Men,
Part of the role of YBL and my calling in our community I believe is to help to educate men in the truth of God's word. The COM bible study (our beginning one) is basically a 6-8 month basic training course in the bible and the essential doctrines or truths that every Christian needs to understand and apply. It is also why our other bible studies are actual bible studies and not just sharing times or support groups. We believe the holy bible to be God's word to us and our only guide for how to follow His will. The truth of God's word is the only thing that can change a man's heart and save him from eternal damnation. The truth of God's word is also the only thing that can change a man's heart and save him from his own sinful inclinations. If nothing else, YBL will be a place where a man can go to get the truth.
In light of that I have felt led for awhile to take a more proactive approach in providing access to the truth to you. So I am going to start using email more often as a vehicle for getting truth out to men. My goal is to weekly send out something to you that will address an issue, give an insight or show a truth from a passage. I will try to focus on issues that people want answers to, grapple with or pertain to things men deal with. Sometimes they will be direct quotes from things I have read (I will use excerpts from The Complete Bible Answer Book for example) and other times things that I am learning, (see below). I hope these words will be helpful to you and others. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Rom. 12:2a
"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.
This is the 3rd commandment of the 10 that God gave to Moses to give to God's people in the Old Testament, Israel. The ten commandments are a summary of God's moral law or will for His people to live by and so knowing them and understanding them is pretty important for a Christian. The first four deal with how we are to relate to God and the last 6 deal with how we are to relate to others.
Most explanations of the 3rd commandment have to do with not cussing or using God's name frivolously. But there is a lot more to it than that. Since the commandments summarize God's moral law or will, we can look to other parts of the bible to shed light on their meaning and on how they apply to us. In this case, Matthew 7: 21-23 gives an example of using God's name in vain.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23.
To misuse someone's name can mean to use their name inappropriately like dropping the name of someone when you shouldn't. Another example is to claim someone's name for your own use when you don't have that privilege. Like posing as a police officer and telling someone to do something in the name of the law.
This is what is going on in Matthew 7. People are claiming the Lord's name when they don't have a connection to Him. They think they deserve to enter the kingdom of heaven and even expect to. But there is no spiritual reality in their lives. The scary part is they are fooling themselves as they are not aware that they don't have that spiritual reality until the end. It is also scary that outwardly speaking, they are appear to be the real thing.
These people have good theology as they call Him Lord. He is the Lord so they know who He is. They have their theology straight. They also have emotional engagement with Him as they say "Lord, Lord" as if to say "buddy, buddy" or they are putting all of their emotions and energy into the plea. They also have a lot of ministry activity as they have prophesied and driven out demons and performed many miracles in His name. But again, they have no claim on His name and will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Because they lack two things. First, they don't have a relationship with Him as He says to them "I never knew you". The word "knew" here is used in the sense of having a relationship with. They had good theology, they were emotional about Him and they even did lots of ministry in His name, but they did not have a relationship with Him.
Second, they lacked submission to the Father. Jesus said "but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven". This means that it is possible to have good theology, be emotional about Christ and do lots of ministry in His name and not be submitted to Him or have a relationship with Him. The ones who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who are submitted to God's will. They accept Him as their king, they accept Him as savior and Lord. True believers have good theology, are emotional about Christ and do ministry in His name but they also have a relationship with Christ. Christ "knows" them and they do these things because God loves and accepts them on the basis of Christ's work not because they are trying to get Him to accept or love them. A true follower of Christ doesn't take the name of God in vain by taking the name Christian and using it for personal gain or by living their whole life for themselves and then at the end expect the reward of heaven because they called themselves a Christian.
I hope this has been a helpful message. I borrowed heavily from Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York, for this.
Doug Owen
Executive Director
YBL of Jackson
