The Deadly Power of Slander

In the Bible, the term “the devil,” when referring to Satan himself; comes from the Greek word “Diabolos,” and means “slanderer.” Jesus also made it crystal clear that the devil is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). The first lie that we have on record is where the serpent, by influence of Satan, called God a liar in the garden of Eden. Eve told him that God said that they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree, and the serpent quickly replied, “Thou shalt not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). Believing that lie obviously led to nothing good. This statement from the serpent constituted slander against God because it was a false report about God. He is NOT a liar. Satan has been influencing people to slander God and those who follow God, ever since that event in the garden of Eden. In fact, slander is one of the most constant principles of evil throughout the scriptures. Why? Firstly, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” as Proverbs 18:21 states. And if it’s successful once, why not use it again? In fact the devil has been immensely successful with using this powerful tool of confusing God’s people about who is really of God, and who it is that is actually speaking for God. When Moses sent the twelve spies to scout the land of Canaan, ten of them brought back an evil report of unbelief, while only Joshua and Caleb spoke the truth. So who did the people of Israel believe? You guessed it, the ten slanderers (Num. 12:27-33; Num. 14:1-4). And once again, the result of believing a lie led to nothing good. Among other judgments that God laid on the people, they were forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years, to enter a land that could have been possessed in days. Many of the prophets were put to death by God’s people because Satan was successful in convincing enough people in high positions that the prophets were evil. The prophets who weren’t killed were persecuted severely by the same means. But God said in Isaiah, “Woe unto them that call good evil, and evil good” (Isa. 5:20). When God says “woe” my friend, you certainly don’t want to be on the receiving end of it. It went badly for Israel because they believed lies about God’s messengers that he sent. False witnesses rose up against Jesus when he was being judged, giving false reports of what he had said and done. Believing those lies has led to nothing good for the Jews ever since that time.

If I were to be thorough, this would be a book rather than a short post, but time limits me. The apostle Paul was probably the most persecuted figure in the new testament, bringing a simplistic and beautiful revelation of the fulfillment of the law, which proved to be very controversial and hated by the Jews. He made known on a number of occasions that there were some who were broadcasting false reports of what he was teaching, which he rightfully referred to as slander (Rom. 3:8). In fact, slander is such a powerful tool, that people will believe it even when they have seen nothing but goodness and truth in those being slandered, as was the case with Paul. Listen to his pleading exhortation to the Galatians, who had been heavily slandered against him: “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them” (Gal. 4:13-17). AMAZING!! These people I assure you had seen nothing but the love of God and pureness of truth in Paul, but yet the slander of those who sought the people’s favor, as Paul alluded to above, was enough to persuade the Galatians to think evil of him. In regard to the same dilemma with those at Corinth, Paul sarcastically told the Corinthians that though they saw nothing but good in him; “nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile” (II Cor. 12:16). And what was the result of his efforts to persuade the people against the false reports of those who slandered him? In his last letter on record, Paul told Timothy, “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me” (II Tim. 1:15). This is one of the most overlooked and saddest statements in the Bible. What that statement meant is that the slanderers were successful in turning those who Paul brought to Christ, away from Paul and away from the love and truth that God put in him for their good. And again, the belief of the report of slanderers has led to nothing but harm. Jesus said, “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward” (Mat. 10:41). Even so, he that receives a slanderer’s report will receive a slanderer’s reward. No wonder one of the requirements for being saved, as noted in the Psalms, is “nor [will he] take up a reproach against his neighbour” (Psm. 15:3). Be very careful my friend, when someone tries to give you an evil report of a brother or sister in Christ, when you have found nothing but good in that individual. As you have seen here in this short article from the scriptures, slander is NOT of God, and receiving it will only lead to serious hurt, as it always has. God bless.