“backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,”
The following 12 sins (beginning with the whispering of the previous verse) change construction in the Greek (to substantives and adjectives), giving vividness to those who reject God’s revelation.
backbiters,
Backbiters are slanderers. Literally the word means to talk back. They spread lies about other people far and wide. Slander takes gossip a step further; it takes it to the public openly.
PRINCIPLE:
What whisperers do in secret, slanderers do in the open.
APPLICATION:
Some people love to stab others in the back. They love to smear the reputation of others. They trumpet as much trash as possible in order to detract from others.
It’s been said, “Two things are bad for the heart: running up stairs and running down people.”
