Third Commandment

The third commandment, contemplating God's name, may be the most misunderstood of all. This commandment covers the quality of our worship.

Many think the Third Commandment merely prohibits profane speech. In reality, it regulates the purity and quality of our worship of the great God.

Many think the third commandment deals only with euphemisms and swearing, but it goes much deeper. It regulates the quality of our worship and glorifying God.

In the the Third Commandment, God's name describes His character, attributes, and nature. If we bear God's name, we must reflect His image and His character.

The prohibition against taking God's name in vain is the least understood commandment. When we bear God's name, we are to bear His character and nature.

The Sabbath is a period of time God purposefully sanctified and set apart for the benefit of mankind, a time dedicated to God's spiritual creation.

The Sabbath is a special creation, a very specific period of holy time given to all of mankind, reminding us that God created and is continuing to create.

At creation, God sanctified only one day, the seventh, as a day of rest. At Sinai, He again sanctified it as a holy day, tying it to creation and freedom.

God, not man, created, sanctified and memorialized the seventh day Sabbath from the time of creation, intending that man use this holy time to worship God.

The fifth commandment stands at the head of the second tablet of the Decalogue, which governs our human relationships. It is critical for family and society.

Names not only identify but they also arouse associations. Biblically, a person's name held his reputation, a thing to be guarded and enhanced.

To appropriate the name of God means to represent His attributes, character and nature. Our behavior must imitate Christ just as Christ revealed God the Father.

Some stretch the second commandment to condemn the use of all paintings, photographs, and sculptures. Others claim only Hebrew names for God can be used.

Because we would die from exposure to God's glory, the name of God, reflecting His characteristics, is the only way we can approach God.

Richard Ritenbaugh, acknowledging that it is tough to be a Christian, especially during a time when the United States Supreme Court, staffed by a majority of justices who have been given over to a reprobate mind, have deemed murder) the law of the land, ca. . .

A portion of Leviticus, dubbed 'the holiness code,' describes how God lives. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded the application of the holiness code.

God's law will be the spiritual weights and measures in the Kingdom, but until then, we must glorify God by keeping these standards as a bright light.

Holy things are set apart from the rest, consecrated, sanctified, and transcendentally separate. God wants to transform us into that very image.