Chris R. Quinlan

Our culture’s view of cussing is obvious from observing TV and movies. Everyone cusses, even children and religious people. It’s the “grown-up” and “cool” thing to do. It’s fun, it makes people laugh, and makes you feel more powerful and popular. The clear message that is caught is: cussing is normal and expected, therefore there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just words. As vulgarity becomes more and more accepted in our culture, the media that most people consume becomes more and more filled with it. The question to be asked by the Christian should be: What does the bible say about this subject?   The bible does not give a list of cuss words to abstain from using. The bible wasn’t written in English, and we’re not interested in legalism anyway. In the bible we find several passages that give us principles to apply to this matter. It is my belief that anyone who calls him or herself a Christian should completely abstain from using any word that is, or even sounds like a c...

“Where must a man go for pardon? Where is forgiveness to be found? There is a way both sure and plain and that way is simply to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is to cast your soul, with all its sins, unreservedly on Christ, – to cease completely from any dependence on your own works or doings, either in whole or in part – and to rest on no other work but Christ’s work, no other merit but Christ’s merit, as your ground of hope. Take this course and you are a pardoned soul.” ~ J.C. Ryle

There is a wise saying, "He that would be safe from the acts of evil, must widely avoid the occasions." There is an old fable, that the butterfly once asked the owl how she should deal with the fire, which had singed her wings; and the owl counseled her, in reply, not to even look at its smoke. It is not enough that we determine not to commit sin, we must carefully keep at a distance from all approaches to it. By this test we ought to examine the ways we spend our time--the books that we read, the friends that we visit, the part of society which we interact with. We must not be content with saying, "There is nothing wrong here;" we must go further, and say, "Is there anything here which may cause me to sin?" This is one good reason why worldly entertainments are so objectionable. It may be difficult, in some instances, to show that they are, in themselves, positively unscriptural and wrong. But there...

Crucify your sins --which have crucified your Savior! Oh, that the nails which pierced His hands--should now pierce our hearts! Oh! put sin to death--for sin was the cause of Christ's death! If someone killed your father--would you hug him and embrace him as your friend, and let him eat at your table? Would you not rather hate and detest the very sight of him! If a snake should sting your dearly beloved spouse to death--would you preserve it alive, warm it at the fire, and hug it in your bosom? Would you not rather stab it with a thousand wounds! And were not our sins the cause and instrument of Christ's death? Were not they the whips that scourged Him; the nails, the cords, the spear, the thorns that wounded Him, and fetched the heart-blood from Him! And can we love our sins--which killed our Savior? Can a wife truly love her husband--and still embrace an adulterer? 

(Excerpt from a letter of Legh Richmond to his dying teenage son, 1824) “Be much in prayer and self-examination. The more we see of ourselves --the more we see our sin . And the more we see our sin --the more we flee to the death and righteousness of Christ--for pardon, deliverance, and hope! Let nothing interrupt you in this continual work of self-examination; and let self-examination lead you to earnest and ardent prayer. Let no pursuits of literature, no delights of sense, no passing occurrences, no debility of body, no inferior subjects of recreation, prevent you from keeping your thoughts close to God and to eternity!” Click here to read this entire letter.