20 Bible Verses About Gossip: How it Exposes Sin

Today we are going to look at 20 Bible verses about gossip, how it exposes sin. Of all the verses and examples I found, gossip never produces anything good.

I was surprised, maybe I should not be, but as I was researching gossip, I came across a few articles that suggested that gossip can be helpful to relationships. According to the word of God, we build good relationships on love, trust, and truth. In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul calls the church to unity through love and humility.

Gossip may be truth, but it is not loving, humble, nor can it be trusted.

The articles I read were based on worldly ideas and thinking. The Bible and what God says play no part in their knowledge or understanding.

Gossip has no place in the church. For us to understand its destruction and to avoid it, we must go to the word of God and conform to what God’s word says about gossip and how to respond biblically.

What is Gossip Biblically?

Biblically, gossip shares information that should not be shared, true or false. Slander is spreading incorrect information. We could say gossip and slander are close cousins and often run around together. It is easy to embellish information, so gossip can turn to slander rather quickly.

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost part. Proverbs 18:8.

This Proverb describes a gossiper as a whisperer. You can hardly hear their words, and the words they speak are enticing to the hearer. Gossip is pictured here as a dainty morsel that is pleasing to the eye and satisfying our appetites.

Like in the Garden, Eve saw the fruit as a delight to the eye and capable of making her wise. Genesis 3:6.

Did it?

No! It brought death.

The doubt Satan used to spin the truth with Eve is the same doubt we encounter today when we turn our ears toward gossip or open our mouths to speak it. These dainty morsels of gossip appear to offer delicious pleasure unless we know and understand that it is evil, wicked, and accompanied with a devastating outcome.

How Can We Live Our Lives Free of Gossip?

Every one of us has the potential to be a gossiper or a listener of gossip.

How do we know if we are a gossiper?

How do we know if what we are listening to is gossip?

How can you and I live our lives free of gossip? By submitting to the word of God.

To submit, we must know what God says. The following verses give us the characteristics of gossip, its consequences, and a way of escape. 

Bible Verses about Gossip

Characteristics of Gossip According to the Bible.

Proverbs 17:4-An evildoer listens to wicked lips; A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. |Destructive|

Proverbs 11:12-13-He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, But a man of understanding keeps silent. He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is trustworthy conceals a matter. |Reveals Secrets| |Lacks Sense|

Proverbs 16:28- A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. |Divides Over Opinions|

Proverbs 25:23-The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance. |Backbiting|

Proverbs 18: 6-7- A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. |A fool| 

Proverbs 25:9-10-Argue your case with your neighbor, and do not reveal the secret of another, or he who hears it will reproach you, and the evil report about you will not pass away. |Talebearer|

Romans 1:29-32-And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. |Unrighteous|

2 Corinthians 12:20-For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; |Division|

1 Timothy 5:12-13-thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. |Incur Condemnation|

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