Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

God, rather famously, expected His people to be holy. The command is repeatedly repeated in the Law. Lev. 11:44-45 “For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy . . . For I am Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Lev. 20:7-8 “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah who sanctifies you.”

To be holy is to be separate or to be set apart. Something that is holy is set aside for a specific use and is to be only used for that purpose. We usually think about this in religious terms, but the concept is universal. My mother has a special set of silver that rarely sees use. It has been set aside for special occasions. These utensils are not every day, common forks and knives. They are special and are only used when special company is over or on other special occasions. In a sense, they are holy to special occasions.

This is what God expected from His chosen people. They were to be special to Him and His use. They weren’t supposed to be like all the regular people across the world. They were supposed to be set apart for Him. They failed in this. Isa. 2:6 “For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.” They hadn’t set themselves apart for God, instead they were just like all the foreigners.

We, too, are supposed to be a holy people. Notice that when Peter gives us this instruction, he tells us that we are to be holy as children of obedience and sets being holy opposite of fashioning ourselves according to our lusts. Living according to our common desires is the opposite of being holy:

1 Pet. 1:13-16 “Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in the time of your ignorance: but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.”

All rules of righteous living boil down to the concept of holiness. If we are set apart to be God’s people, we need to follow His will. Leviticus 19 illustrates this concept. In verse two the Israelites were told to be holy, as He is holy. Then verses 3-4 instruct them to obey their parents, keep the Sabbath, and abhor idols. Why? Because, He says, “I AM Jehovah”. Then verses 9-10 command them to take care of the poor. Why? Because, He says, “I AM Jehovah”. Then verses 11-12 tell them not to steal, lie, or swear falsely by His name. Why? Because, He says, “I AM Jehovah”. They are to be holy, as He is, set apart for His use. They are to do these things because He, for whose use they are to be set apart, so directs them.

I think we sometimes consider being holy as only abstaining from evil, and that’s just not true. As He is castigating the Israelites for not being holy, God makes this plea: Isa. 1:16-17 “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” He doesn’t just say “cease to do evil” but also implores them to “learn to do well”. Paul tell Christians the same thing: Eph. 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” We are created for good works.

Mom’s silver isn’t used except on special occasions, but on those occasions it is used. It is set aside for a purpose and is used for that purpose. We, as Christians are supposed to be set apart for God’s use. Not just staying “unspotted from the world” but actively doing the works He instructs us to do. Paul tell Titus (2:14) that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” His people have been redeemed from lawlessness and are zealous for good works. Zealous for good works. Every time I read this passage I wonder if Christ would recognize me as one of His. It’s not that I spend my time doing evil things, it’s just that so much of my time is used for my own entertainment: football, web-browsing, movie watching, Netflix binging, etc. Occasionally I do something actively good. Does that raise to the level of being zealous for good works? If I am holy, set apart for His use, I need to be working toward the use He has for me.

As holy people we are set apart for His use, to do His will. This doesn’t mean we are fuddy-duddies or dull buzz-kills who never do anything fun. Rather we are busy people actively

Isa. 61:6 “but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.”
 
Lucas Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
Most of the things we remember from early childhood were traumatic in some way. I could not have been more than 4 or 5 when I was playing with matches in the kitchen floor. Mom was in there and now that I have been a parent, I suspect she knew what I was up to. Naturally, I burned my finger. She turned to my cry and said that hell would be like that but it would not ever stop.

Cruel?

Maybe, but the memory of that has kept me from a lot of sins. You see, I happen to believe that she was right. Oh, I do not expect literal flames any more than I expect literal streets of gold, but Jesus described hell in the worst possible terms imaginable. Consider them a while and it will help you stay on your diet—you won’t want to eat.

Would you warn your child firmly and frighteningly of the dangers of a snake? Or of some other hazard?

Some people treat HELL like it is a joke or only a mild curse word. We do not hear about it much anymore. We have become ashamed of frightening people into obedience. Jesus was not ashamed like that, “It is better to pluck out your eye than to enter hell”. I hold Dene when she jumps up and down from the pain of one of her eye medications and I can only imagine the pain of pulling out an eyeball and that is BETTER than hell?? In other words, “be good or else, big time or else”. We are not showing much love when we fail to warn people. We would jerk an enemy back from a rattlesnake or push a stranger from in front of a train, but we will not warn our friends of eternal hell.

