A PERSONAL APPLICATION

 “…he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.” Lev 24:16

As a believer, to “curse God” carries with it many different meanings, from the very basic interpretation to deeper applications. While we have examined some of the more spiritual aspects of the phrase, we have neglected to look at it from its most basic interpretation. In examining this phrase at face value, it may be difficult to see how a believer may actually benefit from cursing God. For this we can only present an example from Scripture, as well as our own experience, as to what effect it has in freeing one’s self from all the misconceptions one may hold about his own self-righteousness. If you will allow me the liberty of using my own experience first and the Scripture’s second, some insight may be gained into what we are trying to convey.

Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

I was raised in a nominally Christian home where God was, to some degree, respected. We prayed at meals, went to church irregularly, and cursing of any kind was not a normal part of our daily conversation. One of my clearest memories as a child was of being confronted by my mother as to whether something I had said contained a curse using God’s name in vain. I remember my great fear as I assured her that I had not so spoken. This reverential fear continued with me as I grew to young adulthood, even though as an unsaved youth I began using curse words around my friends and co-workers. However, I could never bring myself to curse, using either God’s name or the name of Jesus in vain, even though many other of my acquaintances did so quite freely.

Ex 20:7 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.

After being saved at the age of twenty-five, my life went through a glorious transformation, and along with many other things, any kind of cursing was abandoned. However, as a believer, I now began to experience two new things in my life, as do all true children of God. The first is, that we now have two natures within us—the old Adamic nature called the flesh or the old man of sin, and the new spiritual nature of one who is born-again by the Spirit of God, called the new man or the new creature. These two natures begin immediately to war with one another over who will dominate in our lives.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The second new thing we experience is the chastening of God whereby He begins to bring us out of the life of the old man and into the life of the new man—which is also called practical sanctification. As a new believer we are like babies in Christ that will grow into mature saints by God’s nurturing in our lives. As a new living creature, we depend upon our Heavenly Father to teach us, provide for us, and discipline us. God has saved us, but now He must convert our soul from its fleshly entanglements into the likeness of His Son.

1 Pet 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

With these new experiences in mind, another truth must now be brought to light here—as an unbeliever, we cannot, and do not want to comprehend the depth of our rebellion and hatred for God. In fact, many lost people actually believe that they love God, or are at least neutral toward Him. Because the natural man is spiritually blind to such truths, most people are unwilling to accept this assessment of their relationship with God. It is only when we are saved that we can be brought to see the wickedness of our rebellion and of our vile hatred of God. When God begins to work in our lives, and our two natures begin to war, then our fleshly nature is exposed for what it truly is and how it truly feels about God.

2 Cor 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The truth of what we are putting forth is evidenced by how Jesus, who is God in the flesh, was treated by His own people Israel and the Gentiles. Man’s hatred of God was poured out upon His Son in a measure that is unequalled in the history of mankind. Though most people try to hide their true feelings about God, the truth is—we all beat, scourged, and crucified Christ because of our hatred of God. Only those who are chosen of God to embrace Christ can truly come to love Him

John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father

So then, as God began to work in me, the old man at first quietly went along with this new experience of being saved, and may have even found some new ways to express its religious vanity. However, after a time it became increasingly frustrated and angry as God put His finger time and again on its flaws, and probed deeper and deeper into the morass of the carnal life. It was not long before the old man of sin began to buck and kick at what God was doing, expressing himself in cursing and bitterness, even using God’s name in vain, with all the other blasphemes it could conjure up. What was happening on the inside of me came out, maybe not in the presence of other people, but certainly in the presence of God. Now, what had for so long been concealed, masqueraded, or painted over, was now revealed to me. God, who always knew what I, as well as all sinners, were like on the inside, had now brought my rebellion to the surface so that I could see it also. The old man, which was blind to the hatred he felt for God, was now revealed. By cursing God, it could no longer hide its true feelings.

