Scripture: Exodus 20 v 7: "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."
Zechariah 5 v 3 - 4: "Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof."
When Jesus was arrested and taken for questioning, Peter followed to see where He was being held. There was a crowd in the courtyard who accused Peter of being one of His disciples. Peter denied it but they said, Your speech betrays you! Peter immediately began swearing and cursing to hide who he was.
The name of Jesus Christ has become a universal curse word. No Christian who knows Jesus and what He has done for us could ever speak His name with anything but love and reverence. But out in the world its on movies, in books and in public places, the abuse of His beautiful name.
The Lord's word is true and fair. If we swear falsely by His name we will get a reciprocal curse in exchange. It will destroy our houses. By fire, flood, mudslide, storm, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, tsunami, bombs, war, sinkhole or woodworm. It can destroy our transport in wrecks or breakdowns. We can be destroyed emotionally through drugs, alcohol, sexual sin, blackmail, heartbreak etc.
Think of how blasphemy is also disguised to trap the unwary. During the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple the Roman soldiers had a chant, a mantra, that was Hip, Hip, Hooray! Nearly every rendition of Happy Birthday is followed by that evil mantra. Does it bring a blessing from God with it? He repays evil for evil and blessing for blessing. 'But we were ignorant' does not work with God, we must know what we say is true and right.
The Lord has said in His Word that those who bless Jerusalem shall be blessed and those who curse her will be cursed. During the Holocaust and in the years since 1948, millions have cursed her to bring upon themselves a curse from God Himself. Right now many thousands are cursing Israel, murdering her people, torturing and abusing hostages, babies, children, elderly people, even survivors of the Holocaust. Whatever the Lord permits Israel to do to them it will be final.
The enemy has laid many traps for the unwary because he wants God to reject us. He is hunting scalps and if God rejects us he will collect the empties. Our God says He will not reject us if we walk in His ways and believe His Word. If we disobey and rebel we will be taking some serious gambles with our eternal destination.
These are just a few samples of things that could get us into difficulties and may answer why some have lost everything when God should have spared them. It's a very narrow way that leads to life, so if we want that abundant life we need to offload all the bad baggage and learn the secrets of holiness. We need to remove from our lives every form of blasphemy and swearing falsely in His name.
No other gods have their names used as a curse word. Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, Allah, etc are never heard in common speech as blasphemies. Satan, Dragon, Serpent are not used as curses either, and they should be!
The reason why Jesus Christ is used as a curse is because His is the only name by which mankind can be saved. There is power in His name.
Philippians 2 v 9 - 11: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
His name is above every other name! Satan hates that and will go to terrible extremes to reverse that power and take it for himself. He is jealous of the Son of God and he was cast down from Heaven to Earth. Jesus said, I saw him fall like lightning.
Luke 10 v 17 - 19: "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
When we walk in the light of Jesus we have power to discern and bind demons because they are subject to us. They cannot hurt us. But we must be born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit to have His guidance in these events. Satan fears us and tries to bluff his way out of confrontations. Demons use their victims to howl and scream as if in great pain to get you to back off. It's the big bluff. Don't stop until its gone.
The Word says, Swear not but let your words be Yea and Amen. Even in a court of law Christians are given the option not to swear on the Bible but to solemnly declare they are telling the truth.
Prayer: Heavenly Father how it grieves Your loving heart when people use Your Son's name as a curse word to their own hurt and destruction. Let us put aside all evil speaking and change our ways to conform to Your high standards. Forgive us Father, forgive us Jesus for our thoughtless words. Blot them out with Your Blood, Lord, and take control of our tongues that James rightly says are full of fiery evil.
We choose to be of those disciples whose clean speech betrays us as true followers of Jesus Christ. Dear Lord bless Israel and Jerusalem this day and always. In Jesus' name. Amen.