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Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Access more audio videos and Bible Study resources@christianquestions.com Our topic is Do I Ever Take God's Name in Vain? Part three of our Ten Commandments series. Here's Rick and Julie. Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Julie, a longtime contributor. Julie, what's our theme scripture for this episode?
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Exodus 20, verse 7 Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
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As we continue our Ten Commandments series, we're focusing on how each and every commandment given by God to Israel after the being freed from slavery has a direct and profound meaning for us as Christians. While we live in a very different world, the principles of each of those commandments are powerfully important for us to follow in our walk as disciples of Jesus. The third commandment tells us to not take God's name in vain. For the most part, we look at that and we might think, well, I don't use God's name in an appropriate way, so I'm fine. Well, the reality is taking God's name in vain is a far deeper, far more subtle and far more destructive pattern than the words that we use. We need to pay close attention. So let's begin by doing just a quick overview of the first two commandments. Exodus 20, verses 2 through 4 and
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here's the first commandment I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shall have no other gods before me. Second commandment Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth, earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
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So we've got those first two commandments. The first commandment have no other gods before me is an internal instruction. It is fulfilled within our heart and in our mind. It establishes the necessity of having our hearts and minds clearly fixed on God through Jesus as our only object of loyalty and praise. Internally. This happens inside, where nobody can see it. The second commandment is an external action instruction. Its fulfillment can be outwardly observed. Don't make anything it can be seen. No idols. Don't make any idols. To make an idol is to create a physically or emotionally tangible object of worship, to physically or emotionally bow down to or to serve.
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So in other words, God is commanding. Do not lower yourself before anything created. And don't bind your life to anything that will rule you.
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So now we need to connect those first two commandments to introduce the third. Connecting the first two. God must always be first in our heart and mind. Idolatry is an outward manifestation of an inward lack of fidelity to the one God. Idolatry sets us on a path that will further degrade and disregard the most sacred loyalty any human can ever be privileged with. So these are incredibly connected here. So when we look at those connections, we say, okay, we've got no other gods, no idols. Now let's look at the third commandment and see how it fits in. The third commandment is an external instruction as well, and it's to thoroughly live what we proclaim to be. Don't just say it, do it. That's what the third commandment is really all about. Exodus 20, verse 7.
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Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain, For Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. So, first of all, I always thought that this commandment was why we don't say OMG or carelessly use the name God or Jesus in our conversation. We shouldn't, but this goes much deeper. We have to look at the Hebrew words for take and vain. So in Hebrew, thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah. It means to lift up, to carry, to bear. So it's used throughout the Old Testament for carrying physical loads, bearing guilt, or carrying another person's burden. For example, let me just read Genesis 4:13. And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. That's the same word. So the third commandment is not primarily about speech. It's about carrying God's name, representing him in a way that's not empty or false or worthless. Don't live in a way that misrepresents the God whose name you bear.
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So one word comes flashing into your mind when you're saying all of these things, and it's hypocrisy. Don't live in a way that doesn't fit what you have said. To take. Again, that word to take. You know, and I appreciate that scripture with Cain, the punishment's greater than I can hold onto because it was labeling him and it was the heavy label. To take, to hold, to endure, to carry, to have. Whatever we're holding. Here's what, in my mind, here's what it comes to. It comes to being a form of a signature. If I am signing my name, I am Rick, the disciple of Christ. That's my signature. Is that signature real? Is that signature genuine? Am I holding that representation in its highest form? So, Julie, we talked about. Take. Let's go a little bit further now with that scripture about taking the Lord's name in vain.
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Yeah. So, Yvain. So in Hebrew, the word is shav. It's like shave without the E on it. And this is a sad word to me, means empty, false or deceptive, something hollow, without substance. So it's used in the Old Testament to describe false oaths, empty promises, worthless action. In other words, the thing that's described does not fulfill its purpose. So the commandment becomes much deeper than just don't swear and using God's name. It means do not carry God's name in a way that's empty, false, or misleading. Do not misrepresent him.
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So the idea behind vain is that of a falsehood or an exaggerated and fantasy view of what's real?
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Yes.
