Now I order you to retain this creed for your nourishment throughout life and never to accept any alternative, not even if I myself were to change and say something contrary to what I am now teaching, not even if some angel of contradiction, changed into an angel of light, tried to lead you astray. For even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which you have now received, let him be accursed in your sight. – St Cyril of Jerusalem
Are you taking the Lord’s name in vain without even realizing it?
I’m not perfect but it annoys me and I cringe when I hear someone using the Lord’s Name in vain, especially as a swear word! I try to respond with “J.C. . . . is the Messiah!” Here’s a post for those of us who don’t realize what is coming out of our mouths . . .
There is power in the name of Jesus Christ, and it should not be taken in vain. If we truly understood and experienced the power that lies behind the name of Jesus, we would respond in reverence, devotion and faith, but we know so well that this is not always the case.
The third commandment of the decalogue tells us in 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.”
The word ‘vain’ used in this context is the Hebrew word “shav,” which means emptiness of speech, vanity, falsehood, lying, deceptive, uselessness. Taking God’s name in vain refers to treating the Lord Himself in a frivolous, light manner. And it goes beyond using God’s name as a swear word.
