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aw
&
iberation
y Owen ourie
With such emphasis on the inescapable guilt of those
who misuse the name of God, It is clear that the
Lord's name is inestimably precious and must be
regarded to be so by all His creatures at all times and
in
all
circumstances. The indication of this
commandment is that its breach is a sin above all
sins deserving of God's wrath to a degree not
measured out for other transgressions of His law.
God and All Things
All who are in the business of making things have
their particular trademark by which a manufactured
item is identified as the work of this or that
producer. That concept is derived from God who
created all things. The Creator's mark is on
everything in His creation and, to paraphrase
Cornelius Van Til, even the fastest traveller through
God's estate cannot mistake the signs of His
ownership. The earthly manufacturer's mark can be
a reflection of his name, but the Creator's mark
speaks unquestionably
of
His name which means
that everything bears witness
to
His name.
Consider Psalm 8 in which David sets out to prove
his opening statement, 0 LORD our Lord, how
excellent is thy name in all the earth," by referring to
God's glory which is evident in everything from the
most helpless of creatures--"babes and sucklings"-
to
the highest heavens and the heavenly bodies.
Significantly, in this context of
God's glory, the
psalmist takes cognizance of the position of man and
notes the dominion over the works
of
thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and
oxen, yea, and the beasts
of
the field; the fowl of the
air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth
through the paths of the seas." This is the exercise
of
righteous dominion that is supremely fulfilled
in
the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:6f.) and required
of all people in terms of the Dominion Mandate of
Genesis 1:26-28 and restated in the Great
Commission of Matthew 28:18-20.
It must be
understood that righteous dominion
over
the earth
cannot be exercised without all that the Great
Commission implies - regeneration, repentance of
sin, faith in the triune God, and obedience to God's
word in all its requirements. Having mentioned the
matter of dominion, David goes on
to
conclude that
his opening statement is well and truly proved, for n
all things, no less the things of the earth, the glory of
the Creator is evident and His mark is seen. 0
LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the
earth " God, the Creator of all, leaves His mark
upon every detail and requires that all things
continue to reflect His name, His glory, by
proper usage on the part of man, His vicegerent, in
terms of His directions--His law. Abuse of any part
of God's creation is rebellion, and in such action
God's name is taken in vain.
Every aspect of God's creation speaks of Him as is
clear from the rejection
by
Christ of the false notion
of
the Pharisees that by not using God's name and
swearing by heaven, or earth, or Jerusalem instead,
God's name is not used in vain. "Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the
earth; for
it
is his footstool: neither
y
Jerusalem; for
it is the city of the Great King. Neither shalt thou
swear by thy head, because thou canst
not
make one
hair white or black." (Matthew 5:34-36). In other
words, the name of God, which reveals His
character and nature, is involved in all these things.
God, who names Himself, who defines Himself,
who says,
I
am that I am," has ensured that every
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detail of HiS creation speaks of His name and His
glory. For this rea8on, the
apostle Paul
can boldly
state: ; For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the
truth
in unrighteousness; because that
which may be .known of God is manifest in them;
for
God
hath shewed
it
unto them.
For
the
invisible things of him from the creation of the
world
are
clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so
that
they are without excuse" (Romans
:18-20). Since that which may be known
of
God is
. evident in each and every creature, .they who
suppress this truth to misuse God's creation
in
ungodliness and unrighteousness are without excuse
before the Eteinal Judge.
Implications for Life .
Since the name of God is universally in evidence,
the implications for life are all-embracing.
To
the
redeemed
in
Christ this should be the e l l s p r i n ~
of
wholehearted worship and service in every detatl of
life. To fallen
man,
who would be as God and take
all glory to himself, this is the spectre that haunts
him, the truth that he suppresses, but which he
cannot ultimately deny without plunging into a
bottomless pit
of
meaninglessness.
It
is the truth
that challenges his whole way oflife
and ~ e a t e n s
to
turn it
-upside down. .
