LESSON THREE
MAIN IDEA: The point that must be brought home to those
who take pleasure in slandering their neighbours is that they are putting
themselves in danger of God’s judgment.
STUDY TEXTS: “Psalm 50:19-22, Isaiah 33:1”
LESSON OBJECTIVE: To teach that those who take
pleasure in slandering their neighbours are not Christians and they will
definitely be rewarded by the Lord for their evil deeds.
INTRODUCTION:
As one who is guild by the Lord Jesus
Christ, our attitude towards our detractors is that God may forgive them for
they know not what they do. God says: “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast
not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with
thee. Whatsoever a man soweth so shall he also reap.
In Nigeria and most African
societies, when women lose their husbands some people accuse them (the widows)
of being witches who are responsible for the death of the husbands. But if the
women die before their husbands, the husbands are not given the tag of wizards!
The pity of it is that some go to the extreme of molesting some women that are
innocent at the time when their hearts are heavy with sorrow and when they
deserve sympathy. To maltreat a widow is a sin. God says: “Ye shall not afflict
any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry
unto me at all, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I
will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows and your children
fatherless (Exodus 22:22-24).
Practicing witchcraft is a sin, and
every witch or wizard who does not repent or forsake his/her evil cannot escape
God’s vengeance and hell fire (Deuteronomy
18:10-13). To slander any one is a sin. Paul particularly warned that the
wives of deacons who should serve as good examples to other women must not be
slanderers (1 Timothy 3:11).
Generally, all Christians are
admonished not to speak evil of one another. This does not rule out the
principle of righteous judgment by which evil should be condemned. Jesus Christ
said: “Judge righteous judgment” (John
7:24). The condemnation or exposition of evil, provided it is based on
truth, is justified: what the Bible warns against are evil-speaking or slander
and similar evils.
SUBJECT MATTERS:
1.
There
are practical proofs of a Christian and non Christian (Ps. 50:17-19)
2.
Those
who do not repent or forsake evil cannot escape God’s vengeance (2 Thess. 1:6-8)
3.
He
who conceals hatred has lying lips and he who utters slander is a fool. (Prov. 10:18)
PRACTICAL LESSON:
1. Christians do not speak evil of
another.
2. Any malicious statement or utterances
to anyone is a sin.
3. Because taking pleasure is slandering
anyone put one in danger of God’s judgment, Christians do not participate in
that.
4. Slander is an evidence of one that do
not know Christ personally
MEMORY VERSE: “Psalm 101:5”
Whoso
privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high
look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
CLASS DISCUSSION:
1.
Enumerate
the lessons derived from today’s teaching.
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