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The Third
Commandment
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."
This commandment forbids the impious and disrespectful use of the name
of God as, for example, in meaningless conversations or jokes. Sins
against the third commandment include swearing (thoughtless, habitual
oaths in casual conversations), blasphemy (audacious words against God),
(/"If he has blasphemed God and the king, take him out and stone him
that he may die"/ (1 Kings 21:10)) sacrilege (when people scoff or jest
at sacred things), perjury (oath breaking), calling upon God as a
witness in meaningless worldly affairs, and breaking promises given to
God. Also, joking and laughing in church are sins against this
commandment.
Because the name of God designates the Supreme and Almighty Being, it
carries a great and miraculous power. As we know from the Bible, nature
instantly submits to God's name when people invoke it with faith and
reverence. For example, by invoking God in his prayer, Moses divided the
waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross it. The prophet
Elijah prayed that it would not rain and it did not rain for more than
three years; and when he prayed again, the heaven gave rain, and the
earth produced its fruit. The book of the Acts of the Apostles narrates
many miraculous healings and exorcism of evil spirits accomplished by
invocation of the name of the Incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, one should use the name of God with awe and reverence
as, for example, in pious prayer, in preaching, in serious religious
conversations, and in similar well-intended activities. Using God's name
in an oath is permitted only in special circumstances such as judicial
proceedings (Hebrews 6:16-17). The name of God invoked attentively and
piously always draws to man Divine Grace. It brings to him enlightenment
of mind and gladness of heart.
The Fourth Commandment
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labor
and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy
God."
Here the Lord God directs us to labor during six days according to our
vocation and the seventh day of the week to dedicate to Him, either in
rest or in good activities. Activities that are pleasing to Him include
concern about saving one's soul, prayer in church and at home, study of
the word of God, enlightenment of mind and heart with meditation on
spiritual subjects, religious discussions, helping the needy, visiting
the sick and the imprisoned, giving succor to the grieving and other
similar acts of mercy.
During Old Testament times the Sabbath ("Shabbash" in ancient Hebrew
means "rest") was celebrated in remembrance of God's completion of the
world in six "days," after which God "rested," blessing and sanctifying
the seventh day (Genesis 2:3). Following the captivity in Babylon after
400 B.C., the Jewish scribes reinterpreted the commandment regarding the
Sabbath in an overly rigorous way and forbade on that day any activity.
The Gospels relate that the scribes accused even the Savior of
transgressing the Sabbath when on that day He cured someone. Correcting
their misinterpretation on the fourth commandment, the Lord explained to
them that "/the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
(Mark 2:27) i.e., the Sabbath rest was established for the benefit of
man and not for his subjugation or deprivation of good works. The weekly
estrangement from the usual routines affords man the possibility to
gather his thoughts, renew his physical and spiritual strength, and
reevaluate his activities in the light of eternity. Labors are necessary
for our temporary life, but we should not lose sight of the main goal of
our existence - the salvation of our soul. The Christian observation of
the seventh day helps us to correct our life journey.
Prior to and during apostolic times, the Sabbath was commemorated by the
Jews only. Pagans never heard of it. Many Jews, after becoming
Christians, continued to observe their Sabbath day. However, they also
started to observe the day after the Sabbath, which then was christened
the "Lord's day" in commemoration of Christ's resurrection. In practice
it turned out that most of the early Christian Jews celebrated two days
of the week - the Sabbath as the day of rest, and the Lord's day
(Sunday) - as the day of communal prayer and Communion. In converting
pagans to Christianity, the Apostles did not demand from them the
observance of the Sabbath (or any other Jewish holiday) but taught them
to gather for communal prayer and communion on the Lord's day.
Gradually, as the number of Christians converted from paganism increased
relative to the Christian Jews, the old Sabbath was forgotten, and
Sunday became the new Christian Sabbath. Thus the Apostles gave to the
fourth commandment a new Christian meaning.
