I often pride myself that I am not a marauder. I do not rape and pillage villages. I haven’t raped and pillaged since, … I cannot remember when. I must be a fine Christian man. I have robbed no banks. I have committed no murder. What a guy I am!!!
Real Christianity is an exercise involving real people, human people; i.e., flawed people. As Paul tells the Romans, “There is no one who is without sinfulness, no not one.” John says that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.
Rom 3:9-14 What then? Are we better than they (the Jews)? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one. 11 There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. ” 13 “Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; NASB
1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. NASB
Paul is telling the Roman Christians that they should not think of themselves more highly than the Jews. Down through the ages, thousands of Christians have raped, tortured and slaughtered many millions of Jewish men, women and children because “they (the Jews) had killed Christ.” Truth is, I crucified Jesus, … and so did we all with our sin. The record of anti-Semitism is undeniable, and it is appalling. To read it is to weep and be ashamed.
Martin Luther’s horrid twisted commentary on Paul’s words (not his finest hour) fueled the Holocaust and the Final Solution of Adolf Hitler, but that is only one of the latest wanton slaughter of God’s chosen people. It was not even the worst or the most systematic persecution of the Jewish people. It just had the largest single focused body count. Jesus warns us quite severely against this attitude and behavior in His famous and often misquoted teaching on what we can expect when the Lord returns.
Matt 25:31-33 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Matt 25: 34-40 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35’For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Matt 25:41-46 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” NASB
Although it is metaphorically valid to use this scripture to describe our obligation to all human beings, the focus of this scripture is, as with all Second Coming scripture, the children of Abraham; i.e., the Jews. God may punish His children, but He takes it personally when people mistreat them. He used Assyria to punish Israel and then punished Assyria because they went too far.
In the passage in Matthew 25, we see that the first people to enter Hell, along with the Antichrist and the False Prophet, are those people on earth after the Second Coming who have mistreated Israel, “the least of these my brethren.”
The Gentile Christians are not even present during this judgment. They are off at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There is only the newly installed King Jesus, His people, Israel, and their enemies present at this event. I took three chapters in my book, The Eschaton, to defend these statements, so I will not reiterate all that here. The point is that the systematic hatred and horrendous treatment of the Jews down through history is the first thing Jesus will judge when He comes into His earthly kingdom at the Second Coming.
This murderous behavior all began (and always begins) with reviling, hate-filled, judgmental speech, but it did not come from Jesus. From the cross, Jesus looked down upon these people who were reviling Him and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus did not see them as evil. He saw them as captured by the god of this world, Satan. He came to set them free, not to punish them. He wept over them and the destruction of their city. He loved His detractors and tells us we should “go and do likewise.”
The people who crucified Jesus did not just disagree with Jesus. They said he was demon-possessed. They called Him illegitimate and poorly born. Just 18 years earlier, when Jesus was just 12,a more worthy set of Jewish leaders were found remarking at the wisdom of this Galilean child, but the leaders of Jesus’ day were not worthy men. They reviled Him non-stop from the Portico of Solomon to the foot of the cross and beyond, and it sealed their doom. It corrupted them beyond repair. It will do the same to us if we do not act as worthy men.
Reviling makes us bitter, hateful and progressively more corrupt. It ricochets off its intended target and rebounds upon us, upon our family and upon those around us. In the movie musical, South Pacific, the protagonists all sing a song entitled, “You’ve Got to Be Taught to Hate.” Hatred does not come naturally to children. They learn it from their parents, their peers and the world around them. Consider when we revile someone
what we are teaching the little ones nearest us. We are teaching them to hate. Do you want that on your conscience? I don’t.
Matt 18:2-7And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! NASB
The United States has been blessed by God partially because we have historically offered aid and assistance to Israel. We, most of us, do not revile Jews much anymore. We save our hatefulness for others; e.g., homosexuals, pedophiles, Muslims, Democrats …and Republicans. Revilers are pretty sure it is okay, even virtuous, to revile. There are people in the media who tell us they have the “ministry of reviling.” They say they are “called by God,” for whom they claim to speak.
They co-opt our “religion for their politics. Seems almost Biblical, or so say the spin doctors on the radio. Some people make a lot of money reviling others and they always speak of it as a service to the community. But is it a ministry? Is it a virtue? Is it ever right to revile? Is it Biblical or Christ-like? Let’s take a look.
