Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 105

Greek Words for Gossip: "Dilogos" and "Diabolos"

Today, we round off our study of Greek words often translated "gossip" in the New Testament with two "d" words that highlight the importance of Christian leaders ought to talk.

Not a Double-Talker

3. dilogos and diabolos. Our last set of Greek terms both appear in the pastoral epistles. They are in very close proximity in 1 Timothy 3. Paul is listing the qualifications for church officers. Leaders must have good character and good reputations. In verse 8, Paul turns from overseers to deacons. “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain” (1 Tim 3:8). The Greek words translated “sincere” in the NIV are mh [not] dilogous [the plural form of dilogos] a New Testament hapax legomenon. Dilogos  may be a word that Paul made up for the occasion, as it only appears one other place in later Greek literature where it means “say something twice, repeating.”92 The Revised Standard Version (RSV), KJV, ESV, and NASB all render it “double-tongued,” probably meaning something like our colloquial, “two-faced,” “speaking out of both sides of our mouths,” “double-talk.” But Mounce suggests that the best translation may be “gossips.”

“The closest form in the LXX is diglossos, ‘double-tongued,’ a person who reveals secrets in contrast to one who keeps secrets (Prov 11:3). . . . Deacons thus must be the type of people who are careful with their tongues, not saying what they should not, being faithful to the truth of their speech.”93 

Gossips may be insincere, but the godly are not (cf. Ps 28:3).

Not a Devil-Talker

In verse 11, Paul turns to deacons’ wives (or perhaps female deacons). “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers [may diabolous] but temperate and trustworthy in everything” (1 Tim 3:11). The NASB translates the plural of diabolos as “malicious gossips.” The adjective diabolos used substantivally refers throughout the New Testament to the devil, the enemy of Jesus and all of his followers. As a name for Satan, it emphasizes his adversarial and slanderous nature. Applied as an adjective to deacons’ wives, it teaches that a respectable woman has close control of her words and doesn’t let them become like the enemy’s. Paul uses it again in Titus 2 in a list of qualities that Titus should teach the older women: “to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good” (Titus 2:3 NASB).

The problem of mimicking the devil’s own kind of talk is not limited to the fairer sex. Paul warns Timothy in his second letter that in the last days this kind of behavior will characterize all sinful men

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous [diaboloi,“malicious gossips” NASB], without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them” (2 Tim 3:2-5).

When the devil speaks, he hates and lies. Malevolent, accusatory, abusive, slanderous, lying speech is his “native language” (John 8:44). Godly people will reject malicious gossip. May we be spared from having “diabolical” tongues!

Notes

[92] BAGD 198.

[93] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 199. See also his weblog article on the difficulties of translating words like this one. William D. Mounce, “1 Timothy 3:8 – Double-Tongued Deacons,” Koinonia Blog, entry posted October 5, 2009, http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/10/doubletongued-deacons-2-tim-38.html (accessed June 21, 2011).

Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"

New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Evil Listening
Evil Reports
Meddling
Bearing False Witness
Gossip in the New Testament
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Two)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Three)

[Matt's Messages] "O Immanuel!"

“O Immanuel!”
December 14, 2014
Isaiah 7:1-8:10

As I said a couple of weeks ago, we’re going to take a break from Romans until the first of the year and focus this month on some advent and Christmas oriented themes.

Last week, Pastor Jeff Powell reminded us what Christmas is all about. It’s about focusing on Jesus Christ and who He is. We’ll continue that this week.

Last year, I started a new preaching tradition. Each year on the Sunday before our normal Christmas service (which will be next Sunday), I’m planning to preach on an Old Testament prophecy or foreshadowing of the Messiah. A prediction of Jesus Messiah from the Old Testament.

Last year, I preached on Genesis 49 which was a fairly obscure passage where we get the phrase, “Lion of Judah.” The Messiah would be the Long-Expected Lion. Remember that?

This year, we’re going for something much more familiar. It’s where in the Old Testament that we get the prophecy of Immanuel.  And Immanuel means? God with us.

All four of our advent readings are about Immanuel. Next Sunday’s message will be about Immanuel from Matthew chapter 1. And my message on Christmas Eve this year will also be about Immanuel.

But this is where it all started. Isaiah chapters 7 and 8.

Our message is entitled, “O Immanuel!” From chapter 8, verse 8. “O Immanuel!”

Now, this passage, if you haven’t studied before, will probably surprise you.

It’s not what you might expect.

You and I might guess that this is one of those places in the Old Testament that says something like this, “One day there will be a Messiah. He’s coming. He’s not here yet. Let me tell you what He will be like.  (And then there’s a list of predictions. And they’re pretty straightforward. He’ll be like this, and like this and like this. And you’ll recognize him like this.) And on top of everything else, the list says, that the Messiah will carry the title Immanuel.”

But that’s not how it is.

There are places in the Old Testament that are more like that than others. Isaiah 9:6-11 and Isaiah 53:1-12, and Micah 5:2-5 and Psalm 110 and others.

But many of the prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament aren’t like that at all. Jesus is all over the Old Testament, but often in types and shadows and prefigurements and patterns. He pops up where you don’t expect Him and then melts into the rest of that story, leaving you longing for more.

I think that’s more the kind of prophecy we have here today.

Now, if you thought Romans has been a little hard to follow, you might want to strap on your seatbelt because there are some parts of today’s passage that are also hard to follow.

The story takes place in the days of King Ahaz of Judah somewhere around 735 BC.

That’s right. More than 730 years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s a few hundred years since King David was born and ruled. So, this takes place much later than 1&2 Samuel that we studied last year. In fact, it takes place, during the time, not of 1 Kings, but of 2 Kings and towards the end of that. Around chapter 16.

King Ahaz is the king of the Southern Kingdom that we call Judah. After the break-up of Israel into 2 kingdoms, the northern kingdom called Israel or sometimes Ephraim had consistently bad kings and the southern kingdom had sometimes good and sometimes bad kings.

