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Colin Smith: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. And I think at this point some might reasonably have the question: Does the third commandment really make the cut? I mean, after all, swearing may be a significant issue, but does it really qualify as one of the ten greatest struggles of the lives of ordinary folk?

Guest (Male): You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith. And Colin, you raise a question that I think we need to answer. When you look at all of the problems in the world today, is this really such a huge issue?

Colin Smith: Well, the answer to that is that God says it is, and it is an issue to him and therefore it should be to us. And I think that’s at a number of levels. There's much more to the third commandment than simply the flippant or light or even blasphemous use of the name of God.

But you know, I think for everyone who really loves the Lord, it really is a grievous thing to see more and more that we're living in this sort of OMG culture in which even Christians so often seem to be lightly sliding into lightly using the name of the Lord in a way that—this is the Lord that we love and we serve and gave himself for us. So I want to exhort every Christian believer at every opportunity that I can, if you mention the name of God at all, only do it in a way that is with love and with reverence and with respect.

He is your Lord and your Savior, and we, his people, ought to speak about him in a way that honors him at all times and never use his name in a way that's flippant or in a way of merely expressing surprise or shock or whatever else. Our culture does that because the vast majority of people in this culture don't know him. We do and we love him.

Guest (Male): We do and therefore we ought to treat that name differently. But that's just one way that we see his name used irreverently.

Colin Smith: Yeah, quite apart from the irreverent use of the name of the Lord, there's the whole world of the presumptuous use. Now, I'm privileged to be a pastor, so I get to speak from a platform and to speak in the Lord's name. I’d be very careful speaking in his name that I’m not attributing to his name things that he never said. And that's why a preacher has to speak from the Bible.

But there's a whole world of religion that is making claims about God and truth and so forth that are totally distant from what God says about himself. So this goes to the claims of truth. It goes to the way in which even people in church world say, "Well, the Lord told me this." Really? Really?

Guest (Male): Show me in his Word.

Colin Smith: That's a pretty big claim, and you’d better be careful about the way in which you claim the endorsement of God for something that might just be your own idea. So this is all in the world of the third commandment: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. It evidently isn't important to many people here, but it evidently is very important to God himself. And that means to anyone who really loves him and wants to follow Christ, it should matter to us.

Guest (Male): Well, it should, and we're going to see that in Exodus chapter 20. We're looking at verse 7 as we begin the message, "Your Struggle with Religion." Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who misuses his name. Now, the first thing that comes to mind, I guess, when we hear the third commandment is swearing, abusing God's name by using it as an expletive.

And that's appropriate because, of course, the way in which we use a person's name says a great deal about what we think of them. And the way in which God's name is used in our society or the name of Jesus is used in our society says a great deal about the way in which he is regarded in our culture.

I have to say this came home to me freshly this week when I looked up the name Jesus in my Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Two definitions of the name Jesus are given, and I want you to notice the order in which they occur. They're on the screen exactly as printed in my edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

The dictionary tells us that the name Jesus is a vulgarity. It is an exclamation expressing surprise, impatience, etc. That, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is its most common use. That's what they're defining, you see. But the name Jesus, they say, can also be used to refer to the founder of Christianity who they state died around the year AD 30.

Now, it shouldn't surprise us that those who do not know the Lord use the name of God as an expletive. But the reality is, sadly, that too often the same pattern of speech is sometimes found among those who know him and love him, too.

And very practically, right at the beginning here, I want to say a word particularly to those of us in middle school and those of us in high school. Just listen this week to how often the name of God is used at school. You are surrounded by the use of it. You will find it almost every minute. And when your ear gets tuned to the way in which God's name is used at school, you will be absolutely astonished by it.

You are surrounded by the abuse of God's name. And I want to give you this challenge, particularly those in middle school, which is where this habit often starts: Don't copy that habit. It's natural for people who do not know the Lord, but it's not for you.

And if you've got into the habit already of saying, "Oh my God," or saying, "Good God," or "Oh God," or whatever every time you are surprised, then ask the Lord specifically to give you his help to overcome that habit. And let me give you the suggestion: Ask someone else to hold you accountable on it, too. Christian people of whatever age do not belong to this world. We are God's people. We bear the name of Jesus Christ, and therefore he calls us to speak about him in a way that honors his name. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Third commandment.

Now, the central theme of our series, as you know, is that the ten commandments describe the ten primary struggles of our lives. And I think at this point some might reasonably have the question: Does the third commandment really make the cut? I mean, after all, swearing may be a significant issue, but does it really qualify as one of the ten greatest struggles of the lives of ordinary folk?

Well, I want us to see this morning that the third commandment is about much, much more than swearing. I think by the time that we're done, you will agree with me that this third commandment describes accurately one of the greatest struggles in which all of us are engaged, one in which we desperately need to call on the help of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.

