“One True Name”

Exodus 20:7

Rev. Dustin A. Largent

September 7, 2025

 

Worshiping God His Way

God wants us to worship Him and Him only. That was the first commandment. The second, though, had to do with not only worshiping just the one God, but worshiping Him His way. So, you need to worship God the way He prescribes us to worship Him.

Now today we get to something that seems like a really easy one: “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.” You’re like, alright, well I can do that. Most of you are sitting here and you’re like, “Oh, that just means don’t use God’s name when I’m out cussing with my friends.” Just like, “I can say all the other words, but just don’t say that one.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out with somebody and, man, they’re just—it's just beep, beep, beep—like cussing on and on and on. There’s a group of them and it’s F-bomb this and blankety-blank that. And then the next thing you know, somebody in the group will use the Lord’s name in vain and they go, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. Watch your language.” Right? It’s like, “Whoa. What are you talking about?” The whole thing has been like a huge freak show. So, I don’t know what they’re talking about. This is how it reads in the Bible. It’s verse 7 of chapter 20. This is what it says:

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“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” — Exodus 20:7 (KJV)

That’s pretty serious. If you take His name in vain, He won’t hold you guiltless for that. Now the NIV reads it this way:

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” — Exodus 20:7 (NIV)

You’re like, “Well, take in vain, misuse.” They really do mean the same thing, and we’ll get into that to describe exactly what that means. But it’s more than just not using God’s name as a cuss word. If you’ve been following us, you saw that loving the Lord your God with all your heart and worshiping Him only—we saw the greatest commandment. We saw the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” We saw that we have to be careful how we worship Him. This one actually has more to it than you thought.

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What Is the Name of God?

So, let’s dive into this. First of all, there are two parts to this commandment. It says, “Do not take the name of God.” So we’re talking about the name of God. And then the other part is “taking it in vain.” So, we’ve got to figure out: What’s the name of God? And what does it mean to take something in vain?

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I don’t want to read the dictionary definition because that doesn’t help me. I need to know what the Bible says about those things, because the Bible defines itself. So, in the most basic way, what this means is: don’t use Yahweh’s name in vain. The name of God—we find it mentioned back in the Old Testament. There’s a burning bush. Moses comes up to it. God says, “You’re going to go deliver the people on My behalf from Egyptian slavery.” Moses says, “Well, when I go, who should I say is sending me? Like, who are You?”

And God gives him His name. And the name He gives is a weird name: “I am that I am.” — Exodus 3:14

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“I am.” So, it has to do with His identity. His name is wrapped up in “I am.” He’s saying, “I am. I exist.” Not with any pretense, not with any conditions. Not that “I exist for a small amount of time,” but “I have always existed.” In the present, “I always exist.” “I’m here. I am who I am. You can’t affect who I am. My being and existing is not dependent upon you.” So, like, if you say, “Who’s Dustin?” Well, who Dustin is can change, right? It changes. My name can be forgotten—and will be forgotten. My name is dependent. I have my name and I have my being because of my parents and my grandparents. And also because somebody didn’t kill me in a back alley. I have my existence because of a million different reasons. It’s dependent.

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Not God. God exists. He is that He is. And He’s wanting you to know: “There is nothing that can deter Me, because I am that I am. Nothing can change Me. Nothing you do, Moses, can change who I am—because I am.”

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The Power and Reverence of God's Name

Now, he says, don’t use that name in vain. Well, what is that name? That name in the Bible—we pronounce it Yahweh. In your Bible, though, you don’t ever hardly read “Yahweh.” So if you’re reading your Bible, you don’t see “Yahweh.” What you see—and you can open it up if you want to and look at it—is a word that says Lord, but it’s capitalized weird. It’s all lowercase capitals. You probably didn’t even know there was such a thing as a lowercase capital, but it’s a smaller capital letter: LORD.

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That is the name of God. Now that name in the Bible—that word—is used over 6,000 times. Over 6,000 times in the Bible, that word, God’s name, I am that I am, is used. But He’s saying not to use it in vain. So obviously it’s not that the name of God can’t be used, right? The name of God can obviously be used. So, the first point I want to give you, if you’ve got your notes, is this:

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It’s not that God’s name isn’t to be used—it’s that it must be used with all the glory and the honor and the reverence that God deserves.

