Let's stand together now for the reading of God's word and be reading from Ephesians chapter four verses 11 through 16. Title of today's sermon is Gossip Deadly Poison. Please listen carefully. This is God's holy and infallible word. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies. according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. So it's been our goal throughout the history of Foothills Christian Assembly to have once per year a teaching about gossip. We always are thankful to the help of those who gave us advice and guidance along the way as we were starting Foothills. One of those good men is Scott Brown, a pastor up in North Carolina. And at their church, they promise people when they come a couple of things. They'll hear the word of God preached, and they will not be subject to gossip. They will not tolerate people backbiting and tearing one another down. It's one of the promises they make to people when they come to their church, and it's a promise here at Foothills as well. We won't tolerate that. So here we are again. This is a sermon I've preached a number of times throughout the years and I hope that God will cause all of us to listen carefully. What is the ninth commandment? You guys know this. The ninth commandment is thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What is required of the ninth commandment? 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 what is forbidden in the ninth commandment. The ninth commandment forbid it whatsoever is prejudicial to truth or injurious to our own or our neighbor's good name. And so God gives his people something very precious. He gives us one another. He gives us Christian community and gossip is deadly poison that the devil and our sin try to use to destroy it. So today we're again looking to the Lord to consecrate us, right? That time during worship where he chops us up. May the word of God chop us each up. But then he puts us back together again, better than we were before, more aware of our own sin, our own weaknesses in regards to what we've learned. I hope that we'll hear the word like Bereans. Don't believe what I've said. Take the sermon notes. Believe what God says. Read through the scriptures that I present to you today and judge for yourself, brethren, where you are. in your walk with God in terms of your use of your tongue. So this is a way we try to protect ourselves from this dangerous poison, that we're going to be a vigilant people against this in our midst, in our own hearts and in our own midst. Because this poison, this corrupt word, it can destroy relationships, families, and churches. It is catastrophic. And a church that allows for it is doomed to be poisoned to death. So this is kind of like pumping up our immune system, helping us spot this terrible infection, this cancer that will destroy us if we give in to it. But you know, this poison can taste so good. That's the thing. It doesn't, you know, someone who's a gossip doesn't show up in a red suit with devil horns and a pitchfork and say, I'm going to gossip and tear people down now. No, no. It comes in disguise and it can taste so good and it can feel like you're doing good. So we have to be vigilant. In this sermon, we'll look at what it is, how we can avoid it, what happens if we give into it, How are we supposed to respond to it when it happens, when we find ourselves in the midst of this? How do we understand what it is? But first, it's, I think, really important to lay out this beautiful vision for our speech and what life and joy there is that comes from our speech when we are walking in the ways of the Lord. Proverbs 31, the law of kindness is on her tongue. Listen to what Matthew Henry has to say. Of course, this isn't just about the good wife. This is about any wise person. She is discreet and obliging in all her discourse, not talkative, censorious, nor peevish as some are that know how to take pains. No, she opens her mouth with wisdom. When she does speak, it is with a great deal of prudence and very much to the purpose. You may perceive by every word she says how much she governs herself by the rules of wisdom. She not only takes prudent measures herself, but gives prudent advice to others, and this not as assuming the authority of a dictator, but with the affection of a friend and with an obliging air In her tongue is the law of kindness. All she says is under the government of that law. The law of love and kindness is written in the heart, but it shows itself in the tongue. If we are kindly affectioned one to another, it will appear by affectionate expression. It is called a law of kindness because it gives law to others, to all she converses with. Her wisdom and kindness together put a commanding power into all she says. They command respect. They command compliance. How forcible are right words in her tongue is the law of grace or mercy. So some read it, understanding it of the word and law of God, which she delights to talk of among her children and servants. She is full of pious religious discourse and manages it prudently, which shows how full her heart is of another world, even when her hands are most busy about this world. Isn't that beautiful? Ephesians 4 29 tells us, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. But listen now, what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers as we're speaking to one another. We want to have in the forefront of our minds the goal to give necessary edification, to build one another up. and to impart grace to one another as we speak to one another, building one another up the aroma of grace and life and strengthening encouragement all the while in our speech. So let this be our vision for our church and our families, for this vision, this richness of speech, wisdom and affection woven together in order to build one another up and to impart grace, more and more grace to one another. You see. Identifying unrighteousness is not usually that difficult. It doesn't really require much wisdom at all to see someone else's weaknesses and sins, but learning how to express and disciple and to lead the way that Jesus Christ has led us by dying on the cross. This is how he showed us our need is through his death. Jesus could have done it any way he wanted to. He could have delivered a message to us from the distance from the stars could have done it from the birds made him talking. He could have written it in the sky with butterflies, but instead he came in person to come alongside us, to join with us and to die for us. He spoke the truth in love. He shows us what the law of kindness on the tongue is all about. You see, brothers and sisters, we will clang, clang, clang like noisy gongs. when we blast people from a distance, having some sort of cold, sharp law on our tongues, but not the law of kindness. So let's avoid hasty and simple minded approaches in how we speak the truth to one another in love. So this beautiful model, this way of speaking, it is not something that one can fake. This law of kindness is a fruit that comes from our hearts. You can't conjure this up on your own. You can't make a checklist of how to govern your speech and suddenly make it happen. It comes out of the overflow of the heart. You see, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak. Our speech reveals what we hold dear in our hearts. Your tongues show your fidelity, your fealty, Your Lord comes out on your tongue, and that is why we must be born again and then continue in the life of repentance and faith towards Christ. This is a spiritual conquest that must take place in our lives or we will not consistently speak this truth in love. We will not consistently have the law of kindness on our tongues. And so the first question for you is, are you born again? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit of God? Matthew 12, 33 through 35. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, the good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. So, if you are here today. And you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You've not confessed your sins to him. You've not been born again from above, experienced the forgiveness of God that we spoke of already, that we rejoiced about together in our worship today. You are enslaved to a tongue that will control you, and it will be a deadly poison to you and to those in your life. So right now, if this is true of you, Repent and believe the gospel. Turn away from your sin and turn back to Christ. Say no to the life of sin. Confess your sin to God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ's death for you even now at this moment. And then the remainder of this sermon, there will be hope for you. Hope for your tongue to become that place that flows the law of kindness. But you know, we Christians fail at this as well. If you are consistently grieving and quenching the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, if the Word of God is not being made effectual to your salvation because you do not live a life of diligence and preparation and prayer, giving yourself to the Word of God to be changed and transformed, then there'll be a lot of the flesh still flowing forth from your life. You see, when you're not walking in close communion with God as a believer, your tongue will show it. Your sanctification will be slow. It'll be grievous to those around you. And your speech will contain often corrupt words that tear down, that divide, that promote yourself instead of the kingdom of God. Instead of words that build up, and impart grace unto relational synergy that brings kingdom conquest to this world. Jesus said, they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another. Luke 7 verses 37 through 48. Please listen carefully to this extended passage. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisees' house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping. And she began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. And she kissed his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. So he said, Teacher, say it. There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him more? Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And he said to him, you have rightly judged, and then he turned to the woman and he said to Simon. Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven. So questions for you to have in your mind as you hear the remainder of the sermon. Do you have this beautiful model as the vision for your speech? That your tongue would be this kind of blessing to the people in your life? Do you see the law of kindness on your own tongue? Do you see your words building others up and imparting grace to those in your life? Do you speak the truth in love as a fruit of God's word spoken into your soul, giving you new life in Christ Jesus? He spoke to you. He has built you up and imparted grace to you. Are you now doing the same to others? Do you find tenderheartedness and affection? Seasoning your words because of the affection and the mercy and the kindness that God has given to you. Does gratitude toward God flow out in your speech toward others? Could Jesus Christ point to you and say, here is one is loving much because he or she is forgiven much? And does this show up in your speech? Now, do you see even now, do you see areas where you need to improve learning to speak from the Holy Spirit of God within you and not speaking from your flesh to others? What is it that motivates you in how you choose to communicate with others? What are your motives? Is it to glorify God and to build up others and to impart grace? Or is it self-focused? Is it from fear? Is it designed to advance yourself, to build your own kingdom, to gain advantage, to glorify yourself, to fit in, to make sure you secure that best friend? Or maybe to protect yourself, or maybe to punish others who've let you down. 1 Corinthians 10 31 says it so simply to us. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. And so as we now go on to talk more about what this gossip is, let us all, brothers and sisters, examine ourselves in light of God's word coming to us today, looking for those wonderful, yet alas, painful opportunities to repent. to be transformed again and grow up in every way into Jesus Christ. Raise your hand if you've been perfected in regard to your speech. Right. Right. We all need to grow, don't we? And this matter of how we speak of our tongue is such a powerful indicator of your status in your relationship with God. Your maturity in Christ is marked so clearly by your speech. His tongue, we're told, is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Now, the typical human tongue averages 70 grams for a man and 60 grams for a woman. By comparison, a plum is about 65 grams. So it's pretty small, right, in comparison to the rest of the body? like a bit controlling a horse, like a rudder controlling a ship, like a small fire consuming a whole forest. That's what we're told. Do not underestimate the importance of your tongue and your speech. It will boast and boast of great things, and it cannot be tamed by any human power. James 3, 1 through 12. My brethren, let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships. Although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, a reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. I'm talking about you and me. This is not academic. This is your tongue. The one in your mouth right now and in my mouth. Going on with James. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh Let's think about this together. The tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Receive this powerful warning, brothers and sisters, from the Word of God. Watch out for your tongue. That's what the text is saying. The out-of-control tongue is a dangerous, destructive thing. like a bucking bronco in a crowd of people or like flames that come out of the fireplace into the home. An unruly tongue is deadly in your midst. It's a raging destroyer. It's blazing and it's burning and no man can tame it. Apart from Christ, this tongue is poison. See, this is part of the sermon today, is getting in touch with the filthiness of our own sin once again. Showing us our need, making us sensible to the solution to this deadly problem in our lives. Desiring it, seeing it. Because see, apart from Christ, you might as well try to tame a grizzly bear. We've all heard the story of that person who lived amongst the grizzlies, went well for a while, and then they got eaten. You might as well try to tame lions, wolves. You would have more success with coyotes and vultures and cobras and rattlesnakes and sharks and killer whales than you will have with taming your own tongue. An unbeliever in wisdom can tame a shark. You and I, apart from Christ, cannot tame our own tongues. That's what the scriptures tell us. Full of deadly poison. Let's think about that. Have you ever studied about deadly poisonous creatures that strike? Spiders, scorpions, snakes. Our tongue, our untamed tongue is compared to these creatures. And now we've had some really personal experiences with snake bites, haven't we? We heard from Pastor Strasser about his son, his entire leg swelled up after he was envenomated by that rattlesnake out there in Colorado. That's your tongue. That's what you do to people and to relationships and to churches when your tongue is out of control. Because once the tongue strikes, a tongue strike occurs, once someone plants that venom in your soul, bad things happen. The poison is delivered, and even though forgiveness may be granted and received, hear me, the poison is still at work. There are consequences to this. It hurts, it damages. You're laid up in the hospital with your leg in the air for a week. This is the analogy the word of God gives to us. Forgiveness itself does not immediately neutralize all the destruction of gossip. Trust is weakened. Confidence is undermined. Doubt seeps in and relationships suffer even after forgiveness has occurred. You have to be aware of what we're talking about. You're like a fire. Similarly, while the initial spark of destructive words may be forgiven, a blaze of pain and suffering may still ensue. Have you ever asked yourself if your tongue has been tamed by Christ? Have you ever pondered the lingering impact on your relationships and on your family and on your church of an untamed tongue? on your reputation, whether people will trust you, whether people will confide in you or not. Have you ever imagined the glorious impact, conversely, of a tongue controlled by Christ and the power of life that can be on your tongue and the way you can spread the gospel through your words and your life by God's grace? Proverbs 15 puts it this way, verses 1 through 4. Here are the contrasts. Just like poison kills and fire destroys. There can be life and light and growth from our tongues. A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. So your tongue would be the tongue, the soft answer tongue, the tongue that uses knowledge rightly, the wholesome tongue that is a tree of life. That's your tongue. So often in today's world, Whether you're reading a book or whether you're looking at social media or whether you're reading the news, what we have instead are harsh words and fools pouring forth foolishness and perverseness, breaking spirits. What are you going to do? What are you going to be? Because we live in a culture full of words upon words upon words upon words, we YouTube, we Facebook, we bring it into ourselves and it makes us foolish. Because we can easily forget the power of our speech when it's just word, word, word, word, word, word, word, word, word, everywhere you turn. We forget how valuable good words are because there's so many words everywhere. But we will be judged, brothers and sisters, you will be judged, every one of us, for every word we speak. God, we just read it in Proverbs 15, planted right there in the middle of that description. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. He's with us, our God is with us. Matthew 12, Jesus says, I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak. For by your words, you will be justified and by your words, you will be condemned. Sobering, yes. So it's very convicting. When I get nervous, I just talk. You've seen that. Pray for me. Deuteronomy 8 3, and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. So what are the words like that come from the mouth of the Lord when the Lord speaks what comes out of his mouth? Shouldn't we become like him? Well, life comes from His mouth. What is to proceed from our mouths? Will we be like our Maker? Will our words be a source of life and strengthening and encouragement? Speaking the very words of life, living out the lives of love and faithfulness? Or will we deal out poison and death with our words? Those tasty morsels that seem so attractive, but they go down to death. Will our speech build up or tear down? Killing or healing speech, which will you have? There's no in between. Speaking unconsidered words is like firing a machine gun into the air. It's reckless. It's destructive. It's not just destructive in an academic sense. If the fire is coming out of your mouth in gossip, and we're not doing anything about it, we might as well just set this building on fire. We might as well just plow this whole thing up and salt it and leave it to destruction, because that's what we're doing. We're destroying the future of our relationships and our families and our church if we give in to this. God goes out of His way to make this so clear to us. If a church does not identify and reject gossip. It's a church that's drinking poison, a church that's weakened and threatened, and it will die. So surely it is of first order importance to know what it is and how to avoid it. Another analogy, imagine a rotting carcass in the woods. Think about that. You've seen that before, right? The smell, the insects, it's nasty. This is what happens to any relationship, to any family, to any institution if gossip is allowed into its midst. It is a destructive, corrosive force. Gossip rots out the life of any group of people where it exists unchecked. Matthew 7, verses 1 through 5, judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you seek the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. I want you to let the words of this sermon land in your own mind. and be used by the Holy Spirit to convict your own soul and lead to repentance in your own life. You know, all of us, we always do this. Oh yeah, that person who gossiped about me. I hope they're listening to this sermon. Maybe I'll send them a link to it after it's over. No! Send yourself the link. Right now. Because this is where it must start. Don't allow your sinful flesh to cause you to think of everyone except yourself and every tongue except your own. So what is it? This concept is mentioned at least 56 times in scripture, this idea of gossip and slander. Proverbs 2019, multiple ways of reading it. I think the Holman Study Bible probably gives us the best overall. It says the one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip. Avoid someone with a big mouth. Turns out this is the most exact translation of the