Words Always Necessary!
I Didn't Say That!
"Preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words." If you are a Christian, you might of have heard or read this quote once are twice and if you haven't before, well, you have now. And perhaps your first reaction is "cool quote", it was certainly my reaction. This quote has been attributed to the late St. Francis of Assisi (1181 or 1182 - 1226) though there is no church history to support the claim that he even uttered it. Though it sounds like something he would of said.
But "why is he calling upon Church History to weigh in on a "cool" quote, you ask? Well, what if I told you that it wasn't such a "cool quote", perhaps you would consider the possibility for a moment, then retreat to the opine, that thats my opine. But what then, if I said that the quote was not biblical, that rather than affirming a biblical truth it served to undermine a truth at worse; obscuring at best, the union between a life which reflects the gospel and the audible proclamation of the gospel, seemingly tipping the scale of a well balanced Christian life, toward a well lived yet silent Christian life.
Mood Captured In a Quote
I wanted to write about this quote when I too was brought to the reality that the statement, lacked biblical footing. And I was reminded of how careful the Christian must be in what he/she ingests and subsequently applies to their theological framework. Fingers on the pulse of Christendom; God was gracious to highlight that this was not only a personal revelation of lack prudence in discernment (granted we all will experience lapses in discernment as we are being sanctified), this was not even entirely about one quote; the panorama scope of the mood that the quote captures in the evangelical community today was what was brought into focus.
A mood that is secular in nature (Secularization): where the admonition of the Great Commission would stand to repudiate one of the core doctrines of secularization, that being relativity: the rejection of an absolute reality. Ever been to office Christmas party or social and heard this phrase of governance spoken over the proceedings "there are two things not be discussed at office socials Religion and Politics", well, "politics" I can understand. Though sometimes well intentioned; it is a type of 'burying of the head in the sand' a cowardice really; when issues of contention may arise, silence is the battle cry to insure comfort for all; with tolerance as the banner; and relativity reigns as king. This mood to the Christian, can dampen theological convictions, biblical faithfulness.
Quiet Gospel?
Our flesh is susceptible to this thinking which, among other things, results in the gospel being shared less and less, if at all, by more and more believers today. It can nature our flesh in a few ways:
1.It nurtures fear in the Christian that is conscious of his/her duty to preach the gospel. That fear can produce negative habits in those who genuinely want to share the gospel. The feeling of inadequacy; that he/she is unequipped and lacking the vernacular and knowledge to share the gospel (2 Peter 1:3-4) 2) most crippling of all, doubting that the gospel is sufficient in producing salvation (Rom. 1:16).
2. It nurtures an unbiblical pursuit for comfort in this life (particularly in our social lives); and frequently masks itself as tolerance or open-mindedness, towards people and there beliefs. This "unbiblical comfort" renders the audible proclamation of the gospel as a nuisance; a disturbance to the peace that supposedly is to come from silence. Ultimately it stands to rob the Christian of the joy that is to be experienced in suffering as part of our sanctification (James 1:2-4); leaving any 'Theology of Suffering' susceptible to be hijacked by our circumstances. It hinders us from sharing in the suffering (even if just socially) of our savior (1 Peter 4:12-13).
3.Practically, adopting the idea that the bare minimum (as to do with knowledge) of the faith is enough. Which provides a convenient scape-goat of ignorance, as a means of dodging tough situations and questions to protect our idol, called comfort.
4. It also nurtures an unbiblical view on how to love others, inside and outside the household of faith. And solicits an unfaithful handling of the scriptures to join in on the self deception. By seeking not to offend, stay silent, not giving to the lost the one message that can save them; then implementing a hermeneutic of scripture that is subjectively ambiguous in nature to further cement the misguided love. In the church accountability is rendered obsolete; holiness is obscured and the gospel displayed (The Church) is mared to onlookers.
Words Matter!
