Over and over again the Bible calls Christians "saints", a word that literally means "holy ones."  All Christians have a holy position because we have been justified (declared righteous) through faith in Christ.  Christians who are united with Christ by faith need not fear the wrath of God in the form of eternal condemnation and punishment.  We are God's saints; His holy ones.

All Christians also have a holy obligation.  God has called us to be holy (morally blameless), just as He is holy (1 Pet 1:15-16).  We are commanded to pursue sinless perfection in every arena of our lives -- our sexuality, our thoughts, our finances, and our words.  

But that's where many Christians seem to struggle -- the tongue.  Today many Christians think of dirty language as a small sin, an insignificant sin, an innocent sin, a harmless sin.  They reason, "It doesn't seem to hurt anybody, so what's the big deal?"  True, dirty language is not as bad as murder, or rape, or adultery, or theft, or divorce.  But it is a sin, and if you are a Christian, then you are obligated to obey Scripture -- all of it.  To repent of all sin -- not just the sins that seem to be harmful to others.  

What does the Bible say about cursing?  It says to put away filthy language from your mouth (Col 3:9); and no foul language should come from your mouth (Eph 4:29).  "Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks (Eph 5:3)."

Instead of profanity, God commands us to speak "only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear (Eph 4:29)."  "Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord (Col 3:17, ERV)."  Anytime you speak, "let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17, TLB).  "Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt (Col 4:6, AMPC)."

Consider this question.  How would Jesus speak?  Would He use curse words, and tell sexual jokes?  No He would not.  And we are called to imitate Him in all we say and do.

Some Christians complain that they want to stop cursing, but it is a hard habit to break.  I don't buy it.  If I offered you $1 million to go an entire day without cursing, could you do it?  Of course you could, or you could come very close.  If Jesus came back to earth and hung out with you all day long, do you think you could stop cursing?  Yes.  You can stop cursing.  You can clean up your language.

Dear Christian, if you have a dirty mouth, please repent.  Ask the Lord to forgive you for your dishonoring speech, and to give you a clean heart that desires only to exalt the Lord and edify men, "for the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart (Mt 12:34)."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Shouldn't Be A Swiftie

Image
America has gone Taylor Swift crazy!  Adoring fans even proudly refer to themselves as Swifties.  But if you are a Christian, and if you are a Christian parent, then there are good reasons why you shouldn't be a fan of Taylor Swift, and why you shouldn't let your daughter be a Swiftie.   Maybe you don't know about Taylor Swift beyond her music.  Take a look at this short list of things she has said and done recently.  If you can still enjoy singing along with her music, watching her videos, and paying big bucks for her concerts, I'm shocked.   She accused Donald Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency.”  Source She accused Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of being a “homophobic racist” and “Trump in a whig” in her Netflix documentary "Miss Americana."   Source She has publicly opposed state laws that protect children from irreversible transgender medical procedures, including hormone therapy and genital transmogrific
Read more

Should Christians Attend Gay Weddings?

Image
The well-known preacher Alistair Begg was recently dropped by the American Family Radio for advising Christians to attend gay weddings.  Is he right or wrong?  Well, let's talk about it.   Christians should NOT attend gay weddings.  Why?   First, a wedding is marriage ceremony (Merriam-Webster).  According to the Bible, marriage is the union of one man and one woman for a lifetime.  In other words, gay marriage is not actually marriage, and a gay wedding is not actually a wedding.  Therefore, it is impossible to attend gay weddings because according to the Bible they don't exist.   Second, a gay wedding is the celebration of a homosexual marriage.  The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin against God.   As Christians, we cannot celebrate what God condemns.   Third, we attend weddings to show our love for the people getting married.  However, does a Christian have to attend a gay wedding to show their gay friend that they love them?  Of course not.  Let's say that your no
Read more

Are We Approaching Armageddon?

Image
The short answer is no.  For the longer answer, keep reading. When you hear the word, “Armageddon,” what comes to mind?  Many think of it as the final, catastrophic world war at the end of the world before Christ comes back.  “Prophecy experts” have always claimed that Armageddon was going to happen in their own generation.  They’ve always been wrong.   What does the Bible say about Armageddon?  The Bible only mentions the word Armageddon one time (Rev 16:16).  The context of the passage is not the end of the world, but the final destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, almost 2,000 years ago. In Revelation 16 we find the bowl judgments.  Seven angels pour out seven bowls of God's wrath.  One of the bowls is Armageddon.  To understand Armageddon, it is essential to understand the context of Revelation 16, which is about God's judgment on first century Jerusalem for rejecting the Messiah and instead worshiping the Roman emperor. What evidence is there that the seven bowl judgments are
Read more