Now, our advertising and marketing culture has us used to the idea of endorsements. They're all over the place. Big names get connected with major products, and the synergy of these two things leads to very effective sales. Advertisers use names because big names cause many people to sit up and take notice. If you can get your product linked to a big name, then you are on your way to success.

Now, there is obviously no bigger name in the whole of the universe than the name of Almighty God. And so it is not surprising that throughout history there has been this pattern of many, many people and groups trying to attach the name of God to their particular cause, to claim the endorsement of God for what they want to do. And I'm suggesting to you today that right now, that is one of our world's biggest struggles.

Think about it. We live in the generation where we have seen people who will fly planes into tall buildings claiming that they do it in the name of God. We have seen a young woman who strapped Semtex to her own body, went into a crowded area to take her own life with the intent of taking as many other lives as she possibly could, and doing so in the name of God.

And it's easy to point to Muslim extremists today. But you only have to read the tragedies of Christian history to realize that the problem comes much closer to home, painfully so. Western history is littered with acts of violence that were done in the name of God.

Perhaps the most notorious, of course, were the Crusades, where thousands of Muslims were slaughtered by Europeans who fought under the banner bearing the emblem of the cross. So it's hardly surprising that increasingly in our generation, many people have noted that some of the most appalling acts of violence in the history of the world have been connected with the name of God and therefore have decided that this name is of no use to society.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called, "Your Struggle with Religion." It's part of a larger series called, "The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life," where we're doing a deep dive into the Ten Commandments.

If you ever miss a broadcast in our series, come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen if you have the Open the Bible app. You'll find the app for free at your App Store. It's a great way to listen to Pastor Colin's teaching on demand as it fits your schedule. Or again, come and listen online at openthebible.org.

But whether you listen on the radio, online, or through the Open the Bible app, it's all made possible through your generosity. So thank you for giving to and supporting this ministry. We truly can't do this without you. If you'd like to give a gift of support, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or come to our website, openthebible.org. Let's get back to the message. Again, here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: So I'm suggesting to you that the issue of the misuse of God's name is one of the most urgent issues it lies behind all that is being discussed in the United Nations.

Secondly, it's a personal struggle for some of us who are seeking to find something beyond ourselves but are spiritually confused. We've become confused because of conflicting claims. The name of God is obviously used and attached to claims that are clearly incompatible. And when people hear so many different claims being made in the name of God, the reaction understandably of many folks is to say, "Well, with all these competing claims, who knows the truth? And maybe there's no possibility of knowing the truth at all."

In the film Vertical Limit, it's the story of a group of climbers who go up K2, and they do so in order to rescue three folks who've been caught in an avalanche. They put their own lives in danger in this hazardous climb. And at one point after a near-death experience, two of the climbers who are together take a short break. One of them is a Muslim, and he takes out of his pack a little prayer mat and kneels down and begins to pray.

His colleague is completely secular, has no religious faith whatsoever. And seeing his friend pray, he's provoked to ask a question. "Do Muslims believe in hell, Karim?" he says. And when he finds out that they do, he looks in despair towards his colleague and he says, "You're all the same, you lot. The born-again ones say I’ll go to hell if I don't believe in Jesus. The Jews say I'll go to hell if I do believe in Jesus. Catholics say I'll go to hell if I don't believe in the Pope." And he holds up his hands in horror. "Any way he's lost."

And you see, in a world of conflicting claims that all use the name of God, there are a growing number of people who look at this situation and say, "Well, they can't all be right, so maybe none of them are right, so I’ll just do what feels right to me." That, of course, was Pilate's problem. On the one hand, he's got these Jewish leaders who are saying, "This Jesus is guilty of blasphemy and ought to be put to death." And on the other side, he's got Jesus saying, "I am the Son of God."

And Pilate, of course, is a secular Roman politician. And so he kind of shrugs his shoulders and says, "What is truth?" And that may be precisely where some of us are this morning. You're here because you are seeking something greater than yourself, but you're not sure what it is. And you're confused by so many different claims. You wonder if it would ever be possible to know.

So this struggle is not just an international issue, it's a deeply personal issue. It's also an issue within the church. It's a family issue because we're confronted even in church world with so many empty claims that misuse the name of God. I mean, you think of the trouble that has been done to Christian ministry through folks who bear the name of God and have acted in a scandalous way. Pedophile priests who have caused such injury while bearing the name of God. Evangelists with financial scandals, bringing so much dishonor to the name of Christ.

Think about the way in which the name of God is so often attached in church world to empty promises of health and of wealth and of everything that appeals to the selfishness of our fallen nature, with the result that some younger people—in fact, a growing number of younger people—have come to the conclusion that Christianity is simply too selfish to be true because that's what they see.

And then you've got the whole issue of the presumptuous use, perhaps one of the greatest dangers within parts of the evangelical church—the presumptuous use of God's name. You know, "The Lord's told me." Oh, the Lord's told you. What does that mean?