The idea that we can just live our Christian lives without talking about what the cause is that brought about this change is, to put it gently, a lie from the pit of hell. The lie doesn't stop there, it goes on to tell us that, actually people can come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ without us uttering a word, just by observing us.We be reminded that we belong to and serve a God who had 66 books worth of information to say, and it could have been more, and a lot of times we think 66 books is too much; he spoke things into being using, you guessed it, words (Gen.1&2), and Jesus is described as the agent through which all things were made, the Word made flesh (John 1:1-4). Words matter to God and they should matter to us.
(To learn more about how we are to stewart our words; I recommend War of Words by Paul David Trip)
Words Speak Just as Loud as Action
Does this guy have it out for quotes? Specifically speaking, in the realm of evangelism our words matter very much. The words "if necessary" are crude and cold shackles to place upon the glorious, life giving, life sustaining, blood soak message of the Gospel. It certainly impedes, if obeyed, the forward progress of the 'Great Commission' as handed down from our savior as his final marching orders, to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).
No where in Scripture is there an explicit or implicit (for that matter) text which suggest that, the Gospel can be summed up; comprehended; then empowered by the Holy Spirit, resulting in regeneration of a soul by observing a Christians deeds.
I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Ephesians (Eph. 1:13) "In him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." And his words to the Romans (Rom.10:14-16) "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
If the bible is clear on anything, it is certainly clear that a Christian must be many things (as imputed by Christ's life, death, burial and resurrection being the source of a Christian's ontology) one thing we should not be, is silent in proclaiming the good news.
Whether in defense or proclamation words must be used. But to practice silence and implement just gesture in the place of life given words of the gospel beloved, is to hate and not to love.
Deeds Matter; But Do Not Save
Closing Words
To communicate ones world view however, is to simultaneously refute someone else's; this being inescapable as truth by definition is exclusive. What we have Christian is a message that is the lense through which all of reality is to be seen and lived. Preach it to everyone; preach it to yourself. Be promiscuous with the gospel; may it come out of your mouth like loose bowels.
"Preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words." If you are a Christian, you might of have heard or read this quote once are twice and if you haven't before, well, you have now. And perhaps your first reaction is "cool quote", it was certainly my reaction. This quote has been attributed to the late St. Francis of Assisi (1181 or 1182 - 1226) though there is no church history to support the claim that he even uttered it. Though it sounds like something he would of said.
But "why is he calling upon Church History to weigh in on a "cool" quote, you ask? Well, what if I told you that it wasn't such a "cool quote", perhaps you would consider the possibility for a moment, then retreat to the opine, that thats my opine. But what then, if I said that the quote was not biblical, that rather than affirming a biblical truth it served to undermine a truth at worse; obscuring at best, the union between a life which reflects the gospel and the audible proclamation of the gospel, seemingly tipping the scale of a well balanced Christian life, toward a well lived yet silent Christian life.
Mood Captured In a Quote
I wanted to write about this quote when I too was brought to the reality that the statement, lacked biblical footing. And I was reminded of how careful the Christian must be in what he/she ingests and subsequently applies to their theological framework. Fingers on the pulse of Christendom; God was gracious to highlight that this was not only a personal revelation of lack prudence in discernment (granted we all will experience lapses in discernment as we are being sanctified), this was not even entirely about one quote; the panorama scope of the mood that the quote captures in the evangelical community today was what was brought into focus.
A mood that is secular in nature (Secularization): where the admonition of the Great Commission would stand to repudiate one of the core doctrines of secularization, that being relativity: the rejection of an absolute reality. Ever been to office Christmas party or social and heard this phrase of governance spoken over the proceedings "there are two things not be discussed at office socials Religion and Politics", well, "politics" I can understand. Though sometimes well intentioned; it is a type of 'burying of the head in the sand' a cowardice really; when issues of contention may arise, silence is the battle cry to insure comfort for all; with tolerance as the banner; and relativity reigns as king. This mood to the Christian, can dampen theological convictions, biblical faithfulness.
