Cussing Christians

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ. Based on the theme in Galatians 2 verse 5, where the

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Apostle Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

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In short, if you like smooth, watered down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. My name is

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Mike Abendroth and I'm taping some shows today. And of course, as usual, when I tape the shows, it is cold and wet

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New England days. Welcome to New England. But if you're listening in Saudi Arabia, or New Zealand, or Australia, or someplace else,

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Los Angeles, then you probably have a nice sunny day. And so I wish that was the case.

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Today on No Compromise Radio, we're trying to stick with the theme, always biblical, always provocative, always,

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I almost lost, I forgot my own theme. It's so rainy out,

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I've forgotten my own theme. Always biblical, always provocative, always in that order. You can tell my mind is someplace else.

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Actually, today is the day before Resurrection Sunday. It's a Saturday and I'm just taping these shows.

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And I was thinking to myself, what would make an interesting radio show? By the way, before I get into that, the

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Wretched Radio Conference, the Discernment Psalm 119 Conference is coming to West Boylston, coming to Bethlehem Bible Church, actually.

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And that is in the fall, September. You can go to wretchedradio .com and find out the information there.

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I happen to be a speaker, so that should be interesting. We'll see if I'm always biblical, always provocative, always in that order.

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When Todd Friel is here, there'll be some other speakers. I think Tim Chalies is gonna be here. Glenn is gonna be here and others,

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I'm not sure. I'm not sure how we lost out on Phil Johnson, though. Phil Johnson's a speaker and he's not gonna be here for the conference, but he will be here in May, May 22nd, preaching

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Sunday school, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Phil Johnson from Grace Community Church. And if you haven't been to Bethlehem Bible Church, we'd love to see you on that weekend.

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And that is coming up. You can probably find out more information on our website. We've got a ladies' conference in the fall, the

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Wretched Radio Conference here, Psalm 119 Discernment. And then next year we have Steve Nichols coming to the church and a couple other surprises.

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So what I'd like to talk about today is your speech. What about your speech?

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Specifically, what about your speech when it comes to sex?

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How do you talk about the subject? And so today we're going to chapter five of Ephesians as I want to discuss, how do we use our speech to glorify the

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Lord? Now it should go without saying, but I must repeat it anyway.

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Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus and it's probably a circular letter.

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So it went to Ephesus and then it went to a lot of other places as well. The best manuscripts don't say at Ephesus or in Ephesus, it's blank.

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So you can just fill it in at West Boylston in Worcester. And Paul is writing.

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And as he regularly writes, he says, this is what Christ has done for you.

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And Ephesians summarizes that by the two words, in Christ. Everything that God has done for you from his predetermined, sovereign, distinguishing election found in chapter one.

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And then Christ, the son, going to rescue those elect ones and redeeming them. And then in time, the spirit of God, chapter one, verses 13 and 14.

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This great God, the Holy Spirit, he seals you to the day of redemption. And of course, if you're a

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Gentile, you should remember that chapter two and you used to be far off, but now you've been made near by Jesus Christ who has brought down the barriers between Jews and Gentiles as he has fulfilled the law.

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And then he, in chapter four, begins to talk about practical ramifications. The creed found in chapters one through three should influence the conduct of chapters four, five, and six.

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Your position in Christ, chapters one, two, and three should influence your practice. Chapters four through six would be another one.

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Credenda of chapter one, two, and three, the agenda of your life, chapters four, five, and six.

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Doctrine of chapters one, two, and three should flesh itself out in your duty, chapters four, five, and six.

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So I think we've got that down here on No Compromise Radio. Doctrine, duty, credenda, agenda, creed, conduct.

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And then lastly, whatever the other one was I had, position, practice. And so you can't just dive into a

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Bible book without remembering who you are in Christ. You have the ability to obey. You have the motive to obey, that is thankfulness and gratitude.

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Jesus paid for all your sins and God raised him from the dead. And in light of the gospel, in light of the good news that God saved a sinner like you, it should influence every area of your life, every area of your life, including how you talk.

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Now, a while ago, and even in Donald Miller's book called Blue Like Jazz, a blasphemous, horrible book, but a bestseller seems to be that is the case these days.

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Although it's not always true, the Bible is a bestseller, Pilgrim's Progress was a bestseller, but lots of times bestsellers don't mean anything.

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It means how gullible people are, how ignorant people are, how biblically illiterate people are.

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But most of the time, when I look at a book like Blue Like Jazz, it's just so easy to find its flaws.