In God, welive,
and
move;
and
have
our
being,"
(Acts17:28). Nothing can
be
done apart from
Him
and
without involving
His
iiatne .
Not
even
the so
dilled atheist's denial of God can be accomplished
without presupposing
at
least
the
idea
of
God.
Every sphere
of
life--the family, the school, the
church, the state; indeed, every area of life--must
submit to God as LORD over all. To establish any
part of life, any thought of action, on anything other
than'the triune God is nothing less than blasphemy.
Unless family life is built upon God's word; urtless
all
education begins and continues with
God
and His
word; unless the church is true in every detail to the
word.ofGod; unless the state limits i tself to the God-'
drdained bounds of ts authority; and unless the dvil
law
and order presupposes the authority
God
and
His law,
all
these areas of life
are
being conducted
blasphemously, and rilany stand guilty before the
Eternal Judge.
The
word "guiltless"
in
this commandi:nent can be
translated "clean". TheLORD will not hold him to
be ciean that tatceth his name in vain;" Our attitude .
towaid the name
of God and
the far-reaching
impiiGation f
His
name reveals our spiritual state,
whether we are clean
or
unclean before .the
Almighty.
Directions for Use
Along with the manufacturer's mark goes the
directions for use.
The
Holy Scriptures
of
the Old
and
New
Testaments give us the law.:word of the
Creator-God
by
which
we
are to live and to order
our
lives in obedience, making proper use of the
earth and the heavens. Time, mind, body, talent,
and every field of knowledge must be governed by
the directions of God's word. n this regard, the
prior and perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ
to the full requirement of God's holy law. is vitally
important. Without
it
there could be no true
following aJ1d fulfillment of the directions of God's'
word. But the merits of Christ's active and passive
obedience, in full atonement for their sins, have been
imputed to the redeemed
of
the
LORD
for
their justification, their adoption as children: of God,
and their eternal life, and they are irresistibly drawn
to Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit Being
thus renewed in mind, heart, and will, they find
themselves truly liberated from slavery to sin. With
true knowledge
of
the triune God, and with deep
love for Christ, and in gratitude
for
His redeeming
love, they find that the enabling grace of God places
them in the path of obedience to His law. Here is
true liberation, not to lawlessnes but
to
law-keeping
and the proper use of God's creation. Well has the
apostle Paul said, Let every one thatnameth the
name of
Christ depart from iniquity"
(2
Timothy
2:19).
Since the mark
of God
is upon every detail
of
His
creation, the directions ofHis word are applicable to
everything. The relevance
of
the word ofGod is not
confined to the institutionalized church and the
spiritual and heavenly concerns
of
its members. lt
speaks to the whole
of
life
irt
every aspect. true
following and application of these directions will
give rise to the authoritative preaching and teaching
of the word
of
God with fervent calls for individual
and national. repentance. .The ensuing .practical
obedience of a faithful and God-feariqg people will
see the restoration of the family as God's central unit
in societY. with its covenanting, life-giving, law
making, protecting, schooling, motivating, guiding,
and economic functions ; the return of the church to
the preaching and r a c t i ~ e of the pure word ofGod,
the faithful administration
of
the sacraments
of
baptism
and
L)rd's supper, and the godly exercise
of discipline; the return of the state to its limite i;
God-ordained function as the minister of God's law
and order, punishing evil-doers
and
rewarding
o e r ~
of good; the return of eduction to God and His word
as the foundation, starting point,
d i r e c t i o ~
and
consummation
of
all
n o w l e d g ~
the Christianization
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of cultures; and the name of God honored and
glorified as His creation is properly used according
to His word.
The Westminster Larger Catechism of 1648 asks,
What is required in the third conunandment? and
answers, The third commandment requires, that
the
name
of
God, His titles, attributes, ordinances, His
word, sacraments, prayer, oaths, vows, lots, His
works, and all through which He makes Himself
lmown,
be
used in thought, meditations, word, and
writing with holiness and reverence, that is in a holy
profession .of faith and a corresponding life, all
to
the glory of God, the good of ourselves and others.
