1994 Issue 2 - Biblical Charity: Ministering to the Poor Through the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1994 Issue 2 - Biblical Charity: Ministering to the Poor Through the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Let him who stole; steal no more, butlet him work with his hands ill order thathe qy have somethtllgto give to himw ohas need, Eph. 4:28, (Acts 20:35).

Jesus said, The poor you alwayshave with you, Mat. 26:11. I cancertainly bear wimess to the truth ofthat. One of the perennial pastoralproblems that I face is ministering tothe poor, especially those who call onthe telephone and show up at the dooror even in the worship service. It isclearly an issue that needs to beaddressed and decided in advance howyou will handle orrespond to these requestsfor funds. Also, it is verydifficult to even know

how toaddress

the needsin the local congregationso that, as in Acts 6, someare not overlooked, andneeds are cared for,without supporting thosewho are not deserving.How can we attack theproblem o f poverty?Whose job is it? Who arethe "poor" that we are tohelp? How are we to help

them? Ourowngoal,eventhrough impoverislnnentof ourselves (2 Cor. 8-9),is to minister to the poorofthepeopleofGod(Deut.15:4),andto the world, lsa. 58:6-8.

It is unquestionable that God wasconcerned for the poor and His wordinstruCts us to care for the poor. Godin the O. T. provided fOf the poor inhis law, Ex. 22:11-27, Dt. 10:18-19,

P5.12:5,Prov. 22:'22-23,15a. 1:17. Itis significant, I believe , that the tithesin the O.T. were printarily used forparticipation in the annua l feasts andthe balance went to support the Levites,who had no inheritance in the land,andthepoorwidow, orphan, and alien.

n otherwords, the tithe went printarilyto the ministry of the word and the

poor. The temple was built by theadditional free-will offerings of thepeople.

Jesus characterized his ministry inLuke 4: 18-19 saying, The Spirit oj theLord is upon me because he has anointedme to preach good news to the poor ..Tabitha was recognized as one whohelped the poor, Acts 9:36-41. Evenour enemies are to be aided, Provo25:21,Rom. 12:20. TheparableoftheGood Samaritan will always be anexample and challenge to Christiancharity, Luke 10:25-37. Care for the

poor is at the heart of Christian faith,Jamesl:27 , IJohn3:17. Thereisnoquestion that the poor are to be aided.The questions remains: Who is to helpthe poor? Who is to receive help? andHow are they to receive help?

1. WHO IS TO AID THE POOR?

Our text, Eph. 4:28. says that theChristian is to stop stealing, and towork (to provide for himself and hisfamily) , and to have something withwhich to aid the poor. The firstresponsibili ty falls upon the individualChristian, regardless of what anyoneelse is doing. Obviously, men are todeal with their own poverty, not by

4 m COUNSEL ofChalcedon March, 199+

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stealing(includingfraud: welfare fraud,insurance fraud, etc.), and to work.Individual labor is the first means toprevent paver ), and to relieve poverty,Eph. 4:28. Indeed,intheO.T.,afonnof slavery (notinvohintary slavery orkidnapping, Ex. 21:16) was created

and regilIated by God for the poormanwho could not pay his debts,Lev.25:39. He would be able to pay hisdebt by working.

A. THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN.Our first obligation is to provi ,de forourselves (Acts 20:34, I Thess. 2:9,

4:11-12, II Thess. 3:8,10), our own family anditsextensions(lTim . 5:8,16), and Christianbrothers

and sisterS (IJohn 3:17). The N.T.'Christian gave voluntaryand generous contributions to the needysaints because of God'sgift and grace to them.See Mat. 5:42, 6:1-4(Dt .15:11),19:21,25:35-45,Acts 2:44-45, 4:32- 37,5:1-10, 9:36, 11:29,Rom. 12:8, Gal. 2:10, I

Tim. 6:17-19, James1:27, IJohn 3 :17-18.

(The fa lowing isbased on R.L. D;l,bney's

Principles oj Christian Economy.

1. WE ARE STEWARDS. Jesustold the rich young ruler to go and selleverything he owned, and then to comeand follow Him, and he would haveriches in heaven. Such is thecontinuingbasic comti1.iunent reqUited to be a

Christian. We must acknowledge thatHe owns it all. and weare but stewards.Our property is purely a trust fundfrom God and the whole of it is to beused to the glory of God, Job 1:21,41:11,Ps. 24:1, 50:12,IChron. 29:11-14, Hag. 2:8, We have the right toacqUire and control private property"Ex. 20:15,Dt. 19:14,27 :17,Acts5:4.


