Do you ever wonder why God spoke and wrote the Ten Commandments? You may be inclined to think He gave them to make Christians boring or make sure we don’t have too much fun. Maybe you think God provided them to see who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God. But neither of these are reasons God gave for issuing the Ten Commandments.
God gave His people the commandments AFTER He provided salvation from the Egyptians (Exodus 19). God lovingly saved His covenant people and deemed them, of all the people of the earth, His treasured possessions. The Lord is making His people into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The Ten Commandments were given to establish and set apart the people of God’s affection, and when you keep those commandments, it testifies to your intimacy with God.
This Sunday we take a look at the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” This commandment is about so much more than using the Lord’s name as an expletive or an exclamation. Expressed positively, you might rephrase it, “The Lord’s people will honor His name.” In what ways do those deemed God’s “treasured possessions” desire to honor His name? That’s the question we’ll seek to answer together this week.
holdfirmly 