In episode 97, we focused on cussing. And it was one of the most played episodes of 2013, over 30,000 plays to date. Cussing is a big issue in life and increasingly in the church. And recently, Philip Yancey, a best-selling author, read several memoirs and nonfiction books written by authors he called hipster Christians.

And at the end of his experiment, he said the common essential ingredient in all of the books he read by those so-called Christian hipsters is the presence of cussing, words forbidden by the FCC from being broadcast on network television. This is not new, of course. Just back in 2009, Derek Webb released a song about the AIDS epidemic with the S-word in it.

It was bait to get Christians angry about the cuss word. So the conversation could get spun around to ask, well, what makes you more angry, a four-letter word from a Christian artist or 50,000 people dying of AIDS every day? Now, AIDS is obviously a massive tragedy today. But the language raises a legitimate question.

Pastor John, as someone who aims to provoke people with strong language yourself, is it ever appropriate for a Christian to use cuss words in sermons, books, music albums, or online, or anywhere in order to provoke others towards what appears to be a noble and good ends? And maybe first I'll ask this.

Is this a new phenomenon in the church? Well, it's not a new technique to use crude or offensive language to upset an audience and then spank them that they are more upset by the language than the injustice that was being lamented. So Tony Campala did this 40 years ago.

I remember it. And I felt then, and I feel now, that it's manipulative. I don't like it. For those who think it's a good idea, they should ask this. Would you approve of addressing a crowd of liberal, leaning Christians by referring to the sinfulness of being a practicing fag or queer?

And then when they get really furious over that language, which they should, you say, oh, see, you're much more worried about being politically correct than you are about the fact that this really is a sin that sends people to hell. In other words, you turn things around, you realize, oh, hmm, maybe we shouldn't assume that provoking an audience with really inappropriate language is a good way forward.

I think, frankly, that the use of that language for those who struggle with homosexuality is utterly out of place and unnecessarily demeaning. I would say the same thing about the S word and the F word in trying to provoke conservatives to see that they're more upset about language than some calamity that you happen to be talking about.

But let me step back. I think it's going to be more helpful to just step back and see how does the New Testament address the issue of offensive language? Because it really does, significantly. And here's four passages of scripture. Number one, Ephesians 429. And what I'm going to look for is some commonalities in these four texts that point us to principles of how to think about this.

Ephesians 429, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only what is good for upbuilding and fits the occasion to give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 5.4, let there be no filthiness, no foolish talk or crude joking, which are out of place, but instead, let there be thanksgiving.

Colossians 3.8, but now you must put away all anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Or 1 Corinthians 13.4, when Paul's talking about love, interestingly, it says love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. And the old King James Version does not behave itself unseemly.

Now, here's what's interesting about those passages. None of them, in none of them is language condemned because it's against a particular law. Notice the categories, corrupting talk, filthiness, obscene talk, rude, or behaving itself unseemly. If you can read Greek, every one of those phrases, all four of them, corrupting talk, filthiness, obscene talk, rude, all are built on the same Greek stem, And this is a root that isn't built on a list of acceptable words and unacceptable words.

Like, oh, the way we live our lives is there's some God-approved acceptable words and some God-approved unacceptable words. Well, there aren't. I don't think that's the case. What that phrase refers to is-- I looked this up in the major Greek lexicon-- behavior that flouts social and moral standards, shamefulness, obscenity.

So instead, the issue is, are we transgressing or fighting against certain social norms as Christians? And then we ask, is it good for upbuilding? Is it good that fits the occasion? Is it giving grace? This is the cultural norm that we should be striving for-- upbuilding, giving grace to those who hear.

So a huge part of Christian ethics, including language, is not derived from finding a list of God-approved words and God-unapproved words. There is no such list. Most of our behavior, including our language, is, does it build up in faith? Does it build a passion for Christ? Does it give grace to those who hear?

And our vocabulary is a testimony to this way of thinking about language. Think of dozens of words that have been created and adapted to express what is fitting-- not what's wrong, but what's fitting. I mean, here's a list. I just thought of a few-- disgraceful, dishonorable, indecent, indelicate, offensive, hurtful, unkind, dirty, salacious, scandalous, shameful, reprehensible, impolite, crude, lewd, licentious, unsuitable, improper.

Isn't it amazing that the English language has words like that in it? What do those words mean? Those words have-- those words don't have anything to do with, oh, where's my list, you know? Where's my list of actions or attitudes or words that I can say? Those words aren't about lists.

Those words are about the creation of a culture, the maintenance of a culture. And Christians should be striving to create and maintain a Christ-permeated culture. So the question I would urge is, have you let the texts-- the ones that I've referred to up there-- have you let the texts sufficiently inform the kind of Christian culture you would like to cultivate in your children, in the church, in the workplace?

And my guess is the people that are playing fast and loose with what's offensive in using obscene or offensive language would do well to rethink their habits. Yes, thank you, Pastor John. And for more on cussing, see the popular episode titled "On Cussing" in the Ask Pastor John archive, which is most easily found in the updated Ask Pastor John app for the iPhone and the Android.

Be sure you've updated your app in the last month or so to get all of the new features. The episode on cussing is episode 97, number 97 in the episodes. Tomorrow marks the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and we will talk about the longstanding implications of this court ruling on the unborn.

Until then, I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Thanks for listening. you