Sunday, September 21, 2008

  • The Unforgivable Sin

    Exodus 20:7

    "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (NIV)

    "Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name." (CEV)

    What Exodus 20:7 means by "misuse my name" includes:

    1. Breaking promises
    2. Telling lies after swearing to tell the truth
    3. Using the Lord's name as a curse word

        The definition of a promise is, "a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future." The word "promise" is mentioned over 200 times in the bible, and every time it comes up it is in the context of a statement made before God. Say I promise my wife that I will be faithful to her for the rest of my life. When I promise that to her, what I'm really doing is telling God that I will be faithful to her. If I'm not faithful from that point forward, the statement I made before God would become untrue, and this verse says that I will not go unpunished for lying to God.

        The second point, telling lies after swearing (or promising) to tell the truth, is quite the same as the first. If you promise (swear before God) to tell the truth, and instead tell a lie, you have lied not only to the person you swore to tell the truth to, but also to God; a sin which this verse says you will also be punished for.

        As offensive as it probably should be, I don't even take notice when people say "Oh my God" or even just "God". It's when people come out and say "Jesus Christ" (or "Jesus" or "Christ" alone) that really, sincerely brings me a feeling of tremendous pain meaning both awkwardness and physical discomfort. I hate it, I despise it, and there is nothing that offends me more. I've pondered the reason for my not caring about those who say "God" verses my feelings toward those who say "Jesus" and I've come to the conclusion that "God" is far less specific than "Jesus" is. When I say "oh, god" I honestly feel I'm not taking the lords name in vain. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the word "god" is really just that; a word. When I'm talking to God I say "Father" or "Heavenly Father" or something equally as specific and/or honorable. With all the 'religious diversity' out there, "God" is just to non-specific for me and I think that's a major factor in why it doesn't strike me as offensive when people say it.

        No matter the exact meaning, this commandment has always been a favorite of mine. It really brings into perspective how serious God's rules for man are. Sure, we can all walk around saying "You're going to Hell if...." or "God will punish you for eternity if...", but this message isn't just someone saying God will or might punish you, it's God himself saying I will punish you.

    What do you think? Is taking the Lord's name in vain unforgivable?

Comments (2)

  • vwagenjetta
    Interesting. I still hate it when people say "Oh my God", especially the elementary kids at school, who have obviously learned it from their parents, but, like you, "Jesus" is far worse for me. I think it's a case of years of familiarity. People who do not hear it much (or at all) in their lives are far more offended by it than people who do. Hearing God's name taken in vain daily, as though it is just another word, slowly wears away the "offensiveness" of it, just as living in sin continuously causes you to slowly become comfortable with it to the point of justifying your actions and thinking it's not as bad as you originally thought it was.  I think that's why hearing "Jesus" is more offensive, as it is used far less often, in general, so it brings us back to how we should STILL feel about hearing God's name taken in vain -- OFFENDED.
     
    ~vwagenjetta's mom
  • vwagenjetta
    One more thing...I totally disagree that the word God is just a word. God is God. However, I do think that people saying it are "using" it as just a word and do not mean to be taking the Lord's name in vain, as that's just how they've learned to speak. It doesn't make it right, but once they know what they are doing, they should use another "word" once they know who God is.
     
    ~vwagenjetta's mom

  • Choose Identity

  • Give eProps (?)

  • New! You can now edit your comments for 15 minutes after submitting.

Who recommended?