Mike Foster: So, James chapter number 1, and we’re going to look at verse number 26. Verse number 26 says, If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Let’s pray. Lord, help us to learn some important things this morning. I pray that you’d help me as I speak, that I would have your help and clarity of mind.

Lord, I pray for the young people as they listen, that this would be something they take and apply to their lives, and that you would use it in our hearts today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

George Washington, first president of the United States, once said this, The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it. Today in our society, it seems as though there’s not a real big problem that people have with using profane language, cursing, swearing, other things like that. It’s not a big deal to them.

And you hear it in the media all the time, even though they’re not supposed to. You hear it in movies and TV shows that we shouldn’t probably be watching. You also hear it in politicians as they get out in front of people and say bad words and things like that, that they know aren’t right, the same anyway.

And you hear it even in Christian circles. and I’ve even heard people using profanity, recordings of it, using profanity in church services. Sadly enough, but it is a problem today and there’s a lot of people that use all kinds of bad language

and they don’t think anything of it. They think it’s just fine and it’s just part of the way that we live. Well, the tongue that God has given every one of us can be used for either good things or for bad things.

The tongue can be used for dangerous things. It can be used for good as well. There are many things we could talk about when it comes to sins of the tongue, but today I want to focus on the problems of cursing, swearing, profanity of any kind.

Sadly, many people in the Christian circles don’t think anything of it. They think it’s just fine and it’s not a problem, but I’m not actually surprised at that Because with the loose view of standards and convictions that we have now in our churches, for a lot of people, it’s not that big of a deal to use bad language or to color their phrases a little bit more, quote-unquote, so that they can be a little more in with the hip crowd, if you will,

or say things that will make it so that people want to come to their church or so that they can be cool and fit in. There’s a lot of people that act that way, a lot of Christians. And when they are using the wrong kind of music, that’s sinful and wicked in their church services and even in their personal lives, then for them, they think that God will overlook a filthy mouth.

Because they have a wrong view of who God is. So they’ll say, you know what, it’s okay that God, it’s okay because God says it’s fine if we listen to such and such a music, or he doesn’t care, he doesn’t have a problem with it. or they might say, you know what, you can wear whatever you want.

It’s not that big of a deal. You can dress like a harlot. You can dress like this, or you can dress like that.

It’s not that big of a deal. After all, God doesn’t have an opinion about those sorts of things. And so if you’re going to say that, then why not say cursing and swearing is no big deal.

If you’re going to not really be concerned about what you watch on television, then you’re also probably going to say that God would be okay with using the wrong kind of language. But that comes as a result of us having a loose view of who God is. A loose view of God that is contrary to Scripture.

And it really does overlook some very basic and important Bible truths that we need to look at this morning. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 11 says, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Let me tell you, profanity, cursing, swearing, cussing, all of these things.

This is part of the unfruitful works of darkness. And we shouldn’t be promoting it and engaging in it, young people. We should be standing against it and saying, knock it off, it’s wrong.

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them, correct them, say it’s wrong. Don’t engage in it. Now, before we get into some specifics, let’s start off by defining our terms.

The words that we use today had a different meaning when our Bible was written, when it was translated for us. So let’s talk about some of the words that we often use when we think of using bad language. So first of all, how about swearing?

When people swore something in the Bible, what they were doing was they were using words as an oath. So they were promising something. Just about all of the scriptures that you find in the Bible have this word when it talks about swearing.

It’s speaking of taking an oath or making a promise. It’s kind of like when you go to the courtroom. And maybe some of you have been in a court situation where you’ve had to testify or something.

I have before. And they get up there. They say, put your hand on the Bible.

Put your hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the whole truth?

Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth will help you God.

I do. And then you are now sworn in, is what the phrase is. Now you are under oath. If you say

anything that’s a lie, you commit perjury, which is a crime, and you can serve time, go to jail, or something for that. So it’s the idea of taking an oath. Now, if we swear in a bad way,

it would be like taking God’s name in vain. It would be like using his name as an oath. If you

say, oh my, and you plug God’s name in there, you are swearing. You are using an oath, if you will.

