THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

CXL. Handling Verbal Terrorism

(Psalm 140:1-13)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Verbal terrorism, where words are used to incite violence against other people, widely affects us today:

(1) Though a core reason for why President Trump was reelected last year as president was his promise to stop illegal immigration, “federal authorities have reported that assaults on (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents have increased 700% since President Trump took office . . . The wave of violence has not occurred in a vacuum,” either. “The mainstream American left has spent the first nine months of Mr. Trump’s term using rhetoric designed to stoke political violence against federal agents. In a video . . . by the Media Research Center, several commentators on . . . MSNBC can be seen comparing ICE agents to Nazi troops, fascists, ‘thugs,’ and, in one instance, slave patrols . . . Elected Democrats have hurled identical accusations against ICE agents for daring to enforce the law . . .” (“Democrats put ICE in danger,” Ibid., September 27, 2025, p. A6).

(2) Rich Lowry’s column, “The left’s ongoing anti-Trump terrorism campaign” (Republican-American, October 1, 2025, p. A6), told of the left’s verbally caused physical opposition to the Department Of Government Efficiency campaign under Elon Musk who tried to cut financial waste in the government for the benefit of taxpayers and to ease the national debt. Mr. Lowry reported how leftists torched and vandalized Tesla vehicles and dealerships and attacked Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and personnel before he concluded, “When these events are put against the context of the assassination of a MAGA leader, Charlie Kirk, and last year’s two assassination attempts against Donald Trump himself, the picture is stark – a persistent, if wholly unorganized effort to use violence to frustrate Trump’s policy goals . . .” (Ibid.)

(3) Actually, the “‘Democrats have a real problem on their hands’” with regard to their use of verbal terrorism. “‘A poll by the Cato Institute shows that 42% who identify as ‘very liberal’ or ‘liberal’ say political violence is justified, while just 9% of those who identify as ‘very conservative’ or ‘conservative’ feel the same way. Breaking it down by age, 46% of those between 18 and 44 who are liberal say violence is either justified (26%), aren’t sure it is (13%), or prefer not to say (7%). Compare that with conservatives between 18 and 44, less than half of whom, compared to liberals (12%), say it is justified, while 12% aren’t sure. We saw this play out after the execution of Charlie Kirk last month in Utah. Toxic social media sites such as Bluesky displayed thousands of posts celebrating the murder of the husband and father of two, while then-MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd, who once ran for Texas lieutenant governor, basically said Kirk had it coming.’” (Ibid., October 9, 2025, p. A8, citing Joe Concha, “By standing by Jay Jones, Virginia Democrats give permission slip to the violent left,” Washington Examiner, Oct. 8)

(4) Mentioning Charlie Kirk also brings us to the religious realm: Matthew D. Taylor’s 2024 book, The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy, told of the New Apostolic Reformation that we noted in our last sermon greatly impacted Charlie Kirk. As implied by his book title, Mr. Taylor reported that NAR leaders view Jesus’ Matthew 11:12 KJV phrase on the kingdom of heaven – “the violent take it by force” – as God’s call to engage in forceful spiritual warfare to set up a Christian world empire (Robert D. Cornwall, “Review: The Violent Take It By Force,” October 22, 2024; wordandway.org; Brannon S. Howse, The Coming Religious Reich, 2015, p. 114)! However, leftists who criticize the amillennial and barbaric Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages (John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, 1976, p. 12-15; Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast, 1994, p. 269) fear any effort to have a Christian empire forced upon them, so they typically react to NAR Christian nationalism by opposing all evangelicals in general, including those of us who do not hold to NAR errors!

Need: So we ask, “How does God direct that we handle verbal terrorism that aims to harm others?”

I. In Psalm 140:1-8, David asked God to rescue him from men who devised plans to harm him by slander:

A. David called on the Lord to rescue him from violent men who were at war against him, Psalm 140:1-3.

B. These foes planned to entrap David in some way to enable them to slander him to his harm, Psa. 140:4-5, 11a.

C. Accordingly, David looked to the Lord to frustrate the plans of his enemies, Psalm 140:6-8.

II. David then asked God to take vengeance on his enemies in his behalf, Psalm 140:9-11:

A. He asked the Lord to have his foes who surrounded him to face the troubles they had caused him, Psa. 140:9.

B. David requested that his foes be severely punished so that they do not recover from God’s discipline, v. 10.

C. He asked that such slanderers not be established in the land, that they meet disaster to end their violence, v. 11.

III. David trusted God to act in accord with His justice for the needy that they might praise Him, v. 12-13.

Lesson: To handle verbal terrorists who plotted for David’s demise through slandering him, David called on the Lord to administer justice by delivering him and by blocking his enemies’ harmful efforts.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we handle verbal terrorism by calling on the Lord to administer His just deliverance and to block the harmful efforts of verbal terrorists.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . .)

