For His Glory

For His Glory

We must take God’s Name in order to glorify Him.

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

Deuteronomy 5:11

“‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.’”

God intends to glorify Himself through us, so that the earth can be filled with the knowledge of His glory as the water covers the sea (Hab. 2:14). To that end, He has redeemed us, adopted us, and given us His Spirit and Word. He has created us in Jesus Christ unto good works, the works which He before ordained that we should walk in, the works of His Law (Eph. 2:10).

When we take the Name of the Lord upon us we embrace His purpose and calling for our lives and devote ourselves to growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18) so that we might abound in good works, as God intends (Titus 3:8). Good works do not save us; God saves us. But He saves us for the purpose of bringing glory to Himself through our good works (Matt. 5:16). The Law of God—and all the Word of the Lord—tells us what those works are. We fulfill our calling and “take” the Name of the Lord as He intends as we increase in good works to the glory of God.

Taking the Name of the Lord in vain is more than what we commonly think of when this commandment comes to mind. While misusing God’s Name in oaths and exclamations is certainly included under things proscribed by the third commandment, these are not the main issue.

We take God’s Name in vain when we fail to live up to our pedigree—when we fail to pursue good works as the expression of who we are in Christ and of our gratitude for His saving mercy. Taking God’s Name in vain is a bit like a batter in a baseball game who takes a bat from the rack, strolls to the batter’s box, then never lifts the bat off his shoulder and is called out on strikes.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.