My mom loved me.
 
And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ Luke 16:23-24
 
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt 25:41
 
‘Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Mark 9:48-49

Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Ty Cobb is my favorite historical baseball player. Reading the new biography of him by Charles Leerhsen, Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, has confirmed this. When he retired from baseball, Cobb held ninety (90!) Major League records. When we think of him today, we primarily think of his hitting with good reason, as he still holds the career record for batting average at .366, the record for consecutive league batting titles at nine, and the record for most consecutive seasons batting at least .300 at an amazing 23. There have been over 100,000 men who have played baseball in the Major Leagues since 1900 but only two, Peter Rose and Ty Cobb, have over 4,000 hits.

So, Cobb was a great contact hitter, but what he was most known for in his day (1905-1928) was his base running. He not only set the record for most stolen bases, he also routinely kept running when all others would have stopped, makings singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He would tag up and take the next base on in-field popups and steal when the fielder threw the ball back to the pitcher. Jackie Robinson became famous partly for stealing home plate. He did it 19 times in his career. Cobb took home 54 times. My favorite Cobb story involves an inside-the-park home run that never left the infield. There was a man on third when Cobb hit a little dribbler. The runner assumed that the fielders would throw to first and tried to take home. Unfortunately for him, they threw to the catcher at home and caught him in a run-down. While he was darting back and forth between home and third with most of the other team chasing after him, no one notices that Cobb has kept rounding the bases. As they finally tagged the runner out near third base, Cobb was just passing third and headed for home. The opposing team was so agape at his chutzpah that no one thought to throw to home, and Cobb scored. You never knew what he was going to do, which was part of his plan. He intentionally tried to get into the heads of the opposing team. It has been said that if they kept records on causing poor, panicked throws Cobb would own that record too. In fact, a contemporary catcher, Ray Schalk, said “When Cobb is on first base and he breaks for second, the best thing you can do, really, is to throw to third.” When Cobb, who played for the Detroit Tigers, was roaming the bases, the other team needed to pay attention or he’d make them look silly.

So, Cobb was a Tiger prowling the bases trying to disrupt the other team. Please tell me you are already turning your Bibles to 1 Peter 5. 1 Pet. 5:8-9 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” Like Cobb, Satan is roaming around trying to get us. Like the opposing baseball team, we are never sure exactly what Satan will throw at us next and we have to keep watch constantly. Unlike Cobb, who was trying to destroy confidence and win a baseball game, Satan’s is trying to destroy our souls and send us to Hell. We must be watchful. We must be aware. Satan’s “batting average” is unfortunately high. We are promised, however, that we can resist him. If we do, he will flee (James 4:7). That’s something Ty Cobb never did.

Lucas Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. (1John 5:16-17)

When a Bible class gets to 1 Jn 5:16-17, the discussion immediately turns, often with heat, to consideration of exactly what is the “sin unto death” and the “sin not unto death” since the wages of [all] sin is death. Then, someone will opine that the sin unto death is the same as the unpardonable sin of which Jesus spoke (Mt 12:32). All these things are fun to speculate about and, being unknowable, do not cut anyone with the sword of the Spirit.

But, consider the one thing we can know for certain from this passage. If we see a brother sin, we are to pray for him, pray for life for him. This is a far cry from some of the attitudes often expressed. “He is not so high and holy after all.” “Did you hear what she did?  “I may not be perfect, but at least I don’t…”  “There he goes again.”


What is your thought when you see a brother (or sister) sin? Is the first thing that comes to mind to go pray for his soul? No wonder we spend our time arguing over “sins not unto death.” That one cuts. (Me too!) How many other Bible class wranglings come from just such attempts to avoid the backswing of the sword of the Spirit?
 
If it is not helping us improve our service to God, it is not fit discussion.
 
Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Gal 6:1
 
Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. Jas 5:16
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

In 1 Chronicles 13:1-3 we find David addressing all the leaders of his people and proposing that they bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and to a central position of worship in the nation rather than leaving it in one man’s house. He says they need to do this since “we sought not unto it in the days of Saul.” For the backstory to this, read 1 Samuel 4:1-7:2. A quick recap: The Israelites badly lost a battle to the Philistines and essentially tried to force God into action by carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle. They soon discovered that it is impossible to force God to do anything and the priests carrying the ark (Eli’s sons) were killed and the ark was captured. Eli died upon receiving the news. God did strike the Philistines with plagues for keeping His ark, though, and they sent it back to Israel on a driverless cart. It wound up in Kiriath-jearim in the house of Abinadab. There it stayed for nearly forty years, the first twenty of which Israel apparently didn’t even worry about where it was. Such was the sad state of the nation’s morality. David, however, was as much a moral and spiritual leader as he was a military and political one, and the time had come to bring the ark back to the people.

1 Chronicles 13:4-8 tells us of the festivities planned for this momentous occasion. David gathered all the people together from the southernmost border unto the northernmost. The ark was placed in a new cart. There was singing and the playing of various musical instruments.  Note especially their fervor: vs. 8 “And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, even with songs, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.” They were worshiping with all their might. But, of course, something went wrong.

1 Chronicles 13:9-14 tells of the death of Uzzah and David’s reaction. Probably Uzzah meant to show respect to the ark. The oxen stumbled and the cart was bouncing, and he didn’t want the ark to fall out and break into little pieces. So he steadied it with his hand. God killed him. David is described as displeased/angry and afraid. Think about how confused he must have been. He was trying to bring God’s ark back to the people so the worship of God could be restored. He was celebrating this momentous occasion with the whole nation, all of them worshiping with all they had, praising God, and in the middle of all this, God kills Uzza. His reaction in vs. 12 is understandable “And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” He was afraid and unsure how (or if) to proceed. He drops the ark into the nearest available house like a hot potato. It stayed there in Obed-edom’s house for three months while David figured out how to bring the ark, during which time, Obed-edom was blessed.

In that three month interlude, David twice had to battle the Philistines (chapter 14) but he also discovered how to move the ark safely. 1 Chron. 15:2 “Then David said, ‘None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him forever.’” So, the Levites were to carry the ark. How did David learn this? Did a prophet tell him? Did God give him a dream? No, it is plainly written in Numbers. 4:15. All David had to do was read the Law already given by God.

1 Chronicles 15:3-13 tells of David bringing together the nation once more and then addressing the Levites. What he says to them in verse 13 is profound “For because ye bare it not at the first, Jehovah our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance.” So, they were seeking God, but God “made a breach upon” them because they did not seek according to the ordinance or the rule. Well, was their heart right? Yes, remember when they were singing and playing before the Lord, they were doing it “with all their might”, and David, their leader, was the “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14 cf Acts 13:22). Their hearts were in the right place. Well, did they give their best to God? Yes, David did not just take a few of his buddies to pick up the ark, he gathered the nation. As king, he brought everyone, all he had as followers, to celebrate this event. And the cart wasn’t some old jalopy of a cart that had previously been used to haul manure from the stables to the back forty. It was a new cart, never used before, the best to be had for the purpose. Well, was this a grand festival designed to praise the Lord? Yes, that’s exactly what it was. But the Lord was angry and made a breach upon them because, despite all their sincerity and heartfelt intent, they did not seek Him according to the ordinance.

There are other examples of this. Nadab and Abihu were trying to light the altar’s fire so that sacrifices could be made to God but they did not do it as He commanded and were burnt up for their failure. (Leviticus 10:1-2) Jereboam changed the worship practices in fear that his new kingdom would abandon him if they continued to go to Jerusalem to worship (1 Kings 12:25ff). He was NOT changing Who was worshiped. “thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” “Gods” is merely Elohim, the typical word for God, and in every single place in the OT where the God who brought them from Egypt is mentioned, it is always referring to YHWH God. From Exodus to Ezekiel. So, Jereboam wasn’t trying to change who they worshiped, just where they worshiped him, and the priesthood that served Him, and the festivals by which they worshiped Him. 1 Kings 16:19 is one of many passages that records the result. “Israel sinned”. Many were no doubt worshiping their God sincerely, but they weren’t worshiping “according to the ordinance” and so they sinned.

Jesus Himself discusses this. Matt. 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Holding your hands high, with your eyes closed, and calling Him “Lord” in all sincerity isn’t good enough if we aren’t also doing His Father’s will. Also, in John 4:23 “. . . true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” We have to worship in spirit AND truth. We can’t leave either out.

