Can Christians use curse words?
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[TD="width: 593, align: left"][h=1]Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?[/h]
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[TD="width: 593, align: left"][h=1]Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?[/h]
Question: "Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?"
Answer: It is definitely a sin to swear (curse, cuss, etc.). The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." First Peter 3:10 declares, "For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." James 3:9-12 summarizes the issue: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
James makes it clear that the lives of Christians—the “brothers”—should not be characterized by evil speech. By making the analogy of both salt water and fresh water coming from the same spring (which is uncharacteristic of springs), he makes the point that it is uncharacteristic for a believer to have both praise and cursing come from his/her mouth. Nor is it characteristic for us to praise God on one hand and curse our brothers on the other. This, too, is uncharacteristic of a true believer.
Jesus explained that what comes out of our mouths is that which fills our hearts. Sooner or later, the evil in the heart comes out through the mouth in curses and swearing. But when our hearts are filled with the goodness of God, praise for Him and love for others will pour forth. Our speech will always indicate what is in our hearts. “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
Why is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse? Sin is a condition of the heart, the mind, and “the inner man” (Romans 7:22), which is manifested in our thoughts, actions and words. When we swear and curse, we are giving evidence of the polluting sin in our hearts that must be confessed and repented of. Thankfully, our great God is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When this happens, we receive a new nature from God (2 Corinthians 5:17), our hearts are transformed, and our speech reflects the new nature God has created within us.
Recommended Resources: Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen and Logos Bible Software.
Answer: It is definitely a sin to swear (curse, cuss, etc.). The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." First Peter 3:10 declares, "For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." James 3:9-12 summarizes the issue: "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
James makes it clear that the lives of Christians—the “brothers”—should not be characterized by evil speech. By making the analogy of both salt water and fresh water coming from the same spring (which is uncharacteristic of springs), he makes the point that it is uncharacteristic for a believer to have both praise and cursing come from his/her mouth. Nor is it characteristic for us to praise God on one hand and curse our brothers on the other. This, too, is uncharacteristic of a true believer.
Jesus explained that what comes out of our mouths is that which fills our hearts. Sooner or later, the evil in the heart comes out through the mouth in curses and swearing. But when our hearts are filled with the goodness of God, praise for Him and love for others will pour forth. Our speech will always indicate what is in our hearts. “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
Why is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse? Sin is a condition of the heart, the mind, and “the inner man” (Romans 7:22), which is manifested in our thoughts, actions and words. When we swear and curse, we are giving evidence of the polluting sin in our hearts that must be confessed and repented of. Thankfully, our great God is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When this happens, we receive a new nature from God (2 Corinthians 5:17), our hearts are transformed, and our speech reflects the new nature God has created within us.
Recommended Resources: Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen and Logos Bible Software.
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Is it a sin to cuss / swear / curse?
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"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."
Romans 13:1
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Nice!...and let me tell you why. God searches the heart of all people. He knows our true intentions on everything we do or say..agreed? So if you say "crap" all the while meaning "s$%t" in your mind....then your intentions are still the same. You've expressed it in what man has told you is a "cleaner" word...right? So once again we choose not to use those certain words--because they SOUND dirty or because everyone else says it's not right to- not because it is sound doctrine. 'Cursing (words that are bad defined by MAN) is bad overall' is what the masses say is wrong- not God. Our intentions/meaning behind anything/everything we say is what God judges us on..not on how a word simply sounds. Sorry..."crap" still means "s&%t"--just sounds prettier, and even then it still sounds vulgar. GB
other than talking God's Name in vain
(which i'd bet we all do in some way without thinking about it...without saying the words...)
nothing inherently wrong with words.
however, the fact we may offend someone is reason enough, right?
(which i'd bet we all do in some way without thinking about it...without saying the words...)
nothing inherently wrong with words.
however, the fact we may offend someone is reason enough, right?
THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! My point exactly!! They keep hitting me with scripture that has nothing to DO WITH ANY PARTICULAR WORDS INDIVIDUALLY! All those verses are saying, is how NOT to group WORDS (ANY WORDS) as a WHOLE, that might offend others or be blasphemous towards God. Phew. Can't keep up.
