WSC Q&A #55

Q: What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A: The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes himself known.
James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. 

It's interesting to me that the Westminster Divines take the third commandment far beyond just "taking the Lord's name in vain". The Divines, in this question, do not limit this commandment to the verbal abuse of God's holy name. Rather, they apply it to the whole scope of God's revelation to his creatures. Think about this answer a bit. "The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes himself known". Now certainly, God has made himself known by and through the various titles and names he reveals in the Scripture. But God has also made himself known not simply in those portions of Scripture where he declares, "I am who I am", or "I am the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob", etc., but rather, God has made himself known throughout the whole of the Scripture! Every page of the Bible speaks about and declares the attributes and qualities and nature of the God we serve and worship. 

But this catechism demands that we think even beyond the revelation of Scripture, because God has also made himself known in his works of Creation. Here I think specifically of Romans 1:20. "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made." 

The Divines' broad understanding of the third commandment have big implications. What, for example, does this understanding of the third commandment say about how we are to treat both the Scriptures and the created order? It should certainly make us pause and consider how we use and abuse God's good creation. Are we being responsible stewards, or are we abusing and profaning God's general revelation? And concerning the Bible, God's special revelation, the third commandment should really give us pause to consider how we use his revealed Word. Do we treat the Bible as God's revelation of himself to us, or are the texts nothing more than bendable, pliable words there for us to twist and manipulate in such a way that appeases our own sense of what is good and right, what is fair, what is tolerant or accepting, whatever the case may be? 

I'm not sure if the Divines were right to understand the third commandment this broadly. I'm not sure they were wrong either! It all goes back to the issue of reverence and showing respect to the means by which God makes himself known. Certainly the third commandment addresses that issue as it concerns the name of God. And certainly all of God's chosen means of self-revelation are worthy of being shown reverence. I'm just not sure if the third commandment is really addressing the issue of respect and reverence towards general and special revelation, even if God's revealing of his holy name falls into those broader categories. If anything, though, this week's catechism should be a reminder to us of the all-encompassing nature of God's holiness. We are right to think of God as holy, but we also need to see that his holiness encompasses all that he is and all that he reveals about himself. And while I'm not saying that creation itself should be considered holy, just as I'm not saying that the paper and ink that make up the pages of the Bible are holy, the revelation of God as revealed in the created order, and the revelation of God as revealed in the very words of Scripture, should absolutely be considered holy, and should therefore be shown the same reverence that we would show to God himself. 

Worth Reading

Mark 13

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

Husbands, It’s Time to Start Leading Family Worship

The worthiness of God to receive your family’s worship each day is reason enough to start practicing family worship today. But in addition to that, consider these other good motivations. . .

[In this article I wish the author had addressed “Single Mothers” and said something like:
If, in God’s providence, your husband/the father is not present or willing and able to lead family worship, resolve to rely on the grace and strength that God daily supplies for you to lead family worship. (I’m thinking particularly of women who have been divorced, widowed, or have unbelieving husbands.)]

Healing from Post-Abortion Grief

On the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, we present this free Journal of Biblical Counseling (29:2) article on healing from post-abortion grief written by CCEF Faculty, Aaron Sironi.

The Doctrine of Scripture: Defining Our Terms

The doctrine of Scripture is foundational to the Christian faith. But there is more to say about Scripture than simply, “The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” If you don’t grasp what the Bible is and how it came to be, you’ll never fully grasp its meaning. Since the meaning of the Bible is vitally important to our faith and life, we will here briefly define a few key terms that relate to the doctrine of Scripture as the study of God’s Word written.

Worth Reading

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+12.35-44&version=ESV

Mark 12:35-44

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2015/12/three-reasons-why-christians-m.php

Three Reasons Why Christians and Muslims Do Not Worship the Same God

However laudible it may be for Christians to express kindness and human solidarity with members of other religions, the one thing we must never do is deny our faith in the Triune God who is revealed through Jesus Christ, God's Son, who alone died to free us from our sins. - See more at: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2015/12/three-reasons-why-christians-m.php#sthash.wNNTwxSV.dpuf

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-bible-is-alive-and-active

What I’ve Learned About the Bible

For years I thought God could be active in my life through the Spirit, and the Bible was a book I had to obey if God was going to come in. I now realize the Bible is the way that, through the Spirit, God is active in my life.

http://www.gentlereformation.com/2016/01/13/raising-up-encouragers/

Raising Up Encouragers

The church and her saints grew quickly when Barnabas encouraged people. We know from 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 that when it comes to growth, some plant, others water, but only God causes the growth. Encouragement serves as one form of watering.

read and be encouraged to look around today for someone to encourage.

