What About Soft Cussing?

[@josedopwell4990]

I want to encourage everyone who has a problem with a foul mouth: God through the power of the Holy Spirit can heal your tongue IF you earnestly desire Him to do so. When Isaiah saw the Lord in His glory he said, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips AND I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips..." Isaiah knew he was in deep trouble for how he'd spent his life speaking. But by the grace and power of God his lips were purified and God used him to create the longest book of Old Testament prophecy. And that same grace and power are available to each of us because God shows no partiality with His children. He wants each of us to utter what's precious and not what's worthless and so be as His mouth (Jeremiah 15:9). Let's start with the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Exercising a healthy fear of God will lead us away from perverted speech (Proverbs 8:13). If we consider that God is omnipresent (everywhere at all times), we'll also consider if He'd approve of how we're speaking from moment to moment. Jesus warned that we'd be judged for every careless word we utter and that what comes out of mouths defiled us (Matthew 12:36-37 and 15:17-20, respectively). So the fear of God is our jumping off point. Now we need to substitute God's word for what normally comes out of our mouths. Nature abhors a vacuum. So we can't just settle for biting through our tongues. I suggest memorizing scripture. In Psalm 119:11 David said, "I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." In verses 15-16 of the same chapter he says, "I will meditate on thy precepts, and fix my eyes on Thursday ways. I will delight in thy statutes; I WILL NOT FORGET THY WORD." Like a serious student who's determined to ace his final eternal exam, David promises to commit God's word to memory, to know it by heart. He does it not because he wants to be known as a moral person but to please God, his Heavenly Father. It's personal, like a child wanting his father to be proud of his report card. David is determined to have God's word on his mind. Twice he says "I WILL..." The more we lay up God's word in our hearts, the more likely we will be to refer to it in our decision making and to repeat it in various situations. What's in our hearts and minds WILL come out of our mouths. Jesus said so. By the way, I know this works because without Jesus I'm an utterly foul-mouthed person. But by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, I haven't cursed in two years. And there are situations every day when my flesh badly wants to. But Jesus helps me to overcome and it becomes easier with each passing day. If you really want to overcome a foul mouth, pray fervently and ask God, your Heavenly Father, to heal your tongue. Be like the woman in Luke 18 who kept pleading her cause until she was vindicated by the unrighteous judge. Out of His steadfast love, God wants His children to speak the language of His word. That's like music to His ears and it glorifies Him. Why would He deny our earnest request to heal our tongues?

[@julierichens4218]

Thank you for such erudite exortation, brother. Very well put. I would suggest you edit your entry - there's a Thursday in there in a spot where it doesn't quite belong. But otherwise, your admonition is great. 😁👍

[@jesusiskingofmyheart]

Wow, this was so answered with Truth and wisdom! Thank you so much Pastor John! God bless you.

[@joserosenbaum9420]

I love how the Word of God was brought to life here to bring light to this subject, very helpful!!! thank you!!! -Liz Rosenbaum

[@1000FeatheredOwl]

Hard cursing or soft cursing, two sides of the same coin. It’s a two-fold issue, you still have the intent in your heart to speak unclean, and you lead others to destruction with your words.

[@andydurrett6222]

Left convicted. Solid teaching

[@aaronowen4425]

I work in the local school district. When I first started my job it was rare for me to hear bad words. I knew the students talked that way but they controlled their tongue for the most part and I might would hear bad language a few times a year and after writing the student up wouldn't hear it any more. Now the schools ignore bad language. I don't even bother writing the kids up for hearing it any more because the schools will not do anything about it. We are told to "choose your battles" and the school looks at bad language as nothing to worry about. I said all this to say at one point in time if I heard the "F" word it was shocking almost like someone throwing cold water on me. However, now I hear it EVERY DAY multiple times a day and it's gotten to the point that a lot of the time, now it doesn't even register if I hear it. I am not happy with this but it is a fact of life. I have even caught my self using "soft cussing" without even thinking about it because it doesn't even seem like cussing any more. I feel terrible after I do it and don't want to but my life is now saturated in bad language.

[@NovakaneWorldwide93]

This is goooooodddd teaching!!!! Nice highlight of the Bible!!!

