Here is an article by Ray Comfort that relates to an earlier post of mine where I asked if the Gospel could be preached without words. Ray ends his article saying: “The time is short. The laborers are few. Please, cast off your fears and equip yourself to preach the Gospel with words. They are necessary.”
Feed Starving Children. Give Food If Necessary.
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Well worth the read, thanks
Thanks for the post Stephen! How can people actually think that just by their good works people can deduce that they are true biblical Christians? In a day and age that is plagued by cultists who walk around parading as “Christians” we must articulate (with words) the Gospel so as to not confuse people.
@ Mike
“But WHEN you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matt 6:3-4
Jesus assumes his disciples will be giving to the needy….
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your GOOD DEEDS and praise your Father in heaven.” Matt 5:16
“And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to DOING what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3:8
and “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”
not to say this is a foolish controversy, but it is borderline….seriously folks WORD & DEED….we really don’t need to even debate this.. all we need to do is read the Bible and Obey it.
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6)
Great article. Reminds me of Romans 10:14.
rebekah
I think what you said was the point, WORD and DEED!!
I was reading Vincent Cheung’s “The Light of Our Minds” tonight and came across this couple of paragraphs where he speaks directly to this subject.
Here are his thoughts:
Although I affirm the role of good works in providing outsiders with an attractive representation of what God accomplishes in the elect through the gospel, we cannot “evangelize” through our godly lifestyles without a verbal message. In fact, there is no evangelism at all without a verbal message, and the effectiveness of our godly conduct in influencing outsiders presupposes a strong verbal presentation of the gospel in the first
place. The anti-intellectual mindset that has gained a foothold among unbelievers has also permeated much of the church. Whereas many years ago, Christians used to be accused of being “too intellectual,” nowadays they take pride in being seen as irrational and selfcontradictory,
although these are not the characteristics of the biblical faith.
First, let us see that a verbal message from God alone is enough to establish moral obligation. In other words, even if it is not accompanied by a consistent behavioral representation, an intellectual communication of the will of God provides a sufficient and authoritative basis on which moral responsibility is now demanded from the hearer. That is, since God possesses ultimate authority, if the content of a message comes from God,
then the hearer is obligated to obey it whether the messenger lives up to the message that he delivers or not. Knowledge of the divine commands immediately creates a moral obligation on the one who gains such knowledge. Even those who have never heard the gospel are held accountable for the innate knowledge that they possess about God and his
moral laws (Romans 1-3). Since God now “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), anyone who hears the gospel message ought to “obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17). This is true whether or not the Christian who preaches demonstrate holiness
and righteousness in his conduct. Therefore, the pivotal issue in the evangelism is not the lifestyle of the believer, but the content and clarity of his preaching.”
Good words there Brad. That was exactly what I was referring to. Rebekah, I apologize if I did not make myself clear….. In no way was I stating that a Christian should not have good works. Those are some great verses you have posted. However, many believe that solely by their good works they are true biblical Christians. It is Word and Deed…