WSC Q&A #54

Q: What is required in the third commandment?
A: The third commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God's names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word and work.
Revelation 15:3-4 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

As I write this, I am sitting in my easy chair at home listening to the new David Bowie album, "Black Star". As many of you know, Bowie passed away earlier this week. Now, what does that have to do with this week's catechism question? Only this. I want you to notice how people speak of David Bowie now that he has died. Whatever people's thoughts are on his music, generally, people speak of him with reverence. They speak of this artist in a way that reflects a deep respect and awe. And this little cultural example reflects on this week's catechism question because what this catechism is addressing is the issue of reverence.

How are we to speak the name of the LORD God? With reverence. How are we to speak of God's attributes, his works in creation, etc.? We are to speak of it all with a deep seated respect and awe. How are we to approach the LORD God in worship? With reverence. 

Reverence, I think, is not as subjective as our current culture wants to make it sound. We instinctually know when someone is being irreverent. We know when something is done in an irreverent manner. When talking with others about reverence in Christian worship, I often hear the argument that reverence is relative. And while I agree that there are different expressions of reverence, I think we can all agree that there are appropriate ways of showing respect and awe, and inappropriate ways of doing so. No one, for example, would walk up to the President of the United States, slap him on the back, and say, "Yo dawg. What's happenin!?" That would be considered highly irreverent, incredibly insulting and disrespectful. And yet, why do we tolerate people approaching the holy God in this manner? 

The posture of a Christian must always be one of reverence. Whatever we do in worship, whenever we speak of the LORD God, whenever we speak of his mighty works, observe his ordinances, speak of his nature, we are to do so in a way that reflects a deep seated respect and awe. 

WSC Q&A #52&53

Q #52: What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?
A: The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God's sovereignty over us, his propriety in us, and the zeal he has to his own worship.
Psalm 96:9-10 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!" Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the people with equity.

Q #53: Which is the third commandment?
A: The third commandment is, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.
Psalm 29:2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 

Yes I'm behind again with the blog, so with this blog post I'll wrap up the second commandment and introduce the third just to help catch us up with the catechism memorization plan. Remember, these first four commandments all fall under the category of how we are to worship and glorify God. So all of these commandments are inter-related and serve a purpose in helping us realize what it means to truly worship God properly in the whole of our lives. 

As we wrap up the second commandment, this question, just like the catechism does with the first question, wants us to understand why it is that God should be worshiped as he commands. First, God is sovereign. God is over us. We are his creatures, and we must be obedient to him and his commands. If he tells us how we are or are not to worship him, we must be obedient. We can trust that the sovereign God knows better than we do what will bring him glory. Secondly, God's propriety in us. This is, again, reemphasizing the fact that because we belong to the LORD God, and because we are not sovereign over ourselves, we are to follow the practices and set behaviors of worship, both public and private, that he has prescribed to us in his holy Word. And thirdly, the catechism reminds us of the zeal God has for his own glory. This goes back to the question about whether or not God notices when he is being robbed of glory. Yes, he notices. He is a jealous God, jealous for his glory and for the fame of his own name. 

Now we can turn our attention to the third commandment, the command to not take the LORD's name in vain. This is a commandment that I look forward to studying. It is one that, perhaps, I understand the least. What is entailed in taking the Lord's name in vain? Why is it so important that we follow this commandment? As we explore this commandment, let us first chiefly remember that God is a holy God, and he alone has revealed his name to us in his holy Scriptures. This is important. God wasn't named by anyone else. No one but God declared his name. He alone, the holy, eternal God, has declared his name to us, his finite creation. Therefore, we must remember that his very name itself is indeed holy. To use his name in vain is to not only trivialize his name, to discredit it's holiness, but to trivialize God himself and discredit his holiness.