[@TheDrummaBen]

Isn't one of John Pipers best talks where he rebukes prosperity gospel and says "America exports it to other countries. Were selling them a bunch of Crap and calling it gospel." I thought that to be a very appropriate and precise soft cuss word.

[@carlosmembreno7831]

Same

[@RedDeckRedemption]

Him saying crap in that context is inline with the principals of what he pulled out of the texts. When Jesus and Paul used harsh language, it was aimed at those who were enemies of the gospel. Some of the harshest language in Scriptures is in Galatians. "Whoever preaches another gospel, let him be accursed/anathama, and he says it twice, which for the hebrews, saying something twice was the linguistic equivalent of squaring a number X^2. Saying the prosperity gospel is crap isnt enough strong language. In that context, its is not only okay, but necessary to distance ourselves from false gospels and false teachers. And yes even name names, unsaved people who go to these teachers, hear the false lies and downright blasphemous teaching, and realize its all false insanity, will often walk away never to return to any church and write Christianity off as a joke. (Tread carefully though, don't falsely accuse actual brothers just because theres a few differences in doctrines that arent critical for the Gospel (like mode of baptism, what kind of music for worship, baptising infants or not, etc)

[@themarkfunction]

Years ago I heard a man say that he wouldn't even use words like "gosh darn" or "dang it" because they are just acceptable ways of saying stronger cuss words. If the command of Scripture is that we shouldn't cuss, then we shouldn't do it even by proxy with a word that the world deems acceptable. Wherever SKUBALA in Phil 3:8 might formally land on a scale of offensiveness to the original readers, it is clear from the tone of the passage and the emphasis of Paul's argument that it was the most disgusting, worthless, offensive thing he could think of in comparison with the "surpassing worth" of knowing Christ. He would have used the strongest word allowed by the Spirit to emphasize how utterly base all the things of his past were, in comparison. Perhaps it was strong like our "S- word" or perhaps it was a proxy word like dung/crap, but it any case it was intentional and for emphasis rather than, as Pr John said, to show how he is cool or world wise.

[@kahll3736]

Spend more time in the word, with Christ, serving him and others, in humility and from a good and pure heart, and then see which words you do and don't say.

[@GlowofaGhost]

This is very difficult. We live in a culture where this language is common everyday talk. It is hard to focus on controlling this, when we have so many other things to focus on. We must listen to Holy Spirit instead of trying to do an impossible rules check list. I have been trying to stop for like 10 years, and it's not easy! I get better and worse it's a rollercoaster.

[@michaeldukes4108]

Your heart breaks over “shoot” and “crud”? 🙄

[@ttimetotroll]

I think it depends with the usage, esp. with crud. But in general, we should aim to not doing any cussing at all. I just consider it as a really interesting life long challenge. Bible also says not to confirm to the world (Last verse in James 1). And so challenge accepted. I would say profanity is still a spectrum, the world has been desensitized to a point where almost all prominent swear words are at the far end of the spectrum. In fact, in society, the more creative, original, and horrific the insult, the better. It has become increasingly more derogatory over the years. Back in 1939, the film Gone with the Wind has this quote: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." And that was considered one of first uses of profanity in American film-making! Imagine that! To our society today, that is prudish and silly. As if "damn" is a common word to use and on the scale of harshness, it's too "low". But back then, everyone was quite polite at least each other ... well, to each other of the same race I guess. Not sure about their treatment of other races (blacks). Perhaps cursing (as a form discrimination) towards other races (blacks) just proves another point: that profanity is more likely used as an insult and is hateful, rather than loving... This points us tot the question: should Christians curse? Well, Paul with his "be a baby in evil" statement sort of hints at an aim at not saying any profanity at all. I feel like Paul essentially says, you use "shit" for example, lets aim for "shoot", and then strive for no evil at all. If we are aiming towards "no evil" at all, then why not also just eliminate all cursing together and spew nothing but good? And so, should Christians be "brokenhearted" when seeing other Christians swearing? YES! Why should Christians be so afraid of being shamed and for being prude, that they go "conforming to the world", when they have a promise of Love that is so much more? Why should we conform to the world who swears and insults you for being different and "uncool", when you've got a perfectly loving God who is so cool that he can, like, respawn :D? And I sympathize with Piper's quick disclaimer/proclaimation at the end there. Obviously, this is not a matter of puritanics or legalism, so let's refrain from viewing this issue from that twisted perspective.

