Read the Large Catechism with me.
Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
The Eighth Commandment Part 2: Click here and read 262- 273.
The basics:
- Godly preachers and Christians should expect others to call them heretics and wicked people, because the true Word of God is contradicted, perverted, and falsely cited and interpreted throughout the world. It is the way of the blind world to condemn and persecute the truth and the children of God.
- This commandment forbids all sins of the tongue in which we harm our neighbor's character.
- Speaking ill behind someone's back is particularly detestable, and the devil spurs us on in this act.
- We wish the world to speak only well of ourselves, and yet there is a common evil plague in which we prefer to hear bad about our neighbor.
- We are not to publicly judge one even if we see his sin. If we see our neighbor sin, tell others about his sin, and judge him for it, we have done a far greater evil than he. There are people who have the power of judgement by virtue of their office.
- Slanderers are those who know a slight offense of another, carry it to all ends, and find contentment in stirring up another's displeasure with the person.
- God forbids speaking ill of another even if he is guilty - when you know he is guilty by your own witness and especially when you only know of his guilt by hearsay.
- Unless you can stand before the proper authorities to lay claim to a man's offense, hold your tongue.
- False witness is everything which cannot be properly proved. Whatever sin happens in secret must be secretly reproved and not spread to everyone.
- If you encounter someone who speaks ill of another, contradict them promptly. Honor and a good name are easily taken away, but not easily restored.
My thoughts today:
Um, I am pretty sure the internet should be turned off completely. It is a cesspool of Eighth Commandment breaches! And I can only say this because I, myself, have been the one to breach this law. Goodness me, have I breached it.
OK, so let's talk about this. I read this section about five times and just kept having more questions. I am not to call out the sin of another? Is that what I read? Or maybe I am not to judge the sin of another? What is the difference between calling out and judging? And I can judge if it is in my office to do so? What does that mean? Of which office is he speaking?
We could spend all day debating the details of what all of this means. And I think we like to do that, because we like to make a checklist for ourselves of "Yep, I didn't do that sin today...check!" When in reality, we really do know what this is getting at. We just don't want to admit it.
We are not to talk about others.
We are not to spread bad comments which we hear about someone.
We are not to assume someone's guilt without proper evidence.
We are not to tell people of another's sins.
We are to respect the office we have been given, and not assume it is our place to fix someone else outside of our office.
We are to respect the offices of those who are given the responsibility of judgement (courts, police officers, pastors, etc.), and allow them to do their job accordingly.
We are to speak up against those who speak out against others.
We are to seek reconciliation between each other privately, and allow private sins to remain private.
We know this stuff. And this stuff is easy when we are talking about those we admire and those we like. It's a whole new ballgame when we think of those who bother us, annoy us, hate us, or disagree with us. Our character is not defined by how we talk about those in our inner circle, but how we speak of those from the outside.
Lord have mercy on me, a poor miserable sinner - a woman who commits sins against the Eighth Commandment daily. And thanks be to God for a Savior who stood silent, holding his tongue to the false accusations thrown at him. He stood silently and claimed all the terrible things we would someday say as His own! In return we stand spotless. Where we deserve His judgement, He instead fills His tongue with glorious things about us and speaks them to His Father.
Lord, guard my tongue, that I may use it to uphold my neighbors' reputations, to repent when I have sinned, and to declare Your praise. Amen.
