To what extent 10 commandments?

Well, laws increase the likelihood of sinning, the law was made to crucify our flesh. After the sin is repressed too much, it just bursts out and gets worse, when it matures to the next level it gives birth to death. Taste not, touch not, handle not commandments have no value in restraining sensual indulgence, though they appear wise.

This is a moot point. Obviously it is okay to say oh my gosh (see, the censors didn't hit it) and you know exactly what I am speaking of. Also profanity, and you know what those words are.

Using the Lord's Name in vain is to falsely believe in Him and use His Name in false testimony.

You are not going to drop a concrete block on your foot and yell, "Thank You Lord!" You'll be yelling, "Oh gosh, oh gosh, owowowowowowowowow!"

The Lord's Name is not mentioned. Not God, not Jesus, not Jesus Christ ... nothing.

Just my 2 cents here.

And yes, by the way, I did drop a concrete block on my foot and that's exactly what I said.

I follow the 10 commandments. That way you stay out of jail.

If your friend has written things and needs to edit these, my question is what in the world is he writing?

All good things
Emmy

Fivesenses said:

We are studying the 10 commandments at the moment and I've just been thinking about this question:

One of the commandments is to NOT use God's not in vain (which by the way, includes "my goodness, oh my gosh?"). A pastor mentioned that God is not just concerned with our outward behaviour and actions but more so with our thoughts (which Jesus implies...holding us to a higher standard because God knows every thought). So this person I know has gone as far as to censor/erase all the words in books/novels that he owns with words that uses God's name in vain, which I assume will help him avoid looking at these words while reading then sinning because he is thinking about these words => using God's name in vain.

Is this a matter of:
1. Legalism
2. Adding fence laws to God's laws
3. Honouring God
4. Obeying the law

Would such action actually help him to avoid sinning in his thoughts?

I don't know what to make of it ...just very curious. And is it also a matter of faith: whatever you do that is not of faith is sinning so maybe reading novels with 'Unchristian" ideas, words can also be a sin for him if he does not believe that it aligns with his faith?

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Hello,

There are many verses that describe the Mosaic Covenant as being a marriage between God and Israel, such as with God describing Himself as her husband (Jeremiah 31:32) with God wanting Israel to refer to Him as her husband (Hosea 2:16), and with Israel's unfaithfulness being described as adultery, which eventually got so bad that God wrote the Northern Kingdom a certificate of divorce, and God can only become divorced if He has first been married (Jeremiah 3:8). In Numbers 6:27, it speaks about God putting His name on His people, so this is exactly like a wife taking her husband's last name when they got married. If she were to be faithful to him, then she would bring honor to his name, but if she were to be unfaithful to him, then she would be taking his name in vain. We are God's ambassadors who represent God's reputation to the world, so we need take actions that glorify His name rather than take actions that would lower His reputation in the eyes of others. As such, it is possible to bring glory to God's name or to take God's name in vain without ever saying it, and saying "my goodness" has very little to do with it.

Fivesenses said:

The words I'm talking about belong to novels (not books he wrote himself) e.g. passages that allude to sexual encounters, characters using God's name as forms of profanity and insults insults e.g. [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]

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Using God's name as a form of profanity can certainly take God's name in vain by dishonoring it, but the command not to take God's name in vain is not specifically in regard to using it as a form of profanity.

These are his books. He may do as he will. You just need to worry about yourself and understand why the 10 Commandments exist and follow them.

Fivesenses said:

So I'm guessing that it is rightly so that he censors these words from books by erasing them or covering them up? It's just I thought it was really weird but wasn't sure why I felt uncomfortable with this idea.

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Jesus said that if our right hand causes us to stumble, then cut it off (Matthew 5:30), so while he is taking it farther than I would, if those things are causing him to stumble, then I certainly can't fault him for taking them seriously.

If he's really concerned, why doesn't he just read more edifying books for himself?

Fivesenses said:

The words I'm talking about belong to novels (not books he wrote himself) e.g. passages that allude to sexual encounters, characters using God's name as forms of profanity and insults insults e.g. [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]

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While I would agree with Soyeong, considering the content of the novels you have shown here - why is he reading material he finds as such to blot out the words , surely there must be books that he would enjoy reading that he does not have to do that

So does he teach the whole novel or just the parts that don't taint him????? If he knows those passages are there and will possibly have to read them or describe them or students will have to write about them or discuss it; how does he handle that? Wouldn't the better solution be to find a different job or district where his eyes wouldn't be offended? We shouldn't do things that cause us to stumble I guess, but at some point you have to be qualified to handle material maturely if you are required to teach it in it's entirety. Do his administrators and parents of his students know that he doesn't fully teach the novels if he does indeed skip over offending (to him) passages? How odd; I'm just curious how he justifies marking out parts of a book he has to teach and (just guessing) making no reference to those things when teaching it over being in a job where he must teach these things. It just doesn't make sense to me; if it really matters to him then go find a job where you wouldn't have to teach those things and get reminded of them each term or semester. If he's not passionate about the material or thinks it steals his soul, then why do it?

Fivesenses said:

We are studying the 10 commandments at the moment and I've just been thinking about this question:

One of the commandments is to NOT use God's not in vain (which by the way, includes "my goodness, oh my gosh?"). A pastor mentioned that God is not just concerned with our outward behaviour and actions but more so with our thoughts (which Jesus implies...holding us to a higher standard because God knows every thought). So this person I know has gone as far as to censor/erase all the words in books/novels that he owns with words that uses God's name in vain, which I assume will help him avoid looking at these words while reading then sinning because he is thinking about these words => using God's name in vain.