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And it talked about a cussing pastor and a pastor who would cuss a lot. And that was a few years ago we would hear about men who would swear in the pulpit.

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And I don't like to dredge up things that have been dealt with. And so the particular cussing pastor that I'm thinking of has said, please forgive me,

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I ought not to cuss anymore, I ought not to swear anymore. And so I'm not even gonna mention his name because what's forgiven is forgiven.

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I may still not endorse a lot of the stuff that pastor does, but I do endorse if God forgives you of something, then you're not to rub people's noses in it or bring it up any longer.

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I want to forgive like God forgives. And not that he's even sinned against me, but you don't remember it any longer.

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It's as far as from the East as from the West. By the way, you ever think about that? As far as the East is from the West? There's a time, if you say as far as the

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North is from the South, there's a time that if you go South long enough and far enough, you will then begin to go

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North. And if you go North long enough and far enough, you will begin to go South.

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But do you know if you go East and keep going East and keep going East and keep going

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East, you'll never go West, you'll always go East. And so for us at No Compromise Radio, if somebody has granted, somebody's asked for forgiveness, then we don't bring it up anymore.

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But the topic is still relevant. This topic still evokes thoughts of community.

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The thought is still incarnational. What are the other buzzwords these days? Relevant, incarnational, missional.

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But it is a topic that we need to address. And so I could ask you very bluntly and very straightly, do you tell dirty jokes?

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Do you have filthy talk? Do you jest about sex? Do you tell dirty jokes?

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I could flip it around. Do you like hearing dirty jokes? Do you like hearing people who, with the brain that God has given them and the common grace that they have, take the good ability of the brain to then pervert it with every topic, every subject, everything that comes up in life can be twisted to some horrible thing about sex and degrading nature of sex.

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Now, as I've said on this show before, I'm not a prude. I'm not a person who doesn't think sex should be discussed.

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I think the Bible is very clear that God made men and women as sexual creatures. It was his plan for men and women to enjoy one another in marriage, to have a great companionship in marriage, yes, a procreation in marriage, yes.

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But there's a great sexual intimacy that God has given men and women, and it should be enjoyed. You can read Proverbs 5, verse 15 through 20.

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You can read 1 Corinthians 7, verses one to six. You can read the Song of Solomon and look at what the

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Bible says about a sensual sexual love. And I am all for couples in the context of their marriage bed to enjoy themselves and to talk about that enjoyment.

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That's a context that is proper. It's good and it's right. But what does the fallen heart do?

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What does the heart do that's affected by sin and the fall? Then it distorts it.

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And so while unbelievers may talk and joke about sex and they have fun doing it and they laugh about it and they discuss it all the time, that ought not to be you and your mouth talking about these things.

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If you're listening today and you're a Christian, it should matter. It should change your life. And so today on No Compromise Radio, we're talking about what the

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Bible says about speech, specifically in the sexual area.

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So chapter five of Ephesians, it says in verse three, well, let me just start a little bit earlier.

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It sets the context. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

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Now that is a sermon already that preaches about Jesus Christ loving us and giving himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

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And since God has loved us, then we want to walk in love. That's the point. You've got the indicative statement of fact, this is what

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Jesus did. The imperative comes from that. You have revelation and now there's a response. You learned something about God and so it should change the way you live.

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Here's the King, here's what he's done. Here's what he asks his people to do. And so here he continues in verse three and says, but sexual immorality, notice that?

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Because it's the opposite of love. It's the opposite of self -sacrificial agape love.

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It is all take, take, take, take. It's all selfish, all sex outside of marriage, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual, outside the covenant bond of marriage between a man and a woman,

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God's defined terms of marriage, is not giving to the other person, but it's taking, it's robbing.

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And so here it says, but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints.

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And then he ties it together. Verse four, let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

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For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

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Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

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Therefore do not become partakers with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the

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Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

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And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of things that they do in secret.

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But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

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Therefore it says, awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

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So here's the context. The context in Ephesians is in sexual sin, we have to make sure we talk properly.

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You ought to make sure that you say the right things. It's interesting in verse four, and there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting.

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This is people, this is talking about people who have dirty minds, filthy minds, slutty minds, and then it comes out of their mouth, because what you think about and who you are on the inside will manifest itself through your conversation.

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Paul has already said in chapter four, verse 29, don't have unwholesome talk. But now he, in the context of sexual talk, says

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I want you to stay away from that. I want you to run from that. That is not proper. It's not fitting.

