Commandment #3 - Words

[0:00] Well, if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this evening, if you could turn to the book of Exodus.

[0:17] Book of Exodus, chapter 20, page 73 in the Pew Bible.

[0:38] Exodus, chapter 20, and we'll read from the beginning. And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

[0:52] You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

[1:05] You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

[1:23] 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. When you hear the name Donald Trump, what do you think of?

[2:00] When you hear the name Donald Trump, what do you think of? Well, after a lot of hype and opposition and rallies and protests, it doesn't really matter what we think about Donald Trump.

[2:14] Because he is now the 45th President of the United States of America. And if God spares him, he will hold that office for the next four years, maybe longer.

[2:26] But in order to become the 45th President of the United States, like every other President Elect, Donald Trump had to say 42 words on his inauguration day last Friday.

[2:40] And those 42 words, they were the oath of office for the President of the United States. And so in order to become the President, Donald Trump had to be sworn in by making an oath, not only before the millions of an onlooking world, but also before a holy God.

[3:03] And as many of you would have seen in the news, Donald Trump, he was sworn in as the President when he held up his right hand before God and he held his left hand on the Bible, the Word of God.

[3:17] A Bible which, as many of you might know, it was given to him by his mother as a child. And Donald Trump's mother, as many of you know, she was born in tongue here in the Isle of Lewis.

[3:30] But in only 42 words, Donald Trump became President. Those words were, I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

[3:53] So help me God. Donald Trump has given his word to the United States, to the world and to God himself, that he will fulfill his office as President to the best of his ability.

[4:13] And we often say that, well, politicians and their word, it means very little, because their promises, they carry very little weight and they are very rare, they very rarely fulfill their promises.

[4:27] But when these words are said in oath and in God's name, before God's word and in God's presence, these words are binding.

[4:39] And to break them, it may not cause too many problems, apart from some disgruntled people. But with God, every word is accounted for and liable to God's judgment.

[4:54] And this is what the third commandment emphasizes, that our words and our word is important. Because the third commandment, it not only prohibits swearing or taking God's name in vain, but it also prohibits the abuse of swearing oaths that are made in God's name and before God's word and in God's presence.

[5:20] Because our failure to treat God's name with the reverence and the respect it deserves, or our failure to keep our word, it will result in God's judgment upon us.

[5:31] Which means that the third commandment emphasizes that our words mean everything. And in every situation in our life, our words are accounted for.

[5:44] And this is a serious commandment, because it emphasizes that God will execute his judgment upon us for failing to use our words correctly or for failing to live according to our word.

[5:59] And so this evening we come to the third commandment. We've already considered the first commandment, and that it taught us that worshipping only the Lord is important.

[6:10] The second commandment taught us that the way we worship the Lord is important. But the third commandment teaches us that the way we speak about the Lord is important.

[6:21] And as we said before, as we consider the commandments, we can see from the way the catechism sets it out, that it breaks down each commandment by highlighting what is required to keep it and what is forbidden, or what is commanded and what is condemned.

[6:39] But with some of the commandments like the first, the second, and the third, there is this additional explanation which seeks to clarify the teaching of the commandment.

[6:50] And so again we have the same structure this evening. We can ask the three questions about the third commandment. What is commanded by the third commandment? What is condemned by the third commandment?

[7:02] And what is clarified by the third commandment? What is commanded, what is condemned? And what is clarified by the third commandment? So we look firstly at what is commanded by the third commandment.

[7:16] Look at verse 7. This is the commandment. 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.

[7:31] When the American theologian and author R.C. Sproul, when he was preaching on the text in Proverbs which says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and they are safe.

[7:46] When he was preaching on that text, R.C. Sproul told the story of the occasion when he reluctantly attended a meeting of ministers. And maybe I've told you this before, that R.C. Sproul, he went and he bluntly said that these meetings were often boring and tedious.

[8:02] But he said he'll never forget that one incredible speaker whose topic centred upon Jesus Christ. He said that when the well-respected elderly professor climbed up the steps to the podium to give his lecture, he just cleared his throat and he smiled to us.

[8:21] And from then on he spent the next 45 minutes slowly repeating off by heart every name and every title of Jesus.

