Okay, we only have two questions for today. Lord's Day 36, questions 99 and 100. We have reached the century mark in the Catechism. I actually kind of regret when I looked ahead to the next Lord's Day that I didn't combine the two days because the next Lord's Day has some questions that's related to this. that were very much unsettled at the time the catechism was written, but are pretty much settled today. I'm not sure what I'll do. But it would have fit perfectly if I had combined all the questions together. But in any case, this is what we have. We have questions 99 and 100. We're gonna work through, as we've been doing, the law of God, which is, remember, one of the four components, thank you, of living gratefully before God. and that is why the law isn't a burden or a terror to us, his people. As redeemed people, the law should be what we want to do, okay? Now, of course, there is that struggle, but it should be what we want to do, and that's why the catechism, remember, called it a heartfelt joy. There is a delight in pleasing our Savior. doing what we can to live before him in a pleasing way because of the ineffable work that he'd done on our behalf, right? But of course we always have to add that Christ showed that the law is deeper than merely the deeds that we do or we don't do. It goes to the heart and we're still in that in-between time in which there's this tremendous struggle. And so we're always gonna fall short. It is work to put to death the old and then to push the new. And oftentimes we don't feel like we're making much advancement at all, okay? But if you were a true child of God, the Holy Spirit is working in us, okay? Sometimes we're just not that aware of it. But the other thing we need to remember, that this work really is something that comes from a new desire within. We're not trying to earn our salvation. That's not why we tried to keep the law. And so what we've been saying is, where does maturity lead? Well, it doesn't lead to perfection in this life. What really grows alongside maturity is a deeper sense of our defects, not of our merits. Cliff likes to remind us of that all the time, and he's absolutely right. The further along we go, there's never a point where we can say, yeah, I've begun to arrive here. You begin to see that the finish line is so much further than you thought it was when you began, right? And so that's not maturity. Maturity is realizing there is nothing I'm bringing to the table. It is all of God. All right, over the last couple of weeks, we've looked at the first and second commandments. Remember, there are two tablets of the law. There's those commandments that are vertical to God, those that are horizontal to our neighbors, and so that ties in, of course, when Christ summarized the law to love the Lord and to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, we saw that the first commandment and second are very much interrelated. The first forbids idolatry, the second forbids idolatrous worship. We are to have no other gods than the God of Scripture, and the catechism defines idolatry as putting our trust in anything other than the only true God who has revealed himself in his word. So, we've been saying, idolatry isn't simply what we create with our hands. Idolatry is an invention of our deluded hearts and minds in which we are creating God in our own image is what it comes down to. This is the God that we want. This is the God we're comfortable with. Why? Because it looks like me. It's that old sympathy with the devil. ourselves, right? And you can call this delusion Jesus Christ, but it's still delusional. It's not the Jesus of Scripture. And so that's just one of the almost infinite number of ways that we express our idolatry. When you contemplate Christ, if you don't decrease in your estimation as He increases all the way to omnipotence, that is not the true Jesus Christ. And as we've been saying, what the first commandment says is restore your sanity, humble yourself, submit your understanding of God to his witness of himself. Otherwise, we succumb to idolatry, therefore we violate the commandment. In like manner, the second commandment forbids us to make an image of God, nor to worship him in any manner other than he has commanded in his word. And so we have these two aspects. The scripture excludes everything in creation from being compared to God, because all of it was simply spoken into existence. And it's still only a breath away from nothing. God has to sustain it moment by moment by moment. So every false depiction of who God is is forbidden, whether that's conceptually or physically. Nor are we at liberty to worship God by false means. God is to be worshiped only as he prescribes. The commandment forbids any innovation of man. And of course the real reason behind that is any innovation that we might interject in worship would be something that is appealing to us, that entertains us. Right? Therefore that puts us at the center of worship instead of God. And he already, has already said how he wants to be worshiped. And if we're not happy with that and wanna do something different, then you've got a different God on the throne. Us, right? Not entertaining, it doesn't captivate me. Doesn't make me emotional or whatever it may be, right? That means that the worship is for your benefit. when in reality, true worship is to God and God alone. Then we close with a question of pictures and symbols like crosses. Any symbol or picture or statue that might be a medium or focus of our worship would be forbidden if you're using that. As we talked about, I actually know some Protestants who genuflect before the cross. To me, that is very, very problematic. There is some physical thing that you are trying to focus through and be