Presumably that you have a direct hotline to God, so direct that the Almighty personally directs you in such a way that beyond all shadow of doubt, you know the mind of God in a particular matter without any need for testing, without any need for the broader reference of the family of God, without any place for listening to other believers. That is to claim a level of authority that God has never given to a human being, and it causes many to blaspheme the name of God because it comes across as a kind of an arrogance, which is exactly what it is.

The presumptuous use of God's name, claiming the name of God for what can often turn out to be my pet project, can turn out to be the worst sort of spiritual blackmail. And it happens too often within church world.

So this is a serious issue for all of us. And if you're really struggling with it, the way in which people use the name of God, it's become a stumbling block to you, then I want you to notice today that it is a great offense to God as well.

God takes this sin personally. It is uniquely personal to him. You would, of course, do the same. How would you feel if someone used your name to justify acts of violence or empty promises or used it in a frivolous kind of way for all kinds of stupidity?

Of course, it shouldn't surprise us that God's name is misused so much—always has been and always will be. Anything that is of value will be counterfeited, and everything of great value will be counterfeited. This was an insight, actually, that helped C.S. Lewis on his journey to faith. He saw at one point in that journey that perhaps the very existence of all these different religious stories came from the fact that there was one story that was actually true. And once he saw that, he was well on his way to faith.

God speaks about this in Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 14. He talks about prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They get up, they use the name of God, these false prophets, but all they're doing is they're spouting their own ideas, and "It's an offense to me," says the Lord.

Jesus speaks about this most powerfully, of course, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 7. "Not everybody," he says, "who says 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who uses my name is going to be in heaven, but only him who does the will of the Father who sent me." There will be religious kind of people who've made all sorts of claims but have been abusing the name of Jesus for their own ends. Don't expect to see them in heaven, says Jesus. Those who use God's name for their own ends end up disowned by the God whose name they misused.

Now, perhaps the best way to think about this and for us to get a handle on this is for us to think about the way in which a franchise works. A franchise, of course, means that you are given the right to use a name that will bring great benefits to you. But the condition is that you appropriately represent the company whose name you bear.

So let's take a specific example. Let's take the example of McDonald's. Now, I want you to imagine that I open a McDonald's restaurant in Arlington Heights. Sometimes thought that would be a fun thing to do, to have your own McDonald's. I get the franchise, get the big red and yellow signs up there, and we're in business. My McDonald's restaurant is open.

But then after a few weeks, it occurs to me, "McDonald's. McDonald's. That's a wonderful Scottish name. But this isn't a very Scottish menu." So instead of serving Big Macs, I'm going to do a haggis burger. And instead of their breakfast menu, I'm going to do oatmeal. And instead of coffee, we're going to have large mugs of hot tea.

Now, it's very possible that I could actually do a very good trade with my own personal brand of McDonald's, don't you think? Well, maybe, maybe not. But let's leave that to one side. The point is, what's going to happen?

Well, at some point Mr. McDonald himself, whoever that is, is going to hear about this. And when he does, he's going to send one of his people down to my restaurant, and they're going to say something like this: "If you carry our name, you serve our menu. Right? And if you don't serve our menu, we're going to remove our name from your restaurant. And more than that, because you've abused our name, we're going to prosecute you to the full extent of the law."

Nobody would be surprised by this, would they? You can't misuse the name of McDonald's to do your own thing, and you can't misuse the name of God like that either. That's the point of the third commandment.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a great reminder to use the Lord's name with the utmost respect. Stay tuned. Pastor Colin will be back in just a few moments with some final thoughts.

First, a reminder this message is from a larger series called "The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life." And in this series, Pastor Colin is revealing how the Ten Commandments actually target the ten greatest struggles that we face in the Christian life. And as we walk through each one of these commands, we get to discover a pathway to a deeper spiritual life.

I hope that you'll take just a moment and consider exploring these ten greatest struggles a little bit deeper. We have a number of different resources to help you do that, including the entire series on audio CD and The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life book with a study guide in the back. Just ask about any of those when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365 or come to our website, openthebible.org.

Well, one of the things that my family and I love to do is to go hiking, and Colin, I think it would be a lot of fun to go on a hike with you. And right now, we have an opportunity for listeners to join you on a hike.

Colin Smith: Yes, I am inviting you to join me on a hike through the Bible, and it is going to be a gentle, easy pace of a hike. Each week, you'll read a chapter of the Bible and a chapter of my book, Hike Through the Bible. And in one year, you'll have read 50 chapters of the Bible. You'll have grasped the big picture of the Bible story, and most of all, you'll have grown in your love for Jesus Christ.

Now, there's a Hike Through the Bible podcast to help you on this journey. In each episode, I read a chapter of the book, and then I discuss it with some friends. So get started now. You can subscribe to the Hike Through the Bible podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll find more information at openthebible.org/hike. That's openthebible.org/hike.

Guest (Male): Well, thank you, Colin. I think a lot of us are going to enjoy taking that hike with you. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. Open the Bible Weekend is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. And to that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey. And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in.

Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website, openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.