This is important, because there are so many people today who sincerely worship God. Who regularly “play before Him with all their might” and who call out “Lord, Lord”, but they worship in ways not taught by the New Testament. The churches they attend go beyond what the New Testament teaches and/or do things directly against New Testament teaching. They aren’t worshiping “according to the ordinance.” In trying to discuss this with friends and neighbors, how many times have you heard someone say something like “Well, God knows my heart. He will look and see that this worship comes from the heart and He will accept me”. Really? He made a breach against David because he hadn’t followed the ordinance! Are they better than David, the man after God’s own heart? If God didn’t look into David’s sincere heart and accept his erroneous worship, I sincerely doubt He’ll do that for anyone else. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW SINCERE WE ARE IF WE AREN’T WORSHIPING ACCORDING TO THE ORDINANCE. After all, He is God, not us. He gets to choose how we approach Him, not us. REPEAT: He is God, not us. He gets to choose how we approach Him, not us.

While we absolutely cannot reduce our worship to some checklist we can mark off, and our hearts must be in our worship (Isaiah 1:11-15, Hos. 6:6, Micah 6:6-8), we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without doing the will of the Father. Calling out “Lord, Lord” won’t be enough. And that’s why I’m writing all of this. Not to be mean-spirited or hateful, but because I want as many people as possible to make it into the kingdom and that can only happen by doing the will of the Father, “according to the ordinance
 
Lucas Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

My cousin Kathryn in discussing the struggle for personal growth recently said this: “But I would rather strive for a better me today than settle for mediocrity forever.” This instantly struck me as profound. “But I would rather strive for a better me today than settle for mediocrity forever.” See, one thing I’ve discovered about Christianity is that it is about constant growth toward an ideal, rather than the instant attainment of that ideal. I’m not going to wake up tomorrow morning to find that I am the perfect Christian man. Sure, if I’ve been a thief, I can stop stealing instantly, get a job, and support myself and immediately get past that sin. The same can be said for a lot of sins: idolatry, adultery, drunkenness, etc. But learning to “suffer long” with my fellow man? That takes work to make it second nature. As do most of the aspects of godly love. I can instantly stop sleeping around, but the struggle to control my thoughts regarding the women I see may take a while to perfect. Etc., etc.

We see this played out throughout the Bible. Abraham, the Father of the Faithful and the Friend of God, grew his faith over the course of almost 50 years. At the end of Genesis 11 he had the faith to leave everything he knew and go to a strange land just because God told him to and made him promises. But in the very next chapter, when famine came and he had to go to Egypt for food, he showed that his faith wasn’t yet complete. Fearing for his life, he lied about his relationship with Sarai, his wife. If his faith in God’s promises was complete, he would have avoided this. (God promised him descendants. As he had no children, God could not allow him to die yet.) Almost 20 years later, in Genesis 20, he repeats this sin. And while we scorn Sarah for quietly laughing at God’s promise when she didn’t know it was God speaking, in Genesis 17 Abraham fell down laughing at God’s promise when he did know it was God speaking.

While Abraham’s faith was great from the beginning, it hadn’t yet reached its fullness. That we see in Genesis 22. This was another 15-20 years in the future, and Abraham had seen God working in his life and had seen the fulfillment of some of the promises and his faith had grown. He knew that the promise of God was to be fulfilled through Isaac, but he didn’t hesitate when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham just thought that God would raise Isaac from the dead. His faith in God’s promise, to be fulfilled in Isaac, was so strong that he just assumed resurrection! But it took him 40-50 years to get to that point.

We see this played out again and again when studying God’s servants. Gideon, David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Esther, etc. Some started out with strong faith and understanding and just kept getting stronger, some started out with faltering faith and little understanding and became strong. But all grew as servants of the Lord over the course of their lifetimes.

This concept of continued growth is seen in the New Testament as well. Not only are the Apostles themselves excellent examples of this, but they wrote about it, too:

“Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control patience; and in your patience godliness; and in your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:5-8)

This passage clearly implies continued effort to grow in these areas. While we don’t have to take them one at a time and can (and should) try to improve in all of these areas together, none of us are going to wake up tomorrow and be perfect in knowledge. Or patience. Or brotherly kindness. But we should be continually, day by day, getting better at each of these things. It just takes work. Notice that the first thing mentioned, before faith or virtue, is diligence. The ESV says “make every effort”. It takes work, effort, to grow.

