“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Our words are one of the most powerful tools the Lord has given us. Words are like a fine knife. A good knife can be used to carve a beautiful Thanksgiving turkey, or that same knife, used improperly, can bring destruction. In fact, our words determine whether we will have life or death.

Jesus builds on this truth when He tells us that our words will determine whether we will be justified or condemned in this age and on the Day of Judgment. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37).

There are four categories of words that will have effect on the direction of our lives:

1. Words that are not spoken.

2. Evil words (cussing, grumbling, complaining, etc…).

3. Speaking empty, religious (in the negative sense) and traditional words, phrases and prayers.

4. The principle of confession, “Speaking what God says.”

Let’s take the first category, “words that are not spoken”. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

When I teach about this passage I often get the same question, “What about the words I have already asked God to forgive? Do you mean I will have to give an account for those words?” The phrase “careless word” does not mean the speaking of bad words. “Careless word” is a phrase that refers to empty, useless words, or the lack of speaking any words at all.

For example, Romans 10:9 tells us that if we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord, we will be saved. “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” But what if a person never confesses Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives? The reality is they will not be saved. According to Matthew 12:37, by their empty words or lack of words they will be condemned.

John shares another example when he tells us, “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God” (John 12:42-43).

Another example is the confession of sin.  1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God will forgive and cleanse us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

David demonstrates the reality of this passage when he says,

“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away, through my groaning all day long. For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah” (Psalm 32:3-5).

What happens if a person never asks God to forgive them? His or her sins will not be forgiven. By that person’s empty words or lack of words they will condemn themselves.

Romans 10:10 even tells that the full salvation of God is released through the principle of confession. “…for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

In the early 1990’s, I taught a Bible study at the student center at Virginia Tech. The study was in a room on the third floor and to get to the room I would ride a glass elevator in the center of the building, visible to just about everyone in the center.

One Monday night, as I walked to the study, I was preoccupied with my preparations. I got on the elevator and the door closed. After about 30 seconds I realized the elevator was not going anywhere. When I looked at the control panel I discovered I had not pushed any of the buttons. I pushed the button to the third floor, but not before feeling really embarrassed, because I knew everyone who had passed by could see me just standing in an elevator going nowhere.

The very next week I got on the same elevator and again I was preoccupied about the study. Remembering what happened the week before, I made sure I pushed the button. After about 15 seconds, I again noticed the elevator was not going anywhere. I looked at the control panel and realized I had pushed the button for the floor I was already on. Once again, I felt like everyone in the building saw me standing on an elevator going nowhere.

The Lord used these experiences to speak to me about confession. He told me, “Rick, if you get on the elevator of life and you confess nothing, you will receive nothing. If you get on the elevator of life and simply confess the circumstances of your life, that is where you will stay.”

“But,” the Lord declared to me, “If you get on the elevator of life and confess what I say about where you are going, that is where you will go!”

When our Heavenly Father reveals to us a truth, it is important for us to respond by continually confessing the truth He has revealed. The course of our lives is set in motion by the words we speak. Speak nothing, receive nothing and go nowhere. Speak by grumbling and complaining about the current circumstances and the current circumstances is where we stay. Confess and believe what God is saying, and that is where you will go. We must confess the truth of God.

What words of truth do you need to confess about yourself and your circumstances right now?