Dear Fellow Believers,
From Willard, OH, in 1997, I delivered this teaching on the commandment (number three) warning Israel not to take God's name in vain. If anyone was capable of committing this sin, it was Israel. (Today, it is Christianity.)
Contrary to popular Christian opinion, taking God's name in vain has nothing to do with saying things like, "Look at this goddamn weather," or "Jesus Christ my hands are cold." No, but rather this sin concerns associating oneself with ("taking up") the name of God, yet without having a heart for God (the true God) and therefore not likely to be an actual believer. The Concordant
Version of the Old Testament translates, "taking God's name for futility," which better suits the context.
Those taking God's name for nothing (this is the core meaning of "futility") are those who use religion—specifically the Christian religion—for their own ends, whether financial, personal, or social. (This is the majority, if not the entirety.)
The Christian religion is the most popular on the planet (especially in the West), and so belonging to it beknights one in the public eye as virtuous and acceptable. Additionally, Christians have convinced themselves that it is their personal belief that saves them (rather than Jesus Christ's faith in going to the cross), and so taking God's name to oneself (the name of the Christian
god, anyway) affirms one's personal wisdom (in one's own estimation) in matters of spiritual accomplishment. (God is assumed to be a "gentleman God" Who refuses to interfere in human activities, especially in those pertaining to the so-called sovereign human will.)
None of these reasons for taking God's name constitute true belief. Thus, God's name is taken to no effect ("for nothing") for the majority (if not the entirety) of those belonging to the most popular religion. These are the ones to whom Christ will say when He returns, "Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness. I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23). (They claim to have done everything "in His
name," but these things were for futility (they meant nothing) because none of them relied on the true God. Rather, they were used to affirm the "believer's" personal and moral worth. Belonging to the popular religion illicitly taking Christ's name affirms (in one's own mind) one's superiority over the rest of humanity, which will be damned for its lack of spiritual intelligence.
Thanks again to Rodney Paris of Texas for pulling these twenty-five year old messages into the twenty-first century. He digitizes them (they were recorded on tape), then adds video and text frames, making them multimedia experiences.
Please send this message to everyone you know who enjoys a good four-letter rant. No one is breaking any commandment. In fact, those breaking the commandment are the ones criticizing those who are, in fact, NOT breaking the commandment, because they—the ranters—at least refuse to hide their true humanity behind the whitewashed wall of self-righteousness—this being the most valuable
commodity conferred upon one by the popular religion.
Thank you to all those who have contributed financially to this work. You know who you are, I know who you are, and God knows who you are. This work could not continue without you. Also, thank you for the emails you send me and the wonderful comments you write beneath my videos each day. The encouragement you provide is necessary to my survival as a worker in this
evangel.
Yours from the Floridan peninsula,
Martin
