In Exodus 20:7, the 3rd Commandment says: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” There are many ways we can violate this command, but one of them is certainly by claiming to take the name of the Lord upon our lives as His followers, but neglecting to live like He is really our Lord.

A prime example of that is found at the end of Matthew 7, where Jesus says that many will say to Him, “Lord, Lord.” They didn’t hesitate to claim His name as their “Lord”, but Jesus said He would tell them “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (:23) Jesus said there would be many who would claim His name as Lord, but live in a way that denied Him, thus taking His name in vain.
These passages should be a sobering reminder to us that we can do the same thing today. And let us not forget God’s somber warning at the end of this Commandment, that “The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”