Slander: What Is It?

In this article, I want to explain why slander is such a grievous and destructive sin in the Christian community. In part two of my thoughts on the subject, I will trace out the biblical response to slander when found within the leadership of a local church and how the church should discern its next steps.

What is slander?

Slander is depicted in five distinct ways in the Old Testament and five in the New Testament, as reflected in our English translations. But don’t fear, there aren’t ten totally different uses. Each expression highlights an aspect you may overlook if looked at from one angle.

Let me summarize my findings. Slander is speaking ill or falsely accusing someone behind their backs, using the tongue, with the intent to harm their reputation. It describes communication that damages someone’s reputation or character through false or malicious statements and gossip. It is often used in the context of spreading false or damaging information about someone, which can lead to their defamation or harm. This kind of speech is characterized by its intent to harm or belittle the recipient. This is why it is strongly condemned in the bible as being a destructive behavior. It is contrary to the gospel, and it causes division and strife within the Christian community since it goes against the principles of love, truth, and unity within the Christian community (Lev 19:16, Ps 101:5, Ps 140:11, Prov 10:18, Mark 7:22, Eph 4:31, Col 3:8, 1 Pet 2:1). What’s interesting is that it was acceptable in the Greco-Roman world of the New Testament to verbally abuse and publicly shame people in order to assert dominance or discredit one’s opponents. But the Holy Spirit, through the Apostles, called the early Christians and by extension, us, to a higher standard of conduct, emphasizing love, respect, and edification over reviling and slander.

Notice that intent is key in defining slander. But I don’t want you to be quick to think this means once you think you don’t have an intention to slander, it isn’t slander. The issue here is not your intentions per se. And if you think it is, how would you account for Jer 17:9 or Heb 3:13? How would you interpret Lev 4:2 or Numb 15:22? What about 1 John 5:17: “All wicked actions are sin (NLT).” We also know that sin is what keeps us from being honest about the true nature and intention of our sin. “If anything is worse than our sin,” said someone, “it is our capacity to rationalize it, to believe we don’t intend it that way.” One sin becomes two sins when defended in this way.

No, the definitions do not address the intention of the speaker but the intention of the speech. Slander –being spoken of in the bible– always has as its intention, harm. You may or may not have the intention– a conscious and deliberate desire– (which doesn’t even hold as an excuse before God), but you have caused real harm, division, and strife in the church, which is why it is strongly condemned.

Is it grievous?

All sins are grievous since it’s cosmic treason and an attempt to ungod God. Yet there are three verses that’ll help answer more specifically if slander is a grievous sin.

Lev 19:16 says, “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.” I find it interesting that God adds “stand against the life of your neighbor” with the prohibition against slander. Who would have thought they were related?

Ps 101:5 says, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy”. There’s nothing to add, it is clear.

Ex 20:16 says “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. This one needs a bit more elaboration; Question 145 of the Westminster larger catechism expands the sins forbidden in the ninth Commandment. It says, “The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are all prejudicing of the truth and the good name of our neighbors… speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, talebearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring; misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; flattering…”

That said, I must admit that there are some slanders that, even though they cause harm, are inadvertent. For instance, imagine a church member hears a rumor about another member–let’s say that someone has been mishandling church funds. Without verifying the information, they share it during a casual conversation, expressing concern and assuming it to be true. Later, it’s revealed that the rumor was baseless, but the reputation of the accused has already been tarnished among those who heard it. In this case, the slander was unintentional, as the person spreading the rumor believed it to be true. However, the damage was done because they failed to exercise discernment and verify the facts before speaking.

But if, in a second instance, a church member, upset with another member over a disagreement, deliberately starts spreading false accusations to discredit them. For instance, they claim that the other person has been engaging in unethical behavior, knowing full well it is untrue. Their goal is to damage the individual’s reputation and influence within the church. This type of slander is called malicious slander and stems from a heart of malice and intentional deceit, violating God’s commands to love our neighbors (Ex 20:16, Eph 4:31-32). 

I’ll give another example. If church member “A” approaches the pastor with concerns, feeling that during a recent interview for a church position, another member, “B”, who helped arrange the process, unfairly influenced the process to favor someone else over them. The pastor investigates by speaking to the panel, who confirms that member “B” did not influence their decision. However, despite knowing the truth, the pastor begins telling other church members that member “B” manipulated the process to secure the position for someone they preferred. This deliberate act of spreading falsehood, despite knowing the facts, is a clear example of malicious slander. It not only harms the reputation of member “B” but also fosters mistrust and division within the church (Prov 6:16-19).

