"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7).
We must - with no exception - use God's name with the honor that it deserves. A part of that means making it famous, bringing glory to Him by spreading His name.
That's what we talked about in Sunday School yesterday. My dad offered five ways to make God's name famous.
We honor His name as holy by recognizing that it is the only thing that can save us. He is Savior; we are not.
2. By telling people that there is no other name by which they can be saved (Acts 4:12).
We honor His name as holy by recognizing that there is power only in His name. And we expressly tell the world that so that they can share our hope.
3. By preaching and teaching in Jesus' name (Acts 4:18).
We not only evangelize but we also take the time to systematically teach others the gospel by relying on the authority of Jesus.
4. By suffering in Jesus' name (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:16)
4. By suffering in Jesus' name (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:16)
We show the world our allegiance to His name when we suffer for the gospel. We show His sufficiency; He is truly all that we need.
5. By living in worship and obedience to God so that Jesus' name is exalted in our lives (Acts 11:26).
5. By living in worship and obedience to God so that Jesus' name is exalted in our lives (Acts 11:26).
Ultimately, how we live our lives should make His name famous. We should be modelling to the world that His name is exalted in our lives.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons and Justin Vern.