1 Peter 2:20-23 But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;…NASB
Peter tells us it is contrary to the natures of both God and Jesus to revile someone. Jesus, he points out, had both just cause and motive to revile, but He did not do it. Peter was with Jesus daily for over three years and saw Jesus and His behavior. Peter should know.
2 Peter 2:7-13 … if He (God) rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, 13 suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. NASB
God rescued Lot from his offensive culture because Lot loved people. Lot did not start an anti-Sodomite hate campaign. He rescued people. He did not revile them. It was the nature of the Sodomites to revile others. Reviling was part of the Sodomite passion-based nature. It startled me to think that when I was reviling my enemies, I was exhibiting the same nature as a Sodomite. I wonder how Rush Limbaugh would feel about that.
The wages of sin is death, and the wages of reviling is that you will suffer wrong. It is the principle of sowing and reaping. He who reviles is himself reviled. He who loves is himself loved. He who forgives is himself forgiven. Take your pick!
Jude 8-11 Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, …NASB
Angels know better than to revile even Satan. Reviling, Jude tells us, flows from a murderous spirit like that of Cain. Jude was the brother of Jesus and got to watch Him in action for about 30 years, and this was his takeaway about the proper nature of a Christian. Revilers become irrational creatures that are themselves destroyed by their reviling. Jude tells us that revilers and murderers are the same having gone the way of Cain. And Jesus said it also in Matthew 5:20-23 here below.
Matt 5:20-23 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ (Worthless one) shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. NASB
The rabbis had by Jesus time watered down the Torah to make it “keepable.” They minimized its purpose and its instructions. “As long as you do not actually commit adultery,” they would say, “you have not broken the Torah Law on sexual sin.” But Jesus taught differently. He raised the commandments back up to the place where God had put them originally, a high standard that God knew we could not keep without the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus taught that even if you looked at a woman with lust you had committed adultery. I remember a President telling a nation that it was not sex if you did not penetrate. Then the incidence among teens of oral sex and oral gonorrhea both skyrocketed. Likewise, the rabbis taught that as long as you did not actually render someone dead, you did not really commit murder. Again Jesus raises the standard back up to where God had it originally. If you even call your brother a fool (revile him), you have committed murder.
Jesus tells us clearly that to revile a man carries the same guilt and punishment as to murder a man. That means that if He had reviled His enemies from the cross, He would have committed the sin of murder. When we revile, we also commit the sin of murder. And I thought I was doing so well ?.
Eph 4:26-27 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. NASB
Jesus and Paul taught against harboring angry feelings and using angry words as weapons. Anger is not sin in and of itself, but it must not be savored, celebrated or spun into hatred. Jesus got angry once or twice, but He did not harbor it. He got angry at the mistreatment of people and at the dishonor of God’s dwelling place. Today, they are both one and the same, because God now dwells in people. Jesus got angry and got over it. He did not let the sun go down on his anger.
Jesus tells us that our righteousness must surpass that of the self-justifying Pharisaical people of the day. That the Pharisees were sinners did not put Jesus off. It was their self-righteousness that He spoke against. It was their behavior. Jesus lovingly and willingly died for the Pharisees (who reviled and crucified Him) just as He did for all men everywhere and in every age
1 Cor 5:11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. NASB
Paul told the Corinthians to distance themselves from other Christians, “so-called brothers,” if they gave themselves over to immorality, covetousness, idolatry, drunkenness, swindling and reviling. He lumps reviling as a sin equal to idolatry or immorality. (He also lump covetousness in that list, but that is another blog.)
1 Cor 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. NASB
Paul goes on in a later chapter to say that the same group as above will not be able to enter the kingdom of God. He is not talking about going to heaven when we die. It is worse than that. He is saying we will not be able to enter the kingdom of God on earth. Simply put, we cannot live genuine Christian lives if we are revilers.
In this list, Paul defines the immoral as fornicators, adulterers, effeminates and homosexuals. All in this list are warned that they cannot walk with the Lord while at the same time they practice these behaviors. This list also includes revilers.
