You radically love God by not carrying His Name in vain.

The Greatest Commandment is the key to keeping all Ten—and that’s Radical Love!

God revealed who He is before He gave the commandments.

“I am the God Who brought you out of Egypt.”

The first commandment for the Jews reveals His name and His power—because you can’t separate the two!

The pagan gods demanded ritual.

Jehovah demanded righteousness.

III. Don’t Misuse God’s Name

Simple Definition = Don’t damage God’s name by using it for your agenda.

Blasphemy:
A) The act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God.
B) The act of claiming the attributes of a deity.

Leviticus 24:10-16 describes the punishment for blasphemy as death.

Blasphemy in the New Testament:

God the Son — Matt 7:21–23
Workers of Iniquity denied entry into heaven because they used Jesus’ name in vain, meaning there was no relationship.

God the Holy Spirit — Matt 12:31–32
Blasphemy is committed when evil is assigned to Holy Spirit. It's the ultimate form of disrespect to continually reject the Holy Spirit’s offer of salvation.

Acts 5:1–11
Ananias and Sapphira commit blasphemy when, for the sake of appearances, they lie to the Holy Spirit.

Acts 12:20–24
Herod commits blasphemy and the angel of the Lord smites him; he gets eaten by worms and dies.

“Take”—Hebrew: נָשָׂא (Nasa) = A verb; meaning to lift, to carry, to take away.

“Vain”—Hebrew: שָׁוְא (Shav) = emptiness, vanity, evil, ruin, uselessness, deception, worthless, without result, fraud, deceit.

“Will not hold him guiltless”— Hebrew: חִלּוּלהַשֵׁם (Chillul HaShem) = Literally, “desecration of the [Divine] Name.”

“Unhappy, let alone angry, religious people provide more persuasive arguments for atheism and secularism than do all the arguments of atheists.” — Dennis Prager

I like to put it like this…

“There is no greater evangelist for atheism than a powerless, weak, unhappy Christian.”

Scammers borrow the strength of someone else’s name because their own name carries no weight. They use another’s character to get what their own character cannot produce.

Caution:

Using God’s Name without living God’s character is spiritual identity theft.

Simply put: Don’t Damage God’s Name!

Don’t speak God’s Name without reverence, or use God’s Name for your own agenda.

Carrying God’s Name in vain means to use His Name without acknowledging His holiness.

Caution:

You can’t honor the name of the Lord without the fear of the Lord.

Yahweh = “Himself revealed.”

Psalm 25:14 (ISV)
“The intimate counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him so they may know His covenant.”

We are called to carry the name of the Lord.

“Peculiar” — Hebrew: סְגֻלָּה (Segullah) = Personal possession; a special possession; property.

Christians are set apart from everything and everyone that God has created. Human beings bear God’s image, Imago Dei, but only those in covenant with Him in Christ bear (carry) His Name.

God doesn’t want to be represented by a carved image; He wants to be represented by you!

We carry His Name in Vain by:
1. Complacency (Inaction)

It’s a sin to carry God’s Name for nothing!

“All that it takes for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.”
-Edmund Burke

Sometimes the enemy’s greatest victory isn’t convincing you to sin—it’s convincing you to do nothing at all.

We carry His name in vain when…
1.We don’t speak out against injustice.
2.We don’t speak up or defend the weak. (abortion, sex trafficking, transgenderism being forced on children, etc.)
3.We don’t love what God loves, or hate what He hates, we carry His Name in vain.

We carry His Name in Vain by:
1. Complacency (Inaction)
2. Compromise (Inaccuracy)

"God invites us to partner with His commands, but demonic forces just make demands!"

The 10 Demands of Culture

1. Thou Shall Coexist — All beliefs are equally true, except the one that claims exclusive truth.

2. Thou Shall Worship Your Feelings — Feelings are the highest authority; reality must submit.

3. Thou Shall Use My Pronouns — To misgender me is to commit blasphemy.

4. Thou Shall Protect My “Peace” — Silence anyone who disturbs my self-care.

5. Thou Shall Go No-Contact with “Toxic” Parents — Translation: parents who disagree with me politically, morally, or biblically.

6. Thou Shall Honor the Sacrament of Abortion — “My body, my choice” is holy writ.

7. Thou Shall Celebrate My Sexuality — Affirm me or be canceled.

8. Thou Shall Dismantle Authority — Police, pastors, parents, patriarchy; tear it all down.

9. Thou Shall Reject the Truth and Embrace “My Truth” — Truth that contradicts "my truth" is oppression.

10. Thou Shall Seek Equity, Not Equality — Fairness isn’t enough; outcomes must be controlled “for the greater good.”

When you have religion instead of relationship, you will carry God’s Name in vain without carrying God’s heart, and exchange God’s commands for demonic demands.

We carry His Name in Vain by:
1. Complacency (Inaction)
2. Compromise (Inaccuracy)
3. Mixture (Holy + Profane)

We carry His Name in Vain by:
1. Complacency (Inaction)
2. Compromise (Inaccuracy)
3. Mixture (Holy + Profane)
4. Hypocrisy (Contradiction)

Your hypocrisy can damage someone for an eternity.

We carry His Name in Vain by:
1. Complacency (Inaction)
2. Compromise (Inaccuracy)
3. Mixture (Holy + Profane)
4. Hypocrisy (Contradiction)
5. Powerlessness (Authority Abandoned)

Jesus died to give us the right to steward His name!

In His Name we are SAVED!

In His Name we have AUTHORITY over the enemy!

In His Name we can see the sick HEALED!

In His Name He has given us VICTORY!

The Names of God

1. Yahweh (I Am Who I Am)
2. Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
3. Jehovah-Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
4. Jehovah-Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
5. El Qanna (The Jealous God)
6. Jehovah-Rohi (The Lord My Shepherd)
7. Jehovah-Nissi (The Lord Our Banner)
8. Abba (Father)
9. Yeshua, Jesus (Name Above All Names)

Stop using the name of Jesus and begin stewarding the name of Jesus!