The Cussing Pastor

A Memphis pastor defended his decision for having a twerking contest (a sexually provocative dance) at his church by telling everyone “F*** You”. Yes that is right. This pastor openly, publicly and without any shame, swore. Thaddeus Matthews a.k.a. The Cussing pastor has become an internet sensation for his constant use of cuss words in his sermons. The Christian Post reports, “ Matthews, who launched his ministry about three years ago, building on a longtime career as a controversial broadcaster in Memphis, doesn’t consider his unorthodox ministry offensive to God and told The Christian Post in a recent interview that he doesn’t consider his use of expletives in his messages swearing. "There is a difference in 'cussing' and 'cursing' as people say. The words that we use today like [expletive], [expletive, [expletive], were not words that were used in biblical times. "So I don't have an issue with the cussing. And the people that listen to me don't have an issue with the cussing, and I'm not trying to justify it to the traditional churchgoer," the preacher explained.”
In other videos I have watched of Thaddeus defending his choice of words, he tells people he just wants to be real and honest with them. Then he goes on to state the great things he has done for charities in his community citing large sums of money raised and projects that have been started. He pushes back saying that people are worried about his words while he is worried about helping people and that his record speaks for itself of what he has done to help others. 
While he is right that the Bible does not specifically mention words that are bad, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is right in his theology. There are two things that must be noted about his position. One is that he states the Bible does not specifically mention words that are bad. The second thing is that every time he defends himself he mentions the works that he has done. 
By looking closely at these two points we see that Pastor Matthews has watered down sin and elevated the deeds of man. This is exactly what Jesus fought against when He went against the Pharisees. They too limited sin to just specific deeds. If it is not specifically mentioned this way in the Bible then it was ok. They also looked to their works as a show of how truly religious they were. 
But what did Jesus teach? He taught that sin is more that just God saying “do” and “don’t do”. He taught that it comes from the heart. That it is deeper than the actions. He taught that even if you don’t murder someone, thinking evil of someone is just as bad. He preached that even though you may not have an affair, lusting in your mind is just as bad. Sin is a nature and is deep beyond the heart. Cursing is sinful not because of the specific word. Cursing is sinful because of what it portrays, of what it denotes and promotes. Paul taught to not let any “corrupt talk come out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29). It’s more than just the words you use, it is the tone of the words, the meaning behind what is said and the purpose of why they are being said. 
Jesus also taught that our actions mean nothing. He preached that, because again it is about the heart, it is about the inside of a person, not their outside actions (see Matthew 23:26-28). Yet Pastor Matthews uses his community service record as an earned credit to be able to swear. He sounds a lot like the older brother in the prodigal son reciting all the good he has done (see Luke 15:11-32). Yet the Bible warns of building a righteousness on your own actions (see Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 9:16). Thaddeus can look to his good works all he wants to feel righteous. But the mouth speaks what a person’s heart is full of (see Luke 6:45). So then what is in the heart of Pastor Matthews?