What Does It Mean to Use God’s Name in Vain? Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain — Exodus 20:7 It is a most precious sound and defiling it brings great punishment. We are talking about God’s Name - YHWH / יְהֹוָה - Yeshua / ישׁוּעַ . This wonderful name is the key to life, salvation, and eternity itself. Yet to misuse and abuse it will, in time, bring great punishment. In light of all this, we can now focus on the third commandment and how to avoid sinning against the most important Name in the universe. When it says ‘ do not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, ’ the word ‘vain’ comes from the Hebrew word shav’ שָׁוְא , meaning: vain, false, empty, lying, worthless, useless (in conduct). [1] Let’s look at three ways a person can be guilty in using God’s Name in vain. Frivolity: This means to carelessly and superficially use God’s Name. One person describe...
'The Road Ahead' looks at some of the world trends issues and future forecasts from a Biblical worldview.