Earlier this week I read a great piece by Ed Seltzer which exploded a myth that is very popular in the church today. I'm told it is ubiquitous on Facebook, and I have heard it repeated constantly. It is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary."
What's the problem with this nice quote? One, according to Church Historian Mark Galli, there is no record that Francis ever said such a thing. In fact, he founded the Franciscan order, which is a preaching order. St. Francis sometimes preached 5 times a day, presumably using words! The second problem is that it is not even a biblical sentiment. Here's what I mean:
Is it possible to preach not using words? Yes. We have the biblical example of creation in Psalm 19:1-4 -
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world...
In the New Testament, we have the word to Christian wives, who can win their unbelieving husbands to the Lord by their behavior rather than by their words - "In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives" (1 Peter 3:1-2).
Again, Mark Galli comments -
"'Preach the gospel; use words if necessary' goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning. It subtly denigrates the high value that the prophets, Jesus, and Paul put on preaching. Of course, we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns."
The NT puts it like this -
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? (Romans 10:14).
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? (Romans 10:14).
You can read the entire article by clicking HERE. In sum, we preach the gospel and use words because they are necessary; always remembering our words are much more effective if they are backed by a good example!
Love in Jesus,
Pastor John Christie
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