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All right. And folks, look, let's just pause here for a moment and get this sense of the seriousness of what is being unfolded in this commandment. This third commandment, taking God's name in vain means to, in a sense, possess the name of God as the signature of your life, when in fact that signature is a forgery. It's a false statement, a false or frivolous representation of who you really are. Do I ever have that false representation? Rick the disciple of Christ? Is it always meaning Rick the disciple of Christ, or is it simply a label that I can hide behind when other things are happening? Don't take God's name in vain. And it's interesting, this commandment, Julie, Israel's given these commandments. They've been freed from slavery. It's a brand new beginning there. Yes, we're in. We're going to do it. We're going to follow it. How often did Israel as a nation promise their fidelity to God and then go after idolatry again and again and again? No wonder their consequences were always so severe. These are the first three commandments God gives. You think that. Let's not look at them. Let's look at ourselves. For us, we need to make sure that we're focused clearly on these first three commandments. Let's look at another example. Fast forward beyond. Let's go to the prophet Jonah. Remember Jonah and the Great Fish? God's prophet Jonah fell prey to his own empty idolatry. As a designated representative of God, he's a prophet of God. He declined to do God's Will, he ran the other direction. Here is a portion of his repentant prayer to God after he ran away, ended up in the water and swallowed up by the fish. Here's a portion of his prayer in Jonah, chapter 2. Let's look at verses 1 through 2 and 7 through 9.
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Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God, from the stomach of the fish just to stop real quick. I like that phrase, lord his God. That signals that Jonah has finally turned back to God, the God he belongs to. He's not running from him anymore. And he said, I called out of my distress to the Lord, and he answered me. I cried for help. From the depths of Sheol, you heard my voice. While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness. But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed, I will pay. So we know what vain means. That's our sad, empty shav word here, the word for idols. Those who regard vain idols also means emptiness or vanity. Something transitory and unsatisfying. A false substitute. But, Rick, what vain idol was Jonah running from?
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Well, when you think about it, he's describing himself because he's saying, I'm in distress, I'm crying, and the Lord is answering me. Those who regard the useless vanity of their own desires, I'm filling that in. Forsake their faithfulness. He decided not to go preach to Nineveh.
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Oh, it's his own will.
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It is his own will. And not only he did he decide after God told him, he went exactly the opposite direction. So he was stuck in his own head. And he knew it, and he recognized it. And that is the faithfulness that he showed. To say that, look, I have followed the emptiness of my own vanity. What a powerful statement that he has made. You know, King Solomon, how much did he write about vanity, vanity, vanity, all his vanity. Emptiness. Idolatry brings. Emptiness brings. Taking God's name and not meaning what you say you're holding. Not. Not protecting it, but using it in a frivolous kind of a way.
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Yeah, and the only reason he was in that fish is because, like you said, Jonah ran from that mercy that God wanted to show the Ninevites and Jonah himself. Idols both mislead us and they rob us because we walk away from that mercy that God gives us.
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Why would we do that? Because we get stuck and we get focused and the idol looks good. And then we end up living not in accordance with what we are saying we stand for. Let's look at taking God's name a little bit more deeply. Taking God's name in vain continues the destructive commandment breaking process that ends in broken loyalty. And when we look at that, we look at these first three commandments. Let's just understand three pieces here. First, doubting God within your heart and mind.
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The first commandment is being violated.
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Absolutely. The second point, looking for other more tangible objects of worship and security.
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Second commandment is being violated.
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All right, then what happens next? Continuing to outwardly carry the name of God while finding security and fulfillment in other earthly things.
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Hypocrisy. The third commandment has been violated. And these are really all interconnected, aren't they?
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They are interconnected and it's on purpose. God put them there in this way to show the process that brings us to the point of being a faith false representative of him. That's what taking God's name is. And face it, it's not a good thing. And you know, you look at the depth of the difficulty and you say, my goodness, what's going to happen here? Well, there's a reset. How do we get from being in this difficult place to where we need to go? The way we want to start to deal with that is say, okay, how can this happen? How can this happen to me? Rick, the disciple of Christ? That's my signature. How could this happen to me? It could happen through our own, my own desires. It could happen through worldly influences that we or I allow in. Or it could happen through the leadings of others that slowly, quietly wear us down. So these are the things we've got to look out for. Here's the process, here's the process, here's the reset. What will be my true signature, Rick, the disciple of Christ, on each of these varied experiences? What's my true signature regarding my own desires? Let's look at Philippians, chapter three, verses four to six.
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This is the apostle Paul describing himself when he was Saul. Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. And here he starts talking about how amazing he was circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law found blameless. So you can imagine someone today with the perfect resume, top education, top performance, widely respected, disciplined Admired the kind of person who always succeeds and always gets recognized. That was Paul. That was Saul. So if anyone could have relied on their achievements for spiritual security, it was him. But all of that was a forgery of godliness. His signature, like you would say, Rick, it looked impressive, but it wasn't the signature of a disciple of Christ.