Be very careful how you use His name. Because God’s name is a revelation of the reality of who He is. God reveals and expresses Himself in His name. Just like last week, we have to be really careful about how we worship God—because it affects God’s reputation. It affects how He’s presented. And with any graven image, you’ll never depict God as He truly is. You’re scantily representing God with any image you give of Him. It’s the same way with His name. Be very, very careful how you use His name. Because His name is also a revelation. It’s not a visual representation of Him, but it is the representation of Him that He uses throughout Scripture.

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God's Name Reveals His Glory

Let’s go down to Exodus 33. I’m just going to show you real quick. It says in Exodus 33:15,
“Then Moses said to him, ‘If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.’”

So, God had said, “Listen, yeah, I’m going to let you go, but I’m not even going with you. I’m done with these people. I’ve had enough.” And Moses says, “No, no, no, no. The worst thing that could possibly happen to us is to not have your presence with us.” Think about that for a second. The worst thing that could possibly happen to me—the worst thing that could possibly happen to you—is for God to say, “You know what, go about your life... but I’m out.” Moses says, “No, no, no, do not do that. I would rather be tortured. I would rather be mutilated. I would rather be killed. I would rather these people do whatever they want to me—but do not send us without going with us. We cannot survive without you.” Because your name is so great. Watch what it says:

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“How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” — Exodus 33:16

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What makes me different is you, God. And the Lord said to Moses:

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“I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” — Exodus 33:17

Then Moses said:

“Now show me your glory.” — Exodus 33:18

Now when you say, “Show me your glory,” what is that supposed to be? You’re like, “I want to see God.” Watch what God does.

“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.’” — Exodus 33:19

He wants to see God, and God says, “I’ll tell you my name.” That’s how powerful His name is. “I’m going to speak My name in your presence.” The name of God is not something to be trifled with.

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God's Name Is a Revelation of His Character

Skip over to Exodus 34:4–7. It says:

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“So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, carrying the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’” — Exodus 34:4–7

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God is proclaiming who He is by giving us His name.

And watch Moses’ response. Moses hears His name, and it says:

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Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. — Exodus 34:8

Because he heard the name of God. So, here’s the second point, and you can look at it in your notes: God’s name is important to Him because it reveals and portrays who He is. His name is a revelation of His character. Now, the King James says not to take that name in vain. So, what does that mean? What does it mean not to take it in vain? When I hear the word “vain,” I immediately think of the song You’re So Vain, right? And I’m like, okay, well, I don’t want to say that God is vain. That’s not what it means. Let’s go to the Bible and find out what it means when He says to do something “in vain.”

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What It Means to Use God's Name in Vain

So, what does it mean to use something in vain? Let’s go to the Bible and find out. I’ve got a Bible turned to Jeremiah. First one, Jeremiah 2:30:

“In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction.”

So, what happened? Why is it in vain? Because He punished them and they’re still misbehaving. You’ve got a kid—you spank the kid—and he’s still a freak show, right? So, the punishment was in vain. It wasn’t effectual. It didn’t change anything. Look at Jeremiah 4:30:

“Why do you dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.”So, the word “vain” is used again. She’s getting all hopped up, trying to impress her lover. She puts on all the makeup—and he still doesn’t love her. He despises her and wants to kill her. The makeup obviously didn’t do the trick. It was in vain. Let’s keep going. Jeremiah 6:29: “The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.” So, fire is used to purify. The fire is placed on them to purify them—and they’re still impure. It’s ineffectual. One more. Jeremiah 46:11: “Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you.”

She takes the medicine, puts it on—and doesn’t get better. That’s what it means. It’s in vain.

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Hollowing God's Name in Prayer

So, here’s why using God’s name in vain is bad: Because God is not empty. God is not pointless. God is not a waste of time. He never fails.

