Overview

The third commandment guards the holiness of God’s name. This section (Q53–56) requires the reverent use of everything by which God makes Himself known, forbids all profaning or abusing of it, and notes the solemn reason annexed: God will not hold the violator guiltless.

The Questions & Answers

Q53. Which is the third commandment? A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Q54. What is required in the third commandment? A. The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“Hallowed be your name.” (Matt. 6:9, ESV)

“Holy and awesome is his name!” (Ps. 111:9, ESV)

Further proofs: Deut. 28:58; Ps. 29:2; 138:2; Mal. 1:11, 14; Rev. 15:3–4.

Q55. What is forbidden in the third commandment? A. The third commandment forbiddeth all profaning or abusing of any thing whereby God maketh himself known.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.” (Lev. 19:12; cf. 18:21, ESV)

Further proofs: Mal. 1:6–7, 12; 3:14; Matt. 5:33–37; James 5:12.

Q56. What is the reason annexed to the third commandment? A. The reason annexed to the third commandment is, That however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“…for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Exod. 20:7, ESV)

Further proofs: Deut. 28:58–59; 1 Sam. 2:12, 17, 22, 29; 3:13.

Exposition: “God’s name” is far broader than the word “God” — Q54 includes His “names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works,” everything “whereby God maketh himself known.” So the commandment is broken not only by cursing or careless oaths, but by irreverent treatment of His Word, flippant prayer, empty worship, hypocritical profession, and trivializing the things of God. Q55’s “profaning or abusing” covers the whole range. Q56 adds a sobering note: this is a sin the world barely notices and rarely punishes (“escape punishment from men”), yet God Himself will not let it pass — He “will not hold him guiltless.” The very ease with which we dishonor God’s name shows how lightly we esteem His holiness.

Connections

• WLC Q111–114 — the third commandment; the duties required; the sins forbidden; the reasons annexed.
• WCF 22 (Of Lawful Oaths and Vows) — the reverent use of God’s name in swearing and vowing.
• Loci: The third commandment; the holiness and honor of God’s name; reverence and the fear of God.

Pastoral & Practical Significance

This commandment cuts deeper than profanity. Because “God’s name” includes everything by which He reveals Himself, the third commandment indicts every casual, hypocritical, or thoughtless handling of holy things — the bored prayer, the unfelt hymn, the Bible quoted to win an argument, the profession of faith contradicted by the life. The first petition of the Lord’s Prayer — “Hallowed be your name” (Q54) — is the positive heart of this command: that God’s name be treated as holy, in our speech, our worship, and our lives. Q56’s warning is bracing in a culture that takes God’s name in vain a thousand times a day without a thought: what the world shrugs off, God takes seriously. Yet the gospel hope is here too — the One who perfectly hallowed the Father’s name (John 17) bore the guilt of our every irreverence, so that we, forgiven, might learn to honor it. Let your reverence for God’s name be the overflow of a heart that has come to treasure Him.

For Memory & Reflection

• Memorize Q54 and Q55; anchor verse: Matthew 6:9 (“Hallowed be your name”). Note how broadly Q54 defines “God’s name.”
• Where do I handle holy things — prayer, Scripture, worship, my profession of faith — carelessly or hypocritically?
• Q56 says God notices what people ignore. How does that reshape my reverence in the everyday?