Contra Cussing

As I lie in bed this morning, I think about Christians and cussing.
I work in a factory. My job is to move boxes of finished product with forklifts and conveyors and a lot of lifting and throwing, 12 hours a day, four days on, four days off. Anyone who has worked in a production environment knows that nearly all of the men and many of the women working in these places use very coarse language on a very regular basis. Though I’ve only had a year and a half of experience in production settings, it still is interesting that, out of at least a couple hundred, I can distinctly remember only one co-worker who did not cuss.
The frightening thing, which rouses me at 7:40am on my Saturday, is that many of these men and women claim to be Christians, talk about their churches, and express respect and love for the God of the Bible. Some of them pray and read their Bibles, go to church, listen to preachers from Texas and California on the radio, listen to presentations from missionaries, and run the sound board and slide projector at church. Some are younger than I am, while others have grandchildren. Yet, when a machine goes down, or a boss announces mandatory overtime, or some really big difficulties are going on at home, they talk exactly like the people who make no claim to Christ.
This is wrong. The proliferation of this language leads me to the conclusion that many Christians think it is right and acceptable to cuss or joke coarsely. Perhaps they think it is wrong, but not bad enough to worry about changing. I would like to prove that foul language is one of the key signs of spiritual immaturity by asking some questions and seeking answers from the Scriptures.

1. What are words?
2. What are bad words?
3. Doesn’t Paul cuss?
4. Wasn’t Jesus “one of the guys”, joking and talking like a normal person?
5. What is the difference between using strong and provocative language and cussing?
6. When can I cuss?

(1) What are words?
I do not have a degree in philosophy so I will try to give a basic, from-the-hip answer, based on the Bible.
God wrote the Bible. In that fact, we can see that written communication is good, that words written at one point in time can be brought into a later time and still retain their original meaning, and that an objective text of words from God is as authoritative as a personal, audible conversation with him.
Words are vessels to carry ideas. God spoke the words “Let there be light” and there was light. His desire, authority, and ability to create were expressed in those words, and the ideal creation in his mind became a physical reality. Only God’s words carry this authority, because he gives no one else the authority to create ex nihilo. God inspired men (Moses, in the case of Genesis 1) to write the Scriptures, revealing himself in perfectly chosen words through their pens.
Humans are then held responsible for taking God at his word, believing the fact that he created the world by the word of his power (Romans 1:18-20, 25; Hebrews 11:3; Second Peter 3:5-7). We can see that, as creation took place at God’s word and man is held responsible by his words, that God’s words convey truth about him accurately and carry his authority.
This is reinforced when Jesus is called the Word in John 1. He is presented as the perfect expression of the mind and character of God. This fact is important in understanding cussing: Words are meant to convey truth about God. God revealed himself to men by the words of the Bible. Those words are repeated to men throughout the whole world in the preached word of evangelism (Romans 10:14-17), which includes teaching, authoring, and translation ministries. Those men relate with God on the basis of their response to the words God has spoken. Every man will be judged by his words (Matt 12:37), and only those who by faith in Jesus Christ know God will be saved from his wrath.

