The Doctrinal Heading for this section of questions (Q43-62) is The Means of Grace: The Commandments: The First Table. (see Harmony Index)
WSC Q55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
In times past, policemen in movies and books would knock on doors with the phrase “open up in the name of the law.” Have you noticed that they don’t seem to do that anymore? Now they just shout “police” as they bang down a door and burst in upon a suspect. Why is that? Has the phrase “the name of the law” fallen into disuse because it has lost its significance? Do people no longer respect or fear the law’s authority or its enforcement? Has the phrase been misused to the point that it no longer holds credibility?
We continue our study in the third commandment, dealing particularly with the misuse of God’s name. In light of the musing above, it is interesting to note James 5:12, one of the Scripture texts attached to this catechism question. This familiar verse says, “Let your yes be yes; and your no, no; so that you do not fall into condemnation.” Does it seem to you that we now live in a society where our “yes” is no longer “yes,” and our “no” is no longer “no,” – where our simplest of words have lost their meaning? If so, is it because we have profaned those words through misuse and self-serving abuse? And could it be that the respect and fear of our God has been lost for the very same reason—the misuse and abuse of his name—especially by those who claim to be God’s people?
Again we approach our study praying that God would make these things real, that we would both believe and live out the Word of truth in ways that truly glorify our God and Savior.
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Westminster Shorter Catechism Q55
Illustrations by John Whitecross – #1 of 9: John Brown of Haddington, once passing the Firth of Forth, between Leith and Kinghorn had for a fellow-passenger one who appeared to be a Highland nobleman. Brown observed with grief that he frequently took the name of God in vain; but suspecting that to reprove him in the presence of the other passengers might tend only to irritate him, he forbore saying any thing till he reached the opposite shore. After landing, and observing the nobleman walking alone, Brown stepped up to him, and said, ‘Sir, I was sorry to hear you swearing while on our passage. You know it is written, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” ‘On this the nobleman, lifting his hat, and bowing to Mr Brown, made the following reply: ‘Sir, I return you thanks for the reproof you have now given me, and shall endeavour to attend to it in future; but,’ added he, ‘had you said this to me while in the boat, I believe I should have run you through with my sword.’
John Whitecross – 1828
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WSC Q55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
Answer: The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known[a].
[a] Lev. 19:12; Matt. 5:33-37; Jam. 5:12
Question 55 asks what the third commandment forbids, and answers that the third commandment forbids our treating as unholy or abusing anything God uses to make himself known.
Comments and considerations:
“He is a man of his word.” or “Trust him, he’ll keep his word.” How many people do you know for whom that is true? In our character trait training at our little Christian school, one of the topics we discuss is honesty. One definition to illustrate the various aspects of honesty is “saying what you mean, and meaning what you say.” That sounds like James 5:12, quoted above.
The verses referenced by the writers of the catechism deal with the swearing of oaths. As we lay claim upon the name of our God, we are to do so in truth, not falsely or in vain. We are forbidden “all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God makes himself known.” God makes himself known through the instruction of his Word, through his “names, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works” (WSC Q54), and through the deeds of his people. Have you heard the saying, “Speak the Gospel always, and when necessary use words?” I can find some fault with that idea, but it does contain a kernel of truth. Sometimes our actions speak louder than words, and sorrowfully, not always to the good. Peter said, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (I Pet. 3:15). A wise man once said that the reason so many Christians find themselves on the defensive is that so few give credible witness to “a reason for the hope” which is supposedly in them, giving a witness instead to their own need to more fully “sanctify the Lord God in [their] hearts.”
As we saw in the previous study, the first of the Ten Commandments tells us who to worship—God, and God alone. The second tells us how we are to approach God in worship. The third commandment focuses our attention on the heart attitude we are to have towards our God. Our Lord Jesus was succinct when he said that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out, for “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (Matt. 15:7-18).
When we think of using the Lord’s name in vain, we usually think first of foul and abusive language. But as we see here, it goes far deeper than that. To bring this closer to home, consider for a moment changing one word in our catechism question. The word profaning has fallen into modern disuse and might helpfully be updated. A quick look at Webster’s 1828 Dictionary reveals a to-the-point definition: “Violating; treating with irreverence; polluting.” Notice the word polluting. That’s certainly relevant in these times of militant environmentalism. So if we were to substitute the word profaning with polluting—see how it reads and muse upon the implications: The third commandment forbiddeth all polluting or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known.
What if the world took this third commandment as seriously as it does the saving of the planet, the whale, and baby seals? How might current culture differ if individuals were as concerned for soul pollution as society appears to be for environmental pollution?
Training Hearts and Teaching Minds Questions:
- We saw in the last catechism question and answer that God makes himself known to us through his names, titles, and attributes; and in his regulations for coming to him for growth in godliness in word and works. The third commandment requires us not only to use these things rightly, but with reverence. Read Mal. 2:2. How does this verse express the serious nature of the use or misuse of the name of God?
- 24:13-16 describes an event in which an individual misused the name of the Lord as a curse. What did God command Moses regarding this incident, and what was the result? (See verse 23.)
