The Park Road Pulpit
Sermons from Park Road Baptist Church
Russ and Amy Jacks Dean, Pastors
The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth
Exodus 20:7 and Matthew 5:33-37
Amy Jacks Dean, June 23, 2002
In my recollection, there were many rules at my house growing up. I would label my parents as strict. There was a certain code by which we lived, and not using God’s name in vain was a given. This third of the 10 commandments really meant no profanity at all, but most especially no misuse of God’s name. I can remember getting in trouble for saying gosh, or gee, or my personal childhood favorite, gol-lee. I might as well have used any four-letter word you can think of and cussed up a storm – it would have gotten the same response I think. What else could an eight-year-old say in moments of surprise or frustration that would work? For me, gol-lee, had nothing to do with the name of God. Gol-lee was just another word that meant – well whatever the context allowed it to mean. It was just a word. I certainly never meant to take God’s name in vain. And Lord knows I never meant to break one of the Big 10 – but oops – I guess I did it again in saying “Lord knows” – that could be construed as taking God’s name in vain! There are all kinds of ways to utter such profanity: for Christ sake, gosh, my goodness, Lord have mercy, gee (short for Jesus), and then there’s the full length – Jesus Christ, even the phrase “for crying out loud” originally was a reference to Jesus on the cross. (The Living Commandments, John Shelby Spong, Chapter 6) – and these don’t even take into account the profane use of God’s holy name that I can’t even bring myself to utter today, even as an example, from this pulpit.
For all these years, “you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” was a simple commandment to understand, if not to follow. It seems straightforward and not so complex. Ask almost anyone the meaning behind this third commandment and they will most likely answer that this commandment is a prohibition against profanity – especially any profanity that invokes the name of God. (This commandment could step on a lot of toes.) But this simple understanding of the third commandment is only partly right. Every commentary I read on this commandment agrees that this commandment actually has little to do with profanity. I am especially indebted to John Shelby Spong and his book The Living Commandments, for a more in-depth look at this commandment and its full meaning. He, as with other commentators, says that the idea that this commandment deals with the issue of profanity that invokes the holy name of God is a “note that came into this Commandment very late in its history, and constitutes only a tiny segment of its meaning.” Spong goes on to say that “clearly the primary focus of this Commandment is not against profanity but against perjury.” And some of you just breathed a sigh of relief! But let me add a quick caution to you: don’t rest too easy.
I read so many humorous stories about profaning God’s name in our more traditional understanding. But I cannot repeat them to you here – it requires too much cussing! The one story I will tell is one that Spong tells as he does spend some time chastising those who would use profanity – especially profaning God’s name. He says that “profanity ultimately expresses a kind of bankruptcy of language.” After some convincing observations, Spong says, “I suppose profanity has some therapeutic value. We get a great deal of emotion, hostility, and anger out with our expletives, and probably it is better to express these feelings verbally than physically . . . I recall one occasion when I was playing tennis in Lynchburg, Virginia. My partner’s wife missed a shot. She stopped and hit her racquet on the ground and shouted `Richard Nixon!’ I thought that a rather innovative kind of profanity.”
But this commandment has little to do with profanity and more to do with perjury: Lying under oath. “Every civilized society places importance on people speaking the truth. In order to ensure that they do, certain rituals are used which have deep religious implications. In Genesis 24, for example, when Abraham wishes to ensure that his servant will carry out his wishes with respect to obtaining a wife for Isaac, Abraham says, `Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and earth . . .’ With slight adjustments (a hand on a Bible instead of under the thigh), this ceremony is almost identical to the oath taken in a modern American courtroom.” (Interpretation Bible Studies: Exodus, James D. Newsome, page 82-83)
This third word is about the holiness of God’s name. And whenever God’s name is invoked, an oath is taken. In this Hebrew society, a name was of utmost importance. “The Hebrews thought the name by which anything was called was significant, an omen. A name was not only a title; the name itself had mystery, power, and substance. It was a handle on the very being of the person.” (Spong) Throughout Scripture naming people is important, and renaming people even more important. “In the Hebrew view of things, one’s name participated in one’s being. It was a clue to one’s character. So in the biblical story if your character changed, your name had to change also.” (Spong) In the Biblical story, when Abram was called to a strange land to give birth to a new nation, he became Abraham. When Jacob wrestled with the angel of God, he was changed and so was his name. His new name became Israel. When Saul was walking on the road to Damascus and his whole life was turned around, he became Paul. One’s name was the very essence of one’s character.
