Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
The Second Commandment Part 1: Click here and read 49-56.
The basics:
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
- The first commandment instructed the heart, and the second commandment directs our mouths and tongues to God.
- It is misusing God's name when we call upon it for purposes of falsehood in any way.
- Examples include taking an oath in a court where one side lies against the other, in worldly business where an oath has been made and broken, in marriage when two betroth themselves in God's name and then separate, and in false prophets who preach lies in God's name.
- Luther calls the misuse of God's name by false prophets the greatest abuse of His name.
- We are to guard with all diligence against misusing the holy name as the greatest sin that can be outwardly committed.
My thoughts today:
"As the First Commandment has instructed the heart and taught [the basis of] faith, so this commandment leads us forth and directs the mouth and tongue to God. For the first objects that spring from the heart and manifest themselves are words."
God knows us pretty well. He sets up His commands to protect us and guide us to Him. As we read in the First Commandment section, He wishes to steer us away from all evil and direct us to Him - the source of all good. This command is both a command for our life and a guide to point us back to the First Commandment. When we hear from the mouths of others falsehood in the name of God, we know we are witnessing one who has made for him or herself a god. Or when we hear from our own mouths falsehood in the name of God, we know we are making our own god.
Sometimes it is easy to just think false prophets aren't that bad. They are all around. They tell us God's Word couldn't possibly say what indeed it says, or at least it couldn't possibly mean what it says. They tell us things we want to hear. They tell us to be happy and do what makes us happy because God wants us to be happy. They twist God's Word, just like Satan has done since the Garden of Eden.
This commandment reminds us that false prophets really are that bad. For what springs from the heart is first made public through words. False prophets teach us a false language. Don't read their books. Don't watch their videos. Don't listen to their sermons. Their words confuse the Gospel, and they can eventually confuse us.
If a preacher preaches from Scripture but does not believe Scripture to be wholly true, how can we trust any of it? Scripture is either completely false or completely true. They either have no other god before Him or they don't. They either preach complete truth in His name or they don't.
Fill yourself with the correct language (the Large Catechism) and read the right stuff (the Holy Bible). This will help guard you from those who are trying to deceive you. It will help guard you from yourself. For what springs from your mouth is first formed in the heart.