Which one was Ahaz? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Unfortunately, as we’re going to see, Ahaz was a thumbs down.

He is the line of David. He is the ruler of Judah from Jerusalem, but he does not make wise and godly choices.

And the issue of the day for Judah is what to do about Syria and Israel.

Syria and Israel are the two national neighbors to the north of Judah, and they have become enemies of the house of David and of the kingdom of Judah. Yes, even though Israel and Judah are brothers. They are enemies right now.

In fact, Syria and Israel have teamed up against Judah and threaten to overthrow it.

And it’s in the context of that threat that the word “Immanuel” first appears in our Bibles.

Isaiah chapter 7, verse 1.

“When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.”

Now, it looks like you’re going to need a scorecard, but there’s really just 3 people there. Ahaz is king of Judah. He’s in the line of David. Grandpa was Uzziah who got talked about in the previous chapter. Daddy was Jotham.  Ahaz is the guy being tested in this story.

The other two kings are Rezin of Aram (that’s Syria) and Pekah of Israel. His father was King Remaliah. Rezin and Pekah have teamed up against Ahaz. Got it?

So far, they’ve been unsuccessful. But that doesn’t mean that Ahaz is not scared. V.2

“Now the house of David was told, ‘Aram has allied itself with Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.”

Ahaz is told that these two have gotten together to take him down.

And he’s shaken. He and his people are shaken like the wind whipping through the forest.

Can you think of that sound?  Do you see the trees shaking? Leaves everywhere?

Have you ever felt like that?

Your enemies are conspiring against you. The world, the flesh, and the devil.

And you can’t see any way out. Any way forward. Life is just scary.

Life is overwhelming.
Life is unbearable and frightening.

Some of you felt that way this week.
Some of you feel that way today.
Some of you will feel that way tomorrow.

Where will you turn?

The Lord gives Ahaz a chance to turn to Him. V.3

“Then the LORD said to Isaiah [there’s our prophet!], ‘Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field.”

So Isaiah and his son are sent on a prophetic mission. Ahaz will be checking his resources in light of the coming attack. Isaiah and Shear-Jashub have a message for him.

By they way, Isaiah’s son’s name is probably not a coincidence. “A remnant will return.”

Here’s the message they are to deliver.

“Say to him, 'Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. [Anybody else need to hear that this week?] Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood–because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”

The message is, don’t worry. Don’t get scared.

Rezin and Pekah aren’t anything but “smoldering stubs of firewood!” They’re about burnt out.

Oh, they have bad plans, but don’t be scared of them. V.5

“Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah's son have plotted your ruin, saying, ‘Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.’ [Overthrow and puppet dictator replacing King Ahaz!] Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'It will not take place, it will not happen, for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin [ha!]. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. [That’s where we get the Samaritans, in fact.] The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son [Pekah! Ha!]. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'’”

Here’s the application. It was good for Ahaz, and it’s good for us today.

#1. DON’T SHAKE. STAND FIRM.

God has promised so much to us. So when the storms of life come and shake us like the trees of the forest, we need to not give in, but to stand firm in faith.

V.9 “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

God says these threats are nothing.

Rezin? Pekah? You’re scared of them?

Stand firm!

And God’s probably saying the same thing to you about the threats of your enemies.

Trust me. Don’t be scared of those things! “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” “Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid.”

Now, what do you think that King Ahaz will do?

Sadly, I have to report that he does not do well.

He is determined to worry. He is determined to be frightened. He is determined to go on his own.

He doesn’t believe Isaiah and Shear Jashub. He hardly listens to them. He doesn’t listen to God.  Here’s how it works out. In vv.10&11, God offers him a blank check. V.10

“Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’”

Go ahead! No limits! Ask for a sign. And so v.12:

“But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.’”

Ahaz failed his test.

Now, it sounds good. “I will not put the LORD to the test.” It’s good to not demand a sign! But not good when the LORD offers you one and tells you to ask for one. V.13

“Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?”

God told you to ask for a sign. He told you to trust him. He told you to test Him out.

And you refused?

That’s a lack of faith.

Now, let me tell you what foolishness apparently going through Ahaz’s mind.

He was trusting in himself, and his resources, and his wisdom.

And he was planning on trusting in Assyria. The nation of Assyria.

Ahaz has a plan. He is going to ask the big ravenous nation of Assyria to help him to deal with his problem of Syria (Aram) and Israel.

Ahaz is going to put his trust in his alliance with this bigger power of Assyria. 2 Kings 16 tells us that he does just that. And the rest of Isaiah tells us the same thing.

Ahaz doesn’t feel the need to test the Lord because he’s got other things to lean on.

Application?

#2. DON’T TRUST IN YOURSELF. BELIEVE IN IMMANUEL.

Sadly, we do this a lot.

We put our faith in our own abilities and our own resources, and we lose sight of God and His presence and promises.

When going gets tough, the tough get going!
Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!
You’ve to make a plan, and work your plan. Trust your plan.

Those all have limited truth to them.

But nothing like the truth of Proverbs 3:5&6.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Don’t make the mistake that Ahaz did and trust in your own understanding and in anything else than God to save you.

It tries the patience of God! I don’t want to try the patience of God.

I want to trust in the presence and promises of God.

I want to believe in Immanuel. V.14

Ok, King Ahaz. You don’t want a sign? Well, you’re going to get one anyway.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

There’s our verse. There’s our prediction. There’s our prophecy.

Now, next week, I’m going to take up Matthew 1 and show you how Matthew sees this miraculously fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ.

But I think that there was a partial fulfillment in the days of Isaiah.

This baby with the special name Immanuel was a sign to King Ahaz.

So, I think that Ahaz must have seen the first fulfillment of Immanuel in his own day. See what vv.15&16 says about the boy?  

“He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.”

You see how it is fulfilled in Ahaz’s time?

“You didn’t want a sign, Ahaz, but I’m giving it to you now.

A young maiden will have a baby and his name will be Immanuel and while he’s still on soft foods or before he can tell right from wrong, the very thing you’re so shaken about and not trusting Me about will be all over.”

