The power of words is an interesting thing. Some words have a certain power because of their meaning, or their history. When they are spoken, they stir up certain emotions, memories, or acts, but in reality the true power of a word comes from the one that speaks them and your experience with them. If you are speeding and told to slow down by a 4 year old, it is meaningless as they are powerless to stop you on their own. However, when a police officer tells you to slow down then you may because they have the power to enforce their words. Think of it another way, if someone is done wrong in business and they say “I will make sure you never work again”, it means nothing if they themselves are unemployed, and pennyless. However if the owner of a large business says the same thing, then the threat is taken seriously. I can tell you that I will give you a million dollars, but if I am unemployed, and not a former Enron executive, it means nothing, even if I really would give you the money if I had it. The real power of words is based on the ability of the speaker to carry out what the words mean or the actions the words entail.

My point in this is that when you say “It is ok, I am forgiven” that is meaningless if the god backing up the forgiveness is YOU. The power of forgiveness is that it comes from the eternal God of Creation and God of the Universe. Forgiveness by another human may make us feel better, but it does nothing else. We should forgive others and not hold grudges, but our forgiveness of other people only allows us and them to move forward with no tension between us, it does not remove the consciences of the wrong. The consciences can only be removed by one that is in charge and in control. That is God. He is the only person that removes the consciences of a wrong. The great thing is that He is powerful enough to do it, and when He does it is completely removed, and is no longer held against us. God speaking the words “They are forgiven” is powerful because God Himself is powerful enough to carry out the action that He promises.

The ability for God to forgive comes from the sacrifice of the Son (Jesus) on the cross. Jesus’s blood covers our sins, and allows God to view us not in our imperfect state, but in the perfect , flawless state of His sinless Son. The power of the blood of Christ is that it is the blood of the only Son of God. The power of the blood of Phil, or Carla, or Brittany, or Ben, or George, or Martha is all meaningless and worthless for the forgiving of sin. They may provide us with blood to continue living, but their blood can and will not cover our sins. When Jesus said “I came where they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10,10b), that promise is made true because Jesus had the power to carry out the actions that guaranteed it.

The power of God also means that when God says “You are mine”, that it is permanent, guaranteed and final. There is nothing and no one that change that. So, the question is why do we continue to wonder about our salvation? Well, I believe it is because we continue to sin. Our continued sinning, makes us wonder how we can be saved when we continue to act wrongly. The answer is really quite simple though, we are saved by God, who forgives us of our mistakes, He also knows that we are human and incapable of perfection. If we could be perfect Jesus would not have needed to die for us. This does not excuse us to continue sinning, it just means that God will continue to forgive us.

Again this is something that God alone has the power and ability to do. He is not judging us by a human standard, He is judging us by the standard of His perfect Son, who died for us and paid the price for all of the sins of the world, forever. That means, we are not judged by our actions, our words, our works, or the actions, words, or works of others, but the actions, words and works of Christ. His actions, words, and works were and are perfect, and Jesus’s sacrifice is powerful because He, God, said so. God said that Jesus’s sacrifice was sufficient to save, and that when we are forgiven it is complete and forever. God’s saying that Jesus paid the price is powerful enough for you to be completely forgiven, because God is powerful enough to carry out salvation.

The next component of words that we must consider is how they impact our actions. If we say, or someone else says, “You can do that”, it does not make it possible, right or just. If God says “You can do that”, or “You can accomplish that”, then His word is sufficient to be sure that 1) you are strong enough to do it, and 2) that you have all the abilities, tools and assets needed to accomplish it. Again this is true, because God is powerful enough to carry out the actions needed for us to accomplish what He has for us.

Many times, we allow our own words, or the words of others, to convince us of one of two things. First of all we allow our own words to convince ourselves of our abilities or rights. We say “I can do that”, not because we have prayed about it or even considered it, but simply because we want to do it, or we feel pressured to do that. Secondly, we allow our own words, or the words of others, to convince ourselves that we can not do other things. We routinely say,”I can’t do that”, because we simply look at our own capacities, our own abilities, and our own skills. We do not consider that no good thing occurs without God and that if He calls us too it, we can do it. God will not call you to do something that He does not equip, prepare and provide you with all you need to accomplish it. It is not God that limits our achievements in and for Him, it is us. We decide what we will and can, and will not and can not do. If God is calling us too it, we can do it. Victory is ours if we will simply step out on faith and no longer depend upon on our own strengths and weaknesses, but on the eternal strength and power of God.

This post is and was not meant to convince you to give up and allow the flow of life to pull you along because you are saved and no longer held accountable for sin, but it is and was meant for you to appreciate the power of God and the power of His presence. His Word is powerful, His Word is just and His Word will be accomplished. He does not need us, but He wants to use us where we can be part of His body, His accomplishments and His will. He is not about the trivialities of man, He is about the work of eternity. God is not worried about your sins, the price has already been paid for them, He is worried about your eternity and He wants you to be part of heaven. Allow the power of God’s Word to move you to where He wants you to be, and then begin to actively and consistently serve Him there.