Swearing. And then the second term that we often use is the idea of cursing. Now there’s really three ideas or different words, terminologies used in scripture for the word cursing.

The first one would be when someone pronounced a curse on somebody. And literally, it’s interesting, the Hebrew word that was given there, is the idea of to stab with words. Now that sounds kind of harsh, isn’t it?

Well, that’s what a curse was. It was trying to hurt somebody with your words. The story that’s given is Balak and Balaam.

Balak came to Balaam and said, will you come and curse the children of Israel? What he wanted him to do was to curse them, stab them with his words, to destroy the children of Israel with something that he said. And to make it so that the children of Israel wouldn’t survive and falter and fail and all of that.

So he was trying to get him to curse with his words. The second way in which somebody can curse is to do so in a blasphemous way. In other words, they say something that’s anti-God.

So Job was told, right after all of the bad things happened to him, Job was told to just curse God and die. So just say something really blasphemous against God and he’ll smite you, he’ll kill you. It’s the opposite of blessing the Lord.

Job chapter 3 verse 8 says this, Let them curse it that curse the day who are ready to raise up their mourning. There’s two different words for curse there, but anyway, the word curse that’s mentioned the second time is the one we’re referring to here. Many people will curse God’s name and others as well.

If you say God and put the word damn beside it in there as well, you are cursing. If you are using Jesus Christ’s name in a blasphemous way, you are cursing. The third way in which people curse is to use or is to treat somebody that is in authority or somebody else lightly.

So they treat them with disrespect. Not necessarily blasphemously, but disrespectfully. Ecclesiastes 10.20 says, Curse not the king, no not in any thought, and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber, for a bird in the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

The idea is to treat authority or other people lightly. So you don’t talk bad about it. That’s the idea of cursing.

The third term that we should use is the idea of profanity. Profanity comes from the word profane. In the scripture, when something was profaned, it was tainted or it was blemished.

It was made to be something bad. Literally, it was to wound something. Another description in the Bible is something that is unholy.

holy. This is in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 44 verse 23 says, and they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

So the holy and the profane and the unclean and the clean. The New Testament is a little bit harsher with the words that it uses to describe the idea of profane. But profane in the New Testament was somebody who desecrated something, something that was sacred.

They made it to be something that was filthy and wicked. Somebody who is heathenish or wicked. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 16, lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

So there’s the idea of profane. Some people use terminology that is considered to be profanity. It is something that is desecrated.

Something that was clean that’s made unclean. Something that is sacred that’s made to be unsacred, if you will. Filthy.

Another term that we could use to describe bad speech language would be corrupt communication. Ephesians 4.29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of thy mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Now this could entail a lot of different things, not just cursing and swearing, profanity, but it could also include dirty talk, things that are filthy, wicked, that you know you shouldn’t be talking about, that sort of thing, corrupt communication.

Another term that’s used in scripture is vain words. You have used, we’ve all used the terms, you’ve heard it before, taking God’s name in vain. Exodus chapter 20 is clear about this.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. That’s chapter 20, verse number 7. Vain means empty or worthless.

Whenever we say God’s name, we should do so in a reverent, respectful manner. We should never just say it in a joke or some kind of way like that, because we’re taking God’s name in vain if we do. But also there’s other vain words we can use.

Ephesians 5, 6. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Proverbs 4.24, put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Perverse, again, is filthy, wicked, a potty mouth. I’ve heard people use that expression before. Now let me use one term that’s not in Scripture.

Cussing. You’ve heard that term used before. Some of you have used it as well.

The idea of cussing. Basically, by Webster’s definition, cussing is to use profanity to curse or to swear. And this is the modern day term that we would use for all of these things.

But if we cuss, we’re pretty much lumping all of the same bad words under this one word of cussing. Now, here in the Bible, verse number 26 of James chapter 1, it says, If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart. This man’s religion is vain.

