Tongue Tamers, Pt. 2
Thesis: We are commanded by God to control our tongues in the use of His name, the expression of rage or anger, and the distortion of the truth.
Objective: Call believers to recognize the significance of using God's name in vain, cursing people in anger, and lying, and challenge them to repent.
- We must respect God's name (7).
- We must use God's name carefully (The most obvious application of this fourth commandment is that we must never use God's name carelessly. Rather, we must always remember that it is the name of the Most High!).
- We must recognize the broader implications (Actually, this command has far broader implications than just using God's name as a curse or byword. We must not claim to be God's people then behave contrary to His character and/or will (hypocrisy). We must not make promises to Him or others that we then don't fulfill (unfaithfulness, mockery).).
- This is a big deal (So often, we think that it's not a big deal to use God's name improperly because we've been conditioned to do so by our entire culture. But this commandment is the only command with an explicit consequence listed right alongside: we will not be held guiltless. NOTE: To be fair, the second and fifth commandments (no idol, honor parents) have implicit consequences, but this is the only one where God point-blank says what will happen.).
- We must not destroy (13; Matt 5:22).
- We must not harm (The most obvious application of this command is that we must not unjustly cause physical injury or death, but the greater context makes clear that we must not do any unjust harm by what we do or say. This would also mean that, when harm is justified, we do it through proper channels.).
- We must restrain anger (Jesus expounds upon this command to say that anger makes us subject to judgment. Anger, therefore, must be justified. And it must be expressed properly.).
- We must be constructive (Jesus also adds that pouring out contempt or insult falls under this command as well, and that those who do this will be “in danger of the fire of hell.” We must recognize that saying anything which is designed to tear someone down is not acceptable. The implication is that we should be careful to build people up with our speech.).
- We must demonstrate integrity (16).
- We must not deceive (We must not say (or not say) anything with the intention of misleading someone about the truth.).
- We must not slander (We must not say (or not say) anything which will wrongly damage someone else's reputation.).
- We must speak truthfully (We must be committed to telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, even when that could have negative effects on ourselves.).
(7) “Prohibition against false swearing and frivolous use of God's name. The use of an oath of affirmation was not forbidden.”
(13) “The law differentiated accidental killing from deliberate murder and required capital punishment for the latter (21:12-14) as well as for numerous other offenses (21:15-17, 29, etc.).”
Henry
(7) “We take God's name in vain by hypocrisy, making a profession of God's name, but not living up to that profession. Those that name the name of Christ, but do not depart from iniquity, as that name binds them to do, name it in vain; their worship is vain (Matt. xv. 7-9), their oblations are vain (Isa. i. 11, 13), their religion is vain, Jam. i. 26.”
“We take God's name in vain by covenant-breaking; if we make promises to God, binding our souls with those bonds to that which is good, and yet perform not to the Lord our vows, we take his name in vain (Matt. v. 33), it is folly, and God has no pleasure in fools (Eccl. v. 4), nor will he be mocked, Gal. vi. 7.”
“We take God's name in vain by rash swearing, mentioning the name of God, or any of his attributes, in the form of an oath, without any just occasion for it, or due application of mind to it, but as a by-word, to no purpose at all, or to no good purpose.”
“We take God's name in vain by false swearing, which, some think, is chiefly intended in the letter of the commandment; so it was expounded by those of old time.”
“We take God's name in vain by using the name of God lightly and carelessly, and without any regard to its awful significancy.”
Although we may be tempted to overlook the penalty for this – not being held guiltless – because it does not involve immediate consequences, we should not be fooled. “The sinner may perhaps hold himself guiltless, and think there is no harm in it, and that God will never call him to an account for it. To obviate this suggestion, the threatening is thus expressed, God will not hold him guiltless, as he hopes he will; but more is implied, namely, that God will himself be the avenger of those that take his name in vain, and they will find it a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
(13) Henry expands this to: "Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not do any thing hurtful or injurious to the health, ease, and life, of thy own body, or any other person's unjustly."
“It does not forbid killing in lawful war, or in our own necessary defence, nor the magistrate's putting offenders to death, for those things tend to the preserving of life; but it forbids all malice and hatred to the person of any (for he that hateth his brother is a murderer), and all personal revenge arising therefrom; also all rash anger upon sudden provocations, and hurt said or done, or aimed to be done, in passion: of this our Saviour expounds this commandment, Matt. v. 22.”
“It forbids persecution, laying wait for the blood of the innocent and excellent ones of the earth.”
(16) This command includes a number of things:
“Speaking falsely in any matter, lying, equivocating, and any way devising and designing to deceive our neighbour.”
“Speaking unjustly against our neighbour, to the prejudice of his reputation”
“Bearing false witness against him, laying to his charge things that he knows not, either judicially, upon oath (by which the third commandment, and the sixth of eighth, as well as this, are broken), or extrajudicially, in common converse, slandering, backbiting, tale-bearing, aggravating what is done amiss and making it worse than it is, and any way endeavouring to raise our own reputation upon the ruin of our neighbour's.”
- Ryrie, Charles C. Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.
- Henry, Matthew. Commentary on the Whole Bible. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc6.Jam.iv.html