The fourth commandment can be broken in several ways, when, for example,
someone works on the day that should be dedicated to God or when one
remains idle during the week days, bowing out of his duties. Indeed, the
fourth commandment specifically says: "Six days thou shalt labor." This
commandment is also broken by those who skip church services and pass
the Lord's day in amusement, in carousing and in all kinds of useless
undertakings. By doing this, they "rob" their Lord of what belongs to
Him.
It would behoove Orthodox Christians to rekindle within themselves the
zeal of the Christians of the first centuries and be truly dedicated to
the Lord on the seventh day by going to church and taking holy
Communion. By doing this, they will attract to themselves the blessing
of the Lord, and their other activities will become more profitable.
The Fifth Commandment
"Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and
that thy days may be long upon the earth."
Here the Lord God enjoins us to respect our parents, and as a reward for
this He promises a felicitous and long life. To honor one's parents
means to respect their authority, to love them and under no
circumstances to offend them by any word or action, to submit to them,
to assist them in their work, to be solicitous in their time of need and
especially during illness or old age, and likewise to pray to God for
them during their life as well as after their death. Dishonoring one's
parents is a grave sin. In the Old Testament, anyone who slandered his
parents was punished by death. ("He who curses father or mother, let him
be put to death" (Exodus 21:17)).
In His sermons the Lord Jesus Christ reminded the Jews of the importance
of honoring one's parents (Mark 7:10). Being the Son of God, He
respected his earthly parents, submitted to His Mother and helped Joseph
in his daily work. Jesus reproached the Pharisees, who under the guise
of dedicating their wealth to God, refused to their parents needful
support. (Matthew 15:4-6).
Because the family is the most basic cell of both human society and the
Church, the Apostles were always concerned with strengthening proper
relationships among family members. In apostolic epistles we often find
such instructions as: "/Children obey your parents in the Lord for this
is right ... And you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath ...
Wives submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord ... Husbands
love your wives and do not be bitter toward them/" (Ephesians 6:1,
Colossians 3:18-20; 1 Timothy 5:4).
As to relationships with non-family members, the Christian faith teaches
the necessity to show respect to every person, in accordance with his
age and status. Saint Paul wrote, "Render to all their due: taxes to
whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to
whom honor" (Romans 13:7). In the spirit of this apostolic directive, a
Christian should honor pastors of the Church and spiritual authorities;
civilian administrators who concern themselves with justice, peace and
the welfare of the nation; educators; teachers; benefactors and, in
general, all who are older. It is very sad that many contemporary
youngsters disrespect their parents, teachers and elders, considering
them "foolish" or "backward" people, disregarding the commandment that
says: "You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of
an old man"(Leviticus 19:32).
But if it should happen that our parents or superiors should ask of us
something contrary to the Christian faith or the Law of God, then we
must say to them what the Apostles said to the Jewish chiefs when they
insisted that the Apostles should not preach about Jesus: "We ought to
obey God rather than men"(Acts 4:19, 5:29). In such instances of
conflict between the Divine and human one should be ready to endure
whatever the outcome might be, because suffering for the Christian faith
is an integral part of our Christian calling and is rewarded in Heaven
by Him Who suffered from unjust rulers (Mat. 5:11-12).
The Sixth Commandment
"Thou shalt not kill ."
The sixth commandment orders us to respect our life and the life of
other people as one of the greatest and most marvelous gifts of God.
Only the Author and the Giver of life can determine man's span of life.
In light of this commandment, it should be obvious that suicide is a
grave sin. Being one form of murder, it includes in itself the sins of
despair, lack of faith and a rebellion against God's providence. The
most frightening aspect of suicide is that by forcefully terminating his
own life one forfeits the very possibility of repentance of this sin,
since after death repentance is not accepted. In order not to be
overcome by despair, one must remember that temporary sufferings are
allowed by God to make us better Christians. No righteous person was
able to avoid sufferings. The path to Heaven is a narrow and thorny one.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus clearly illustrates the meaning
of earthly sufferings. Abraham said to the rich man tormented in hell,
"Son remember that in your lifetime you received many good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are
tormented" (Luke 16:19-31). While enduring suffering, one must remember
that God is exceedingly merciful. He will never allow one to suffer
beyond his strength, and during the most difficult moments, He
invariably strengthens and consoles the person who believes in Him.