[@nataliegill4656]

That’s exactly what I said

[@sofiabravo1994]

“So holy Cannoli”....and and “what in the baloney is this?!” Well dang...oh wait 😅

[@CicitheRich]

@@ttimetotroll I love this ❤️, thank you for writing this

[@hannahjane5034]

I think they meant from the pulpit from a pastor, maybe as humor

[@joshuahankey]

Thank you pastor john for shedding some scripture based light on this question. I would like to ask, what is your opinion on using cussing in a way that is not unseemly, derogatory, or insulting. For example, using the s word as a noun or the f word for emphasis. Or, would you take the stance that there is NO situation that is appropriate. Going off this, how would you define purity of the mouth with something variable, that changes with the tides of culture, such as language. Even from my parents generation to my own, the definition and usage of certain cuss words has changed significantly so that their intended and understood meaning is entirely different than their origin. This among other questions of a similar types are challenging for me to handle, because they are socially defined instead of biblically described. Thanks!

[@NotUntoUs]

Joshua Hankey this is a great answer to your question kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHy8ZqmIe9pooJI

[@FlyTour69]

“Ale” is one of my favorites.

[@julierichens4218]

Good stuff, pastor John.

[@vitanilange6926]

Was wondering about one thing what if you have poor memory,and people keeps asking you about things from your past trauma you went through but you can't remember everything clearly anymore is it not the wisest then to remain silent,and try to speak as little about it as possible,and what about older people with poor memory??

[@chisownd4264]

This is beautiful

[@marialogan8786]

Just found this. Thank you. I recently wrote a comment on social media regarding forms of cussing coming out of pastors mouths. Of course I'm getting bombarded regarding my comment, asking the minister to find another word to use in stead of "Crap". I'm starting to hear that word used in the pulpit alot lately. But I must say that it truly offends me to hear it especially from a prophets mouth or a pastors mouth. It ruins the message for me when they are at the same time a relating a message from the Lord. Am I wrong to feel this way? When I hear the word "crap", I instantly get a visual of what it is and it totally turns me off. Do these ministers actually realize that by saying these words the visual that they implant on the listeners thoughts. 😢 I'm sad that this goes on. Makes me nit want to go to church, or even listen to sermons on social media, because of the foolish backlash "grow up" that I get back. Just for pointing out what offends. If they were speaking directly to Jesus would they use those words in their speech to Him?....🤦🏻‍♀️

[@fly.into.theblue]

Much needed...

[@charleswade6835]

Really useful, thanks for the insight!

[@MadiCarl]

I know I'm late to this, but I'm just curious. I curse but I never do it if it's not in jest. Like, I never curse to hurt or to make fun of someone else, only if I'm joking around. Like, if I'm talking about a movie or video game or something funny that just happened. Like, for example: "Oh my gosh dude that was so f****ing great!" I'm only really using it to punctuate statements, more often than not in a positive way. Is that still sinful?

[@bre4946]

Probably, its still cussing

[@NotUntoUs]

Madi Carl this is very helpful kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHy8ZqmIe9pooJI

[@PrestonMiller39]

I've Said This Twice And I'll Say It Again, If You Do Just Tell God Your Sorry And Repent Of That And Try Not To Do It Anymore

[@christophersedlak1147]

God bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lauraunterweger6884]

You mentioned the word "crud". Well, I once talked to someone who said we shouldn't say "crud" because it's a euphemism for "Christ". But then again, I also heard that same person use the "n" word. I'll just leave this right here...

[@NotUntoUs]

Laura Unterweger it is important that we base our lives on Christ, and not sinful man. None of us are perfect, “no, not one”.

[@MomLAU]

@@NotUntoUs i know. I'm talking about hypocrisy here.

[@exaucemayunga22]

It's all about context. I think it's okay to cuss in some situations to clearly express a feeling

[@briggy4359]

Colossians 3:8

[@ssp1070]

Do you want to obey God or do you just to do what you want to do? Scripture is clear about this.