[8:32] And just to give the list, he gives a wee list. Rock of Ages, Redeemer, King of Kings, Bread of Heaven, Living Water, Son of God, Our Sure Foundation, Good Shepherd, Fairest of 10,000, Saviour, Mediator, Our Advocate, Alpha and Omega, The Stone the Builders Rejected, Beginning and the End, Wonderful Counselor, Friend of Sinners, Great Physician, Anointed One, Healer of Broken Hearts, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, Blessed Hope, Our Atonement, Mighty Fortress, Our Shelter, The Narrow Gate, The Lord of Grace, God of All Comfort, Word of Life, Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valleys, Bright and Morning Star, Glorious Lord, Emmanuel, Living Word, Chief Cornerstone, Creator, Ancient of Days, The Eternal One,

[9:42] Author and Finisher of our faith, The First and the Last, The Son of Man, Almighty God, Resurrection and the Life, The Way, The Truth and the Life, The True Vine, Everlasting Father, The Captain of our Salvation.

[9:59] And Sproul says that's just scratching the surface. But at the end of the 45 minute lecture of names and titles of Jesus, the entire audience was reduced to quiet tears.

[10:11] And this is what happens, says Sproul, when we focus upon Jesus and all that he has accomplished. Because every name in the Bible is directing us towards him.

[10:26] And needless to say, the names of Jesus and the name of Jesus is important. Because, well, we worship in the name of Jesus. We pray in the name of Jesus.

[10:37] We are cleansed from our sin in the name of Jesus. We have a relationship with God through the name of Jesus. And even on the day of judgment, it will be at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

[10:56] Which means that the names of Jesus and the name of Jesus, it's important. And we are to view them as holy. Because they're set apart. They're distinct.

[11:07] They describe someone. Not just anybody, but someone in particular. And so we are to view the names of God as holy because of who God is.

[11:18] Because as God, God we know he is infinite. He's eternal. He's unchangeable. He's majestic. He's glorious. He's wise.

[11:29] He's powerful. He's holy. He's righteous. He's good. He's loving. And he's true. He's loving. And it's because of who God is that we are to see that his name is holy and that we are to treat God's name with the reverence and the respect it deserves.

[11:46] Because, well, we would never stand in the presence of the Queen and disrespect her position or her name. No, we would give her the due reverence and respect that she deserves.

[12:00] And so when it comes to the King of Kings, we are always in his presence. He is omnipresent. He is everywhere. Therefore, we are being commanded here to treat the names of God with the honour and the respect that they deserve.

[12:18] But, you know, this commandment, it goes deeper than that because we are commanded not to take, as it says, the name of the Lord your God in vain. And this specific title, the Lord your God, it relates to the preface of the commandments in verse 2, where it says, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

[12:43] And as we said before, when God reveals himself to us as the Lord your God, he's revealing himself to us as our creator king. He is our creator.

[12:53] He's our sustainer. He gives us life and the blessings of life. But God, the creator king, he's also revealed to us as the Lord, the covenant king.

[13:04] He is the Lord your God. He is our creator king and our covenant king. And he's our covenant king because he has entered into a covenant relationship with his people.

[13:17] In which he has made oaths and promises to his people. And he has affirmed these promises to us by his own name. And this is what's interesting.

[13:30] We make oaths and promises in the name of God because he is our superior. That's what Donald Trump did. And we do that in order to emphasize the seriousness of our commitment and our desire to uphold that promise.

[13:50] We are making ourselves accountable to God. But what's interesting is that the Lord does the same. Because when the Lord makes oaths and promises to his own people, when he enters into a covenant with his people, he affirms his promise to them by his own name.

[14:09] He doesn't swear by the name of a superior because he is superior. There's no higher authority because there's no other God like him. There's no other God besides him.

[14:20] And his name is holy. His name is authoritative. His name is trustworthy and true. And this is why God makes promises to us by his own name.

[14:32] And that's what we were reading about in Hebrews chapter 6. Where the writer to the Hebrews, he was highlighting the covenant that God made with Abraham. The covenant of grace.

[14:43] This great covenant promise of salvation. And he was covenanting with Abraham and giving to him the hope and security of that covenant. In which God, he promised to Abraham, affirming to him that through his seed, which was the lineage that would lead to Jesus Christ.

[15:03] Through his seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And the emphasis of the passage that we read was that the promise which was given to Abraham, it was sure and steadfast because it was sealed with the name of God.

[15:21] The promise of God is the anchor to our soul because God made his promises by his own name. This is what the writer to the Hebrews said.

[15:32] He said, The promise of God was guaranteed by his name.

[16:10] A name that is holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true. And this is why we're not to take the name of the Lord, our God, in vain.

