Words are powerful instruments; they can alter lives, for good or evil. Words can create worlds. All that is, and will ever be, began with a word spoken by God. The greatest accomplishments of mankind too began as words, which were then formed into thoughts, then written or spoken to begin the act of creation. As God did, we do.
Most have heard the phrase: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Dictionary.com defines the phrase this way; “Human history is more influenced by the written word than by warfare.”
This is especially true for the written word of God. The Bible has changed countless lives over the centuries – many that are recorded in the annals of history – but countless more have been transformed out of the spotlight of public view; lives that influenced the trajectory of history in millions of little ways.
Of course, the only book that truly matters is the Book of Life that resides in heaven. By the way, is your name in that Great Book? One day it will be opened and the names found there will spend eternity in true paradise with God the Father and God the Son.
Some of the most important words ever written are found in the New Testament book of Romans. Paul the apostle wrote these words in a long letter to the church at Rome in about 57 A.D. The first 23 verses lay open the true heart of man, culminating in “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
We don’t read any good news in Paul’s letter until verse 24; “And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.”
This is essential knowledge. Paul is telling the church that man is doomed, apart from God’s grace and righteousness; without which we cannot enter into His presence. What God the Father did through His Son, declared us “not guilty” through unmerited favor as a gift, or without cause. There is nothing in us that would make God look upon us with favor, except through what His Son did upon the cross.
He took our place knowing that we could never pay the high price of redemption from sin. Sin is our greatest burden and our harshest taskmaster. By ourselves, we could never overcome our sin, let alone pay the price to have our slates wiped clean from a lifetime of offenses large and small.
God has such powerful love for His highest creation; but we (whom He created to reflect His glory) were in a seemingly hopeless situation… until Jesus came and made all things right between God and man.
God is not a dictator. He forces no one to love Him, preferring to call out to us through the written Word, penetrating the eternal mists of time with the simple request; “come home.” Were it not for words, we wouldn’t know who God is, what He wanted, or how He has revealed His hand throughout history. The written words in the Bible are mere reflections of the Living Word – the author of our faith – Christ Jesus, our risen Lord.
We may not always understand the words, but God sees to it that we will eternally understand their meaning, through His son and the work of those He chose to build His church.
In another of Paul’s letters he writes to the church at Corinth; “The natural (unsaved/not Christian) person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and his is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). If you find the words of Scripture foolish or stupid, your own understanding provides an accurate barometer of your spiritual standing.
John the apostle wrote the following words to further illuminate this point; “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
Words are important and can change a person’s mind and heart, whether they are written or spoken. The words of the Bible have always had the power to change a person for the better. Ask God today both to save you and then allow you to understand His written word, or ask Him to open your eyes and see Him all the more clearly through His words to you.