(2) What Are Bad Words?
So, words are meant to convey truth, but, since the fall of Satan (which apparently began with words in his heart, cf. Isa 14:12f) not all words do convey truth. A bad word is a word that does not reveal or repeat truth from God.
The Bible shows that careless words (Matt 12:36f), lying (Eph 4:25), slander and clamor (Eph 4:31), worthless debates (1 Tim 1:6f), cursing (James 3:9f), empty words (Eph 5:6), wrong doctrine (Eph 4:14f), foolish talk (Eph 5:4), harsh words (Pro 15:1), murmuring (Deut 1:26, 27, & 35), blaspheming (Matt 12:31f), coarse jesting and sexually immoral speech (Eph 5:3f), and various other uses of language are bad. Conversely, preaching the gospel (Matt 28:19f), warning men of God’s coming wrath (2 Cor 5:11, Rev 14:6-12), proclaiming the cross of Christ (1 Cor 1:21-24), and condemning sin (Rev 14:8f) are all examples of good words. The issue is not the words themselves, but the heart that makes use of them.
Good words can be used as bad words, at least some times. For example the word stupid is used in Proverbs 30:2. This was inspired by the Spirit, and was obviously good. However, when I was a child and I called my brother Peter stupid, I was using a bad word. Even the best words can be used badly; a person can even use the preaching of the gospel in a sinful way. In Philippians 1:15, Paul describes evil teachers who preach the gospel “from envy and rivalry,” making their use of those good words a bad use. Paul praised God that the gospel was preached, even for false motives (Phil 1:18), but those false teachers will still be judged for the badness of their hearts in their use of words.
Now one of two interesting questions arises: If a good word can be used as a bad one, can a bad word be used as a good one? Or, Doesn’t Paul cuss?

(3) Doesn’t Paul Cuss?
In Philippians 3:8, Paul uses a Greek word which is translated into English by something like rubbish, dung, poop, crap, or even worse words. How could Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit use a bad word?
The answer is that Paul used a bad word for a bad idea. This word was the right one to convey the truth. God saved Paul, not only from nasty sins like alcoholism or pornography, but still more from the false pride of self-righteousness. Paul shows that all the “good” things that “good” people do are a bucket of feces and an offense to God. He counts them as poop “in order to gain Christ.” This was a good use of a bad word.
So, maybe we Christians should recognize that really bad words can be used to talk about really bad things, particularly when these things are being accepted by Christians. Perhaps it is time we treated with false Christianity and man-made holiness in Paul’s abrupt fashion, exposing the darkness of sin to an all-too comfortable world (Eph 5:11-13).
If this was what I heard Christians doing when they used cuss words, if they were pouring out their hearts to God in agony over their sinful pride or exposing the evil of hypocrisy, it would not be a cause for worry, but for rejoicing. The difference between what Paul was doing and the foul language that evidences spiritual immaturity is that Paul had an exact, redemptive purpose in using those strong words, while very little of the cussing which I hear from professing Christians has any purpose.
So, Paul hardly gives us an OK for using careless strong language. While we should be careful not to criticize a brother in Christ who is attempting to use bad words for bad ideas, we cannot accept the cavalier attitude of professing Christians who use language foolishly.
Another common idea is that we need to dress, joke, and talk like the world in order to be “incarnational” Christians, i.e., to be like Jesus and meet people where they are.

(4) Wasn’t Jesus “one of the guys”, telling jokes and talking like a normal person? Isn’t that why he became a man?
No. I know that it is popular to say things like, “Jesus was so likeable, everyone wanted to be around him. Even the hookers wanted a piece of him.” That is wrong. You might call it scubalon.
Jesus was not normal. He was despised and rejected by men (Isa 53:3). He was perfectly holy. Yes, he was a real man and felt hunger and pain and temptation, but he never sinned, and never could have sinned. He was wholly God and his will was entirely in tune at every moment of his life with the Father’s will. Never did he give a hint of wrong-doing to those who were with him.
Jesus did not accept sin, he died for it (this is one reason I find John 8:11 very questionable). He couldn’t have accepted sinners unless he died for them (Rom 3:24-26). Certainly he associated with prostitutes and tax collectors, but not to make them better prostitutes and richer tax collectors, but to save them from their sins. When he healed or forgave someone, he commanded “sin no more” (John 5:14). His message was, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). To put it briefly, Jesus was surrounded by repentant prostitutes and other believing, repentant sinners. An unrepentant man or woman would not be able to stand being in his company, because he did not ever give in to sin. When the Pharisees berated him for eating with sinners, Jesus didn’t say, “Shut up, these are my friends,” or, “They’re not so bad,” or, “Don’t you judge them,” but rather “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). He was calling these sinners out of their sin to holiness (cf. Rom 8:30; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 1:15; 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3f, 10). How does this serve as a stamp of approval on unholy speech, coarse joking, cussing, and worldliness?
The Triune God has clearly called us to holiness. He has not only freed us from the law of Moses, but also from the law of sin and death (Gal 5:13ff; Romans 8:1-8, cf. 7:21-23). The fruit of the Spirit are clearly incompatible with throwaway language, rife with mediocrity and foulness. Consider a few four letter words. How do they demonstrate love? Joy? Peace? Patience? When has anyone needed to drop an f-bomb to show kindness? How has it shown goodness? Faithfulness? Gentleness? And most potently, I have never once known someone who frequently cussed to show any self-control in their language. They might have a type of control that pretends to be more holy at church than they are in their heart, but such hypocrisy is a far cry from the control wrought by the Spirit of holiness. He that has Spirit-given control does not toss around strong language needlessly.