Hebrew. So it's someone with a big, giant, gaping mouth. That's what a gossip is. They talk about everything. They're like a tail bearer. It's uncommon that you'll find a gossip who doesn't talk too much. Those things tend to go together. Does anyone here suffer from being a simple babbler with a big mouth? So part of the message is don't talk too much. So having no filter between the brain and the mouth, Saying just about everything that comes to mind without filtering it out. Asking yourself as the thoughts are forming, how can I impart grace? How can I build up? How can I be an encourager? And striving to grow in the natural expression of the gospel in your life. A gossip. Someone whose pattern is to habitually reveal personal or sensational facts about others, sharing rumors or any reports of an intimate nature. Webster's 1828 puts it this way, one who runs from house to house, tattling and telling news, an idle tattler. And what does it mean to tattle? To tell tales, to communicate secrets. So basically, the big picture is speaking negatively about a person. And I put the word especially in there, especially without that person being present. You can do it anytime with them present or not. You can still gossip even if they're present. But it's especially without that person being present. And people who are like this often don't understand that they're doing this. They just mention negative things about other people here and there. It's just a part of living. It's how they were raised. It's what they were exposed to. And it's how they communicate. And they end up just undermining relationships as they go. Like someone with an oozing wound that always stinks. So the gossip keeps the fire going. They start it, they kindle it, and then they fuel the fires of difficulties. You know, when we are working to disciple someone, the Bible says that we might be the one who plants the seed, or maybe the one who waters the seed, or maybe even the one who gets to harvest, praise be to God. You never know where you might be in the discipleship process of helping bring that person to unity with God, communion with the Spirit, and friendship with the people of God. Well, being a gossip is like being an evangelist for hell. It's like the opposite. It's the antichrist evangelism. It introduces hell and divides people and unites them around untruth and lies. And since we're all sinners, are you a sinner? Do you have weaknesses? You have character flaws? Have you been perfect in any one of your relationships? No. So there is always ample, abundant fuel for gossips to latch onto and to toss around. It's easy to tear somebody down. You see, that's the tricky thing. A gossip doesn't necessarily need to make something up. Right? I was just speaking the truth. We all struggle with this sin. And we'll see there's times where wisdom has to be applied to know whether you're moving into this sin or not. But this is different than being an entrenched gossiper. OK, a divisive one, mark them and have nothing to do with them. OK, so this is it's different than struggling with the same. You see, we're all tempted towards this. We all want to use our tongues to draw people to ourselves and to get the most to make life a rivalry. Who's got the most friends? But the unrepentant gossiper will hear this sermon and will only be able to think about how everyone else is a gossiper and think, I'm so glad I don't struggle with this. The log is stuck firmly in their own eye. And I mean, we could tell you dozens of stories, and you've probably seen your fair share as well, where this person is divisive, and it's obvious, and they separate people, and they look you in the eye, and they are so offended that you would even suggest it to them. This is the truth about how blinded we can be to this. In fact, another sermon worth listening to is Pastor Kaiser's sermon about the Jezebel spirit. Such deep deception can be in place. Now, slander is a specific type of gossip. It's an utterance of a false charge or a misrepresentation that definitely damages another person's reputation. They're also called a tailbearer. And the advanced gossiper, this is someone who's malicious. They've already exhausted all the obvious character flaws and weaknesses of others. So now they have to go on to exaggeration or flat out fabrication in order to make others look bad, in order to gain a place of power. And the devil is the source of all such vile speech. Psalm 15, we'll sing it after the sermon today, verses 1 through 3. Oh Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart, who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend. Brothers and sisters, all of us need to see, each and every one of us, that there is a Judas living inside you. you would do it for less than 30 shekels. That is our flesh. Look at verse 3, against his friend. This is something that can occur between friends. And it is the devil's evil satisfaction when Christian friends are separated from one another. We must not underestimate the depth of the wickedness within each one of us. You will do this to your friends. You will do this to your family members. You will you will nourish that root of bitterness. Romans 7, 18, for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. This is you and me, brothers and sisters, nursing that bitterness. Poison. So in order to really benefit from this teaching, you need to really embrace the biblical teaching about the dark, foul monster of flesh within you that always wants to be on top, always wants to put others down, and has the blinding power of self-deception until repentance takes over. You haven't gotten where this sermon needs to take you until you say to yourself, whoa, maybe I do this and I don't realize it. I'll tell you, I went through a time in my life, and probably need to go through it more often, where I literally stopped talking. You might find that hard to believe. I just stopped. Because I didn't trust what came out of my mouth. If we give vent to our flesh, there's no end to the ugliness that can come out of us. Listen to Pastor Kaiser's word, looking at the spiritual aspect of this. The devil comes against us, the Jezebel spirit I've already mentioned, and through gossip and slander, there's a spiritual aspect to this. Have you had slander in your church? While no slanderer can say the devil made me do it, because Matthew 15, 19 says that slander comes from our own hearts, but Satan knows how to use unrepentant Christians to continue to engage in their slander, and his very name means slanderer. Revelation 12 said that Satan accuses the brethren day and night. Job shows Satan slandering Job. In 2 Corinthians, we see in chapters 10 through 13 that Paul attributes the irrational slander that had been stirred up against the at Corinth against Paul, he attributes the origin of that to the devil. In Zechariah three, verse one, Satan slanders the high priest, Joshua. So there's a spiritual component to this as well that you need to factor into how we as a people can be vigilant and deal with this properly in