The closest one can come to attributing such a statement to Francis would be to quote from his Rule 17 to his friars, which says ,. Nevertheless, let all the brothers preach by their works. It is both sad and self-defeating to the Church that this misunderstanding continues. Because the saying supports a false idea of the Gospel that assigns spiritual value to good deeds over preaching. So, evangelism without words might be the illegitimate child of cultural folly.
One thing is for certain: any concept of evangelism without words—the announcement of the Gospel of Jesus our Lord—is resolutely and irrefutably alien to the Bible and is, therefore, tragically mistaken. But we do not want to be misunderstood. James, the brother of our Lord, declared under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that faith without works is dead James But kingdom ethics — that is, attitudes and actions towards others by believers, e.
Thus, an evangelist might proclaim :. Transfer your trust from self or anything or anyone else on whom you depend for eternal life to the Lord Jesus Christ. And follow Him.
We proclaim with words, not merely deeds because this is the prescribed plan of God. After the natal and childhood passages, the Lord Jesus is introduced to the reader as a preacher. Noah preached. Isaiah preached. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul declared that the normative way for a person to be saved is for another person to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is no hint of merely living an upstanding moral life in order to attract others to Christ. They will open hearts to an interest in the gospel. But there will come a moment when you will need to tell your story. When you will need to tell the story from start to finish: sin and redemption, death and resurrection—and why it matters.
The truth is that no matter how much we try to live in a way that reveals the presence of Jesus, words will still be needed. At some point along the way, everyone needs to hear and comprehend the content of the gospel. Learn practical, biblical principles for sharing your faith with others.
The above post was adapted from material in the Organic Outreach online course , taught by Kevin Harney. Categories Ministry Online Courses. The Franciscans themselves widely refuse to attribute the quote to their founder, so it's likely that at some point — probably in the last years — an enthusiastic preacher somewhere simply made the leap in reading and approximating Francis' writing, and the phrase caught on. Loving the poor is absolutely Biblical. Caring for people, seeking justice, and as Francis rightly says, living an honest life free from hypocrisy, are all entirely Biblical.
But so, it seems to me, is the idea that the Christian gospel involves hearing as well as seeing; word as well as deed. In Romans 10 v 14, Paul writes: 'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And just in case you prefer to hear things from the horse's mouth, Jesus talks about or demonstrates proclamation often, in Mark 1 v and 16 v 15, in Matthew 4 v 17, Luke 3 v 3 and 8 v 1 and on various other occasions.
Jesus was the most perfect incarnation of Jesus possible - and yet he still used plenty of words to share the Gospel. It was something he saw as inconsistent with the One who, though rich, became poor that through his poverty we might become rich 2 Corinthians He parted with all that he had and took a vow of poverty which provided a clear witness to the gospel he preached.
Preaching was central to the ministry of Jesus. Preaching was clearly central in the Early Church too. And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? The early followers could not help but tell others of Jesus and what they had seen and heard, even when ordered by a court not to do so Acts
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