Hallowed Be Thy Name

Post 4, Chapter 5: God’s Called Out Ones.

This is the fourth post in the series from Chapter 5 of Friends With God: God’s Called Out Ones. In the previous post we discussed what taking God’s Name in vain actually means, and the serious consequence of not gaining eternal life if we do take his name in vain.

Watch therefore, praying always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things which shall occur, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

In this post we discuss our responsibility to be living in the Name Of Christ, so that we will be worthy to be granted the gift of eternal life.

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Given the seriousness of taking God’s name in vain, it is no wonder that the first thing Jesus instructs us to ask of God the Father is “Hallowed be thy name”.

Jesus was asked how to pray, and said:

When you pray, say: Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in Heaven, so also on earth… (Luke 11:1-4)

In Matthew’s account, Jesus leads into this prayer by saying:

But when you pray, do not babble vain repetitions, as the heathens do.
For they think that in their many words they shall be heard.
Therefore do not be like them,
for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him.
After this manner therefore pray:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name… (Matt 6:7-9)

As we read this prayer we will see that the words “Hallowed be thy name” is a statement that those who love God would positively represent God’s name to his glory. This is in contrast to bearing his name in vain, and thus to blaspheme him.

In order to hallow God’s name, we must do what he commands, and follow his will. For if we take on the name of God, but don’t represent him in a holy and righteous manner, then we have borne his name in vain, and (as shown in the previous post) our sins will not be forgiven.

The Lord’s Prayer, as these verses are known, should therefore not be used as a rote or ritualistic prayer, which, ironically, is often the case when it is used in an opening ceremony, or at a funeral.

Clearly, to repeat by rote The Lord’s Prayer takes his name in vain!
And the first thing we are told to ask in this prayer is that God’s name be hallowed!  

How To Live A Hallowed Life

Paul provides a detailed summary of the life we need to live to ensure the name of God is Hallowed and the Word of God is not blasphemed:

• But you (writing to Titus a young minister) speak the things which become (express) sound doctrine: (exhort the) aged men to be temperate, sensible, discreet, sound in faith, in love, in patience.

• Let the aged women likewise be (exhorted) in reverent behaviour, not slanderers, not enslaved by much wine, teachers of good; that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, subject to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be blasphemed.

• Likewise (that the word of God be not blasphemed) exhort the young men to be discreet; In all things (also you) having shown yourself (to be) a pattern of good works (to others): in doctrine, purity, sensibleness, without corruption, in sound speech that cannot be condemned, (so) that he who is opposed (to sound doctrine and acts corruptly) may be ashamed, (so that they) have no evil thing to say of you.

• (Also exhort) Slaves to be obedient to their masters, to please them well in all things, not talking against (their masters in gossip), not stealing, but showing all good faith, so that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that having denied ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live discreetly, righteously and godly, in this present world. (Tit 2:1-12)

All of these instructions are to ensure that the word of God is not blasphemed by the actions of those who claim to believe in Jesus and his way of life.

Church Leaders Who Blaspheme God’s Name

In our modern day we have thousands of paedophile priests, and other leaders of churches, that have greatly blasphemed the name of God by their actions. They do not adorn the doctrine of God, they are a blight on it.

People look at their evil example and say ‘if that’s Christianity, I don’t want anything to do with it’.

God will judge these false religious leaders in their time. We, however, are told to “judge the spirits, if they be of God or not”. (1John 4:1) So we can (and should) judge these false religious leaders as being unworthy of representing the name of God.

They are guilty of blaspheming the name of God by not rightly representing him to other people. Perhaps they can repent of their sins, but that doesn’t mean we should allow them to continue in the work of preaching and teaching God’s Word to others.

As they have performed their responsibilities in such a shameful manner, and brought great disrepute upon the name of God, perhaps such sins may not be forgiven them? But that is between them and God. Yet, we are clearly warned by the Third Commandment that such an outcome is what they should expect!

Perhaps God will be merciful? That is for him to judge. However, it’s clear that in this life that they should not just pay for their physical crimes, but also be permanently removed from the ministry, for they have shown by their actions that they are not worthy to be representing God’s way of life to the World.

Being In God’s Name

In order to hallow God’s name in our lives, we need to determine if what we are doing is representing God in the way he wants us to- according to his commandments and according to his will:

As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; continue in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
I have spoken these things to you so that My joy might remain in you and your joy might be full.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
(John 15:9-12)

When we keep his commandments we are ‘in his name’, which means that we walk according to how he walked:

And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says, “I have known Him”, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His Word, truly in this one the love of God is perfected.
By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.
(1John 2:4-6)

Warnings About False Teachers

Jesus also warned us that many will try to deceive us about how to be in his name:

“Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name (bearing the name of Jesus), saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Mat 24:4-5)

In doing so he was not just talking about the paedophile religious leaders, who come in his name and deceive many into believing they are nice people, until their evil deeds are found out.

He was also talking about those who teach doctrines and commands that are not his doctrines or commands:

Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, "This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”
But in vain they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt 15:7-9)

We need to know what the commandments of God are, and what are the commandments of men, and not confuse the two. This is our personal responsibility – we are responsible for what we do and believe.

Some who teach the commandments of men, may just be deceived themselves, and those followers who hear and believe them, without checking the scriptures, are also deceived.

However, the intent of the parables in Matthew 23 and 24 (as discussed in the previous post), was to demonstrate that such deceived people may certainly be culpable for their sin, as they did not thoroughly check the written word of God to see if what they have been taught was true or not. Our job is to test what has been taught:

Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
And (then) the very God of peace (will) sanctify you wholly;
and I pray (to) God (that) your whole spirit and soul and body (will) be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thes 5:21-23)

We are told to not only prove everything that we have been taught, but to also not even appear to be evil in any way, so that God will sanctify us.

How To Deal With False Teachers

As discussed in this previous post, God very often warns us to beware of false teachers, who are malicious and want to devour us for their own gain:

Beware of false prophets (teachers) who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. … Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. (Matt 7:15-20)

We are to judge all our teachers according to their fruits, to determine if they are people we should support, endorse and follow, or not.

This does not mean we can condemn them as worthy of eternal death, for Christ is the judge of that, not us. (Matt 7:1, Luke 6:37)

Indeed, such false teachers are people whom we should actively oppose, for they are misrepresenting God’s Word:

They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. (Prov 28:4)

However, it’s not easy when confronting those who don’t keep the law, for no matter what you do it may have a negative outcome:

• If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he (the fool) rages or laughs, there is no rest. (Prov 29:9)

Even so the reward of contending with foolishness may be of great value:

• Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; (someone helps him to see his errors and change) Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)

In contending with those who forsake the law of God, however, we need to be careful not to end up looking like them:

• Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like unto him. (Prov 26:4)

The next proverb, however, tells us that sometimes we must answer a fool for their own good:

• Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. (Prov 26:4)

If we don’t contend with them then they may remain in their conceit, feeling they are in good standing with God when they are not.

We therefore need to determine when it’s appropriate to answer a fool, or not. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent. (Prov 17:28, Ecc 3:7)

In the next post we will examine how to judge our leaders, as told to us by Christ.