God’s name is holy!

The more I get better acquainted with my God, the less tolerance I have for people who misuse or abuse His holy name.
God’s name and the name of Jesus should be viewed as precious, to be revered with the utmost adoration possible. I believe that people who abuse His holy name are those who do not have a worship relationship with Him, and or simply are non-believers. What do I mean by worship relationship? I suppose I mean a true worshiper would be one who sees themselves as a sinner, unworthy of any merit in the eyes of God, and they humbly submit themselves and their lives to Him. A true worshiper would be completely appreciative of His wonderful grace toward them. This person truly sees themselves in relation to the awesome God of the universe, devoid of the full comprehension of the greatness, vastness and limitless attributes of God. In this realization a true worshiper would see themselves as a small speck in comparison, and in total awe of God’s supremacy and sovereignty. A true worshiper has the foundation to establish worship relationship with our God, whereby God would be the recipient of all praise, all thanks, all obedience, all reverence, and this worshiper would be doing such with humility and utter dependence on God. This is a worship relationship. Folks in this relationship with God would, or should, not even consider misusing God’s name. One who does not have this type of relationship with our God, would not think twice of abusing or accepting the common place in language that constantly abuses God’s holy name. We see this abuse all the time. God and Jesus’ name are used with such commonality, and said so routinely in a non-revering manner, that the abuser is oblivious to the slander and blasphemy they say multiple times a day.

Many will say, ‘so what’s the big deal’, ‘it’s only a name’, or, ‘it’s only a saying, I didn’t mean any disrespect.’ I’m sorry, but God is a big deal, in fact, there is no bigger deal than God and our Lord Jesus!! When God’s name is trivialized, there is no bigger blasphemy, in my opinion. I hear this usage from so-called Christians as well, so saying “God’ or “Jesus’ in an irreverent manner has infiltrated many people’s speech.

God’s name is not common, nor ordinary. His name is a reflection of who He is. Abuse of His name is a sin, a very serious one.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, I believe in God, and occasionally I use God’s name in vain or in some abusive manner, does that mean I’ve sinned”? Yes, it does. “What should I do”? Like any other sin, confess and repent of it immediately. Pray for strength and wisdom in refusal to continue with that sin. “Is it that serious”? Yes, folks, it’s than serious! The early Jews had such a reverence for God’s name that they would not speak it out loud. They had a backward idea of His sovereignty, but they respected His name.
Don’t take my word for it; see what God Himself said in Exodus, in particular in His Ten Commandments.
“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 )

God does not like it when we take a nonchalant attitude about His holy name. Why would God make the misuse of His name a top commandment? I believe it is because His name is holy, as He is Holy. The extent of His holiness has no human comprehension. As our God, He deserves our full respect, fear and honor. He has no boundaries, no beginning, nor end. His Shakina glory is beyond our scope of human knowledge. God and Jesus are our loving Father and Creator. Jesus is our Lord and Savior and He is God. When we acknowledge His holiness with a deep reverence and adoration for His name this signifies adoration and worship to Him. Again, a worship relationship with our God is foundational to a proper and pleasing manner in which one should say His name. This proper usage is very important for Christians, in fact for everyone. The impenitent abuse or misuse of God’s holy name would be equivalent to blasphemous use of His name.

The non-believer has no real comprehension or fear of the awesomeness of our Lord, so for them to blasphemously abuse God’s name is not a great surprise. But for the Christian, the impenitent abuse of His holy name is inconceivable, and leads one to wonder is this Christian really has a worship relationship, or is even a Christian. God or Jehovah or any of the many names listed as Bible for God…or Jesus or Christ, or Lord are to be the most sacred of terms we should ever utter. They deserve every ounce of pure reverence and adoration we can exhibit and render to Them. Any other use is a sinful compromise of our Lord’s Glory, and a severe lack of any fear of God. This fear is not only the awe and reverence we are to extol, but it also includes –good old fashion fear of God’s wrath. A Christian undergoing the process of sanctification would know this and realize it as they mature in Christ.

God is our Most High Holy Father, Jesus is our dear Lord and atoning sacrifice for our sins. In Revelation, we see the scene described by John of millions and millions of angels singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” in worship to our God. God’s holiness is at issue here, once that is accepted and one’s heart is turned to embrace that truth, then one can start a worship relationship with Him and then recognize His holy name for what it fully represents…God Himself!

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All Rights Reserved.

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