There exist several forms of murder - direct, indirect, spiritual, etc.
A person is guilty of murder even when he does not commit the murder
himself but promotes the murder or allows someone else to do it. For
example: a judge condemning an accused to death when his innocence is
known; anyone who does not save a neighbor from death when he is fully
capable of doing it; anyone who helps another commit murder by his
decree, advice, collaboration, or rationalization, or who condones and
justifies a death and by that gives opportunity for more killing; anyone
who by hard labor or cruel punishment exhausts victims into a weakened
state and thus hastens their death.
Abortion is also a form of murder. Several Church laws impose severe
penance on women who kill babies in their womb and on those who assist
them in this. (Check the 2nd and 8th rule of St. Basil the Great, 21st
rule of the Council of Ankir, and the 91st rule of the 6th Ecumenical
Council).
In accordance with Evangelical teaching, "Whosoever hates his brother is
a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in
him" (1 John 3:15). Therefore, anyone who harbors feelings of hatred or
anger, anyone who wishes evil to another person, slanders, quarrels, or
by some other means displays his enmity towards others, violates the
sixth commandment. To prevent us from harming each other, the Lord Jesus
Christ commands us to root out from our hearts all feelings of anger and
vengeance which are the ultimate cause of all violent actions against
others. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said: "You have heard
that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever
murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever
is angry with his brother is in danger of the judgment ... You have
heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But
I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your
right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and
take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also ... You have heard
that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good
to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and
persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven/" (Matthew
5:21-40).
Besides physical, there exists a spiritual form of murder which is an
even more horrible sin because of its eternal consequences: tempting
someone. Anyone who lures a person away from his faith in God or seduces
to sin, kills him spiritually. The Savior thus said about the severity
of the sin of tempting others, "Whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were
hung around his neck ... Woe to the world because of offenses! For
offenses must come, but woe to the man by whom the offense comes"
(Matthew 18:6-7)!
Comments: How should a Christian regard such evils as war and the death
penalty? Neither the Savior nor His Apostles dictated to civilian
authorities how they should resolve their governmental and community
problems. As long as evil abides in people, wars and crimes are
inevitable evils. The only true solution to these problems is that
people should overcome the evil in themselves and reform their hearts.
This is precisely what the Christian aims to do. But as we know, this is
a long and difficult process, and because it is conditioned on the free
choice of every single person, it will hardly ever be successful in this
temporary life. This is the reason there will be a Final Judgment where
God will separate forever the sheep from the goats.
Although any war is evil, one must differentiate between aggressive and
defensive wars. This latter is a lesser evil in comparison with allowing
a foe to invade one's country and oppress its people. The Church does
not consider wartime killing as man's personal sin. It even blesses the
soldiers who go to war to defend their country and who risk their lives
for the sake of others. There are several saints among warriors who were
glorified with miracles, like the Great Martyr St. George, St. Alexander
Nevsky the grand duke, the martyrs Sts. Theodore Tyron, Theodore
Stratilatus and others.
On the same footing, the death penalty of hard-core criminals should be
considered as an inevitable evil. The government has the duty to protect
well-meaning citizens from evildoers like murderers, rapists, sadists
and the like. Regarding the duties of civil authorities, the Apostles
teach: "/Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who
are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of
those who do good." "Let every soul be subject to the governing
authorities ... For he [the ruler] is God's minister to you for good.
But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain;
for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who
practices evil" (1 Pet 2:13-14; Rom. 13:1-6).
While forbidding the forceful taking of the life of a person, the
Christian faith teaches us to look calmly at an imminent death. When an
incurable disease brings someone to the doorstep of death, it is wrong
to use extreme and heroic measures to prolong his life for a while. In
this circumstance, it is better to assist the dying person to reconcile
with God so that he may with faith and peace depart from this temporary
world.
Missionary Leaflet 37E
Copyright © 2001 Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission
466 Foothill Blvd, Box 397, La Canada, Ca 91011
Editor: Bishop Alexander (Mileant)
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