Watch Weekend Sermon - Entries tagged "Evangelism"

St. Francis of Assisi once said this: "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."  I remember that when I heard this for the first time I thought it was a profound comment.  "Deep, man," said I.  However, the more I thought about it, and the more I looked in God's Word the more I didn't like it.  I  get what Francis meant - that we are to live our lives in a manner worthy of our calling and that our actions speak loudly of our faith - I understand what he's saying.  But unfortunately even though I understand him...I'm pretty certain that Francis was wrong.

To live our lives as though we believe the gospel is another matter entirely from actually sharing it.  Romans 10:14 gives to us the foundation of this thinking:  "And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"  Translation:  Words are important.  If we don't say something, people don't hear anything, and when people don't hear anything, they can't believe the gospel.

Here's the deal, each and every time we share Christ with others around us, we need to be asking ourselves if there were some critical elements present when we spoke. Without these, the good news of Jesus Christ has not been shared, we haven't done what we've been asked to do, and Romans 10:14 sits before our eyes unfulfilled.  Here's a list of the critical elements:

1.  Statement of the Facts – You and I are serious trouble

So ask yourself these questions next time you've shared Christ with someone:  Were the facts given? Was a response called for?  Was the promise promised?

If so, the gospel was preached in a much truer way than with just actions.  Sorry Francis.