Deuteronomy 19:15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. If we Christians lived by this. If we Christians believed this. We Christians would be freed from the shackles of gossip. We Christians would never become split by controversy. Notice I did not write, splintered. I wrote, split. I see splintering arising from gossip and splitting arising from false accusation; accusation that does not believe in and follow the verses above. verse 15: Its extremely important to notice here that the instruction applies EVEN IN THE CASE where the offense has ACTUALLY happened. verse 16: Nevertheless, people will insist. They are so intent on calling out the offender, they still accuse. Or, they have such ill intent that maybe they take the chance on being believed. verse 17: The rubber meets the road. Since a single accuser insists on bringing another low, EVERYBODY who has the ability and right to judge must now be included. verse 18: And the investigation MUST be official and thorough. Its important to note here that significant damage has already been done. No matter the outcome, the accuser has put in the mind of all who hear some measure of doubt about the accused, and the doubt will continue with the temptation to conclude without evidence, negative qualities about the accused. verse 18-19: And if the accusation IS NOT proven, the accuser pays the expected penalty. Its that serious a matter. In the life of a Christian, or someone who claims to be, this result is rarely seen of those who accuse. That is, the accuser(s) appear to succeed most times because the people they come to with the accusation do not thoroughly investigate. The qualities found from gossip are too entrenched in their way of thinking, or, it is just easier to follow feeling instead of truth. verse 20-21: FEAR the consequences! Numbers 32:23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. Gossip speaks ill of people behind their back. Gossip provides no second witness, or, if it does, it intentionally leaves the accused out of the loop, unable to defend himself or herself. It relies on being believed and relishes in the likelihood the information will get passed on. This is a situation of people comparing themselves to people for the one and/or other reasons to think less of someone else and think more of themselves. This habit, though, under stress pushing toward retribution, or strong envy/jealousy, or struggle for power, leads to open accusation with no actual desire by the accuser for real investigation, relying on their own reputation to make the accusation seem true. Has your pastor said ill of another elder? or has your dad? or has your dear daughter? or has your best friend? or, has your spouse who you trust with your life (and maybe livelihood)? After all it could be that if you dont listen to them, you will lose a relationship with them and the benefits that go with that relationship. Did they prove it? I dont mean, did they assure you? I dont mean, did they clarify that a lot of people believe the same thing? I dont mean, did they challenge your ability to discern? Did they actually prove it? Proof is not circumstantial, especially when judging the character of a brother in Christ. Remember, now, that we are talking about accusation that may ACTUALLY be about something true (where only the accused, the accuser, and God know), though not proven to those required by the accuser to judge. Yeah, but you have dealt with this particular accused before and experienced the same kind of thing. Or, this person always rubbed you the wrong way. Well, if someone close to you; someone you trust, convinces you of the bad qualities of another person or other persons; their accusation even seems anecdotally believable based on your own life experiences; your fate will be the same as their fate. You shall stand before God in fear and loathing, because you will already know in your heart, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot... and might I add... reputation for reputation, separation for separation, etc., etc. There is no excuse in the realm of salvation for brethren to take it upon themselves to offer up gossip or open accusation. It is a matter of salvation. Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:21:40 +0000
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