This post first appeared on July 5, 2017.
In recent years, the notion that we can “be the message” has resurrected the old cliche, “Preach the Gospel–if necessary, use words.” The social gospel movement, in particular, capitalizes on this cliche for the purpose of using works of charity almost in place of preaching the Gospel. They rationalize that, because of their acts of service, people will ask what motivates them to serve, thus opening the door for evangelism.
In an effort to discern the validity of this popular idea, we need to examine it in light of what the Word of God teaches. I’ll refer to several Scriptures, so please click the links; quoting so many of them directly in one blog post might put me in danger of violating the ESV copyright permission.
I agree that a person’s behavior, in general, demonstrates his true beliefs. James 2:14-26 indeed maintains that “faith without works is dead.” Jesus Himself warned that He will reject those who call Him Lord while actively disobeying His commandments (Matthew 7:21-27). The proponents of the social gospel must be commended, therefore, for their desire to address the obvious disconnect between what evangelicals profess to believe and how we actually live. The non-Christian world sees our hypocrisy, and uses it as an excuse to reject Christ.
That said, our good behavior, in and of itself, can only (at best) lead people to ask us about the Lord (1 Peter 3:15). Of course, we should remember the broader context of this verse. 1 Peter 3:8-22 offers guidelines to Christians in the midst of suffering for their commitment to Christ. The First Century believers to whom Peter originally wrote amazed their critics by clinging to Jesus when simply renouncing Him would have liberated them from persecution. They did far more than live good lives. They proclaimed Christ in an empire that made such proclamations punishable by death.
Their potential martyrdom went far beyond “right living.” Good behavior certainly reflects God’s standards for personal holiness, but without accompanying words about the grace of God that transforms a sinner, such good behavior degenerates into self-righteous morality that the Lord considers putrid (see Isaiah 64:6).
As a matter of fact, dear readers, not one of us leads a life that replaces the need to articulate the Gospel. We are declared righteous by virtue of the Lord’s death, burial and resurrection rather than by our deeds, meaning that our lives continue to be tainted by our proclivity to sin (see Romans 7:7-24). We should, of course, walk in obedience to the Lord, but we dare not entertain the notion that social justice is enough to win anyone to Christ.
The Gospel requires that you and I actually talk about sin, hell, repentance and the fact that only Jesus provides salvation from God’s wrath. We can dig wells, help children with disabilities and run food pantries all we want, but unless we accompany those activities with a clear proclamation of the Gospel, people will see no difference between us and members of the Elks club. And they’ll be looking at us, not at the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Outspoken TULIP 
“As a matter of fact, dear readers, not one of us leads a life that replaces the need to articulate the Gospel.” – That is so unbelievably true that I read it three times. I spent a lot of time in the Word of Faith movement and it was a common theme each Sunday that we preach without words. Due to that attitude I didn’t even hear the Gospel preached for over a decade, and only then when someone sent me a Washer clip! Whatever everyone was hoping I’d mysteriously glean from their behavior, I certainly never did. All I saw was a greater need to clean the outside of the cup, while the inside remained full of dead bones. Thank you for sharing this, I love TBT! May the Lord bless you, dear sister.
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Wow! Thank you for that perspective! As a Charismatic, I never heard that actions replaced evangelism, but when John and I were in our final years at the church that went seeker-sensitive, we often heard — from pulpit — “Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words.” Very sad.
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