COMBATTING SINFUL SLANDER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

James 4:11-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Over the past two weeks, there have been two messages from this study of James where the Lord warns us through His holy Word to watch how we use our tongue. You may remember that the tongue is actually a voluntary muscle within the body which means that it doesn’t work unless it is activated. In other words, every single person chooses to use the tongue and this is a dangerous proposition because as sinners who all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), there is incredible potential for us to transgress and use the tongue as an instrument of that transgression. Here’s what James said about the tongue and its ability to do bad:

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell.” James 3:6

Whoa!

If that doesn’t get our attention regarding the danger of an uncontrolled tongue, then nothing will. It’s no wonder that the Bible works hard to provide believers instruction as to what we say which involves the use of the tongue. Specifically, for the purpose of today’s message, we find the matter of slander take center stage. Look at what James writes in today’s passage from the fourth chapter of this letter:

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? Vv.11-12

There isn’t any grey area on this matter of sinfully using your tongue to slander another person or persons. None.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, slander, by definition, is “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation”. In other words, words are used by someone as a weapon which takes aim at another person and fires falsehoods to try and do harm. It is a malicious use of language and one that totally disobeys God's command found in the Old Testament law within the Book of Leviticus. There, we find God making the following demand:

“‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.’” 19:16

Later, we find David asking a question and then providing the answer. In the 15th Psalm, he writes:

“Lord, who may dwell in Your sacred tent? Who may live on Your holy mountain?”

“The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others.” Psalm 15:1-3

Want to be close to God, dwelling with Him?

You had better watch your tongue, speaking truth from the heart while uttering no slander or casting slurs on others. God’s word is clear on this but just in case that wasn’t enough, look at these words from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Ephesus:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 4:29-31

Here, we learn that misusing our tongues to spew sinful words through unwholesome talk (which includes slander), grieves the Holy Spirit of God. This passage affirms the truth that the Holy Spirit is as much a person as the other two people in the Holy Trinity, God the Father and Jesus, His Son. When we abuse others through the things we say, it brings great sadness on the very Holy Spirit who is trying to lead us to speak right and righteously, much like a parent would be distressed and distraught if their child commits a deed counter to what they have taught. We should never want to disappoint the very Counselor that God sent to lead us toward good.

In sum, a person’s intentional use of their tongue to slander, curse, or lie about another person is nothing more than communicative iniquity and the Lord is never going to stand for it. We had better get a grip on the things we speak and learn ways to get our tongue under control. To that end, I close with some tips using the very letters of the word “slander” to communicate a remedy.

First, “s” is for stop.

We need to stop before we speak and sat something that dishonors the very God who gave us the ability to talk.

Next, “l” is for listen.

We need to listen to the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, seeking Him to provide the words we say. For when we do this, we will always be speaking what the Lord wants us to speak.

The third letter, “a”, is to act out of love for others.

A person who listens to the Holy Spirit and is obedient to His leading will always find themselves behaving out of love toward others and this love will seek to build up instead of disparage with the intent of tearing someone down.

Fourth, we have “n” which represents the new life attitude that emerges when we stop, listen to the Holy Spirit, and then act in the ways He calls us to act. Rather than be instruments of Satan, who are used to damage and destroy, we become and behave like children of God who emulate the character and image of their Heavenly Father.

The “d” in slander is to dare to be different for although you adopt a new life attitude that seeks to say things that bless vice harm others, you are still immersed in a sinful world who will not prescribe to the loving, caring principles the Lord establishes and promotes. Having lost you to God and His ways, you need to know that Satan is not going to stop coming after you. This could lead to a second “d” word you can use...the word “deny”. Deny Satan in the name of Jesus and he will flee every time as he cannot stand in the very mention of the One who has already gained the victory.

The second “a” in slander represents accountability and this is critical because we need a mechanism to keep us in check and doing the right thing, especially in regard to how we use our tongues to say the words we speak.

Thankfully, we couldn’t have a more authoritative figure to answer to than the Lord God Almighty. And if sinning against Him and inviting His correction and judgment doesn’t motivate you, nothing will, that’s for sure. Only a fool would do so.

Finally, we end with the letter “r” and since the prior “a” was all about being accountable to God, we now see where we, as Christian believers, have a firm responsibility to seek His guidance by way of the Holy Spirit, and then perfectly execute that guidance, making His words and expected actions our own.

Slander is sinful but if we look at each letter of this sin and attach it to a divine purpose, we uncover spiritual truths that we can use to turn away from the misuse of our tongues to seek to harm others. My prayer is that you will put these spiritual truths into practice from this day forward over all the time the Lord blesses you with in this worldly life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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