a medium between you and God. And that, to me, is strictly forbidden. Also, any attempt to depict deity is forbidden. In coming out of Roman Catholicism, that was a real correction for the Reformation. And yet today, for Protestants, the dynamics have changed. We don't hang paintings or statues, and we don't give veneration to them, right? We also talked about the prohibition against depictions of Jesus. There are those denominations that come out of the Reformed tradition that still believe you cannot depict Jesus. They say you're depicting deity. And of course, Jesus is God. However, he's also human, and I personally find those arguments against depicting him less than convincing. He is deity, but we can make the distinction between his deity and his humanity without making some separation that would violate the Nicene Creed. But regardless, the words of Cluster may have said it best about how we use illustrations. We'll quote that again. Oops, I'm sorry. You should have slapped me. And he said, just as we often say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so a religious image may be subject to a thousand interpretations. Therefore, we must make sure that whatever symbols or images are used in any way are understood properly and certainly are not used as objects of worship. Okay. So what he's saying here, first of all, obviously, it shouldn't be, in any sense, an object of worship, but also, if you're gonna use it, for example, in training children, or, as you've seen over the years, I often will use famous works of art or whatever that depict Jesus. If you're gonna do something like that, the most important part is supplying the doctrine behind it, right? because as he said, you can interpret a painting, since it's not speaking out the words, it's not laying out the doctrine, you can interpret it in many different ways, and many of those would be wrong, okay? All right, so to sum up, we're, in those commandments, warned against idolatry, hypocrisy, profanity. That leads us then to the first of our two questions, and it will be on the third commandment, so we're gonna read the third commandment. which says, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. And so question 99, what is God's will for us in the third commandment? And the answer is that we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In a word, it requires that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe so that we may properly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say. Very, very good answer from the catechism. Of course, we usually think of the third commandment in the context of profanity, of using the name of God or Jesus in cursing and expletives. Of course, yes. But it is much deeper than that. Although we'll see in the next question that this kind of blasphemy is so hated by God, he specifically warranted the death penalty over it. But there's two extremes in this commandment. First, you have the name of God, and then you have the tongue of man. And God's name is more than a moniker, it's more than an identifier. In scripture, the name of God represents who he is. Remember, he says, I am that I am. Here's my name. And wrapped up in that, you have the one who is self-existent, the one who embodies holiness, Right? And we do this all the time, actually. We pray in Jesus' name. That is to take up the name of God in salvation, Jesus meaning Yahweh or Jehovah Saves. And his name represents the eternal word incarnate and everything that he accomplished in time on our behalf. So when we pray in Jesus' name, we're wrapping that whole package up. as we go to the Father and say, we are coming in this, because outside of this we're lost. So it represents more than just a moniker. And the Jews understood this better than we do in the West. In fact, it could be argued they may have taken it a little too far, because over time the Jews would not say or write the revealed name of God, even though it was in the scriptures, and would substitute the word Lord in its place. And they did this out of reverence for the holiness, the otherness of God. And so in the commandment, a prohibition against taking up the name of the ultimate good, the ultimate reality, the ultimate holiness, through then the use of the ultimate evil, the ultimate vanity, the ultimate corruption that is you and I and our tongues. There you have that contrast. and you and I represent the demonic in the material world. We are creatures who perversely mimic their creator, we're very creative in this, by taking evil in concept and making it actual in the world. That's what we do. We're creative as well. Just like God our Father, he creates good. What do we do? We look and see the conceptual evil that might be there and we make it actual. And James says, he says, all the parts and organs of the body are defiled with sin, that's who you are, just as every branch of wormwood is bitter. But he says, the tongue specifically is full of deadly poison. And so out of our depraved inclinations, the tongue wags, right? And so the tongue does more to dishonor God than any other organ. Not just in profanity, but in false teaching as well. Which is to bear false witness against God himself and to abuse his name. Sadly, much of so-called Christian television and Christian pulpits are running study in the breaking of the third commandment as they abuse his name, as they preach things contrary to his word, contrary to who he is. Again, basically, what they do is take an idol that they've created in their minds and hearts, and they use their tongues to teach it and spread it. And so this commandment is meant to be a bridle for the tongue, to warn against the use of this most wicked of devices in the blasphemy of the most holy of holies, God