I Cor 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Now I commend many of you who may be thinking that my enlightenment seems to have come in a very unusual, if not unbiblical way. Many people, and I would not exclude myself, have many kinds of religious experiences, and most of them have nothing to do with God, or the truth—and you are right. Any kind of experience we have must be compared to the Scripture, and we are to be prudent in what we accept into our hearts as being real. I also have heard many kinds of experiences from many different people and have thought to myself, ‘This person is professing to have seen, or heard, or experienced something that, when compared to Biblical truth, is either contrary to its plain teaching or cannot be proven by it.’ We must not forget that Satan often appears as an angel of light, and has the power to give many such experiences to those who are not grounded in the Word of God. Many are such, whose claim to God and salvation has nothing to do with coming to God through Christ; but no amount of persuading can cause them to give up their experience. Many Christians are taken up with the Apostolic or sign gifts that were only given to the early church until the completed Word of God was manifested. Through some emotional experience which they have had, or else have seen others have, or which others have professed to have had, they adopt these gifts and the teachings concerning them. However, they ignore the plain teaching of the Scriptures that these gifts were given for a specific time and purpose. Our experiences are only the cart that must be pulled by the horse of truth. Therefore, if your, or my experiences, cannot be authenticated by the plain teaching of Scripture, or if they are reproved by the plain teaching of Scripture, then they are to be rejected. Having said this, grant me a little more liberty until we can make our case from a Biblical standpoint.

Prov 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Prov 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

2 Cor 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

2 Cor 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

1Cor 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Furthermore, some might also ask, ‘Why would God aggravate me to the point of using His name in vain, when it is so clearly a violation of His law?’ To which I would answer, “It is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me.” It was the sin nature that God was dealing with, bringing it to the surface so that it could be revealed. It was not made any more sinful than it already was by cursing God, but its wickedness was only being exposed. The new man in Christ is somewhat like the innocent bystander who witnesses some horrific crime or accident, whether he likes what he has seen or not.

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

While we cannot accuse God of sin, or of causing us to sin, we can clearly see from Scripture how He uses our own wicked tendencies to bring about His purposes. When the Lord allowed a lying spirit to cause the wicked king Ahab to go to war, He was not making the false prophets anymore sinful in allowing them to be influenced to speak their lies. Their own wicked hearts were already predisposed to do so. He was only using them to bring about His will, as He does with all men, the wicked and the righteous. When God allowed Satan to put it into the heart of Judas to betray Christ, was it not God’s will, prophesied beforetime in the Scriptures, that it be done? Did God ordain Judas to betray Christ when he would not have done so on his own? Did not this vile man have the predisposition to do so anyways and was chosen as a disciple for this very reason? Was it not God that allowed Job to be tested beyond his human endurance and begin to say things that certainly dishonored God? Did not God harden Pharaoh’s heart in order to show forth His mighty power? In all of these accounts God used man’s own proclivity to sin to bring about His purposes.

1 Kings 22:20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

John 12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Matt 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Psa 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Matt 26:21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

John 13:26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

Act 4:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 42:3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Ex 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

Now then, if you will give me a little more liberty, what may we say was the outcome of such an experience—at least for such a one like me, even if we are not ready at this time to apply this to all believers?  Did I, as may be imagined, fall into to some kind of deep despair and guilt over what had come out of my mouth?  While at the first, I was somewhat dismayed at my vile outbursts, thinking, ‘How could I, being such a good Christian, say such things?’  I also felt remorse, a need to repent, and a need to be restored to my previous self-imagined walk of victorious living. However, later I found it to be a kind of release, a lifting of a burden that I had for so long struggled to carry. My labor of trying to maintain an image I had of myself was over, at least temporarily—for the flesh never gives up entirely its efforts at self-justification, until it is laid in the grave. The truth about myself had truly made me free from my struggling. I could once again see clearly, as I had when I was first saved, that Christ was my only hope. All my efforts to walk around in my fleshly religious show were in vain. The war was not over, but an important battle had been won by the Lord on my behalf.

Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Matt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Let me now speak to those who have more “depth of earth” through their upbringing, to those whose religious training may have been stricter than mine—those to whom the idea of cursing God is absurd, repulsive, and out of the question. Maybe your character forbids such an outward display, and that may be true for some; but you will still be required to face your depravity and rebellion if you are to truly know God and find peace and rest in Christ. Victory can only come if we perceive and understand our enemy, and then battle him appropriately. How the man of sin will be revealed to you, or how God will expose him, is something that is in His domain only. He works in mysterious ways, and all of our experiences are not necessarily the same. The end result is the same, but the ways and means may be different for each of us. Nevertheless, we must all come to the awareness of the comic strip figure Pogo when he said “We have met the enemy and he is us.”[1]

