A phrase I’ve often heard said in Christian circles is: ‘preach the gospel if necessary use words’. But where does the saying ‘Preach the Gospel, if necessary use words’ come from? It was a quote that was credited to St Francis of Assisi, and many people over the centuries referred back to him regarding this quote. The only problem is there is no record of him ever saying this.¹ But more importantly it isn’t Biblical.

When we read about the spreading of the Gospel in the book of Acts, it is evident that it is a message that is proclaimed. In Acts chapter 2 we read of the Holy Spirit descending powerfully on the Jews on the day of Pentecost. We read in verse 2 that they ‘were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And in verse 14 it says Peter ‘lifted up his voice and addressed them’, he used words to address the Jews with his sermon.  

If you’re like me you don’t like watching the news. It’s depressing, it’s dull and it’s usually bad news. But sometimes when I want to find out about what’s going on in the world I will tune in. Imagine if I turned on my television eagerly waiting to hear what is going on in the world, and the news presenter is silent. But instead of reading from their script, they get up from their news desk, and start dancing. And the point they were making was we are supposed to figure out what the news is, from their dancing. Now that would be hilarious! But I would be frustrated, as if I wanted to see dancing and entertainment I would go to the theatre. But I wanted to hear the news as the information was important to me. Of course news presenters don’t do that! But let’s face it, it would make the news a lot less dull. My point is though, that news is meant to be spoken for people to hear.

Jesus commissions his disciples in Matthew 28:19 to ‘…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…’ and in Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation’. I would like to think we can all agree that words are important, however God’s Words are powerful and ‘mighty to save’ to quote a famous Christian hymn.

I was recently chatting to my wife about what some of the most difficult fundraising activities could be. We both agreed that a ‘sponsored’ silence must be one of the most difficult, especially for me! It would be difficult because we all need to speak words. We need to speak at the checkout when we are giving thanks to the cashier. We need to speak words when we are wishing our partners a good day at work. And we speak to our Lord when we are offering thanks and praise to Him for all he’s done for us.

These are all messages that we must speak every day. So if words are important for us day-to-day, then how much more important are the words of everlasting life in the gospel? It is the gospel that is the most important message that we can speak, and that we hear. As Christians we, more than anybody in the world, have good reason to speak this message to those who don’t know it. It is a message that is powerful and describes how God saved us through sending his Son the Lord Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

In the Bible we read of the Apostle Paul writing to the Church in Rome and he says in Romans chapter 1 verse 16: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone that believes’. Paul had a God-given message that he proclaimed through words through his letters and teaching. He taught up-and-coming pastors and leaders and he taught Jews that were quite learned in the faith. Paul knew that the gospel must be spoken out. The gospel literally means ‘good news’, as it is a message of God saving us from our sins.

Peter preaches a sermon to the Jews on the day of Pentecost using words. He says in Acts 2:22 ‘Men of Israel, hear these words’: it is a powerful message that we hear spoken to us and that we dare not neglect. I love going to Church and hearing the gospel proclaimed.

Worldliness
Sadly in the United Kingdom and most of the western world the Gospel has often been put aside at the expense of ‘entertainment’ to please people. The results of this are catastrophic. Christian research leader George Barna stated that “A large majority of non-Christians in the US do not hear the gospel during a typical year. Worse, when they do have the Christian faith verbally presented to them shockingly few hear a biblical form of the gospel,”.²

Barna was speaking of Christians in churches, and it’s a sad fact that should grieve us all when the gospel is not proclaimed in these churches. What’s even sadder is the fact that entertainment instead has become the priority, as if churches will ‘fun’ people to Christ. The Bible warns us against carnal means in 1 John 2:15 it says ‘Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them’.

Dr John MacArthur, who Pastors Sun Valley Community Church in California, also recognizes this worrying trend in his country. He says ‘Scripture is no longer the authoritative guide for ministry; the marketing plan is’. He also says ‘of this approach that ‘…a human strategy not the Word of God becomes the fountain of all Church activity and the standard by which ministry is measured’.³ Now that’s not

to say that using modern musical instruments, and big screen monitors, and advanced PA systems is wrong, because these are helpful tools for helping people in worship.

There was one pastor who was preaching a sermon and during the sermon he had asked a couple from the church to dress up in their wedding outfits. Then they walked down the aisle to wedding music, and were interviewed in the platform in a parody. Was it fun for people involved? I’m sure. Was it entertaining? Sure. Did people approve and enjoy it? Yes and no.

However, irrespective of public opinion surely the best questions we can ask are, was it Biblical and in line with how the gospel is to be preached? No. Was it distracting from the gospel? Yes.  Was it helpful in building up the Church? No. I don’t believe anyone involved was deliberately trying to hinder the preaching of the gospel. I believe it was sincere people doing what they believed was the right thing to do. The Bible however, is clear regarding what message is to be shared.

We can be reminded of the Apostle Paul’s stern warning to the Galatians in Galatians 1:8 ‘But even if we or an Angel from Heaven should preach to you contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed’. And he says in verse 10 ‘For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ’.

Dr John MacArthur – ‘Scripture is no longer the authoritative guide for ministry; the marketing plan is’. He also says ‘of this approach that ‘…a human strategy not the Word of God becomes the fountain of all Church activity and the standard by which ministry is measured’.

