In a recent article for Outreach, Ed Stetzer writes: “There’s a popular saying often repeated by Christians. It has found new life on Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you have even uttered these words, commonly at tributed to Francis of Assisi: ‘Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.’
“I think we can appreciate what many are getting at when they say something like this. As Christians, we should live in such a way that our lives point to the person and work of Jesus. However, good intentions cannot overcome two basic problems with this quote and its supposed origin. One, Francis never said it, and two, the quote is not biblical.
“Mark Galli has pointed out that there is no record of Francis, a member of a preaching order, uttering anything close to this. In fact, everything we know about the man suggests he would not have agreed with his supposed quote. He was well known for his preaching and often preached up to five times a day.
“The idea may not have resonated with Francis; but for many today, wordless ministry is a compelling approach. ‘Words are cheap,’ we like to say, and ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ Galli explains the sentiment complements our culture rather well:
“‘Preach the gospel; use words if necessary’ goes hand in hand with a postmodern assumption that words are finally empty of meaning. It subtly denigrates the high value that the prophets, Jesus and Paul put on preaching. Of course, we want our actions to match our words as much as possible. But the gospel is a message, news about an event and a person upon which the history of the planet turns.
“And this is the real problem—not from whom the quote originally came, but just how it can give us an incomplete understanding of the gospel and how God saves sinners. Christians are quick to encourage each other to ‘live out the gospel,’ to ‘be the gospel’ to our neighbors, and to ‘gospel each other.’ The missional impulse here is helpful, yet the gospel isn’t anything the Christian can live out, practice or become.
“The apostle Paul summarized the gospel as the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through whom sin is atoned for, sinners are reconciled to God and the hope of the resurrection awaits all who believe.
“The gospel is not habit, but history. The gospel is the declaration of something that actually happened. Because the gospel is the saving work of Jesus, it isn’t something we can do; but it is something we must announce. We do live out its implications, but if we are to make the gospel known, we will do so through words.”