The idea here is that your tongue tells people what kind of a person you are. The things that you say reveal to other people who you are. So if I say things that are not right, if I don’t control my tongue or bridle my tongue, And if I say things that are filthy, that are wicked, that are dirty, that are profane, cursing, swearing, things like that, then the Bible says in this verse that this man’s religion is vain.

In other words, people will look at you and say, he’s not a Christian because he’s not saying the right thing. You know, as much as Christians want to say, you know, it’s not that big of a deal. We’re part of the in crowd, things like that.

It’s not that significant. It is a big deal. because what God says is if you’re not saying the right things then your religion is worthless it’s empty it’s nothing and when people look at you they will say he’s not a Christian she’s not a Christian look at what she’s saying look at how she’s talking those words that she’s using you know what or those words that he’s using you know that’s that’s something that that I would use so

they’re not any different than I am. So God says, control your tongue. Otherwise, you won’t look like a Christian, which in God’s eyes is a big deal. And what you’re doing by using words that are

wrong, you are coming across as a profane person. You’re making the sacred, which is what your body is, the temple of the Holy Ghost. You’re making sacred to be something that’s not.

Now, what are some different ways in which we can use bad words, cussing, whatever you want to call it? First of all, there’s really four categories here. I’m going to get specific, all right, so bear with me.

I’m going to use some terms. I’ll use perhaps a letter to describe a term. But I don’t think I really have to get into too much detail because you guys know what I’m talking about.

I’m not, I wasn’t born yesterday, okay? and I’m not stupid. I know some of you people use these terms, but we’re going to talk about them because I want them not to be used again, and I don’t want you to use them because they’re wrong.

All right, so what are they? Well, the first category is taking God’s name in vain. We’ve already referred to this a little bit, but anyone who uses the name of God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit in a flippant, vain, trite, or blasphemous way is taking God’s name in vain. Now, this may

saying, oh my, and then you plug in the name of God there. Or using Jesus’ name in vain in some way. Okay, you say Jesus, and then you say it as an expression, an exclamation, or something like that.

Oh, what you’re doing is taking God’s name in vain. Listen, God isn’t okay with that. He isn’t.

The Bible says God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Some of you use it all the time and you don’t even think about it. You say, how do you know?

Well, I sit in my office. My office is in the corner of the building here. And I can hear just about everything that goes on right underneath my window.

And I’ve heard some of you. As you’re walking around, playing around, whatever, I’ve heard you use that term. I’ve heard you take God’s name in vain.

By the time I get to the window to find out who it was, usually you’re gone. But I can hear it from my window. It’s wrong, young people.

It’s wrong. It’s taking God’s name in vain and it should not happen. Now, some of you say, well, I’m not going to take God’s name.

I’m not going to use God’s name. So I’m going to use a euphemism. Now, what’s a euphemism?

Euphemism, by definition, is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. Or it’s also the expression so substituted. So instead of saying, oh my, and you plug God’s name in there, you say, oh my, and then you use the word gosh.

Or you use golly. Or you use gee or whatever. Well, look, listen.

If you were to go to the dictionary, just pick a dictionary off the shelf. And you’re to look up the word gosh. Here’s what it would say.

used as an exclamation or mild oath and euphemistic alteration of God. How about golly? Used as an exclamation, a euphemistic alteration of God.

G, used as an exclamation, a euphemistic alteration of Jesus. Some of you, when you’re texting, you will say such and such, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then you will end it by saying, OMG.

What are you saying? You’re not actually saying, oh my, in God’s word. You’re using that as a substitution.

It’s the same thing. It’s the exact same thing. It’s a euphemism.

And listen, young people, you may as well just say the real thing. Because that’s what you’re doing. And you’re taking God’s name in vain by doing so.

Look, it’s a sin. It’s a sin. It’s cursing.

It’s swearing. It’s profanity. Now, these are just four words or expressions that we have that most of them are common uses of euphemism.

But there’s lots of other ways. There’s a comprehensive list I came up with. I’m not going to read them all.

But there’s euphemisms for God, like gall. Some people use good Lord. They’ll say that expression.

Okay, that’s profanity. You’re taking God’s name in vain. Great Scott.

