Not in Scripture: Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.

This phrase is a cancer in churches

Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.
as it is not quoted by St Francis of Assisi even if it was St Francis of Assisi was a heretic.

Romans 10
14 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? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,[h]
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”[i]

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?”[j] 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:

"Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”[k]

Mark 8:38
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Luke 9:26
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

When the bible commands us to do the exact opposite, there are so many phrases like this that are discussed in church and have no biblical basis for them, this one is dangerous as it is a cancer that stops people from sharing the gospel and knowing that Jesus died for them.

Many people in the Jewish and other communitys can do many good works better than christians, but it is only by the gospel that we are saved.

This is an evangelism stopper and populates Hell rather than Heaven.

Dom-

Do you literally preach the Gospel at all times? If not, what are you doing at the other times?

Even the greatest preachers of all time did/do not preach the gospel with their mouth at all times.

Even they were/are not preaching far more often than they were/are preaching with their mouths.

If our actions and words, when not preaching the gospel with our mouths, do not draw people to Christ, we are in a world of hurt. Perhaps that IS why the world is in a world of hurt. They do not see Christians LIVING (not preaching) like Christians.

I agree with the quote, whoever said it, 100%. This is because it is just a fact that Christians don't spend the great majority of their time orally preaching.

I did some checking- St Francis absolutely never said this.

Regardless of its source, some sayings or adages are not meant to be taken absolutely literally.

For example, "a watched pot never boils." Every reasonably intelligent person knows a watched pot boils just as fast as a non watched pot. But time seems to pass slower when watching it.

It seems silly in the case of this quote about preaching to take it
so literally. Every reasonably intelligent Christian knows that preaching requires verbal expression. But the idea conveyed by the quote is that our lives should have a gospel savor about them. Perhaps out of living our lives in such a way flows the right to preach verbally. I don't think the quotes intent is to denigrate the role of preaching the word verbally.

Luke 19:40(NIV)

40 "I tell you,” he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Romans 1:20(NIV)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities””his eternal power and divine nature””have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

and again if there is no one around he can use a donkey.

The main thing here is what return do we get on what's been deposited to us. If we just hand back what he gave us then we are called a ''wicked servant''

In speech and in deeds, do everything unto the Lord.

The thing is he uses the specific to do with the gospel this is the problem with most Christians is that people use things that are not in scripture how many people would have heard the gospel if this phrase was not uttered and saved from eternal hell . In the Ligh of eternity is putting mans foolish wisdom as the Christian world is repleat with phrases that go in the opposition of scripture

It is mere sentimentality over scripture , it is almost like how people use the nature of gods love to denigrate his justice by saying there is no hell and you ask them where hitler is

If we have been saved from the everlasting fire should we not help others , as Leonard rave hill stated if you saw someone in a house that was burning down would you not save them
I was not talking about the subject of faith without works as that is covered in James

James 2:14-26New King James Version (NKJV)

Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my[b] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe””and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[c] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[d] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Agreed Dom; I suspect very few of us were converted without having been preached to first.

I certainly believe it.

I think your opinion depends upon what you see when you see the quote. If you see people who believe that simply living in front of people is sufficient and that speaking directly to people is unnecessary, then you will not like the quote. But, if you see that much can be done by living the gospel, and that this lifestyle will often speak louder than words, you will like the quote.

The truth is, both are necessary.

I worked at a lumber yard in college. I did not hid the fact that I was a believer, and my lifestyle in front of my coworkers was true to my profession. One young man that was often in a supervisory position over me seemed to especially dislike me. He later admitted to me that he cursed more around me and gave me what he considered the worst jobs, all in an attempt to test my behavior and make me angry so that he could justify his own sin. You see, he was running from God. Later, he said that it was simply the way I lived my life in front of him that brought such great conviction to him. He is now ministering the gospel.

Yet at other times, I have spoken to others about my faith.

I guess your opinion is shaped by your experiences and what comes to your mind when you hear the quote. ..regardless of who first said it.

Excellent Travis. Isn't it amazing how the HS will tell us what to do if we listen?

Jeff: agreed. The wording of the quote itself does seem to minimize the importance of direct, personal evangelism...speaking to people about the gospel. But at the same time, how many times have you seen someone who has the right words, but their life does not match their testimony. If you say it, but fail to live it, you make your words of none effect.