I believe the quote is and was never meant to be dug so deep into. Of course some people have almost eased their conscience with it.

I believe the quote was just a point a man was trying to make. Kinda like the scripture says. "faith with out works is dead". Are you living what you preach? Are you just talking? Are you just preaching on love, giving, Jesus and not actually being this in the world today. Like Paul said " We are living epistles" we are to be examples. It's often times not affective perhaps to preach the gospel and not live it.

I think we are not to ride on the latter part of that quote. "and if necessary use words" He never said don't use words and he never said that every time every day every moment it wont be necessary to use words.

There is a natural flow. Kinda like if we love God...then comes obedience. Perhaps if we truly live by example, if we faith with works whose to say that words don't flow all the time with that order.

But of course we all know it pleased God to use the foolisheness of preaching. It also pleases Him to find faith on earth when he comes. True faith is backed up with good works. True preaching is backed up with the necessary. Visiting the orphans, widows, the sick, the hungry, the poor, the lost.

These are just some thoughts

Amen and Amen.

I like the quote, and I preach the Gospel with words everyday.

If Christ is not living in you and your life shows it, your talk is nothing but filthy rags anyway.

So, preach the gospel, become all things to all men in order to win some, use words when needed, use actions when needed.

_________________
Christiaan

None of those verses spoke against anything that was mentioned whatsoever. You called it bad doctrine (though I don't remember anyone referring to it as doctrine yet) without addressing it specifically. That's not how this works. Again, where in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit cannot convict sinful men of their wickedness or start drawing people to Christ without a word ever being said?

The Gospel must be preached for salvation to be obtained, of that there's no question, but sometimes God will draw men into Himself and begin conviction before we ever open our mouths. John 12:32

Ever spent an extended period of time in a foreign country where you don't know the language, DesiJr?

I don't speak the language really at all where I live. When I meet someone who does speak English, I don't have any problem using my words to share Christ with them. But most people don't speak English here (or at least not well enough to understand much of what's being said). And I'm a slow learner of their language. So what can I rely on to preach Christ's Gospel? It most certainly is not words, friend. And I don't have time to waste, waiting until I can speak enough of the language to preach the Gospel either.

I've had situations here where once a lady just saw me at my friends house and said she could sense that there was something different about my heart, that it was a servants heart. That there was something different about me. This is an unsaved person saying this. She said this through another person who was roughly translating for her. I can promise you this, prior to that moment I hadn't said a word to her about the Gospel.

Another unsaved lady in the neighborhood always comes up to talk with me when she see's me (though we only cross paths on very rare occasions). She speaks no English, but I let her talk to my pastors wife on my cell. She told her my appearance sort of "shines" or something like that, (can't remember the exact word she used) and she senses something different about me, based solely on me being around her.

And these are not the only two accounts of something like this happening. Another missionary friend of mine told me once, that he had lived here for a year, and he had never seen anything like what would happen when I would just go out, in regards to the people here kind of being drawn in for no explanation.

And I can assure you of this, it has 100% zero to do with me. Honestly I really don't like talking about this sort of stuff, because it might make me sound puffed up, and that's really not how I want to come across. I asked and continue to ask God to do this through my life, simply because He does better work for conviction unto salvation than I ever could, and because I don't have the ability to speak to them in a verbal language that they can understand yet.

If you've lived through the same situation in a place where you've been completely unable to use your words, I'd love to hear your spin on it.