2 Tim 3:1-5 But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these. NASB
Paul tells Timothy that in the progressive corruption that will precede the coming of Jesus, “religious men” (people who attend church) will practice all manner of unrighteousness, including reviling.
Paul instructs the Corinthians to remove from the flock those who will not repent of certain deeds, including reviling. Reading 1 Corinthians 5 above in a broader context, we see this is so and that it concerns immoral church members, not the people of the world. We cannot be a witness to the people of the world if we do not interact with them. It is not the world with whom we must not associate. It is openly rebellious Christians Paul is meaning.
1 Cor 5:9-13 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. NASB
Table fellowship (eating with someone) is throughout the Bible a sign of intimacy, community and family. It is a sign of acceptance and agreement. It welcomes others to share a life (or a moment in life) with you. When genuine, it was a sign of approval for the person invited to dinner. Offering table fellowship to unbelievers is to welcome them and to show the love or hospitality of God.
To offer table fellowship to a “so-called brother” is to appear to condone his openly practiced behavior. Jesus ate with sinners (and was scolded for it), but He did not seek to break bread with the religious leaders of His day. And He will not break bread with us either if we practice these behaviors in the face of them being forbidden. In fact, we are told that it is physically dangerous to approach the Lord’s Supper with these immoral behaviors (including reviling) operating in our lives.
1 Cor 11:27-30 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (die). NASB
This is why we intentionally and verbally confess our sins before we approach the Lord’s Supper at our Communion service.
According to James (another brother who lived with the Lord for 30 years) reviling others contradicts the wisdom (the nature or life style) of the Holy Spirit.
James 3:13-18 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. NASB
So how are we supposed to react to evil men and the evil deeds they do? We hate the sin and love the sinner. We stand firm against the evil done but have compassion for the evil doer. We treat the evil doer like Jesus treated the people reviling Him from the foot of the cross. We choose to see them, not as evil, but as captured; i.e., captured by the world, their own flesh and the Devil. We remember what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11. We used to be just like them in one way or another, but now we have been washed, sanctified and forgiven in the name of Jesus and in the Spirit of our God.
1 Cor 6:9-11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. NASB
I have had many personal nemeses over the years; i.e., people who seemed to live just to make my life miserable. So have we all. If it was not a personal nemesis (maybe you do not provoke the kind of response that I do ?), it was a person or persons who made your life miserable or threatened to do so often without knowing you personally. Politicians and tax collectors come to mind.
If I wanted to walk with the Lord, Jesus told me I had to forgive them, love them, befriend them and refrain from hating or reviling them, even when I had to protect me or my family from them. I can give you names and dates and places. God led me to study Joseph who told his brothers, “You meant it to me for evil, but God meant it to me for good.”
God led me to study Jesus who loved Judas for three years even though He knew Judas was a “snake in His bosom.” God led me to study David who was targeted unjustly by Saul, Absalom and others and yet responded in a Godlike manner in Psalm 37. God led me to study, learn and absorb the lessons of his response.
Ps 37:1-6 A Psalm of David. Do not fret because of evildoers. Be not envious toward wrongdoers. 2 For they will wither quickly like the grass, and fade like the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.
Ps 37:7-11 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. 10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; and you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
Ps 37:12-21 The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 The Lord laughs at him; for He sees his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow, to cast down the afflicted and the needy, to slay those who are upright in conduct. 15 Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken. 16 Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken; but the LORD sustains the righteous. 18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless; and their inheritance will be forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they will have abundance. 20 But the wicked will perish; and the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures. They vanish — like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. 22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land; but those cursed by Him will be cut off.
Ps 37:23-26 The steps of a man are established by the LORD; and He delights in his way. 24 When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. 25 I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread. 26 All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing.
Ps 37:27-34 Depart from evil, and do good, so you will abide forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice, and does not forsake His godly ones. They are preserved forever; but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. 29 The righteous will inherit the land, and dwell in it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not slip. 32 The wicked spies upon the righteous, and seeks to kill him. 33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, or let him be condemned when he is judged. 34 Wait for the LORD, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Ps 37:35-40 I have seen a violent, wicked man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. 36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more. I sought for him, but he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity. 38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed. The posterity of the wicked will be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD. He is their strength in time of trouble. 40 And the LORD helps them, and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in Him. NASB*