Is Cursing A Sin?

An individual once asked me, “My friend and I were having a conversation the other day on whether or not cursing is a sin. He said that curse words were made to mean what they do by society. I was wondering if there is any biblical information on this topic and if it is sinful.”

Cursing (swearing - see this article - cussing, profanity) is indeed a sin according to the inspired Scriptures, no matter what a society says or accepts. The inspired apostle Paul tells us to “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” (Ephesians 4:29).

We are again warned by Paul to “put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). In the Greek language, the phrase, “filthy communication” means foul speaking, low and obscene speech.

In his letter, James declares that cursing should not come out of our mouth (James 3:10). He admonishes us further in James 4:11, not so much as to speak evil of another brother.

For example, Peter assured the Lord that he would “never fall away” from following him (Matthew 26:33 ESV). Yet, just a few short hours later, this same apostle “denied with an oath” that he even knew Jesus (Matthew 26:72). The inspired record says that he even began to “curse and to swear” — thus reinforcing his denials of Jesus (Matthew 26:74). If the best of men were guilty of occasional lapses with regard to cursing and swearing, we must be constantly on guard that we do not sin even more grievously.

In Colossians 4:6, the apostle Paul tells us to, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Dear reader, our speech should contain wholesome, pure, kind, and beneficial words. Words that encourage and build up a person, instead of tearing them down (Proverbs 16:23; Proverbs 25:11; cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets