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  Question 114. What reason is annexed to the third commandment? Answer. The words, "I, the Lord, will not hold him guiltless that taketh my name in vain." The reason why these words are annexed to the third commandment is that God is the Lord, and the Lord our God, and we cannot blaspheme his name, or in any way abuse it. Although many who break this commandment may escape the censure and punishment of men, yet God will not tolerate the transgressors of this commandment, but will by no means suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.   Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not believe in what Jesus did are different. Those who do not believe in Jesus are sinners from birth. The third commandment is not for those who do not believe, but for the people of God who say they believe, the believers who say they believe in Jesus. Those who do not believe in what Jesus did are selective in what Jesus said. They believe only what they think they can. They beli...

  Question 113. 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 it is commanded; the ignorant, vain, irreverent, blasphemous, superstitious, or wicked mentioning of it; the profaning of his titles, attributes, ordinances, or works; the misusing of his name by perjury; and all sinful cursings, oaths, vows, and lots; the breaking of our oaths and vows when lawful, and the keeping of them when unlawful; the murmuring and quarrelling about his decrees and providences, and the curious prying into and misusing them; the misinterpreting, misapplying, or in any way perverting the word, or any part of it, in profane jests, curious and unprofitable questions, vain quarrellings, or the support of false doctrines. Also, abusing the name of God to any creature, or to any thing that is included under the name of God, in witchcraft, or in any sinful lust or practice; blaspheming, despising, reviling, or in ...

  Question 112. What is required in the third commandment? Answer. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God's name, his titles, attributes, ordinances, word, sacraments, prayers, oaths, pledges, lots, his works, and whatsoever else whereby he maketh himself known; and that we think, meditate, speak, and write in a holy and reverent manner, by holy profession and responsible conversation, for his glory, and our own, and the good of others.   Regarding what the third commandment requires, Romans 10:9-10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (kurios) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Confessing Jesus as Lord does not mean that one went from not believing in Jesus to believing in Him, but that one believed in Jesus but did not accept Him as the Son of God. Jesus is Curios and Jehovah,...

  Question 111. What is the third commandment? Answer. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.   The word “ in vain ” is usually understood to mean that when a believer commits a wrong in the world, he or she has defiled God ’ s name. However, the fundamental meaning is that he or she is one who distorts God ’ s will. The Hebrew word for vain is shabb, and it is used to mean desolation, idolatry, worthless, and falsehood. When Jews say something in the name of God, if they mix their own thoughts into their words, they are misrepresenting God ’ s will, and therefore it is false. If they say something contrary to God ’ s will, it is the same result as idolatry. God ’ s will is that all people in the world are sinners, and they can be saved through the Messiah whom God sends. However, the Israelites believed in God, but did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. ...

  Question 110. What reason was added to the second commandment to enforce it more? Answer. The reason added to enforce it more is contained in these words: For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. This signifies the sovereignty of God over us, and the obedience that is in us. God regards idolaters as spiritual adulterers, and manifests his vengeful anger; regards the transgressors of this commandment as haters of him, and threatens to punish them to many ages; and promises his mercy to all those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 5:8-10 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LOR...

  Answer. The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, devising, consulting, commanding, using, or approving in any manner any religious worship, not instituted by God himself; making any image or likeness of any creature, either inwardly in our hearts, or outwardly, of the whole or any one of the three persons of the Godhead; and worshipping and serving God in such made-up images; and corrupting the worship of God by superstitious devices, whether invented by ourselves, or received from others by tradition, under the pretense of institutions, customs, piety, good will, or any other pretense; simony, sacrilege, and all negligence, contempt, obstruction, and rebellion against the worship and ordinances which God hath appointed. God forbids the sanctification of man-made images, figures, or memorials. Acts 17:29-30 “ Since then we have become the offspring of God, we should not think that the Godhead is like gold or silver or stone, something carved by human skill and device...

  Question 108. What are the duties required in the second commandment? Answer. The duties required in the second commandment are, the receiving, observing, and purely and entirely keeping of all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath instituted in his word; especially prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ; the reading, preaching, and hearing of the word; the administration and faith of the sacraments; church government and discipline; the ministry and upkeep thereof; religious fasting; swearing in the name of God, and making vows to him; also, to deny, hate, and oppose all false worship, and to remove it, and all monuments of idolatry, according to each one's place and calling. The idol in the heart is covetousness. Colossians 3:5 "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." The members on the earth refer to the fleshly self. Jesus told them to deny...

  Question 107. What is the second commandment? Answer. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 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. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; but showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. The second commandment is from Deuteronomy 5:8-10, and is about idols. “ You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth … …” Do not make for yourself an image in your mind of the heavens, or of anything visible on the earth, in the waters, or in the waters. In the doctrine, both idols and images are mentio...

  Question 106. What are we specially taught by the words, before me, in the first commandment? Answer. The words, before me, or before my face, in the first commandment teach that God, who sees all things, especially takes notice of and is displeased with the sin of having any other god. This will not only deter us from committing this sin, and show it to be the most shameless provocation, but will also be an argument to persuade us to do whatever we do in the service of the Lord in his sight.   God's people must know exactly who the one and only God is in order to avoid the error of believing in other gods. God's identity is revealed through revelation, and revelation is divided into general revelation and special revelation. Regarding general revelation, Romans 1:20 “ For since the creation of the world God ’ s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — are clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ” ...

  Question 105. What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment? Answer. The sins forbidden in the first commandment are these: Atheism, which is denying or not serving God; idolatry, which is having other gods instead of the true God, or serving or worshipping more than one God; omitting or neglecting anything that is due to God, which this commandment requires; knowing, forgetting, misunderstanding, or having wrong opinions about him; thinking of him with an unworthy malice; and curiously and inquisitively inquiring into his secrets; all blasphemy, hating God, loving oneself, and being self-centered, and excessively and intemperately applying our intellect, affections, and righteousness to anything else; and turning our intellect, affections, and righteousness away from God, wholly or partly; vain credulity, infidelity, heresy, false religion, doubt, despair, and stubbornness. Insensibility and hardness of heart, pride, presumption, carnal inattention, tempting God, using ...

  Question 104. What are the duties required in the first commandment? Answer. The duties required in the first commandment are, to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God and our God; and therefore to worship and glorify him alone, in thought, meditation, remembrance, exaltation, reverence, adoration, fondness, love, desire, and fear; to believe in him, trust in him, hope in him, rejoice, and be glad in him; to call upon him with zeal, and offer all praise and thanksgiving; to obey and submit to him with all our being, and to be careful in all things to please him, and to mourn over any thing that may offend him, and to walk humbly with him. In Mark 12:28-30, “ One of the scribes came up and heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that Jesus had answered them well, asked him, ‘ Which is the most important commandment of all? ’ Jesus answered him, ‘ This is the most important: ‘ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your ...