Did you know that that’s a euphemism for God? You say you’re being too specific. No, I’m not.

You’re being too picky. No, I’m not. I’m just telling you what the dictionary says.

These are what people came up with. Okay, to use instead of using the proper, real term. There’s euphemisms for that. There’s euphemisms for

oh God. It’s like egads. People say that.

That’s a euphemism for that.

Euphemism for oh my, using God’s name. They’ll say oh my. And then they leave it blank.

They don’t know what’s going to come next. So people can fill in the blank.

Oh my, oh my gosh. You know, things like that. That’s what people are saying. Euphemisms for

for saying by God, by gosh, by golly, by George. Where George? Where’d that come from?

I don’t know who George is, but anyway, in England, you’ll hear by Jove. Maybe you’ve heard that expression used perhaps. Okay, that’s a euphemism.

It’s a euphemism for God and it’s cursing. Euphemisms for Jesus. G, we’ve already mentioned that.

uh she’s g’s g whiz uh jeepers um jiminy some of you use that sheesh well what are these these are euphemisms for jesus i didn’t even give you the whole list okay what i’m saying is there are a lot of things that people say that they don’t realize they’re using euphemisms or substitute two words for the real thing. There’s euphemisms for Christ, like crimini, cripes, people will use

that. Euphemisms for Jesus Christ, which is like Jeepers Creepers. Some people say Jiminy Cricket.

They’ll say that instead of saying Jesus Christ. It’s a euphemism. Euphemisms for by Jesus instead by God. They’ll say

bejesus by jingo, things like that. Some of these are really silly. You say, I wouldn’t use anything like that.

Well, good. Don’t. Because some of them are dumb. But anyway,

you shouldn’t use them anyway. For Christ’s sake, people use that. Crying out loud.

For Pete’s sake. This is a substitute for for Christ’s sake. Euphemisms for Lord.

People use lordy, laudy. This is interesting. I don’t know where this one came from, but there’s euphemisms for God’s hooks, crucifixion nails.

But this would be like gadzooks. I never heard of that one before. I mean, I’ve heard that word, but I didn’t know that’s what it was a euphemism for.

There’s euphemisms for God’s body, for God’s flesh, for God’s wounds, for God’s blood, for God blind me, like blimey. That’s another English expression there. And then euphemisms for God’s name and then the term damn beside it.

Like some of you, I’m sure, have used these. dad blame, dad gum, dag nab, dag nabbit, heard that one before floating around here, dog gone, god awful, some people say galdang, galdarn, galdurn, gosh dang, gosh darn, these are all terms for god and then damn at the end of it. They’re wicked words, they’re euphemisms, And there’s substitute words for the real thing.

Listen, young people, it should not have a part of your vocabulary, not even one time. There’s other terms in the Bible that should not be treated lightly either. We shouldn’t just not take God’s name in vain, but we should also be respectful of the term damn.

Because when you talk about damn, you’re talking about damning somebody to hell. It’s talking about eternal damnation. That’s a serious matter.

It’s not something to laugh at. It’s not something to use as a curse word because it is a serious thing. Just as you should be reverent with God’s name, you should be reverent with that term because it is a big deal.

People are condemned for all eternity. They’re damned to hell forever, and that’s a real Bible term. Also, people will use the word hell.

By the way, some of the euphemisms for damn, you will find dang, blast, darn, dern. Some people even use the word hang instead of damn. Damnation, darnation, tarnation.

These are euphemisms for that. Hell, euphemisms for hell. Heck, Sam Hill.

See, these are euphemisms. They’re substitute words.

Some of you use them all the time. You don’t think about it.

Look, you’re swearing. You’re cursing.

You’re doing so in a substitute way, but it’s wrong. It’s not okay. Hell is a very serious place.

Just as you would not joke about somebody going to heaven, maybe some of you would, or joke about God or being damned to hell forever, you shouldn’t be talking about that. It’s not something that you should use as a curse word or just punctuating your sentences with it. And that includes the euphemisms.

