Mark 15:29, 30 ( KJV ) read as follows:
"And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
Luke 23:39 ( KJV ) reads as follows:
"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 ( KJV ) read as follows:
"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do [ sic ] not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
1 Peter 3:9 ( KJV ) reads as follows:
"Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing" ( emphases mine, R.E.W. ).
2 Peter 2:10, 11 ( KJV ) read as follows:
"But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
Jude, verse 9 ( KJV ), reads as follows:
"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
1 Timothy 6:4, 5 ( KJV ) read as follows:
"He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself" ( emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).
The Greek word ( Greek [ 987 ] ), for the word "railed" in Mark 15:29 and Luke 23:39, is defined as follows:
"to vilify; spec. to speak impiously." [ See ABINGDON'S STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, STRONG, JAMES, S.T.D., LL.D., ABINGDON PRESS, NASHVILLE, Copyright, 1890, by JAMES STRONG, MADISON, N.J., ( A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek/New Testament with their Renderings in the King James Version, p. 22. ). ]
The Greek word ( Greek [ 3060 ] ), for the word "railer" in 1 Corinthians 5:11, is defined as follows:
"abusive, i.e. a blackguard." [ Ibid., p. 59. ]
The Greek word ( Greek [ 3059 ] ), for the word "railing" in 1 Peter 3:9, is defined as follows:
"slander or vituperation." [ Ibid. ]
The Greek word ( Greek [ 989 ] ), for the word "railing" in 2 Peter 2:11, is defined as follows:
"scurrilous, i.e. calumnious (against man), or (spec.) impious (against God)." [ Ibid., p. 22. ]
The Greek word ( Greek [ 988 ] ), for the word "railing" in Jude, verse 9, is defined as follows:
"vilification (espec. against God)." [ Ibid. ]
The Greek word ( Greek [ 988 ] ), for the word "railings" in 1 Timothy 6:4, is the same Greek word on which the word "railing," in Jude, verse 9, is based.
The Greek word ( Greek [ 5100 ] ), for the word "man" in 1 Corinthians 5:11, is defined as follows:
"some or any person or object" [ Ibid., p. 97. ]
With all of the above-given information in mind, it is a sin to be a railer.
Specifically, it is a sin to use abusive language towards others. Moreover, the apostle Paul ( see 1 Corinthians 1:1 ) teaches Christians ( see Psalm 50:5, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:26-40 ( especially verses 36-39, for example ), Acts 11:26, Romans 6:1-4 ( especially verse 3, for example ), 1 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 3:27, Hebrews 10:22, and 1 Peter 1:1, 2, for example ) not to eat with a fellow Christian who is a railer, for example. It is important to remember that "the wages of sin is death" ( see Romans 6:23; KJV, for example ).
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
<rewillis1_1@juno.com>
<Russell E. Willis>