Even the great Apostle Paul, who had the confidence to say on multiple occasion “be imitators of me as I am of Christ”, knew the struggle of continued growth:

“Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Philp. 3:12-14)

Also, in 1 Corinthians 9, he says that he daily buffeted his body to keep it in subjection. It was an effort, a struggle, to keep growing and to keep from losing what he had already gained. But he did keep growing. He kept getting stronger in the faith. And we can too. It just takes effort.

Next year I’ll be closer to the ideal than I am this year. The following year, I’ll be even a little better than that. In a few decades, I’ll start getting somewhere.

“But I would rather strive for a better me today than settle for mediocrity forever.”
 
Lucas Ward
 

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

In our Matthew class, I noted that chapter 19 is all about the cost of discipleship.  Jesus does teach about Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage, but his main purpose in that section is that some may have to give up their sexuality for the kingdom's sake (vss 1-12).  Go read it and tell me what else, “become eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake” might mean.  

His next point is that we must become little children (vss13-15).  So, Jesus challenges us to give up all that makes a man a man. In the kingdom, a man is not “just a man” bound by his nature, he makes choices for God.  

Finally, he talks about how hard it is for a rich man to enter (vss 16-30). Will you do what the rich young ruler would not and give up your success, your money, your status, your sense of fulfillment?  

This changes a lot of perspectives in the Marriage Divorce Remarriage section--It IS hard.  No compromise at all.  Do you want Jesus badly enough to give it up?  He will not do what many denominations have done and accept the alternate or sinful lifestyles because that is “just how they are” or "God wants me to be happy."

It may come as a shock, but God does not care whether you are happy. He wants you to be saved and that process may make one unhappy!  One may be full of joy in his relationship with Jesus and in the life of triumph and the hope of eternal life while realizing that temporal happiness will never come.  Did not Paul feel this way?
 
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Phil 4:11-13

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort .2Cor 1:7-9
 
Keith Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
Sometimes we know things for a long time before the significance of placing two events side by side strikes us. (Daddy used to say that something had to strike me pretty hard to penetrate.)  So it was just the other day when for some reason I happened to think of Mt Sinai and Isaiah close enough together to discover a significance.

First, consider the reaction of the children of Israel when they came into the presence of God, “And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.  And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exod 20:18-21).

Then, note Isaiah’s reaction when God appeared to him, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me” (Isa 6:5-8).
 
In both cases they feared God greatly. The Israelites backed away and asked that God speak no more. Isaiah exclaimed, “Woe is me” as his sins became evident in the presence of the holy God. But, contrast in your mind their subsequent actions—Isaiah exclaimed, “Here am I, send me” and entered a lifelong ministry to God.  Israel backed away from God and within months rejected God in faithless disobedience and all died in the wilderness.

It seems that we come into the presence of God blithely. We sing, “Our God is an Awesome God” or “Holy, Holy, Holy” with fervor, but no fear. God hoped that their fear would keep Israel honest, “Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deut 5:29). When even Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake,” it is hard to call this a simple respect (Heb 12:17). Multiplying praise songs is no substitute for meditation with fear. We have buried our fear of God in a sea of redefinition to respect and therefore, many have followed Israel and so few have followed Isaiah.

Certainly we have been adopted as sons and can come with boldness to the throne of grace, but perhaps an unseemly familiarity has overwhelmed our sense, “If you call on him as Father, pass the time of your sojourning in fear.”  (Rom 8:14-15, Heb 4:16, 1 Pet 1:17).

It may be that we have confused our own emotion with coming into the presence of God!  Because we feel warm and “touched,” we construe this as the presence.  Let us consider that even the most righteous fell in the presence of just an angel (Dan 8:17,27; 10:8, 10).  Surely we would do well to be less pushy about our family status and more aware that He is GOD!  Then, perhaps we could walk as Isaiah walked.
 
But ye are come unto….. God the Judge of all, and… to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant…. see that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that warns from heaven:….let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe: for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:22-29)

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12)
 
Keith Ward

Part 3 of a series we began on Monday, Oct 17, by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
Why does God care so much about His name?  Why is there such emphasis here, and such dire consequences?  In part, it’s a matter of respect.  Have you ever heard a sassy child yell to his/her friends “that’s my name, don’t wear it out”?  There is some of that here, in a much more serious way.  God doesn’t want us flippantly using His name.  If we do use it, it should be with the respect He and His name deserves.  I’ve read that the Mongols wouldn’t speak Genghis Khan’s name out of respect.  If people would so revere another person’s name, shouldn’t we give God’s name proper respect?
 