Now, you can see that that’s a different way of looking at verse 14 than some of us have been taught. Some people only see Jesus in verse 14. And I highly respect those that do. They have good reasons. They believe the virgin is Mary and the baby is Jesus, and that’s it.

But I think it’s more like what we’ve seen with King David.

Remember last year when we said that King David was the first Messiah? The first anointed one?  And when he is at his best, he prefigures the Messiah to come?

That’s a pattern throughout the Old Testament that David was a type or a pattern of Christ to come.

We saw a few weeks ago that Adam was a type or a pattern of Christ to come, as well.

I tend to think that the first Immanuel was a pattern of the greatest Immanuel who was to come, as well.

So, who was this first Immanuel?  Scholars are split on that. Those who don’t think that it just refers to Jesus don’t necessarily agree on who it was in Isaiah’s day.

Some think that it was an unknown woman with an unknown baby. She didn’t know about all of this, just named her little one Immanuel, and it worked out that it was God’s plan to send Ahaz a message.

Some think that it was a son of Ahaz and an unnamed new queen. That’s because the baby eats curds and honey which are sometimes referred to as royal food. And that would make him also a son of David in the line of the Messiah.  But I don’t think the timing is right for it to be a son of Ahaz.

I tend to think that it’s a new son of Isaiah. Isaiah and a new wife. His first wife is probably dead (Shear Jashub’s mom), and Isaiah takes a young maiden, of marriageable age (a virgin at the time of their wedding) and they come together and produce a little one that fulfills the first part of this prophecy.

In a second, I’ll show you why I think that.

But first, we’ve got see what happens to Ahaz and Judah.

God has said, “Don’t trust in yourself. Believe in Immanuel. Believe that God is with us.”

But that’s not what Ahaz did.

And the truth is that Assyria will not just come and wipe out Aram and Israel, but it will decimate the land of Judah, as well.

You want Assyria, King Ahaz? Well, that’s what you will get. V.17

“The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah [trouble]–he will bring the king of Assyria.’ In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes. In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River–the king of Assyria–to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also. In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats. And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. [There will be so few people that one guys’ cow and goats will feed them all, so to speak!] In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be only briers and thorns. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.”

Ahaz was given a chance to trust in the Lord. To test out His mettle and might.

But he wasn’t going to test the Lord. He was going to trust Himself.

He wasn’t going to believe that God was with them. He was going to believe in the King of Assyria.

Well, the King of Assyria is what he was going to get.

There are consequences for not believing in Immanuel.

But that does not mean that God is truly not with His true people.

He is. Even when they are faithless, God is faithful.

Now, chapter 8, verses 1 through 4 is the big reason why I think that Isaiah’s son was the first fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy. Let’s look at that. Chapter 8, verse 1.

“The LORD said to me, ‘Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will call in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.’”

Something new is happening here.

The LORD is talking not to Ahaz but to Isaiah. And he’s telling him to get out his iPad and stylus and put down this unusual name: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. I just love saying that.

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Which means, “Quick to the plunder and swift to the spoil!”

How would you like called to dinner like that? “Hey, Quick to the plunder and swift to the spoil! Get over here. Time to eat!”

And Isaiah is supposed to get that name witnessed on some kind of a legal document. Probably to certify that God is prophesying the meaning of this name will occur.

Now, it seems like an ominous name. “Quick to the plunder and swift to the spoil!” Somebody is going to get ransacked and soon. Judgment is coming on somebody rapidly. It’s still to be seen who that is.

Now, listen to the parallels between verse 3 and 4 with chapter 7, verses 14-16.

“Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, ‘Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.’”

I tend to think that this prophetess (either a female prophet or a way of saying a wife of the prophet) is the first fulfillment of the virgin of 7:14.

And Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz is the first fulfillment of Immanuel. Before he can say, “Mama” or “Dada,” Syria and Israel will be defeated.

And yes, it is by Assyria, but not because of Ahaz’s wisdom but God’s.

Assyria will be quick to the plunder and swift to the spoil of the capital cities of Damascus and Samaria.

Why? Because God is with His true people.

God can be trusted. This prophecy of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz whether or not it’s a fulfillment of chapter 7, verse 14 is a certainly a fulfillment of chapter 7, verse 7.

God can be trusted because He is with His people.

Believe in Immanuel. Believe in the message of Immanuel.

God is with us.

But Ahaz did not. Judah, at this point, did not. And they would have to face the consequences of trusting in themselves and trusting in Assyria.

Verses 5 through 8 of chapter 8 are the parallels with verses 17 through 25 of chapter 7. They are the consequences of not trusting the LORD. V.5

“The LORD spoke to me again: ‘Because this people [Judah] has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah [God’s grace] and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah [as if their own great power had defeated them!], therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River [Euphrates]–the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!’”

There’s our title.

Judah was failing the test, and will have to reap the consequences.

They didn’t trust the gentle stream, so they were going to get the flood.

But, notice that God cares! See this, that God cares.

He’s isn’t dispassionate about what is going to happen to His people.

Even as they are experiencing the righteous discipline of the Lord, He is still with them.

Notice, that they are overwhelmed but not drowned. Up to the neck, but still on tiptoe. Not in over their heads, why?

Because God is with them.  “O Immanuel!”  It’s Immanuel’s land.  Promised. And promised to him.

The message of his name is still true. God is with us.

Application?

#3. DON’T DESPAIR. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH US.

I was surprised at how negative these two chapters were. I thought that if it was going to be about Immanuel then they would be a bright light shining out of the darkness of the first half of Isaiah.

But aside from the greatest fulfillment of chapter 7, verse 14, these are pretty dark verses.

God is not taken up on His offers!

He offers to defeat their enemies.
He offers to give them a sign of His good intentions.
He offers His own presence to cheer and to guide.

But, except for a remnant (Shear Jashub, a remant will return!), they don’t take Him up on these offers.