(5) What is the difference between using strong and provocative language and cussing?
So, seeing Paul’s example of language next to the great clamor for holiness found throughout the word of God, we come to an important conclusion: There is a difference between intentionally using strong language (including bad words) for a purpose, and using strong or coarse words meaninglessly and mindlessly (i.e., cussing). The difference is in the mind and heart. Using strong language like Paul, the prophets, and Luther did is right and occasionally necessary. Cussing is never right. This is because at its core, cussing is simply the overflow of a dirty heart, which is left unchecked by a lazy mind.
The holy, wise man will engage his mind in the pursuit of good and wise ways of conducting every area of life (Prov 1-4). God’s Word particularly emphasizes the place of words in showing our heart (Matt 12:33f). It is clear that God has placed considerable weight on the words we use. It is also clear that we will be held accountable for those words, and we cannot say “I think, I must speak,” as if that excuses our carelessness (cp. Matt 12:36f). We are expected to engage our minds before we open our mouths, control our tongues, and glorify God in our every word and motive. Of course, this is only possible through the enabling of the Spirit, for “no man can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). No man, but God can, Jesus did, and the Spirit will help us to do so.
No living Christian is done growing in this area, since God has chosen to gradually and progressively change us into his image throughout our lives. He is constantly making us holier, if we are Christians; conversely, if he is not making us holier at all, we have no reason to think that we are Christians. That is why holiness is vital to a Christian’s assurance of salvation (John 15:1-11; Heb 12:5-8; 2 Pet 1:8-10; 1 John 2:3-6). So, if you struggle with taming your tongue, know that this is one sin that every single Christian has struggled with (James 3!), that you can rest in the fact that God is the one who promises to make you holy (Jude 24), that he can and will cleanse your dirty heart (Isa 30:21f; Jer 17:9f; 31:33f; Eze 36:22ff; John 4:13-15; 2 Cor 3:7-18; 1 John 1:7). Bad language is indeed a sign of spiritual immaturity, but the Christian who is challenged by the Scriptures may be confident that the Holy Spirit will enable him become a mature believer. As he grows, he will look forward to that day when he will be totally freed from the snares of sin, and can “Go, and sin no more.”

(6) When Can I Cuss?
Never.
Inasmuch as cussing means throwing away words by vulgar, worthless talking, you should never, ever cuss. The Christian’s goal should be to always have a godly purpose for every word he says. His goal in every use of language is to build the temple of God. He may be seeking the conviction of sin with a nonbeliever, even in mundane conversations. It amazes nonbelievers when you demonstrate how watching TV or learning to cook can be done to the glory of God. A Christian might be encouraging a fellow-believer and building him up (Ephesians and James), or he might be simply expressing praise to God by enjoying out loud his love, grace, wrath, or other attributes.
Christians ought to exemplify the fruit of the Spirit in their words. They should actively or passively worship God in their every utterance. They should use the enormous flexibility and creative supply of their heart language and any additional languages they have been blessed with learning to show the holy Lamb of God to the world. This leaves no room for cussing, and no reason to desire it.