[16:22] Because he is the creator king and he is the covenant king. And he has provided redemption for us. That's what we're reminded in the preface.

[16:32] I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He's our redeemer. He has provided redemption. And the Lord, he often repeated that statement.

[16:44] The statement of redemption. He repeated it to the children of Israel in order to remind them that his name is holy. It says in Leviticus chapter 22.

[16:56] After the Lord has issued commands on how to worship his name. It says at the end of it all, the Lord says, You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.

[17:09] I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. He's the redeemer. And it was because of commands like these.

[17:23] The commands not to take the Lord's name in vain. It's because of these commands that the Jews viewed God's name as so holy that they would never take his name upon their lips.

[17:37] They never wanted to take the name of the Lord their God in vain. Therefore, they never used the name of the Lord. Because when a Jew would read the word of God, which in their case is the Old Testament, when they would come across the name Lord, they would never say the name Lord.

[17:55] They would always say Adonai. So when they're reading the Adonai is my shepherd, that's what they would say. And this was this preventative measure to avoid ever taking the name of the Lord in vain.

[18:10] And it only emphasizes to us the reverence and the respect that the Jews had towards the name of God. Because what we're being commanded by the third commandment is to view the name of the Lord our God as holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true.

[18:30] But the second question we have to ask is, what is condemned by the third commandment? We know what is commanded, but what is condemned by the third commandment?

[18:43] It says in verse 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. As we said before, it's easier to understand what the commandments condemn or forbid, because they all begin with the phrase, thou shalt not.

[19:04] But because of the repetition, thou shalt not, the commandments, well, we often hear people saying that they're negative and they're overbearing, they're harsh.

[19:14] And yet the reason the commandments are negative in their form is because the children of Israel were already in a position of privilege. They had come to know the Lord their God as their saviour.

[19:26] The saviour who had redeemed them from bondage and slavery in Egypt. And it was that through their obedience to their covenant God, the children of Israel would receive all the benefits and all the blessings of their redemption as God's covenant people.

[19:44] And as we said before, this is why the commandments are negative, because they put a boundary, they put a perimeter around the children of Israel. The commandments, they were like a fence to keep the children of Israel within the fence, to keep God's people within the fence, to prevent them from corrupting their relationship with the Lord.

[20:06] And that's what the Ten Commandments are to be like. God has given us everything we need in his word to glorify him and to enjoy him. And the Ten Commandments, they are the fence, or God's word is the fence, which indicates to us what does not glorify God and allow us to enjoy him.

[20:27] And the Ten Commandments, they are in place not to take away our fun or our enjoyment or to frustrate us in life. They are there so that we will see how good God is and how privileged we are and that we can enjoy the benefits and blessings of salvation.

[20:43] But as we said before, the problem with us as sinful human beings is that we want to push the boundaries. We want to test the fence to see how far we can go.

[20:56] We want to see how much we can push before we are pulled up on it. But what's clearly condemned in the Third Commandment is the vain use of God's name.

[21:08] A name, as we said, is holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true. And as one commentator said, To use the Lord's name in vain is to pronounce his name as though it were a mere word, not standing for any person, and to bring it in when another word would actually serve for the purpose as well.

[21:32] And of course, what the commentator was addressing was the use of foul language, in which we use words in vain or the name of God, a name that is holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true.

[21:44] And we use that name in vain. Especially when there are many other words in our vocabulary that would serve the purpose just as well. And there's no denying it.

[21:58] There are times when we let one slip out. When we're stressed or frustrated or angry or upset. And we do that because, as Jesus said, from out of the heart, the mouth speaks.

[22:12] But there are others where foul language is just second nature to them. And I'll confess, before I was converted, that's exactly what I was like.

[22:27] Foul language, foul speech, blasphemy. I didn't swear around Christians though. Or those I respected. Or those I didn't know. And there are many people who do the same.

[22:41] They can switch it on and off without even thinking. And I was often told that swearing or using foul language or foul speech was a lack of intelligence. It's a lack of vocabulary. It's vile speech and completely unnecessary.

[22:54] Unnecessary. And it was Alexander White who was a free church minister in the 19th century. He wrote a commentary on the catechism. Brilliant commentary.

[23:05] And in his commentary he gives this story describing two men who are constantly using foul language in this conversation with one another. And he describes them as vomiting empty speech on one another.

[23:20] Vomiting empty speech on one another. And it's a vivid illustration of the coarse nature of foul language. And if this is the case with us, then why do it at all?

