What does the Bible teach about slander?

Words, there are so many things to be said about them.  You can use them to build others up or bring them down.  On a more personal level, they can help you get that long awaited promotion or they can help motivate your employer to give you walking papers because of some uncontrolled outburst.  In reality, words do matter.  Just consider all of the well-crafted documents that people try to have you sign on a regular basis, which can later be used to defend or incriminate you.

In today’s world, we need to be even more cautious with our words since so many things can be misconstrued with all of the modern technological conveniences.  In the past, you would often have to remember things people said during conversations.  Now with the convenience of texting, emails and all of the other gadgets available, you can say so many things is so little time.  The drawback is that when you correspond with others in written text everything can seem black and white, since the emotions and emphasis of words are not included in the words…unlike a normal conversation.  This can have dire consequences when sending emails to your work colleagues or bosses who may accidently misconstrue your thoughts and intentions.

In the New Testament, we see how Jesus Christ talks about considering the importance of what we say, with the following words.  “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.  For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37 NIV)

The Ten Commandments included a command against giving “false testimony against your neighbor.” (Deuteronomy 5:20 NIV)  Likewise, the Apostle Paul included gossiping and slandering in his many lists of sinful behaviors.

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

Words, or the control thereof, definitely have a major impact on determining our character.  King Solomon said, “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” (Proverbs 17:28 NIV)  In other words, there is a reason that the old cliché – think, before you speak – has so much meaning.

Overall, Scripture teaches that the words used by an individual, whether verbal, gestured or written, can be used in a constructive or destructive way.  Therefore, individuals are commanded to refrain from making slanderous statements that damage the character, reputation or well-being of another.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of expressing his or her opinions to others in a constructive and kind manner.

What does the Bible teach about thievery?

When many people think about thieves they envision pickpockets, muggers, carjackers, and so on.  However, the notion of stealing crosses many demographic lines and does not remain limited to just people from a poor economic background.  Take for example, all of the big investment schemes being peddled by slick looking affluent business professional types who dupe people, from all income brackets, out of their lifetime savings and retirement investments.  On a smaller scale, how many young people – regardless of their income level – have tried to shoplift electronics or clothing out of stores, or download pirated movies or music?

The Word of God makes it clear that stealing is wrong.  The Ten Commandments specifically lists not stealing as one of the commandments.  Likewise, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul included people who engage in thievery among the many who will not inherit the kingdom of God.

“You shall not steal.”  (Deuteronomy 5:19 NIV)   

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV, Italics added for emphasis)

Does this mean that every business person out there could be considered a thief, just because of their shady business practices?  What about not recording your income taxes correctly or profits from a business?  Overall, there are so many ways that people can get duped or trick others out of their money or resources, with many of them being legal…while still bordering on the edge of corruptness.

In a lesser sense, what about every student that cheats on a college entrance exam or school test in general?  Then you have churches that sometimes use worship songs without following the proper copyright procedures.  And of course, you always have the offering plate issue in churches, where some religious leaders get accused of fleecing the flock of their finances.

    

Overall, Scripture commands individuals to refrain from stealing whatever rightfully belongs to another.  The definition of stealing can obviously fall within broad parameters, as there are different ways of defining thievery within the eyes of the law in regard to personal property, intellectual proprietary rights, and like manner.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of showing respect to others by not stealing what rightfully belongs to them.

What does the Bible teach about wickedness?

People in today’s society often envision wickedness when referencing morally corrupt leaders in different countries around the world.  In reality, wickedness has been around almost since the beginning of time as the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament records how the “…Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5 NIV)  In other words, wickedness is not limited to morally corrupt leaders, but society as a whole is susceptible to degenerating to such a mindset.

In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, wickedness was included among a list of several sinful behaviors.

 

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.” (Romans 1: 28-29 NIV)

Also, when Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples about what comes out of person defiles a person, rather than what necessarily goes on around a person, he clarified the matter with the following words.

“He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’” (Mark 7:20-23 NIV)

Even less subtle means of wickedness are addressed in the Bible.  The Apostle John spoke about issues he encountered at one of the churches with an individual named Ditrephes, who was a hindrance to the work of the Lord due to his malicious gossiping.  The work malicious in this verse comes from the Greek word poneros, which is actually used to derive the Greek word pnoeria referenced above for wickedness.

“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.  So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.” (III John 9-10 NIV) 

Obviously, there are many examples in our current churches where congregations may have people similar to Diotrephes, who sometimes have undue influence over spiritual matters of a local church and/ or denomination or affiliation.  Basically, wickedness can silently creep into many good Bible-believing churches through one person or groups of people who purport their morally corrupt agendas…by refusing to welcome any outside believers into the church as well as intentionally pushing away or removing any believers from the church who may believe in practicing sound doctrine.

In summary, Scripture commands individuals to refrain from all forms of wickedness, or morally corrupt behavior.  Realistically, wickedness is alive and well in many parts of our society as well as many of our churches.  Therefore, we need to use careful discernment in helping to ensure this morally corrupt behavior does not take root in our personal lives as well as others around us.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of living righteously, with morals and ethics as an individual, family, community, nation and world.

What does the Bible teach about suicide?

