Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. A simple statement. Yet, many of us have questions and concerns about this “simple” statement. What does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain?

BIBLE VERSE

⁷ You are not to make use of the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose; whoever takes the Lord’s name on his lips for an evil purpose will be judged a sinner by the Lord.

Exodus 20:7 (BBE)

Use Exodus 20:7 to answer the following questions on this topic.

QUESTIONS ABOUT TAKING THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN

• What does the Lord’s name mean?
• What does vain mean when used in the Bible?

Most translations and versions use the word vain. The scripture reference I used above was taken from the BBE version. I included this version because it helps us answer the above questions.

• What does the Lord’s name mean?
  The name of the Lord your God.
• What does vain mean when used in the Bible?
  Evil.

We have established that the name of the Lord our God should not be used in an evil manner. Lets move on to the next set of questions to help us understand this verse better.

• Why should we NOT take the Lord’s name in vain?
• How does God feel about us when we do this?

The end of verse 7 answers these questions. And its pretty simple. God looks at it as a sin.
He is Holy and Pure. There is nothing evil about God. We should not make his name into something it is not. When His name is used in a manner that is something other than Holy and Pure but rather evil, we are sinning.

I am leaving the last set of questions open-ended. They are for you to answer on your own. They are meant to help you dig a little deeper into scripture and to fellowship with God one-on-one. Do this and God will show you what He wants you to learn and how to apply it to your life.

• Who is the intended audience for Exodus 20:7?
• Does God want believers or non-believers to not take His name in vain?
• Do we take His name in vain sometimes and not realize it?
• Do I confront others, believers and non-believers, when they take the Lord’s name in vain?

CONCLUSION

The only way we can become closer to God and be able to attempt to follow His will is to fellowship with Him through prayer and learning His word. The closer our relationship is with God the more natural our actions become. For example, if you are in the habit of taking His name in vain, the deeper your relationship with God goes, the more aware you will become of this habit. Eventually, it will be a habit that is in the past because you will not want to knowingly commit this sin. When this sin becomes a sin of the past then you can seek God’s wisdom in asking Him how to approach others who have not overcome this sin yet.

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We hope you search our website, Christian Fellowshipping, for more encouraging ways to fellowship with God and other believes. To learn about salvation and what it means read What is Salvation and God’s Promise of Salvation, it will guide you through this with scripture.