Do We Blaspheme God's Name?

June 13, 2014

I woke up this morning and the scripture Romans 2:24 was in my spirit. I gathered my bible, notebook and pen and proceeded to my prayer closet. I immediately opened up to Romans 2 and read the entire chapter. 

Romans 2:24

For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Let's examine the verse a little more closely.

name: (G3686: onoma) the name by which a person or a thing is called and distinguished from others. 

Names in the scriptures speak to the character, reputation, or what a person is known for.

Here, the name spoken of is the name of God. God's name carries an inexhaustible list of all of His attributes and characteristics. We do know that His nature is holy and His essence is His love. Love alone carries many attributes within itself, such as grace, mercy, forgiveness, longsuffering, and the list goes on. 

The scripture says that His name, God's name is blasphemed...

blaspheme (G987:blasphemeo)

to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, columniate, blaspheme, to be evil spoken of, rented, railed at.

From (G989: blasphemos): speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive.

blasphemos is a compound word from (G984 ad G5345)

(G984: blapto) to hurt, harm, injure

(G5345: pheme) fame, report

So in other words, the name (character, reputation) of God is blasphemed (injured, hurt, spoken evil of, slandererd). 

...among the Gentiles

Gentiles (G1484:ethnos) foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans.

... through you, as it is written.

So this scripture is addressed to the believer who have blasphemed, marred, the reputation of God. The preceding scriptures lend a bit more insight into the context of the verse. 

Romans 2:21-24

21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

So in essence, the scriptures pose the question, Do you practice what you preach? Do you perform what you teach?

The cross reference to this verse is found in
2 Samuel 12:14. 

Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme...

The backdrop of the story is when the prophet Nathan visited David who gravely sinned against God. We understand that conviction came through the words of the Holy Spirit spoken forth by Nathan. 

Many of us are familiar with the story of David, the king of Israel, a man after God's own heart. David sinned, committed adultery with Bathsheba and as a result of attempting to hide his sin, took the life of Uriah, Bathsheba's husband. The offspring of that sin, the child conceived in adultery, died. That was God's judgment.

The bible says in the book of James 1:14-15

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

We also see intertwined in this verse, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life. 

Although many of us know the story of David and Bathsheba, there is much more hidden within that we can examine. Please read 2 Samuel 11-12 for the whole story.

David was a leader of Israel, of God's people, a shepherd and king appointed to lead God's flock. His name means, "Beloved." Leaders are called and appointed by God to lead his flock, to lead by example, just as Christ taught and demonstrated in His earthly ministry. One of the signs of good leadership is when they do as they teach, and Christ did just that.

Bathsheba, means "Daughter of Oath." An oath is a covenant. She was married to Uriah. 

Uriah means "Jehovah (Yahweh) is my light (flame)." 

Jehovah (Yahweh) is the Redemptive name of God. So when we look a little more closely, we see a parallel to the bride/wife (Bathsheba) under oath, and joined to the bridegroom/husband (Yahweh is light - a type of Christ).  

As far as we know, Bathsheba loved her husband and was faithful to him.  

So what really took place in this story? When we look at it with spiritual eyes we see how sin birthed from David's lusts and enticements, led to adultery. This is symbolic of David leading the daughter of oath, daughter of covenant, into spiritual adultery. 

What is spiritual adultery? Well we can define it by looking at it in the natural. In marriage, two are joined together and take a vow to forsake all others, forsake other lovers. Isn't that the same type of intimate relationship God desires with His people, His children, His bride? When one is in adultery, they are no longer faithful to their spouse. Often times another has now come between them. 

Now let's continue:

Bathsheba became pregnant, she conceived. So now the sin is no longer hidden, it's evidence, the offspring of that sin now seeded within the womb of Bathsheba, the evidence of the transgression.

You see, sin, lust of the eyes, flesh and pride of life, seek instant gratification. I want what I want, and I want it now. David didn't think of the consequences of his actions. Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of life never count the cost. Sin affects more than just the sinner and has more casualties then one can contemplate, and it's not usually obvious until the consequences are before us. 

