It's all about the Torah...got it. So, to me, the simplest thing would be to go with the ten commandments. Right? Learn what they are and then do them intentionally. I will probably write another entry where I go through each one individually; but right now I just want to focus on one in particular.
The third commandment, which is : "You shall not take the name of t he Lord your God in vain." (Deuteronomy 5:11). Guys. I think its about more than simply knowing that God's last name is not "damn." Fairly recently, I posted a comment on a video Roseanne Barr had done. I asked her how she could claim she was SO about teaching people Torah and the Bible, but yet she SO LOVED to say... (GD) this and (GD) that...over and over again. I told her this is confusing to people...and doesn't exactly set the best example. She told me that God is His title... not his name. Well, I still stand by what I said about the confusion-- but okay... that's his title. It would be like saying men and women are human-- I get it.
So, what IS the name of God anyway.? Back when I took a Bible Literature class in college, we learned that the actual name of God is un-utterable. The initials of his name are "YHWH", which is why he is often called "Yaweh" Course. It's been pointed out to me that every time we inhale and then exhale, we are then "saying" God's name (or at least...his initials). Try it. Inhale..."Yah. Exhale... Whaaay. Some of you may never wanna breathe now. (But its pretty essential for life, ya know?).
Often its "Yod Hay Vav Hay", or the Hebrew initials of his name. But otherwise...we've given him titles. We call him "El Olam": The Everlasting God, or "El Shaddai": God Almighty. We call him "The Lilly of the valley" or the "Rose of Sharon". There's "Adonai" which means imy Lord and Master or "Abba Father" which means "Daddy" in Hebrew. But here's the thing: Here I was at almost 50 years old--having considered myself a born again Christian for the last 40 years; (I was very young...Just a kid); and I suddenly thought: "How can we take His name in vain when we don't even know what it is?
At the risk of sounding like I was "born-again" yesterday, still sucking on a spiritual baby bottle, I had never asked that question before. I felt the need, at that point to assure my father the King of Kings that I was not wishing to be a smart-ass when I asked the question. The group "Caedman's Call" has a song called "Salvation is Your Name." As I prayed about the issue, I said to Him: "You ARE Salvation." I asked Him where the name "Jesus" came from anyway...especially since there is no J sound in the Hebrew alphabet. It's Greek...I know...but what does it mean? For the first time in my spiritual life, it dawned on me how ODD it is that I have pledged myself (if you will) to someone and Im not even really sure what their name means! The Savior of the World? Yes, I suppose this is another TITLE I could give Him, but what does his name MEAN? I dont know...I still trying to figure out what it is.
So, I went back to the Hebrew. The Hebrew word for Salvation is "Yeshua." This brings me back to the Caedman's Call song. So, Salvation IS His name. Then I inserted it into the commandment: "You shall not take (Salvation) in vain. Oh man! NOW this is as personal as it could be...right?
So...anyone who has ever been "saved" -- as have I...what does it mean to take salvation in vain? I never thought about it, because, most, if not all Christians agree that when we "accept" or take Salvation, the rest of our eternity is NOT in vain because we have believed that the death of Jesus on the cross paid the penalty for their sins. (Our sins). Hey-- when did this become about all that anyway? I thought this just meant...well, you know...just make sure you never say THAT. Right?
My dear Believer, if the King of Kings rules in your heart....why would you then need to be told to remember that HIS last name is not "damn"? I would venture to say THIS rule is for those who dont even LOOK at His commandments, let alone do them.
But the thing is...haven't I just described most, if not all Christians today? Evangelical Christians, how many of you dont even try to follow the commandments because you think God himself would be offended because you can't follow them perfectly? Is this what your church crams down your throat every week...because that's what I was reminded of...every week. As a result, I believed I was denying or rejecting Christ's DEATH that paid for my SINS if I even TRIED to keep his laws. I literally believed that this was sinful. Excuse all the sinister capital letters-- no judgements here okay? No worries. But most Evangelical churches teach these things, dont they? They won't say outright that following the Torah is sinful, but their attendees feel like it is. Then their heart breaks over every Jewish person because they just do not get it...they still think following the law, will get them to Heaven. How many PASTORS have taught their congregations this??
Listen, Gods law was written for Believers, whose hearts are open yo what it says...not non-believers who are blind and cannot see.. The GD thing...people who are blind and cannot see do that...not Believers who know better
The word "vain" itself means proud, conceited, or overly concerned with oneself. But according to Google, vain also means "producing futle or no results : Lacking result or value." So, I believe the question now becomes,; What does it mean when we TAKE Salvation in vain? If we look at the word "take" the way we think of the words "accept" or :agree" rather than saying bad words. So if God is going to instruct Believers to not take Salvation in vain, then there must be ways that we can (as Believers). Yes?
So then, how would a Believer take Salvation (Gods name) in vain? My first thought is that its wonderful that we believe, but Jesus said even the demons believe, remember? We love to quote James and say that faith without works is dead, but then we dont attach this to the Torah itself and live this out. I believe it is a completed story...full circle. The death of Jesus on the cross provided the grace we need to live by walking t through the commandments, not to phase them out and believe they dont apply. I believe doing this is what it means to have a form of godliness, but deny its power. (2 Timothy 3:4-5).
.
