Do You Fear God? (Part 11)

Another trait of the people of the last days is that they are slanderers (false accusers).  What is slander?  Slander is the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.  Slander has become a public sport in American culture today in all walks of life, even in the ministry.  The Greek word for false accusers is “diabolos”, the very word for the devil.  William Barclay states: “The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers, and of all slanderers he is chief.  There is a sense in which slander is the most cruel of all sins.  If a man’s goods are stolen, he can set to and build up his fortunes again; but if a man’s good name is taken away, irreparable damage has been done to him.  It is one thing to start an evil and untrue report on its malicious way, it is entirely another thing to stop it.  Many a man and many a woman, who would never dream of putting his or her head in other people’s pockets and stealing their money or their belongings, thinks nothing-even finds a pleasure-in passing on a story which ruins someone else’s good name, without even trying to find out whether or not the story is true. There is slander enough in every village, and not infrequently in many a church, to make the recording angel weep as he records these cruel words.”  The 9th of the Ten Commandments states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  Have you lied on anybody lately? Do you fear God?  Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” The people of the Last Days have no fear of God. Proverbs 1:7 states: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”