Compassionate care for others puts flesh on the gospel. Let’s look at how Paul encouraged believers to communicate the gospel by both words and deeds.
Paul instructs Timothy to “retain the standard (hypotypos) of sound words that you have heard from me…” (2 Tim 1:13). What is the “standard”? The root of the word (“typos”) can also be translated as “form” or “pattern.” Timothy is not just to keep the words of the gospel but the pattern of the gospel. God intends for the message of the gospel to be made visible through a pattern in the life of the community. That pattern is evident even in the very first community of believers in Acts.
Gospel embodied in Acts
How did the Holy Spirit shape or form the very first church in the book of Acts? How did the believers demonstrate the gospel as the Spirit fell on them?
Acts 2:41-47 gives us seven verses that describe the church formed after Peter’s first sermon. They are written in parallel thoughts, like a sandwich, with bread on the outside, lettuce and tomato on the inside, surrounding a center of meat or cheese. This literary device is known as a “chiasm,” which is a parallel arrangement of thoughts that is built around a central core; the arrangement in this case is the pattern ABCB’A’. Watch for this literary “sandwich” here:
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added. A
42 And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. 43 And fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being performed by the apostles. B
44 And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. 45 And they began selling* their* possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need. C
46 And every day, devoting themselves to meeting* with one purpose in the temple courts* and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. B’
And the Lord was adding every day to the total of those who were being saved. [1] A’
Evangelism
Notice that the outer verses (A and A’) are about evangelism and the growth of the church. People were being saved through Peter’s sermon and the Lord’s work. But evangelism does not happen in isolation. The rest of the literary sandwich is important too; this is not just a random collection of facts about the church. It gets to the heart of the gospel.
At this point in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit is gathering and building the first community of believers, the church. How does he do this? Just by adding individuals who respond to the gospel? No, it is not just the words of the gospel which are important, as powerful as they are by themselves. It is the quality of the lives of the believers. We know this because of the rest of the “sandwich.” The middle of the sandwich teaches us something about the community – and why it is so effective in preaching the gospel. What is the secret to the gospel’s vitality?
Christian community (church) life
In the B and B’ sentences, we see the gospel doesn’t stand alone, but is an expression of the Christian community. There is worship toward God and fellowship together of people, living under the word of God, and also doing certain things together (baptism, taking meals, and the Lord’s supper). This is a community that knows one another over meals, with the conversation and prayer shaped by the teaching of the Word of God. As they did these simple things, God performed extraordinary acts, demonstrating His power in wonders and also giving them joy.
It is this kind of Christian community that people want to join. And it is this kind of Christian community that helps others have fellowship with Jesus. It is not a closed community, isolated from the world, but one that has a missional vision, a God sized vision of a better world.
So Jesus is building a church which is characterized by healthy relationships, borne out of worship and the word of God, and demonstrating the life of Jesus to the world. The gospel is effective because it is connected to community. But in the middle of the gospel and community, there is a core. The core is the center of the sandwich. This core is like a signature of Jesus in the very center of the community. We meet that signature in the center of our literary sandwich.
What is the signature mark of Jesus for the world?
The center section is about believers being of one mind and selling their possessions for others in need. Here is what is most visible to outsiders. Even those who might not understand the gospel or the meaning of the Lord’s supper can see love in action.
44 And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. 45 And they began selling their possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need.
We see that they were all of one accord — all together in one place. The believers were physically together. They knew each other. They ate together. They knew each other’s needs and responded naturally in love, giving according to need. The people saw a generous community, and that made it attractive to join. “That’s the kind of person I want to be. That’s the kind of group I want to be part of.” Despite deprivation and persecution of believers, their lifestyle was compelling.
The center section is not just about their church behavior, but the gospel began to integrate their whole life and community. The gospel is more fully communicated and effective when the world sees evangelism integrated with social action (such as healthcare and compassion). A gospel that accomplishes mission is about love in action, visible to the world.
It is about the gospel being fleshed out.
What does this have to do with compassionate healthcare?
If the gospel we proclaim is not centered on Jesus and the word of God, the whole foundation will be wrong. But proclaiming can’t be divorced from the life of the community. The way we live and how we love others must demonstrate that we’ve been shaped (marked) with the gospel.
Shining through the story of the early church was a living, embodied picture of the grace of God in Christ, one which was evident to all, and helped make the message of the gospel clear. The communication was both word and deed, evangelist and church, gospel and mission.
This kind of transformed Christian community will change the world. It is not just that social action and evangelism must go together; they are inseparable! Both grow out of the life of a church connected to Jesus and become a signpost or window to heaven.
In this way, the work of Christians in healthcare can’t be just mixing health and gospel as if they are disconnected. Words and deeds are inseparable, all connected to the life of Jesus. We cannot and must not make a separation between them. Serving with compassion and social concern should be a mark of good healthcare and the gospel.
This kind of healthcare will impress the world not just with excellence but with the love of Christ, and communicate a vision of a more just and equitable society, a place of hope amid despair.
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