The topic of suicide is often avoided in many churches due to its sensitive nature.  Sometimes people try to lump suicide into the same category as murder, by equating it with the commandment against murder – “You shall not murder.” (Deuteronomy 5:17 NIV)  However, there are no direct commandments against taking your own life.  Although, there are several passages that teach against taking such actions.

In the Bible, you will find two contrasting examples of people taking their own lives.  Obviously you have Judas Iscariot who killed himself for selfish reasons.  Then you had Samson who sacrificed his own life to help protect his people from enemies. 

Below you will find Matthew giving the account of Judas Iscariot killing himself, after the remorse overwhelmed him of realizing that he betrayed the innocent blood of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

“Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.  So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.  When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.  ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’  ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’  So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:1-5 NIV)

   

On the contrary, you have Samson who made a decision to take his own life…so he could help defeat the enemy for his people.

 “Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, ‘Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.’  When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, ‘Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.’  While they were in high spirits, they shouted, ‘Bring out Samson to entertain us.’  So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.  When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, ‘Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.’  Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to the Lord, ‘Sovereign Lord, remember me.  Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’  Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood.  Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.” (Judges 16:23-30 NIV)

In no way are Samson’s sacrificial actions suggesting or insinuating that sick or older people in our society should practice euthanasia as a way to help better others.  Instead, Samson’s decision to save and protect others could be compared to people in our militaries…who serve and sometimes sacrifice their lives in wars to help save and protect people in our nations.  On the contrary, believers are to watch out and care for their sick and elderly family members, and if these people have no family members the church should step in to help them.

Overall, Scripture also teaches against the intentional taking of one’s own life, for self-centered reasons.  More importantly, the Bible teaches about the importance of preserving the sanctity of life.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of accepting God’s will for their lives rather attempting to usurp the sovereign providence of God.

What does the Bible teach about abortion?

One of the most sensitive issues in society today is the discussion of abortion – or the needless taking of an unborn child’s life.  Many people believe abortion should fall into the same category as murder and no one should ever have an abortion, even if it involves saving the mother’s life.  On the other extreme, many groups try to legitimize all abortions by trying to say everything centers solely on the reproductive rights of the mother, while ignoring any of the potential atrocities affecting the child in the womb.  Then you have a broad spectrum of people – in the center position of the issue – who believe that Scripture teaches abortion is wrong, many of whom also believe abortion should only be permitted in cases of incest, rape or to grave danger to the mother’s life.

In the Old Testament, one of the Ten Commandments includes the following commandment – “Thou shalt not murder.” (Exodus 20:13 NIV)  On the contrary, other parts of Scripture only teach against the needless taking of an unborn life, rather than having any direct commandments against it.  For example, the next chapter of Exodus seems to indicate that a child born prematurely, as the result of the mother getting hit during a fight, is treated the same as a regular person with the below words.

 

“If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.  But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Exodus 21:22-25 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

  

However, to add to the confusion, various Bible versions often have varying translations of the words giving “birth prematurely.”  As a result, some people tend to have differing interpretations on the context of the words…whether they mean having stillbirth, a miscarriage resulting in the death of the unborn child, or an actual premature birth.  For example, the New Revised Standard Version uses the following words.

“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.  If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:22-25 NRSV, italics added for emphasis)

To make things more complicated, there were also various Old Testament laws concerning chastity that had punishments of death for any violators – which unfortunately had no provisions for saving the life of any unborn children who may have been conceived as a result of any of these prohibited sexual encounters.  In other words, many innocent children still in the womb of the mothers were often killed – not murdered – as a result of the sins of their parents.  Listed below are a few of the laws concerning marriage violations.

“If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,’ then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin...If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death.  She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house.  You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:13-15, 20-21, NIV)

“If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.  You must purge the evil from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 22:22, NIV)

“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife.  You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:23-24, NIV)

In verses 25 through 27 of Deuteronomy chapter 22, Moses also included a law that any man who raped a woman was subject to the penalty of death.  Additionally, Moses dedicated most of Chapter 18 in the Book of Leviticus to laws teaching against incest with family members and the negative connotations associated with such behaviors.

On a positive note, there are several verses throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that mention God knowing and consecrating people before they were even born.  In the Book of Luke, the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah and said their son John [the Baptist] would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born, evident by the baby leaping in Elizabeth’s womb.

“But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.  He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born…When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:13-15, 41 NIV)

Realistically, most people who have ever had children would never want to give them up, let alone imagine what their life would be like without them.  Unfortunately, many people make hard decisions everyday – and sometimes wrong decisions, that they often regret – regarding the future of children in the wombs of their respective mothers.  Overall, most reasons for present day abortions are wrong in so many ways.  Still, believers need to remember that abortion is not an unpardonable sin and they should have empathy for people who may have remorse for making such difficult decisions in the past.

In summary, Scripture does not have any direct commands against abortion.  However, it teaches about the importance of preserving the sanctity of life and the needless taking of another life, even the life of a child in a mother’s womb.  Scripture also teaches about the negative connotations associated with rape and incest.  Therefore, church leaders should empathetically teach against having abortions in most situations, while at the same time allowing individual believers to be led by the Lord in their decisions concerning abortions which may involve rape, incest and/or grave danger to the mother’s life…as well as encouraging adoptions as an alternative, when possible.