JESTING

Mike Johnson

Ephesians 5:3-5 has a list of sins that Christians are to avoid.  Such sins as fornication and covetousness are listed.  Verse four mentions the sin of jesting (KJV). It says, “neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient:  but rather giving of thanks.”  The NASB translates the expression “not convenient” as “not fitting.”  Thus, it says the sin of jesting is unfitting for a Christian.  What is the sin of jesting?  We cannot know if we are guilty of this unless we know what it is.

What is meant by the term jesting?  Does it mean it is sinful to tell a joke or to speak in a lighthearted way?  There is more to the term than that.  W.E. Vines (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words), who defines Greek words, discusses the word translated “jesting.”  He explains the meaning of the word throughout the years, and then says that it came to mean “coarse joking.”  Thus, the verse does not say it is wrong to tell a clean joke; instead, the term would condemn coarse or dirty jokes.

Filthy jokes are so prevalent in our society.  Both men and women tell them.  We should not be guilty of telling dirty jokes, nor should we encourage those who tell them by listening to their off-color humor (Rom. 1:32).  Verse three says this kind of thing should not even be “once practiced.”  We must always obey God, even if our obedience causes us to be different from the world.  Another passage to consider on this subject is Ephesians 4:29, which says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”