Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Our sermon series on the Ten Commandments will continue this coming Lord’s Day as we consider Exodus 20:7 and the Third Commandment regarding the misuse of the Lord’s sacred name. The Commandment forbids the taking of the Lord’s name “in vain.” But what does that mean, and how is this Commandment violated?
We get a little hint of an answer to these questions when we remember that the first petition of The Lord’s Payer is that the name of our God will be “hallowed,” or kept holy. To misuse the Lord’s name, then, has something to do with profaning, or scandalizing the reputation of the Lord by various means. But the Commandment also implies the positive side, that we will guard the name of the Lord and seek to protect it from such abuses.
As always, we will also seek to make the ‘covenantal connection’ between the ways this Commandment was applied in the Old Testament and its contemporary application to us as New Covenant believers.
Sunday School Starts This Sunday!
At 9:15 AM this coming Lord’s Day our Fall Semester of Christian Education begins. There are classes for every age and we encourage you to participate in this vital ministry. The simple reason that we have Sunday School is that Jesus commanded it. In the Great Commission our Lord instructed us to proclaim the Gospel and to “make disciples” by “teaching them all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Sunday School, then, is the “teaching” ministry of the Church, and by it we seek to be faithful to our Lord’s direct order.
Along with our Children’s, Middle School, and High School classes, there will be two classes for adults to choose from. Dr. Bud Lancaster will be teaching “Let My People Think: Confronting the Major Issues of the Day With the Word of God.” This class will meet in the large room on the southeast side of the Education Building. Mr. Fred Fohrell will be teaching “What Did Jesus Really Say: Understanding the Difficult Sayings of Jesus.” This class will meet in the Worship Center. I hope you will join us!
A Quick Follow-Up to Last Week’s Sermon
Due to the constraints of time I was unable to address one very important question about appropriate worship in last week’s message on the Second Commandment. Perhaps you were wondering about the application of this Commandment to the use of crosses, or stained glass, or other architectural features that we find in many worship centers including our own. In other words, are we violating the Commandment against images when we include these symbols in the design of our worship space? I would say that the answer is ‘no’ as long as these symbols serve as a ‘confession of faith’ and not as objects of veneration. For two thousand years, the cross has been utilized by Christians to confess their faith in the risen Savior, along with the symbol of the fish. And Church buildings have also been designed throughout Christian history to bear silent witness to the Gospel, and to signal that what takes place in that space has to do with the worship of the Triune God who saves sinners only through His beloved Son.
Also, you might be wondering about the wearing of a cross and whether or not this violates the Commandment. Again, it depends. If it is worn as a confession of faith, then that can be a very good thing indeed (and Christians through the centuries have done this very thing). However, if we treat such a symbol as if it has some power (magical or otherwise), or as an object to be worshipped, or even as a tool to bring us closer to God, then the Commandment would be transgressed. I hope this answers some of your questions and sheds more light on this important topic.
I love you all, and can’t wait to see you on Sunday!
Mike