And so, when at Moses’ prodding “Who, shall I tell the Pharoah, sent me?” God finally offered a name “I AM.” Yahweh. And the Hebrew people were dumbfounded that God had a name! And that God entrusted the people with the name! So dumbfounded that no one would even utter the name. It was written as an unpronounceable set of letters – YHWH – and when a Hebrew came upon that holy symbol in Scripture, the word was not read “Yahweh” – it was read “Adonai” which literally means “my lord.” Hebrews were taught to say “Adonai” when they came to that holy symbol “YHWH” lest they defile the holy name Yahweh by seeking to pronounce it. To say the name at all would be to do something quite dangerous. (The Ten Commandments, John C. Holbert, page 42)
We’ve come along way from that understanding of the use of God’s name. God’s name has become quite frivolous. In the day that this commandment was put in writing, calling God’s name at all meant that you were taking an oath – an oath that you would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Martin Luther said, “It is a misuse of God’s name if we call upon the name of the Lord God in any way whatsoever to support falsehood or wrong of any kind.” Brevard Childs says, “The heart of the commandment lies in preventing the dishonoring of God . . . God, as the source of truth, cannot be linked to falsehood or deception.”(Holbert) Spong says that basically this third commandment says, “Keep your word. Live up to your contracts. Don’t swear in God’s name to tell the truth and then tell less than the truth.”
You see, “the word of a Hebrew, a member of God’s covenanted people, was given in the name of the Lord, and that name stood for the whole being of God. Every word a member of the covenanted people spoke, every word of every Hebrew, was spoken under the oath of that covenant. A Jew’s word was his honor, for it was bound by the name of Yahweh.” To give a false word under oath – and the Hebrew in the covenanted community considered himself under oath all the time – was perjury.
Is this translatable to the Christian community? We are a part of a New Covenant, and we are marked at our baptism. John Shelby Spong reminded me that at that moment of baptism, the Christian Church says, “The name of Christ thus becomes a part of your identification. From your baptism on, everything you do, everything you say, everything you think is a reflection upon the name you wear.”
Your name is “Beloved.” Your name is “Child of God.” Your name is “Christ.” Your name might as well be “Jesus.” Now don’t tell me that you and I don’t take the Lord our God’s name in vain almost constantly. I could only wish that this commandment was simply about profanity.
The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The truth is that when we recognize who we are, a Child of God, and we commit to following in the way of Jesus, we take an oath. That oath has something to do with doing justice and showing mercy and walking humbly. That oath has something to do with caring for the poor. That oath has something to do with making peace. That oath has something to do with seeking Truth and speaking truth. That oath has mostly to do with loving God and loving our neighbor. And by the very fact that we are children of God, who in this place call ourselves Christians – followers of Jesus, we have taken that oath, and therefore any word that we speak that is less than the truth, is hurtful or deceitful or untrue, is taking God’s name in vain.
We have cheapened God’s holy name when we wear it on T-shirts. We have lessened God’s holy name when we ask “What Would Jesus Do?” and then market WWJD as if Jesus were some kind commercial jingle. We have dishonored God’s holy name when we stick it on the bumper of our car as if God care what kind of gas-guzzling car we drive or would be proud to have the holy name on it. When every political speech ends with the rote “God Bless America” as some patriotic chant, we tread on very thin ice. I would vote for any politician that ended a speech with “God Bless the World.” God cares for all children – Afghani children and my children. This third commandment is a warning that God’s name is not cheap. We should tremble as that holy name tumbles out of our mouths.
Perhaps those of us who choose as a profession to speak the name of God frequently run the biggest risk of violating this commandment. How often do I take God’s name in vain when I speak an untrue word of God? It may not be intentional, but surely there are times when I promote selfish ideas and call them God’s. Surely there are times when I say and do things in the name of God when actually it is something I want to say or do. Surely I pray in the name of Christ when my prayers have only been for selfish gain. I run the risk of taking God’s name in vain with every word I speak and every action I take. And if you claim the name of Christ – you do as well.
But are we, who profess and proclaim God’s name frequently, any more in violation of this commandment than those who claim God yet never utter the holy name? What about those who claim, in words, to follow in the way of Jesus, yet never give any thought to God’s thoughts or God’s ways or God’s working in this world. The neglect of the use of God’s name is just as much a desecration to the holy name of God.
Being a part of this community of faith – or any community of faith – means that you have taken an oath. It means that you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – so help you God. It means that you swear to the live the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – so help you God. It means that you swear to seek the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – so help you God. Anything less is taking God’s name in vain. And the only response I have for that is – Gol-lee. May it be so.