[23:36] Why do we speak like that? Well, needless to say, the way we talk or the way we speak to one another is because of the way we have been influenced.

[23:47] For example, some of you have an accent that is noticeable because that's where you grew up. That's those you were around when you grew up.

[23:59] And the way we speak and the language we use, it's a result of the influences around us. Whether that influence was our parents or our friends or neighbours or those whom we work with or television or social media.

[24:16] All these things have an influence and a bearing upon our lives. But maybe for you, you use foul language. I shouldn't look at anybody in particular.

[24:29] You use foul language because you would be ashamed of appearing religious before your friends or those whom you work with. And you fear that if you stopped swearing and you stopped using foul language, you'd be accused of being a Christian.

[24:48] And the question is, would that really be a bad thing? To be known as a Christian. To be a follower of Jesus. And you know, there's a perfect example of this in the Bible.

[24:59] The Bible is full of examples of what goes on in life. And that's in the example of Peter. You'll remember that Peter spent most of his life as a fisherman. That he was called to leave his nets and follow Jesus.

[25:13] Be a fisher of men. And yet, as you know, when Jesus was betrayed and arrested to be crucified, Peter followed Jesus to the courtyard of the temple. But in the courtyard, Peter was accused by a servant girl of being a disciple of Jesus.

[25:30] And sadly, on three occasions, it wasn't the temple, it was the court of the high priest. He was there and there was this young girl who accused him. And on three occasions, Peter adamantly said to those who were gathered around them, I do not know the man.

[25:49] I do not know the man. I do not know the man. But more than that, Matthew tells us that Peter denied Jesus with cursing and swearing and oath.

[26:03] Which means that he denied knowing Jesus using foul language in order to prove that he wasn't a Christian. And he even vowed before others that he didn't know Jesus by using the name of God.

[26:15] As if to say, God is my witness. I do not know the man. And as soon as Peter said those words, we know that the cock crowed for the second time and Jesus looked at him.

[26:27] Jesus looked at him. And when Jesus looked at him, Peter knew that he had denied Jesus. He knew that he had taken God's name in vain. And he knew that he had blasphemed the name of Jesus.

[26:41] Because blasphemy, it's not only using the name of God in vain. It's also denying that the name of God is holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true.

[26:58] Therefore, like Peter, to deny knowing Jesus when you do know him and you want to follow him, it's blasphemy. My friend, to say I do not know the man when you do know him, it's blasphemy.

[27:17] And to hide your desire to know Jesus, maybe by taking his name in vain, it's blasphemy. Because the word blasphemy, it literally means injurious speech.

[27:29] It's speech that undermines or attacks the character of God, which has been revealed to us in the Bible. A character of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, peace.

[27:42] That's the character. But to deny knowing that character, to deny wanting to know that character, the Bible says, it's blasphemy.

[27:53] But you know, what happens so often is that people undermine or attack the character of God and they do it in ignorance. They don't know God.

[28:07] They don't attend church like you. They haven't been brought up in a Christian home like many of you. They don't even know the Bible like many of you do.

[28:20] And they often blaspheme God in ignorance. And you see it and you hear it all the time. People say so flippantly, oh my God.

[28:32] Or OMG. Jesus Christ. And there are many, many other things that they say. But what's remarkable is that no one ever takes the name Mohammed in vain.

[28:44] You never hear people swearing using the name Allah or Buddha or any other religion. It's only this God.

[28:55] The true God. Sometimes wonder why. Maybe they know the truth already. It's always the names of God which are holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true.

[29:08] That's the names they always use. But as we said, the third commandment not only condemns the vain use of our words, it also condemns the vain use of our word. Because when we make vows or oaths or promises like Donald Trump did at his inauguration, we do so in God's name, before God's word and in God's presence.

[29:30] And because we give our word to them and promise to uphold our vows, these vows are binding. Just like it is with God and his covenant with us.

[29:41] His covenant is binding because it's affirmed to us in his name. A name which is holy, authoritative, trustworthy and true. Therefore, our vows, our oaths, our promises, they're binding before God.

[29:55] Whether these vows are our marriage vows, to love, honour and obey in all situations in life, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, until God shall separate by death.

[30:08] And we said these words of promise or vows to our husband or to our wife, but we said them in the presence of God and before witnesses.

[30:24] There's also our baptism vows. We have vowed to bring up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And we made these vows in the presence of God and before the congregation.

