All Saints Lutheran Church
June 29, 2003
Pastor Tim Johnson
2nd Commandment

I wonder how many of you know what the root meaning is for your name. For a lot of us, our names are connected with someone else's in our extended family. For some, our names simply struck our parents as being a good name. Other people I know were named after they were born—their parents asked how in the world you could name a person without having first seen them. Our names are connected with our beings. And even the mention of our names begins to evoke responses on the part of others.

At the end of World War I, Herbert Hoover, later to become President of the United States, led the allied relief efforts in Europe, in which he kept hundreds of thousands of people from starving, and a new word entered the Finnish language. In Finland , “to hoover” means to be kind, to help.

If someone, today, coined a word or a phrase from your name, what would it be? Would it signify character? Helpfulness? Cheerfulness? Or would it mean something you'd just as soon not hear—impatient, mean, grudge-holder, stingy, unreliable?

This morning we are looking at the Second Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain….” It is a commandment that focuses in on the importance and the power of a name—God's name.

Now, I find it rather intriguing that the proper honoring and use of God's name finds itself in the Number Two position. I might well have thought that other matters deserved more immediate attention than God's name—like commanding us to feed and clothe the world, or to act with mercy in life. Yet, here we find the matter of a name of paramount importance.

You remember the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me!” That's sort of a “So there!” response that we were all taught as a kind of defensive retort to be used against those who would call us names or make fun of us. The truth? We'd all probably have preferred a broken bone of some sort, since the other kids would definitely be in serious trouble, and we'd be the recipient of a ton of care-taking, sympathy, and ice cream. After all, a broken bone doesn't make us feel ashamed or publicly disgraced, the way having a bunch of kids yelling an embarrassing rendition of our last name does.

I have a sign that sits above my desk. On it, it says “Words are so powerful. They should be used only to bless…”

And, if this is true for words in general, how much more true for names—that they be used for purposes of blessing and encouragement. And, then, how much more true for God's name—that it be treated with the utmost reverence.

In biblical thought, so important is a name, that it is said that nothing exists unless it has a name. [1] But, a name is not a mere label that simply identifies someone; it is rather an expression of the essential nature of the bearer. A person's name reveals his nature. The name, in the Old Testament, is the essence of personality, the expression of inner-most being.

Indeed, a change of one's name also accompanies a change in character. The changing, for instance, of Jacob's name to Israel , indicated a change in the very personality of the man himself. [2] Even, to speak or act in someone's name was to act as the representative of that person and hence to participate in his authority. [3]

As you and I both know, one of the things that goes along with a name is a reputation, for better or worse. The builders of the Tower of Babel , for instance, sought a reputation through the magnitude of their work, as they built that tower that tried to reach the sky: “Let us make a name for ourselves,” it says in Genesis 11 (verse4). And, isn't that still what we can find ourselves striving to do—to make a name for ourselves.

But with God's name, inherent in the name itself, God revealed God's essence. To know the name of God is to know God [4] . God's nature and character are displayed in and through God's name. There are many times throughout the Bible when the name of God is used as a synonym for God's own self. As such God's name is the object of fear [5] , of love [6] , of blessing [7] , but especially of praise [8] . “I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High,” it says in Psalm 7 (verse 17). And there are so many other examples just like it.

God clearly takes the issue of names seriously. Consider that this, the second commandment, is the only one in which there is an immediate threat of punishment (“For the Lord will not absolve anyone who takes His Name in vain,” Exodus 20:7). Consider, also, that two of the Ten Commandments have to do with the matter of a “good name” or of “reputation.” This commandment involves God's good name and reputation, and the 8th commandment (“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” Exodus 20:13 ) involves our good names with each other.

So, why is a “good name” so important to God that 20 percent of the message of Mt. Sinai is concerned with ensuring God's and our good names? Now, God, unlike all the ancient, pagan gods of such things as wind, rain, and good fortune, is a God of relationships—God's with us, and ours with each other. Through God's relationship with us, we discover and then receive holiness into our lives and ultimately into all our other relationships. That which impedes, diminishes, or maligns the process seriously undermines God's intent for a holy existence on earth. Our treatment of God and of one another through the use of names is of critical interest to God.

I think that one of the great tragedies of our contemporary culture is the insidious labeling of people. In fact, I think that putting labels on others is a tool that tries to pry away the full value of the individual that then seeks to leave them sub-human. And then we feel justified in treating them according to our judgment rather than according to any measure of love or respect. We focus only on that which meets our own agenda. You know the labels that are used:

•  Un-American
•  War-monger
•  Peace-_____
•  Liberal
•  Conservative
•  Communist
•  Welfare-fraud
•  Non-believer
•  Skin-head
•  Biker
•  Skater
•  Jock
•  Nerd
•  …and all those having to do with color or nationality

I don't really even mean to suggest some of the labels we use aren't at least somewhat accurate. It's just that they diminish what is the deeper truth about them—the deeper truth of their existence or of their name. It was Nicholas Caussin who once said, “It often happens that those of whom we speak least on earth are best known in heaven.”