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That word for filthiness means indecent. It means wicked. The NIV translates it,

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I believe, obscenity. And so this obscene, indecent talk, it is shameful, it is impure, it is perverted.

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And Paul says there must be no filthiness. It's not fitting to talk in a filthy manner.

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It's not fitting to talk in a silly way, we're not talking about with your kids and you're being silly.

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The context again, don't forget, verse three, sexually immoral, right?

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Don't forget that the context is sexual immorality, verse five, and so here he says no silly talk when it comes to silly, foolish talking about sex, sexual things.

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Literally, let there be no stupid words. This is something that is good, that is sex in marriage, clean, pure, right, holy.

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And so you don't talk about sex in a way that makes you like a junior high person. I know people today and they're 30 years old, 50 years old, 80 years old, 25 years old, and they talk about sex in such a way that it's just silly, it's stupid, it's foolish.

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Fools talk that way, unbelievers talk that way in a frivolous way, in a senseless way. And Paul says your gutter mouth, your trash talk when it comes to sex is inappropriate for the

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Christian. And I'll go so far to say that it's inappropriate for Christians to say it and it's inappropriate for Christians to listen to it.

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Mitten said, the fool in biblical context means a man who acknowledges no standards of morality and has rejected belief in God.

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The fool has said in his heart what? There's no God. And then he acts like it. So you don't want to be the foolish kind of person that thinks to themselves,

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I can just run my mouth and say whatever I want and there are no ramifications.

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Crude, stupid, joking, no. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools sports or spouts a folly.

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And even when it comes to sex. The text goes on to say in Ephesians chapter five verse four, we're no compromise radio talking about no gutter mouth sex talk for Christians.

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That's probably what we should entitle the show. No gutter mouth sex talk for Christians, which includes swearing obviously.

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Coarse jesting. There must be no coarse jesting. Now this is the innuendo.

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This is suggestive statements. You say something, you veil it, you cloak it.

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If young kids are listening, they don't get it. I remember going to lots of Disney movies and the adults will laugh because the innuendo is made in such a way, whether it's about sex or something else, the kids don't get it.

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But older people get it. People can turn any conversation into some sex talk.

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They can easily direct and redirect the conversation so it goes back to their favorite thing.

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That is a sexual talk. No, this is not what we're supposed to do.

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We're not supposed to be flippant regarding any speech, let alone about sex.

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You are not supposed to be the person and to be proud of any topic that comes up, you can import something sexual into it.

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We call this double entendre, the ability of turning discourse into sexual talk.

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This stereotypical dirty joke, I think would fall into this category, although that's not exactly what it means, but Paul, I'm sure wouldn't like that at all.

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The bottom line here is that you are to avoid immorality, especially talking about it or listening to it.

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Yes, he doesn't want you to engage physically in immorality, to think about immorality with your mind, but he doesn't want you to talk about it either.

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Sexual gossip goes on all the time on the internet. Back in the day when Kobe Bryant was in the public news and the tell -all tabloids promising all the details and the sordidness of this

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Kobe Bryant case, you're not to click on that if you're the Christian. Your thought life is important.

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I think we could have the Puritans to help us. Remember that our thought life is very, very important when it comes to thinking properly.

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John Stott said, we are not only to avoid their indulgence, but also to avoid thinking and talking about them.

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So completely are they to be banished from the Christian community. This was a high and holy standard to demand for immorality was rife in Asia, Diana of Ephesus, sexual orgies, et cetera.

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And so when it comes to the sexual immoral people, we are to avoid thinking about that with our mind.

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We don't wanna have a dirty mind or a dirty mouth. Watching talk shows about whose father is this and the paternity suits and everything else, juicy gossip.

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No. What does the text say in Ephesians 5 .4? Which are not fitting. They're not fitting for saints.

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They're not fitting for holy people who have been bought with a price, ransomed by the blood of Christ Jesus.

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People who are supposed to be separated from the world's thinking and the thought process of the world and the methodologies and all the other ologies of the world.

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It's not for the people who are dedicated to God himself. One man said, it's incongruous for those who are called to be saints to take any pleasure in talking about such things.

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By their conversation to approve or condone or by gossip to make light of it, light of the sins of others.

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This is not fitting talk in schools. This is not fitting talk at work. This is not fitting talk to surf for on the internet.

