“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”(I Corinthians 10:10)
What is murmuring? The sound of it is somewhat like the low, almost whispering sounds of the audience before a concert or play begins in a large auditorium. It is low, undistinguished, sounds of several conversations going on at the same time. I hasten to say that the sound itself is not the sin.
Murmuring is that sound I just described filled with bitterness, malice, ill will, rancor, and complaint. It can be done by a single person, a large or small group and is frequently propagated through gossip. Murmuring is what took place in the Jerusalem Church when the Hellenist widows were being neglected in the distribution of food. (Acts 6:1) It is what Korah and his group were doing against Moses and Aaron in our text above. (Also see Numbers 16:21)
In studying the numerous gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12:6-8, 1Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 there is no “Gift of Murmuring” mentioned. Since it is not a gift of the Spirit and is not sanctioned by the Spirit and the Bible says, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Philippians 2:14), it is a sin to be avoided.
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