Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Ever since our family moved out to Northern Minnesota, Andrew and I have spent a lot of time in the woods collecting firewood and doing other short-term seasonal work. There was one day that we were working about 10 mi from the closest highway when we began to hear the sound of wolves. I’m not really sure what they were up to, but they continued getting closer. They eventually got so close that if I had thrown a rock in their direction, I probably could have hit one. We slowly backed out of there and went to the truck for lunch. From what I’ve read, they claim that you shouldn’t turn your back on a wolf. The reason why is because they like to attack their prey from behind.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
The scriptures teach us to beware of wolves, and the ones that I’m talking about today are the ones who say nasty things about another person behind the second person’s back, completely out of their sight & hearing. These kinds of people are known as backbiters.
Ps 15:1,3 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that backbiteth not with his tongue,…..
A backbiter makes unpleasant or unkind remarks about a person who is not present, or makes unpleasant comments about someone who is not there. Have you ever had somebody talk bad things about you behind your back before? It doesn’t feel very good does it. That is why it’s a sin when somebody does it to you. The Apostle Paul warned the church about backbiting.
2 Corinthians 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:
Have you ever confided in somebody else your most personal secrets? Things that you really didn’t want anybody else to know except a trusted friend? There are many conversations in society each day about privacy issues. There are certain things that are meant to be kept secret and from the eyes of others. Even the government has top secret files that are not supposed to be shared with other people outside of a certain group. To reveal them is a betrayal of trust. The Bible warns about the misuse of your tongue in such a manner.
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Some things are meant to be kept private, but a talebearer exposes what is meant to be secret. A talebearer is defined in the dictionary as a person who maliciously gossips or reveals secrets. Why would somebody expose another’s inner most private secrets? It is caused by a malicious evil intent spawned out of hatred in their heart for the other party. It’s a hate crime. Remember that love for others covers a multitude of sins.
Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
The Bible warns over and over about exposing private secret matters to outside parties.
Proverbs 20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:…
Leviticus 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people:…..
As Judas betrayed Jesus, it hurts when people do this to you. It hurts like someone sticking a knife in your back, or getting bit from behind by a wolf.
Proverbs 18:8 – The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
There are many people who make a lot of money today selling gossip newspapers and magazines. They are not meant to edify and build up others but rather to tear them down. It’s malicious gossip and is the work of an evil talebearer. If the tables were turned around on them, and someone exposed the most private intimate detail in their life to the entire world, I guarantee you that they would be upset.
The carnal nature always desires to look at the problems of others rather than looking at their own problems first. What they do is they puff themselves up by bringing other people down. The Lord Jesus even warned, why do you look at the mote in your brother’s eye when you have a beam in your own eye? The sinful nature will always find it easier to point the finger at others rather than themselves. It makes them feel like they are not such a terrible person while the truth is they’re just the same as everybody else, a sinner.
To gossip is to speak idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal and private affairs of others. What they do is look for dirt on somebody else and then spread it around the town. This is wicked and evil. Paul warned about certain women with this kind of behavior in the church.
1 Tim 5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
A busybody is a person who mixes into other people’s affairs to meddle and gossip. A tattler is someone who gossips indiscreetly, some synonyms being a blabbermouth, talebearer, taleteller, tattletale, telltale gossiper, gossipmonger, newsmonger. Tattling on another person is to have conversation or reports about other people’s private lives that might be unkind and disapproving. Instead of looking into their own hearts and minds and accepting the truth of what they really are, they dig up private matters about other people and share them publically in order to make themselves appear better in the eyes of society. This is complete vanity. A Christian can have no part of this behavior because it is the result of self-righteousness and pride. All it is a speaking evil about others.
James 4:11 – Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Ephesians 4:31 – Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Imagine the good that you can do in another person’s life when you seek to edify and build them up rather than ruin their reputation and their lives by evil speaking.
Titus 3:2 – To speak evil of no man…….
We are supposed to minister grace not share private matters to gossip about with others.
Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Lastly, scripture warns about a whisperer. A whisperer is a gossip, a tattler; one who tells secrets; a conveyer of intelligence secretly; hence; a backbiter.
Romans 1:29 – Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
So remember that just like a wolf attacks you and wants to bite you from the rear, a backbiter does the same thing, for they truly are,….
……The Enemy Behind
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Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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