So the first way in which people use profanity is to take God’s name in vain. Secondly, they also speak lightly about the human body. They speak flippantly about the human body and perhaps its functions.

Now someone may ask why this is a big deal. Why is this such a big deal? Why are you talking about this?

Who made you? God made you. And in whose image did he make you?

He made you in his own image. So when you’re making fun of things like this, you’re making fun of something that is very special and precious, which is your body, the creation that God has made. To make fun of it is to treat his creation lightly, and that’s a sin.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, so we should not treat them with disrespect or in a blasphemous way whatsoever. So you shouldn’t use terms like the A word. A-S-S.

We shouldn’t use that. There’s other expressions that go along with that. It’s a reference to human anatomy.

And it’s not something that should be used in polite conversation, which means it shouldn’t be used in conversation whatsoever. Some of you know the P word. You know what I’m talking about.

It’s a reference to human bodily functions. It’s not a word that you should talk to people and say it in a, perhaps you’re angry, so you’re going to say that you are using that term. Okay, you know what I’m talking about.

That’s a, again, a reference to human bodily functions. It’s not something that should be used in polite conversation. Also, the S word is clearly a profane term.

and it’s not something that should be talked about silly or joking manner and by the way if i was to say all this if i was to walk down to the average person say hi i’m pastor foster from faith baptist church and i was to use one of those terms in my conversation they’d look they’d look funny with me like they say you’re you’re a pastor say yeah so why are you using a word like that

I have a guy that I know who just recently got saved and he uses he still uses a lot of curse words in his in his speech and oftentimes he’ll tell me well my mouth hasn’t got saved yet well why is that because he knows those words are wrong and yet some of you as Christians know they’re okay or they’re not okay and you use them anyway so the s word now there is a euphemism for the s word

You know that? It’s the term crap. And it’s not something that should be used.

Why? Because you’re referring to something that is basically a substitute word for a profane word. And it’s not something that should be in our vocabulary.

It’s just as bad as saying the real thing. And there are other words that you know, and I’m not even going to mention these, that you know that would be referenced to certain parts of our anatomy. That are slang terms.

There are terms that are both in the male and female category. I’m not going to do so in mixed company. But I don’t really have to because you know what I’m talking about.

You know exactly what I’m talking about. Because some of you use them. And you use them without even thinking about it.

It’s not that big of a deal. Now somebody may say, well, aren’t some of these words used in the Bible? Well, yeah, they are, but let’s talk about a couple things in that way.

First of all, what God has made holy should not be something that’s made profane by man. Also, some of these words have changed their meaning over the years to be something that is profane, cursing or swearing. And so just because it’s used in the Bible doesn’t give us an excuse to use it now as a justification for profanity.

So there’s the first category is speaking and taking God’s name in vain or speaking in vain terms. The second category is the idea of using things that are terminology that is referenced to body parts or bodily functions. The third one is speaking in derogatory terms about people.

Speaking in derogatory terms about people. There are certain words that are curse words used to insult people, like calling somebody the B word. It’s a reference to a female dog.

Or if you do so, you’re not just insulting that individual, you’re also insulting their parents. You can refer to their mother as such. And that’s wicked and that’s profane.

It’s not something that we as Christians should be involved in. The other B word that’s used to speak in derogatory ways is not just offensive to the person you’re calling, but it’s also offensive to the parents again. The B word I’m referring to is one that you find in Scripture.

It’s the term bastard. But we have taken that terminology that’s used in Scripture, which is in the Bible, In reference to somebody who was an illegitimate child. Somebody that was conceived out of wedlock, born out of wedlock.

And they’ve used that as a derogatory term to call people. In today’s modern terminology, it’s a profanity. It’s a curse word.

We shouldn’t be using it. But by calling somebody that, you’re not just slapping that person in the face verbally, but you’re also slapping their parents in the face as well. And you’re saying something you have no business saying.

And then also the term ass is used in scripture as well to refer to a donkey. But people have also taken that terminology and used it to be an insult to people. When they call somebody a donkey or the Bible term for it, they’re being offensive.