Mark 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth

1 John 1: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Let me also speak to those who are willing to try any gimmick if it will gain them some benefit. This is not something we do in order to experience some spiritual growth in our lives, but rather something that God’s hand of correction does. It is not an action on our part, but something that happens when we are acted upon. Many desperate believers will try to incorporate almost any suggestion given to them, in order to free themselves from despondency or reach a higher spiritual plane. To such as these the Scripture says to be patient and wait on the Lord. Don’t try to force something to happen that you are not ready for and that God Himself does not do for you. If you are a new believer, you are probably enjoying your blissful state and cannot imagine cursing God anyhow. I myself quite enjoyed my new experience in Christ, and even the old man found some temporal satisfaction. As my spiritual growth became apparent to others I began to take some pride in myself; but might we say that spiritual pride is the very depth of Satan. God brought me to this experience as an unwilling subject, who resisted having God shine His light into the dark recesses of my soul with all my fleshly strength.

2 Pet 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

2 Cor 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Now this experience, if we may call it that, is not a one time event whereby the rest of our Christian life is lived out in heavenly bliss. Although the first event may be the most shocking to us, and the most enlightening, it is only the beginning of an ever-deepening understanding of the depravity of our life apart from Christ. Our pride in our own human goodness and worth is deeply wounded, but it has not been eliminated or erased. How often then, and how many times must one come to such a self-defacing state? We might liken this battle to a boxing match between the Lord and the old man. It may take many years of fighting before the flesh is knocked down, but even then it is not out. It continues to get up and fight other rounds. The flesh, like an overmatched, though stubborn and resilient opponent, fights on to reclaim the victory over Christ. Like Satan, who was mortally wounded at the cross but continues to attack and fight the program of the Lord, so also does our flesh. The battle will not be over until we physically die or are transformed at the Lord’s coming. The flesh will continue to raise itself up and take another beating; although each time it rises with less and less strength, until daily, with almost minimal effort, the Lord is able to subdue it. Peter said that our trials are “for a season”; meaning that eventually we will find respite after they have done their work. Paul said, “I die daily”; meaning his flesh had to be dealt with on a daily basis. He was even given a special affliction in his flesh that the Lord used to constantly deal with his pride and self-exultation.

1 Pet 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1 Cor 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

2 Cor 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

You may then ask, ‘If the battle is between my flesh and the Lord, then why is it so painful to me, the new man in Christ?’  The answer is—that our soul, from whence we experience emotional pain, has become so captivated and entangled by our sin nature, so intertwined with its desires, that we feel an attachment to the very things God is trying to put to death. So it is, that while He is liberating us from the will and power of the flesh, our souls also go through very great and painful sufferings. The sin nature is like a cancerous growth that has spread its tentacles deep into our souls; and it must be removed by very skillful, albeit painful means. God, while crucifying the old man, is at the same time redeeming our souls and transforming them to be like the new man—Christ. Whereas before we served the desires of the flesh with all the faculties of our soul, we now are learning to separate ourselves from the flesh and yield ourselves to God.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

There is an interesting account in the Old Testament that is an allegory of what we have presented here. It is about a man who was put to death for blaspheming the name of the Lord. Now again, if we only look at this story literally, we will miss the underlying message. God can and did, actually have someone stoned to death for using God’s name in vain; and I am sure it was a great deterrent to others against doing the same thing. However, if God was fair and impartial in His dealings, most of the human race would have been struck down by now for all of the cursing and blasphemies that have been uttered against Him. However, in looking at the analogy of what happened, we see that this man was of the camp of Israel, he was an Israelite; he was one of God’s chosen people, even though his father was an Egyptian—symbolically, a type of the flesh, the old man. Furthermore, the method of his death was by stoning—symbolically, God’s truth or Christ. The confession of Jesus as the Christ is referred to as a rock or stone in the New Testament. Our self-will and self-righteousness must be broken by that stone; and we must be brought to understand that Jesus is Christ the Lord in order to be saved. However, we must also come to know “that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” before Jesus becomes our all and all. Therefore, to this end, we are continually stoned to death for our cursing until God accomplishes His purpose.

Lev 24:10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Matt 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Matt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; (Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, not upon Peter.) and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

1 Pet 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.