our prayers as well. Now, there's this really sad thing about when friends are broken apart, Psalms 15.3, we've already looked at it. To take up a reproach against his friend. To take up means to grab hold of and to not let go and to grip it tightly with permanence, like a death grip. This reproach, this idea is contempt, disgrace, scorn, shame, disgust. And so it's adopting this permanent position against someone, not letting it go. And not just someone, but someone who was once loved and accepted and trusted against a friend. So one path to becoming a gospel is to believe something shameful about someone who's really your friend. The text says against a friend, not someone who seems like a friend, but who really is a friend. And to believe it so intensely that it's like iron bars over windows such that you cannot accept that this other person is actually your friend. You will not let it go. You're holding on to it. You've taken up this reproach. There's bars around your soul. This is what happens when gossip takes root. Well, I'm not going to be hurt like that again. Fool me once, shame on me. Shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Proverbs 18, 19, a brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city and quarreling is like the bars of a castle. Are you treating someone this way? Have you put up bars in your soul between you and someone else? If you feel like you're being treated this way, you're wasting your time to try to go after those bars. You need to pray, repent of whatever sin you committed, change and trust God to bring those bars down. Bring it up. Sure. But you can't rattle those bars loose with your own power. Talk about the bars. Yeah, sure. It's good. God wants us to. So this sense of betrayal can be a strong motive towards gossip if someone feels this way, if there's these bars, this bitterness. So shaken Christian friendships must be mended in order to undo this breeding ground for gossip. So what is the answer? The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12, it's the pursuit of peace with all men. Go after peace, treasure it, seek it, protect it. Peace, not detente. Peace, not DMV. Peace, free commerce across those borders. You see, Jesus is grieved with Christian relationships that don't have open borders. You know what I mean. Where there's not free exchange of love and service and communication. Now you're not firing shots at each other, but that's not peace because you're not blessing each other either. Jesus Christ did not shed his precious blood for that. Hebrews 12, 14 and 15. Pursue peace with all people. And this idea of pursuit, I mean, it's a it's a strong word. It's like that that worn out hunter going through the woods and going and going until he finds his prey. Pursue peace with all people in holiness, without which no one will see the Lord looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled. Do you see how dangerous this is? It threatens everyone around. Pursuing gospel peace is not the same thing as creating a manmade ceasefire. Peace, as I've said, is this relational tranquility established by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of experiencing growth and harmony, trust and Christian friendship that leads to kingdom synergy of action together. Kingdom synergy of action together cannot take place if it's just a bunch of detente. We'll have no success with our neighbors or with our community if they don't look at us and say, oh, those must be the disciples of Jesus Christ because of our love for one another. Our love for one another. Proverbs 6. Such strong language from the Lord. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers. You see, the gossip is one who sows discord among brothers. With gladness and celebratory joy, brothers and sisters, you see up here on this table, covered in these red cloths up here, the bread and the wine that we're going to share, this Lord's table, as the people of God united together by the precious blood of Christ. You see, God does this. We are passive recipients. And in our union with God and with one another, we can grow in our communion with God and with one another by His grace. We can grow. That's what it's all about, is growing in our love for Him and for one another and experiencing it together and living it out in the world around us. This growth in communion with God and with one another occurs as we each love the Lord and love one another. This growth in communion and relationship with God and one another is not passive. We are active participants at this point in time. Unity and enjoyment of one another at the Lord's table really is the pinnacle of Christian worship. Eternal safety and joy in fellowship with God, serving Him, doing His will gladly, the pinnacle of the gospel. So then. This glorious peace, this joyful service together. This happiness, this laughter, this life of feasting and service and help and love. Laying down our lives for another, enjoying one another. Not just enjoying God forever, that's our chief end. But enjoying one another also enjoying Him enjoying one another together forever. So therefore, here's the question. What do you think the Lord thinks of one who sows discord among brothers? The Lord God hates, it says here, the Lord God hates the person who sows discord. Do you want to be hated by God? Sow discord. Do you want to be hated by God? Be one who breaks people apart in relationships. Oh, brothers and sisters, sowing discord, as I've said, it's it's the devil's evangelism. It's anti gospel. It's anti Christ. It's the opposite of the gospel. It is hellish from the pit of darkness. It is the devil's favorite song to sing. And the king on his heavenly throne hates it. And may we hate it with him in our own souls and any time it rears its nasty head in our midst. God has gone out of his way to list this sin as one that he hates. If we sow discord or if we allow for the sowing of discord, then we lose the favor of God. He removes the blessing of his presence from such a people who cast aside the precious relationships that Jesus Christ shed his blood to establish in peace. And a gossiper is one who sows discord. Proverbs 26, for lack of wood the fire goes out and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels. They go down into the inner parts of the body. This is what I was getting at before. You're not going to necessarily spot it unless you're on guard for it. Have you ever tasted that yummy morsel? You know, think about that person who's disappointed you, who somehow made problems for you. They let you down. Maybe it's the situation of broken Christian friendship where you feel like they betrayed you. Well, then, well, you know, you happen to hear that they're having some hard times, some family problems or whatnot, and you like it. And you're glad to hear it. You receive it into your inner parts. Well, you know, could have seen that coming. Of course, you know, you knew that was going to happen with a person like that. You see, to receive the report of a gossip unchallenged is to participate in