A Wordless Gospel is Like a Digitless Phone Number
January 12th, 2010
How many times have you bumped into the expression, “Preach the Gospel, if necessary, use words.” I detest that expression. I think I understand why some people like it, they want to emphasize the need to not only be hearers, but doers of the Word. OK, I get that, but the vast majority of those who use the phrase do so to denigrate doctrine, to advocate the whole “deeds not creeds” mentality. Well, I overheard on Justin Taylor‘s blog this wonderful retort, which I will use each time I hear this expression, going forward:
Saying “Preach the gospel; if necessary use words” is like saying “Tell me your phone number; if necessary use digits.”
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Categories: Theology
This phrase has been attributed to Francis of Assisi but I’ve never seen solid proof that he said it.
There is no Gospel outside of the Word.
Christine
My understanding of the origins of that phrase is that it comes from St. Francis of Assisi, and was his advice to his friars when they were sent out to be missionaries in lands where they did not speak the native idiom. There is a story in the Franciscan legendarium about a group of friars sent from Italy to Germany who got into serious trouble because the only German they knew was “Ja.” Things went well until they were asked if they were heretics…
How can we just say “I like this” as one would do on facebook, because “I like this.”
Certainly the Gospel can’t be preached without words: “And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
But the comparison isn’t all that apt. Is a phone number anything but digits? No. But is the Gospel merely words? No. “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
I think the phrase is useful in reminding us, as you note, that people are more apt to listen if we actually show that God loves them (through our own actions), and do not merely preach at them.
It is also true in the degenerate case: it is necessary, so do use words.
If we do not use words to preach the gospel, aren’t we then “preaching” a gospel of works? Think about it.
I think a reference to Romans 10:9 would be in order: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” That reads to me as if verbal testimony is more than just a last resort.
I heard someone say once that good deeds, without words, only communicate the message, “I am a good person.”
Only explicitly giving the glory to Jesus communicates the gospel.
Lol! Or as my dear wife would put it: hehehe. Absolutely love this retort!
Doesn’t the word “gospel” literally mean “good announcement?”
“Call me on the phone. If necessary, call me on the phone.”
This reminds me of the book, The Vanishing Word: The Veneration of Visual Imagery in the Postmodern World (Focal Point Series) (Paperback), by Arthur W. Hunt III (Author), Gene Edward, Jr. Veith (Editor). The book takes a look at words as communication being gradually replaced by graphics and images, and sees it as a disturbing trend. There is something about words as a language that can’t be replaced by other ways. Words forces us to think. Jesus is called the WORD in the Bible and that God created the universe using words.
Link to THE VANISHING WORD book online at Amazon for additional information –
http://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Word-Veneration-Imagery-Postmodern/dp/158134404X/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added