August 2, 2020 Sermon

“1. I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs. 2. I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will You come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. 3. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. 4. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. 5. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride. 6. I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me. 7. I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence. 8. My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the Lord from their grip.” - Psalms‬ ‭101:1-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Key Verse Today: 5. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.

Let’s look at it from a couple of others good translations.

“Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.”
- ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭101:5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.”
- ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭101:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul said in Romans,

“slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:30-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Define Slander:

“Slander occurs whenever someone says something untrue about someone else that results, intentionally or unintentionally, in damaging that someone else’s reputation. And when it occurs, it becomes a divisive, discouraging, and confusing weight that often affects numerous people — sometimes many, many people.” Jon Bloom Writer for Desiring God.


“Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.” - ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You see if you or I slanders the good name or, if you would, the reputation of another person we are basically stealing from them. Outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ the most valuable thing a person has is their Identity...Their Reputation, Their good name. When someone’s name is slandered we attack their identity. When we attack someone’s identity, unjustly, we are attacking them. Everyone human every conceived is an image bearer of God.
Listen to Jesus’s Words in Matthew,
““A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:33-37‬ ‭NLT‬‬

FOLKS WORDS ARE IMPORTANT AND POWERFUL!!!

“The first to speak in court sounds right— until the cross-examination begins.” - ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” - ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:21a ‭NLT‬‬

So many people need to make sure they choose their words wisely. We need to be concerned about the words we use when speaking of another person’s name.

First, Stop slandering of others in our own minds.
“So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.” - ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

““If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:15-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Of course this is reference to Christians. There are times that justice must be served in a secular court or rule of law because of the evils of our day and unbelievers.