Instead, He is to be exalted and set apart for all the incredible substance that He is—and the fullness that He is. He is to be what we talked about when we said the Lord’s Prayer. He is to be hallowed. So, when God teaches us how to pray, the very first thing He does is say:

“Hallowed be thy name.” — Matthew 6:9

We need to think rightly about who we’re talking to. If we’re going to pray to God, the very first thing we have to do is be careful about His name. We need to hallow His name. So, you’ll get up in the morning and you start praying, and you get on your knees and you say:

“Our Father who art in heaven…” I’ve already got His name—Father—and He’s in heaven. “Hallowed be thy name.”

And I start to worship and talk about how great His name is. And when I’m talking about how great His name is, I’m talking about how wonderful His character is. I’m talking about how merciful He is to me. I’m talking about how much He loves me. I’m talking about the sacrifice. I’m talking about all these amazing characteristics. And so, I am hallowing Him. Because if I don’t, I am violating the third commandment by leaving Him empty. I’m not giving Him the due that He deserves.

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Blasphemy and Misusing God's Name

Let’s go to Leviticus 24:16:

“Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name, they are to be put to death.”

So, in the Old Testament, the name of God was really, really serious. If you blasphemed His name, they killed you. That was punishable by death. So, what does “blaspheme” mean? Jesus was accused of blasphemy. He was accused of blasphemy because He was claiming and saying things on God’s behalf—as if He was God. And they were like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, that’s blasphemy. You’re claiming to be God. That’s blaspheming His name.” You can’t do that. Blasphemy is to disrespect or dishonor God by making God out to be evil, or by mocking God, or by misrepresenting God, or claiming to be God when you aren’t, or speaking as if you’re speaking for God when you’re not.

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So, here’s the first example:

You blaspheme God when you violate the third commandment. Why? Because when you blaspheme, you slander God and His holy name.

You’re slandering God. You can’t slander God. That’s not good. You can’t speak bad about His name. Nobody likes having their own name slandered. I’ve had that happen to me. People start saying stuff like, “Oh, you know about Dustin, check this out…” And I’m like, “Hey, I didn’t even do anything. What did I do?” And then how do you fix your name once somebody messes it up? That’s tough to do. So, you can’t do that to God.

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Misusing God's Name to Validate a Lie

Let’s look at Leviticus 19:12:

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“Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.”

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So, it looks like this: I’ve got my car outside. I’ve got to sell it. You know why? Because it’s a piece of junk, right? I take it to the garage and they say, “It needs $3,500 worth of work.” Then I post it on Craigslist and say, “I swear to God there are no mechanical problems with this car I’m selling.” But I’ve got a work order for $3,500. What I’m doing is saying, “Listen, I know I’m not trustworthy. I know I’m lying. But I need you to trust me. So, I’m going to pull God into the equation and use His reputation to make what I say legit.” You can’t do that.

If you use God’s name to bring validity to a lie you’re telling, you break the third commandment. Why? Because you applied your deception to God and therefore slandered God’s good and holy name.

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False Prophecy and Misrepresenting God

Let’s go to Jeremiah 23:25–27:

“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship.”

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This was common in the Old Testament. You’d have prophets who never heard from God, but they were prophesying on His behalf—trying to make the king happy or make the people like them. We have a lot of that today still. There are pastors who speak on God’s behalf, but they’re lying because they want people to like them and they want to have big churches. But that’s not how it works with God. You have to say what God says if you’re going to represent God. Here’s a great quote from Philip Ryken, president of Wheaton College. When we did our Exodus series, I used his commentary. It’s good, and he has a great statement on this:

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“A more serious way to break the third commandment is by using God’s name to advance your own agenda. Some Christians say, ‘The Lord told me to do this,’ or worse, ‘The Lord told me to tell you to do this.’ This is false prophecy. God has already said whatever He needs to say to us in His Word. Of course, there is also an inward leading of the Holy Spirit, but this is only an inward leading and should not be misrepresented as an authoritative word from God.”

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So, here’s the third example:

If you falsely speak on God’s behalf—speaking as if you’re speaking for God when you’re not—that’s violating the third commandment.

Why? Because your falsehood on God’s behalf betrays God as a liar. This is about how you’re representing God.

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Jesus Fulfills the Third Commandment

Let’s turn to Isaiah 45:23:

“By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.”

