random question - is cussing a sin?

[AMCApril]

is it?

I've seen people do it and stuff

but does it make you bad???

and sinful?  

[Rednal]

If you say things to another person in anger, and are wrathful to those who don't deserve it... I suppose some might object. Of course, language changes as time goes on, and words and phrases that used to be strong are now utilized so often that they have no bite. If there's not really any serious feeling behind the words, is it so bad? I suppose some would say not.

Me, I'll cuss, but only if I think the situation actually warrants it. My first reaction tends to be "Hmm, is this a situation worth getting upset over?", and if not, I usually tend to calm down pretty quickly. On the other hand, if it is honestly worth being upset about, cussing is the least of the problems people are gonna have... rofl  

[Servant Reborn]

It is a sin.

Ephesians 4:25-32

Do Not Grieve the Spirit

25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 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. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Proverbs11

11 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.

2 When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct[a] his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of the unjust perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
And it comes to the wicked instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted,
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.

13 A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

15 He who is surety for a stranger will suffer,
But one who hates being surety is secure.

16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.
17 The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
21 Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.

29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.

31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.

There's more.

Matthew15:1-20

Defilement Comes from Within

15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

10 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 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?”

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.”

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? 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 the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Matthew12:33-37

A Tree Known by Its Fruit

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jeremiah11:6-8

6 Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’”

 

[Spirit Reborn]

Yes, luv, It is. For it is written: "The perverse mouth I hate." I'm not sure of the verse location but if you we're to google that line, it will come up.  

[real eyes realize]

Yes it is sinful.

1) Our words should benefit the listener; if it is not edifying, it shouldn't be spoken.

Quote:

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

29 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.

We shouldn't speak idly, so our every word should be purposeful.

Quote:

Matthew 12:36 (NIV)

36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.

2) The motive behind cursing is usually: a) to complain (and thereby express ungratefulness) or b) to belittle/condescend another person which is hateful and arrogant. Both motives are spoken against in scripture.

Ungratefulness for your current situation is sin because, remember, it could always be worse: the worst thing is losing your soul and nothing but YHWH can take that from you [Mt 10:28], so you should be thankful no matter the circumstance; praise, not curses, should be coming out of your mouth. Furthermore, ungratefulness is a characteristic of the wicked. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Quote:

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

Quote:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Belittling people is sin—whether you do it by cursing at them or not—because you want to hurt the person you're speaking to, make them feel like crap; that makes you arrogant since you're trying to make another person feel small and worthless in comparison to yourself. People don't curse others out to express their love. If our actions are not done out of love, it is sin.

Ultimately, if Jesus didn't do it, neither should we. He didn't curse when he was flogged or unjustly accused, he kept silent (Isaiah 53:7; Mark 14:61). So we shouldn't curse even if people strike us and we shed blood. Every word he spoke, he said in order to help those around him. Cursing helps nobody, neither the speaker nor the listener and we should be considerate of those around us, how they may interpret the words; personally, when I hear people cursing, it's like taking daggers to the heart even if it wasn't directed at me. I don't understand why people insist on being so hateful to each other. Even when it's casually dropped in the conversation, their tone of voice is sickening. There's no situation that calls for cursing, ever.  

[Ratsah]

It is. In my experience all it ever does is put idea's, words, and people down. The way (motive) one speaks can give the same effect. You can speak with clean words but if you have anger/resentment underneath it'll come out just as bad. So not to get confused it's basically controlling one's internal/external spirit and not giving into our flesh. It's a struggle but well worth the time.

(These scriptures sum it up rather well)
Galatians 5
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies,
21 Envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another,,.  

[jesusgirl115]

Ah bad language, something I struggle with daily.

Well other then it just being crude, usually unattractive, and very often hurtful, it is not pleasing to God in any way therefore yes I would say it is a sin.

 

[Aquatic_blue]

I consider bad language a sin, most definitely! - whether it's a curse word that many use today or taking God's name in vain. I even consider derivatives of those words to be sinful - e.g. saying a different word that sounds more innocent to replace a curse word. One may say that other word in place of a curse word, but it still carries the same meaning because it's what is being meant in your heart.

This verse is usually what comes up in my mind on this topic:

James 3:3 - 12 NIV

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

*Not only is bad language bad, but it is displeasing. Some people find it pleasing to hear and use, but that's because they mistake evil for good and good for evil (Isaiah 5:20).

The speech also has anger behind it when people use it, and God does not want us to be filled with anger or hate.

I remember hearing a story from an individual once and they said they had a lady in their college class that swore like a sailor. She did it because she thought it was cool. The person told this lady in their class to stop cursing for one week and see how much of a difference it makes in her every day life. She reported back to the individual after a week saying, "I'm surprised how much not cursing has changed my life. People respect me more when I don't curse, and I respect myself a lot more when I don't curse." It has effects on other people when used as well as on ourselves.

It's tempting to use such words because they are all around us. They are commonly used through the media, and commonly used by the people around us. Going in any public place, there's a chance that someone is cursing around them. I am more strict on the language I use than a lot of people out there, but I'm strict because I don't want to be ungrateful for what I have in life. When I feel a curse word ever pass through my lips, I feel dirty inside. I used to have a problem with it because it was everywhere around me. Now a days, I have trouble with it to a certain degree because people around me use it and I struggle not to use the same language. It's a challenge for all of us, I'm sure.  

[AMCApril]

so cussing is a bad thing
but I hate doing it
but that doesn't mean somebody goes to hell just for cussing right?  