But there is far more to it that just giving God the proper respect.  His name is used to represent more than just His renown.  For one thing, His name represents the Covenant between Him and His people.
Ex. 6:6-8  “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments:  and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  And I will bring you in unto the land which I sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage: I am Jehovah.”
 
In this rather short passage we see God’s name tied to the idea of covenant in at least three ways.  His name is connected to the promise of freedom from Egyptian bondage. Notice that they will know that He is Jehovah when He releases them from the burden of bondage.  His name is also connected to the promise of a covenant relationship between them and Himself.  Finally, He connects His name to the promises made to their Patriarchs.  So, in three different ways His name is attached to promises or covenants.  Then, looking throughout the Pentateuch, we see His name routinely connected to mentions of the commandments from Sinai (the covenant), the blessings and the cursings (of the covenant), and to the Patriarchal covenant.  So His name is attached to and represents the covenant between His people and Himself.  That attachment is the guarantor of the covenant relationship.  So, when we profane His name, we cheapen the very covenantal relationship with Him that we so rely upon for our hope of Heaven.  
 
But that’s not all.  God often uses His name to stand in for Himself.  I could probably write a book on this, but I’ll try to be brief. 
 
Worshipping God is referred to as calling upon His name in innumerable passages.  E.g. Gen. 4:26 “. . . Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.”  Also, Acts 22:16  “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.”  Notice, not calling upon Him, but upon His name.
 
Praying is also referred to as calling upon His name.  E.g.  1 Kings 18:24 “And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the God that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.”  Also Eph. 5:20 “giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.”  Here, thanks is given in His name.  Not calling on God or giving thanks to God, but calling upon His name and giving thanks in His name.
 
His name was personified as if it were Him in at least one passage.  Isa. 30:27 “Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire.”  Notice that it is the name of Jehovah that is burning with His anger, rather than Jehovah Himself.  The Name seems to stand in as substitute for God in this passage.  Sticking with the theme of anger, His name was also used to curse His enemies:  2Ki 2:24 “And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah.”
 
More pleasantly, His name also brought blessings.  Exo 20:24 “. . . in every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.”  Also Num. 6:23-27 “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: ye shall say unto them, Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee:  Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:  Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.  So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”  The very presence of His name brought blessing.  And John 20:31 “but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.”  In His name we have life.  Surely, that counts as a blessing.
 
Finally, note that God’s own glory is said to be partly due to His glorious name.  Ex. 33:18-19 “And he said, Show me, I pray thee, thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”  Notice that part of showing Moses God’s glory was proclaiming His name to Moses.  In Ex. 34:5-7, this takes place with the Name being proclaimed before Moses repeatedly. Also Ps. 48:10 “As is thy name, O God, So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: Thy right hand is full of righteousness.”  His praise is attached to His name. 
 
So, it should be clear from all these things that God’s name represents Him in a way much more closely and more fully than a simple designation.  His name almost IS Him.  So, to profane God’s name is to profane God Himself. 
 
This almost seems silly to mention after the weighty matters just discussed, but if we wear His name as His followers, then to profane His name is to profane ourselves.  We make ourselves smaller when we diminish His name, and as His agents and representatives on this earth, how much more harm can we do to His cause? 
 
And, finally, lest someone claim that the commands against taking His name in vain or profaning His name are just Mosaic Law and do not apply to those of us under the Perfect Law of Liberty, let me make clear that this command was brought forward to the New Testament era.  First note that in the Lord’s sample prayer, the first thing He mentions, His highest priority, was the state of God’s name:  Matt. 6:9 “After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”  As mentioned earlier, to hallow is to make holy and is the exact opposite of profaning.  So Jesus taught that care was to be taken with God’s name.  Then there is this, referring to Jesus:  Heb. 1:4 “having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.”   As the Son, He would naturally inherit from His Father.  Part of that inheritance was the Name.  Which I’ve already shown is to be honored.  So, that Name is brought out of the Old Testament Era and given to our Lord who instituted the New Testament.  Finally, His earthly name was also elevated – because of that inherited Name – to heavenly status:  Phil. 2:9-11 “Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  So, maybe I need to be more careful about using “Jesus!” as an expletive when I hit my finger with a hammer, hmmm? 
 
