OceanSide church of Christ

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TAMING THE TONGUE

Lesson #2

 

GO WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP

Cussing

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.      The title of this class is:  “Taming the Tongue.”

 

B.      I have been thinking about a key verse for this class.  The one that I have centered on is Proverbs 18:21.

 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue…

 

C.      Our class tonight has three verses that are very pertinent.

1.       Exodus 20:7

 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

 

2.       Psalm 19:14

 

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

3.       Ephesians 4:29

 

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

 

D.     Our title for this lesson is:  “Go Wash Your Mouth Out with Soap.”

1.       Most of us have probably heard this statement.

2.       When our mothers heard us say a “dirty word,” this would be their response. 

3.       Some of us may have had our mouths literally washed out with soap.

 

E.      The subject that we want to discuss is cussing.

 

I.                    VARIOUS NAMES FOR THESE WORDS

 

A.      Cuss words

 

B.      Curse words

 

C.      Profanity (profane – characterized by irreverence or contempt for God)

 

D.     Four-letter words (many of cuss words can be spelled with four letters)

 

E.      Dirty words

 

F.      Vulgar language (vulgar – indecent, obscene, lewd, characterized by ignorance)

 

G.     Crude language (crude – raw, unrefined, lacking finish, culture, or intellectual subtlety)

 

H.     Ugly words

 

I.        Nasty words

 

II.                 DEFINITION OF THIS TYPE OF LANGUAGE

 

A.      Abusive, vulgar, offensive, and irreverent language

 

B.      This type of language usually centers upon four things.

1.       The Godhead (Exo. 20:7)

2.       Sexual body parts (I Cor. 6:19-20)

3.       Sexual acts (I Cor. 7:2-3; Heb. 13:4)

4.       Waste elimination by the body (hence, “potty mouth”)

 

III.              WHY IS THIS LANGUAGE USED?

 

A.      It is learned behavior.  A child hears it from his parents, friends, the TV or radio.

 

B.      A lack of vocabulary to properly express oneself.

 

C.      To make an impact/impress others.

1.       I am mad.

2.       I am tough.

3.       I am cool.

 

D.     To fit in or belong

 

E.      To emphasize points

 

F.      To get laughs

 

IV.               ARGUMENTS FOR USING CURSE WORDS

 

A.      Curse words are used in the Bible.

1.       Jesus used the word “hell” (Matt. 5:22).

2.       Damned (Mark 16:16)

3.       Ass (Gen. 22:3)

4.       Pisseth against a wall (I Sam. 25:22)

5.       Bastards (Heb. 12:8)

 

B.      Everybody says them (I Cor. 15:33).

 

Be not deceived:  evil communications corrupt good manners.

 

C.      They are in the dictionary.

1.       Murder is in the dictionary, but that does not make it right.

2.       The dictionary only tells us that these words exist. 

3.       It does not determine whether these words are right or wrong.

 

D.     Words have no meaning.

1.       This is a lie.

2.       All words have meaning.

3.       If they did not have meanings, there would be no dictionaries.

 

E.      Freedom of speech

1.       The right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint

2.       The laws of the land may allow it, but our holy God does not.  His law trumps man’s laws.

 

F.      Language is cultural.

1.       Sin is not cultural and is forbidden in all cultures.

2.       We should try to present ourselves always as representatives for Christ.

3.       We need to strive for excellence, refinement, courtesy, modesty, and wholesomeness.

4.       Matthew 12:36

 

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

 

G.     It is a matter of personal preference.

1.       All of us have some words we will use that others will not.

2.       Ex., I know a Christian lady who did not like the words poop and pee-pee.

 

V.                 EUPHEMISMS

 

A.      Definition:  the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt

 

B.      There are some euphemisms that we know stand for cuss words.

1.       Gosh, dang, darn, heck, shoot, pissed off, Jesus, Lord, lordy, Christ

2.       OMG, SOB, WTH, WTF, etc.

 

VI.               WAYS TO OVERCOME AND AVOID CURSING

 

A.      Stop!

1.       If we so desire, we can just stop sinful activities.

2.       The Bible tells us to “put off” certain sins (Col. 3:8).

 

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

 

B.      Get someone to hold you accountable for your speech.

1.       A person can be so accustomed to cussing that he never hears the words he is saying.

2.       Others do.  They can hold you accountable.

3.       $1.00 for every curse word

 

C.      Get new associations

 

D.     Control your anger (Eph. 4:46-27)

 

Be ye angry, and sin not:  let not the sun go down on your wrath:  neither give place to the devil.

 

E.      Pray for assistance from God to help you overcome you vulgar language.

 

F.      Replace bad words with good words (turtle, ouch, wow, oh, no-no-no)

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.      The way we speak tells others a lot about us.

1.       Where we are from

2.       Intelligence

3.       Sincerity

 

B.      Our speech can also tell others about our practice of holiness before God.

1.       II Corinthians 7:1

 

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 

2.       I Peter 1:15-16

 

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.