Good News

         There's a quote I referenced previously that has been attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, "Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words." I like the idea that the quote conveys - basically saying that your life, your very actions should preach the Gospel message - actions speak louder than words. And it goes along with what it says in James 2:15-18 (NIV)...

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. (16) If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (17) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (18) But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

And that's a powerful call to action - however, while James is encouraging us to act, to put our faith into actions - I think sometimes there can be a bit of a misunderstanding here. James is addressing those who claimed to have faith, but there was no evidence for it in their actions. The confusion that sometimes arises from, "Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words" and even that passage from James is this - some people mistakenly see the issue as...

I. Doing or talking?

Which is more important - sharing your faith by words or by deeds? And it can be even more confusing when you read what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.

So who's got it right - those who use words or actions? Well, I think many of us understand it's not a matter of 'either or' but both. James isn't contradicting Paul. Both are addressing different audiences and different circumstances.

The unintentional misunderstanding I want to talk about is not which is better, words or actions - but the idea that we can just let our actions speak for themselves. Yes, absolutely - there are many situations where it is amazingly more effective to simply let our actions speak for themselves without words. But one of those situations where, at some point, words need to come into play is... evangelism. (Bum, bum, bum!)

That scary word seems to paralyze some people. They immediately think of someone shouting on a street corner or passing out 'Christian tracts' door to door.

In fact - just a few weeks ago, I was in line at Wal-Mart and a young man turned around and handed me this Bible tract. He was obviously nervous, but he politely reached out and said, "If you want to know about Heaven, you can read this. If you don't, it's okay." I smiled behind my mask and explained to him that I was a preacher. We chatted briefly and I asked if many people responded poorly to his offer.

He said, "Yeah, some are not very nice." I tried to encourage him, told him that there are a lot of us believers out here and to keep the faith. He thanked me and we went our separate ways. Now, I'm not really a 'tract kind of guy' - but I really admire his boldness and willingness to engage people. And I pray God leads him to the right receptive person to whom he can truly witness.

Now that's one way, but evangelism doesn't have to be some remarkable thing to be practiced only through tracts or by a Preacher or someone specifically with the gift of evangelism. It basically boils down to passing on the information about Jesus to others. The word 'evangelism' means...

A. To announce

An evangelist is a 'bringer of good news'. Anybody here ever watch the news? In many cases - it's not something I'd really recommend much in great quantities anymore. I think for many of us, our trust in the news has become somewhat shaky at best - but think about it - do they usually use words or do they just let their actions speak for themselves? They use words to communicate the specific information they are trying to pass on.

Now obviously the actions of the person sharing the words matters. If you're saying one thing and doing another - that certainly hampers the message. So as believers, we should act in a way that agrees with what we say we believe. And there is certainly something to be said for living a 'good life' among your neighbors and coworkers. - The idea that if we live this 'good life' that they will be interested in finding what we have - namely a relationship with Jesus. But the difficulty is this - the goal of the Christian life isn't simply just to...

B. Be good

Yes, we should be good; we should live a good life as explained in 1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV)...

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (12) Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Yes - we should live good lives, but here's the dilemma as seen in Mark 10:17-18 (NIV)...

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (18) "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone."

'Goodness', by God's standards is a pretty high bar. But let's say, we define 'good' by comparing ourselves to others we might consider 'bad' - looking at it that way, sure I'm a pretty good guy. But is that 'goodness' alone enough to 'proclaim the good news of Jesus'? The issue that we run into today - the world defines 'good' very differently nowadays. Going to Church and trying to live a Godly life - those things aren't really seen as the virtues they used to be. - Sad to say...

I'm not saying we shouldn't live a good life. People should know that we are different. People should see something in the way that we treat others, how we show love to them - how we show love to God by loving others. But at some point, in order for people to understand why we are different - in order for people to know the same hope that we have in Jesus, you have to...

II. Use words

By the world's standards - there are many 'good people' based on their actions - among both believers and non-believers alike. But without words at some point, you don't know much about their belief in God or Jesus - you just know that they are 'good people'. Peter said the point of our 'good actions' is to point people to God.

Throughout this past year, we've seen many individuals arise as 'heroes of the pandemic' - the front line workers, first responders, delivery drivers, the people who stock shelves, etc. And these are all arguably good, selfless people. We've heard stories of people donating their time and resources to make masks, people donating meals, people supporting the front line workers - some very good, generous people.

I think it's safe to say that you and I all know relatively 'good people' who don't go to Church and who don't know Jesus. They love their families, they're honest, they work hard - they are genuinely 'good people' - by our standards. They are nice people, they're generous, they are our friends - but without Jesus... they are lost.