To be clear, this sort of slander is called defamation in the secular world and even the court would be happy to take the case as it doesn’t consider defamation a theological issue. The court, amongst other things, would require the pastor to write a public apology or statement to correct the harm caused. Which includes clearly stating that the accusations made about member “B” were false. The pastor would then apologize to member “B” and anyone else affected by the false statements, acknowledging the damage caused to their reputation. The pastor would correct the record, stating the true facts as verified (e.g., that member “B” did not influence the interview). This retraction and apology would typically be made publicly within the church (e.g., during a service or in a written communication to the congregation), ensuring that those who heard the false statements are informed of the truth. The goal is to restore member “B”’s reputation and publicly undo the harm caused by the slander. In cases of proven malice, the court may even impose punitive damages to discourage such behavior in the future.

Yet, though the court is willing to go this far, the court isn’t aiming for what the Puritans called doxological living. This means as Christians, we must go even further with the brother or sister or pastor who slanders because we know that “whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (Matt 5:22) and also “every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matt 12”36). We must aim for mortification and not stop at resolution and reconciliation. Because we could reconcile, and yet the pastor doesn’t forsake practicing slander. Instead, he will internalize the sin and end up worse with a cunning heart in addition to a slanderous mouth.

We must go as far as mortification because, like every sin, slander is aiming for violent, earnest, frequent enticing, and rising up till it becomes so natural to the man. Slander wants you to slander without feeling bad; it wants you to turn the grace of God into license and become hardened. It wants to become a bosom sin.

A word on bosom sins

Bosom sins are sins nearest to our heart, according to Gurnall. They easily beset us (Heb 12:2). They do so because we love them. It’s hard to hear this, but it is true. At this point, let me remind you of the words of Calvin. He said Christians should be so confident in the truth of God’s Word that they would be willing to “bet against themselves”–in other words, to place our full trust in Scripture even over our own understanding. Calvin suggests that we must be willing to trust God’s Word above our own reasoning, accepting its authority and truth even when it contradicts our personal experiences or understanding. I said this to say that even if you think you don’t love your bosom sins and scream, God forbid, you do love them because the bible says you do. 

Our bosom sins are so difficult  to get rid of. They vow to be “very secret.” They tell us, “You can keep me and your good reputation.” They ask us to “Keep them only in thought and affection.” And we listen. We listen and then engage in a fight to keep them. This is the sad truth.

How can you tell when a sin is a bosom sin? many ways, but I’ll mention one obvious one: you keep returning to it despite repeated attempts at repentance. It’s a sin that feels entrenched and consistently resurfaces. And how else can you judge slander as  consistently resurfacing, if not in the slandering of  multiple people, multiple times? It is precisely this that compels us as a church to go even further than what a court would prescribe. We know how strong, deep-rooted, and depraved sin is, not to talk of habitual sin. If a member is caught in this, especially a pastor, it is grievous and very sad.

Grievous bosom sins

Chapter 9 of Mortification of Sin is very helpful here; Owen wants us to know that it is perilous to have a bosom sin. He described it as the sin we’ve permitted for so long. He says, “When a sin has laid long in the heart, corrupting it, it has brought the soul to a woeful condition. The result is that such sin must have grown familiar to the mind and conscience, that they do not startle at it as a strange thing but are bold with it as that which they are accustomed to.” “It has so much advantage,” says Owen, “that it is acted upon without us taking any notice of it at all.”

Owen then explains that the problem with a grievous bosom sin is that we are not able to distinguish between it and the dominion of sin, which is the lot of unregenerate people. Owen then adds that it is not an easy thing to dislodge because such sin had continued for so long in ease and quiet. 

He concludes that if a grievous bosom sin is found in a Christian, he doesn’t have any evidence he is a Christian. And if he found evidence in other places, he must still conclude he is “a most miserable Christian.”

Is it destructive?

You can already tell, but it is worth stating as clearly as possible.

Slander, the kind we are dealing with, as I’ve established, is malicious. Malice isn’t when two people are not talking, that’s a Nigerian definition. Malice in the bible means evil or wickedness. It simply means a desire to harm someone, which is just evil. This means that slander is not love, it is rooted in malice.  You cannot both love and slander someone at the same time, especially when it’s proven you’ve slandered them multiple times to multiple people.

Also, think of the warning of Proverbs 16:28, “A perverse man spreads strife, And a whisperer separates close companions.” Here is how Strong’s Concordance defines the Hebrew word translated as whisperer, “it primarily conveys the act of whispering or murmuring, often with a negative connotation such as slandering or speaking ill of someone. It implies a secretive or underhanded form of communication, typically used to spread rumors or falsehoods.” This means that the wise man of Proverbs is warning us that a slanderer ruins friendship, trust, and love between church members. Not to mention the damage it can cause to the individual, their family, and ministry.

One last thing to mention here is the often-neglected Holy Spirit. Is it for nothing that Paul in admonishing us about the use of our words, brings the Holy Spirit in? Eph 4:29–30 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Unwholesome word includes slander, and Paul’s point is that a community with a slanderer in their midst resists the Spirit’s work of fostering unity and holiness.

Slander is not just a sin against individuals but also against the Holy Spirit, grieving Him and disrupting unity within the body of Christ. Therefore, the church must uphold the biblical standard of truth, love, and accountability to maintain its witness to the world.