Living Free From Lies, Slander, And Accusations

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus cast a demon out of a man who could not speak.  But some people, instead of being amazed, decided to twist the truth (strawman), name call (ad hominem), and speak false accusations (slander) against Jesus.  Through the sins of their tongue and by implementing some clever tactics, they were attempting to destroy and discredit Jesus’ ministry - not by refuting the miracle of Jesus (I remind you) but instead by undermining His reputation.  They tried to turn the crowd against Jesus by framing Jesus as a servant of the Devil.  

So, today, let’s take some time to examine their tactics slowly. Let’s see how they broke the 8th Commandment by giving false testimony against Jesus.   

First, these enemies of Jesus made false accusations. We call this slander. Slander and false accusations occur when you and I say something false about someone to smear them. With Jesus, His enemies clearly slandered Him by saying, 

“[Jesus] casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.”  

In other words, this is a false and malicious accusation spoken against Jesus’ person and work.  It attributes His divine miracle of casting out a demon to the Devil.  

But why did they slander Jesus?  Why do we slander others, and why are we often slandered ourselves?  The answer is quite simple: when we are jealous, fearful, angry, or hard-hearted, we will speak malicious things against other people to tear them down.  For example, when we Christians stand up for things like Biblical Marriage – that marriage is only between a man and woman - and someone doesn’t like hearing this, instead of discussing the issue, they will often resort to slander,

“That’s evil; you're acting with hate!!”  

This slander is meant to ruin your reputation; it is meant to smear you.  And so, slander is often done not when a person does something wrong but is done to a person when they do something right.  When something true, beautiful, and good cannot be refuted by sound logic, slander is quick to attack.  Slander is often a lazy and cowardly way to avoid facing the painful confrontation of truth.  Rather than wrestling honestly with what someone says or does, slander chooses the easy path of tossing out a harsh label.  Slander takes no effort, it avoids the hard work of self-examination and honest debate, and it allows a person to feel justified without actually having to engage the truth: 

“That’s evil; you're acting with hate!!”  

Again, in our Gospel Reading, Jesus speaks and acts with truth, but instead of listening, His enemies slander Him: 

“[Jesus] casts out demons by Beelzebul”

Jesus’ enemies were spineless cowards who took the easy way out by slandering – speaking something false about Jesus.  

Secondly, Jesus’ enemies resorted to name-calling.  For those of you who want a technical term for this, we call this an ‘ad hominem attack.’  Now, ad hominem attacks are very similar to slander but, at the same time, slightly different.  Let me explain: instead of engaging with the miracle of Jesus, as well as Jesus’ Words, the enemies of Jesus attack the character of Jesus.  They don’t refute the miracle, and they don’t explain how Jesus could have power over demons unless God were with Jesus; instead, they attacked Jesus’ character.  They were trying to win the crowd over not by reason or truth but by discrediting Jesus.  Their goal was to put Jesus’ character into question, so that anything he said or did could be discredited.  

But again, why did they do this ad hominem attack on Jesus?  Like slander, implementing an ad hominem attack is an easy way to discredit a person.  

Back to the example of standing up for Biblical Marriage.  If a Christian were to say that there are only two genders and that Marriage is between a Man and a Woman, an ad hominem attack would come forth by using slanderous words not toward the Biblical argument for marriage but instead to the person, 

“She is an intolerant bigot… he is a Nazi!... They are haters!” …and so forth.  

Again, an ad hominem avoids debating a topic or an event but instead utilizes cowardly slanderous terms and applies them to the person’s character. It is a lazy tactic that avoids the real issue at hand.

Thirdly, the enemies of Jesus twisted the truth.  Now, for those of you collecting these fancy terms, the enemies of Jesus created what is called a ‘strawman.’  That is to say, a strawman argument twists truth towards evil so that it is easier to attack.  With Jesus, His enemies took Jesus’ genuine act of mercy, which was done by the finger of God, and twisted it – they portrayed it to be a work of the devil.  Simply stated, they misrepresented what Jesus was doing so that they could easily knock it down and turn the people against Jesus.  