- God provides his people with the law and commandments, and makes himself known through the instructions of the Word. Even so, these gifts do not benefit us if we our heart attitude is wrong or we misuse what God has provided. What do the following verses say about this? Ps. 50:16-17, II Pet. 2:16; Hos. 13:6, and Jer. 5:3.
- There is a danger in assuming one thing to be true when the fact is just the opposite. Untruth is sometimes very obvious, but sometimes not. We can misuse God’s name and even deceive ourselves. What did the Lord Jesus say about this in Matt. 7:21-23 and what was the “misuse” described in this text?
Harmony of the Standards: WSC Q55, WLC Q113, and WCF XXII.III
WSC Q55. What is forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known[a].
[a] Lev. 19:12; Matt. 5:33-37; Jas. 5:12
WLC Q113. What are the sins forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the not using of God’s name as is required[a]; and the abuse of it in an ignorant[b], vain[c], irreverent, profane[d], superstitious[e] or wicked mentioning or otherwise using his titles, attributes[f], ordinances[g], or works[h], by blasphemy[i], perjury[j]; all sinful cursings[k], oaths[l], vows[m], and lots[n]; violating of our oaths and vows, if lawful[o] and fulfilling them, if of things unlawful[p]; murmuring and quarrelling at[q], curious prying into[r], and misapplying of God’s decrees[s] and providences[t]; misinterpreting[u], misapplying[v], or any way perverting the Word, or any part of it[w]; to profane jests[x], curious or unprofitable questions, vain janglings, or the maintaining of false doctrines[y]; abusing it, the creatures, or anything contained under the name of God, to charms[z], or sinful lusts and practices[aa]; the maligning[bb], scorning[cc], reviling[dd], or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace, and ways[ee]; making profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for sinister ends[ff]; being ashamed of it[gg], or a shame to it, by unconformable[hh], unwise[ii], unfruitful[jj], and offensive walking[kk], or backsliding from it[ll].
[a] Mal. 2:2
[b]. Acts 17:23
[c] Prov. 30:9
[d] Mal. 1:6-7, 12; Mal. 3:14
[e] 1Sam. 4:3-5; Jer. 7:4, 9-10, 14, 31; Col. 2:20-22
[f] 2Kng. 18:30, 35; Exod. 5:2; Ps. 139:20
[g] Ps. 50:16-17
[h] Isa. 5:12
[i] 2Kng. 19:22; Lev. 24:11
[j] Zech. 5:4; 8:17
[k] 1Sam. 17:43; 2Sam. 16:5
[l] Jer. 5:7; 23:10
[m] Deut. 23:18; Acts 23:12, 14
[n] Esth. 3:7; 9:24; Ps. 22:18
[o] Ps.24:4; Ezek. 17:16, 18-19
[p] Mark 6:26; 1Sam. 25:22, 32-34
[q] Rom. 9:14, 19-20
[r] Deut. 29:29
[s] Rom. 3:5, 7; 6:1
[t] Ecc. 8:11; 9:3; Ps. 39
[u] Mat. 5:21 to the end (See Quest. 99, number 38.)
[v] Ezek. 13:22
[w] 2Pet. 3:16; Mat. 22:24-31
[x] Isa. 22:13; Jer. 23:34, 36, 38
[y] 1Tim. 1:4, 6-7; 6:4-5, 20; 2Tim. 2:14; Tit. 3:9
[z] Deut. 18:10-14; Acts 19:13
[aa] 2Tim. 4:3-4; Rom. 13:13-14; 1Kng. 21:9-10; Jude 4
[bb] Acts 13:45; 1John 3:12
[cc] Ps. 1:1; 2Pet. 3:3
[dd] 1Pet. 4:4
[ee] Acts 13:45-46, 50; 4:18; 19:9; 1Thes. 2:16; Heb. 10:29
[ff] 2Tim. 3:5; Mat. 23:14; 6:1-2, 5, 16
[gg] Mark 8:38
[hh] Ps. 73:14-15
[ii] 1Cor. 6:5-6; Eph. 5:15-17
[jj] Isa. 5:4; 2Pet. 1:8-9
[kk] Rom. 2:23-24
[ll] Gal. 3:1, 3; Heb. 6:6
CHAPTER. XXII.
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows.
III. Whosoever taketh an oath ought duly to consider the weightiness of so solemn an act, and therein to avouch nothing but what he is fully persuaded is the truth:[g] neither may any man bind himself by oath to anything but what is good and just, and what he believeth so to be, and what he is able and resolved to perform[h].
[g] Exod. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Jer. 4:2; Hos. 10:4
[h] Gen. 24:2-9; Neh. 5:12-13; Ecc. 5:2, 5
Question(s) for further study:
Our Lord Jesus said that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out, and James along with Proverbs has much to say about the use and misuse to the tongue. Apparently, this point was not lost upon our fathers who expanded the Shorter Catechism’s single scripture reference line to, well … how many lines of reference are listed out in Larger Catechism Q#113? What is different in how the Larger Question is asked; and what is “vain jangling” found at reference “y?”
