Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

To Speak Or Not To Speak?

by | Wed, Apr 6 2022

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Have you ever heard the phrase, “Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words?” That quote is often attributed to St Francis of Assisi, however that’s not what he said.

In fact, out of all the writings of St Francis of Assisi, that quote in non-existent. The closest statement from him comes from his ‘Rule of 1221’, chapter 12 on how Franciscans should practice their preaching and he wrote,

“No brother should preach contrary to the form and regulations of the Holy Church nor unless he has been permitted by his minister…all the Friars…should preach by their deeds.” *

The real question we should be asking is who should we be listening to with regard to what we’re supposed to do or not do when it comes to living our faith and how that looks in very practical terms, and in this case, how and what preaching the Gospel looks like?

Should we be taking advice and instruction from men or from God through His Word? The obvious answer of course is from God through His Word, but in practice we tend to place more emphasis of the words and instructions of men.

Mark 16:15, ‘And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”

 

They are the words of Jesus Himself and the word for ‘preach’ means to publish and to proclaim.

The book of Romans is essentially about the preaching of the Gospel and the doctrine of salvation. In chapter 10 Paul explains how salvation comes to a person but then he gets to verse 14 and he says something really curious.

Romans 10:14, ‘How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not HEARD? And how will they HEAR without a preacher? How will they preach unless they’re sent? Just as it’s written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”’

 

Paul explains the desperate need for preachers to be sent to the lost so that they can preach – verbally – the good news of the Gospel so that upon ‘hearing’ said Gospel, they’ll believe in their heart and come to a saving faith.

Imagine for a moment what the situation in Bethlehem might have been like on the night Jesus was born; the shepherds were out in the fields, quietly minding their own business when out of nowhere, an angel appears in the sky…he’s excited and joyous, his visible presentation is euphoric and demonstrative and he’s worshipping God and gesticulating in the direction of the township of Bethlehem.

Next thing they know, the entire sky fills with angels all worshiping God and being happy and excited and then they disappear.

What do you think the shepherds would have thought about such a thing? If no words and instructions were said by the angels, what would the shepherds have concluded? They might have thought that something exciting had just happened in town, and if they went there, they would have simply seen that the town was filled with visitors from all over the country trying to register for the national census.

However, the actual account reveals that the angel spoke about the ‘good news’ of the arrival of their long-awaited Messiah who’d just been born and where they could find Him. Not only that, but the good news would be for the benefit of all the people! (Luke 2:9-14)

Without the words being said, the message of the ‘good news’ would have been meaningless to the shepherds. Not only that, but if they’d made their way to the lambing cave where the Messiah had been born, they would have thought that a young couple had simply used their cave to have their baby because there was nowhere else for them to go.

The point we’re making is that words are important and without words, we can’t communicate truth.

The misquote of St Francis of Assisi is often used by those who are more than happy to do good or nice things for other people, without having to open their mouths and share the truth and offensive nature of the Gospel. The Gospel message, which basically says that all people are sinners whom God cannot accept unless they repent and come to Him through Jesus, because of His death on their behalf.

The notion of serving people and doing good things for others as a way of being a living presentation of the Gospel is nice, but it breaks down at a fundamental level because Christians aren’t the only people who do nice things for other people.

There are many Hindus, Buddhists, Atheists and Libertarians who are committed to caring for others and doing acts of service. What about medical professionals who serve overseas in organisations such as Doctors Without Borders and other groups like that? Doing acts of service or caring for the needs of others isn’t something that only Christians have cornered the market on.

What makes Christians distinct is that their message – the preaching of the Gospel – is supposed to be the motivating factor for their acts of service and good deeds even in the face of rejection and sometimes hostility. It’s the fact that the possibility of rejection, hatred and possible injury, imprisonment or maybe even death, will result but they go and serve anyway, and they speak the Gospel with their words.

So to answer the question of whether or not the Gospel should be spread with words or just deeds, it’s actually both, not either or.

Unless words are used, the Gospel can’t be heard, understood or responded to. Without deeds, the Gospel can’t be demonstrated and of course, the greatest demonstration of the Gospel is the death and sacrifice of Jesus Himself on behalf of others.

We’ve been learning from the very beginning of Foundations, that the religion of Judaism – from where Christianity comes from – is very, very pragmatic and unless otherwise stated, it’s literal. So when God ‘spoke’ the world into existence, it was with literal words. When Jesus said to preach the Gospel to all of creation, He meant with actual words.

This is where the disparity between a Hebrew and Greek mindset is seen starkly. Preaching without words, which is a Greek philosophical, allegorical interpretive view is completely antithetical to the Hebrew mindset and interpretive view the says ‘preaching’ means using words and then living a practical life that confirms the words you speak.

James, the Lord’s half brother, expressed this dichotomy best when he said,

James 2:26, ‘Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also, faith without works is dead.’

What about God…how does He feel about words and their importance?

 

Jeremiah 1:12, ‘The Lord said to me (Jeremiah), “You’ve seen well, for I am watching over My Word to perform it.”’

God has provided for us His Word, it’s a powerful two-edged sword and it can do extraordinary things in the lives of all human beings.

Hebrews 4:12, ‘For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’

 

God’s Word has the power to change a person from the inside out, and transform them from being dead, broken and hostile toward God into a man or woman of faith and righteousness. It also has the power to save a human soul as well.

Romans 1:16, Paul said, ‘For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’

The Gospel is God’s Word and when spoken and preached to those who don’t know Him, it has the power to save a soul out of death and bring them into eternal life. If we don’t preach it, the lost will never hear it and if they don’t hear it, they won’t be saved…even if we’re providing food, clothing and shelter.

The truth is these go hand in hand. Preach the Gospel and meet the physical needs and leave the saving up to God.

 

Shalom

Mandy