Please let me back track a moment and say that God always provides us with a way out, but if we ignore his prompting, we are headed for trouble. First of all, David was supposed to be at war. He took it upon himself to tarry in Jerusalem. He saw Bathsheba, now his eyes is affixed upon what he finds pleasurable, but she was another man's wife. Lust of the eyes and covetousness... go hand in hand. 

If that wasn't enough, in 2 Samuel 11:3, it says that David inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. This was an opportunity for David to pull it together and give second thought to what he was about to do. He had already decided to do this. Sin doesn't begin with the act, it begins with a thought, one that is pondered and then acted upon. Now the sin within David had a stage to act out on. 

Now the cover up begins. Instead of repenting and being accountable for his sin, David sought to hide it. Hide it from whom? Did not God see? And weren't there other eyewitnesses to the adultery? Remember, David made inquiries, sent messengers, and involved others in his sin.

I just wonder what the buzz was in the palace when all of this took place, You know when the chicken's come home to roost, it seems then that everybody knew what was going on. I saw her come in the palace. He knew better than that. Or did they make excuses:  He's only human. Nobody is perfect, or did they seize the opportunity for themselves, "Well, if he can do it, so can we."

NOTE: When we witness sin in our midst and we are okay to go along and make excuse, we need not point fingers, but examine what's in us that makes us willing to accept it. There is penalty for those who go along with sin as well. Don't believe me? I'll cite a few more verses in Romans 2.

Romans 2: 1-3
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Now David had a dilemma. What was his solution? Murder? But look who he killed. David killed Uriah, He put out the flame, put out the light. Who is the light, the flame of the bride? Who should her heart burn for with undying love? Her groom, Her husband. He killed Bathsheba's (the bride's) husband and then she mourned for him. 

What did David do? He took her unto himself, but she didn't belong to him. 

David's sin unchecked, unrepented, had run amuck, and led the bride, the daughter of oath into sin, adultery. She was no longer joined to her husband, and now his light was removed and she was joined to David as it should not have been. It wasn't enough that he sinned, but then in his coverup, blood was shed.

Did David know right from wrong? Sure he did. Just because there was no immediate outward consequence, did not mean that God forgot. God is no respect of persons. Sin is sin. And though David transgressed against man, his great sin was against God. He touched God's bride and took her away from her husband, from Uriah. And David did it out in the open for all to see. Doesn't sin make one bold? Well actually it blinds you, we could ask Samson.

The more introspective question is, what do we say about the character of God when we openly sin? Especially, those of us who bear His name? Whether we are leaders, or part of the flock, when we say we belong to God, what is our testament to His character? Do we now say that God is the author of sin? That God is in agreement with sin? Not hardly. God's longsuffering is an element of His character that allows time to repent. 

David, king, leader of Israel's sin affected an entire nation. God really doesn't need to defend His name. He is God. However, the example of Christ that we display, says much more than our lips could ever confess. Do others see the Christ in us? Or have we now redefined who He is? When we say we are followers of Christ and engage openly and secretly in sin, do we now say that Christ a fornicator, a whoremonger, an adulterer, a liar, a thief, and the list goes on?

Christ's talk always lined up with His walk. Does ours? Leaders are not exempt, and truth be told, should be even more aware because of how it affects those they lead. Christ said in John 17:19

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

For their sakes... For the shepherd who leads the flock, sanctification and consecration is crucial.

God will not be mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth so shall he also reap (Galatians 6:9). God openly punished David, because what he did in the open, gave cause for God's enemies to blaspheme. This did not mean that God did not love David, and we know that David repented and restored his relationship with God. It means that God is just and He judges sin, all sin, everybody's sin. 

So what does this all mean you ask? The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentile, among the unbeliever. Our testimony of Jesus Christ is not just our own. It is for the purpose of demonstrating our life in Christ in the midst of the unbeliever; the purpose is to draw them to Christ. What would an unbeliever say about the Christ you say you love, about the God you say you serve?

I believe that waking up to that scripture this morning was God's admonishment. That His name is blasphemed through us. Not just leaders per say, for aren't we all supposed to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ? Let us examine ourselves against Christ, the only standard of measure.

He is the same yesterday, today and forever more. He will still receive the sincere heart of a sinner and restore us back to right relationship with Him. There may be consequences, as there were for David, yet he is still the one God called a man after His own heart.