

Worship doesn’t end when we are dismissed from our services.  Christianity is a public faith, and we bear His Name into the world.  Having taken His Name in baptism, we are identified with Him.  As such, ‘whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’ (Col.3:17). The question of the third commandment then is the question of living life as someone who publicly bears the Name of the Living God; it’s about the whole question of how we live life as a ‘Christian’ in the public domain.

When are Christian folks going to remember that every time you call yourself a Christian, you invoke the name of God, and that if you then walk a walk that does not reflect the presence of Christ in your life, cast a vote that does not reflect the presence of Christ in your life, then you are taking the name of the Lord your God in vain?

Alan Keyes

Group Discussion:

What did you conclude as you reflected on what it would look like to internalise this command (ala Matt.5:21-30)?

What does it mean to say that ‘the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name’ (Dt.5:11)?  What did it mean in ancient Israel (e.g. Lev.24:16; Dt.18:20)?  What does it mean for the Church today?  Why is there discrepancy here?

In what ways do you think that Christians, or the Church more generally, is in danger of ‘misusing’ the Name of the Lord?

How serious an issue to you think keeping the 3rd Commandment is?  How much time and attention have you given to living in the light of this commandment over the years?

and later in the session:

Does the fact that God has said something leave you feeling you have no option but to believe it or obey it?  Why / why not?

How can we cultivate a ‘weightier’ vision of God?

Do you think we do worship God with reverence and awe at [our Church]? 

Look again at II Thess.1:11-12. 

What is the ‘this’ Paul has in mind?

What does ‘every deed prompted by faith’ mean?  How would this develop as ‘our faith is growing more and more’ (1:3)? 

How does that result in the glorifying of the Name of Christ in us?

What does it mean for us to be glorified in Christ?

Homework:

Over this half-term we are working to memorise Matthew 5:17-20. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-16, Matt.6:5-15 and Matt.7:7-12 whilst you do this.

(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the 3 years of DTP)

To Be A Christian: Q&A 283-289

Ahead of next session, read through Leviticus 25.

How would you explain the idea of Sabbath to someone based on this chapter?

Is there anything in here that surprises you, or shocks you?

How much of this should be, or even could be, observed by the Church today?

How does any of this point to Jesus?