Profanity Christians need to choose carefully the language

Profanity Christians need to choose carefully the language they use.

Profanity • Our society is inundated with filthy and disgusting language. • Over the last 25 – 30 years this profanity has become common place on television, radio, the workplace and in our schools. • What once was considered unacceptable has become not only acceptable but expected.

Profanity • To give us an idea of how far we have sunk in the last 70 or so years, the director of “Gone with the Wind” David Selznick was fined $5, 000 for the profanity used by Clarke Gable at the end of the movie in 1939. • I cannot imagine a movie producer being able to do anything vulgar or profane enough to receive a fine today.

Profanity • I’m not an old man yet but I have been around long enough to see the degradation of language on tv. • What started out as a few milder curse word’s (from the world’s point of view) several years ago has become a constant barrage of almost every curse word in the English language.

Profanity • Comedians have become more and more vulgar and profane in their language in order to get a laugh. • While I was in school, it was not uncommon to hear another student using profanity. This would never happen in front of the teacher.

Profanity • It is not uncommon today for teachers and school staff to hear the most vulgar of language from the students. • And even on occasion for the student to hear it from the teacher • With all of this profanity around us it would be easy for the Christian to become desensitized to it.

Profanity • But those who fear God will hate evil and the wicked mouth. • Pr 8: 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. • We don’t need to get caught up in the idea that these are just words and they aren’t really that bad.

Profanity • The words that come out of our mouth can cause us to lose our eternal soul! • Jesus’ disciples were accused of eating with unwashed hands and Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach a lesson about what comes out of the mouth. • Mt 15: 10 ¶ And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

Profanity • Mt 15: 11 "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. " • 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? "

Profanity • 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. • 14 "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. "

Profanity • 15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us. " • 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? • 17 "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?

Profanity • 18 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. • 19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. • 20 "These are things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. "

Profanity • The things we say can cause us to stand defiled or unclean before God. • The Christian is plainly taught not to use this type of language. • 1 Pe 2: 1 ¶ Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

Profanity • Col 3: 8 ¶ But now yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. • Filthy language: Greek: aischrologia meaning vile conversation.

Profanity • Webster’s defines vile as: morally despicable or abhorrent • Synonyms of vile are: dark, evil, immoral, rotten, sinful, unrighteous, vicious, bad, wicked, unlawful and wrong • Christians should not allow vile or filthy language come out of their mouth!

Profanity • We also should not allow corrupt words to come out of our mouth. • Eph 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.

Profanity • Corrupt: greek word Sapros: meaning rotten or worthless. • Could some of the words we use be considered rotten or worthless?

Profanity • Some words just aren’t “fit” for a Christian to speak. • Eph 5: 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. • We know exactly what it means for someone to have a “filthy” mouth. • Montgomery’s New Testament translates it like this

Profanity • Eph 5: 4 so too with vulgarity and buffoonery and foolish jesting. Such words become you not, but rather thanksgiving. MNT • We know what Vulgarity or Vulgar language is. • This type language is often referred to as “cursing” or what we call in the south “cussin”.

Profanity • The book of James, which deals with the problems of the tongue, condemns cursing. • Jas 3: 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. • 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

Profanity • 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. • 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? • 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Profanity • In other words, evil words come out of an evil man. • If the things we say are evil then we are evil. • We cannot habitually use evil words or profanity and be a Christian. • The two are incompatible!

Profanity • Paul did a wonderful job describing what we see and hear in our society today 2000 years ago by quoting scriptures from about 3000 years ago. • Ro 3: 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, not one; • 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.

Profanity • 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, not one. " • 13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; ;

Profanity • 14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. " • 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; • 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; • 17 And the way of peace they have not known. " • 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes. “

Profanity • You can’t tell me the Bible is outdated • This sounds like it could have been written yesterday! • Paul says their throat is an “open tomb”. • Tombs are full of decay, rottenness and stench

Profanity • I would say that is a pretty good description of the language used by many in our society today. It is just rotten and not fit for the Christian! • He also says their mouth is full of cursing. • We’ve all been around people like that. It seems like every other word out of their mouth is a curse word and they think nothing of it.

Profanity • Not only should we not use these words ourselves but it should bother us when we hear others use them. • It should bother us to the point that we do not want to voluntarily be around when it is being used. • Remember when we began the lesson we mentioned the follower of God will hate evil?

Conclusion • We haven’t spent our time today listing off all of the curse words that the Christian shouldn’t use. • I think most of us are smart enough to know what profanity is when we hear it. • The New Testament in many cases teaches in principle rather than specifics and this is one of those cases.

Conclusion • If we are habitually using words that could be considered any of the following it could cost us our soul. • Evil speaking, Filthy, Vulgarity, Cursing or Corrupt • Mt 15: 18 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Conclusion Lets remember the point James made, Evil words come out of an Evil man