himself. God rightly deserves the highest worship. And not only should our speech reflect this, but our actions as well, right? We have a responsibility to treat God with the utmost reverence. Never is something common, much less in vulgarity. But there is much We are also, but there's much more. We are also not to take oaths or make vows using the name of God without a solemn need and the most earnest fidelity to attempt to keep it. That reflects the fact that we are appealing when we do such things, like in a courtroom setting, we are appealing to the highest authority in the universe. To do so frivolously is to treat God with contempt. And for Christians, the third commandment has a special appeal, because even in general, the commandment shows that God has a claim upon mankind. And for Christians, this is even more profound. Peter told the high priests, he told the rulers, that in Jesus Christ, remember he says, there is no other name in heaven, under heaven, whereby a man can be saved. And it's been pointed out that one of the beautiful truths in Exodus is that God revealed his covenant name to a people whom he called his own and told them that he is the Lord, the Lord your God, And so they are to call on him in the name of the Lord. And again, everything that embodies of who he is. He gave the privilege of knowing him and being able to call on him. Well, the same is true of the Christian, right? In baptism, you receive his name, just as a husband gives his name to his wife. God lays claim to you, and by bearing the name of Christ, you claim to belong to him. And so if you live in a way that dishonors that name, you are breaking the third commandment. Yes. Christ has been teaching us in the high priestly prayer where Christ says, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me. And he says, and they have kept your word. Perfect, perfect, exactly what we were saying. The third commandment is more than just saying some provanity, right? You and I as being called Christians, when we live in a way that dishonors that, we are dishonoring the name of God, and we break the commandment, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A very good point. We have made it common, right? We have made common the most uncommon. Right? Now, and actually next week talks about oaths and the death penalty for oaths is to do it flippantly and not keep it, right? To do it with some deceptive agenda, right? In which you're abusing that oath, okay? Absolutely, absolutely. And so when we do it frivolously, what we're saying is we think of God as common. Because when we're saying those things, we are appealing to majesty on high. Right? And God is not common. And so we don't wanna dishonor God's name by living in a way which would bring it into disrepute. And especially when you do it before men, that's what you're doing. You're bringing Christ's name into disrepute. And so I'm gonna quote Ligon Duncan here. He says, and when you, bearing his name, take his name in vain by contradicting his commands and calling into question his character, you defame him before the world. Man, I'm stomping my toes here, I have to say, because I way too often forget that there's an audience for all of us. who call ourselves Christians, and we're not living up to it, and I don't live up to it. Yes, yes, this is why I need a savior, right? This is also Ligon Duncan's comment on the deeper meaning of the commandment. It says, oops, I'm sorry. I'll find it, maybe. Nope, looks like I didn't put it in there, sorry. It says, the deeper meaning of the commandment, it could mean professing faith in Christ, claiming to be a Christian, and receiving baptism, and yet walking in worldliness. Denying our profession by our lives, that is a breaking of the third commandment. I am out of order. And note this aspect of the catechism answer. It says, we don't share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. Of course, profaning the name of God is so prevalent today, it is the norm. It's no longer the exception. But that's just the cursing. We have a responsibility also to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. And so we are to confront false doctrine, false teachers, and exposing their version of Christ as an idolatry, but of course always in a way that honors God, not in anger, not in straining at a gnat, but always with the eye to reprove them that perhaps God would grant them repentance. That's the whole context of that, right, in the teaching, is that perhaps God would grant them repentance. But it is our responsibility to confront those things. Right? So when we hear famous televangelists or whatever, the very, very popular, my mother hates this when I do that, because she watches some people that Yeah, but I can't just say, that's okay, if you like it. No, they're heretical. You have to call it that, right? And you're supposed to try to do it, again, with the eye of reproving, not just pounding on somebody, okay? But it's very, very difficult. I find this part very, very difficult because our culture is so immersed in, for example, the profanity piece. You can't go to a movie without hearing it. TV shows, we were just talking, Michelle and I were just talking about this. There are some TV shows now, didn't used to be this way, that are now using openly God's name in vain. It's not being bleeped or anything else. It has now been accepted. Right? It's very, very difficult for us to be witnesses. