Four Ways We Misuse God’s Name

You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.”

–Matthew 15:7–8

What does it mean to use God’s name in vain, as prohibited by the third commandment (Exodus 20:7)? The most common way we take God’s name in vain is through profanity. We sometimes utter God’s name in shock, outrage, or even excitement. No Christian regularly ought to use “Oh my God,” “OMG,” or other profane phrases invoking God’s name.

However, we take God’s name in vain in other ways. One is through falsehoods. For example, we violate the third commandment when we falsely use God’s name to get what we want. A teenager might tell her parents, “God told me you’re supposed to buy me a car.” Or a pastor might manipulate his congregation by saying, “God told me we should raise money for a new building.” We also shouldn’t swear or make promises by saying things like “As God is my witness” or “I swear to God.” If we lie or break our promise, then we’ve attached God’s name to a falsehood. In Matthew 5:37, Jesus said, “Let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” It’s not good to sign your own name to a falsehood; it’s much worse to sign God’s name to a falsehood.

Another way we take God’s name in vain is through frivolity. You’ve heard jokes that begin “A preacher, a priest, and a rabbi…” and the punchline involves God. Jokes like those may seem innocent, but they trivialize God’s name.

Finally, we take God’s name in vain through hypocrisy. In Matthew 15:7–8, Jesus said, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.’” Think of a music minister who leads the congregation in praising God every Sunday but doesn’t give a thought to God Monday through Friday. Or a pastor who emphasizes the importance of spending time with God even though he doesn’t pray or read his Bible the rest of the week. Or a church member who mouths the words to worship songs while thinking about their lunch plans or to-do list. One writer put it this way: “We… misuse the name of the Lord by speaking hallowed words while living hollow lives.” As Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” When we don’t practice what we preach, we misuse God’s name.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Third Commandment: Revere God’s Name” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2023.

Jen Wilkin, Ten Words to Live By: Delighting in and Doing What God Commands (Crossway, 2021), 52.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.