Is not taking God’s name in vain just about swearing?

Question: I also would like to ask if you think this commandment refers only to oaths or if it may refer to saying the name of God without purpose, like “God willing…” without God in mind. Thanks in advance! God bless your work. Answer: This particular commandment is focused on men treating God with honor…

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Not Worth Listening To

by Zeke Flores There are some things that are not worth wasting the time to listen to. For me, that would be rap or any new “pop” song. Or most political drivel. Or false religious teaching. Jesus said, “Take care what you listen to” (Mark 4:24). In Luke’s gospel, He says, “Take care how you listen”…

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How do I deal with all the rules?

Question: First of all, you should know that I am only 12 years old. My main dilemma is this: I love my parents very much, and they love me. But I also love God, and my parents often do things that I don’t think would make God very happy. Don’t worry! It’s nothing illegal. I…

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Your Speech Shows It

by Terry Wane Benton “As Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with Jesus the Nazarene.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he…

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Reverencing the Name of God

by David Gibson I once overheard an older woman ask a middle-aged man as he entered the post office, “Are they closed?” “Lord, no!” he said. “They ain’t closed.” In a Dallas hospital waiting room, several women were passing the time in conversation. One of them mentioned that a certain man they knew was 38.…

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It is so hard to escape the sin in the world

Question: Hello there. I have just gotten back into church again and I have been studying the Bible. Almost everything I watch has cuss words in them. I want to buy a language blocker for all my streaming services. It will block out bad language and nudity. Will that still be wrong? Maybe I’m just…

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I think you misused some verses in “Careful What You Say”

Question: This is something I think can be especially difficult among the churches of Christ just because of our tradition. There is a very popular way of reading the Bible in the churches of Christ that goes way back to our roots and the reasoning is that a belief or practice can only be authorized…

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Cussing and Cursing

by Perry Hall “Words are just words.” A friend who was a new Christian had just fired off an “F-bomb” while we were playing golf. When I suggested such language should not be used, he got angry and said, “Words are just words. I don’t mean anything by them.” Well, obviously he did because when…

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Am I sinning if I’m cursing in my thoughts?

Question: My boyfriend was just baptized and he’s been struggling. He has a little bit of anxiety. He’s been trying to work on his cursing. he’s doing great. But he asked me a difficult question. He asked, “Am I still sinning if I keep the cuss words in my brain?” I said that I wasn’t…

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Where does the Bible suggest swearing is a sin?

Question: Where does the Bible suggest swearing is a sin? And how does it define what words or type of words are to be considered sinful to say? We all understand that taking God’s name in vain is a sin. We are told this in the Bible directly. But I have never seen nor heard…

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Speechless

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Speechless.mp3 by Raymond Warfel

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How do I overcome the foul language in my mind?

Question: Hello, I want to say that I really do like your website. I have a question about my thoughts. I am a Christian. I obeyed the gospel last year. I previously cussed like a sailor, but I’ve gotten really good at watching my language. I constantly worry that I’ll mess up and say a…

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Obscenity and Profanity

by Marc Hinds I was ten years old in 1982 when I went and saw Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction blockbuster, E. T. It was the first time I remember hearing foul language. To make matters worse, it was a teenager in the movie who said it. While I was shocked, my parents were horrified. Over the…

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How do I clean up my life before Jesus returns?

Question: Hello. I was hoping to receive some help and answers. With the shape the world is in, I can’t help but foresee Jesus coming soon. Frankly, I just read Matthew 24:1-31 and can’t help but feel fear. I struggle with a lot of things that I can’t seem to break. How do I turn…

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Are we sinning by using vulgar words?

Question: If a word has a vulgar meaning and an informative normal meaning, is it wrong to use? For example, “boi” is a funny way to pronounce “boy,” but it can refer to a boyish lesbian or a bisexual with effeminate traits according to Wikipedia. I want to say it as just a funny way…

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Should we post memes that contain bad language?

Question: I have been talking to someone about the Facebook memes they post that contains offensive language. I was telling them that it’s not right as a Christian, but he says things like, “Well, sometimes you have to to get the point across” and “Just ignore that part.” He doesn’t use foul language when talking,…

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Do I have to be nice to liars and the profane?

Question: Hey Jeffrey, I have a question: I try to be a friendly person all the time, but some people’s personalities I don’t mesh with, or I’m not a big fan of how they do things or treat people. Some people lie all the time and make light of it and one guy constantly curses…

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Who decided that some words are inappropriate?

Question: Good Evening, Regarding words like gosh, gee whiz, etc., does anyone know who and when was it decided that these were words that had meanings referring to God, Jesus, etc.? As a child, my mother didn’t like the word “gosh,” so it wasn’t said. As an adult and a Christian, I don’t use these…

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Is using “God” as a curse word not taking the Lord’s name in vain?