[@jailahbryel305]

We’re sinners going to hell but Jesus died so you can have eternal life. Repent and trust in Him only as your savior (not on being a good person)

[@WTG194]

Why must we always seek a pastors advice, have we no minds of our own? Have we no relationship with the father through Jesus? Do pastors always have the final say?

[@basic-decaf]

Why must we always seek a teacher's teaching? Seriously? The role of the pastor is to teach, preach, and lead on the matters of God, and most importantly - direct us to the Lord's Word (which does have the final say). It can be difficult for believers to know the depths of the Bible in the way that a pastor would, having preached from the Holy Book for a lifetime.

[@justonetime6179]

Jon Abrahams we don’t have to, but many people do ask pastors questions and not all are strong in the faith.

[@alouise3557]

I cannot imagine, for the life of me, that not one person in the Bible, used a word synonymous to "crap". Come on. This is bordering on legalism. Are we to be Jesus Himself now?

[@briggy4359]

Yeah, we are to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

[@alouise3557]

@@briggy4359 you seriously have a lot of reading to do. It is impossible to be "perfect" and the very notion that you could morph yourself into a human being equal to Jesus Himself is cultic.

[@ssp1070]

@@alouise3557...youre supposed to try. Not just wallow in sin. “Oh well. I'm not Jesus.” God didn't mince words when He said, “Be Holy.”.

[@garrygull8354]

What about all unrightousness is sin? Who is perfect? No one not one

[@garrygull8354]

After doing all your commanded say we are unprofitable servants. Who has done all no one. And even if you have say we are unprofitable. God resist the proud

[@ryfidelity7854]

No one has mentioned or discussed Tourette syndrome even once, can i ask why?

[@blewisLewis]

my mom said anything said as a statement of anger is a sin.

[@davidmudry907]

Didn’t Pastor John contradict himself by saying “Oh God” twice in a joking manner at 10:47? If not, why not?

[@buxikiksa5773]

It's fine if he knows he's calling for God dude

[@alouise3557]

@@buxikiksa5773 who are you? God, the judge? You're going to sit there and pretend to have the answer to that?

[@smokyquartz5817]

Better question: who gives a Fuck?

[@PrestonMiller39]

I'm Not Defending Him, But We All Aren't Perfect And We Make Mistakes

[@mikhailyaremkiv]

​@@alouise3557hey snowflake, you're melting.

[@1bbakers]

but...what about hard cussing?

[@nunya38753]

How do I submit a question? Does he still do these? I have a question about Christian's and elective plastic surgery. Is this unlawful and unbiblical? Surgery's just for cosmetic purposes.

[@plasmatikification]

It's less a matter of the act, and more a matter of the spirit of vanity behind their act. Still, as Christians, I think the best response is to build them up by encouraging them to put God's will first, rather than tear them down by judging their failings. Not saying that we should ignore their sin, but we should place the emphasis on helping them to focus on God.

[@wongj0351]

Too many Christians strain out the gnat of "profanity" (GASP!!!!) yet will turn a blind eye or felate the camel of grotesque abuses (physical, sexual, psychological, spiritual, etc.) within their churches

[@lydiep6814]

I say holy moley or flip or oh my goodness

[@PJ-ql4pw]

I thought the word "shoot" was sth very positive so I used it so many times... I thought it meant "goodness" in a modern way 😳. It meant sh**??? I wonder what other ppl thought of me... :(

[@predatorthegamer7288]

P J I think your a great person no matter what you did :D🙏💖

[@nicholas3354]

Paul did not say anything about castration. The whole discussion centers around circumcision. He is essentially implying (if they are so insistent on circumcision let them be circumcised off from us) when he says "I would they were even cut off which trouble you" They which trouble you being those who insist circumcision, and cutting them off being a comparison to foreskin which is removed by circumcision. If you emphasise the word "they" as if italicized it's easy to hear the intended implication. "I would THEY were even cut off which trouble you" Castration does not even enter the picture, it's not mentioned once, and it's very slanderous to speak such of our dear Paul. Shame on John Piper for spreading this filthy nonsense. For those who want to read it, You'll find it in Galations 5: 12, not 5: 21. Strong's Concordance does claim that "by irony" it means castration, but Strong's Concordance tends to start with the actual definition and eventually claim the implication is whatever traditions of men say is implied. The word means amputate, to cut off. Today we probably would not call cutting off foreskin "amputation", but it technically is, and Paul was writing Greek a long long time ago. This is very disappointing to hear Piper spreading this myth. I would even this video be cut off. Just pull it; slandering Paul like this is a crossed line too far.