They shake instead of standing firm.
They trust themselves and their wisdom and resources and allies instead of believing in Immanuel.

It’s really kind of depressing.

But that’s how life can be, isn’t it?

In fact, this time of year is often one of the most depressing of the year for many people.

Financial pressures.
Temptations to greed and gluttony.
Less daylight always makes me feel bad.
Getting the whole Christmas thing together.
Maybe your family doesn’t want to get together. Maybe they’re not get along.

Maybe you’ve lost someone this year and they won’t be at Christmas.

Maybe you lost someone 10 years ago and you still feel it every Christmas.

Life can get pretty depressing. And even pretty scary.

What does the future hold in the next year?

What will be the Fergusons and the Ebola crisis and ISIS and the Ukraine of 2015?  And will we get swept up in it?

What if I die in the next year?

What if I get attacked the world, the flesh, and the devil?

It’s easy to give in to despair.

But this text ends with a reminder of the meaning and message of Immanuel.

It ends with a reminder that no weapon fashioned against the Lord will prosper.

That, as the Williamsons’, if God is for us who can be against us? Chapter 8, verse 9.

“Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”

Don’t despair. Trust in the message of Immanuel.

Don’t believe that you are alone.
Don’t believe that you are abandoned.
Don’t believe that you are on your own.

Believe that God is with you.

Because you belong to Jesus Christ.

Who was born of virgin (not just a maiden!) and bears the title, Immanuel.

Rosa "Belle de Crecy"

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Three)

Yesterday, we started into a study phluaros in 1 Timothy 5 about the young widows who were tempted to go from house to house gossiping. I argued for the traditional interpretation and translation because it best fits the word use and context.

Insights Into Idleness

A closer look at the verse in question will yield a few more insights into the nature of gossip. Paul begins his description of the erring young widows with the somewhat sarcastic phrase argai manthanousin. Mounce paraphrases, “These widows are studying to become professional idlers.”86 The word translated “idle” is argos which means “unemployed, idle, with nothing to do, lazy, useless, unproductive.”87 The Lord Jesus uses argos to describe the careless words that men will have to account for on the day of judgment (Matt 12:36). In the context, he teaches that these idle words are the overflow of an evil heart (Matt 12:34). Gossip comes from deep within a person, from who they really are. Idle gossip may not be malicious, but it is still evil because the tongue is not employed in love (Eph 4:29).

Meddling In 1-2 Thessalonians

The erring young widows are “going about from house to house” as “busybodies.” They are tempted to meddle in other people’s affairs. Meddling is not love. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they know about brotherly love and don’t need to be taught more about it; and yet they do need to be urged to increase in it (1 Thess 4:9-10). “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess 4:11-12).

At least some of the brothers in Thessalonica did not take Paul’s counsel. In his second letter he reports, “We hear that some among you are idle [ataktos, a different word for idleness88]. They are not busy; they are busybodies89” (2 Thess 3:11). This is bad news and requires strong action. “Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thess 3:12-15). The apostle is clear. Settle down. Get to work. Do right. Warn the idle. Stop meddling.

Meddling in 1 Peter

Paul is concerned that meddling will hurt the advance of the gospel (1 Thess 4:12, 1 Tim 5:14). Peter shares that concern. Peter lists meddling alongside murder and theft. “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Pet 4:15). The obscure Greek word translated meddler, allotriepiskopos, is used in Greek literature only here in the New Testament and a few more times in later Christian writings so the exact meaning is hard to substantiate. Some have taken it, with the gravity of the other crimes in the list, to mean “a concealer of stolen goods, spy, informer, a revolutionist, infringing the rights of others.”90 

However, allotriepiskopos is set off from the murderer, thief, and criminal by “or even” which points towards it being in something of a different category, though still highly undesirable. Peter Davids concludes that “one who meddles in things that do not concern him” is the proper translation

considering the roots from which the word is formed. Thus it is probable that our author is concerned that Christians in their rejection of idolatry and pagan morality or their zeal for the gospel not put their noses (or worse) into situations in which they ought not to be involved and thus justly earn the censure of pagan culture for transgressing culturally approved limits. Gentle persuasion is one thing; denouncing idolatry in a temple courtyard is another, as might also be interfering in the affairs of another family, however well meaning it might be. No Christian should disgrace Christ by being guilty of such things.91

Meddling Is Seriously Wrong
The person who meddles may or may not be serious. But meddling is seriously wrong. Christians need to be reminded to mind their own business (Prov 26:17). We should regularly ask ourselves about involvement in any one else’s affairs as Jesus did John, “What is that to you?” (John 21:23).

Notes

[86] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 293.

[87] BAGD 104.

[88] “In the sense of insufficient inclination to disciplined work in a disorderly or an irresponsible manner.” BAGD 119.

[89] The NIV nicely captures Paul’s play on words: maiden ergazomenous alla periergazomenous.

[90] BAGD 40.

[91] Peter Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1990), 169.

Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"

New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Evil Listening
Evil Reports
Meddling
Bearing False Witness
Gossip in the New Testament
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Two)

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Two)

Yesterday, we were introduced to phluareo, commonly translated "gossiping." Today, we turn to its adjectival form in the longest passage about the behavior of gossip in the New Testament.

Making the Widow List

The adjectival form of this word, phluaros, occurs in 1 Timothy 5. The apostle Paul is giving instructions about young widows. Younger widows should not be placed on the widow support list for a number of reasons. One is that they still have time to remarry (1 Tim 5:14) and to build their reputations for godliness and good deeds (1 Tim 5:9-10). Another reason is that putting younger women on the support list would present too many sensual temptations that would draw them away from Christ (1 Tim 5:11-12). Giving in to these temptations would bring disrepute to the church (1 Tim 5:14-15).75

Widows put on the support list too quickly can also be tempted to become gossipy. “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips [phluaroi]76 and busybodies, saying things they ought not to” (1 Tim 5:13).

