In part 6 of this Bible study, we continue our journey through the Bible on what it means to be entrusted by God in this life.  We’ve already seen that we’re entrusted with the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:4), with a stewardship (1 Corinthians 9:17), and with God’s people (1 Peter 5:3).  In addition, we’ve seen that we’re entrusted with free will (Deuteronomy 30:19). 

Now we’re going to examine the awesome responsibility of verbal power. Being able to choose our words and speak them forth – separates us from all other created species on earth. It puts us in God’s class, with the ability to create or destroy by the words we speak. 

When the Bible says that death and life is in the power of the tongue, that means exactly that. We can’t create a universe like God, but we can create our personal universe because we’re made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). 

When people die physically, their spirit either goes up to heaven, or down to hell. Why? Because of the words they choose to speak. It’s that simple. Everybody in heaven right now is there because of words they believed and spoke forth. 

Conversely, everyone in hell right now is there because of the words they believed and spoke forth. Think about that! Our tongue holds the key to our eternal destiny. Death and life isn’t in God’s power, or the devil’s power.  It’s in the power of our tongue! 

Our tongue, not someone else’s tongue.  Everybody speaks and declares their eternal condition while living in their physical bodies.  After that, Divine judgment is rendered, using our words as the criteria.

Its incredible but true. Our words will literally be the difference between heaven or hell – forever. God has entrusted us with verbal power. We’re not puppets. We are entrusted with the ability to speak words that create or destroy, help or harm, bless or wound.

God won’t force us to speak words that enable Him to redeem us in this life and bring us to heaven in the next, and the devil can’t force us to speak words that give him permission to destroy our lives now and send us to hell afterwards. We decide.  

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. Malachi 3:16

Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Deuteronomy 1:27

These two passages show us what happens when we choose to honor the Lord with our words – and when we don’t. Notice the fact that God was listening to those who feared Him and were doing their best to serve Him. Not only was He listening, but He was recording their conversations. 

Also notice the complainers were doing their complaining in their tents. They were dishonoring God privately, thinking no one would hear what they were saying. How wrong they were! In heaven, along with the book of Life (Revelation 20:15), there is a Book of Remembrance. Its one of the books that will be opened on the two judgment days ahead. 

One judgment day is for believers (Romans 14:10), and the other is for unbelievers (Revelation 20:12-15). In both instances, books will be opened for judgment. Those books will have recorded every word a person has ever spoken. That’s why its vitally important to realize what it means to be entrusted with such power!  

….and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.  Ephesians 6: 19-20 

When it comes to evangelism, bold preaching and speaking is what God expects from us.  That doesn’t necessarily mean we shout and scream at people or get up in their faces and be purposely obnoxious.  But it does mean that when it comes to the declaration of the gospel, we speak without apology or hesitation.  

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus.  Acts 4:13

How did the enemies of the gospel come to realize these two men were disciples of Jesus?  By their lifestyle, words and actions.  They weren’t educated, trained and polished professionals like the Pharisees, but they realized who they were by how much they looked like, sounded like and acted like Jesus, whom they had just crucified. 

Jesus boldly proclaimed the truth, and now His disciples were doing the same.  That’s exactly what God expects from each of us, no matter how much secular education or social status we may have or not have. 

God’s enemies need to see and hear our boldness in Christ.  We preach with words, and people respond and get saved with words.  That’s how worldwide evangelism works (Mark 16:15-18 and Matthew 28:18-20) . 

When we proclaim the truth that we’ve been entrusted with, people are confronted with choices.  And if they choose to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior, they seal their salvation by saying what they believe, according to Scriptural guidelines. Its staggering to realize how powerful our words actually are.  And the fact that God entrusted us with this ability is equally amazing. 

The good news is that once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the words of our past are washed away forever (Hebrews 8:12/10:17).  They won’t condemn us to hell.  And after becoming a child of God, we have the wonderful promise of 1 John 1:9: that if we confess our sins (sinful words included), the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Praise God for that! 

For the unsaved, however, it’s a different tale altogether. Imagine the horror of descending into hell at the time of death, suffering in unspeakable pain and torment while waiting for the time they stand before God Almighty for their eternal sentencing. 

The books filled with their words will be presented, and every idle and unscriptural word they’ve ever spoken will be brought out in the open for judgment.  It will be both tragic and terrible beyond words!

Even so the tongue is a little members and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on the fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  James 3:5-6

For Satan to gain control in our lives, he must work to get control of our tongue.  He does this in many ways, but once again, he can’t do anything against us until we give him permission with the words we speak.  We set the forest on fire with our words.  We can’t blame the devil for any of that.  It’s all up to us, and has always been all up to us. 

Bottom line is this:  if we can control our tongue, we can control our whole body.  This shuts off the devil and at the same time, gives God a clear path to shower us with His exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:3-4). 

We’ve been entrusted with verbal power.  The tongue is the key to everything.  Therefore, follow this simple set of guidelines:  Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.  James 2:12.