Questions and Answers

The use of God’s name in profanity is a sad case in point. Sometimes people call down God’s damnation on other people. This is a serious offense to God for a number of reasons. When these profane words are uttered, they are trivializing or ignoring God’s holiness and His authority to judge.

Furthermore, the words are not correct doctrinally; God does not damn anyone (John 3:16–21). People are in hell not because God sent them there but because they refused to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Lost people are responsible for their eternal plight and we cannot and ought not to blame God (Rev. 20:11–15). This profane use of God’s name may even place ideas about God that are incorrect in the minds of our children, our family members, and in the minds of people that we love and care about. Yes, judgment is coming, but the notion that God damns people to hell misrepresents God and insults His love, grace, and mercy.

If you have profanely used the Lord’s name in the past, commit to ceasing from this profanity. Confess your sin to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you guard your tongue, especially if your profanity has become a habit or pattern of speech. By the power of the Spirit, bless the name of God at home, in the workplace, and with your friends, praising His name for His glory and honor in all situations in life.

The name of God is a summary statement of the totality of His person. God commands us not to treat His name in a way that is careless, thoughtless, or empty of purpose. We are not to lift up the Lord’s name in a way that empties His name of its holy and redemptive content.

No. This is a misunderstanding, the result of not paying careful attention to the context of this verse. In context, the concern under discussion is church discipline (Matt. 18:15–20), not the number of people required to be considered a church. And in the context of church discipline, the Lord Jesus says His blessing is on all congregations, even on small ones, when they exercise church discipline according to the Word of God.

This verse is often used in evangelistic messages as an invitation from the Lord Jesus to lost people. Unbelievers are told that Christ is standing at the door of their hearts, and if they open the door of their hearts, the Lord will save them. But if we take the immediate context of Revelation 3:20, as well as the larger context of chapter 2 and 3 of Revelation into consideration, it is clear that Jesus is speaking to lukewarm Christians who have become apathetic about their relationship with Him.

The Lord is ready and desires to renew His fellowship with these believers. If they open up their hearts to Him, fellowship with Him will be restored. The message is directed toward Christians who are out of fellowship with Christ. Of course, we may use this passage in evangelistic appeals, and many people have been encouraged to open their hearts to the salvation offered through faith in Christ as a result of hearing this text. But Jesus’ words in context are directed first and foremost to lukewarm Christians.

Yes, there is a difference between the Lord’s will and the Lord’s guidance. God’s will for our lives is plainly revealed in Scripture. For example, it is God’s will for us to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:16–18). God’s will is for a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25–33). It is God’s will for every follower of Christ to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

The guidance of God, on the other hand, is dependent on and connected with our obedience to God’s revealed will in Scripture. As we obey the will of God, the Lord guides us to the places where He wants us to serve and to the people He wants us to meet. Proverbs 3:6 sums up well the relationship between God’s will and God’s guidance in our lives: “In all of your ways submit to him [in other words, obey the will of God revealed in His Word] and he will make your paths straight [we will experience the guidance of God].”