What is a reviler in the Bible?

An idolater is one who pays divine honors to idols or images, or one who pays excessive veneration or love to any human person or thing. A railer is an abusive person, one who is quarrelsome, insolent, noisy, manifesting temper, and who attacks others with vile slander and abusive language. As another has said, "The habit of evil speaking stamps him who practices it as a railer; and such a man is unfit for the company of saints, for God's Assembly" (W. Kelly).

Another thing is to be observed, — that the Holy Spirit's scale of sin is not that of man. Which of you, my brethren, would have thought of classing a railer with an adulterer? A railer is one who uses abusive language for the purpose of injuring another, — not the transient out-breaking of flesh, sad as it is, but provoked it may be, or at any rate, happening through unwatchfulness. The habit of evil speaking stamps him who practises it as a railer; and such a man is unfit for the company of the saints, for God's assembly. It is the old leaven of malice and wickedness. He is unclean. Doubtless the world would not so judge; but this is not the world's judgment. The Corinthians were under the influence of the world. The apostle had already shown that to walk as men is beneath the Christian. Now we see that to walk as the world, no matter how refinedly, ever exposes Christians to act worse than men of the world. God has stamped upon His children the name of Christ; and what does not express His name is inconsistent, not only with the Christian, but with His assembly. They are all as such held responsible, according to the grace and holiness and glory of Christ, for the sin done in their midst, of which they are cognisant. They are bound to keep themselves pure in ways.

This means that Miriam opposed Moses' course of action and therefore she turned to Aaron for support. Together they then said: “Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us?” (v. 2). “And the LORD heard it,” says the next sentence. Let us remember that, when we feel we have to say something about our fellow brother or sister! There is a Witness who hears our conversations, who knows our thoughts and even knows what is at the bottom of our hearts. We cannot hide anything from Him. So it is not without reason that the apostle James so seriously warns about the dangers of the tongue, which can be full of “deadly poison.” With our tongue we bless God, and with it we also curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God (James 3:8-9). This is a serious evil and when somebody persists in it it will ultimately lead to their exclusion, for a railer should be put away from ourselves as a wicked person (1 Cor. 5:11-13). In 1 Corinthians 6:10 Paul says that a reviler is among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such a person is considered to be among “them that are without.” Unfortunately, things can reach this stage when somebody will not keep their tongue under control through the power of the Holy Spirit (this self-control is also a fruit of the Spirit: Gal. 5:19-23).

While these references illustrate the use of the term by the Jews, the Lord Himself applies it to the disparagement of God the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10). The term is also used for the calumniation of men, and of Jesus on the cross (Luke 22:65; 23:39), and is translated variously as "evil speaking," "railing," "being defamed," etc. Its seriousness as a sin is correlated to the dignity of the person slandered or blasphemed — a distinction fully recognised by human laws.

In scripture this does not always refer to speaking evil of God, to which the word is now restricted. The same Greek word is translated 'railing' in 1 Tim. 6:4; Jude 9; and 'evil speaking' in Eph. 4:31, as it might well be rendered elsewhere. Blaspheming the name of the Lord was under the Jewish economy punishable by death: the son of Shelomith who had married an Egyptian, was stoned to death for this sin. Lev. 24:11, 14, 23. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was attributing the Lord's action of casting out demons to the agency of Satan — a sin which should not be forgiven in this age nor in the age to come. The context shows that 'the unpardonable sin' refers to this particular form of blasphemy. Matt. 12:24-32.

Jude pursues the contrast: "But these speak evil of (or railingly against) those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves." (v. 10.) The reader will notice the recurrence of the word railing, translated in vv. 8 and 10, to "speak evil." It will suffice to indicate its meaning if it is pointed out that the same word is used in the gospels in the phrase, "blaspheme against the Holy Ghost." (Mark 3:29.) It is a word indeed which betrays that the will and the corruption of the heart are in deadly activity. This is seen in a twofold way in the charge which Jude brings against these men. They blaspheme, speak railingly against, the things they know not, probably the spiritual things, or divine truths which were spoken of by the Christians amongst whom they moved, things which they could not comprehend, for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. 2:14.) Then as to the things which "they understand by mere nature," in these they corrupt themselves, using them as they did only for the gratification of their own appetites and passions. Such were the men who sought to cloak themselves with a profession of Christianity.

