How could Jesus’ disciples spread the word about Him without speech? How can we make disciples if we do not speak? How can we teach without talking? How could Jesus give commands without saying them? How indeed?
I had a relative I adored. She was the sweetest person I’d met to that point in my life. I had not yet surrendered to the Lord, but I had a feeling she was religious. Not until her funeral did I discover she was a Christian. She spoke not one word about Jesus or the Gospel to me and, years later, after my conversion, I felt a pang of disappointment. Why didn’t she say anything? Her good works led me nowhere except to respect her.
What does it mean to speak the Gospel? Should we show our faith by good works without verbally communicating the Gospel? Does speech surpass works, or do works eclipse speech? Or do they work in tandem?
I’ve recently heard one person criticize people who speak with people about Jesus and present the whole Gospel. He instead insists good works is enough. He said, “People will see I am a Christian when they see all the good I do.” But is it really enough to do and not speak? Dare we change or omit what Jesus commands?
Where Does the Bible Tell us to Speak the Gospel?
First, we should provide a definition: what is the Gospel? In a Word, the Gospel is Jesus, because He embodies salvation. Jesus means Savior (Matthew 1:21). Add Messiah (which means anointed), and we have a description – Anointed Savior. So, how then is Jesus the Gospel?
The root word for “gospel” is evangelism, or Good News. Jesus is the good news as was foretold in Scripture. You can replace the uses of the phrase “good news” in the New Testament with “Jesus,” except where He speaks of Himself as the good news. Mark tells us plainly Jesus is the Gospel (Mark 1:1, 14-15). To spell it out further, Jesus is the Second Adam, come to take away the sin of the world (imputed to us because of the first, human Adam’s sin). Jesus, fully God and fully man, died on the cross, was resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, His atoning work complete. We are the beneficiaries of His grace (Ephesians 2:5).
Jesus’ Great Commission
Matthew 18:18-20 constitutes our marching orders as Christians. Jesus told His disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How could Jesus’ disciples spread the word about Him without speech? How can we make disciples if we do not speak? How can we teach without talking? How could Jesus give commands without saying them? How indeed? According to John 17:20, we believe in Jesus through the disciples’ word. It’s amazing to think God can use us as His ambassadors to share the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Jesus chose to use human language to impart the Holy Bible to us. We have His Word, the Bible, to attest to the history of the heavens and the earth and — of paramount importance — God’s work in creation, restoration, and through Jesus Christ. As the New Testament was being written, the human authors shared the word about Jesus through what they wrote, via the Gospels, historical narrative, the epistles, and apocalyptic literature.
The book of Acts is full of the deeds of the Apostles, and when we study what they did, we see speaking was vital to their ministry. In Acts 20:19-21, in his address to the Ephesian church, Paul said, “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul served and spoke; he did not just do one or the other.
Later, in his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul says to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16,11:1). As Christ’s image-bearers (1 Corinthians 15:49), we imitate Him, as did His apostles and disciples before us (1 Corinthians 11:1).
A beautiful account of the Gospel’s impact is seen in Acts 5. In this narrative, many signs and wonders accompanied Peter and the Apostles in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders rose against them, had them arrested, and put them in a public prison (Acts 5:18). An angel of the Lord released them, to the dismay of the captain of the temple and the priests. The men were later found in the temple teaching people (Acts 5:25). The Jewish council brought them in for questioning and reiterated their charge to not teach about Jesus.
Peter gave them an inspired answer, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). He proceeded to share the Gospel with them and they “became enraged and wanted to kill them” (Acts 5:33). A Pharisee rose and proclaimed if their undertaking was of God, it would not fail, but if it was of men, it would indeed fail. The council called in the Apostles, charged them to not speak of Jesus again, beat them, and released them (Acts 5:40). And what did the Apostles do? They, “left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus” (Acts 5:41-42). Did it fail? Jesus continues to build His church, and nothing stopped or will stop Him (Matthew 16:18).