[@andrewlyon8924]

I know this is two years old, but I want to point out that while the KJV and NKJV put it in the way you quoted, other translations put it more how John Piper said it. HCSB says, “I wish those who are disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!” though it does admit to sometimes leaning less towards a literal translation; NASB 1995 says he wishes they would mutilate themselves, and the 2020 release says emasculate, and the NASB claims to be a very literal translation; NIV (not very literal) and ESV (generally fairly literal) both say emasculate; even the CJB says castrate, for what it's worth. There is the possibility that the source texts used say something different (the King James translations use different sources for the New Testament), but either way John was still quoting actual Bibles, he wasn't just making it up to slander Paul.

[@Lex4233]

This is really interesting!

[@thehardertheyfall2702]

Yeah I'm sure that's not a problem Right👍😂😂😂

[@xtaekneekx]

Shoot? Dang? Crud? Dung?

[@thomasthellamas9886]

same meaning as shit or damn

[@shanbraz6011]

Same thing I said.

[@justonetime6179]

Thomas The Llamas nah shoot doesn’t mean the same thing as shit. They are different verbs. Dang is a substitute for damn. Never heard of crud. Dung is shit/poop.

[@KJBroadusOfficial]

Amen

[@Pablito5614]

what if this is all just nonsense...

[@robraver]

if I smash my finger with a hammer I use naughty words...and? I dont use them in everyday speech, or at least am very concious to avoid doing so. I dont lose sleep over it. I would if it was with every sentence and every second word...like a lot of people can.

[@buxikiksa5773]

That's why we should get into a habit of NOT doing it. Even if we got hurt as bad as smashing a hammer on our hands.

[@briggy4359]

I only cheated on my wife once when I was under lots of stress. I didn't lose any sleep over it.

[@ssp1070]

@@briggy4359...right. And it's not like you cheat every day - like other people. Lol. I'm not perfect but what is up with some of the Christians in this comment section? They sin and make excuses for it. They sin and deny that sin is a sin. No wonder God is silent these days. People are gonna people. I'd stop speaking to us, too

[@briggy4359]

@@ssp1070 i think you're aware of this, but my comment was sarcastic

[@PrestonMiller39]

If You Do Just Tell God Your Sorry Then Repent From Doing That And Try Not To Do It Anymore

[@johnnyb3245]

good commentary

[@Theranchhouse1]

I even heard Piper say in a phrase 'screw up' I was really disappointed in him...and referred to independent women as trying to 'kick a&%...when talking about the role of Christian women being a mother and taking care of household. .Piper said..."its hard when you see commercials of women in careers trying to Kick a&%...Im not sure if he was even aware of it...???..But that kind of talking is worldly and could be put in terms that (does not take the slang words that unbelievers use) to make a biblical point...I love Piper and have grown from many of his sermons ...but was very disappointed to hear...

[@misseconomist2014]

Been Redeemed do you have links for these references?

[@bryanbridges2987]

Been Redeemed I think perhaps you guys are being far too stringent. I mean, the only ppl I've ever heard call words like 'crap' cuss words were Christians. Christians don't get to decide what is foul language and what is not. The entire culture comes to that decision.

[@MomLAU]

I think ethnic slurs are worse.

[@thomasthellamas9886]

@@MomLAU depending on who hears tho right? I mean, the whole issue with "foul language" is what is intended by the sayer and what is felt by the receiver. In the case of racial slurs, take "nigga" for example. Blacks use it in reference to each other all the time in none insulting ways. So in what objective way is it worse or even bad at all?

[@flyflyaway1371]

@ivory_coast pretty sad when you dismiss someone like piper. Do you think he is perfect? He is a sinner and bound to flesh like you and I. He is not imperfect and no one is. You’ll be disappointed by everyone

[@anamamojicayukopila7144]

lol this is too much