Names are powerful. There is blessing or curse as names are spoken, because we define our relationships largely by using names.

The 2nd commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” The name of the Lord your God— Yahweh--“I am that I am.” Elohim. Lord. El Shaddai—Almighty God.

Jesus knew that there was power and majesty in God's holy name. Jesus, being the Anointed One—the Promised One—is even named—God Saves—that's what Jesus means. Emmanuel—God with Us. For, He will save the people from their sins.

Now, let's face it, you and I probably wouldn't have had two of the Ten Commandments deal with this matter of names. But then you and I also probably wouldn't have known that God intended to use a name to save us from our sins. I mean, who would have thought that simple faith in a name could result in receiving the most precious of all of life's gifts—that of our salvation?

All who call upon this name Jesus shall be saved it says in the Bible. Who would have thought that faith in the name of God and of God's Son could tap into the actual power of God? Who would have thought that by speaking a name, lives could be changed forever?

And, yet, if you call yourself a Christian, that is at the core of your identity—a new creation, a new being, restored, forgiven, embraced, loved, called, equipped, and sent.

To use God's name in vain is to bear the name and attach no faith nor importance to it. Of course, it is to swear or lie or curse, using God's name. It is also to use it flippantly. I don't need to tell you how frequently God's name is used—treated like a two-bit word. Most especially, you and I need to honor this commandment and know that it not only matters to God, it matters to others who hear us speak. They are listening and watching to see if our name—Christian—makes any real difference.

To use God's name in vain is to lack faith that there is not only power in the name, there is good power in the name—power to save a life from sin.

When that name of God's Son, Jesus Christ, is placed upon us—given to us at our baptisms, at our confession of faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, that name becomes more important than any other name we have!

I repeat—being a Christian is more important than being a Johnson or a Neely or Lutheran or an American. If we can live in faithfulness that there is real power in the name, then we can begin to live the life that God intends for us—as chosen and forgiven and blessed people, called to lives of significance.

It is a dishonoring of God and of this commandment when we allow other names to take the place of the name we have been given by the Lord Jesus Christ. It means putting to death once and for all, all of those names which seek to take away from our sense of deep worth and joy. You know the names we hear and we even say to ourselves—worthless, dumb, idiot, sick, hopeless, never-amount-to-anything, depressed, failure.

Not any more! Not if you live in and by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. For in Him, you are alive! You are forgiven! You are gifted! You are destined for generosity and victorious living.

You are hope-filled. Your life in Him is abundant!

To honor this commandment is to lift up God's name in praise and thanksgiving. It is to worship freely from your heart and in the depth of your faith. And it is ultimately to trust the power of the name of God, no matter whether or not you understand why there is such power in the name. And, it is to thank God for the blessings and the merit of the One who bears the name by which you have been saved—the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!

Bill Gaither tells about how he and his wife, both school teachers in Alexandria, Indiana, had approached a 92 year old retired banker named Mr. Yule, as he owned a piece of large piece of land. They wanted a beautiful parcel where they hoped they might build a home. The word out there was, though, that Mr. Yule would sell none of it. He gave everyone the same response.

Though retired, every day, he would spend a couple of hours each week in an office at the bank. That's where Bill and his wife, Gloria, met him and introduced themselves, asking whether he might be interested in selling a piece of his land.

“Not selling,” was the response they received just as many before them had. “I know,” Bill responded, “but we thought you might reconsider, as we are hoping to settle here and raise a family.”

Mr. Yule paused and asked, “What'd you say your name was?”

“Gaither. Bill Gaither.”

“Hmmm. Any relation to Grover Gaither?”

“Yes, Sir. He was my granddad.”

Mr. Yule put down his paper and removed his glasses. “Interesting. Grover Gaither was the best worker I ever had on my farm. Full day's work for a full day's pay. So honest. What'd you say you wanted?”

Bill told him again.

“Let me do some thinking on it, then come back and see me.”

[1] Ecclesiastes 6:10a
[2] Genesis 32:28
[3] I Samuel 17:45; 25:5, 9; I Kings 21:8; Esther 2:22; 3:12; 8:8, 10; Jeremiah 29:25
[4] Psalms 9:10
[5] Deuteronomy 28:58; Psalms 61:5
[6] Psalms5:11; 119:132; Isaiah 56:6
[7] Job 1:21; Psalms 96:2-3; 103;1
[8] II Samuel 22:50; Psalms 7:17; 9:2; 18:49, etc.