It never ceases to amaze me at the lengths pastors go to gain the approval of people in a church service. One pastor in the United States came down from ceiling in the church auditorium, in a super hero-like entrance.⁴ Sadly again they have neglected their mandate as a pastor which is to preach the gospel to their congregation. What they are really saying when they do this is that God needs our help and we know better. After all why would they go to these extreme lengths if they believed God’s Word wasn’t powerful in and of itself to save?

The Church is like a boat and when it is floating above water all is well and good. However when the water starts coming into the boat it becomes problematic, as the boat could very well sink. Many churches are spiritually sinking because they are bringing in so much of the world’s culture.

Jesus questioned Peter’s love for him in John 21:17, and Peter said: ‘You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “then feed my sheep’. A church-goer from the United States by the name of Marusha was so sick and tired of her church pastors bringing worldly culture into the pulpits that she felt starved. She wrote: ‘Stop starving the sheep and catering to the goats’.⁵ She wasn’t a church pastor or a church leader as such, she just simply wasn’t fed with the Word of God from her pastors.

The Bible instructs gospel proclamation

Let’s think about this logically, it’s like saying: ‘be sure to breathe, if necessary use air’ or ‘walk along the pavement, if necessary use your feet’, or ‘eat food, if necessary digest’. It’s impossible to define these actions as such without the connected end result. And according to the Bible Salvation comes when the gospel is spoken and heard. The Apostle Paul in speaking to the Jews was very concerned that they be saved. In preaching the gospel he didn’t use actions, worldly gimmicks or any passive aggressive means.

He was just simply testifying from the scriptures, and warning about the importance of coming to a saving faith in Christ Jesus. Paul knew that if the Jews didn’t hear the gospel message then they would not be saved any other way. He says in Romans 10:14: ‘How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them’? He also says in verse 17 that ‘…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word about Christ’.

Instead of Jesus and the gospel message found in the Bible being the main attraction, we have made it about us. It’s become about exercising our creative control as we feel the gospel in and of itself, and God’s Words from the Bible aren’t enough. When we look at the Bible it is clear that God’s Word is powerful enough to save those who are perishing. Hebrews 4:12 says ‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart’.

Paul was relentless in not only proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers but also to Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul recognized the importance of instructing Church leaders too, so that they would be able to preach the gospel rightly. In 2 Timothy 4:2 Paul on his death-bed urges Timothy: ‘Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction’. This was Paul’s final charge to Timothy as he knew that he didn’t have many days left.

Conclusion
No church pastor or leader is perfect, but if they are teaching multitudes they must examine themselves in light of Scripture. The late Victorian preacher Charles Spurgeon spoke out when he saw other churches compromise on the gospel. Spurgeon responded to what’s known as the ‘Down Grade controversy’ where liberalism has crept into the church. Church leaders had started compromising the gospel message in certain areas.

Spurgeon recognized this was serious and said: ‘It is today as it was in the Reformer’s days. Decision is needed. Here is the day for the man, where is the man for the day? We who have had the gospel passed to us through martyr hands dare not trifle with it…’. He also goes on to say: ‘If the Lord does not speedily appear, there will come another generation, and another, and all these generations will be tainted and injured if we are not faithful to God and his truth today’. Spurgeon recognized the seriousness of compromising the Gospel message.⁶

There is also a common assumption that the gospel should only be preached to the unconverted. However again when we look at some examples from Scripture we find this unfounded. The Apostle Peter wrote to the Christians in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey) to encourage them during persecution. He wanted to encourage them that they were being saved amongst the trials they were facing. He says in 1 Peter 1:9: …’for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls’.  Paul in his letter to the Church of Thessalonica wrote in chapter 2 verse 8 ‘…we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well’. Furthermore more often than not there are non-converted people sitting in the pulpits at churches.

After proclaiming the gospel in John chapter 6 many of Jesus’ disciples left, as they weren’t interested in the hard truths of the gospel. However some stayed: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’. My hope is that we recognize that God’s Words and ways are more powerful than our words and ways. I hope when it comes to the gospel, whether one-on-one or speaking to a congregation, we can be God pleasers not man pleasers. This is my continued prayer and my continued hope.

¹ – https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-misquoting-francis-of-assisi

² – https://www.culturefaith.com/national-surveys-describe-the-state-christian-evangelism/

³ – MacArthur, John, Ashamed of the Gospel; When Churches become like the world, p61 – Wheaton Illinois, Crossway Books, 2010 – https://www.gracechurch.org/about

⁴ – A ‘repelling Pastor – Wretched TV – 2011 –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFv3pCzYhp0

^{5 –} https://suchwasi.wordpress.com/ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T39SunybIJU

⁶ – Spurgeon, Charles H., Holding fast to the faith sermon preached on February 5^th 1888 – https://spurgeongems.org/vols34-36/chs2007.pdf

Photo 1 credit: (c): alianzachicureo | http://www.alianzachicureo.cl/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/do-not-speak.jpg
Photo 2 credit: <a href=’http://www.freepik.com/free-photo/mime-holds-his-palms-parallel-in-the-air_1114022.htm’>Designed by Freepik</a>
Photo 3 credit: Raj Sahota
Photo 4 credit: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=101263
Photo 5 credit: Raj Sahota