You have To SPEAK the Gospel
There’s a statement that’s been floating around in Christianity for a long time. It was originally thought to have been written by St. Francis of Assisi, the father of the Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic Church, but after more detailed investigation, it’s been determined that’s likely not the case. We don’t know where it came from, but you’ll probably recognize it. Here’s the statement: “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” You’ve probably heard that said or read it somewhere. We see it on plaques. We see it on signs. You see it in artwork of all kinds.
“Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” I’d suggest while this is a quaint saying ,it’s actually a noxious, toxic weed in the gospel garden that’s very hard to kill. It’s a clever statement, and it lets you off the hook if you don’t feel like you want to say anything about the Gospel to someone. In theory there’s nothing wrong with the sentiment it tries to convey, but in practical reality it misses the target completely. The truth from a Biblical perspective is that gospel truth is communicated with words. The gospel is the most powerful message in the world. The apostle Paul in Romans chapter 1 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The power is in the gospel, and the gospel is a message that is to be communicated with words so that people can hear it and believe it.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:1, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved.” We’re given salvation life only when we hear and believe the Gospel. It has to be spoken to have an effect. Paul said the Gospel “I preached”!
Another passage making the same point is Romans 10:13-17. “13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 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? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent...17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” There are other scriptures that support the idea that the Gospel must be spoken. You can’t preach the gospel without words; the message is in the words.
Why am I saying this? Because in our world today, the gospel is being confused, and other messages are being mixed in with the true message of the Gospel. One time I heard a pastor whose message is focused on social justice say, “We have to say social justice is a gospel issue, or people won’t take it seriously.” So, because he had a social agenda he wants to be taken seriously, he labels it a gospel issue. This is frequently done and has been done in the life of the church throughout its history.
In our history, there’s been devastating ruin of churches and denominations because the gospel was redefined in a social way. In our day and time, it’s being done the same way taking all kinds of social causes that in themselves may be good and giving them a gospel spin so we can make people think they rise to the level of the absolute priority of the Word of God. If somebody wants a certain ethical issue to be given prominence, if someone has a social idea or a moral idea or some ideology they want people in the church to focus on, they’ll label it as a gospel issue! This confuses the gospel, dilutes the gospel, adds to the gospel.
In a recent survey of “Christians,” 50% of the people surveyed believe salvation is earned by good works. This is 50% of professing Christians who believe you earn your salvation by good works. They’re already at the point where they think works are what earns salvation. If you give them another social agenda and you make it a supposedly gospel issue, you just compound that error. When certain behaviors, certain actions, are elevated to the level of, “This is the gospel,” the true gospel is confused in the eyes of an already confused, professing church. The gospel’s not about any behavior. It’s not about any activity, any social cause, ethical cause, moral cause. Nowhere is the gospel something you do; it’s always something you believe. We never read anywhere in the New Testament, “Do the gospel”; but we do consistently read “Believe the gospel.”
The gospel is a message from heaven. Ephesians 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.” It’s the message of truth which is the gospel of your salvation. The gospel is truth from heaven about salvation which is to be spoken. It’s a good news message! We can’t understand the gospel unless we understand it as something to be communicated, something to be declared, announced, preached, and proclaimed. Throughout the book of Acts, we see the primary mission of the church is to preach or speak the Gospel.
Because the gospel is so essential, because the gospel is necessary, because there’s no salvation apart from hearing the gospel, the apostle Paul knew the gospel would be under attack. Imagine a church willing to teach a different gospel. This is such a problem that the apostle Paul came out blazing in the book of Galatians chapter 1 saying, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Gal. 1:6-8) Again, the gospel is something to be preached. It’s so precious that anyone who preaches a different or distorted gospel is cursed.
The Gospel is the message of Jesus Christ dying on the cross, being buried, rising from the dead to deliver humanity from sin, death and judgement. The Gospel is the message of salvation. When we’re talking about salvation, let’s be clear: we’re not talking about the Lord coming to rescue us from lack of purpose in our lives. We’re not talking about the Lord coming to rescue us from unfulfillment, or loneliness, or dissatisfaction, or unhappiness, or a bad marriage, or poverty, or abuse, or disappointment, or illness or something done to us in this life, or inequities. That’s not the gospel message. The Gospel is all about rescuing humanity from sin at a massive, all-encompassing level. The gospel is a message: the good news that you can be rescued from sin.
“Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” Yes, do good works, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widows and orphans, visit the prisoner, care for the sick, show the love of Jesus in every way. Live your life as a testimony before the world displaying how Jesus transformed you. Your life is a testimony. It’s a testimony of what the gospel has accomplished in your life. But your testimony will not save anyone, particularly a silent testimony where you’re just living your life, even if in a noble and righteous way!
Salvation’s not going to come to anybody who doesn’t hear the words of the gospel. You have to speak the gospel. The gospel is not behavior. You don’t do the gospel; you preach the gospel. Tell those in your sphere of influence how Jesus lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, rose victorious from the tomb because He loves people - He loves them and wants to have a personal vibrant life-giving relationship with them. Speak this Gospel of love! This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.