Saint Francis And The Gospel

I’ve come across a quote a number of times on Facebook and in a few blogs I read. Perhaps you have heard this particular quote before. It is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.”

Almost instinctively we get the point. As Christians, we should live our lives in such a way that what we do points to the goodness and love of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ. Our lives should model grace. Amen—so true. Some Christians talk too much and do too little. But there are two problems with the quote. First, Francis never said it.

Mark Galli author of the biography “Francis of Assisi and His World (IVP)” has pointed out that there is no record of Francis ever speaking those words. And no biography written within the first 200 years of his death contain the saying. If the quote was from Francis it is almost certain that his early disciples would have preserved it and modeled it.

Second, Francis was a prolific preacher. He belonged to a preaching order. Hundreds of people came to hear him preach at the Assisi church of St. George and later in the cathedral of St. Rufinus. Later in life he took on an itinerant ministry preaching in up to five villages a day. And he was quite the preacher. It is said that when he preached on the Nativity people felt as if Mary was in labor right before their eyes. When he taught on the crucifixion his listeners would weep. Francis’ preaching has been called kind, humorous, bold and even fierce.

So why is the quote, wrongly attributed to Francis, so popular? Perhaps it’s because many of us do not want to take the time to think through how best to talk about the gospel with others. Many of us hope that our friends will somehow catch on to the good news by our lifestyle. After all we do not want to offend people by what we say.

I’m all in favor of walking the talk, but let’s also talk. The prophets, Jesus and the apostles put a great value on preaching the Word of God. There is no biblical account of Jesus ever performing a miracle and not speaking words of comfort or a direct challenge afterwards. And Christ’s Sermon on the Mount is a monument to the power of preaching.

The age we live in has given us a postmodern view that words are empty, without power and meaningless. But when God spoke forth His Word and said, “Let there be light (Genesis 1:3)” light burst forth into the universe. The gospel is God’s Word; it is a message, it is good news. And the good news cannot be shared without words any more than the evening news.

Words can be cheap, thoughtlessly spoken and even designed to hurt. But words can also heal and bring hope. The New Testament declares, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?...How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!...So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:14-17).”

In a world where so many words are designed to deceive let us speak forth the truth with love and boldness. Preach the gospel and then back it up with action.