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can remember being a teenager, just starting to go to the church, Yeah, I'm somewhere way back. And among school friends or whatever, I don't recall any of them saying God in profanity, but they would say, you would use Jesus Christ, you know, as an exclamation. And it ends up being, it is a cursing. and it violates the commandment. He is God, and therefore we are dishonoring him. We're making it commonplace by using it that way. It becomes an expletive, right? And it's something you have to teach and learn though, right? Because especially when your children are influenced by the culture all around them, they're gonna pick that up, and that's gonna be common to them. and that's a part of our tasks as parents and fellow Christians in a congregation. And grandparents, to teach, right? Yeah. what he's saying he could say without any reference to the Bible, he could say without any reference to God, but he doesn't. And that's the problem because he's recasting God in the image of Zig Ziglar. And this is blasphemy. That's exactly what it is. To get up and proclaim the name of the Lord and then to basically give out man's philosophy in that is breaking, is violating this commandment. It happens in so many It violates this commandment, it violates the first two commandments as well. Because the God that He is giving forth, He may call Jesus Christ, but it's not, it's an idol. And who's the center of the focus of their services? here. It's nothing but a feel-good, self-help, self-esteem thing, right? That's all it is. And yet, like you said, he calls it worship, it's a worship service. He calls it Jesus Christ, but it's not Christ. And in what he's doing, he is abusing the name. Yeah. But that also plays into my people perish for lack of knowledge, because if they're not doing their homework and really Yeah. And they're at fault as well. Yep, that's true. That's right. That's right. That's a part of renewing the mind, isn't it? Yes. Going on what you said just a minute ago about how he makes everything about you or himself, when I went there as a kid, when his dad was preacher, they start the service with, hold up your Bible, This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I can do what it says I can do. And I don't remember all, I remember those two phrases, but even as a nine-year-old, I was like, that doesn't seem right, but okay. Well, he is right. I am what this says I am, and boy is that ugly. That's right. Whoa. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Steve, one thing that kind of hits you right between the eyes and reminds you, everyone in this room, every Christian is adopted. We read in Part C or whatever, hear about folks that will adopt a young child, maybe a baby, maybe a teenager, whatever, even a different ethnicity, and the wonder of that child when he or she understands We're all foreigners by nature in the Kingdom of God. When He brings us into His Kingdom, from that day throughout eternity, the only appropriate response besides is one, what we say Over the years we learned that there's only one person who can tame the tub, like they say. And that's God himself. But he even forgives us for our stupidity in that area, and so we do it less often, and sometimes it just jumps out and you think, wow, I thought that was dealt with. No, honey, this side of glory nothing's dealt with. In its finality. Everything is a struggle. Everything is a struggle. Amen. Actually, what you said there goes well into the next section. And the fact that you frame that all in gratitude, that's why we're in this section of the catechism. Right? That's why the law of God is in this section of the catechism. Now, you could have put it in our misery, because it will condemn us. Right? You couldn't put it in the salvation piece, because it isn't going to save you. Because you can't keep it. But having been redeemed by grace, it is in the section on gratitude, because as you're saying, we have been adopted. And what happens when someone has been adopted into a loving family, they don't want to bring dishonor to their newly adopted family name, right? And they want to please their new parents, right? And it's the same with us. The tough part is, as we've been saying, we are mostly dead, which makes the struggle that much harder. it makes the fact that we are going to fail all the time. And so in that witness before the world, yes, there are going to be those times. Many may happen often in which the outside looks and says, you're not living up to who you say you are. And I can say, you're right, I'm not living up to Christ. That's what I wanna do. But I've got a sin nature within me that I'm struggling against. So all I can do is ask forgiveness. and it calls me to see my condition. So therefore, as Paul said, I am so thankful for the law because it shows me what seeing is and how responsible I am. The law is good. That's what scripture says. The law is good, right? And we looked at the three uses of the law. And every one of them, in the end, is good. You know? It shows me my sin. It shows me I need a savior. And it shows me I can't keep it. And it drives me to my knees because I can't rely on myself. And the law also, which has begun to escape us in the West, was supposed to be a deterrent upon mankind. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal, right? That deterrent is fading. and it's gonna bring us into a darkness that we haven't known for centuries, right? And then, of course, it does provide us an understanding of how we can be grateful to God. How do I show my gratitude? That's something I have to learn. I have to be taught. How do I show that? And even though I'm gonna fail and it'd be a struggle, that's still what I wanna do. So I don't need to ask, God, what's your will for me today? What was the same it was yesterday and the day before? It's found in the law of God. Yeah. I was gonna say that we're such rebels and sinners that the law has to start with the basics of don't do these things. And we think that if we live up to those, we're good. we tend to lose focus on that the law is guiding us toward holiness. And we see it as, oh, I can just get away. If I just don't do these things, then I'm doing pretty good. Yeah. No, it's the same with the rich young ruler, right? Oh, I've done all these things. Let me correct you in your deception, right? You have an idol. It's your money. And he wasn't willing to give it up, was he? And the thing about the law of God, if you look at it, it begins by assuming our insanity. We're gonna read Romans 1 eventually here. You think about it, you'll have no other gods before me, and you'll not create idols out of all these things. That's pure insanity that you could do that, that you would even want to do that, or you could think that's reasonable. So it assumes our insanity in our fallenness. It's the very first thing we do. That's right. Yeah. the remnants of the old sin nature. That's exactly right. I mean, we teach to the little children, and of course the whole catechism was for that, but we teach the little children, the first thing we teach them, here's the Ten Commandments. Like, here's the start, right? And here we are in this room, in my elderly age, still learning things about the commandments, right? Yeah, so it is the word of God. But I do wanna, where Pastor was pointing to, there is a positive part of this answer. was a positive part of the commandment. And so look at the answer again. Whoops, sorry, it was already there. That bottom part, it says, in a word it requires that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and all. Why? So that we may properly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say. So that part of it is a privilege. The fact that the one true God has given his name to his people is an inexpressible blessing. That we're allowed the privilege of knowing him and of having access to him through prayer and of being a part of his adopted family is beyond words. And yet we are taught to continue to make the attempt to put it into words and to reverently confess him, worship him, praise him in everything we do and say. And when we do that, we are then honoring the commandment. All right, we're almost out of time. So if you missed the warning, we have question number 100. Is blasphemy of God's name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent it and forbid it? It's really about us here. But the answer is yes, indeed, no sin is greater. No sin makes God more angry than blaspheming his name. That is why he commanded the death penalty for it. Now I think our generation and our culture fits perfectly into why you have to ask this question. As we've already said, swearing by God's name, it's become unthinkingly common. It's so habitual that you might actually ask, is that really so bad? Everybody does it. Well in Leviticus, we find God's answer. We had someone who took the Lord's name in vain. And they came and, Moses, what do we do about this? God answered Moses, and the answer was, anyone who curses their God will be held responsible. Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death, and that's what they did. That's the depth of God's righteous anger and jealousy over his name. You think about the incredible staying power, and staying power, I don't mean that it's lasted long, but it's this buffer, the staying power of the blood of Christ, that for the sake of bringing to glory the elect, God holds back judgment upon men. And at least for a time, judgment upon their profane cultures. But God's restraint will one day end in both a society like ours, which he could allow to collapse in a moment, or eventually in humanity itself, when he brings everyone to judgment. The underlying dishonor to God and the abuse of His name is there is no fear of offending Him, because in our insanity we have dismissed Him, either that He is holy or that He even exists. And so that's why I'm gonna put Romans 1 in here, because it's very appropriate in the context of idolatry. And Paul writes this, he says, for the wrath of God, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness, their insanity, suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. There's a witness that God places in every man. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. And you read that, it's, is there any greater depth of insanity than that? Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonor of their bodies amongst themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. And so in that short section, you can find first commandment, second commandment, third commandment. Man knows God exists, yet he does not honor him or give thanks. Instead, he exchanges the name of God and all that it entails in vain for a lie. And scripture says, make no mistake, God will not be mocked. To every man comes death and then the judgment. And we're gonna close with a quote from Duncan again. It's a different way of looking at taking the Lord's name in vain, but it's a very powerful one, I think. And he says this. I wish I remembered to click it when I'm supposed to. On Palm Sunday, almost 2,000 years ago, a group of people took up the name of Jesus Christ, and they called Him the King. And they sang Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. And they sang His praises, and they adored Him, and they waved palm branches at Him. And five days later they shouted, Crucify Him. They took His name in vain. So it turned out, Jesus wasn't the Christ they were looking for. They had in their hearts and their minds another Christ, just as we do today. And in denying the reality, they blasphemed their God and they broke the third commandment. And that's what happens today in so many churches that have the name of Christ on the front door. And that is sad.