The Charismatics’ Disproportional Power of Words
There is Power in Your Words
There is one fact of which Charismatics are correct – there certainly is power in our words. The Bible teaches this.
Proverbs 18:4 – “The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.”
Proverbs 18:7 – “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”
Proverbs 18:21 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
Mark 11:23 – “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
Romans 10:10 – “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
These scriptures are clear (and the Charismatics love to use them) that there is power in our words. A couple of these scriptures are the targets of scripture-twisting by the Charismatics. I will get to that shortly. However, do not be mistaken – there is power in your words. I have seen this come to pass in the lives of individuals. I have seen older people whose spouse passed away. Some of the surviving spouses said with their mouth that they were not going to give up on life – and they went on to live many years after. I have seen other surviving spouses who said with their mouth that they nothing to live for – and they died shortly after their spouse did. I have witnessed this on several occasions.
In Numbers 13, Moses chose twelve spies, one spy for each tribe, to search out the land that God promised Israel. After forty days of spying out the land, the twelve spies returned to Moses and the nation of Israel to give a report of the land. Ten spies gave their report:
Numbers 13:32 – 14:1 – “And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!”
Ten of the twelve spies said, “Would God that we had died in this wilderness!” And that’s exactly what they did! That generation died in the wilderness, and never entered the promised land.
The remaining two spies had a different report:
Numbers 13:30 – “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
And that’s exactly what they did – they overcame the giants and possessed the land. There most definitely is power in our words!
Where the Charismatics Err
So, if the Charismatics are right in saying that there is power in our words, then where does teaching become error? The error in the teaching of Charismatics occurs when they try to answer the question, “How much power is in our words?” There is no doubt that our words are powerful. Words can wound; words can heal; words can build friendships; words can destroy friendships; words can build a strong home; words can destroy the home. But exactly HOW MUCH power do our words contain? The Charismatics would lead you to believe that our words are ALL-POWERFUL. That is the point at which the scriptures disagree with Charismatic teaching.
Earlier, I stated that I would discuss a couple of scriptures taken out of context by the Charismatics.
Proverbs 18:24 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
This verse is used by Charismatics to show that our words contain power. Charismatics use this verse to show us that if we speak it, we have it! However, in real life (as opposed to Charismatic dogma), there have been some who declared with their lips that they wished to live – but they died. While doing pastoral work in Illinois, there was a lady by the name of Louise who became very ill. Her lungs were gone. Louise had been to the church only a few times. She was not a member of my church. Yet, upon hearing of her illness, I inquired of which hospital she was. She had such a will to live. She was convinced that she would have only a brief hospital stay and then would go home. I visited her at the hospital in her room for two or three consecutive days. Then, one day upon entering her room, Louise was not there. I asked the nurses of her whereabouts. She had been moved to ICU. I visited her in ICU. She was in so much pain. She came up off the bed just to get a single breath, and then she would lie down again. She could not speak. But her face was filled with agony. She knew she was dying, but a few days earlier declared that she would live. After only a couple days in ICU, Louise died.
Yes, our words are powerful, but not all-powerful. Just because you express willpower to live does not guarantee that you will live – you may die. There was a Charismatic preacher who boasted of never being sick. He was one of those “name it, claim it” preachers. He taught that if you say it, you have it. He died. To keep from dying, why didn’t he just say he was going to live? Though our words are powerful, they are not ALL-POWERFUL, that’s why!
When Proverbs 18:24 states that life and death are in the power of the tongue, it does not mean that you have everything your tongue utters, as the Charismatics falsely teach. Paul put this verse in context in Romans 10:10 when he stated, “Confession is made unto salvation.” Death and life are in the power of the tongue in this manner – those who confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, when it stems from faith in Him, have eternal life. Those who deny Jesus Christ with their mouth will inherit eternal death! Death and life are in the power of the tongue!
Another verse taken out of context by the Charismatics is found in Mark’s gospel:
Mark 11:23 – “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
The last phrase of this verse is the only phrase that Charismatics care about – “…he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Charismatics love this. However, when you read the entire verse, you find out that what we speak is connected to what we BELIEVE! Look at it, it plainly, “…but shall BELIEVE that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith!” Faith is BELIEVING; not SAYING. Jesus emphasized BELIEVING throughout his whole ministry. Charismatics emphasize SAYING. So, in Mark 11:23, it is not SAYING that gives us what we need; it is BELIEVING! If you do not believe, you can say stuff all day long, and not receive!
Look at Matthew 7:
Matthew 7:21 – “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
What??? “Not every one that SAITH…shall enter into the kingdom of heaven!” Our words are powerful, but not all powerful. Some will claim salvation with their lips – and go straight to hell.
Matthew 7:22, 23 – “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Here is a group standing before God on the Day of Judgment. It sounds like a Charismatic group to me – they’re claiming to have cast out devils; they’re claiming to have prophesied in His name; and they’re claiming to have done many wonderful works. Sounds like the Charismatics to me. But Jesus responds, “I never knew you!” But look at how verse 22 opens – “Many will SAY to me in that day…” Yes, the Charismatics are going to try their “power of words” with the Saviour, and it will miserably fail! They’re going to try to speak their way into heaven – and will end up in hell.
Our words are not all-powerful. Just because you speak it does not mean you will have it!
My Dear Charismatic Friend – You Are Not God!
While sitting in church a couple of years ago, there was an ignorant woman who stood up and made the following statement:
“We need to speak those things are not as though they are.”
This woman is off her rocker! No, we do not need to speak those things that are not as though they are! This woman thinks she is quoting scripture. There is no scripture that says that we need to speak those things that are not as though they are! There is a scripture that has wording similar to this.
Romans 4:17 – “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
When Romans 4:17 speaks of calling those things which be not as though they were, he is talking about GOD, not you! It is God who said, “Let there be light” when there was no light, resulting in the creation of light. It is God who said, “Let there be a firmament” when there was no firmament, resulting in the existence of a firmament! No, lady, you do not need to speak those things that are not as though they are! You need to sit down, let God be God, and stay in your place!