Question: Hello Firstly, thank you very much for the very informative site and the work that you do. I recently had someone totally shock me by stating that “God” was a generic term and questioning whether it constituted using the Lord’s name in vain. His argument was that “God” was not God’s name and could…

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Careful What You Say

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CarefulWhatYouSay.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 5:1-8   I.         There is a passage that should cause each of us to pause – Matthew 12:32-37             A.        We will give an account to God for every idle word we speak!             B.        What we say will either justify us or condemn us             C.        We will not be able to avoid facing…

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Shelomith’s Son

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ShelomithsSon.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Leviticus 24:10-23 I.         Shelomith had married a non-Israelite and it appears that her son took more after his father than his mother             A.        He got into a fight with an Israelite. During the fight he cursed and blasphemed the name of God. For this he was jailed.                         1.         He wasn’t jailed for…

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How do I deal with my friends’ poor conversations?

Question: I have two friends who I talk to regularly. I associate with them on a weekly basis more or less. One of them believes in God though he is not “devoted” as one would say and the other is an atheist. Both of them know clearly that I am a Christian, and they don’t…

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How do I get a child to stop swearing?

Question: Hello Jeffrey, I was wondering if you could give me a few strategies for deterring swearing in my eight-year-old. It has already happened twice in the last few days, and I’ve explained to him why it’s not appropriate to say those things. So I am hoping that did the trick, but just in case,…

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How do you handle inappropriate talk in a youth Bible study?

Question: I just graduated from high school and started hanging out with my sister’s friends who are the college-age people in our church. Most of them are on our youth staff. They meet together in what they call a Bible study, but we did not touch a Bible once. It seemed like the whole time…

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Could I go to heaven after committing all these sins?

Question: I have a bunch of questions, but please answer them. If you Have sex before you are married, Drink, smoke, or do drugs, Use God’s name frivolously, Steal, and Tell people that you hate going to church and it’s a big waste of time will you go to hell, or at least go to spiritual jail?…

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Should I confront my friend about his language?

Question: There’s a friend I have who was recently baptized. He was taught about baptism, and we left him alone, and he eventually made the choice without any pushing of any sort. He knows cursing is wrong, and he doesn’t curse around me. Well, he does euphemistically.  But that’s a huge improvement from what he used to…

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How do you stop saying bad words?

Question: Okay, I read Careful What You Say, and I have to ask: what do we say when we can’t say any of those words? What if I’m trying to stop, but it’s such a habit it slips out sometimes, out loud and even in my head? I say it even if I don’t mean to.…

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Profanity Is Unprofessional

Source: David Mielach, “How Swearing at Work Could Ruin Your Career,” Business News Daily, 26 July 2012 “New research has found that 64 percent of employers think less of employees who swear at work and 57 percent said they would be less likely to promote a worker who swears in the office. A majority of bosses said…

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Is it a sin to listen to music that contains swear words?

Question: Hello, I understand a lot more from your teachings, and I thank you for that! I understand about the swear words in music, but I still don’t know, is it a sin to listen to music with those words in it? Answer: “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits'” (I Corinthians 15:33).…

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I repeated my fornication after getting baptized. Am I unforgivable?

Question: I once was living a very sinful life. I wasn’t going to church. I was committing fornication with my girlfriend as well as many other sexual sins. I was willfully and deliberately sinning. Over the winter break I realized that if I did not change my way of life, I knew where I was…

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God’s Name

by Netagene Kirkpatrick I call the name of Jesus, or Lord God when I pray. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not by-words to say! It bothers me to hear someone who takes God’s Name in vain. If I ever slip and do that, I know I’ll be ashamed. Some things are often cut,…

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God Bless You! Bless Your Heart!

by Netagene Kirkpatrick eu’phe-mism, n. (Gr.: well + to speak). The substitution of an inoffensive or mild expression for one that may offend or be unpleasant; e.g: “passing away” for “dying”.  ~ Webster’s Dictionary, 1961 Some people say “God bless you”, Or sometimes, “Bless your heart!” I know they mean it all in love, God’s care…

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What do I do about shows where the Lord’s name is taken in vain?

Question: I used to be a member of the church of Christ several years ago but fell away. I recently have been wanting to consider coming back. I have been pondering how I’m living my life lately and all the things I’m doing that are un-Christ-like. I have been thinking about television shows and which…

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Can a married couple talk dirty during sex?

Question: Hi, I have read through a lot of your Answered Questions and wanted to throw one out at you. Do you think it’s improper for a married Christian couple to “talk dirty” during sex, using words and language they would ordinarily not use in daily conversation? (If no one else is around and the…

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Is That What You Meant to Say?

by Steve Klein via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, March 29, 2009 An insurance agent was writing a policy for a cowboy. “Have you ever had any accidents?” the agent asked. “No, not really,” replied the cowboy. “A horse threw me off and kicked me in the ribs once, and…

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Curses!

by Steve Klein Today we have experts and scholars on every subject imaginable – from global warming to cotton farming.  Timothy Jay is an expert on cursing.  He’s made quite a study of it, written two books about it, and talks about it often to his students at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where…

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