What Is Gossip? | Short Sermon Series

The Bible labels gossips as untrustworthy and meddlesome (Proverbs 11:13). All too often, however, you and I do want to gossip. We get bored and want to entertain ourselves by snacking on the shameful stories of other people’s lives. But what exactly makes gossip gossip?

The sin of gossip is bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart.

1. Bearing Bad News

The bad news a gossip bears— a story of someone else’s sin or shame — can be bad in at least two ways. First, bad information. The story may be false or you might be unsure of its truth. Second, a bad report about someone. Just because someone actually did something wrong does not mean that we need to, or get to, talk about it with others. Ask yourself, “Is this story true?”, “Is this story bad news?”

2. Behind Someone’s Back

By definition, gossip occurs only when the subject of the story is not present. It is much easier and more interesting to discuss others when they are not around. We might ask ourselves, “Would I be telling this story if he were here?” “Would I want someone else to talk this way about me if I were not in this room?”

3. Out of a Bad Heart

Jesus taught us that all of the words we speak, good and bad, flow from the abundance of good or evil stored in our hearts (Matthew 12:33–37). The same is true for why we want to listen to gossip. We are attracted to evil because of evil already inside of us (Proverbs 17:4)

But the good news is that you don’t have to be a gossip. Not only can you be forgiven for having indulged in your past, but by faith, you also can be found in Christ, standing in his gossip-free righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus himself bore all of our gossip and died the death our gossip deserved. The temptations may not go away easily, but as you trust in God’s grace, you do not have to give in.

Article by Matt Mitchell @desiringgod

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