W oUR sAVIOR Lutheran ChurchW

Dear Brethren;

the Second Commandment that God gave to His people is: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord Your God.

Luther explains, in his Small Catechism, that this means that We should fear and love God, so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks.

We should fear and love God, and honour His name, because He is the Ruler of all things, and therefore we have all reason to fear Him, and because He is the Giver of all things good, and therefore we have all reason to love Him; but first and foremost we should fear and love God because He is our Saviour. That is how He has revealed Himself to us; that is how we know Him.

Many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, says the letter to the Hebrews, but in these latter days He has spoken to us by His Son ... It is in our Lord and Saviour Jesus that God has given us the full and final revelation of who He really is, and what He is really all about, in the One whose name is Jesus – which means God Saves. And it is Him that we know God. His name is the name of God; His name speaks the truth about who God really is.

And that is why His name should be precious to us. And it really should. For it is great what our Lord Jesus has done for us, for our salvation. And it is great what He gives to us. If we do not understand that, then we understand nothing at all.

And if we do understand, how can we even think of using the name of our salvation to curse and swear, or for other evil purposes?

What are we saying about our salvation, and how precious it is to us, when we turn the name of our Saviour into something ugly; when we use His most precious name to create an atmosphere of roughness and irreverence and ugliness around us? What does it say about our love for Him, whether or not we have any? Do we not owe Him so much better?

And what kind of testimony are we giving to those around us about how precious it is to know God as or Saviour, when they hear us using the name of our Salvation as just another ugly sound? Are we contributing much to their salvation? Are we giving them much reason to think that it is precious to know the truth of God, and to look into it, so that they might come to know Him also, and know His salvation? Are we giving them much help in being rescued from eternal death and damnation, when we use the precious name of our Saviour as just another ugly sound coming out of a foul mouth?

And perhaps more importantly, for God is always concerned with your salvation: What does it do to your own understanding of your salvation, and how precious it is, when you use the name of your Saviour as just another ugly sound? Does it help you see and remember how great He is, and what great things He has done? Does it do any good for your salvation? Think about it for a while – if you have to ...

Sincerely

Jais H. Tinglund