To Gossip is to Hate Your Neighbor

Understanding Our Call to Love in Truth

Howdy!

We’re almost done with the Ten Commandments. Only two left! In some ways out of all the laws of God summarized in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 the call to not bear false witness has some of the most sticky wickets of all Biblical ethics, it also has some of the most pointed toe-stepping of all the statutes of the LORD. For example, the most common question posed here is was it acceptable for the Dutch man to hide Jews in his attic and lie to the Nazi’s about their presence. It’s a hard one, because bearing false witness is a sin. However, deeper in the midst of the answer is does that SS officer deserve the truth? We’ll get to that here in a minute. Before we go further here are the catechism Q/A’s for this week:

Q. 76. Which is the ninth commandment?

A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Q. 77. What is required in the ninth commandment?

A. The ninth commandment requires the maintain­ing and promoting of truth between man and man, and of our own and our neighbor’s good name, espe­cially in witness bearing.

Q. 78. What is forbidden in the ninth commandment?

A. The ninth commandment forbids whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or in­jurious to our own or our neighbor’s good name.

The Ninth is in some sense a corollary to the 3rd commandment, the only difference is this deals with not using your own or your neighbor’s name in vain. While we mainly think of “bearing false witness” as to having to do with court rooms, it really is much more about how we treat one another in truth. People made in the image of God are of value and are worth honor and respect. That dignity is not based on how much you like that person or grounded in the way they have acted toward you. In fact as a Christian if John or Mary does nothing but create disorder and cause trouble it is ever more the reason to not return evil for evil. We are to turn the other cheek, especially against our “enemies”. Christ’s Golden Rule applies to the worst individual you know. To pass blame for your sin to someone else is demonic. That’s what Adam does to Eve in Genesis 3. Doing well to those who mean wrong toward you is part of your witness of the gospel in real life. We expect the world to act like the world. Believers must be above that nonsense.

In all honesty to lie to someone else, or about someone else, is to dehumanize them. It is making the statement that they are not worth handling with the dignity due to them as people. There is also an arrogance about it, an acting as if your personal consideration is more important than their identity. Here we see part of the reason why gossip is treated so harshly in the Bible. In the Book of Proverbs 16:28 it says, “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.” The person called a whisperer is called a deviant in this verse. What does it mean to be deviant? When you think of people like that you think of outcasts, folks who’ve lost the common conception of decency. A type of man who hangs out in red-light districts and surfs the banned parts of the internet.

Who wants to be known like that?

Well, if you engage in gossip the Scriptures consider you no better than sodomites or thieves. In Galatians 5:20 in the list of “works of the flesh” we have these sins classed together, “…idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies”. Under the rubric of the 9th commandment each of these violations of the law of God could be classed, but since we are focusing on gossip and its dangers think about the way hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and dissensions hurt the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about ways you have experienced it in your own local church. Where did these evils come from and how did they leave (or are leaving) fellow believers in their relationships to one another? We all know they destroy the body. Why then do we engage in them? Well, selfish ambition is usually at the heart of it. To go back to something said above to do these things is to have forgotten the example of Christ.

The one who came not to be served, but to serve and lay down His life as a ransom for many never sought to lift Himself above those He considered His friends and relations. Even when He confronted them in their sin and had hard words for them the goal was never to destroy or build Himself up, but to bring up the other person in holiness for their personal benefit in truth. It is an act of love. To gossip, to lie about someone else is to hate them. It is to treat them with contempt.

If this describes you then I have a word from Bob Newhart.

Stop it.

Repent and remember what you have been called to in the grace of your Redeemer. You are to be a lover of truth, honesty, and seeking the glory and blessing of your neighbor. Not only are you to seek the best from all around you, but if we are speaking about another brother or sister in Christ remember that Jesus died for them, as much as you. Honor them in light of that mercy. There is nothing that destroys the Church more than the childish garbage of holding grudges and feelings of anger and jealousy towards others in your local congregation.

If this describes the relation that you have with another person in your church I have another word from Bob Newhart.

Stop it.

Go to that person right now and repent. Find out what is needed to reconcile and take care of broken relations brought about by sin, either yours or theirs, with the same grace through which you were reconciled by Christ.

In closing think back to that initial question about the Jews and the Nazi’s. The law of God is never to be used against itself. So if you are called to defend and support the life of your neighbor it is never sin to protect them from evil men who seek to kill unlawfully.

Here is some more to consider on that:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/how-to-shut-down-gossip/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church