THE 2 ND COMMANDMENT: CURSING & SWEARING BY GOD’S NAME Faith Foundations Course One Lesson 7

USING GOD’S NAME TO CURSE AND SWEAR What does it mean to curse and swear by God’s name?

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 1.Read Matthew 26: When others accused Peter of being with Jesus, he denied it. Why did Peter curse (ask God to punish him)? He tried to convince them that his lie was the truth, breaking the 2 nd Commandment.

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 2.Read Numbers 22:1-18. When the Moabites asked Balaam to curse Israel, what did they expect would happen? Balaam would call on God to do something bad to Israel so that Moab could defeat Israel.

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 3.James 3:10 says, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” Why might it be confusing for unbelievers to hear Christians praise God one time and then curse a little later? They might think we’re not serious about our faith or that we don’t love and honor the true God any more than they do.

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 4.Why is that serious? It might keep others from listening seriously to the message about Christ.

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 5.When Jessica’s friend told her that she wasn’t allowed to watch a certain movie…Jessica said, “There is a lot of bad language in the movie. But you know, people use that kind of language so much now that they don’t really mean it in a bad way. It’s just an expression, just the way people talk.” How does God show in Exodus 20:7 that he is serious about the misuse of his name? God says that anyone who misuses his name is guilty of sin.

CURSING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 6.The worst kind of evil anyone could experience is to suffer in hell. How might you use Mark 9:49 and 1 Timothy 2:3,4 to convince Jessica that a Christian doesn’t want to curse or to hear others curse? Hell is horrible. God wants everyone to be saved from hell. So how can we tell God to damn someone he wants to save?

KEY POINT #1 To curse by God’s name means… to call on God to send evil.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 7.Recall the oath Abraham’s servant swore to him in Genesis 24:2-4. Why was the servant not sinning by taking an oath? The servant’s oath was for Isaac’s welfare. God doesn’t forbid such swearing.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 8.Read Leviticus 19:12. Think again of Peter in the palace courtyard. Why was his swearing sinful? Peter swore falsely.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 9.Read Matthew 14:6-9. Herod swore to give the daughter of Herodias anything she wanted—up to half his kingdom. Why was Herod’s swearing sinful? Herod swore thoughtlessly.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 10.When Jeremy was trying to convince people that he was telling the truth, he often said, “I swear to God.” According to Matthew 5:37, why is that an unnecessary (and therefore wrong) use of God’s name? We should have a reputation of telling the truth so that we don’t need to thoughtlessly call on God to be our witness.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 11.Evaluate the following statements. Tell whether or not they are false swearing, and explain your answers. a. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help you God?” Swearing in court is not wrong. You do it out of duty to a government authorized by God and to help your neighbor.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 11.Evaluate the following statements. Tell whether or not they are false swearing, and explain your answers. b. “Cross my heart and hope to die, I swear I’ll never tell another lie.” This is both false swearing and cursing. It is calling on God to be our witness and punish us if we are lying.

FALSE SWEARING IS A MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME 11.Evaluate the following statements. Tell whether or not they are false swearing, and explain your answers. c. “Honest to God” or “Lord, no” or “Oh, my God.” These are all wrong because they are said thoughtlessly. The person probably isn’t even aware that they are swearing.

KEY POINT #2 To swear by God’s name means… to call on God as a witness.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CURSE AND SWEAR BY GOD’S NAME? 1.To curse by God’s name means to call on God to send evil. 2.To swear by God’s name means to call on God as a witness. SUMMARY To curse by God’s name means to call on God to send evil, and to swear by God’s name means to call on God as a witness.

THE 2 ND COMMANDMENT You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not use his name to curse, swear, lie, or deceive, or use witchcraft, but call upon God’s name in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

Luke 11:28 “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”