Christians can and do use curse words. This is not to say that these are profitable words to use to express one's point of view. I believe that someone whose every other word is a curse word has an unsophisticated mind. It took me years to rein in my tongue and even now I will still use an occasional curse word to get my point across or in an attempt at humor. It is never proper to use the Lord's name in vain under any circumstance.
Jesus and John had called the Pharisees brood of vipers, and Jesus had called a woman a dog. God knows the intentions of a person, if they had said it to be offensive, or did they just said it out of anger, and which they didn't has meant what they'd said. But Jesus had called them by their spirit that they had in them, that their character were of these animals.
i'll get you a treadmill, honey.
James 3:8
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
V
I was thinking the exact same thing, Sister Psalm6819. Always God is looking at our heart (motives) and if there is anger, fear, pain, etc., THAT'S what the Lord sees and helps us to deal with. And as we grow in the faith of Jesus Christ and become more like Him, controlling our tongue will become habit. The fruit (of the Spirit) that people will see in us will be the characteristics of Jesus Christ.
Not saying I haven't had a problem with bad language before. I grew up in a very tough neighborhood where the main languages spoken at school and on the playground were "Ebonics" and "Profanity". Even some of the teachers could curse the paint off the walls.
Anyhow, I learned to control my tongue by pressing my lips together (so nothing could come out) and humming gruffly, "Hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!" It almost sounded like a soft growling noise. Or I would repeat over & over, "Wow... wow... man... man..." or some nonsense like that. But God knew my heart and I would ask God to help me think before I talked. Eventually the string of obscenities that was so familiar to me faded and was no longer a part of my vocabulary.
Sometimes when I am upset I still softly growl under my breath. But the Father knows the prayer of my heart is, "Show me what's going on in my heart so I don't misjudge and say the wrong thing."
Not saying I haven't had a problem with bad language before. I grew up in a very tough neighborhood where the main languages spoken at school and on the playground were "Ebonics" and "Profanity". Even some of the teachers could curse the paint off the walls.
Anyhow, I learned to control my tongue by pressing my lips together (so nothing could come out) and humming gruffly, "Hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!" It almost sounded like a soft growling noise. Or I would repeat over & over, "Wow... wow... man... man..." or some nonsense like that. But God knew my heart and I would ask God to help me think before I talked. Eventually the string of obscenities that was so familiar to me faded and was no longer a part of my vocabulary.
Sometimes when I am upset I still softly growl under my breath. But the Father knows the prayer of my heart is, "Show me what's going on in my heart so I don't misjudge and say the wrong thing."
Yes they can... should they? That's up to the individual.
I think the only thing wrong with swearing is the possibility to offend. You can be just as offensive without using any swear words at all. I look at it like this... If I can say this phrase and if I left this word out, it wouldn't offend anyone, then it really doesn't matter what word I use. I don't think God differentiates between shoot and s###. Or fudge or it's equivalent. There is nothing offensive about the phrase "What the (word of your choice)?" No matter what word you use, there is nothing offensive about that phrase itself. The only reason someone would be offended would be with a certain word used. There are better things to get offended over than a stupid word.
There was a sermon I heard once, the pastor came out and said "There are starving kids in Africa and I think that's a bunch of s###... And you know what? More people in this room are more concerned that I just said s### than the starving kids in Africa". I thought that was a good one. Any other word there and no one would be offended with that statement.
I honestly don't swear a lot personally but I don't really have a problem with it but I've used them even when I pray if it's the best way I can express myself... I have no reason to believe God cares what I use since he's looking at the heart anyway. And what difference does it make if I substitute a word for a nicer "variant" if it all means the same thing anyway. God didn't make the English language, man did. God didn't make up our social list of taboos, man did. In the bible when it talks about filth coming from your mouth, I think it's a contextual thing. Like I said, you can be very offensive and graphic and not uttering a single swear word. Or you can make a statement or expression using a "taboo" word and, IMO, it's not offensive at all. It is what it is.