Debated Interpretation and Translation

Not everyone is convinced that “gossips and busybodies” is the best translation of phluaroi kai periergoi in this context. Lloyd Pietersen argues that given the magical practices in Ephesus described in the book of Acts (Acts 19, especially v.19), and the possible alternative meanings of the words,77 phluaroi should be rendered, “those who talk nonsense” and periergoi should be translated “those who practise magic.”78 Pietersen believes that most interpreters of the pastoral epistles have been hermeneutically blinded by patriarchal assumptions so that they see stereotypical versions of women in 1 Timothy 5.79 He suggests instead that the writer of 1 Timothy “is exercising pastoral care in seeking to warn his congregation concerning the dangers of falling back into magical practices from which they have escaped.”80

This interpretation is possible but unlikely. It seems to me that the traditional rendering is correct for at least three reasons. First, this verse has a preponderance of phrases that naturally point to aimless living (“getting into the habit of being idle,” “going about from house to house,” “saying things they ought not to”). Second, these phrases are used in conjunction with two words that regularly mean “gossips and busybodies.”81 Third, the situation envisioned, that is, widows being supported too early in life, would very naturally yield temptations to carelessly meddle in other people’s lives. It is more likely, therefore, that Paul is actually warning against younger widows becoming gossips and busybodies.82 William Mounce adds, “If the problem was as serious as magic, a harsher and more direct condemnation would be expected.”83

Frivolous Talk

It must be noted that Paul is not saying that all women are naturally gossips and busybodies but that they would be tempted to be so if financially supported too early in life. A life without work would produce that temptation in any person, regardless of gender. We will see below that Paul is certainly not gender specific in his denunciation of meddling in the Thessalonian correspondence. Gossips come in both sexes.

Gordon Fee does not detect magic in 1 Timothy 5:13 but rather the presence of false teaching.

The translation “gossips” (phyaroi) is quite misleading. . . . The Greek word, however, means to talk nonsense, or foolishness, and is used most often in contexts of speaking something foolish or absurd in comparison to truth. Thus, the young widows are described in terms very much like the false teachers, whose talk is foolish (1:6) and empty (6:20), and who are also saying things they ought not to.84

Fee’s suggestion is much more likely than seeing sorcerous practices at play, and perhaps their chattering from house to house included elements of the false teaching that Paul was countering in the pastoral epistles, but I am inclined to agree with Stott’s conclusion, “[Fee’s interpretation] is an ingenious reconstruction, but Paul gives no explicit indication that they are doing more than wasting their time in frivolous talk.”85

Notes

[75] Paul says that this would give the enemy an “opportunity for slander” using the word loidoria that we encountered above.

[76] The plural form of the adjective is here used substantivally to label the erring widows as gossips. We note again that the Bible mostly speaks about gossip as a kind of person not just a kind of speech.

[77] The word periergos can mean “of things belonging to magic” and is used that way in Acts 19:19. BAGD 646.

[78] Lloyd K. Pietersen, “Women as Gossips and Busybodies? Another Look at 1 Timothy 5:13,” Lexington Theological Quarterly, 42, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 19, in ATLAReligion Database with ATLASerials, http:ebscohost.com (accessed June 21, 2011).

[79] In his article, Pietersen also interacts with feminist commentators such as Marianne B. Kartzow and Deborah Krause who believe the traditional reading is a faithful translation, but sadly, reject the apostle’s teaching. Lloyd K. Pietersen, “Women as Gossips and Busybodies? Another Look at 1 Timothy 5:13,” Lexington Theological Quarterly, 42, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 20-22, in ATLAReligion Database with ATLASerials, http:ebscohost.com (accessed June 21, 2011).

[80] Ibid., 31.

[81] It is true that periergos can mean “of things belonging to magic.” But Paul certainly uses the verbal form (periergazomenous the present middle participle of periergazomai) to mean “busybody” in 2 Thessalonians 3:11.

[82] So, all major English versions.

[83] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 294.

[84] Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, NIBC 13 (Peabody, Hendrickson, 2002), 122.

[85] John R. W. Stott, 1 Timothy & Titus, BST (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), 134. Stott is interacting with an earlier version of Fee’s commentary than the one quoted in the previous note.

Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"

New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Evil Listening
Evil Reports
Meddling
Bearing False Witness
Gossip in the New Testament
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part One)

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part One)

For the last three posts, we have been learning about two related words, psithurismos and katalalia, which figure in to our understanding of gossip in the New Testament. Today, we pick up a new set of words commonly translated "gossip" in the New Testament.

Calling Out Diotrophes

2. Phluareo and phluaros. The second set of Greek words that are often translated in English with the word “gossip” is the verb phluareo and its adjectival form phluaros. In 3 John, the “apostle of love” announces his intention to call out Diotrephes, an overbearing leader in the local church. “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously [phluaron] about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10). Apparently, Diotrephes was making groundless accusations about John. BAGD defines phluareo  as “talk nonsense (about), bring unjustified charges against.”73 John uses it in conjunction with poiei logois ponairois, literally, “making evil words.” John Stott draws attention to the connection between Diotrephes’ words and his motives:

Diotrephes evidently regarded John as a dangerous rival to his own assumed authority in the church and sought to undermine his position by slanderous gossip. . . . Self-love vitiates all relationships. Diotrephes slandered John, cold-shouldered the missionaries, and excommunicated the loyal believers because he loved himself and wanted to have the pre-eminence. Personal vanity still lies at the root of most dissensions in every local church today.74

Not All "Against-Speaking" Is Gossip
It is important to notice that John is not gossiping about Diotrephes even though he is also offering an evaluation of and accusation about Diotrophes’ behavior. John speaks from love for the church and for Diotrephes. He has a position of authority as an apostle that requires him to discern actions and even motives such as these. John’s charge is not groundless nonsense, as Diotrephes clearly does love being preeminent, and John will say these things to his face. Not all “against-speaking” is gossip.

Notes

[73] BAGD 862.

[74] John R. W. Stott, The Epistles of John, TNTC 19 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 227-228.

Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"

New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Evil Listening
Evil Reports
Meddling
Bearing False Witness
Gossip in the New Testament
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Three)

Magnolia Blossom

[Matt's Messages] "How Much More"

“How Much More”
All Roads Lead to Romans
November 30, 2014 :: Romans 5:12-21 

Last week, we studied the first half of Romans 5 and learned about the incredible blessings of justification: peace, grace, hope, love, salvation, God Himself. All of those little words that carry so much meaning. And they come to us through justification, being declared righteous because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

And it just kept getting better and better, didn’t it?

Well, in the second half of chapter 5, the apostle Paul tells the story of how it could be so good. How the gospel could be such astonishingly good news for you and me.

Just like last week, he begins with “therefore” which means that he is explaining something.

And I think the thing Paul is trying to explain to us is how that HOPE that we talked about last week could be ours forever even though the story of the world had been so bad for so long.

Paul reaches way back and tells the story of the world one more time. This time, not through the Patriarch Father Abraham, but even further back to the father of the whole human race, the man we know as Adam.

All Roads Lead to Romans. Including the Adam road. From Genesis 3 to Romans 5.

Paul here compares and contrasts what Adam did with what Jesus did.

You know what Adam did, right?

And you know what Jesus did, right?

How do the two compare?

How are they alike?

And how are they different?

Are they equal?

Or is one of them much greater?

Now, last week, I said that verses 1 through 12 were really easy to understand. They were amazingly full of incredible, glorious truth, but all I had to do was read it to you and you could follow it.

Verses 12 through 21 aren’t really like that. They are much more confusing. Paul’s argument is much harder to follow. But we will do our best!

It’s still full of logic. Paul loves logic. Logic is what makes sense of the world to Paul, and it’s how he communicates. But like we said last week, it’s not cold logic. It’s logic on fire.

And in today’s passage, Paul’s favorite logic words are “How Much More.”

One thing may be true, Paul says, but how much more is this other thing true and wonderful. “How much more.”

And the two things being contrasted through most of this section are the things related to Adam and (how much more) the things related to Christ.

Does that make sense?

Here’s the point. People have been messed up for a very very long time, ever since the very beginning. And it came through Adam.

All of the blessings we learned about last week? All of the HOPE that Paul talked about had been dashed with Adam.

But Jesus has come along and not only reversed what Adam did but He’s accomplished how much more!  So much more.

That’s the logic we’re going to see as we study it together this morning and apply it to our lives.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NIV 1984)

Did you hear how complex Paul’s train of thought is?
Did you hear all of “how much more” in there?

The basic idea is very clear. You could make a chart of this passage like this.

Adam and Christ.

And under Adam, you can list all of the things that came from him and his sin in failing to lead Eve and choosing to disobey God in Genesis chapter 3.

And under Christ, you could list all of the things that came from Him and His act of righteousness in living a perfect life and then sacrificing Himself for us on the Cross.

And this column would be bad and this column would be good.

Everything bad flows out of this column.

And everything good flows out this one.

This is the story of humanity.

Have you ever had someone say, “What happened to you?”

Well, this is the story of what happened to you.  Long before you ever were.

And what will happen to you long after eternity comes.

It’s the story of two very influential men.

But Paul wants to say more than that. He wants to say that what happens in this column is much greater than what happens in this one.

Now, part of what makes this passage so difficult to follow is that Paul begins a thought in verse 12 and then goes somewhere else for five long verses. V.1

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned–”

What? You’d expect him to say, “so also,” right? Just as, so also. That’s the logic. But Paul gets sidetracked by some thoughts he thinks need brought in before he can finish that thought.

The completion of that thought comes in verses 18 and 19. But he’s got a few things to say first.

So, let’s try to follow him. V.1 again.

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned–”

What column does that go in?

The Adam column, right?

What should we put in that column?  Sin entered the world through Adam. Hello, sin.

And what came in with sin?  Death.  Both spiritual and physical death.

And not only death to Adam but to everybody.

Death spread to all people because (somehow) “all sinned.”

All of humanity sinned in Adam.

We’re not sure exactly how that works.

Perhaps, we were all spiritually present in Adam when he sinned.

Or, more likely, Adam was representing us as the head of the human race when he sinned. And he did the sinning for us.

Either way or some other, we are all sinners now that Adam has sinned.

We all have sinful spiritual DNA inherited from our first father Adam.

As Ephesians says, we are all dead in our trespasses and sins.

We sin by nature and by choice and the consequence is death and more death. Spiritual and physical.

And what column does all that go into?

The Adam column.

That’s a pretty heavy column. Sin and death, death to everyone, sin by everyone.

It feels heavy already.

But Paul doesn’t finish the “so also.” He thinks that someone might have a question about whether or not there could be sin if there is no law. V.13

“...for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.”

I think what he means is that there might be some people who say, well, not everybody sinned. Because between Adam and Moses, there was no Torah, no law that sharply defined what was sin and what was not, so you can’t really say that everybody sinned until there was a law.

But Paul won’t have it. V.14

“Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.”

He’s saying, it was still sin and we know that because of the death. Death reigned from Adam to Moses and that shows that everybody between those two was a sinner even if they were not transgressors like Adam. Even though they did not have the law.

So, everyone is a sinner. Right?

Paul says, “Everybody died, right?” Death reigned.

What column?  Adam column.

But v.14 tells us that Adam was a “pattern” of the one to come.

There was Someone to come whom Adam was a pattern of.

And He gets a column all to Himself. Jesus Christ.

Adam was made to point to and to compare to Christ. V.15

“But the gift is not like the trespass.”

Here’s where it starts to get good.

You are supposed to compare these columns, but they don’t really compare!

“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”

Here’s our first “how much more.”

#1. SUPER-OVERFLOWING GRACE.

Now, I know that sounds a little corny, but I’ve got to do something to help us hear how much more is going on here.

What does verse 15 say goes in Adam’s column?

Death, right? “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man...”

That’s a lot.