[30:38] So they're binding. There's also our profession of faith, in which we have given our word. We have vowed to live out our life according to the word of God because we believe that the word of God is the only rule of faith and life.

[30:56] And that's what the psalmist said in Psalm 116. I'll of salvation take the cup. On God's name will I call. I'll pay my vows. Now to the Lord, before his people all.

[31:08] But we not only make vows in marriage, baptism and profession of faith, there's also vows as office bearers. I had to make vows in order to become your minister.

[31:21] All the elders had to make vows in order to take up the office of elder. All the deacons had to make vows in order to take up the office of deacon. And each and every office bearer had to assert, maintain and defend, or promise to assert, maintain and defend, the truths taught in God's word.

[31:41] And so what the third commandment is teaching us is that when we make a vow before God, it's a solemn occasion. It's a solemn occasion.

[31:53] That's why at baptisms and weddings, even office bearers, the congregation stands. That's why everybody stood when Donald Trump made his vow.

[32:08] They're not standing for Donald Trump. They're standing before God, in the presence of God. And it's, these vows, they're solemn because it's in God's name, before God's word, and in God's presence.

[32:23] But it's solemn because we are accountable to God for every word. And this is why the Bible says to us that it's better not to make a vow than to make a vow and to break it.

[32:37] Because we are accountable to God for every word. And so we've asked the question, what is commanded by the third commandment? The third commandment commands us to view the name of the Lord, our God, as holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true.

[32:53] We've asked, what is condemned in the third commandment? The third commandment condemns the vain and improper use of our words and our word. But lastly, we need to ask the question, what is clarified by the third commandment?

[33:08] What is clarified by the third commandment? The third commandment reads, 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.

[33:24] And so what we've discovered in our study of the third commandment is that it has a great emphasis upon our words and our word. Whether we're using our words in vain or in the improper manner by swearing or blaspheming the name of God, or we are abusing our word by making an oath in the name of God, a name which is holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true.

[33:47] And if we're abusing our word, we are not acting in a manner that reflects the name in which we have made the vow. And so what is clarified by the third commandment is that we are accountable for every word.

[34:03] Every word is accounted for. And you know, this also includes our use of God's word. Because in his letter, we'll be looking at it in a few weeks in the prayer meeting, in his letter, James speaks about the tongue and our use of words.

[34:25] And he says that our tongue needs to be kept under control because it's an unruly evil and it's set on fire by hell. But then James, when James speaks about the tongue, he also includes our use of God's word.

[34:41] And he says, as it says in chapter 3 at verse 1, not many of you should become teachers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

[34:53] Of course, this is more of a reference to ministers. My primary role as a minister is to teach. And you know, because I've been called to be a teacher of God's word, I'll be judged for every word that I have spoken from a pulpit.

[35:12] Every word is to be accounted for, which is why my desire is to always present to you the truth of God's word. Sin, righteousness and judgment.

[35:25] The truth of God's word and the reality of heaven and hell. But as you know, the third commandment, it doesn't just apply to ministers, it also applies to every Christian.

[35:36] Because every Christian is accountable for their vain and improper use of words, yes? And we are accountable for our word. We are to be people of our word.

[35:47] We are to be trustworthy and honest. We are to have integrity. We are to live our lives in the presence of God. And with those around us, we are, as Jesus says, we are to let our yes be yes and our no be no.

[36:02] But more than that, as Christians, we are not only to be concerned about our words and our word, we are also to be concerned about God's word and the interpretation of it.

[36:14] Because the third commandment, it emphasizes that we are not to twist or distort God's word to suit ourselves and our own ends. We are not to treat God's word, which is holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true, the word that is like God himself.

[36:32] We are not to treat it like the Jefferson Bible. We've spoken about one president this evening. Let's speak about another one. Because Thomas Jefferson, he was the third president of the United States, and he thought that the Bible was full of errors.

[36:51] He didn't like some of the things that were said in it. So he took a razor to his Bible and he began to cut out the bits that he didn't like and glued them into another book and he just left the rest, the bits he didn't want.

[37:03] And Thomas Jefferson's work of this cut and paste Bible, it was published and it's called the Jefferson Bible. But the third commandment teaches us that we can't treat our Bible like the Jefferson Bible and ignore the bits we don't like, the bits we think that are outdated, that are outmoded, that they are part of the past.

[37:26] And we can't just get rid of the bits we don't like and keep the bits we do, the bits about God's love and God's mercy and ignore the judgment. We can't do that because it's God's word.