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It wasn't even a signature of a Jewish individual rightfully handling the law. The fact that he would take the law into his own hands, that he would persecute, that he caused people to blaspheme, he was breaking the very law that he was powerfully defending and breaking it, unfortunately with pride. And it was, it was an absolute forgery. What do we do if we have our own desires and we are in that forgery scenario? The antidote is to simply back up and go back to having no other gods. Back up and go back to the first commandment. Let's look at the next two verses, Philippians 3, 7 and 8.
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But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss. In view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. I love this. Paul is saying that all of those credentials, all those accomplishments, every bit of status is nothing compared to knowing Christ. So he realized that even the best version of himself couldn't save him. His success wasn't bringing him closer to God. It was just the opposite. It had become an idol and he had to let it go.
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And he was carrying God's name as a forgery with his signature. And then when he comes to Christ and now he's actually serving God, you know what happens to him? He's persecuted, he's beaten, he's imprisoned, he's shipwrecked. He goes through all those things and he says all of that before is nothing. This is where garbage.
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It's rubbish.
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Because Paul, the servant of God through Jesus, that's his new signature and it's genuine. He took care of his own desires, he put them behind him and he was able to move forward consciously. Consider the eternal weight, what we have gained to be able to honor God through Christ against the passing successes of our own personal earthly ambitions. Great, Nice job. Leave it behind. Doesn't matter. We need to be genuine in our signature. Rick, the disciple of Christ. Let's go on to the worldly influences portion. That was the our own desires. Now. Okay, that comes from within. Worldly influences, they come from without. Let's look at Ephesians 4, 17, 19.
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So this I say and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer, just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind. In other words, don't go back to the way you used to live. Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. So Paul isn't describing unbelievers out there somewhere. He's warning Christians not to return to the emptiness that they were rescued from. So he's saying, you belong to Christ now, like you said, that's your new signature. That old way has to go. Don't carry God's name through Christ. Don't drag it in the mud. Don't be living in the emptiness that you were saved from. Don't attach God's name to a life that contradicts him. And I loved these verses in the New Living Translation it says this with the Lord's authority. I say this. Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness. They wander far from the life God gives them because they have closed their minds, harden their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
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Not very good at all. So the idea, worldly influences there. Have you noticed? They're everywhere. They're all around us. You can't get away from them no matter what you do. And so we need to be able to look at them and say, okay, where do they fit into my life? And the answer is, they fit into the outskirts of my life that have no direct influence on the internal actions of my life. That's where I need to stand. The antidote for worldly influences is to have no graven images, no idols. You see, the antidote for our personal desires is focus on God. The antidote for the worldly influence is have no idols. Understand who God is, what's important, what's not important. And a great way to do that is, is to put things in perspective with Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 2, Fixing
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our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Fix your eyes when the worldly influence is big, fix your eyes on what your target is, because it's Jesus the author, the beginner and the perfecter of our faith. He endured everything for our sake and now is set down at the right hand of the power of God himself that draws us to God. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, where does it bring us? To the Heavenly Father? The Son brings us to the Father every time. Focus through the noise and stimulation of our present overstimulating world and realize the empty promises they make. And there are. There are things, thousands of empty promises focused through the confusion to see Jesus as our only fulfillment so we can stand before our Father and hold his name with integrity, with love, with compassion and with praise. So deal with the worldly influences by taking the second commandment and enforcing it. Have no idols. Well, the third piece was the leadings of others that can draw us away from godliness through Christ and can draw us to taking God's name in vain, to having that. That signature be a forgery. Let's look at Acts, chapter 20, verses 29 to 30.
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And here the Apostle Paul is giving his farewell warning to the elders of the church of Ephesus that dangerous leaders would arise from within the church itself. So he says this. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves men will arise, speaking, pervers, things to draw away the disciples after them. Well, we see this same pattern in our own time, don't we? When leaders in the modern churches misuse their positions, whether through moral failure, financial abuse, manipulating people in God's name. They are carrying God's name in a way that empties it of truth. And this is exactly what the third commandment warns against it is.
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And again, there's the forgery there. And the deepest part of that is when they take scripture and they twist it toward their own benefit. It's bad enough to say something that is bringing your own benefit, but it's far worse to take God's holy word and misrepresent it. So you are benefited by it. It's just.
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We just have to be careful knowing that you are misrepresenting it.
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Yeah, this is done in the name of Christ. There's the falsity that we have to be careful of. This is what happens here. That was happening. The Apostle Paul knew that was going to. It was already beginning to happen while he's putting the ministry in place, because there are people that were involved who were not genuine followers. And that's the key here. That's the key. So what's the antidote? What's the antidote for this? Stand for what we profess. The antidote is the third commandment. Make it literal in your life. Don't take God's name in vain. Be a genuine representation of Him. Let's go to Colossians, chapter 1, verses 9 through 10.
