Dear Friends,
In 2007, author and speaker Jerry Bridges wrote a book that stepped all over my toes. It was titled Respectable Sins. He proposed that Christians had become so preoccupied with “major” sins that we had, in the process, lost sight of our need to deal with more subtle sins. The title of the book alone was enough to make me not want to read it!
The table of contents for the book catalogues some of what Bridges sees as our domesticated sins. I’ll give you a quick sampling:
- general ungodliness
- anxieties and frustrations
- discontentment
- unthankfulness
- pridefulness revealed specifically in self-righteousness, even in a pursuit of theological accuracy
- selfishness with our interests, time and money
- lack of self-control in eating, drinking, temperament, finances, entertainment and shopping
- impatience and irritability
- anger, even anger towards God, and the underlying roots of anger in resentment, bitterness, enmity, hostility and holding grudges
- judgmentalism and a critical spirit over differing convictions and doctrinal disagreements
- envy, jealousy, competitiveness and being controlling
- the sins of the tongue like gossip, slander, lying, harsh words, sarcasm, insults and ridicule
- worldliness shown financially, by our idolatry and in “vicarious immorality,” that is, the enjoyment of watching or reading the sinfulness of others
You can see why I didn’t want to read the book, right? The table of contents alone is convicting enough.
What brought Bridges book to mind this week was a growing awareness of how one particular respectable sin is becoming legitimized and even valorized among some Christians. The particular sin I have in mind is the sin of slander, together with its cousins – abusive speech and harsh words.
In the political arena, slandering your opponent is expected. I’m old enough to remember when politicians would talk about running a clean campaign, only to have PACs operating at arm’s length from the campaign doing their dirty work for them. They kept their own shoes clean and let their allies sling the mud on their behalf.
That all seems quaint now. Candidates for public office rarely hesitate to slander an opponent. The current President has made name calling an art form, and it has helped him win elections. Of course, he’s not alone. Slander is common in political discourse, and candidates and pundits from the left and the right have no qualms employing it.
What is true of political discourse has become acceptable in the area of theological discourse as well. In the name of prophetic boldness and upholding truth, slander has become something we simply overlook. We ignore the fact that Jesus said that casually tossing around a term like “fool” can be symptomatic of anger and hatred in your heart that can lead to murder and put you in danger of hell.
We should define terms here. Pastor Tony Evans, in a sermon where he addressed the issue of slander said Slander is defined as speaking evil, specifically tearing down another person’s reputation in a destructive or non-constructive way. Slander is distinguished from normal conversation by having an evil purpose, where the goal is to do damage rather than help. It goes against the “Royal Law” of loving your neighbor as yourself, essentially asking whether you would want someone destroying your character and reputation the way you are attempting to destroy someone else’s. Lutheran theologian Robert Golladay said a slanderer may work by raising false reports, magnifying a person’s failures, or spreading truthful but uncharitable information. Fundamentally, slander is seen as a way of playing God and destroying others, while failing to recognize that we ourselves are only standing by God’s grace.
Social media has become a breeding ground for the sin of slander. X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky are the soil where slander thrives. The goal of much of the discourse on these platforms is to “own” your opponent, at any cost. Anyone who hopes to have a respectful, honoring dialogue or discussion on either of these platforms with people who might hold an opposing viewpoint is naïve. They’ve stepped into an arena hoping for a friendly game of pickleball, only to find themselves in the Coliseum, where the lions are prowling and hungry.
In the same way that Jesus calls us as his followers of be full of grace and truth, He also calls us to speak the truth with confidence and boldness, while evidencing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The Bible tells us to remember that life and death are in the power of the tongue. The tongue is capable of great harm and destruction (James 3:5-10). We are to make sure our speech is gracious (Colossians 4:6). We are told to “speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2). “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,” we’re told, “but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
Whatever prophetic boldness might look like, it can’t simply toss those commands aside.
Slander is a symptom of a heart problem. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). At the root of slander is anger, hatred and fear. When we’re walking in the Spirit, we are putting off anger and hatred, and putting on kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:8,12).
Jesus is, of course, the example of boldness without slander. People love to point to Jesus’ encounter with the money changers in the Temple courtyard where he turned over their tables as justification for confrontation. What is often missed is that before He chased these corrupt, greedy merchants away, He had wept for them and for the city of Jerusalem. Most of us have never wept for those we see as enemies.
Let these sobering verses from Psalm 34 be a reminder of the need to be very careful with our tongues – and our keyboards! May we not be guilty of the “respectable sin” of slander!
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth. (Psalm 34:13–16)
FOOTSTEPS OF PAUL TOUROn Sunday, I shared a bit about the trip I’m planning to lead next fall that will follow the footsteps of the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys, taking us to Greece and Turkey, with an optional extension to Rome. The trip is from November 3-12, and the Rome extension adds three days to the itinerary. If you’re interested in exploring the tour, you can download the complete brochure by clicking here (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=4f624042bf&e=fbb0a4052b). And if you’re ready to reserve a spot, you can sign up and submit your deposit check by clicking here (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=acffc969e0&e=fbb0a4052b).
LEADERSHIP IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Next Thursday night, we’ll have the second of six classes for men where we examine the qualifications and responsibilities outlined in scripture for those who are called to serve as leaders in a local church. Even if you weren’t able to attend the first class back in September, you’re welcome to join us for this second class.
ROOTS HANGOUT
Also next week, our Roots students will be getting together for a Saturday night hangout at Cole and Hannah’s home. Here’s the info.
TRUNK OR TREATOur Trunk or Treat outreach is two weeks from tomorrow (Thursday) night!
And don’t forget, here are ways you can help.
- Pray for good weather!
- Buy a big bag of candy this week and drop it off at church on Sunday morning.
- Agree to host a trunk. We can provide you with the vehicle and/or the game for kids to play. We just need folks to volunteer to run the games and hand out the candy.
If you can help during the event, please get in touch with Jen Gurney. She is waiting right now for your email or text message!
FALL WOMEN'S RETREATThere are still a limited number of beds available for the Fall Women’s Retreat.
It’s a two-night getaway in November with other women from Redeemer. It’s a great time to relax, study God’s word, have fun and come home spiritually refreshed.
Click here (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=3f022b04cd&e=fbb0a4052b) for info or to register.
NXTGEN GET TOGETHERAnd speaking of hangouts, the Gurneys will host a get together for young singles and young married couples in our church. The NxtGen get together is the first Saturday night in November.
PREPARING YOUR HEART FOR SUNDAY
Here’s our New City Catechism questions for this Sunday.
Here is the link to this week’s video (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=2d5fcf522b&e=fbb0a4052b) where Kevin DeYoung talks about this week’s question and answer.
(https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=1670c62b38&e=fbb0a4052b)
And here is this week’s catechism song (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=5f44273208&e=fbb0a4052b):
(https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=83dbd974a0&e=fbb0a4052b)
And finally, as always, here is the link (https://redeemerlr.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=df57aea0670b59c32464d5bab&id=b61e2f6ef3&e=fbb0a4052b) that will take you to the Spotify playlist of the songs we’ll be singing together this Sunday.
SUNDAY'S COMING
One of the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ is the big reveal. In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul tells us that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus provide us with answers to questions all of us have about God’s plan and purpose for us and for His creation. On Sunday, we’ll take a closer look at how we are blessed as God’s plan is unveiled for us in the Messiah’s ministry.
See you in church.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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Redeemer Community Church
11512 David O Dodd Road
Little Rock AR 72204
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