____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ February 25, 1996 ____________________________________________________ He That Utterth A Slander Is A Fool by Kent E. Heaton, Sr. Speech is the most powerful thing we possess as people. With speech we communicate with one another. It became such a powerful tool that God caused men to speak in different tongues to stop the building of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Speech enables us to share the joys of life one with another. Yet, speech is also used to destroy and cause harm. ``Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,'' is a nice saying to use in life. But in reality, words spoken can hurt very much. Moses was kept from the promised land because he did not control his tongue. Naboth was murdered at the mouth of witnesses that lied. Jesus was accused of being a drunkard and blasphemer and sentenced to death by the words of the people, ``Crucify him, crucify him.'' Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36, ``But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.'' There are no words that we speak that will not be with us in the judgment. James warns about the tongue how unruly it can be and is ``a fire'' (James 3). Men who cannot control their tongue and allow their speech to create harm and evil reports will be judged in sin. Slander is the worse tool a Christian can use against another Christian. There are no depths of hypocrisy men take themselves when they begin to slander others in the family of God. To speak evil of, to whisper about, defame, report evil of, speak reproachfully, rail, revile, calumniate or blaspheme is out of character given to us by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:21-23 tells us, ``For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;'' To speak evil of one who is a brother or sister in Christ is without love. 1 Corinthians 13:5-6, [love] ``does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;'' Slander is found in the company of those who have a haughty look and a proud heart (Psalm 101:5). ``But to the wicked God says: 'What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, Seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you? ... You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes''' (Psalm 50:16,17,19-21). The child of God cannot abide in the presence of God nor dwell before Him if the heart is filled with slander: Psalm 15:2-3, ``He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;'' If one slanders another they are a fool: Proverbs 10:18, ``Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.'' How can it be that Christians can so fill their hearts to slander one another? James asks about the tongue, ``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.'' Peter gives us the answer in 1 Peter 3:10: ``For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.'' Amen! ___________________________________________ FORGIVING OTHERS by Greg Gwin There is no doubt that one of the conditions of our own forgiveness by God is that we forgive others who sin against us. Jesus said: ``If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses'' (Matthew 6:14,15). He also taught us that we should extend this forgiveness again and again. Notice: ``Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven'' (Matthew 18:21,22). The question arises, though, about a situation where an individual is not interested in our forgiveness. They do not ask to be forgiven and may, in fact, continue the offending act against us. What should our response be in such a situation? Jesus gave valuable information about dealing with this problem in Luke 17:3,4: ``Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.'' The teaching here clearly indicates that forgiveness must be sought before it can be granted. We must be ready to forgive--willing to forgive--even anxious to forgive. But, until the offender seeks our forgiveness, there is no way that forgiveness can be accomplished. (A moment of reflection will remind us that this is exactly the pattern that God has established for us to be forgiven by Him. He is continually ready to forgive us, but we must repent and seek His forgiveness before we can receive it.) It's worth noting that the apostles realized the difficulty of forgiving a brother who continues to commit the same offense over and over. After hearing His command in this matter, ``the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith'' (Luke 17:5). It takes a strong faith to fulfill the Lord's will concerning forgiveness. ___________________________________________ FEAR by Gary J. Oliver Such fear can begin to affect our behavior and our actions. Eventually it will have a negative effect on our health. It can lessen the quality and shorten the longevity of our lives. The story has been told of Death walking toward a city. A man stopped Death and asked, ``What are you going to do?'' ``I'm going to kill 10,000 people.'' Death replied. ``That's horrible.'' ``That's the way it is,'' Death said. ``That's what I do.'' So the day passed. That evening the man met Death coming back, and he said, ``You said you were only going to kill 10,000 people, but I heard that 70,000 were killed.'' Death said, ``But I only killed 10,000. WORRY AND FEAR KILLED THE OTHERS.'' -- an excerpt from Real Men Have Feelings Too, Moody, 1993, p.82 ___________________________________________ HONESTY In the July 15, 1993 Boardroom Reports, Peter LeVine writes: ``When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran a help-wanted ad for electricians with expertise at using Sontag connectors, it got 170 responses even though there is no such thing as a Sontag connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify resumes.'' Leadership Magazine, Vol. 15:1, Winter, 1994, p.47. *************** "There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19). ___________________________________________ In this election year... Just Suppose Suppose we had to run for church membership as any candidate runs for political office. Would we win or lose? Suppose the membership were good for one year only and that re-election depended on our faithfulness at worship during that time. Would we be re-elected? Suppose there were a long list of those waiting to get in. Would we be more alive to our duties as representatives of God? Suppose we were called to explain just why the church should keep our name on the roll. Have we a case to offer in our defense? Suppose every member of the church did as much for the church as we are presently doing, would more seats be needed or would the doors be shut? Just suppose! -- via The Exhorter, author unknown (February 18, 1996) ___________________________________________ "...I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________