Swearing

This is something I feel strongly about. The bible lays it out for you. Do not swear/curse. Oh, and welcome to Christian Forums!
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Colossians 3:8

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Matthew 15:10-11

And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

James 3:10

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Matthew 12:36-37

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Ephesians 5:4

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

James 3:6-8

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

2 Timothy 2:16

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

Proverbs 21:23

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Matthew 5:37

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Psalm 19:14

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

James 3:11-13

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Luke 6:45

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Proverbs 4:24

Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

1 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Proverbs 6:12

A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,

Proverbs 10:31-32

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

Psalm 141:3

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Psalm 34:13-14

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

James 1:26

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Romans 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

James 4:7

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Psalm 10:7

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Ecclesiastes 5:6

Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

Titus 2:6-8

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

thanks for the detailed post arvbuddy

No problem, and welcome to Christian forums!!

Arvbuddy, quite a large majority of the verses you posted were either completely irrelevant or taken widely out of context. Here's a revised list:

Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Matthew 15:10-11
And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Matthew 12:36-37
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 21:23
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Luke 6:45
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Proverbs 4:24
Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.

Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I'll also say that I was being very generous in that list. A lot of them are only applicable if you assume that swearing or using "bad words" is wrong, and forgive me for saying that not a single one of them do. There are things in the bible about not speaking out in anger. So, of course you shouldn't swear when you're angry--but more than that, you shouldn't speak in anger at all. I'd also like to make the point that most of the bible passages about speech are about the content of speech, not word choice. Many of them point out slander, gossip, judgment, and condemnation, not the use of "bad words."

I certainly don't mean this to advocate swearing in any way. After all, depending on the company you keep, it can make others see you in a bad light, and cause them to judge you and think of you as a hypocrite. While judgment is sin on their part, we as Christians should make our best effort to avoid causing others to sin. I'd just like to make the point that a lot of the verses and passages you used to refer to swearing were taken out of context, and that swearing is not inherently bad.

Really, just think of it this way. Does saying the word translated to "poop," make you look smart when shouted out loud? No, so just keep a professional outlook in mind. Curse words are part of out language, but using them to curse someone is wrong and unbiblical.

Greetings!

Making a list of words not to say really isn't the point. Life or death comes out of your mouth. Are you building people up or tearing people down?

Most of all, it is what is in your heart that counts. Bible essentially teaches that your heart and mouth are directly connected so if you have slander, cursing, anger, idleness and bitterness coming from your mouth all the time, your heart is marinating in it and that needs to be resolved.

On a basic level, it is not productive if you want to live a purposeful life, especially if you are to be useful to the Lord. Also, it limits your vocabulary and just doesn't look very professional or respectful if you can't express your thoughts without trash words. I feel it just hinders developing our communication and language skills. It's an issue of maturity.