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We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
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So the antidote is to be a genuine Christian. This Scripture is loaded with ways to put that into practical use, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, understanding as well. That means we have to study His Word to understand as well. With all spiritual wisdom and understanding. It's not just about knowing. It's about having that knowledge transform itself into godly wisdom from within. So we are godly in the way we approach.
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Yeah, and I like that phrase, walk in the manner worthy of the Lord. That word for worthy, that's the Greek word axios, and it means worthy, fitting, consistent with. Therefore, live in a way that matches the value of the one you represent. So this is the positive version of the third commandment. And it's the direct opposite of those wolves in Acts 20 who misrepresent Christ.
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And going further with the Scripture in respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. There is fruitage. When we are actually carrying God's name with integrity and spirituality and genuineness. There is a godly fruitage that comes out of those steps. That is a genuine signature and not a forgery. So let's go a little bit further, diligently seeking God's Word as our sole guide. That's what this Scripture is telling us. Jesus told us that we would be sanctified by the truth of God's Word. Remember, thy Word is truth. So what that means is we need to shun the teachings of those who would make the Word of God a tool of personal benefit. Walk away. It has no redeeming power. Literally no redeeming power. It is a false representation. It's a false signature. Saying that you represent something you really don't. And, folks, here's how we can begin to put this all together. This, to me, is astounding. In every case, the sacredness of God's name has the power to completely reset our thinking. The sacredness of his name, we need to let it do its work. Let's look at Matthew, chapter 6, verses 7 through 9 as an example. This is Jesus teaching us to pray. And this is. These are scriptures that everybody knows, but we got to talk about these.
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And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way. Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. And of course, this will be the Lord's Prayer. The word hallowed, also translated as sanctify, means to make holy, to treat as holy, to set apart as sacred. So Jesus begins the Lord's Prayer with another positive version of the third commandment. In other words, father, may your name be treated as holy, not dragged around in the mud. It's the opposite of that sad Hebrew word shav for emptiness. So this is God's reputation. We're to carry the name with reverence and honor.
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And let's go even a little bit further. You said that that hallowed be your name is the positive representation of the third commandment. Yes, but we have the positive representation of the first two commandments there as well. It starts with the simple words, our Father, have no other gods before me. Our Father indicates that closeness of you are our life giver. Therefore you have our eternal dedication and loyalty. Our Father who art in heaven. In our last episode, when we were talking about making of idols, one of the scriptures in Deuteronomy talked about the fact that you can't make an idol of God because nobody saw him.
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You don't know what he looks like, right?
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That's right. You don't know. So when it says our Father, it's the first commandment. Have no other gods before me who art in heaven. Make no idols. You don't need an idol. His presence in our lives. And then the third commandment, hallowed be thy name.
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Wow, it puts it 1, 2, 3,
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right there, right at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer. And what a powerful way. It's no accident that the veneration of God's name should be the opening for all of our prayers. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Knowing this, when we say those words now, let's think more deeply. Let's let it settle in. Let it plant the seeds and of integrity, of spirituality, of humility and of reverence. As we move forward, the name that we carry, our true signature must always reflect that which we most highly honor. First Peter, chapter 3, verses 15 to 16.
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But sanctify, and that's that same word to make holy. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you yet with gentleness and reverence. And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
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So we have this sense of set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts. Who is Jesus, the son of the living God. Where is he? At the right hand of the power of the living God. Put that in place so that we can be clear, powerful, unequivocal representatives and not sign our name. Rick the disciple of Christ. And then have it be found out that, huh, he looked like a disciple of Christ. But look at the works of his life. Look at the results of the imaginations of his heart. We can't go there. This is far too sacred. So let's put this together. Upholding God's sacred name.
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To take God's name in vain is to be a mere shell of a Christian. On the outside everything looks good, but on the inside there is no sincere sacrifice and loyalty. Avoiding this brokenness can only come through diligent attention to our priorities from the inside out. So let us focus on God being our only God. On maintaining purity in all our associations and genuine loyalty to Jesus cause each and every day.
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That's really the bottom line here. If we are going to truly, truly say we are disciples of Christ. What we're saying is that I as a Christian am having no other gods before God. I will not build any idols in my mind or in any other way. And I will carry the name of God with respect, with honor, with with dignity, with integrity, with faith and with humility so that his name can be seen through me. That's what it means to not take God's name in vain. Think about it. Coming up in our next episode, part four of our ten Commandments series. Does honoring the Sabbath day apply to Christians?