What Is...

...blasphemy and heresy?
What does it really mean to "use God's name in vain"?

All my life I've heard the words "blasphemy" and "heresy". I'm also very familiar with the phrase "Don't use God's name in vain.", but honestly if I had to explain it to someone, I wasn't able.

Since God makes it clear in His word that blasphemy or using His name in vain or teaching heresy are such grievous sins in His sight, I figured I should find out what it means and heed His warnings regarding such practices:

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."
~ Exodus 20:7

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing up on themselves swift destruction."
2 Peter 2:1

I realized that if I'm going to be about my Father's business, study His word and seek His counsel for all things, then I better know what these words mean - especially if I plan to teach my sons about God and what it truly means to remain in awe of the Lord God and give Him the honor and glory He alone is due.

First, we'll go over the dictionary definition¹ of both blasphemy and heresy, then we'll take a look at how the words blasphemy and heresy (in their various forms) are used in Scripture as well as the original Hebrew and Greek words used in God's holy word. We'll also take a look at some of the Scriptures where God Himself warns us not to use His name in vain and what all that entails.

Dictionary definitions:

blasphemy n. ~ 1. profane or contemptuous speech, writing, or action concerning God or anything held as divine; 2. any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful.

heresy n. ~ 1. a religious belief opposed to the orthodox doctrines of a church; esp., such a belief specifically denounced by the church; 2. any opinion (in philosophy, politics, etc.) opposed to official or established views or doctrine.

Hebrew and Greek² words used in the following Scripture passages:

Deuteronomy 5:11
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

vain ~ [Hebrew] shav' means: emptiness, vanity, falsehood; or shav {shav}; from the same as 7722 in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile)

Leviticus 24:16
"Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death."

blaspheme ~ [Hebrew] naqab means:to pierce, perforate, bore, appoint; a primitive root; to puncture, literally (to perforate, with more or less violence) or figuratively (to specify, designate, libel):-appoint, blaspheme, bore, curse, express, with holes, name, pierce, strike through

1 Timothy 1:18-20
"This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."

Jude 1:8
"Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority , and blaspheme the glorious ones."

blaspheme ~ [Greek] blasphemeo means:to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme

In 2 Peter 2:1 the Greek word used for heresies is: hairesis ~ a body of men following their own tenets (sect or party)

From these Scriptures we can firmly conclude that the words blaspheme and vain are alike in that they both defile the holy name and character of God by speaking evil of Him through equating God to sinful man; and speaking to God or of God like we would speak to one another; with casual familiarity.

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in rigtheousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is The Word of God."
~ Revelation 19:11-13

When Moses asks God what His name is, God simply tells Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14-15). This was a very significant and profound point God made to Moses as Moses was aware that those who worshiped false gods, gave their god a name depending on what service that specific god provided the people. But our God, the one true God has no name given to Him by man. Unlike the pagan gods, we did not create the Lord God Almighty; therefore we cannot presume that we are capable of giving Him a name apart from the names He uses in Scripture. Attempting to give God a name that He has never given us to use, is to be guilty of blasphemy.

Then there's the word "heresy". What does it mean to commit this sin? From Scripture we can clearly understand that heresy is the opposite of sound doctrine, it is false doctrine. But then the question has arisen (especially within the emerging or emergent church movement) that doctrine is not important, only relationship is important, so why teach doctrine? But what does God say about doctrine in His word? Well, let's take a look:

"Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted."
~ 1 Timothy 1:8-11

"He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."
~ Titus 1:9

Not by my personal opinion, but by the word of God, sound doctrine is very important and we, as God's holy children ought to teach sound doctrine and gently rebuke those who teach what is contrary.

So what is sound doctrine? Doctrine is teaching that is in agreement with Scripture. In other words, if it's not in God's word, then it's not "sound". Not only this, but we must be sure to read God's word through His eyes, and not ours. How can we do this? Through the Holy Spirit.

"For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."
~ 1 Corinthians 2:11-13

I've often witnessed people have a thought or opinion about something then pick and choose Scriptures they believe support their personal ideology. The only problem with that is that we're supposed to follow God's word, not the other way around. Having an opinion about something, then opening God's word to see if you can find support for it, is never the way to read God's word. Doing this puts many of us in the dangerously tempting place of learning and teaching false doctrine as we begin to slowly take God's word out of the context in which He intended and begin to read and apply it in the context of our emotions, thoughts or personal experiences.

In closing, blasphemy is using God's name with no reverence (i.e., speaking to God as He is our equal, using profanity or other vulgar language before His sight or in relation to His holy name) and speaking evil of God's holy name. Heresy is any teaching that did not originate from the infallible, inerrant word of God, but from vain human philosophies or ideologies that are found nowhere in the holy Scriptures. God's word is complete and needs no additions or subtractions.

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."
~ 1 Corinthians 1:17

As the seven (7) days of prayer ends tomorrow, by the Lord's leading, I will post my biblical review of the book, The Shack by Wm. Paul Young either on Friday or Saturday.

O Lord God, keep us Father from committing these heinous crimes against You! Keep us from blaspheming Your most holy name through our speech, writings, actions or any form in which we communicate to others about You. Keep us from teaching heresy. Lord God wake us in the morning to Your word so that we can see clearly and not wander from Your path of truth. Father God, thank You for Your patience and great mercy. Thank You for forgiving me of committing these atrocious crimes against You. Oh Lord, I was only an ignorant woman, spouting knowledge without wisdom from Your word. I pray Lord that You help others just as You've helped me, so they too may be freed from the deceptive philosophies of this world. O God, help us!

Thank You most holy Father God for Laurie Ann, Hope, Michelle, Dusty and Ruth. I continue to ask You to protect them, guide them and bless them Father with Your truth, by Your love. May we all heavenly Father desire to read Your word for no other reason than to know You more so that we can love You better. May our lives be pleasing to You in every way. Teach us to flee from all that is evil and cling to what is good. We love You so much Father! Thank You for Jesus! Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Webster's New World College Dictionary: Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2001; page 153
2. Hebrew and Greek definitions from http://www.blueletterbible.org, http://net.bible.org and http://biblos.com