The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum To the least of these

I really do not know what I want to ask, or how to ask it in a succinct way, so take leaway in any replies. It revolves around proper biblical understanding in ministering to the needs of those who are 'hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison'.

How can we obey the command without destroying the gospel ministry of sowing and building discipleship relationships. Biblical conservative churches are oftentimes accused of targeting the gospel message to those who can benefit the church (money, help in ministry endeavors of the church, etc), and ignore those who will mostly always be needy (those who cannot really help in ministry - always a taker). I know it is easier for me to identify whether a person in the former group is interested in the gospel, but with the latter group is almost impossible for me as their needs never end. Is it really the meeting of their physical or emotional need or are they interesting in the gospel.

Maybe, in attempting to obey that command, I shouldn't be concern with their spiritual outcome. Just leave that up to God, but just do my job of actual ministering to the needy and helpless. Yet in the vast majority of times, the church (or individual Christians) cannot do enough to meet their needs or helpessness.

I think I will stop here in describing the dilemma I'm attempting to ask. Is the church falling woefully short in obeying that command, or is the church falling woefully short with all the commands; therefore, we should not talk about that command exclusively. In a way is Jesus teaching on our attitude, moreso than our actions? How can we really act upon it, and in what ways is it far harder today than it was back then, or is it?

I think if we see a genuine need (as opposed to those who are slothful and professional users- and that isn't always easy to determine) and we don't respond with assistance in some form or another, it is sin to us. Now the needs are so great out there- we can't possibly help everyone. But the Lord puts people in our path many times, and it's a judgement call as to which action we should take. Just four days ago, two women approached me at a gas station and asked for some help. They were trying to get home, but had no money for gas, they said. Two small children were sweltering in the back of their car as well. In this case, I gladly put some gas in their car, which is what they requested. Then they happily went on their way. But you have to use discernment. I have had to refuse others over the years because it was easy to tell they wanted alcohol money (they reeked of it), or I sensed something else wasn't adding up. It's a very tough call sometimes. Usually, in lieu of giving money, I offer beggars a trip to BK or McDonald's for a meal. They often walk away with a sneer. But, other times they accept. It's a great feeling to buy a homeless person a hot meal, especially in the winter. And this can always present an opportunity to share the Gospel.

No doubt many of our churches could do better at reaching out to the homeless, and the strangers, etc., but each congregation must determine how and where they are going to fulfill the Lord's commands in these areas. Many have soup kitchens and clothing items for the needy, and some just raise money.

Perhaps what you're asking is, do we actively seek out those in need, or just respond as the need arises (people come to us)? I suppose it's a little of both. And it's always a good idea to visit the sick when they're in the hospital, or recovering at home. That's just my experience, it may not answer your question, but hope it helps a little.

IMHO, these terms identify spiritual condition in relation to the gospel, more than the physical status. For instance, the blessedness of those that hunger in Luke 6:21 corresponds to the blessedness of those that hunger [and thirst] after God's righteousness in Matthew 5:6, i.e., the regenerate elect, who are made, by the Spirit to hunger after Christ's righteousness:

Blessed [are ye] that hunger now: for ye shall be filled..(Lk.6:21)

Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Mt.5:6)

The same goes for the strangers, naked, sick and those in spiritual prison. These are all scriptural names of the elect, whom Christ was anointed to minister unto: The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Lk.4:18). The spiritual nakedness of the sensible sinners is to be covered by the robes of righteousness of Christ through the preaching of the gospel.
The church's calling is not so much ministering to physical needs (though obviously, loving one's neighbor presupposes caring for them in a practical way), but to stretch forth her hand to the spiritually poor to fill them with the Bread of the Gospel.
Otherwise, whenever professing Christendom slides into heroic actions with respect to "the meat that perisheth" (John 6:27), in the end you get idolized individuals like Mother Theresa, who can shame most of us by her ability to serve the physical needs of the untouchable outcasts and there is not much of filling with the Bread come from heaven...

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (Jn.6:27)

I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever(Jn.6:48-58).

John,

I think "GoldenTrout" has grasped the essence of the biblical teaching concerning the poor, naked and hungry of this world. The first and most important responsibility of the Church is to bring the Gospel to those who are outside of Christ. However, the most benevolent God Who supplies all in this world with the essentials of life requires that we do the same. (Matt 5:43-48) That Christians are to take pity and show mercy to the downcast of this earth is clearly taught in Scripture, e.g., Lev 25:35; Deut 5:7-18; Ps 41:1; Prov 11:25; 22:9; 25:21,22; 28:27; Isa 58:6-7,10-11; Matt 14:15; 19:21; 15:32; 25:42-45; Lk 3:11; Rom 15:25-27; Jam 2:14-16; 1Jh 3:16-18).