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This is not fitting talk at church. This is not fitting talk for counseling. By the way, one of the things that's a pet peeve of mine, and I know it did several shows on that.

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Maybe it's not a pet peeve, maybe it's just a warning. If you're going to counsel other people, and Romans 15, four says, if you're a

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Christian, that you are competent to counsel other people, to tell them what the Bible says. You have the spirit of God. You have the word of God.

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You have the ability to counsel other people. Now, there might be better counselors, but you can counsel other people.

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When it comes to sexual sins and things like that, I don't think you should try to figure out all the details.

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I think you can just hear general words. So then every time you meet the person, you don't run in your mind off to all the things that they've done.

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I stand up and preach, and I know a lot about a lot of people, but I don't want to know the sort of details.

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If someone says, I committed fornication, that's all I need to know. I committed adultery.

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That's all I need to know. I looked at pornography. That's all I want to know. I can figure out how to give you biblical advice when it comes to dealing with that sin without knowing all the details, because then basically you're trying to get my mind all polluted.

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So when it comes to counseling, pastoral counseling, let's not, pastors, want to hear all the titillating details of some sexual escapade.

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I know about things I wish I never would know about the people who've confessed to me. No, stop confessing to me things about homosexuality, heterosexuality.

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I don't want to know these things. My mind is already filled full of gutter things because of the world, because of my past.

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I don't need any more gutter stuff in there. And so pastors, be careful what you ask for.

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And congregants or other people, if you need help, I think you should just use biblical terms. I have a problem with sexual immorality would be a proper statement.

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And then the person counseling you should know plenty. They don't need to know how many times, how often, when, where, why, how, all these other sort of things.

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No, immorality in general can tell me the counselor, the pastor, the friend, that you are very selfish, that you don't love other people, that you love you more than anybody else.

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And we have forgiveness found in Christ Jesus. We have information in the Bible that can help transform your thinking.

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And if you want somebody to talk about your sexual traumas of the past so you can tell me all the things that have done,

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I don't want to hear those unwholesome things. I'm sorry they happened to you. I'm sorry that they occurred.

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But now I know God can give you the balm of healing and the balm of restoration. He can give you joy even though these horrible things have been happening to you or had happened to you.

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But when it comes to sexual things, I don't wanna hear the endless parade of what happened to you because it doesn't do me any good.

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It doesn't help me do anything. Maybe you think it helps me commiserate with you. Maybe it has some other thing in your mind, but I think you can just say, this is what happened.

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Could you help me? And the answer is yes, we can because we have been given the great word from our

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God. Now, all the time when it comes to speech and swearing and saying things, you put off, stop it, and then you put on, you do something else.

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And so what does Paul say? But rather giving of thanks. Sex is selfish outside of marriage.

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Sex isn't love outside of marriage. Sex and immoral sex is take, take, take, take, take.

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So what does Paul say? Paul says, then start engaging in selfless speech.

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Instead of talking about selfish things, then do selfless speech, sacrificial speech, that is giving of thanks.

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To be grateful, to be thankful. That's what you need. You say, well, what's going on?

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Stott said, what a contrast. Don't be vulgar, be thankful. In itself,

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Thanksgiving is not an obvious substitute for vulgarity, since the latter is essentially self -centered and the former

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God -centered. Express the opposite of selfishness. Recognize the goodness and generosity of God, end quote.

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MacArthur, do you know why are you to give thanks? Because it's the most unselfish thing you can do. Instead of seeking selfish things like sexual fulfillment, uncleanness, and covening, you are to be thankful.

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Be characterized by saying thanks. Instead of wanting everything from everybody, instead of wanting to take, why don't you love in such a way that says thanks?

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Remember, God's love is unselfish and thankful, but the world's love is thankless and selfish.

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So you thank God instead. If you're listening to No Compromise Radio today, welcome, you can write us at info at nocompromiseradio .com,

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and you can write us, you can give us suggestions for shows, you can critique us, you can say thank you, you can do whatever you want, basically, and I'll either delete it or not.

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If you are writing, by the way, and you are too much of a coward to put your last name, you don't even need to write.

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So just say your name, who you are, and we'll be good from there. Today we've been talking about gutter mouths, potty mouths, and you should stop that, and you should be thankful instead, and express thankfulness to your great

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God. Isaac Watt says, our tongues were made to bless the Lord. So why don't you use your tongue to bless the

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Lord? Thank you, Jesus Christ. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at six. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

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You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.