Scripture provides additional guidance on dealing with the issues of concern noted in our sermon introduction:

(1) Regarding (a) the left’s verbal terrorism in the realm of illegal immigration (b) and its verbal terrorism in its anti-President Trump campaign, (i) we need to pray that government officials might function in ways that allow us believers to lead peaceful, quiet, godly and dignified lives that we might disciple the unsaved (1 Timothy 2:1-4 NIV). (ii) God also calls us believers to obey every ordinance of man (Romans 13:1-4) with the exception of obeying God over man if those two authorities differ (Acts 5:29). (iii) We believers also need to honor all people (1 Peter 2:17a).

(2) Regarding the Democrats’ problem of their use of violence-inducing rhetoric and its uncontrolled and harmful effects on their followers, (a) 2 Timothy 3:1-5a, 6-8 predicted that among other vices, harmful rhetoric and ferocity would characterize troubling people in the latter days of Church History. (b) Thus, we need to withdraw from such people for our own protection (2 Timothy 3:5b) and (c) let the works of such people expose themselves to be evil (2 Tim. 3:9). (d) God wants us to avoid the growing deception of violence-inducing parties (2 Timothy 3:14) by adhering to Scripture truth in dependence on the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Galatians 5:16).

(4) Regarding verbal terrorism in the left’s reaction to the New Apostolic Reformation’s interpretation of Matthew 11:12, (a) we need to understand the correct interpretation of that verse (as follows): (i) The verb in that verse that is rendered “suffereth violence” in the KJV translates the Greek verb biazetai, the present indicative middle OR passive voice (as both voices there are spelled the same) of the root biazo. In the middle voice, this verb means to “apply force (for one’s benefit)” and in the passive voice, to “be violently treated, oppressed” (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 39; The Analyt. Grk. Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 69; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 140). (ii) If one views biazetai in the middle voice, he can adopt the NAR belief that God’s kingdom applies force, and that violent men of God’s kingdom grasp or lay claim to His kingdom in their own effort (B. K. C., N. T., p. 44). (iii) However, seeing biazetai in the passive voice leads to the opposite idea that God’s kingdom has been violently treated, that ungodly men try to lay claim to it by their own efforts, Ibid. (iv) Since the Matthew 11 context reveals that Jesus was referring to the experience of John the Baptist who was then imprisoned by Herod (cf. Matthew 11:2-11; 14:1-3) as well as to His own experience of facing repeat opposition from Israel’s religious leaders (Matthew 9:1-6, 11-13, 32-34), John and Jesus as godly heralds of the kingdom of heaven were not oppressively forcing themselves on others, but Israel’s religious leaders “were resisting the message” that John and Jesus gave and were “attempting to establish their own rule,” Ibid. (v) Thus, biazetai should be interpreted in the passive voice (like the KJV, ESV, NIV and the NASB versions all interpret it) to mean that Christ was NOT teaching Christians forcibly to install a Christian kingdom on earth, but that God’s servants were suffering violence from oppressively godless men who tried to install their own rule! (Ibid.) (vi) In reality, the New Apostolic Reformation’s efforts forcibly to install a Christian kingdom is critiqued by this very verse, and Jesus’ testimony before Pontius Pilate in John 18:36 proves it: Jesus there said that His kingdom was not of this world, that if it were, His servants would fight to prevent His arrest by the Jewish leaders. Jesus there added that His kingdom was from another place. We know from Revelation 19:11-20:3 that that other place is heaven, and one day Christ will come from heaven to invade this earth and Himself establish His own worldwide Millennial Kingdom on earth. (b) Based on this correct interpretation of Matthew 11:12, we then follow the teaching of Jesus to disciple the nations to become believers in Christ (Matthew 28:18-20) instead of trying forcibly to set up a Christian world empire by our own effort! We are to disciple others and wait for Christ to take us out of this world in the pretribulation rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and return with Him after the Tribulation Period when He establishes His kingdom. (c) Meanwhile, we should not fellowship with New Apostolic Reformation groups that we might present a true gospel to the unsaved world – not that unbelievers be externally reformed by an enforced religious rule over them, but that they individually might be regenerated by faith in Christ!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we handle verbal terrorism by calling on the Lord to administer His just deliverance and to block our foes’ harmful efforts.