I'm not saying everyone should just start swearing and there are more eloquent ways of putting things but I'm not gonna lose sleep over certain words in my vocabulary, lol. I see it more like eating your dinner with your salad fork in a fancy restaurant. You may get some looks but I really don't give a **** But seriously, it's a manners thing IMO... nothing more, nothing less. Out with friends, I don't watch it all. Talking to the check out person at the grocery or at Church, I wouldn't swear.
There has never been a legit argument using the bible to back up the opinion that certain words are wrong. All the verses ever posted are either about cursing (as in to curse someone) or filth from your mouth. And I don't think filth from your mouth was talking about a list of words currently considered to be taboo. If that list is concidered filth than so should be their non swear equivalent as they all mean the same thing. And like I said you can speak very filthy and offensively and not utter a single swear word.
Misusing Jesus Christ or something along those lines, definitely wrong though. Everything else... it's just social etiquette so... make an evaluated judgment and decide for yourself if or when you feel it's appropriate.
I think the only thing wrong with swearing is the possibility to offend. You can be just as offensive without using any swear words at all. I look at it like this... If I can say this phrase and if I left this word out, it wouldn't offend anyone, then it really doesn't matter what word I use. I don't think God differentiates between shoot and s###. Or fudge or it's equivalent. There is nothing offensive about the phrase "What the (word of your choice)?" No matter what word you use, there is nothing offensive about that phrase itself. The only reason someone would be offended would be with a certain word used. There are better things to get offended over than a stupid word.
There was a sermon I heard once, the pastor came out and said "There are starving kids in Africa and I think that's a bunch of s###... And you know what? More people in this room are more concerned that I just said s### than the starving kids in Africa". I thought that was a good one. Any other word there and no one would be offended with that statement.
I honestly don't swear a lot personally but I don't really have a problem with it but I've used them even when I pray if it's the best way I can express myself... I have no reason to believe God cares what I use since he's looking at the heart anyway. And what difference does it make if I substitute a word for a nicer "variant" if it all means the same thing anyway. God didn't make the English language, man did. God didn't make up our social list of taboos, man did. In the bible when it talks about filth coming from your mouth, I think it's a contextual thing. Like I said, you can be very offensive and graphic and not uttering a single swear word. Or you can make a statement or expression using a "taboo" word and, IMO, it's not offensive at all. It is what it is.
I'm not saying everyone should just start swearing and there are more eloquent ways of putting things but I'm not gonna lose sleep over certain words in my vocabulary, lol. I see it more like eating your dinner with your salad fork in a fancy restaurant. You may get some looks but I really don't give a ****
But seriously, it's a manners thing IMO... nothing more, nothing less. Out with friends, I don't watch it all. Talking to the check out person at the grocery or at Church, I wouldn't swear.There has never been a legit argument using the bible to back up the opinion that certain words are wrong. All the verses ever posted are either about cursing (as in to curse someone) or filth from your mouth. And I don't think filth from your mouth was talking about a list of words currently considered to be taboo. If that list is concidered filth than so should be their non swear equivalent as they all mean the same thing. And like I said you can speak very filthy and offensively and not utter a single swear word.
Misusing Jesus Christ or something along those lines, definitely wrong though. Everything else... it's just social etiquette so... make an evaluated judgment and decide for yourself if or when you feel it's appropriate.
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Yes they can... should they? That's up to the individual.
I think the only thing wrong with swearing is the possibility to offend. You can be just as offensive without using any swear words at all. I look at it like this... If I can say this phrase and if I left this word out, it wouldn't offend anyone, then it really doesn't matter what word I use. I don't think God differentiates between shoot and s###. Or fudge or it's equivalent. There is nothing offensive about the phrase "What the (word of your choice)?" No matter what word you use, there is nothing offensive about that phrase itself. The only reason someone would be offended would be with a certain word used. There are better things to get offended over than a stupid word.
