Is cursing or swearing a sin? Scripture has much to say about how Christians ought to use their tongues. Jesus specifically taught that what comes out of a man’s mouth is evidence of what is in his heart. Luke 6:45 says, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” John MacArthur has written of this verse, “The word for ‘corrupt’ refers to that which is foul or rotten, such as spoiled fruit or putrid meat. Foul language of any sort should never pass a Christian’s lips, because it is totally out of character with his new life in Christ.” The final portion of the verse offers a worthy use of our tongue—“what is good for edification.” James gives us three illustrations from nature to demonstrate the sinfulness of cursing: “With [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh” (James 3:9-12). Finally, 1 Peter 3:10 says, “For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” We can conclude that from the biblical definition of sin, our overview of cursing, and Scripture’s many expressions on the use of our tongue that it is without question a sin to curse. As Christians, we are expected to rest on the promises of God, “cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Cursing is contrary to resting on God’s promises for it is a failure to follow the Lord’s greatest commandments—to love God and to love people (Matthew 22:37-40). When we curse an individual, we do not love people and when we curse God, we do not love Him. Thankfully, God forgives us of our sins through the redemption found only in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 23:45:14 +0000
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