Oaths and vows are mentioned. The spiritual health
and stability of a society depends
on
its observance
of its oaths and vows, its regard for taking the
name
of the LORD
in
truth and establishing itself entirely
in every area of life on the foundation of God and
His unbreakable word and under the judgment
of
God
who is the only true ground
of
all being, life,
thought, and action. Hence the sanctity
of
vows and
oaths. Marriage vows require the fidelity of
husbands and wives ; ordination vows require the
faithfulness of ririnisters of God; baptismal vows
require a true profession of Christ; the oaths of
office in the state require integrity before God and
men; and oaths in the courts of law require the
reliabiltiy of witnesses.
Another crucially important directive by which
God's name is honored, which is the special target
of evil men, is succinctly stated
by
R.
J
Rushdoony
in
The Institutes
of
Biblical aw
(page 121):
Respect for duly constituted authorities
s
required
both as a religious duty and a practical policy.
The
world is not bettered by disobedience and anarchy;
evil men cannot produce a good society. The key to
social renewal is individual regeneration.
All
authorities
are
to be obeyed; parents, husbands,
masters, rulers, pastors, always subject to the prior
obedience to God. All obedience is under God,
because required by His word. Therefore .. the
covenant people cannot violate any due authority
without taking the name of the Lord in vain.
The
Spirit of Disobedience
f
the Creators' directions are not followed for
everything in life, His name is taken
in
vain. The
Westminster Larger Cateschism enumerates the sins
forbidden in the third commandment: the refusal to
give glory to God'$ name; and its abuse
in
ignorant,
vain, irreverent, profane, superstitious, or wicked
speech, or in other ways the misuse of His titles,
attributes, ordinances, or works, in blasphemy or
perjury; all sinful cursing, oaths, vows, and lots; the
violating of lawful oaths and vows, and the fulfilling
of unlawful ones; murmuring, complaining, and
willful disrespect with
regard to
God's decrees and
providences; misinterpreting, misapplying, or in any
way perverting the word, or any part
of
it,
in
profane jests, curious or unprofitable questions, vain
discussion, or in maintaining false doctrines;
abusing
God's
name, along with creatures,
or
any
thing contained under His name, for charms
or
sinful lusts and practices; maligning? scorning,
reviling, or any wise opposing God's truth, grace,
and ways; making profession of religion in
hypocrisy, or for sinister ends; being
ashamed
of it,
or bringing shame upon it, by uncomformable,
unwise, unfruitful, and offensive living or
backsliding from it.
In short, whatever is said or done without due
reverence to God, in humble submission to the
directions
of
His law
in
every area
of
life, is a
violation
of
this commandment. This
even
includes
polite and courteous speech and action that does not
acknowledge
God
a sovereign
LORD over
all. It is
this all-encompassing sovereignty of God that Satan
challenged in the temptaton at the dawn of history
and which he continues
to
challenge through the
spirit of disobedience
that
now worketh in the
children of disobedience, (Ephesians 2:2). The
greater the denial of the religion
of the
triune God,
the
more the
religion ofungodly revolution
comes
to
the fore. The language of
such
revolution is
characterized by profanity, blasphemy, and an
obsession wi th excrement and sex, especially sexual
perversion
that
is also practiced, the point being that
revolution draws its
power
from
below. In the
preamble to revolution,
the
sanctity of oaths
and
vows is eroded and a society is moved away from its
bedrock of truth to the sinking sand of lies
from
the
devil who is the father
of
liars (John 8:44).
In a
most
discerning passage in his
Survey
of
Christian Epistemol .y,
Cornelius Van Til said;
According to the B ~ b l e sin has set
man
at enmity
against God. Consequently, it has been . man's
endeavor to
get
away from the idea of God, that is, a
truly absolute God. And the best way
to
accomplish
this subordinate purpose was
to
do
it by making it
appear as though an absolute
God were
retained.
Hence the great insistence on the part of those
who
are really anti-Christian, that they are Christian.