Back to our example of Biblical Marriage.  Imagine saying that Marriage is between a Man and a Woman and then getting the response, 

“Why do you think you are better than everyone else, and why do you want to take rights away by forcing an old, outdated religion on everyone else?  Don’t you believe in the separation of church and state?” 

You see, this strawman response portrays the proponent of Biblical Marriage as an arrogant, oppressive, and ignorant Christian.  When someone hears you say, ‘I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,’ and their response is, ‘“Why do you think you are better than everyone else, and why do you want to take rights away by forcing an old, outdated religion on everyone else?  Don’t you believe in the separation of church and state?” …well, they’ve built a straw version of your beliefs so they can easily knock you over.  Again, a strawman tactic attempts to misrepresent the beliefs of a person to make their beliefs sound evil so that it is easier to tear down.  

These strawman arguments are lazy as well.  They avoid real engagement.  Straw man arguments require little thought or listening.  Underneath this lazy tactic, a straw man argument reveals a heart unwilling to repent and a heart that avoids the discomfort of truth.  

And so, to summarize, it is clear that Jesus is confronted in our Gospel Reading in Luke by slander, ad hominem, and straw man attacks.  These tactics are not only dishonest reasoning, but they are the essence of breaking the 8th Commandment.  They are fruits of a tongue of darkness.  They are not neutral speech, but they are speech that reflects the way of the old Adam being influenced by the Devil.  They are the way of intellectual and moral cowards being led by the prince of lies.

* * *

But, Baptized Saints, mark this: this is not how Jesus speaks.  In response to the twisted tongues of name-calling and false accusations, Jesus speaks boldly, clearly, truthfully, and mercifully.  In the Gospel of Luke, in the face of slander, personal attacks, and twisted accusations, Jesus doesn’t retaliate or use the same tactics as His enemies – instead, He speaks the truth and stands in the light. Jesus seeks to correct, not destroy.  He doesn’t merely defend but points to salvation.  He confronts sin not to score points but to call for repentance.  He gives a compassionate pastoral warning rather than trying to score a cheap ideological point.  Indeed, Christ did not trade insult for insult.  He did not respond to lies with more lies.  He did not respond to darkness with darkness.  Instead, He stood firmly in the truth – because He is truth.   He revealed the Kingdom of God, He called sinners to repentance, and His tongue of righteousness spoke not to win an argument but to win them for Divine Salvation.  And the reason why? Jesus is the stronger man.  

Baptized Saints, you and I must never forget that we Christians are not the way, the truth, and the life.  Therefore, when we are attacked for speaking the truth, people are not attacking us but attacking Christ and His Word.  And since Christ has already endured the world’s scorn and is now raised from the dead, we are neither easily triggered nor defensive when challenged by slander, ad hominem attacks, or strawman characterizations.  Why would it matter what the world says?  Why would the words of a tongue of darkness have any sway over you and me when we belong to the Kingdom of Light and have the tongue of Light – God’s Word – continually spoken into our ears?  

Baptized Saints, remember when twisted tongues of name-calling and false accusations come your way, you need not worry, for they spring forth from darkness and sin.  Indeed, when you are attacked, maligned, discredited, and slandered, remember where these words come from because if they are from darkness, they have no say over you.   The reason why?   You have the words of another – Jesus Christ.  He is the stronger man!  He is stronger than darkness.  Therefore, what Jesus says holds more weight over you.  What Jesus says is what matters - for you.  

Baptized Saints, hear this today:

Jesus’ Word is stronger than the devil! 

Jesus’ Word is stronger than the world!  

Jesus’ Word is stronger than sin and death!  

Therefore, you shall not fear when you are accused. You need not worry when you are slandered.  You do not need to fret when you are name-called, for you belong to Divine Truth, not tongues of darkness and deceit.   

In the name of Jesus – the stronger man - Amen.