As part of their obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission, then, His Apostles and disciples spread the word by speech and writing. Yes, they tried to live exemplary lives, but that alone was not enough evidence to prove they were Christ-followers. Think about people such as Billy Graham, Jonathan Edwards, or Dwight L. Moody. These men fervently proclaimed the Gospel through their sermons and works. Today’s ministers of truth include Stephen Lawson, Kevin DeYoung, and John Piper, and many others, plus your faithful pastor who speaks the Word to you every Sunday.
Romans 10:17 is our sterling passage about hearing the Word which leads to faith, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Where Does the Bible Say We Are to Do Good Works?
Jesus, after His baptism and wilderness time, chose His disciples. Alongside them, He employed both His words and His deeds to testify to the truth (John 18:37; Luke 9). In Matthew 5:17, Jesus tells the crowd to go and let their light shine before men so they will see their good works and give glory to God.
Following are a few instances which show us how good works are to be used by Christians:
When Peter, by the power of the Spirit, raised Dorcas from the dead, the news of Jesus spread and many came to faith because of what happened (Acts 9:36-43).
Ephesians 2:10 says we are created in Christ Jesus for good works. The verse before states we are saved by God’s grace and not works. This is true of the doer and of the receiver.
Titus 2 is a mandate to teach sound doctrine, and along with teaching comes works — works which model a godly lifestyle.
Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” How can we stir one another up unless we speak?
In Galatians 3:5, Paul is arguing against salvation by works of the Law. He says, “Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—?”
James 2 speaks much of works accompanying faith. Repentance and faith always come first. Then come the works prepared for us by Christ (Ephesians 2:10).
How Can We Speak the Gospel?
We’ve seen it’s not enough to just perform good works. This is evidenced in a very popular saying, which is “Love them until they ask you why.” What if a person never asks why?
The apostle Paul once again gives us our mandate to share the Gospel in 1 Cor 9:16-18. “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.”
The majority of us are able to speak. All we need do is open our mouths.
What if they reject me? (It’s not you they reject but Christ).
What if I stumble? (It’s okay to say, “I don’t know, but let me get an answer for you.”)
I don’t feel prepared. (Not to sound harsh, but get prepared. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 always to be prepared to share the hope we have. Read, study, and meditate on the Word. There are scads of books on evangelism and plenty of them are free through library apps and ministry downloads.)
I’m afraid (Why on earth should we be afraid of men? They may present a wall, but our only fear should be one of reverence for the Lord, Matthew 10:28; 2 Corinthians 10:5).
Sharing the entire Gospel is the most loving thing we can do. Author Randy Alcorn said, “The world is the closest to Heaven unbelievers will ever know and the closest to Hell God's children will ever know.”
Hang out with people and get to know them. Conversations come easiest with those we know.
The majority of us can also hear. Jesus said, “He who has ears…” five times in the Gospels and in Revelation, He said, “Let him hear” eight times.
We can also share the Gospel through the written word—the Bible and books by men who have been called to share the Gospel through that medium. And lest I forget, the faithful writers who share through Bible Study Tools spend hours in study and research in order to proclaim the Gospel by handling God’s Word rightly. The writers of evangelical books share the Gospel through the written word, too. And this writer came to faith through a series of fictional books.
What if: Jesus came to earth and said nothing about the kingdom or about His purpose during the whole course of His life?
A conversation many of us would like to have been part of took place in Luke 24:13-35. Two of Jesus’ disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, ignorant of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus, as yet unknown to them, came and walked with them and listened to them bemoan the things that had just happened. He asked them what happened and they filled Him in concerning Jesus’ death and their hope He was “the one to redeem Israel.” They shared the report of the empty tomb and Jesus rebuked them for being so foolish. And in an act of astounding grace, Jesus spoke. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Can you imagine if He had said nothing?
May it break our hearts to think we may have said something and instead said nothing about the Gospel to our beloved ones before they died. Let’s proclaim the Gospel with joy.
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