GO AND TELL (Words, Part 4)

I purchased it, 50% off: The Life Principles Bible by syndicated pastor and author, Charles Stanley. It wasn’t that I needed a new Bible—I just liked the study’s content, and it was the first NASB (New American Standard Bible) I had ever gotten, although more recently I had been looking up passages in the version online for comparison.

It’s a good resource; I’ll read through it at some point, I thought to myself.

But a few months passed, and I hadn’t touched it. In fact, I had even purchased another one in the interim that bumped it lower on my priority list. So when my brother, who was visiting from out-of-town for Christmas, popped his head into my room needing a Bible to take with him on a prayer-themed conference, I handed it over—shiny and new.

It was the last time I would see the Bible. It wasn’t lost or stolen: my brother gave it away—to someone who didn’t have one. I couldn’t complain—sharing is what our faith should be about. And because The Gospel is the most important words we can share—discussing it is the best place to begin the end of this series.

Presenting the Message

Clearly, we’re called to share our faith using more than just words. Jesus repeated that our actions should draw people to Him, and throughout the epistles our Christ-like behavior in all circumstances is described as critical to the process.

Yet the command to use words also is clear. After his resurrection Jesus told his disciples in Mark 16: 15-"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Mark 16: 14-18 explains the command as including verbal communication: "Inform[ing people] concerning Christ, the history of his life, and death, and resurrection; instruct[ing] them in the meaning and intention of these, and of the advantages which the children of men have, or may have, hereby; and invit[ing] them, without exception, to come and share in them. This is gospel. Let this be preached in all places, to all persons.’’

Further, in Romans 10:14-15, Paul asks, “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? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

The Divide

But the biblical mandate to share our faith verbally is often complicated by the debate in Christian circles about how to do it. Some think more raw approaches that involve talking to strangers, such as “open-air evangelism”—passing out tracks on street corners or giving the gospel message in public places—or striking up conversations with people unknown to ask questions like, “if you were to die tonight, do you think you’d go to heaven?” are tactics to be avoided. They argue instead the focus should be on lifestyle and building long-term relationships that eventually provide the opportunity to share. Others think methods that don’t include speaking to strangers about the gospel aren’t bold enough, given that receiving Jesus is the difference between eternal death and forever life. Still others are somewhere in between—or have no opinion.

A couple years ago I went to a conference where the debate was addressed at one of the workshops. The presenter, a full time, open-air evangelist, blasted a famous quote by St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

“Yeah we can ‘preach’ with actions, but what we need more is direct words. We have to reach everyone—even the people we don’t know, and we do that with strong words,” he said.

While I had some disagreement with the presenter’s approach, his point struck me. Despite our calling to use words, we don’t as much as we should. If we embrace any means of sharing our faith, often it’s solely the “lifestyle” model. And it’s easy to say that the opportunities for verbal communication of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection will simply flow from our behavior. But in reality, it really isn’t all that fluid. If we don’t intend to share the gospel, when opportunities come up in existing relationships we’re more likely to shy away from the potentially uncomfortable, confrontational responses that can follow. And if we dodge every opportunity, we’ll never share!

At the same time, given the reoccurring Biblical command to love, and looking at Jesus’ life, and that of his followers, building relationships and performing works was the anchor for drawing people to Him. Undoubtedly, sharing by lifestyle presents opportunities that striking-it-up-with-strangers can’t. Also, it isn’t always practical—or allowable—to use words, especially in places such as work, where the “open-air” tactics might get you fired. Another issue is sensitivity to others’ beliefs; for example, in a number of circumstances pointedly saying to others, especially someone who belongs to another faith, “you need to accept Jesus now” can be insulting, ruin a friendship or foreclose any discussion on faith ever again. And we likely wouldn’t want someone of another faith to use that approach with us.

Balance

In light of straddling the two polar views, both of which I believe have some merit, I would modify St. Francis of Assisi’s quote to “Preach the gospel at all times, and when there’s an opportunity, use words.” It might just be semantics—perhaps his definition of “necessary” would include “whenever there’s an opportunity,” but for clarity, I’d make the change. Ultimately, God is The One who does the saving; no effort of ours can win someone else to Christ. But as Christians, we’re also meant to be his ambassadors here on earth, which requires making a choice to work for Christ to reach people with the Gospel in a variety of ways.

Once we decide to actively share our faith with others, it’s our responsibility to open ourselves up to His leading and receive opportunities to join in the work. As we’re seeking Him daily, watching our teaching and lifestyle closely, we allow His Spirit to give us wisdom about how and when to present our faith to others—in word and deed.

The Early Church as a Model

I love how the New Testament is filled with great examples of early church members preaching the gospel with life and language. In Acts 2: 42-47, we see the results of believers reaching out to meet peoples’ physical needs along with the spiritual: the number of believers increased “daily” (v. 47).

Another account in Acts 8:26-40 involves the apostle Philip being led by the Spirit down a road where an important Ethiopian official, a eunuch, “happened” to be reading a passage in Isaiah prophesying Jesus’ death that he couldn’t understand. The encounter began by Philip asking a simple question: “Do you understand what you’re reading?” (v. 30). Verse 31 provides the eunuch’s response: “’How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’” Through Philip’s elaboration of “the good news” (v. 35), he accepted Jesus right there! And the eunuch’s salvation was part of God’s plan to take the gospel to all ends of the earth!

And finally, among many others, there’s the conversion of the “God-fearing” Italian centurion in Acts 10, where Peter not only shared the gospel, but also was convicted about his own prejudice. That’s the power of the gospel, and yet another reason we’re called to share it—we’re changed in the process, too!

Your Backyard

I think the story of how my brother gave my Bible away also is worth telling. He was in the airport, on his way back from the conference on prayer. He still had the bright-colored band on his wrist that he had been required to wear to events all week. A woman working at the airport approached him. Pointing to the band, she asked:

“What’s that from?”

“A conference,” he said, and gave her details about the event.

Interested, she peppered him with more questions:

“Do you have to be a Christian to go?”
“What else did you do there?”
“Do you pray to Mary?”

He answered her questions, and asked if she had a Bible to get more answers. She mentioned she might have one “somewhere on a shelf,” but wasn’t sure.

“You can take mine,” he said, fishing for it and handing it to her.

She got excited. “Wow, this is really nice—you’re giving this to me? I’ve been wanting to read the Bible; I’ll start after work!”

“Great,” he said, and pointed her to some specific books of the Bible that further addressed her questions.

Taking Every Chance

That encounter could have gone many different ways. God gave the opportunity, but my brother had to choose to be used by speaking openly to a stranger rather than deflect conversation, as we can be tempted to do in such situations. But because he responded to the opportunity, trusting God to give Him the words to say, someone heard more about Jesus, got a new Bible that she’s probably reading right now, and may have her life revolutionized by The Cross.

Some people are in a spiritual position that all they need to receive life everlasting is for a stranger to ask them one, pointed question about salvation. Others would never respond to that, but may be persuaded by more practical gestures of love over time. We can’t make that call; only He can. But we can use every kind of opportunity He gives us to go and tell.