Without Learning

Q: I was talking to a person who claims to be a fellow believer. I told him that Christians should not curse, and I used the scriptures of Ephesians 4:29, 1 Peter 3:10 and James 3:9-12 to show that we should not curse. He said we can curse and used 2nd Corinthians 11:6-7 to show that we can curse. It states "But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things. Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?" I guess the key part of what he was saying is that Paul was rude in speech. What I tried to get across was that Paul was a sinner and that just because he was rude in speech didn't make it right.

What do you think????

A: Thank you for your question. It appears to me that you have already exercised good discernment on this one. I agree with you that Christians should not curse, much less try and use the Bible to condone cursing. All the scripture examples you have cited testify to this truth. The problem with using 2 Corinthians 11:6-7 to justify cursing is the assumption being made by the person using the passage as justification for cursing or, to be exact, being rude. The assumption is that the word "rude" means what this person believes it to mean. There are different definitions for rude. The first definition for rude is that it means to be "discourteous or impolite." It would seem that this is the definition being applied to the Apostle Paul's statement by the person you are talking about. However, there is another definition that can be applied to the verse. Rude also means "without culture, learning or refinement." This definition would make more sense and would be more consistent with what Paul was trying to convey. The version you referenced appears to be the King James Version. While there is nothing wrong with using the King James Version of the Bible, a look at other versions may help clarify exactly what the Apostle Paul meant by saying he was "rude in speech."

In the New International Version, the part of 2 Corinthians 11:6 in question reads, "I may indeed be untrained as a speaker..." The New American Standard Version says, "But even if I am unskilled in speech..." The use of the words "untrained" and "unskilled" are more consistent with the second definition of "rude" where it talks of the word meaning "without culture, learning or refinement." The Apostle Paul is basically saying that he is "without learning" when it comes to his ability to communicate, not that he is using foul language to communicate. One could argue that saying the Bible encourages the use of foul language in order to try and communicate is more an example of being "without learning" than anything else. Furthermore, cursing would also contradict one of the central themes of Paul's letters as well as the Bible as a whole; love. It was the Apostle Paul who wrote, in his first letter to the Corinthian church, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1)." It would not make sense for him to emphasize love above everything else and then turn around and contradict that by saying it is okay to use foul language.

Jesus said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person (Mark 7:20-23).” For someone to claim to be a Christian and then say that the Bible promotes cursing makes me wonder what it is they are putting faith in. To freely use curse words and feel justified in doing so is a reflection of what is on a persons heart. While I agree that we are all sinners, in that we still sin, our identity as Christians is one of being children of God. We have all had an encounter with God, through faith in Jesus Christ, that should have changed our hearts. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, one should expect to be abiding more in Christ and, thus, bearing the fruit of the Spirit He is producing through us. The fruit produced in us by the Spirit of God is not going to be the rotten fruit of "unwholesome talk (Ephesians 4:29)," "deceitful speech" or "cursing (James 3:10)."

"But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them (Matthew 15:18)." If you have the opportunity to speak with this individual again you should ask them how someone who says they are a Christian has a heart that leads them to feel cursing is acceptable and can be used as an act of love towards another? Furthermore, if you have the Holy Spirit within you, as all Christians do, you have the discernment of God that would allow you to understand the meaning of His Word. Therefore, when you read a passage of scripture that leads you to conclude something inconsistent with the greater testimony of the Bible, you can ask the Lord to teach you what it means. Otherwise, we risk relying on our own understanding and reaching conclusions like the one that makes a person say Paul was encouraging us to be rude. Take heart in the fact that it was your discernment that led you to ask the question you did. You knew that Paul could not have been condoning rude behavior that includes cursing as acceptable. I pray I have been able to shed some light on this subject. Be blessed.