BY WORD AND DEED

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

Two primary means of spreading the gospel are word and deed. The gospel must be made both visible and verbal. To employ one means without the other is to truncate the gospel. In biblical literature word and deed are held together in an unbroken rhythm. In creation God spoke and creation happened. In the evangelization of Jesus there is no polarization between proclamation and action…. In Jesus word and deed do not fall apart. Jesus has integrity. His words ring true to His lifestyle and His life supports His words. Each illumines the other. Thus, by word and deed Jesus brings the claim and the power of the righteous reign of God (the kingdom of God) to bear on the whole of humankind.

We discover this same wholeness of word and deed in the evangelization of the early church. In the Acts of the Apostles, proclamation and good works are inextricably tied. There is a fusion of preaching and serving….

The biblical rhythm demands that verbalization of the gospel must take place in the midst of doing it. The ministry of kerygma (proclamation) must run concurrently with ministries of healing, serving, nurturing, liberating, reforming, and empowering. Announcement of the kingdom must be both verbal and visible, and one never asks which is more important. That would be like asking which is more important, breathing in or breathing out. It depends upon which one was done last! Obviously, proclamation and lifestyle must buttress one another. 

-- H. Eddie Fox and George E. Morris in “Faith-Sharing: Dynamic Christian Witnessing by Invitation”

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