Either/Or

Written by cycleguy on April 21st, 2015

thefi5thgospel

One of the biggest discussions you might find within a church, small group, or just a bunch sitting around talking is the live vs. talk discussion. Either/Or.

Do we live the gospel?

Do we talk the gospel?

Here is my question: why can’t we have both?

I know the arguments vary.

“I don’t talk very well so I prefer to live it.”

“What good does it do to live it without talking about it?

“I don’t want to be one who doesn’t walk the walk and talk the talk.”

“What good does it do if someone talks it but doesn’t live it?”

You know the variations of the age old argument. I still contend: why can’t we have both?

Bobby mentions the old St. Francis saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary use words.” Three problems come with that. 1) He never said it. 2) He verbalized the Gospel every chance he had. 3) There is no dichotomy between our words and deeds. (p.167)

I have to admit, even though I am an extrovert, I am better at living than speaking. I know what it is. I don’t want to turn people off by “preaching” to them. Case in point: we have had someone visit the church since Easter (and I went to visit them last night). One of the things he said once before was he didn’t know I was a preacher when we met and worked out at the Y years ago. I raised my eyebrows like “is that good or bad?” He said, “No, it was good. You didn’t preach at me. You listened to music, talked and lifted weights. I appreciated that because where I was at that time I would not have taken it well.” Hmmmm.

But somehow I wonder if I failed by not speaking up. I guess what Bobby talked about is true: “By living out the Gospel, we gain credibility. By verbalizing the Gospel, we provide clarity.” (p.168)

It is easy to keep quiet about our faith. When we do speak, speak softly. Show respect. Be clear. But DO SPEAK!

What is your take on this?

 

12 Comments so far ↓

  1. Daniel says:

    This is kind of a side comment to your question, but sometimes without seeing the Gospel lived out, folks might not know how to proceed. Living the Gospel is not just going to church on Sunday and praying every now and then, but approaching each aspect of your life and making decisions based not on your selfish desires, but what God would have for us. I saw this, maybe for the first time, in a small group I was in many years ago that was attended by a couple. They shared with me how they made their faith part of their daily “practical” living. I saw exactly how their faith shaped their choices as a couple and as parents. It really was eye opening.

  2. floyd says:

    I’m old school. Talk is cheap and everyone knows it. I’m not saying we should keep silent when God opens an obvious door, but living it out says so much more than words.

    I forget who said it, but “folks don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

  3. Ceil says:

    Hi Bill! I think God leads us to proclaim with words sometimes, and with our actions other times.
    We’re all so different. Some are listeners, some observers. I wouldn’t be concerned about your lack of words at the gym. Your actions spoke so much louder, and as your friend said, it was what he needed.

    God’s ways…who can divine them? You are a faithful man, a caring man. God can use that. Trust it my friend.
    Blessings,
    Ceil

    • cycleguy says:

      So true Ceil. I too think some are more “speakable” and some more “liveable.” The important thing is we consistent in both. When the time comes to speak up we need to do so. Until then, live in such a way they are not surprised when we do speak.

  4. We do need to do both, but when we speak, as you advised, Bill, we do need to respect the person to whom we are talking and know when we’ve said enough, at least for the time being.
    Blessings!

  5. Betty Draper says:

    I think what we don’t say can sometimes speak pretty loud. Example: Not cussing, not slandering, not gossiping, not telling dirty jokes, not being impatience, not arguing our faith, not being judgement with our words, and the list goes on. Yet all the above is not enough, Jesus did not die on the cross because He lived a good moral life.

    One of the things that speaks loud when you first go into a remote tribe and you cannot speak their language is how you treat others. That works everywhere. “By living out the Gospel, we gain credibility. By verbalizing the Gospel, we provide clarity.” The people groups we go into know they are going to hear a great story as soon as the missionaries learn their language. It is by someone speaking the gospel so others can hear that brings clarity of who the gospel is about.

    It was people knocking on my door from a local church and were bold enough to ask certain questions, like, if you die where would you spend eternity Betty? Hummm…that got me to thinking even though I did not get saved right then. In fact it took four years of God sending His Word through tv preachers, folks from local churches and my own seeking heart before I gave up Betty for Him. I was heartbroken after salvation that the friends I had who boasted of being a Christian, went to church, even taught sunday school, and lived a good life, but never cared enough about my soul to step out in faith and confront me. I beg God to give me great discernment and second give me boldness to speak truth when given the chance. I don’t just want to live a Christian life I want others to know why I live a Christian life. We have to get over ourselves and focus on Him till He is all that flows out of our actions and our mouth. And the enemy of our soul wants to stop us from both living like Christ and talking like Christ. So, yes, I agree 100 percent with Bobby, we must do both.
    Good post Bill…I am loving Bobby’s book…powerful.

  6. You bring up such a good point. Scripture clearly talks about “how will they hear” unless someone preaches to them. Obviously that’s word and deed, but it does require both. We can look into the stars and the beauty of the sky and conclude there’s a God, but we need the clarity of how we approach Him. To your other point, I think it takes real discernment on how and when to speak about these things. Some may use that as a cop-out to never speak, but that’s not fair. Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. He shows. He guides. Good thoughts! Thanks Bill.