Jesus swears by His own name. I love that. Who does He swear by? Himself. By His name—Yahweh. “By myself I have sworn…” Now God declared this through Paul again later in the book of Philippians. That might sound familiar to you:

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” — Philippians 2:9

Who’s “him”? Jesus. So, I thought the highest name was I am that I am. I thought there was no higher name than Yahweh. And here we find out that there is no other name greater than this new name we have. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.” — Philippians 2:10–11

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That word Lord there—the word that’s used for Lord is Kyrios. That is what the Septuagint uses to say the name of God from the Old Testament. To say Yahweh. I am that I am. It’s saying that Jesus—His name—is that name. And that there is no name above that name. So, when you are fulfilling the third commandment—when you want to fulfill the third commandment—you’re going to do it by worshiping and glorifying the name above all names, which is Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of the third commandment. He’s the fulfillment of the third commandment. So, I’ll give you another point:

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God’s name, which we are forbidden to use in vain or misuse, is truly and fully fulfilled and hallowed in the person and name of Jesus.

Jesus never misuses the name of God. He never uses His name in vain. But He embodies the true name of God. He reveals it. He magnifies it. So, let’s just finish up.

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How do you obey the third commandment?
We talked about how to obey the first and the second. How do we obey the third? Let’s look at Acts 3:16:

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“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”

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Then in Acts 4:12, Peter is preaching before the Sanhedrin:“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

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My son Cooper is back in the back and he just looked at me like, “Oh no.” But my son bears my name. His name is Cooper James Largent. I’m Dustin Allen Largent. And I bear my father’s name. And so, I represent, right? Like if you’ve got a kid in your family and they’re bearing your name, and they go to school and they’re getting in all kinds of trouble, people say, “Who’s that?” “Oh, that’s a Krause kid.” And they say, “Oh, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Because the name is important. We represent the name of God. We carry His name.

So, what do we do as people? We carry the name Christian, don’t we? We have the name of God. We become Christians. When we give our life to Christ, we bear the name of Jesus. We are Christians. And now we represent the One who gave us that name. This is the saddest representation of how we break this commandment: There are millions of people—especially in the United States—who bear this name. They claim this name, all the while living and teaching and preaching things completely contrary to anything God ever said was acceptable.

You’ve got the young couple, and they’re off doing things they know they shouldn’t be doing, but they say, “Yeah, but we’re Christians.” And so everybody looks at the Christian and says, “Oh, you’re a pervert. God’s a liar. God is a horrible person.” Well, no—He’s not. I’m a sinner. Don’t give me that.

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I’m very careful when I’m driving the bus. I got to Peoria yesterday in less than an hour from here. I do not do that in a church bus. I shouldn’t have done it before—my wife about killed me. Well, she thought I about killed her. That was the problem. But we represent Him.

And so, here's our last one. If you call yourself a Christian, but dishonor his name by the way you live, you break the third commandment. You break the third commandment. And so I really see three options for us. You have three options in your life of how you're going to play this.

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You can one, you don't claim the name of Jesus. And then you're fine. You don't claim his name. You're ashamed of the name of Jesus. You don't want to be associated with him and you live however you want. Okay, that's cool. Number two, you bear the name of Jesus, but you use his name in vain by the way you live. That's an option. Maybe that's who you are. Maybe it's not. Or third, you claim the name of Jesus and you live accordingly by the power that's provided by that name. That name provides you with that power. And so now, now we'll close with this.

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I'll pray and we'll be done. Now you understand, now you understand what the second part of that verse meant. It said, do not use the name of the Lord God in vain. And then it went on. What did it say after that? For the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who uses, misuses his name. Why is he so serious about that? Well, now you know. Now you know. Using the Lord's name in vain is the opposite and antithesis of worshiping the one true God. It's the opposite of it. It's the opposite of doing things God's way.  Its instead using God's name for your own purposes at God's expense. God says, you can't do that.

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Closing Prayer:

God, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the third commandment. I thank you that every commandment so far has been a promise. They've all been a promise that points to Jesus. God, we want to honor the Lord's name. And we want to honor his name by living and honoring the name of Jesus through our lives, through our speech, through the way we treat people, through our confession. God, in all things, let us bring honor and glory to the name of Jesus, your name we pray. Amen.