Spoken, Affirmed by Action

This is a segment from a blog post by Michael Mckinley, from the Church Matters: 9Marks site.

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We must beware the popular “share the Gospel, and if necessary use words” mindset.

Similarly, the Gospel is, properly speaking, preached, not done (though our actions can certainly affirm it, e.g., John 13:34-35 [even here it is interesting to note that it is our love for one another that is said to point to the Gospel!]).

Social ministry done by the church should be self-consciously engaged in with the hope, prayer and design of sharing the Gospel. J. Gresham Machen wrote that “material benefits were never valued in the apostolic age for their own sake, they were never regarded as substitutes for spiritual things. That lesson needs to be learned. Social betterment, though important, is insufficient; it must always be supplemented by God’s unspeakable gift,” (J. Gresham Machen, New Testament, ed., John Cook, pp. 345-346).

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I found it intriguing, especially for myself, being someone who has used, shared, and proclaimed the very "share the gospel, use words if necessary" phrase over many years. However, I must say, my perspective does seem to be changing. To be honest, it comes more with a realization of my own sin, this phrase acting as a cover-up for fear, in my soul hoping to be used as a crutch to grasp onto comfort -

-You just love people, people think you're a nice person and think well of you
-You share the gospel with people, an offensive message, you could face persecution

I've never heard many stories of people loosing friends just by loving them, but I have heard many people loosing friends because of their commitment to sharing Christ. The gospel CANNOT be shared unless it is proclaimed... plain and simple. I've met lots of people in my life who have loved me well, but if I never knew Christ to begin with, I would never heard about Him. Ideally, we would love people so well that it would drive them to ask questions which could lead to the gospel (another mindset I held strongly for sometime). However, I had to once again give myself a honest heart check... and ask, "who has been asking?"

Don't hear me wrong with this. I am not advocating not loving people... what freakin' foolishness that would be! We are called to love people outrageously! However, what I am advocating for is that the gospel needs to be preached and proclaimed, with its message being affirmed and confirmed by loving actions.... opposed to the other way around.

Even as stated above in John 13:34-35, love points to the Gospel... again, establishing a position of affirmation rather than focus. By our love, people will know, or be sure, that we are Christ's disciples. The love affirms a pre-existing understanding, that is, that we are Christ's disciples, which had to be communicated prior. It's a matter of focus.

I guess a large factor for me that influences this is how sinful I still remain. By God's grace, I try love people. But there are times I fail... many times. Do I really want my actions being the only thing revealing Christ? I can't, in my heart, say yes to that.

Share like crazy, love like crazy. Again, even as I write this, these two entities are linked... they are hand-in-hand. The peanut butter and jelly of the Bible (well, unless you're allergic to peanuts, in which I pity you, and the analogy breaks down). Do NOT attempt to separate them. However, I do feel proper focus is needed, and it should be clear what affirms what.

God is love, and the best way to love people is to introduce them to Him.

As John Piper would say, we are in the business of relieving all suffering, ESPECIALLY eternal suffering.