And it’s highly offensive and it’s extremely profane. And there’s another term that’s used as well in reference to that that is just very offensive. And I won’t even mention, I won’t even refer to it here.

But you know what I’m talking about. These are speaking derogatory terms about people, using words to insult people. But also, there are certain words that are used to insult a person’s race, color, or ethnicity.

Again, I’m not going to talk about these words. I’m not going to say them because you know what I’m talking about. but the N-word.

There’s also terms that are used to talk about people from other countries and other races and things like that. These are wicked words. They’re profane.

And they’re never right, and we should never use them in reference to somebody’s background. God loves everybody in the world. It doesn’t matter what their race is.

It doesn’t matter what their ethnicity is. It doesn’t matter what their color is. We should love them just like God loves them.

We should love our neighbors. And yes, we should even love our enemies like we love ourselves. And that doesn’t happen if we’re speaking to people in derogatory terms.

It won’t happen. It’s part of profanity. It’s part of using curse words and swear words.

Then there’s also certain words that are used in reference to a person’s lifestyle. Someone that is a homosexual is living a perverted lifestyle, something that is wrong. Scripturally, it’s called sodomy.

Again, it’s a totally different message. But we shouldn’t overlook somebody’s sin in that way, nor should we condone it or accept it as being just part of their makeup, the way they are, the way they were born. God died for that person just as much as he died for the murderer or the liar or you.

We should pray for that person and love them so that they can be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We shouldn’t certainly insult them by calling them bad names, which really is, again, profanity. So there’s the concept of speaking in vain about God.

There’s, or God’s word, there’s the idea of bodily functions and bodily anatomy. And then there’s talking bad about people specifically. And then the final category of profanity is speaking lightly of the husband and wife physical relationship.

Unfortunately, the F word is thrown around an awful lot. It’s commonplace in our society. I’m being blunt with you here.

It’s commonplace in our society. And unfortunately, I do believe it’s commonplace for some of you to say it here even in our Christian school. Let me tell you, this is probably the most vile of all the curse words that’s out there.

And many young people think nothing of it. They sometimes even use a gesture in reference to it. They don’t think anything of it.

I have had students, one student in particular I’m thinking of, she actually did use that term with her finger. And pointed it at me one time. And when I told her parents about it, they were like, there’s no way that she could do something like that.

I said, well, she did. And I had witnesses that were sitting there watching her do it. And they got upset at me because their daughter was rebellious.

And their daughter did something that was wicked and profane. And they got mad at me for it. Listen, there’s all kinds of young people out there that use this term.

And they don’t think anything of it. Let me tell you, it is wicked and it is vile. It is a reference to something that is special, that is precious, that is wonderful, that should only be occurring within the bounds of marriage.

The Bible says that marriage is honorable and all, and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let me tell you something, young people.

You think it’s not a big deal to be involved in the physical relationship before marriage. You have a big problem.

And you know what? God is going to judge you for it. And we as Christians should never ever think lightly of something like that.

Because it is sacred. It is special. And it is something that God has ordained for the marriage relationship only.

And we shouldn’t be talking about it. Or definitely not speaking lightly of it in any way. Now some of you don’t use the term.

You use the euphemisms that come with it. Like freaking. Or freaking.

Freak. fudge, fig, some people use that terminology. Look, these are all euphemisms for that word. And it’s not something that

any of us should be even using either. So these are the four categories of profanity, cursing, swearing that we can find, cussing if you will, in our society today. Now, the final thing here what biblical lessons can we learn from this study of profanity?

First of all, I want you to see, God hates it and commands us to not engage in anything like it. Matthew chapter 5 verse 33 says, Again, ye have heard that it hath been said of them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth,

for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. And then notice this, but let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

You say, what does that mean? The idea of something being yea, yea, or nay, nay, is the idea that you’re saying more than what needs to be said. So when you punctuate your sentences with extra words like curse words, vain words, words that are referencing bodily functions or even the sanctity of marriage, what you’re doing is you’re saying more than yay, yay or nay, nay.