And honestly, that doesn't seem fair to them - or even to many of us - why should 'good people' end up in Hell? ...Why did Jesus, a perfect person, die for us on a cross? God doesn't demand that we be perfect to get to Heaven. Abraham was a liar. King David was an adulterer and a murderer. Peter denied Jesus. Paul ordered Christians to their deaths. - Matthew was the worst - he was a tax collector! ("You know the difference between a tax collector and a taxidermist? The taxidermist takes only your skin." - Mark Twain)

We are called to be good - but we can never be good enough to deserve Heaven. I referenced this just last week, the first part of Romans 6:23 (NIV)...

For the wages of sin is death, ...

No matter how good the 'good people' we know may be, they are sinners - just like us. But we can't forget the second part of Romans 6:23...

...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Heaven will have plenty of people who have done some very bad things. Hell will have plenty of people who have done some very good things. Our eternal destination isn't determined by the good or bad things we've done in the past - but though our relationship with Jesus Christ. So - yes, live a 'good life' and be good to those around you - but ultimately, people need...

A. Real answers

We can show people a lot of what we believe by our actions - but people also need words, they need us to talk to them about God. Despite the fact that there is a growing number of people who claim to have no faith at all - people do have a spiritual side. Many people do have an interest in spiritual things. After a year like we've had, people are looking for answers. But if all we do is rely on 'doing good things' for them and around them and hoping they come to Jesus - we're not giving them the whole story. We also have to speak up! (1 Peter 3:15-16 NIV)

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (16) keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

I think this is a good description of what evangelism is supposed to be - combining words and actions. It's not judgmental, it's not arrogant, it's not 'in your face' - it's done out of compassion and it's done with grace filled words. We should pray for those who don't know Jesus. We should be gracious; we should do nice things out of love - but ultimately they need our words - they need an honest spiritual conversation.

And I know the usual rationale - 'but I'm not a preacher - I can't teach - that's not my area of giftedness'. We teach our kids letters and colors when they're little, we teach them how to tie their shoe laces, how to ride a bike - we are able to teach them those things because someone taught us.

Not all of us have to be Bible scholars or have all the answers to every possible question that can come up - but we should be able to at least share the basics. Those of us who are baptized believers - someone taught us about Jesus - we should be able to share with others. And I want to say this gently - but if you don't know how to share even the basics about Jesus - perhaps you need to get to know Him a bit better. (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

That is Jesus' Great Commission to His followers. Notice He didn't say - become a Christian at a very young age, grow up in the Church, go off to Bible college, get hired by a Church, and then, and only then, make disciples. That's the call for each of us - no matter our age or education or skill level or even the number of years we've been in the Church. The great commission is for all of us!

It has to be! If the Church's influence is limited only to the number of people who casually show up here on a Sunday morning - we will not grow. If, however, the Church - us, if we all GO OUT, as we naturally do in our various lives and graciously share the message with the thousands of others with whom we collectively come into contact each and every week - if we talk to them about Jesus, God's Kingdom will increase because of Deep River's influence.

We have to be willing to speak to people, to give them answers for 'why' we believe. And then, on those occasions when we simply don't have all the answers - that's when we again have to use words...

B. To invite

I am always pleased when someone comes up to me after a service and introduces me to a friend that they've brought. The number one reason people come to Church is because of the invitation of a friend. And you can be friends with someone for years; you can work alongside someone for years, a person can be a member of your very own family - but most times, just living a good life around them won't bring them to Jesus. But an invitation might. (Romans 10:12-14 NIV)

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, (13) for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (14) 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?

You should live a 'good life' - and then be prepared to start that spiritual conversation. And when you run out of answers - invite them to find the source of our answers - Jesus. Invite them to come to a worship service, or maybe even easier - invite them to watch online to start. Use your actions and your words to influence people for Jesus.

So What?

It's not just our goal to inform people about Jesus, but to persuade them to believe Jesus. I know that if you don't say anything, you can't really be rejected. If you don't ever bring up spiritual things, you may avoid an argument. If you don't ever use your words to talk about Jesus - you don't really risk changing that relationship.

But that person who needs to know that God came in the flesh, that Jesus is God's only Son, that Jesus died on a cross for their sins, that Jesus conquered death and rose again, that Jesus is the only way to the Father - that person who needs to hear those things may never hear them and be lost forever.

It's time we take that risk and share the Good News about Jesus with those who need Him.