The Most Important Things

Poor St. Francis, so many people have blasted him for a comment he never made. Perhaps, you have heard the phrase: “preach the gospel, if necessary, use words”. A lot of people think St. Francis coined that phrase. (He didn’t, his real quote: In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars not to preach unless they had received the proper permission to do so. Then he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”) Regardless, that “deeds” theology has pervaded in Christianity. It’s wrong. It’s off-balance. In James’ epistle he covers faith and works, so I don’t need to here. But I do need to cover the truth that the gospel must be preached, not “worked”.

All throughout the bible, OT and NT, there are ample scriptures regarding the necessity of declaring truth with your mouth. It’s inescapable. But we have settled into a social justice/ works gospel, while in and of itself it’s not entirely wrong, it’s just not right. If all we had to do on Earth was build wells for clean water, feed the homeless and build shelters to get people saved; we’d be experts. However, God demands that we use our words to preach. Isaiah ponders the question of salvation, he writes: how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never HEARD about Him? And how can they HEAR about Him unless someone tells them?

In order to hear something, someone must say something. Take a look at Acts 8:26-39. Philip meets an Ethiopian Eunuch. He says to the eunuch, “do you understand what you are reading?” The Eunuch responds, “how can I unless someone instructs me?” Then it says, “Philip TOLD him the Good News about Jesus.” Notice it doesn’t say Philip dug him a well and the man got saved. Or that Philip gave him food for a year. (And all of those are necessities) It says, Philip told him the Good News. That is the REAL NECESSITY.

So why would we rather use words if necessary when it comes to preaching the gospel? Bottom line, social justice is easier. It’s not offensive or confrontational. We can perform social justice and the world will love us. It’s so hot right now, too. It’s also devoid of the power of God. For He says, “the Kingdom of God is not just in WORD, but in POWER.” God has built a throne of righteousness and justice. This world needs both. Not justice at the expense of righteousness. For with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.

Preach the Gospel, with your mouth.

A lot of people create doctrines. A lot of people don’t realize they create doctrines. Usually it masquerades as a “personal opinion” (as in, “that’s just my personal opinion”) or a tradition (as in, “I always do it that way). On the rare occasion it will manifest itself as a “personal preference” (as in, “I prefer to do it this way because…”). The problem with creating doctrines is that usually they are forged under adverse circumstances. Something you don’t agree with or dislike happens and you say, “I will never do it that way”. So, you create a doctrine that goes to the extreme opposite of your situation.

You may not ever think you have created a doctrine, but you have. You have initiated a process that will search out scriptures, quotes, etc; all to back up your opposite doctrine. For example, let’s say you don’t like plaid shirts, because someone you didn’t like very much always wore plaid shirts. You, then decide that in your new business venture none of your employees can wear plaid shirts. You cover it up with a sweeping generalization like, “nobody really looks good in plaid”. You have a created a doctrine, that is in turn a reaction to a circumstance.

This type of doctrine is dangerous. It’s how we get a lot of false doctrines within the body of Christ. It’s how prosperity teaching can get extreme and how poverty teaching can get extreme. Doctrines should never be formed in the midst of trial or circumstance. Doctrine must be created in the absence of tribulation and in the presence of God and His eternal truth.

Too many winds are blowing right now. We must stay rooted and grounded in love and in His Word. Balance is needed in the body of Christ. Otherwise the bride will stumble down the aisle on the way to the altar to meet her bridegroom. What doctrines have you created in response to a circumstance?

PS in the next post I will discuss how to tell if it’s good doctrine you have got a hold of!