Not everyone that says unto me "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity." Matthew 7:22-23

God has placed a very high regard for His holy Name in His word. He has told us by way of command NOT to use His Holy Name in vain. His Name describes His very Person and ought to cause a holy reverence in the mind of mankind. God's people have had their minds changed by the power of the Holy Spirit to see the only True and Living God for who He is. They have made to see that there is salvation in His Name.

We here much talk about using the Lord's Name in vain by bad language and cursing that goes on in this immoral world we live in. This is no doubt evil, but what is far worse and an actual subtle means that Satan uses is the Name bashing of the Lord in most religion. These same religious folks who want to clean up the airwaves, television, etc., are the biggest offenders of this sin of dishonoring His Name.

They claim God loves all without exception, but ends up sending the majority to hell, showing His love to fail. They claim that Christ died for all without exception, but the majority end up in hell, showing He actually died in vain, and that something besides His death makes the difference between heaven and hell. They also claim the Holy Spirit tries to save all without exception, but the majority successfully resist the efforts of the power of God, exposing real weakness in God.

This is using the Lord's Name in vain for sure. It shows a hatred for the God of the Scriptures. God hates His name to be dishonored so much that He said in His word that when men talk like that they are not even talking about Him, but rather another christ, another spirit, a false god, in other words: an idol of the imagination. God Himself will not tolerate it, but what about you? These distinguishing factors are a vital part of the "offense of the cross". He is worthy to be distinguished from idols. Praise His Holy and Wonderful Name!

The Word "Hallelujah"

"Hallelujah" is often heard flying from the lips of many who claim to be praising and worshiping the only true and living God. The vast majority of people shouting this word are ignorant of its meaning. Even if they do know what it means, they deny the word by holding to the damnable heresy of salvation conditioned on the sinner.

The word "Hallelujah" is actually "Alleluia." It appears in the Bible four times, all in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Revelation (verses 1, 3, 4, and 6). The word means, "praise ye JAH," or "praise ye the LORD." In the Old Testament, God was called JEHOVAH. One example is in Psalm 83:18: "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." Another verse is in Psalm 68:4: "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rides on the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him." JAH means JEHOVAH and is another name for the LORD.

When people use God's name in a common, irreverent, or repetitious manner without consideration of God's holy worthiness, then they take the LORD's name in vain. In Exodus 20:7, the Bible says: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain." This does not just mean curse words. Some people think that if they say "God darn it," it is okay because they did not use "damn" after the name of God. The problem is not in "damn" or "darn" but in using God's name in front of these words.

But this is not the only way in which people take God's name in vain. Many people today in so-called "worship" or "celebration" services shout out "Hallelujah" and claim to glorify God and to be led by the Holy Spirit, but if they do not believe the truth of the gospel - if they believe that their salvation is conditioned on themselves in any way to any degree - then they are led by "another spirit" of which Paul spoke in 2 Corinthians 11:4, which is a Satanic spirit. This kind of taking God's name in vain is evidence of an unregenerate heart.

The only true LORD GOD JEHOVAH does not play games when it comes to anything that has to do with who He is (His character, His attributes, His will, His name, His glory). The Bible says God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). In fact, in Exodus 34:14, the word of God says, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is JEALOUS, is a jealous God." God will not give His glory to another: "I am the LORD, that is My name: and my glory will I not give to another" (Isaiah 42:8). God associates salvation with His name: "But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).