You’re saying more than what needs to be said. And that’s a sin. So if you let the hammer fly and hit your thumb when you’re hammering a nail, what should you say?

I just have to say something. You know what you should say? Nothing.

Now, I suppose you could say, ouch. I don’t think there’s a, I don’t think there’s anything profane about ouch.

Okay, that’s fine. All right. But anything else than that is a problem.

See, we have just become so used to, well, you know what? I don’t like what I’m hearing or saying or whatever, so I’m just going to go ahead and let something else come into that sentence. I’m going to add other words, other colorful expressions or other bad words.

I’m going to go ahead and punctuate my sentences with those just so that I can either fit in or so that I can let people know that I’m not happy about it or whatever. Oh, the Bible says let your yay be yay and your nay nay. And that includes euphemisms too, by the way.

But what Jesus is saying here is don’t add words to your statement. Also, don’t let words like this out of your mouth even one time. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 3 says, But fornication, all uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saint, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of things.

then it goes on and says for this you know that no whoremonger nor unclean person nor covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of god upon the children of disobedience be not ye therefore partakers with them god says that it’s wrong uh to say certain things foolish foolish talking

filthiness or jesting. These are wrong terminologies. This is the wrong kind of words, wrong kind of speaking.

God says don’t let it happen one time. Not one time should we say something that’s evil or wicked. We shouldn’t one time say something that’s filthy. We shouldn’t

once say something that’s dirty. We shouldn’t once say something that’s profane. Not once should we let those things out of our

mouths. Thirdly, to say evil words is to defile God’s temple. Matthew chapter 15, verse 17.

Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly and is cast out into the draft. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.

These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. To say things, going back to what we talked about, one of our definitions at the beginning of the message, profanity, profane. To say something that’s wicked, to say something

that’s evil, to say something that you know is a curse word, a swear word, cuss word, whatever, is to defile God’s temple. What you’re doing is you’re profaning it. Should not have a part of

our lives. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?

Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What?

Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two saith he shall be one flesh,

but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. This is any kind of sexual sin.

flee fornication every sin that a man doeth is without the body that he that committed fornication sinneth against his own body what this is the famous verse what know ye not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost which is in you which ye have of god and ye are not your own for you are bought with a price therefore glorify god in your body and in your spirit which are god’s

Your body is a temple. It is a holy temple. You should not profane it or defile it in any way.

Your body is God’s and he is yours. That means your body parts are his. Your mouth.

Your tongue. The things that you say. The things that you think.

The things that you do with your hands. The places that you go. The things that you listen to.

You’re doing so with the temple of the Holy Spirit. You’re doing it with his eyes, his ears, his hands, his feet. So to say perverse things is to defile the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is not glorifying God.

It’s tearing it down. It’s tearing him down. Fourthly and finally, you need to stop using these words.

as the Bible says back here in our text, bridle your tongue. James chapter 3 verse 6, it says, And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.

James chapter 3 verse 2, For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body. Your tongue tells you where to go.

Your tongue will determine what you do with your life. So you need to say the right things. You need to bridle your tongue.

You need to hold it in. If you feel like saying something, don’t say it. Bridle your tongue.

Control it. Because you don’t need to say it. Some of you have a mouth that’s just plain filthy.

You can change that today. By simply bridling your tongue. Confess it as sin to the Lord.

And go forward today living a life of service for the Lord. Using your tongue for his glory and for his honor. Because it is his anyway.

Philippians 4.8 Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Remember the Bible says, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. So you think right, you’re going to talk right.

Some of you, the reason why you talk wrong is because you’re thinking wrong. so what you need to do is to think right think about the things that are pleasing to the Lord Psalm 19:14 let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer that should be the prayer of every one of our hearts God don’t let me say things that are wrong

don’t let me think things that are wrong Lord help everything I say and everything I think to be acceptable in your eyes and help me to say and do the things that you want me to say today not what I want to say but what you want me to say let’s bow our heads in prayer can we I know I threw a lot at you here in this short amount of time but I wonder if God spoke to your heart

about anything today.