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We are, however, to be good stewardsto the highest advantage to the glory ofGod, Mat. 25: 14f. Have you everyseen a V-Haul in a funeral procession?Remember two points:

a. God can take what he wants Qob 1).

b. Spending decisions are spiritualdecisions.

2. WEMAYEMPLOYSOMUCH

OF GOD S PROPERTY AS ISNECESSARY FOR OUR OWNSUSTENANCE.

We may be duly fed and clothed,housed and equipped, for our life andwork. Not only is it properto procurethat which is necessary for our body,but also whatever is truly needed togive highest efficiency to body andmind for God's service, and whateverpromotes the development of ourmora l qualities. This may include ourcomfort, recreations, education,medicine, etc.

A women entered a train in London,and passing through the first classtrain was surprised to see CharlesSpurgeon seated in that section. Sheexhorted him saying, "Why PastorSpurgeon, I'm saving God's money."

Spurgeon's terse reply was, "WhyMadam, I'm saving God's SERVANT "All comfon is not extravagance, norungodly.

3. WEMAYEMPLOYAPARTOFOUR MASTER S POSSESSIONS INSUSTAINING AND REARING OURFAMILIES WHICH HE HASCOMMITTED TO US The same areasthat apply to us as individuals apply toour households. We should expend

on them that which will bring theirbodies, minds, and heans to the highestefficiency for God's service that ourcircumstances pennit and require. Wemust be careful, however, ofluxuries,amusements, fineries, or wealth thatadd nothing to our energies - bodily,mentally, or morally, but on thecontrary produce vanity, worldliness,

envy, self-indulgence, and unfit us to"endure hardness as good soldiers ofJesus Christ." (See II Thess. 3:8, Tim.5:8,6:7-8).

4 WEMAYEXPENDAPARTOF

OUR M ASTER S POSSESSION INMAKING REASONABLE PROVISION FOR OURSELVES ANDTHOSE DEPENDENT UPON USAGAINST THE CONTINGENCIESOF T1iE FUTURE, Provo 10:5,6:6-8,30:24-25, 13:22, Mat. 15:5-6,2 Cor.12: 14 , I Tim. 5:8. This may includesavings, investment, etc .

5. WE MUST SUPPORT THEEXTENSION OF THE KINGDOM OFGOD AND DOING GOOD TO THEPOOR OUT OF THE RESOURCES

COMMITTED TO US WEMUSTBEGENEROUS, CHARITABLE, ANDCOMPASSIONATE, MANAGING

OUR STEWARDSHIP WITHIN THEBOUNDS OF BIBLICAL TITHING,OFFERINGS, ALMS, ANDSACRIFICIAL GIVING. See IIIJohn8, I Cor. 9:12, Mat. 23:23, Mark12:42-44 , Luke 6:29-30, 34-35, 38,10: 35,11:42,12:33,14 :12-14,18:22-25,lICor. 8-9,Heb. lO:34. Whilewehave every right and responsibility to

provide for ourselves and family, wehave no right to "rob God," Mal. 3:6f.Normaywe shut our eyes to the needy,as the Pharisees did (Mark 7: 11), or asJohn warned in I John 3:17. TheCorinthians gave out of their ownextreme poveny. Thewidow gave evenin her extreme poveny, Luke 21:1-4.

B. THECHVRCHCOLLECTIVELY,

as the communion of the saints, is tocare for the poor among them, John

13 :29, Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-35, 6:1,Acts 11:27f., Rom. 15:26-27, I Cor.16:1-2, II Cor. 8:2-5,11-12,9:7-13,Phil. 4: 14-18, Tim. 3:8,5:3, 16. Wefind that the people came, bringingthei r gifts and putting them at the feetof he Apostles to be distributed towardthe objects of need identified, whetherforthe widows orfor famine relief, etc.

Cenainly, this the first priority ofthedeacons in the church .

The local church certainly needs tocome up with a plan for address ing thepoor within the church as well as thosewho appear at the door . Standardsand requirements must be detenninedand defined. In the church, a financialaid policy needs to be public so that if,while helping one person whose needsare known, another may not feeloverlooked simply because theirneedswere not public or apparent . One wayof addressing that is diaconal visitationto make people aware of our willingnessto help, and to place someresponsibility on them to .make theirneeds known.

What if we have no immediateneeds, or our needs are beyond ourability? We believe in the unity, theoneness of the church. This is where,certainly in denominationalasSOciations, we need to call upon oneanother and to assist one another.

