Slander

Hi all,

I am having a difficult time letting slander go and to be forgiving like God wants me to be. I need prayer and anybody willing to pray for the peace that surpasses all understanding to return to me, as well as the knowledge of my sins that may have caused all of this to begin with, to be revealed to me so that I can repent, would be most welcome. The struggle is real and I just want peace.

If anyone who responds to this needs prayer, let me know and I would love to pray for you too.

I will definitely pray for you!

I found a good resource on it and find it comforting and helpful:



My aim in this message is that God would take my words and use them to perform the miracle of Matthew 5:12 in your life: Rejoice and be glad when you are reviled and persecuted and slandered for your faithfulness to Jesus — in reliance on Jesus, in obedience to Jesus, for the glory of Jesus. I call this a miracle because it is humanly impossible. In fact, I would argue that this is the most difficult command in the Bible — namely, for Jesus’s sake to feel joy and gladness when you are reviled and persecuted and slandered.

This is not a command to do anything with your muscles; it is a command to feel, and we don’t have immediate control over our feelings. It is a command to feel a spiritual emotion — or, if you prefer, affection — that goes contrary to all natural human experience: joy and gladness when lied about, joy and gladness when verbally abused, joy and gladness when persecuted, including harsh physical treatment and even death.

Later in the chapter, we are told to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). And loving our enemies is defined in part as “pray for those who persecute you.” And in Luke, love for our enemies is defined as this: “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27–28). And I am saying that all of those — praying, doing good, blessing — are easier than feeling joy and gladness when reviled, persecuted, and slandered. It is a humanly impossible command. And my aim in this message is that you would experience the miracle — the supernatural ability to feel what we are commanded to feel.

On Christ’s Account

Jesus says that the key to this miraculous obedience is the equally miraculous treasuring of the greatness of our reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12). So, that’s where we will start. He says, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” It’s the greatness of the reward in heaven that makes the miracle on earth happen, contrary to the mocking voice that says, “Pie in the sky, by and by, has no present usefulness.” Well, we are not talking about pie. Jesus teaches that if we can perceive clearly enough, and treasure highly enough, and be satisfied deeply enough with the greatness of our reward in heaven, the miracle will happen: we will rejoice and be glad when reviled and persecuted and slandered for Jesus’s sake.

And just a word of clarification about the term “for Jesus’s sake.” Or as Matthew 5:11 says, “on my account”: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” It’s the same phrase as in verse 10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” — or, on account of righteousness.

This does not mean that the persecutor must acknowledge that their persecution is because of Jesus. In fact, few people in our society will say that they are reviling or persecuting or slandering because of Jesus. When Jesus says that we may be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” he does not mean that our persecutors will concede that we are acting in righteousness. No, they will be calling our righteousness wickedness. That’s how the persecution is justified. Jesus said in John 16:2, “Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”

Revilers, persecutors, and slanderers do not honor us by informing the world that we are noble martyrs for a great teacher or a great cause. No, what Jesus means when he says that we will be persecuted “for righteousness’ sake” (verse 10) or “on my account” (verse 11) is that, when our thoughts and our words and actions are conformed to his will, this will often meet with reviling, persecuting, and slandering. What matters is that our thoughts and words and actions really do flow from Christ and for Christ — not whether anybody acknowledges it.

Inestimable Treasure

Now, back to the greatness of our reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12). What is it? Staying here in the context of the Beatitudes, we see a sixfold answer. The future blessedness of the disciples of Jesus is described in six ways that are sandwiched between the summary blessing of verse 3 — “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” — and the summary blessing of verse 10 — “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Six Aspects of Our Heavenly Reward

What does it mean to live forever under the heavenly rule of God? Six immeasurable, glorious aspects of our great reward:

1. We will see God. Verse 8: “They shall see God.”
2. We will be shown mercy. Verse 7: “They shall receive mercy.”
3. We will be part of God’s family. Verse 9: “They shall be called sons of God.”
4. We will experience God’s comfort. Verse 4: “They shall be comforted.”
5. We will be co-owners of the whole world. Verse 5: “They shall inherit the earth.”
6. We will be satisfied with personal and universal righteousness. Verse 6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

The presence of God, seen and enjoyed forever in the face of Christ, covering us with mercy because of all our sins, calling us his children, comforting us for all pain and loss in this world, bequeathing to us the universe for a familiar homeland, with everything set right in our souls, and in nature, and in the social order of the new world: this is our great reward.

God’s Miracle in Us

Jesus tells us that if we can perceive this reward clearly enough, and treasure it highly enough, and be satisfied in it deeply enough, the miracle of verse 12 will happen: we will rejoice and be glad when reviled and persecuted and slandered for our faithfulness to Jesus — because our thoughts and words and actions are from him and for him. God really has performed this miracle. He has done it in the past. He can do it today.

• Acts 5:41: The apostles “left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” The miracle of joy for being shamed for Jesus’s sake.
• Hebrews 10:34: “You had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:1–2: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace [the miracle!] of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
• Acts 16:23–25: “When they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison. . . . [The jailer] put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

The rest of the article is about obstacles to rejoicing in persecution and how to deal with them.

I've applied to myself the advice that this article had talked about and it really works for me!

So I hope this will work for you as well!


🦐

Thank you so much for this. I will watch this tonight when it's just God and I. Desiring God ministries has wonderful stuff. This is such a blessing, thank you. Can I pray for you about anything going on in your life?

Thanks! I wish I was more consistent in abiding in the Lord. I have my off days, so I definitely need prayer for that!


🦐

Isaiah 54:17

Thank you for this verse! In all things, God's will be done.

Thank you for this - I watched it last night and it was really helpful.
We all have our off days, that's for sure, but I prayed for you and the same prayer for myself!
May there be more on days than off days!