It ought not be that curse words are spoken by a Christian. And by the term “Christian,” I’m referring to one who is not only a professed one, but who indeed is a possessed one. A Christian who walks in and by the power of the Holy Spirit will not profane the mouth and corrupt the hearing of another. For if the tongue is truly Christian, it is conscious and sensitive of the effects that words can have.

The apostle James, teaching us, asks a couple of questions that should cause us to pause and reflect on our spiritual growth as it pertains to speech. “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.” James 3: 11, 12.

The sources in his examples issue forth only that which is of the same character. The fruit is of the same nature as the roots. So it should be with the Christian. From a truly converted Christian heart and mind, there is supposed to be a natural desire to have the tongue speak only in a way that glorifies the Lord.

If this isn’t the case in the professed Christian’s life, that Christian should take heed that he or she is turning a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit’s promptings and that praying for His help is needed.  Of course He will give it, for the Spirit is in the business of convicting believers to turn from sin to righteousness; helping to develop within the believer, the desire to present him or herself in the same holy mind and character shared by Him, Jesus, and the Father.

If listened to and surrendered to the Spirit, the Spirit will help the Christian come to detest and to banish corrupt language, with the understanding that foul language hinders spiritual advancement and destroys credibility as a professed witness for Christ.

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Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4: 6

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4: 29