But the Jesus column is greater.  V.15 again.

“...how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”

Do you hear all of the grace words?

“God’s grace.” “Gift.” “Came by the grace.”  “Overflow.”

God’s grace in Jesus is overflowing. The Greek word is “eperisseusen.” It’s directly connected to that word that caused me to pour a few jugs of water all over the floor up here a few years ago.

Adam may have earned death for us, but Jesus GIVES AWAY His grace. Super-overflowing grace.  How much more!

#2. SUPER-EFFECTIVE JUSTIFICATION. V.16

“Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.”

What does Paul say goes in Adam’s column?

One sin and condemnation.

What does Paul say goes in Christ’s column?

Many sins fully paid for by the death of Christ and (our Romans word) “justification!” v.16 again.

“Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.”

Do you follow this?

We think it’s something that Adam sinned and then we all fell down.

We are all condemned because of Adam’s sin.

But this is saying, that’s something but it’s really nothing.

Think about all of the sins that have been committed.

And think about how Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay for them all!

Now, think about all of your sins. Past, present, and future.

And think about how Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay for them all.

So that you are justified.

You are declared righteous.

Just by believing! Just by faith alone in Jesus alone!

That’s what we’ve been learning about in Romans.

Justification by faith.

Super-effective justification.

How much more effective is the gift of Jesus than the sin of Adam!

Do you see how taken Paul is with what Jesus has accomplished? V.17

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

There he goes again.

What goes in the Adam column? Death reigning.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds big.

The reign of death. The rule of death. The dominion of death.

All out of the one man Adam and his one big sin.

Death reigned.

But that’s nothing compared to this! “...how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

#3. SUPER-LIVING REIGN.

I know that sounds kind of comic-book-ish, but forgive me, I can’t find words amazing enough to get it across.

Notice that in the Christ column, it’s not that life reigns, though he could have said that, but that Paul says that WE will reign!

“[T]hose who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness” will reign in life!

That’s us, friends!

We will reign in life! When Christ returns, we will reign forever! We will live forever and share in Christ’s reign!

Everything that Adam was supposed to be and do as the ruler of the Earth but lost for himself and for humanity will be restored to us in the End.

Death will not reign. We will.

Not on our own, but “through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

How much more!

I’ve said it before and many times this year, I’m so tired of death.

We live under the specter of death. Death reigns right now.

Today is my friend Danny Mendez’s birthday. And it’s his first birthday since his wife died a few weeks ago.

I hate that!

I did 9 funerals in the last year. Many of you sat down to Thanksgiving dinners for the first time without a loved one who died.

Death reigns.

And the world we live in is profoundly broken.

Ferguson.

Whatever you think happened there between Wilson and Brown, you know that it’s not the way things ought to be.

The world is under the rule of death.

But life has broken through!

“How much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness (there’s our word again) [will] reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

Notice that you have to receive it.

You have to receive God’s abundant provision of grace.

To be included in Adam, you only had to be born.

But to be included in Christ, you must believe.

And if you believe, you receive the gift of righteousness, justification by faith.

And then you will reign and rule in life. A bit now and fully to come.

Now in verse 18, Paul gets back to finishing the thought that he started in verse 12.

It’s what he’s been saying all along, but now he says it right out. V.18

“Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”

The Adam column has one big sin whose result was condemnation for all men in Adam.

And the Christ column is one act of righteousness (the Cross) whose result was justification that brings life to all men in Christ.

And he puts it in other words in verse 19.

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Adam and Christ.

This is the story of you.

It’s what happened to you.

You were in Adam and you were getting all that Adam’s column offers, but if you received Jesus’ and His gift, then you get all of what His column offers, as well.

And His column is so much greater!

One more. #4. SUPER-INCREASING GRACE.

Someone might say, but what about the Law?

Paul cares deeply about the Law (as we saw in verse 13).

Paul, you tell us the story of the world starting with Adam and then going to Jesus.

Death then life.

What was the point of the Law then?

And most good Jews would assume that the point of the Law was to try to solve the sin problem. But that’s not where Paul goes with it. V.20

“The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I think that what he’s saying is that the Law came about to intensify sin by showing how sinful it is. You instinctively feel that you shouldn’t steal, but when someone  in authority says, “Don’t steal.” then you really feel how bad it is to steal.

And you really feel like stealing. Don’t you?

So sin intensifies and multiplies because the Law has arrived.

Sin increased.

V.20, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

How much more?

The Greek word here is, “hupereperisseusen” and it’s even more overflowing than the grace in verse v.15!

As we sing, “Grace Greater Than All My Sin!”

Sin reigned in death, but now grace reigns through righteousness.

Now, we who are believers in Jesus are dominated by grace!

We are ruled by grace!

By an ever increasing grace.

Grace increased all the more!

Do you know that because you belong to Jesus, you are ruled by an every increasing grace?

Paul is going to have much more to say about this in chapters 6, 7, and 8. We will get to them at the first of the year, Lord-willing.

He’s going to have to answer the question that naturally comes up, if grace increases with the increase in sin, maybe we should sin some more to make grace increase even more.

But that’s nonsense, of course.

No, because we see how sinful we are, we give even more glory to God because of how much grace we see we need and how much more grace-filled God is than we even needed.

Super-increasing grace calls for songs of loudest praise.

Not on our own but (v.21) “through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Do you see what Paul has done?

He has told the story of the world. How the world went wrong with Adam.

And how sin and death have dominated our world for all of human history.  The Adam column.

But now something greater has come.

Jesus Christ has sacrificed Himself in such a way that we now have:

Super-Overflowing Grace, because of His gift.
Super-Effective Justification, paying for all of our sins.
Super-Living Reign, restoring the righteous, living rule that Adam lost,
and Super-Increasing Grace, that reigns through righteousness.

How much more!

All of our hopes restored and so much more.

Same two points of application as last week.

#1. Put your faith in Jesus to be justified.

Because you don’t move from the Adam column to the Christ column without going through verse 17.

“Those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness...”

Only those who put their faith in Jesus get this grace, this justification, this life, this reign.

It’s so good! But you have to choose it. You have to put your faith in Christ alone.

And #2. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!

Because of how much more greater Jesus is has accomplished on our behalf.

We have every reason to rejoice.


***

Messages in this Series

01. All Roads Lead to Romans
02. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
03. The Bad News
04. Hope for Holy Sexuality
05. The Even Worse News
06. The Worst News
07. Justified
08. Father Abraham
09. The Blessings of Justification
10. How Much More

Water Lilies, Niagara Botanical Garden, Canada

Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Three)

For the last two posts, we have been learning about two related words, psithurismos and katalalia, which figure in to our understanding of gossip in the New Testament. Yesterday, we learned that katalalia is the bigger category of which psithurismos is the sub-category that specifically means behind-the-back gossip.

More About Katalalia

The larger category, katalalia/katalalos, including its verb form, katalaleo, appears elsewhere in the New Testament. The apostle Peter urges his readers, in light of the gospel, to lay it aside. “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind [katalalias]” (1 Pet 2:1).61 In this context, “evil speaking” (KJV) is closely connected with heart attitudes, especially of what could be called “the anger family” of sins. Gossip often is an expression of anger.

James 4:11-12

The apostle James offers the fullest teaching on katalaleo. “Brothers, do not slander [ma katalaleite] one another. Anyone who speaks against [katalalon] his brother or judges him speaks against [katalalei] the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbor?” (Jas 4:11-12). Gossip often involves condemning someone whom we have no right nor occasion to judge (cf. Matt 7:1-5). There is one who judges perfectly, and we can entrust ourselves and others to him. Tasker says, “Backbiting others is, in fact, a subtle form of self-exaltation.”62 Moo explains,

We should note that James is not prohibiting the proper, and necessary, discrimination that every Christian should exercise. Nor is he forbidding the right of the community to exclude from its fellowship those it deems to be in flagrant disobedience to the standards of the faith, or to determine right and wrong among its members (1 Corinthians 5 and 6). James rebukes jealous, censorious speech by which we condemn others as being wrong in the sight of God.63

We should also notice in verse 11 that katalaleo is linked with judging not only our brothers but also the law itself. Whenever we disobey a law, we are saying, in effect, that we think it is a bad law. A gossiping person can become a law unto themselves.

More Than Just Lies

By now, we should be seeing that the katalalia/los/leo word group connotes not merely spreading lies about someone (which is often what we mean by the English word “slander”), but also talking them down in other ways. Ralph Martin says that the word “literally means ‘to speak ill of’ and translates it “disdains” in James 4:11.64 R. Kent Hughes states,

The command here forbids any speech (whether it is true or false) which runs down another person. . . . Most people think it is okay to convey negative information if it is true. We understand that lying is immoral. But is passing along damaging truth immoral? It seems almost a moral responsibility! By such reasoning, criticism behind another’s back is thought to be all right as long as it is true. Likewise, denigrating gossip (of course it is never called gossip!) is okay if the information is true. Thus many believers use truth as a license to righteously diminish others’ reputations.65

A similar phenomenon, without the katalalia/los/leo word group, appears a few verses later in James 5. “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” (Jas 5:9). The word for grumble is stenazo which means to “sigh or groan.”66 It is a form of moaning and complaining about each other that is often the content of gossip. James again connects this grumbling with judgment–this time with their impending judgment! When Christ returns, do we want to be found groaning about our fellow believers?

Other "Against-Words"

Katalaleo and its related forms are not the only Greek words that the New Testament uses to describe hateful, accusatory, abusive, reviling, and slanderous speech.67 Words such as blasphameo “slander, defame, blaspheme,”68 loidoreo “insult, abuse, revile,”69 and katagoreo, “to accuse, reproach”70 and their cognates often serve in the New Testament to describe these “against-words.”71 The actions denoted by these strong verbs are not gossip, per se, but are related to the phenomenon of gossip, indicating some of the base things that can be said as someone talks about others behind their backs (e.g. Jude 9, Eph 4:31, Rev 12:10, and 1 Cor 4:12-13, 5:11, 6:9-11).72

Notes

[61] Peter, using this same word, also says to expect that the pagans will speak against and accuse the Christians (1 Pet 2:12, 3:16).

[62] R. V. G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC 16 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983), 99.

[63] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000), 199. The rest of Moo’s discussion of this passage is very helpful and repays careful reading. He connects these two verses both with the near context of chapter 4 and with themes that run throughout James’ epistle, including sins of the tongue (Jas 3:2-12) and conflicts (Jas 3:13-4:2).

[64] Ralph P. Martin, James, WBC 48 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1998),163.

[65] R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith that Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991), 194.

[66] George M. Stulac, James, IVPNTC 16 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993), 172.

[67] The same could be said of the words we studied in the Old Testament. We have concentrated on the words that are regularly translated “gossip” even though the semantic domain overlaps with those which are often translated “slander.”

[68] H. Wahrisch, C. Brown, “blasfhme,w,” NIDNTT 3:341-345.

[69] H. Wahrisch, “loi,dorew,” NIDNTT, 3:346-347.

[70] BAGD 423.

[71] Of these three, only kathgore,w is used in both a positive and negative way. Some accusations are appropriate (John 5:45), however, kathgore,w is used most often as the work of Satan and those who opposed Jesus and the apostles.

[72] The best place to start for a comprehensive study of these key words is the set of articles on “Revile, Blaspheme, Slander” in NIDNTT 3:340-347.

Previous Posts in "Toward a Definition of Gossip"

New Blog Series: Toward a Definition of Gossip
Gossip in the Old Testament
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Rakil"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Nirgan"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Lashon Seter"
Hebrew Words for Gossip: "Libo Yiqebbats Aven Lo Yetse Lahuts Yedabber"
Evil Listening
Evil Reports
Meddling
Bearing False Witness
Gossip in the New Testament
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)
Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)