Grace Bible Church
Pastor teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Weekly Summary
102117
Dispensation of the Mosaic law. The Third Commandment.
We are noting the Third Commandment is found in EXO 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
The Hebrew phrase for “in vain” is lashaaw which means “for worthlessness or wickedness,” or “for an evil purpose,” and it also includes false testimony in the name of God in a court of law or in any phase of life.
So, we could say EXO 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in a worthless way.”
MAT 15:7-9, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”
Look what He said in MAR 7:7
MAR 7:8-9, “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
Or we could translate the word vain like this; EXO 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose.”
Or EXO 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God by swearing in court of law in a worthless way.” = Lying!
Thus, the commandment does not have anything to do with exclamations or swear words, and it covers far more than profanity.
It refers to claiming God as one’s witness that what one says is true, when in fact it is not.
The Doctrine of Ambassadorship.
Point 1. Definition and description. An ambassador is a high ranking minister of state or of royalty sent to another state to represent his sovereign or country that he has come from.
By analogy, we are spiritual aristocracy as members of the Royal Family of God, and Christ is the King who has sent us into a foreign country, the cosmic world.
Point 2. The Profile of the Ambassador.
- An ambassador does not appoint himself, rather he is appointed by a higher authority. We are appointed by God Himself at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ. God also gives use the power and ability to handle the job, through the mentoring of the HS.
- The ambassador does not support himself. The Church-age believer, as an ambassador for Christ, is provided for by logistical grace.
- The ambassador’s instructions are always in written form, so he has no doubt as to what he should do.
We have the policies, problem solving devices, instructions, principles, doctrines, and concepts in written form in the scripture.
- The ambassador does not belong to the country to which he is sent.
Our citizenship and home is in Heaven. We are also citizens of a client nation to God.
- The ambassador does not live in the foreign country for his own personal interest. We live here on earth solely to serve in the interest of our Lord.
- The ambassador does not treat any insult to himself as personal or most important. This is the royal ambassador’s function in both spiritual self-esteem and impersonal love for all mankind. We tolerate others and hold no grudges.
When we are insulted, treated unfairly, or ridiculed, we have tremendous problem solving devices.
1PE 2:16-25, Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
You ladies might like to apply 1PE 3:1, In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
You have to have the spiritual strength to use these problem solving devices to leave the matter in the Lord’s hands.
- When an ambassador is recalled, his recall is tantamount to a declaration of war. This is analogous to the Rapture of the church. The Tribulation is analogous to the period of war.
Point 3. The Royal Ambassadorship is Specialized and Intensified in the gift of pastor‑teacher.
All communication gifts (evangelists, apostles, pastor‑teachers) become critical and specialized functions of the royal ambassadorship because they communicate spiritual truth.
This is why the Apostle Paul said in EPH 6:19-20, for which [in verse 19: mystery of the gospel] I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it [mystery doctrine] I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak or “I might communicate with confidence as I ought to speak.”
Prin – One of the responsibilities of the SA or ambassador is a special need for those who communicate doctrine to do so with confidence. And that confidence cannot exist unless they are occupied with the person of Christ and have spiritual self-esteem, because they will be faced with constant negative volition from indifferent people. But with spiritual self-esteem the communicator speaks with confidence no matter what the attitude of his listeners.
Point 4. The Royal Ambassadorship is Directly Related to the Evangelism of the believer, 2CO 5:20.
2CO 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making His appeal through us. We invite you on behalf of Christ: become reconciled to God.”
This is the function of every believer who witnesses and is the special function of the believer with the gift of evangelism. We are to witness through the verbal communication of the Gospel of the word of God.
We are not to witness through our lifestyle -only-…that’s cowardice. I say that to those who say “I don’t say I’m a believer, I live like I am one. What does that mean? An atheist can be moral. A Muslim can quit certain sins. A Buddhist can refrain from immorality. Even Christians can make vows and not keep them…even though we read in PSA 50:14, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High;
PSA 56:12, Thy vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to Thee.
PSA 61:8, So I will sing praise to Thy name forever, That I may pay my vows day by day.
PSA 76:11, Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.
PSA 116:18, I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,
Well, two passages come to mind:
MAT 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
MAT 5:14-18, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck‑measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”
The other passage is JAM 1:21-25, Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
What does all this mean?
For many it means, “I don’t have enough courage to live like I should”.
By the way, “you do!” SO Stop underestimating yourself!”