Such a statement fits Liberation Theology which
uses Biblical
and
Christian terminology to convert
the people to Marxism. In doing so
and
in using
the
LORD'S name in liturgies of hate and n associating
the names of God and Christ with so-called freedom
fighters and with revolutionary violence, Liberation
Theology takes the
name
of the LORD in vain. The
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New Age
Movement's Messiah, Maitreya,
supposedly
the
fifth incarnation of Buddha, the
Mahdi
of
Islam, and the Krishna of Hinduism, is
called. Christ
in orderto attract Christians The
LORD God
Almighty
will
not hold Liberationists
and
exponents
of
the
New
Age
guiltless.
Conclusion
It
is
not
possible for the Christian to come away
from a study of this commandment in its far
reaching implications without the conviction of
failure
in
the keeping
of t Only by
the mercy and
ook
the grace of
God
is there forgiveness through the
perfect and finished atonement of Christ for our
sins. Only
by
the enabling grace
of
God can we
really attain to a greater steadfastness in our striving
to keep t is law and to glorify His name in
everything
in
life.
That same
mercy
and
that same
grace bids the sinner, even the most hardened
offender, to repent and to exalt that worthy name,
that name which above every name, the name of
Jesus Christ, and confess tnat
He
is Lord,
to
the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11). 0
LORD
our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the
earth "
0
Review
A
.A
A AAAA .A
AAA
essiah the Prince
Messiah. the P r i n ~ e by William
Symington
. Still
Waters Revival Books 12810-126 St. Edmonton, .
AB Canada T5L-OYL, 1990 $24.95 (USA) $29.95
(Canada). Reviewed by Byron Snapp.
"I
personally am opposed to abortion.
But
I
am not
going to use my office to superimpose my personal
position
on
.
other
people's decisions. I
am o i n ~ to
listen carefully to both sides each tinie I am requrred
to
vote." ("Warner Kicks Off Campaign," Roanoke
Times World News, Feb. 6, 1990)
The
Wisconsin woman
charged
with adultery is
being singled out for punishment that could be
applied to thousands. Laws against adultery,
fomication
and
sodomy are still on the books in 27
states . including Virginia, but are enforced only
rarely. They serve
no
good
purpose and ought to
be
repealed ..Society is
far more
tolerant than when
Wisconsin's adultery law was passed in the 19th
century.
For
the most part, government has gotten
out of the business of trying
to
legislate morality.
Wisconsin, Virginia
and
the other 5 states with
these antiquated laws
ought
to get
rid of them
.
Otherwise, they'll continue
to be
pulled
out
to satisfy
grudges." ("Selectively judging morality"
The
Roanoke
Times
and
World News May
3, 1990,
p.l4)
Page
8
August-September, 1990 The Counsel
of
Chalcedon
These quotes are only two of many that could be
given to
show
the importance of the recent reprinting
of William Symington's Messiah the Prince. This
book
is solely devoted to unfolding the Biblical
doctrine
of
Christ's kingship
over
all
things
both
now and throughout eternity.
"Without Christ's kingly work, the gracious
purposes
of
God
could not be
executed; the
mediatorial character itself would not
be
complete;
the
work
ofsalvat ion must continue unrewarded; the
enemies
of
trti.th and holiness should
finally
triumph,
and
the
necessities of the children
ofGod
remain for
ever unsupplied. Such things cannot--shall not be."
(p.l6) Having pointed
out
the necessity of Christ's
kingship the author then points
out
the reality of His
lordship as well as His qualifications for this office.
Mr. Symington readily acknowledges and explains
that
Christ's kingdom is spiritual. Yet such an
explanation in no way means that Christ has no rule
in His world
now
. Defining Christ's kingdom as
spiritual means "that its nature and design are wholly
celestial, that
it
is of a character.different from the
kirtgdoms
of
this world, and destined to higher and
more gloriouspurposes" (p.
64).
In other words all
things are
under
Christ. Christ's kingdom being