Quiet Gospel?
Our flesh is susceptible to this thinking which, among other things, results in the gospel being shared less and less, if at all, by more and more believers today. It can nature our flesh in a few ways:1.It nurtures fear in the Christian that is conscious of his/her duty to preach the gospel. That fear can produce negative habits in those who genuinely want to share the gospel. The feeling of inadequacy; that he/she is unequipped and lacking the vernacular and knowledge to share the gospel (2 Peter 1:3-4) 2) most crippling of all, doubting that the gospel is sufficient in producing salvation (Rom. 1:16).
2. It nurtures an unbiblical pursuit for comfort in this life (particularly in our social lives); and frequently masks itself as tolerance or open-mindedness, towards people and there beliefs. This "unbiblical comfort" renders the audible proclamation of the gospel as a nuisance; a disturbance to the peace that supposedly is to come from silence. Ultimately it stands to rob the Christian of the joy that is to be experienced in suffering as part of our sanctification (James 1:2-4); leaving any 'Theology of Suffering' susceptible to be hijacked by our circumstances. It hinders us from sharing in the suffering (even if just socially) of our savior (1 Peter 4:12-13).
3.Practically, adopting the idea that the bare minimum (as to do with knowledge) of the faith is enough. Which provides a convenient scape-goat of ignorance, as a means of dodging tough situations and questions to protect our idol, called comfort.
4. It also nurtures an unbiblical view on how to love others, inside and outside the household of faith. And solicits an unfaithful handling of the scriptures to join in on the self deception. By seeking not to offend, stay silent, not giving to the lost the one message that can save them; then implementing a hermeneutic of scripture that is subjectively ambiguous in nature to further cement the misguided love. In the church accountability is rendered obsolete; holiness is obscured and the gospel displayed (The Church) is mared to onlookers.
Words Matter!
The idea that we can just live our Christian lives without talking about what the cause is that brought about this change is, to put it gently, a lie from the pit of hell. The lie doesn't stop there, it goes on to tell us that, actually people can come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ without us uttering a word, just by observing us.We be reminded that we belong to and serve a God who had 66 books worth of information to say, and it could have been more, and a lot of times we think 66 books is too much; he spoke things into being using, you guessed it, words (Gen.1&2), and Jesus is described as the agent through which all things were made, the Word made flesh (John 1:1-4). Words matter to God and they should matter to us.
(To learn more about how we are to stewart our words; I recommend War of Words by Paul David Trip)
Words Speak Just as Loud as Action
No where in Scripture is there an explicit or implicit (for that matter) text which suggest that, the Gospel can be summed up; comprehended; then empowered by the Holy Spirit, resulting in regeneration of a soul by observing a Christians deeds.
I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Ephesians (Eph. 1:13) "In him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit." And his words to the Romans (Rom.10:14-16) "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
If the bible is clear on anything, it is certainly clear that a Christian must be many things (as imputed by Christ's life, death, burial and resurrection being the source of a Christian's ontology) one thing we should not be, is silent in proclaiming the good news.
Whether in defense or proclamation words must be used. But to practice silence and implement just gesture in the place of life given words of the gospel beloved, is to hate and not to love.
Deeds Matter; But Do Not Save
Now I hear the chatter "is he saying that deeds don't matter?" Absolutely not! In the Christians life, deeds, though not the root of our ontology, gives evidence to our being as new creatures in Christ (Matt. 5:16; John 13:35; Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:1; Titus 1:16) etc. But all these references have something in common, as you will see with any text befitting the context of good works. They all proceed having been born again, or establishing the distinction between saved and unsaved; always with the indicative of what Christ has done on the cross and has imputed to the now Christian. Through, you guest it the preaching of the Gospel (using words Rom.10:14-16). "Good works do not lead to salvation: salvation leads to good works."
Closing Words
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