It is not a matter of either/or; Gospel or food, but both/and Gospel and food. The Liberals with their social gospel err, of course, for they have no Gospel which will bring ultimate relief and eternal bliss to those in need of being reconciled to God. But those who withhold the necessities of life from those in need are in peril of damnation no less than those whom they despise for they show a lack of genuine love, a fruit of the Spirit. (Gal 5:22)

Micah, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit I believe lays down the principle of how we as those who have received the mercy of God and who have been given all things in Christ are to treat our neighbor:

How do we put it in practice?

Do we indiscrimately help those in need who show no spiritual desire? When I say indiscrimately I'm thinking on focusing, not just helping from time to time. How can we help without becoming engulfed with that work which will choke out other ministries, such as discipleship?

John,

1. The local church needs to seriously pray about making this a ministry.
2. The local church can help the needy as the opportunity arises, or it can venture into a program that offers help to those in need, e.g., a soup kitchen, food bank, etc.
3. Like any ministry, it must begin with a burden of the heart and a desire to do the will of God.
4. And, like any ministry, it must be budgeted according to the tithes and offerings of the body of Christ.

No one church is going to totally eradicate the problem of the poor. But to do nothing is not an option, IMHO. It need not "choke out" anything, for if it is the Lord's will to enter into this type of ministry, surely the Lord Who created the burden in the hearts of the saints to begin with will supply all that is needed to accomplish what is desired.

Oh yes.... re: "Do we indiscrimately help those in need who show no spiritual desire?". Ask yourself this similar question, "Do we indiscriminately preach the Gospel to those in need who show no spiritual desire?" I man, woman or child who starves to death isn't going to respond to anything spiritual. Man was created with both a body and a soul. Both are to be cared for. Is food reserved only for the ones who profess faith in Christ?

Excellent Pilgrim! If I may, to further back what you are saying:

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

-Matt 5:45

P.S.- Oops! Sorry- I just realized/remembered you referenced this a couple posts above. (It's been a long day lol).

That's

It bears repeating.

It's humbling to see what such work reveals about us. Unless we have been needy enough ourselves to have to rely on the kindness of others, it's all too easy to assume the worst about people, especially the poor in a wealthy nation like mine. Lazy. Addict. Bum. Mental case, etc.

There may even be found such unbiblical judgmental attitudes in our choices of who we share the gospel with! "Wow, I think that guy would make a fine Christian! Motivated, passionate, articulate..." or "That bum wouldn't make a very good Christian. Dependent, needy, a drain on others..."

Yet God clearly favors "the least of these" and desires childlike dependence upon Him. Look at Paul's description of the Elect in 1st Corinthians 1:26-29:


Lest we become haughty, we should remind each other often of who the Lord favors, according to His own word.

As for the physical ministries, many churches are able pool resources and cooperatively operate food banks, shelters, clinics and such with other churches, especially in small towns like mine. I think it benefits us all, from the liberals to the fundamentalists. At my own church the Deacons have a lot of discretion in matters pertaining to the needy, and you might find some needy person doing yard work or painting or cleaning the grounds tin exchange for whatever assistance the church is providing.

-Robin

One of the worst experiences I had was at the age of 21 or 22, many years ago, I was approached by a man at a convenience store who spun a fancy yarn about being hungry, and asked for money for lunch. I gave it to him, then 10 minutes later noticed him walk out of another store with a "package" of alcohol- not food.

I have been examining myself and my earlier comments in light of your remarks, but I still believe one must use wisdom and discernment when giving to certain people. Some folks need to be given a fish on the spot- others need to be taught how to fish. Still others are professional beggars, and are healthy enough to break the pattern and find work (He who does not work should not eat- 2 Thess vs. 3). Also, we have whole generations being raised addicted to the welfare rolls, and this is unbiblical as well. Then you have the able-bodied guys standing on the roadside with "will work for food signs." (Trouble is, when offered work, these guys usually refuse, then get angry and start cussing you when you press the issue).

It sounds like you are saying we should give freely (I'm focusing on physical needs right now)and without hesitation to every person who asks, regardless of what we know about them. Is this correct? Or am I mis-reading you?

What you bring up pertains to part of my original question. I agree that we should help, but at what point our helping becomes wrongful enabling or co-dependency of the person in their hurtful lifestyle. Their has been many who have received help from our church, but I can only think of a few that were legitimate in their need. Would it be prudent for a church to tell those who come by for help that we are not set up for that but we do give funds to several local relief ministries that they could go to for help. Most likely they will refuse to go to the ministry by giving some type of excuse. Of course, there may be a situation that we may want to explore in helping ourselves, but we get many who comes by for help. Their must be a network of what churches they receive goods in that if one person receives some aid, then their will be 5 more knocking on the door.