the gossip. Gossip is a two way street, brothers and sisters. And remember, this is always true. This law is always true. Marriage is not a gossip free zone. The family is not a gossip free zone. The commands against gossiping have jurisdiction in all of our lives. We are to build up the reputation of every single human being we know as best as we can and help to grow the relationships between every single person that we know in our lives and rejoice if we see someone loving another person far more than they love us. Oh, that rivalry would be stifled forever in our souls. I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them, for such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive. So these repetitive sermons, brothers and sisters, are, by God's grace, going to turn us to where none of us are naive. where we spot this when someone is coming along and they're led by their own appetites and they've got this smooth talk and their flattery. We're not going to be deceived. We're not going to be enticed. We're not going to be seduced by them. Oh, they're so glib and they're so nice and they're so friendly and they're flattery and they're kind words, but it's all for their own kingdom. Avoid them. And watch out. You know, you're not being paranoid. If you're watching out for a person like this, you're just believing God's word. You're just obeying him. It says right there, watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles. You see, Paul is pleading with the Roman church, appealing to them in the strongest terms to be on the lookout, vigilant watching for those who cause divisions. And there is a type of person who causes divisions amongst people. So we're watching out for this person, but obviously we're watching out for this sin in our own lives. Because it will pop up from time to time in your life, even if you're not this unrepentant gossiper. They're going to seem likable on the surface, smooth words and crafty use of flattery to gain trust, especially from the naive that they may have an impeccable resume, a lineage of service. So another way we watch out for a divisive person is to not be naive. We have to know that such people exist and understand how they act and be on the watch for such people and confront them if they are identified. And this is why, in our church constitution, you have to be a member of a local assembly for at least one year before you can be an elder. Because it takes time to find out who someone really is. It takes relating with them, being with them, spending time with them. You don't just give trust away. You treat trust cheaply. and you will suffer the consequences for it. Trust is prediction of future behavior based on past performance. That's all it is. Covenant duty that we all have. All of us are called to do this. To watch out for this. Towards one another as Christians and especially towards one another in this church that we have to do this. There'll be obstacles to sound doctrine as well. This divisive person, it doesn't just have bad outcomes in relationships. It actually has doctrinal outcomes as well. And it makes sense because in order to be a person like that, you probably have to have given yourself over to some false ways of thinking and believing. Communication fails in the presence of these kinds of people. It's often unclear. You're often confused after the conversation. Once such a person is identified, that person is to be avoided because they are dangerous to the flock, especially the naive who can more easily be deceived and who just so quickly trust everyone like children. Children are made by God to automatically trust. Titus 3, 10 and 11, reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. The avoidance is to begin only after the person has been formally warned twice by the church. Hence, another thing we see about the divisive person is that they refuse to admit their wrongdoing and will likely resort to their smooth speech to try and deny the truth. And this is what I'm talking about that I've seen. It's possible to sin by not avoiding one who should be avoided. It's possible to sin by not avoiding one who should be avoided. Praise be to God that we've never been through this in our church. But brothers and sisters, if we ever get to this and your elders say, do not eat with them, take it very seriously. We would never say that to you unless we thought that it was such a poison and proven To understand that this is a part of the life of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and dealing with such dangers to his church. All this demonstrates the high level threat of gossip and divisive speech. Jesus Christ loves his bride. I mean, how would you feel if somebody put some poison into your wife's breakfast? So let's resolve together as an assembly to watch out for those who cause divisions by sowing discord amongst the brethren in any way, especially by speaking negative things about others in their absence. Now, what's another form of divisions? Grumblers, complainers walking according to their own lusts, and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. And this is often a way that the divisive person works. So to help you not be naive, I want you to be able to spot what flattering is. Flattering people to gain advantage. The divisive person will dole out affection and relationship in a measured and a differential fashion in order to gain advantage and create factions. Do you see this? Do you understand how this works? This person is calculating, they're scheming, and they're building themselves up in relation with a certain group of people who are naive while they're simultaneously staying away from those whom they perceive are a little wise to them. It's a standard story. You hear it over and over again in church splits. The divisive person will dole out affection in this fashion in order to get their way. Great swelling words. Do you hear that? We've probably all experienced this kind of person before. The affection will feel awkward. It'll be just a little too much out of place, unexpected, disproportionate to the situation. But it can be difficult to identify because, of course, naturally. In the course of life, some people spend more time with others, right? There are natural affections that we have for one another based on similar interests and personality fit. You've all said, you know, I really click with this person, right? We really get along well. And God makes it that way. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's a natural thing that happens. And the divisive person takes advantage of this using favoritism to build a faction for their own advantage. and hiding within this idea of, well, we really click. So we have to watch out for this. The divisive person may not actually understand how they are acting and what they are doing. Sometimes it's malicious. Sometimes it's just a life of blindness and foolishness. Maybe it's for them just a terrible habit of interaction guided by their own sinful desires, blinded by the self-justification, well, I'm trying to help them, often justified by the failings and the faults of those around them. I was only trying to help the church. Watch out for that person's weaknesses. The divisive person will likely believe they are acting righteously until God convicts them of their sin. Yet, of course, there are wolves in sheep's clothing who practice intentional conscious deceit in order to devour the sheep. You see what I'm saying? There's two different classes of a divisive person. We're to avoid both. Some might be malicious, some might be deceived. They embrace this pervasive form of interpersonal interaction that leaves a trail of damaged relationships in its wake. That's another way for you to look at yourself and see if there's a part of this in your life. Is your prior relationships and how are they? We all have this ugliness within us. Watch out for yourself first. Watch out for the church as well by being vigilant for this kind of person. First Corinthians 511, but now I'm writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or swindler, not even to eat with such a one. Reviler is another name for one who causes divisions by pouring out reproach and contempt amongst the brethren. You see that this sin that we're talking about is listed next to sexual immorality, idolatry, greed, drunkenness and swindling. This is serious stuff. James 4. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There's only one lawgiver and judge. He who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Speaking evil against a brother, judging a brother, is equivalent to speaking evil against God's law. Judging God's law, which is judging Christ, the king and the lawgiver. This form of judgment is when you make a final determination about someone. There's no chance they're going to change. They're done. They're finished. And you cast them off. You forsake them. Well, this is certainly contrary to the promises of God, right? That he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. He is the author and the perfecter of our faith. So we're never to judge one of our brothers and sisters in this fashion. Let us encourage one another, iron sharpening iron with the law of kindness, always staying away from judging each other in this fashion, always remaining humble and thoughtful in our interactions with one another. In first Peter three there in verse 12, which you have on page 13 of your notes, the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. The context here is the evil from someone's tongue. The face of the Lord is against them. So note this terrible curse and just I'm piling it on. I hope you see how serious this is to God. The face of the Lord will be set against the divisive one and the face of the Lord will be set against an assembly that continues to associate with one who has been proven divisive. So how do you respond to a reviler? How do you respond to gossip when it happens? Bless them with the truth and love. Direct, tender, immediate correction if gossip occurs. You have to watch out for gossip being disguised. And this is where it requires wisdom because we all need counsel, right? But gossip is someone disguising, I need some counsel from you. I'd like to tell you a few things, I need counsel. But you can gossip in that context if you're not careful. But the commands against gossip and slander and divisiveness do not prohibit us from seeking counsel about difficult situations. There is a way to seek counsel about how you've been offended by someone or hurt by someone or concerns about someone in your life. Without gossiping, there's a way to do that, OK? But this requires great care with our words. OK, so be very careful when you're in that situation. I mean, Proverbs 11, Proverbs 24, a multitude of counselors, there is safety. have a multitude of counselors, get advice about difficult situations in your life. Nothing in the sermon should be interpreted as saying, don't get advice about difficult situations. Just be very careful. Sometimes prayer requests are another way that people gossip. Sometimes the idea of bearing one another's burdens is how you'll hear gossip disguised. You know you're about to hear something when you say, well, now I don't want to talk bad about whatever. Well, here it comes. You're about to do it, right? Brothers and sisters, we're wicked people in our flesh, and we can easily gossip. We can talk bad about each other. And we can miss it when it happens. The law of kindness is our model. It's our goal. It's the way we love our neighbors with our speech. We're to guard their reputation. We're to stand up for one another's good times. Good names. Exodus 20, you see there, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. I've already read the shorter catechism answers. I'm going to leave the larger catechism answers unanswered today for the sake of time. I do hope we'll take time again to look at the larger catechism as a part of following up on this sermon and thinking through those answers. more fully. Question 1 43. I'll emphasize that one one phrase or wait. Maybe it's 1 45 receiving and countenancing evil reports that we should not do that. And then also question 1 44 discouraging tail bearers, flatterers and slanderers. So we spot and we respond. Okay, you're not being paranoid to be vigilant. And you're not being rude if you respond in love to something that you perceive to be a gossiping statement. As we encourage one another and bear each other's burdens, helping one another out of sin, let's have the law of kindness on our lips always. Helping one another out of sin is a dangerous moment. You have to speak the truth in love. And I'll tell you, there are even some relationships where you'll find you just can't do that. The person just doesn't trust you. You try to speak the truth and love to them and they think you're scheming or trying to tear them down or they've given up on your perspective, whatever it might be. And that's okay. You just keep loving. Just keep loving. If you notice something in a friend that concerns you, the default setting would be, in general, to talk straight to them first, not to anyone else. It's funny, we're going to be looking at that in our peacemaker study today. And of course, this is going to assume a relationship of trust and affection is established and ongoing. And if it's not, sometimes that's when you need help from other people who can be a mediator to bring trust into the situation. So summary, God hates gospel. Excuse me. God hates gossip, which destroys the work of the gospel. The gossip, this person says, discord among brethren, and the judgment for this is great. Do not associate with a divisive person. Gossip kindles and sustains discord. Gossip's a tasty trifle that defiles others. You might not spot it. To hear gossip is to be defiled. Note and avoid gossips. Gossip often involves smooth and flattering speech. It'll be hard to detect. in our own lives and in the lives of others. Gossip is on the list with other terrible sins. We're to keep ourselves from being naive and simple-minded by staying in God's word. Gossip is the same as judging God's law and Christ himself. Gossip is the opposite of love and compassion. God wants us to live in harmony with one another. And refraining from gossip and defending against gossip is a prerequisite to happiness in your relationships, in your family, in our church. Gossip will put the face of the Lord against us. Gossip will hinder your prayers before God. The face of God will be against you if you do this or if you tolerate this. Gossip is fueled by arrogance and it ends up in brokenness and loneliness. It dishonors God. It harms the offended. It harms other people, and it harms the one who does it. How do you handle it? Well, remember, it takes two to gossip. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. You hear that? It takes two. An evildoer listens to wicked lips. So you're an evildoer if you listen. And a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. You, you're a liar if you're listening to a mischievous tongue. First of all, know what gossip and divisiveness are. Become wise. Know how to spot these things and refuse them. Here's some potential responses. Have you gone to speak with that person directly yet? That would be a simple response to turn them away, to point them to the other person. You know, maybe they don't realize what they've just done and they're just, you know, they're not a divisive person and they'll be like, oh, wow. Thank you, brother. Maybe you might even have to stop the conversation, though. Maybe that doesn't do. Maybe you'll have to be so strong as to say, you know, I'm uncomfortable with this conversation. It seems perhaps this is gossip. Maybe this is divisive. I feel like this person's reputation is being threatened by your words. Do you have the courage to say something like that in love to someone? I hope that this sermon will give you the courage to do something like that. I was just putting some cinnamon on the French toast. It's poison. Stop it. Do not eat that. You see, you have to know what it is, regardless of what the person says. Maybe you need to go to someone and repent of gossip, or repent of listening to gossip, or repent of divisiveness. Maybe the Lord has shown you this problem in your own life. You know, it can happen in families. It can happen right inside of a house. One person can be divisive, can be a gossip, can be a tattletale. Is there a trend of an untamed tongue in your life? I think there is. I think if we're honest, we'll see that. And that's the way of the world. You know, talking, sitting around and talking about nothing that matters. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So many words, so little thought given to what we're saying. I'm guilty. And remember, brothers and sisters, there's great blessing when the tongue is used wisely. The antidote for gossip is confessing our sin to God, walking in the gospel, rejoicing in what Jesus Christ has done for us, and the overflowing gratitude of being one who's much forgiven, one who longs to use your tongue to bless. A man has joy by the answer of his mouth in a word spoken in due season. How good it is! Oh, that our fellowship and our families and our relationships would just be filled with all of this due season speech. How good it is! Much joy by the answer of your mouth over and over again unto the blessings of God. Imagine! The growing beauty of being in such a community who are self-controlled and who speak out of a heart of love for Christ and His glory and the desire to build up and impart grace and the law of God is on their tongue, the law of kindness controlling them. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, James writes, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. So have you considered your plan for your words? Do you have a plan for the speech that comes out of your mouth? How will you seek the Lord so that your words flow from his spirit dwelling in you rather than from your flesh? Young people, can I have your attention, please, young people? And even you, young of heart. Have you sought the Lord for sober minded, joyful and loving speech amongst your peers, or do silliness and thoughtlessness of a speech occur regularly in your life so that you can demonstrate your Christian liberty? You want to make sure everybody knows you're not a legalist. Yeah, you're cool. Be cool. Do you see that unconsidered speech will ultimately lead to gossip and damage to others? Do you make it your goal, young ones, for every word that comes out of your mouth to be a word of blessing, a word of truth, a word of grace, a word of building up, And so that after you've spoken it, you know why you spoke it and you knew that before you spoke it. You considered your words carefully. Are you speaking in order to glorify God and build up others in the Lord? I mean, young ones, have you given this kind of consideration to your words? Do you see what sober mindedness looks like? Because that's what this is about. It's about sober mindedness. Are your words usually helpful and healing words, bringing yourself and others closer to God and his kingdom? Or do you have a pattern of unhelpful and damaging words? How would people describe you, your words? Are you prepared through this sermon, this simple sermon to lovingly and directly deal with gossip? Do you see how terrible it is, how dangerous it is? Do you know how to spot gossip and do you have some Some basic understanding now about how to deal with that. And even a deeper look in your own heart as to what might motivate that. As Christians, we will want our speech to be like what proceeds from God's mouth. Right? We want to be like Him. We're His children. We want our words to be like His words to us. And He speaks life to us, brothers and sisters. Let us speak life to one another as well, imparting grace, building up, glorifying God, gaining relational joy and trust unto love and kingdom advance, kingdom synergy. May God grant us tongues of life, brothers and sisters, always speaking the truth and love for his glory. and to build one another up in him and his kingdom work in us and through us. Let us be in prayer for this in our lives. I hope it will make its way into our corporate time of prayer today. Let's pray. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, we are so thankful to You for Your Word, Your perfect Word, Your pure Word that brings light and life to us, O God, that destroys our sin and builds up the life of Christ in us. O God, make your word effectual in us unto salvation, we pray. And God, we do ask you, Lord, that you would grant to us this great gift of a tamed tongue, of speech that brings you glory, and that comes forth from the life of Christ within us, motivated by the goals of Christ, filled with the love of Christ, and informed by the mind of Christ, we pray, Father. All for your glory. For our joy is your people, we pray. Destroy the devil in our sin who would seek to divide us, we pray. And pour out your spirit upon us. Unto life and light and joy and victory, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.