Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words.

For years I’ve heard and seen people use that quote to sum up the missional lifestyle and missional church. And why not – at first glance it sounds great. Most people have interpreted it to mean “don’t just preach with words, but preach with actions”.

But that’s the problem – the quote requires interpretation. It’s not that it’s multi-faceted or really deep, it just doesn’t make much sense. It’s the equivalent of saying “Give me your telephone number; if necessary, use digits.”

Even worse, for years this quote has been attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, yet there is no record of him ever having said or written this statement.

Maybe, just maybe, it comes down to this: without the gospel, good works are nothing more than good works, and the gospel, when not lived out, is nothing more than hypocrisy.

HT: Jared Wilson

A topic that keeps coming up in conversation with friends is Christ’s command to love our enemies.

The analogy I’ve used with them is to think of someone you can’t stand.

A friend who betrayed your trust.

An ex who broke your heart.

As one friend said, someone who, if you found out had died, a part of you might actually be glad.

Yeah, that’s a little screwed up, but it works.

Then I was reading something Donald Miller posted at his blog and saw a perfect example – Osama bin Laden.

Think about it.

Who do Americans hate more than bin Laden?

Now, before anyone freaks out, remember, the Bible never says love and forgiveness = removal of punishment or consequences. Just look at King David as an example; he had sex with another man’s wife, got her pregnant and then had her husband killed in battle to cover everything up. And even though God used the prophet Nathan to confront David and forgave him of his sins, David still had to face the consequences of his actions (2 Samuel 12:11-23).

So I’m not saying that by loving and forgiving bin Laden we also let him off the hook.

I am saying if we are to live according to Matthew 5:44, we have to love even bin Laden.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but to follow Jesus it is necessary.

HT Donald Miller

I was reading in Matthew chapter three today and this passage stood out to me:

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

It reminded me of a tee-shirt design that’s been around for years.

Now, I still smile a little bit when I see that design, but John the Baptist’s words in Matthew 3:7-10 give a pretty clear indication that those who think they’re holy might just need to repent of a sin called pride.

As Perry Noble would say,

If we listen to a sermon on Sunday and think, “I hope THEY are getting this,” rather than, “Jesus, shape MY life through this!”