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Where God Places His Name (Part Two)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God's name holds profound significance, as evidenced by its place in the third commandment, where the Lord declares He will not hold guiltless anyone who takes His name in vain. This indicates that bearing God's name improperly is a serious offense, rendering a person blameworthy and sinful in His eyes. The commandment, when understood through the Hebrew term "nasha," meaning to lift, carry, or bear, extends beyond mere speech to encompass all behavior. As His children and signatories of the New Covenant, we bear His name, representing Him in every aspect of our lives—through speech, demeanor, attitudes, behavior, decisions, and even appearance. To bear His name in vain, derived from the Hebrew "saw," meaning emptiness or falsehood, implies doing so thoughtlessly, carelessly, or unrighteously, treating it as something insubstantial or worthless. The quality of our worship is central to this commandment, demanding that we approach God with the highest honor, reflecting His perfect righteousness and holiness. We must not bear His name in a false, uncaring, or sinful manner, as it is a precious possession to Him, and He holds us accountable for sullying it through any means. God's name encapsulates His being, character, instruction, and ownership of us, distinguishing it from His unapproachable glory. While His glory overwhelms and cannot be fully experienced by sinful humanity, His name—representing virtues like love, mercy, goodness, justice, and righteousness—is approachable and understandable, allowing us to relate to Him and worship Him in everyday life. Through His name, proclaimed to Moses as Yahweh, Yahweh-El, God reveals His divine character traits, including compassion, graciousness, patience, covenant loyalty, truthfulness, forgiveness, justice, and measured punishment to limit sin's effects. These characteristics, condensed in His name, provide a means for us to know and appreciate Him beyond the sheer power of His glory. In the act of baptism, we are immersed into His name, entering a relationship with Him, coming under His Lordship, and beginning the process of taking on His very nature and character, aiming for oneness with Him. Jesus Christ, in His final prayer, emphasizes that knowledge of God's name secures and protects us, keeping us on the path of belief and unity with the Father and the Son, ultimately producing godly love within us. The reward for keeping God's name, as seen in the letter to Philadelphia, involves having the names of the Father, the Son, and the New Jerusalem inscribed upon us, symbolizing our unity with God and His eternal Temple. This reward hinges on our humility, obedience to His instruction, and unwavering loyalty to all that He represents. Ultimately, bearing God's name fully as His children, one with Him for all time, is the greatest inheritance, encompassing all things and reflecting the profound unity and love He offers.

A Name's Significance

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

A name has higher significance than an identifier, but also ties one down, committing one to a destiny.

God's Perseverance With His Saints (Part One)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God, as our true Shepherd, provides total protection of His called out-ones forever. Being kept in God's name refers to assimilating the attributes of God.

Image and Likeness of God (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The numerous figures of speech describing God's body parts substantiate that God has shape and form and occupies a specific location.

The Third Commandment (1997)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

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.

The Commandments (Part Four)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

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.

Holiness (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

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.

John (Part Twenty-Five)

Sermon/Bible Study by John W. Ritenbaugh

Eternal life is to know God, seeking Him to imitate Him, living as He does, and developing an intimate relationship with Him. This brings an abundant life.

Christ's Responsibility, Resurrections, and All in All

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Christ's resurrection was bodily. He will destroy death before returning control back to the Father, at which time the entire creation would be all in all.

Ambassadors for Christ

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

We are sojourners, pilgrims, aliens, and ambassadors, living among, yet separate from, the peoples of this present world. We must be loyal to our spiritual family.

Change and Hope

Sermon by John O. Reid

As God found it necessary to test our forbears, He allows us to go through grueling experiences (trials, tests, and temptations) for maximum growth.