Is this a matter of:
1. Legalism
2. Adding fence laws to God's laws
3. Honouring God
4. Obeying the law

Would such action actually help him to avoid sinning in his thoughts?

I don't know what to make of it ...just very curious. And is it also a matter of faith: whatever you do that is not of faith is sinning so maybe reading novels with 'Unchristian" ideas, words can also be a sin for him if he does not believe that it aligns with his faith?

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So he's trying to DIY the issue. Okay.

Using God's name in vain is deeper than just throwing God's name in a sentence like "oh my gosh". To use someone's name in vain, is to wrongfully misrepresent the person. So all those people who have killed in the name of the Lord, said that God has blessed their sinful deeds, been hypocritical but putting a front as a believer, misuse of scriptures,all the times where people claim that God showed them stuff, or if you sow a seed God will bless you, all of that is using God's name in vain.

God protects His name, He will not let anyone disgrace it. Its a heavy command. So I'm pretty sure that its an issue that would require more that blotting out words.

Fivesenses said:

One of the commandments is to NOT use God's not in vain (which by the way, includes "my goodness, oh my gosh?"). A pastor mentioned that God is not just concerned with our outward behaviour and actions but more so with our thoughts (which Jesus implies...holding us to a higher standard because God knows every thought). So this person I know has gone as far as to censor/erase all the words in books/novels that he owns with words that uses God's name in vain, which I assume will help him avoid looking at these words while reading then sinning because he is thinking about these words => using God's name in vain.

Is this a matter of:
1. Legalism
2. Adding fence laws to God's laws
3. Honouring God
4. Obeying the law

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.
How would you feel if someone made fun of your name or gave you an insulting nickname.? Angry and wanted to retaliate.?
... Similarly for Almighty God/Jesus who will be angry and vengeful at anyone who take His name in vain.

As per DEUT.28:15, ROMANS.2:8-11, 1JOHN.5:16-19 and 1COR.11:30, those who break this commandment of God will be cursed/punished by God, eg minor afflictions/accidents.

Bear in mind that salvation after death on earth rests solely on faith/trust/belief in Jesus Christ and not on the keeping of God's Law or Moses Law.(GAL.2:16, MATTHEW.5:17-48) But the wantonly or ignorantly breaking of the Law may risk foolish Christians losing their salvation while they are suffering the curses of God, eg the wife of Job, 1COR.5:5 & 6:9-11 and REV.22:12-15.

ACTS.15:24-29 exempts Gentile Christians from laws/commandments which are a burden, eg circumcision, kosher food, etc = exempted from the relevant curses of God. The Ten Commandments(EXODUS.20) and other morality laws are not a burden for Gentile Christians to keep = not exempted.

Fivesenses said:

We are studying the 10 commandments at the moment and I've just been thinking about this question:

One of the commandments is to NOT use God's not in vain (which by the way, includes "my goodness, oh my gosh?"). A pastor mentioned that God is not just concerned with our outward behaviour and actions but more so with our thoughts (which Jesus implies...holding us to a higher standard because God knows every thought). So this person I know has gone as far as to censor/erase all the words in books/novels that he owns with words that uses God's name in vain, which I assume will help him avoid looking at these words while reading then sinning because he is thinking about these words => using God's name in vain.

Is this a matter of:
1. Legalism
2. Adding fence laws to God's laws
3. Honouring God
4. Obeying the law

Would such action actually help him to avoid sinning in his thoughts?

I don't know what to make of it ...just very curious. And is it also a matter of faith: whatever you do that is not of faith is sinning so maybe reading novels with 'Unchristian" ideas, words can also be a sin for him if he does not believe that it aligns with his faith?

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It seems a little bit extreme. Not sure what gosh has to do with God (except that it sounds a little like god. A lot of things sound like god: cod, bod, sod. Where do we draw the line at, rhyming?). "Oh my ---" is a common English expression and in my view gosh is more appropriate and God-honoring than using God at the end of that. I guess "goodness" can be seen as a trait of God's; I've never thought of it that way. Goodness seems very general though; there's society's standard of goodness. Exclusive attributes of God such as his holiness would seem to me to be something to exclude from using flippantly.

It seems many people have a misunderstanding of legalism. It is only legalism if you think what you're doing is going to earn you salvation some how. Yet, if this person you know is doing this out of genuine respect for the Lord's name, like when he uses it inappropriately he really feels like, "geez, why am I being so flippant about our glorious Lord and Saviour?" then that's not legalism. That's just an expression of loving Jesus by following his commandments like the Lord instructed us: "If you love me, follow my commandments."

I understand where this person you know is coming from. I don't strike out ungodly texts from books I read (can't control other people's uses of the Lord's name, but when I do read it or hear it I cringe at the disrespect), but ever since I was converted when the words God or Jesus came from my lips flippantly it would feel very inappropriate; I didn't want to just continue doing that because Jesus loves me and he is a beautiful, glorious Saviour. Why should his blessed name come from my lips--or anyone's for that matter--without the highest respect?

I have a harder time with God's attributes such as "holy"--use that flippantly a lot. I haven't really thought about it as being disrespectful until a recent discussion, but it does seem to be wrong now that I've considered it. That's going to be a work out for me, but I want to try to curb that out of love for Jesus (and only that because the Lord God in his mercy condescended to love me who was his truest and boldest enemy).