What concerns me the most which is wrong is that I see it as taking up the church resources mainly in discipling its congregation, not to mentioned any spiritual awakenings from those who come by. It is easy for people to substitute a good work instead of spending time in growing spiritually. I see the more time spent on mercy ministries, then the less time we have on helping people grow in their faith.

Maybe a big church can handle all aspects, but smaller churches have difficulty in doing so.

It would be hard to say that someone is growing in their faith if they do not show signs (or fruit), of their faith. I John 3:18 "My Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth." Do we say we love the Lord with all of our heart, mind and strength and then do not act accordingly?

Showing mercy to those in need does not mean not using discernment. The church needs to discriminate between those seeking to feed their sinful nature and those seeking to feed their children. There are many people, especially in this economy who are eagerly seeking work and unable to find it.

And do we dare spiritualize portions of Scripture which deal with showing mercy and compassion on the needy such as Isaiah 58? "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"

Just my

I think others, including myself, have been clear that discernment is to be used when dealing with this issue. Put one way, you don't throw resources to the wind and not care where it lands. On the other hand, we cannot deny temporal needs to those who ask based upon their interest or disinterest in spiritual things. (cp. Lk 17:12-19; Jh 6:10ff)

But your statement above provokes a question which I would be curious to know the answer to. What resources are necessary in 'discipling its congregation... and ... spiritual awakenings' which would put a burden upon a church's finances or other things? Just curious. Small congregations usually have limited resources to be sure, although I have known small congregations that also had affluent members and thus financial matters were not much of an issue and this afforded them greater opportunity to do more. Unfortunately, the money typically wasn't used for such things but mainly it was spent on themselves. I was a member of a good-size church of about 600+ and I was very much taken back by their bickering over whether the parking lot should be repaved or spent on other building improvements. The parking lot was in far better shape than the road leading to the church. I voiced my dismay and suggested that the money would be far better spent in helping some of the impoverished families that were in the local neighborhood. Seeing dirty children, in ragged clothes playing barefoot in a garbage-strewn yard moved my heart. What a wonderful opportunity was available for the deacons and/or members to offer ministry to those families. But my suggestion was met with strong opposition and summarily dismissed. When it came to asking for funds and/or help with the work I and a couple of other men were doing at the local jail and prison, some were willing to write a check as long as they didn't have to DO anything with "those type of people".

A church which has a burden to minister to the world will find a way by God's providence to do the work, for it is His will that such work be done, IMHO... with discernment, of course because we are to be good stewards of all that God gives to us, including spiritual things. (cf. Matt 7:6; Mk 6:10,11)

The answer is probably in my mind, not how others in the church would see it. The resources I'm talking about is time and willingness. There are too few people who are willing to get involved in any discipleship or studies. Finances is also a resource, but small in scale to the others as I see it. Trying to get some to get involved in some type of discipleship is a chore, but finding help for mercy ministries is easier (at least on the surface). Maybe I'm being too judgemental, but people think that by helping others then they have the right to ignore their own spiritual walk with God. I think the spiritual morass in current day biblical Christianity is that we really believe in our own goodness, and it becomes too much of a works-rigthousness. I just find it difficult to reach the proper balance in all of this as doing 'mercy' is messy.

Ah, so your consternation is over this wide-spread and perennial problem of apathy among the body, eh? Not that it will bring any comfort, but this problem is something probably 90+% of even true churches suffer from. What is the root cause of this? Hmmmm, one which cannot be dismissed lightly is a lack of truly regenerated people who are members. A lack of emphasis of sanctification, discipleship, etc., from the pulpit is another viable cause. There are doubtless myriad reasons why people have little or no interest in spiritual things, but I fear the first is most common. Sound and experimental preaching is most essential as an antidote as it confronts people with not only their sins but their SINFULNESS and total dependence upon God for their salvation. And, such preaching sets forth the marks of true regeneration and implores the hearers to examine themselves to see if Christ is truly in them.

However, even with a lack of spiritual-mindedness, the hungry still need food, those who are cold are still in need of warmth, etc. Does it really matter who provides these necessities of life? or the motive behind them?... speaking in practical terms. Again, and I cannot stress it enough... it is NOT an "either/or" issue. It is a "both/and". The eldership isn't to neglect either "need" for it is their responsibility to "feed the flock" (Acts 20:28; 1Pet 5:2) to "upbuild the saints for the work of ministry" (Eph 4:11-13).

In ALL the churches I have been in there has only been a proportionally small group of individuals who have been both spiritually-minded and consequently mission-minded, i.e., there were those who having been shown their depravity of soul, been given true evangelical repentance, believed on Christ with a true living faith and thus had a genuine desire to be a follower of Christ in ALL THINGS. The Spirit gives gifts and talents to all of Christ's sheep which differ among them so that the whole body is benefited and grows in grace... and reaches out to the world of lost sinners in various ways.

Perhaps some discussion with your elder(s) about your concerns might be helpful if you haven't already done so.