[Aquatic_blue]

AMCApril

so cussing is a bad thing
but I hate doing it
but that doesn't mean somebody goes to hell just for cussing right?

The thing is, cussing is a sin and all sin is equal to another unless it is blasphemy against The Holy Spirit. Other than that, no sin is greater or less than another and when we commit one sin - we are guilty of breaking the entire law.

We cannot determine where you go after you die - only God can determine that for you. As Christians, we are to get rid of all the sin in our lives so that we may remain blameless before the Lord. Sin happens to be in the human nature so that is why we have God's forgiveness and grace and the will power to fix that sin through the strength that God gives us. What we need to ask ourselves is, "If I died today - would I want to see God with this sin still in my life?" The choice in the end is yours to make - and it's important to make decisions that would be right with God.  

[Biblical_Counselor]

AMCApril

so cussing is a bad thing
but I hate doing it
but that doesn't mean somebody goes to hell just for cussing right?

As the others have said, Cussing and cursing is a sin. All sin is equal in God's eyes and it says that sin leads to death. But there is good news. By being born again, we do not worry or fear death or Hell. God promises those who are born again that they will have everlasting life in Him. But by being born again, we love what He loves and hates what He hates. Granted, sometimes we stumble, and sometimes we fall. But everyday, we try to go on by the Grace and Mercy of God as we are being made more and more into His image.

Also, cussing doesn't put anyone into Hell. It is our sinful nature that leads someone to Hell. By not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are already condemned. To go to Hell, all we have to do is nothing. I could not say 1 cuss word, not looked a person with lust, not lied, or whatever, I will still go there if I was not born again. That is why Jesus says, "Unless you are born again, you will not see the Kingdom of God."  

[AMCApril]

Reformed_Into_His_Image

AMCApril

so cussing is a bad thing
but I hate doing it
but that doesn't mean somebody goes to hell just for cussing right?

As the others have said, Cussing and cursing is a sin. All sin is equal in God's eyes and it says that sin leads to death. But there is good news. By being born again, we do not worry or fear death or Hell. God promises those who are born again that they will have everlasting life in Him. But by being born again, we love what He loves and hates what He hates. Granted, sometimes we stumble, and sometimes we fall. But everyday, we try to go on by the Grace and Mercy of God as we are being made more and more into His image.

Also, cussing doesn't put anyone into Hell. It is our sinful nature that leads someone to Hell. By not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are already condemned. To go to Hell, all we have to do is nothing. I could not say 1 cuss word, not looked a person with lust, not lied, or whatever, I will still go there if I was not born again. That is why Jesus says, "Unless you are born again, you will not see the Kingdom of God."

true to that  

[Aporeia]

Sigh... I guess I'll be the person here to say what should be obvious.

No, it's not; at least it's not inherently.

Now I see a horde of people posting poorly thought out arguments and using bible quotes that are irrelevant and unsupportive of the arguments they even pose. I'll offer some wisdom that perhaps flies over the head of others.

You can't look to the bible to see if using "curse words" is a sin, because those words didn't even exist during the writing. In fact, this concept of vulgar words is a fairly odd thing when it comes to language-- most languages don't even have words like that. Tons of multilingual people have begun incorporating these english curse words into their languages and bringing it back to their home, because these languages don't even have a similar concept.

Back on story, while the words are considered vulgar, they aren't inherently sinful. People fall into this trap, and have created an issue that many overlook. When you create these forbidden "bad words," you somehow define that other words are good?

Communication is all about the passing of intent through context. If you want to know what the real "bad words" are, then you're going to have to abandon this childish notion of curse words being sinful. The truth is, it's much more damning than that.

Sin comes not in the words that you use, but the way that you use them. I'm certainly no stranger to this, myself. It doesn't matter if you use a curse word in regular speech, you didn't intend harmful or evil things with it, so why worry? What you need to worry about is what you actually SAY. You can sin with your mouth, regardless of curse words. Whether it be lies, insult or blasphemy, all these things have one thing in common: You don't need to curse to do them.

The notion of these forbidden words becomes so abstract and meaningless when you compare them to what is actually sin.  

[real eyes realize]

I don't think anyone here made the implication that it's limited to a list of forbidden words.

Quote:

Colossians 3:7-8 (NIV)

7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Depending on the version, it may say "obscene talk", "abusive speech", "filthy communication", "shameful speaking". I think that pretty much sums up what "curse words" are used for no matter how you cut it (again, not limited to). And like anything else in the sanctification process, we get rid of things from our former selves that bring shame onto his reputation. Were we born-again or not? Is the born-again process powerless to rid our mouths of obscenities? We should be godly not worldly, even in speech, no matter the language or era. There's no good reason to continue expressing ourselves in filthy ways.  

[Sachie Whitby]

We're just talking vulgar words here right? Because the bible says nothing about vulgar words. The imprecatory psalms pass out curses far worse than a vulgar word without using language that we'd consider vulgar.

Psalm 69:28 - May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

Psalm 137:9 - How blessed will be the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.


The type of cursing that the Bible is referring to is more in line with the above psalms I quoted or even something you might find in any of Shakespeare's plays, such as:

In Macbeth when Banquo says the following to the three witches:
“You should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.” Sure they're witches and not very nice ones at that, but it's still a pretty low blow to be commenting on their facial hair.

Or in Richard III when Lady Anne says to Gloucester, “And thou unfit for any place but hell.” Although this insult is just another version of go to hell, it is still wishing an eternity of torture and misery upon someone in the worst possible place.