There was a sermon I heard once, the pastor came out and said "There are starving kids in Africa and I think that's a bunch of s###... And you know what? More people in this room are more concerned that I just said s### than the starving kids in Africa". I thought that was a good one. Any other word there and no one would be offended with that statement.
I personally swear sometimes when I pray... I have no reason to believe God cares what I use since he's looking at the heart anyway. And what difference does it make if I substitute a word for a nicer "variant" if it all means the same thing anyway. God didn't make the English language, man did. God didn't make up our social list of taboos, man did. In the bible when it talks about filth coming from your mouth, I think it's a contextual thing. Like I said, you can be very offensive and graphic and not uttering a single swear word. Or you can make a statement or expression using a "taboo" word and, IMO, it's not offensive at all. It is what it is.
I'm not saying everyone should just start swearing and there are more eloquent ways of putting things but I'm not gonna lose sleep over certain words in my vocabulary, lol. I see it more like eating your dinner with your salad fork in a fancy restaurant. You may get some looks but I really don't give a **** But seriously, it's a manners thing IMO... nothing more, nothing less. Out with friends, I don't watch it all. Talking to the check out person at the grocery or at Church, I wouldn't swear.
There has never been a legit argument using the bible to back up the opinion that certain words are wrong. All the verses ever posted are either about cursing (as in to curse someone) or filth from your mouth. And I don't think filth from your mouth was talking about a list of words currently considered to be taboo. If that list is concidered filth than so should be their non swear equivalent as they all mean the same thing. And like I said you can speak very filthy and offensively and not utter a single swear word.
Misusing Jesus Christ or something along those lines, definitely wrong though. Everything else... it's just social etiquette so... make an evaluated judgment and decide for yourself if or when you feel it's appropriate.
I think the only thing wrong with swearing is the possibility to offend. You can be just as offensive without using any swear words at all. I look at it like this... If I can say this phrase and if I left this word out, it wouldn't offend anyone, then it really doesn't matter what word I use. I don't think God differentiates between shoot and s###. Or fudge or it's equivalent. There is nothing offensive about the phrase "What the (word of your choice)?" No matter what word you use, there is nothing offensive about that phrase itself. The only reason someone would be offended would be with a certain word used. There are better things to get offended over than a stupid word.
There was a sermon I heard once, the pastor came out and said "There are starving kids in Africa and I think that's a bunch of s###... And you know what? More people in this room are more concerned that I just said s### than the starving kids in Africa". I thought that was a good one. Any other word there and no one would be offended with that statement.
I personally swear sometimes when I pray... I have no reason to believe God cares what I use since he's looking at the heart anyway. And what difference does it make if I substitute a word for a nicer "variant" if it all means the same thing anyway. God didn't make the English language, man did. God didn't make up our social list of taboos, man did. In the bible when it talks about filth coming from your mouth, I think it's a contextual thing. Like I said, you can be very offensive and graphic and not uttering a single swear word. Or you can make a statement or expression using a "taboo" word and, IMO, it's not offensive at all. It is what it is.
I'm not saying everyone should just start swearing and there are more eloquent ways of putting things but I'm not gonna lose sleep over certain words in my vocabulary, lol. I see it more like eating your dinner with your salad fork in a fancy restaurant. You may get some looks but I really don't give a ****
But seriously, it's a manners thing IMO... nothing more, nothing less. Out with friends, I don't watch it all. Talking to the check out person at the grocery or at Church, I wouldn't swear.There has never been a legit argument using the bible to back up the opinion that certain words are wrong. All the verses ever posted are either about cursing (as in to curse someone) or filth from your mouth. And I don't think filth from your mouth was talking about a list of words currently considered to be taboo. If that list is concidered filth than so should be their non swear equivalent as they all mean the same thing. And like I said you can speak very filthy and offensively and not utter a single swear word.
Misusing Jesus Christ or something along those lines, definitely wrong though. Everything else... it's just social etiquette so... make an evaluated judgment and decide for yourself if or when you feel it's appropriate.
(trust me...I tried, like 20 times!) Great story btw. Be well and God Bless.