[37:38] And God's word is holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true. But as you know, the third commandment doesn't just apply to ministers and to Christians, it applies to everyone.

[37:53] Christian or not. Because as we said before, the command is thou shalt not. Thou shalt not, which means that it's personal, it's direct, it's a personal obligation.

[38:07] It's addressed to every human being made in the image of God. Therefore, the response and the responsibility of upholding the commandments, it's a personal one.

[38:18] We can't blame anyone else for our failure to uphold this commandment or any of the commandments. We can't point the finger at someone else or something else. we are responsible.

[38:30] The buck stops with us. Which means that there is this personal obligation put upon every single one of us to uphold the third commandment.

[38:45] And so whether we are a minister, a Christian, or still unconverted, we are all accountable for our words. We are all accountable for our word. and we are all accountable to God's word.

[39:02] Because on the day of judgment, when we all have to stand before God and give an account of our life, none of us will be asked if we believe in God.

[39:15] None of us will be asked if we went to church. None of us will be asked if our father was an elder or our parents were Christians. None of us will be asked if we read our Bible.

[39:29] All we will be asked is, did you keep my law? Did you keep my law? And we will either stand condemned before God or free.

[39:46] Depending upon whether or not we have Jesus Christ as our advocate. It all depends upon whether or not Jesus Christ is our righteousness.

[40:00] Because the wonderful promise of God's word, a word that is holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true, the promise is that even though we fail to keep the commandments at every turn, we all fail at them.

[40:17] It's the standard we all fall short, but the promise is there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

[40:29] There is no condemnation to those who commit their life to Jesus Christ. no condemnation when you have Jesus Christ as your righteousness.

[40:47] And so the third commandment, it's a solemn commandment because it's all about our words. We've asked the question what is commanded by the third commandment?

[40:59] The third commandment commands us to view the name of the Lord our God as holy, authoritative, trustworthy, and true. We've asked what is condemned. The third commandment condemns the vain and improper use of our words and our word.

[41:16] And we've asked what is clarified by the third commandment. The third commandment clarifies that we will be held accountable for our words, our word, and we are accountable to God's word.

[41:35] Therefore, may it be so that each and every one of us will stand before God on the day of judgment and that we will be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ by trusting in him and him alone.

[41:58] My friend, you make sure that Christ is your righteousness for time and for eternity. may the Lord bless these thoughts to us.

[42:09] Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, help us to view thee as one who is holy, to know that even the angels in heaven veil their faces and they cry holy, holy, holy, that they realize that there is something majestic about thee, that there is an otherness to thee, that there are a God who is so distant from what we are, but yet a God who has drawn near to sinners such as we are.

[42:44] We bless thee, O Lord, that we are able to approach thee, not in our own name, but in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness, that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

[42:59] O Lord, bless thy word to us. Help us, Lord, in our speech day by day to be using our words to glorify and enjoy thee. Help us, Lord, in our faithfulness to thee to live out our word, to stick by our word, to be faithful to our word.

[43:18] O Lord, to know that we are those who need to live according to thy truth. Bind us together, we pray, guide us, we ask, and keep us on the narrow path that leads to life, for we know that few there be that find it.

[43:34] Do us good, we pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. I shall conclude by singing in Psalm 138.

[43:48] Psalm 138 in the Scottish Psalter, page 431. Psalm 138. Psalm 138.

[44:01] We're singing from the beginning down to the verse marked 4. Psalm 138. Thee will I praise with all my heart.

[44:13] I will sing praise to thee before the gods and worship will toward thy sanctuary. I'll praise thy name in for thy truth and kindness of thy love. For thou, thy word, has magnified all thy great name above.

[44:27] Down to the verse marked 4 of Psalm 138. To God's praise. Thee will I praise with all my heart.

[44:45] I will sing praise to thee before the gods and worship.

[45:01] to the Lord and worship to the Lord and worship for thy sanctuary. I will sing praise for thy glory and praise and praise thy name before thy truth and kindness of thy love.

[45:28] for thou, thy word, hast magnified all thy great name above.

[45:46] Thou didst be answered and love my fain and love my fainting soul with strength with strength and strength and inwardly.

[46:21] and inwardly. All kings upon the earth that thou shalt give him praise, hear thee, hear thee, praise, O Lord.

[46:44] When I speak and faith of thy man shall hear thy true and faithful word.

[46:55] thy true and faithful word. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.

[47:11] now and forevermore. Amen.