God’s name is to be honored, not profaned or used falsely.  As Christians, we should wince every time we hear people fouling His name.  We should be examples of proper respect in our speech.  We should always be careful not to allow such blasphemies to enter our own speech.  Frankly, I’d much rather know that a brother uses curses and profanities regularly than to know he peppers his speech with misuses of the Name.  I’m in no way condoning such speech, but from what I’ve studied, cursing is safer for your soul!
 
            “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy Name.”
 
Lucas Ward

Part 2 in a three part series by guest writer Lucas Ward. 
 
So the (11th?) commandment is to not profane His name.  How might I do that?  What we normally think of is using His name as a common expletive, as discussed in the intro.  The stereotypical teenaged girl for whom everything is OMG this and OMG that is profaning His name by treating it as a common interjection.  Worse is using it as a common profanity or curse. 
 
I once worked with a guy at Publix who used “Jesus” as a curse every time something went wrong.  I finally said to him, “You know, one of these days He’s going to answer you.”  He gave me a wry look, but didn’t slow up a bit.  Another example that comes to mind is the lyrics to “Freebird” by Lynard Skynard.  They use “Lord” (another designation for God) throughout the song as aural space filler.  Listen to the song and in place of Lord, just hum or sing “OOOh” and it doesn’t change the semantic meaning of the song one bit.  They’ve literally taken a designation for God from its exalted position and turned it into background noise!  That is profaning (making common) the name of the Lord. 
 
But we can also profane His name by how we live our lives.  Bear with me for a moment.  Start with the idea that a name isn’t just the designation of an individual.  It is also the reputation or renown that is attached to the name.  What do you think of when you hear the name Donald Trump?  Or Douglas MacArthur?  Or Babe Ruth?  The reputation/renown that is conjured at the mention of those men is part of their Names.  In fact, Hebrew uses the same word for both name and renown. 
 
And God worked to ensure that His name carried a certain renown with it.  Ex. 9:16  “but in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.”  Is. 63:12-14  “that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? . . . so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.”  In the first passage, He made Pharaoh to stand so He could work great plagues against Egypt and make a name for Himself.  In the second, His power is displayed to make a great name.  In fact, in my study of the use of His name throughout the Bible, I discovered that almost every time we read of God doing something “for His name’s sake,” He is either fulfilling the covenant that His name is attached to or He is doing something to enhance His reputation.  To increase His renown.  So, God cares greatly for the reputation conveyed with His name.
 
Now, remember that God’s followers wear His name.  There are multiple passages which point this out.  Dan 9:19  “. . .because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”  Doesn’t get much clearer, does it?  How about Matt 28:19?  “. . .baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Notice, it doesn’t say “in the name of”, which would imply ‘by the authority of’, but rather “into the name of” which shows that believers have been brought into the family of God, into His name.  Finally, in John’s heavenly visions at the end of Revelation, God’s people literally wear His name:  Rev. 22:4  “and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads.” 
 
So we, as Christians, wear His name, literally, since “Christian” comes from “Christ”.  If we do not live according to His way while wearing His name, we profane His name.  His renown is damaged by his putative followers.  Lev. 18:21  “And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to make them pass through the fire to Molech; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.”  Here we see it clearly stated that the actions of God’s followers can profane His name.  By sacrificing children to an idol-god, they would be harming God’s renown.
 
Another instance is after David’s sin with Bathsheba.  He had been forgiven, but Nathan told David that one of the punishments for that sin would be that his child with Bathsheba would die.  Here is the explanation:  2 Sam. 12:14  “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”  David was known as a man after God’s own heart.  When a man linked to God in such a close way sinned like he did, it naturally heaped shame on God, too.  It gave occasion to God’s enemies. 
 
This idea exists in the New Testament too.  Rom. 2:23  “thou who glories in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonors thou God?  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written.”  Paul sums up the idea:  2 Tim. 2:19  “. . . Let everyone that names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”  
 
So, Mr. Christian who would never take the Lord’s name in vain, are you profaning His name by the way you live your life?  (That question steps on my toes!)  We will finish our discussion tomorrow.

Lucas Ward