Preach the Gospel With Words
The quote, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words," is attributed to Francis of Assisi, but not proven. I had this quote on the "Pray For Me" page, but have removed it. It's a good sentiment, yes, but not based in fact. Yes, we are the light of the world and should shine the love of Jesus everywhere we go, but more than that, we must teach the lost the truth of the Word. This is done with words.
Larry and I go to a truck stop in Hermon, ME on Thursdays to enjoy lunch together. The wait people there are kind and serve us well. They are respectful, funny, caring and demonstrate the attributes of God's love to us. Know what? Upon questioning them, we have found out they don't have Jesus as Savior at all. Their motivation in being so caring is a good tip. They know that if they take care of our needs we will leave them a good tip.
We could leave the truck stop and go on our merry way each week knowing that they saw us bow our heads over the food and give a blessing of thanks for it. They have also seen us demonstrate love and caring back to them, and we are always generous with the tip. But, if they don't hear the name of Jesus, how will they know who we represent? How will they come to know the Savior and accept Him as Lord and King of their lives?
Yes, we must live out our faith in public as a demonstration of our allegiance to the Father Creator, but, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:14, 15)
If you read the Bible, you will find the Scripture written that says, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). This was spoken by Jesus after His resurrection. He had appeared to Mary Magdalene, and when she told the Apostles Jesus had risen, they did not believe her. Jesus then appeared to two of the disciples, and when they came and told Whom they had seen, they did not believe them either. It was only when Jesus appeared in person to the remaining 11 Apostles themselves that they believed. Jesus was disappointed in them and scolded them for their unbelief. They knew that "Out of the mouths of two or three witnesses, a thing shall be established" (Matthew 18:16; II Corinthians 13:1) and God had sent three witnesses.
You see, Jesus sends us preachers to proclamation His reality to the world. If we sit there looking pretty, clean someone's toilet, or mow the church lawn, we are showing we care, but that does not mean we are teaching them about the Lord Jesus.
Who are the preachers that will go forth "into all the world" with the Word? Glad you asked. You born-again Christians are the preachers that Jesus sent out. You are the ones that must go into all the world and teach and preach the soon coming of the risen King. You are the ones who are under assignment to preach! Not every preacher is a pastor, but every person who opens their mouth to proclaim the truth of Jesus till He comes is a preacher and doing the job Jesus sent them to do.
Should our lifestyles and our public and private behavior be a message about Jesus? They absolutely should. Should we trust that alone to draw people into salvation? I don't think so. God gave us words to use, and if we neglect them, we are neglecting our duty to Him. He doesn't ask much of us. We are to be born again and baptized. We are to pray and study the Bible so that we can become more like His dear Son. And we are to "go" into the field and bring in the harvest for the kingdom.
In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
We all know who the Jews are, but many are not sure who the Greeks are. It's not just the people from Greece, it's all nationalities that are not Jewish. They are called the nations. It's to both of these people groups that we must preach. Jesus came for the House of Israel first, then for us. We all have the same right to know and accept, but if no one tells us about it, how can we know? Be good preachers. Tell everyone you know about Jesus. You'll find out how many Christians are in your part of the world who are not talking openly about Jesus. You can encourage those who are saved to preach to those who are not.