Failure in faith and hope too, I must repeat, will soon be found to involve failure in love. "Ye do wrong and defraud, and this, brethren." All through from first to last, it was a direct dishonour to God, and a false testimony to their relationship to Him, if indeed they were born of God. His sense of their failure as Christians does not lessen his horror at the dishonesty or other wrong which provoked the law-suits. "Know ye not that unjust [men] shall not inherit God's kingdom? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor abusers of themselves as women, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor rapacious, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit God's kingdom." (Vers. 9, 10.) It is clear that the apostle, without confining himself to the actual case, is exposing severely the habits so common at Corinth — corruption much more than violence. He is speaking for profit and for solemn warning as the Holy Ghost always does, if He touches sin at all. He is not beating the air, nor denouncing sins only found elsewhere. Fleshly and worldly licence would surely end, if unjudged, in revolting excesses. Tampering with a little evil is the straight road to more and worse, and in none so certainly as the professing Christian. To indulge in any evil is in works to deny Christ. The business of a Christian is to manifest Him. The Corinthian saints were in danger of slipping back into the vilest ways of human corruption.

But to spread disparagement or discreditable imputations without a call from God according to His word, and with no effort to seek the good of the alleged evil-doers, is not only far from Christ, but beneath even a Jew. There is neither truth nor love in detraction, but constant liability to false witness: a multitude must not be followed to do such uncomely turns, any more than to favour a poor man in his cause. The nearness of our relationship is apt to lend occasion to freedom of speech, but it clearly ought rather to enforce on us the greater caution. "Speak not against one another, brethren." Entreaty or remonstrance may be called for; but angry and especially habitual depreciation is unworthy of those that bear the Lord's name. Is it to injure? How does He regard it? "He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against law, and judgeth law; but if thou judgest law, thou art not a doer of law but a judge." Not only the uncharitable act, but the judicial assumption which it must involve, are here exposed with transparent soundness. The brother spoken against may be innocent; the evil speaker is certainly in a false position and an injurious state. The authority which all acknowledge condemns him, at least of being censorious, usurping the seat of judgment, and disputing the authority he invokes. Nor is God mocked: for we reap as we sow, if of flesh corruption; if of Spirit, life everlasting.

Well, here then you see how beautiful it is that instead of bringing a railing accusation, Michael simply warned Satan with the solemn words: "Jehovah rebuke thee" — "The Lord rebuke thee." What would railing do? If there are two people railing, a good and a bad man, and the bad man's railing provokes the good man to rail, the good man goes down to the level of the bad. It does not at all diminish the railing of the other. I should think at any time that a bad man could gain a good degree over the good man in the way of railing. Surely he is much more practised, and very likely more unscrupulous and more malicious, and therefore it sounds stronger to the ear of man. But, you see, that would be a total lowering of even an angel, and how much more of a saint, I might say. Here we have the beautiful conduct of the angel as a pattern to the saint, that we be not provoked, nor, when we are reviled, revile again, but act as the Lord Himself acted. He committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously. Well, that is what Jehovah will do; He will judge righteously, but the time is not yet come for its manifestation.

If we are called to be with Christ in glory, we are also called to follow His steps on the way to glory. The Apostle gives us three of His steps. First, He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. Secondly, He suffered, being reviled and threatened. Thirdly, when reviled, He took it patiently; He neither reviled nor threatened. In the presence of all His accusers His resource was in God. He committed Himself to Him that judges righteously. When falsely accused before the Jewish council, He “held His peace” (Matthew 26:63). To the accusations of the Jews in the presence of Pilate, “He answered nothing”. To Pilate himself, “He answered … never a word” (Matt. 27:12-14). The mocking Herod questioned Him in many words, “but He answered him nothing” (Luke 23:9). He was silent before men because He had a resource in God.

How good for us to follow in His steps and, in the presence of the malicious words of men, come from what quarter they may, to keep silent in the realisation that the Lord is our resource. Well for us to take up the words of the prophet and say, “Jehovah is my portion … therefore will I hope in Him. Jehovah is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should both wait, and that in silence, for the salvation of Jehovah” (Lam. 3:24-26). It is noticeable that it is only in this particular relationship that the Lord can be cited as an example, for He Himself has taken the place of the Servant. From other Scriptures it is clear that the Christian may entreat, exhort, or even rebuke; but never is he to revile or threaten.