C. THE CIVIL .MAGISTRATE is aminister of justice and only has anindirect role in alleviating poveny. Itis beyond our scope t give an in depth

study of this issue, and a number ofbooks already exist which address thismatter. Briefly, however, in the O.T.,God instituted the tithe, which wasGod's tax on the land, and laws concerning the canceling of debts,gleaning, etc., to provide for the poor(Dt. 14,15,23:24,25, Lev. 25:4-7,etc). However, the civil magistrate(Elders) received these voluntarily fromthe people. There were no civil

penalties attached to the violations ofthese laws concerning the tithe. Godhimself oversaw the people 'sfaithfulness to a bey Him in this regard,often condemning and judging Hispeople for failing to care for the poor;but here werenodvil penalties exactedby the king or leaders. Even in theD.T. "God loved the cheerful giver."

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The CiVil government is a ministerof justice and defense, Rom. l3:1f .The civil government should insurethat people are not cheated, defrauded,or are robbed, etc. Thl,lS, they providefor justice and protection. The state isto maintain a peaceful society by

enforcing the law of God, punishingevil doers and promoting the good , ITirri. 2: 1,2. The powers and imitationsof civil government need to berecognized and contr olled. GeorgeWashington said that government, . . snot reason, it is not eloquence - it isforce. Like fire it s a dangerous servantand a fearful master; never for amoment should it be left toirresponsible action." In hisfirst inaugural address,Thomas Jefferson declaredthat a wise and frugalgovernment" would leave itscitizens free to regulate theirown pursuits of ndustry andimprovement, and shall nottake from the mouth ofl aborthe bJea d . i t . has earned.(Quoted from Your Wealth inGod's World, John JeffersonDavis, pg. 53.)

n. WHOIS J;ORECEIVEAID? Why should we give? The textrefers to the one in "need," the "weak :"The primary recipients in this contextare the needy members of the church,4 :32 , although we are concerned forthe whole world, sa. 58:6f. Whilehaving compaSsion on all men, ourprimary obligation is to one another .

A . THE BIBLIC L I S T I ~ I -BUTION OF CHARITY: What is thedefinitionorstandardofpoveny? One

Biblical definition of the poor is"persons who do not have and areunable to obtain the means forsustaining life. f they are to survivethey are thus dependent upon theresources of other people," Prosperityand Poverty CalvinBeisner, pg.192 .).

Beisner goes on to suggest that theBible distinguishes between three sons

of people. The rich (Greek "plousts")who need not word to survive, but canlive on theeamingSoftheirinvestmentsand the labor of others . A secondgroup consists of those who do notlack daily necessities, who cannot hireothers, but who must work for a living,

the "penes" (2 Cor . 9 :9, translated"poor , meaning "laborer," to workfor one's living." ) The third groupconsists of those who must dependupon charity for survival. They cannotsustain themselves because they aretoo old, too young, or handicappedand cannot work. These are the"ptochos," the truly poor. All othersmust work or go hungry, 2 Thess .

circumstances ,were known : he'd beenrobbed and beaten. I can almostguarantee tha t ifl wete to find a man inthe ditch in front of the church andgive him aid there would mysteriouslybe ten more in there by tomorrow.Giving must be discriminatory -

distinguishing wonhy recipients fromthe unwonhy . We are poor andunfaithful stewards if we do not. Thecase of most "beggars" or indigent isunknown to us, and what is known isthat many are professional beggars andwelfare recipients. Thus, charity tothe unbelieving poor mus t always beadministered in a way that does notpromote their sin, and always aims at

. the redemption of he entireman.

Those generally eligiblefor suppon, whether in thechurch or not , are thoseunable to work ,since we areto provide for ourselves bywork. We must aid thoseleft "alone," widows andorphans, are appropriate, ITim . 5:5. We must alsoallow help for those who

, su ffer because of the

circumstances of life. We3:10. (This does not mean that people ' must recognize that some poverty iscannot give gifts to others, but only the caused by God's providence andtruly poor have an absolute demand judgement, bt. 28,2 Chron. 24:20,upon God's peoplefor aid.) Job 1,andlsa. 65:11-14. Thosewho

B. THE GENER L POOR. have experienced poverty throughAlthough,Ibelievethatourf irstpriority some calamity or disaster are properis to help the poor of the people of objects of mercy and Charity (war,God, I will discuss general poveny famine [Acts 11:271], illness [Markfirst. Charity is not limited to your 5:25 ], flood, earthquake, fire, etc.).ownfamily,church , orChristians. Th e ThosewM are "strangers" or "aliens"parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke (who hav e no propeny) and those10, indicates that we have a exploited or oppressed are also properresponsibility to lov e our neighbor objects of mercy and protection, Amoswhomever Providentia lly that is. That 8:4-8 , Zech . 7:9-14, Isa. 1:17does n ot mean that we must help (injustice, leg alized theft , fraud, etc.).anyone or everyone who is poor, 2 We must also recognize the economicThess. 3 :10, If a man will not work, impact of national failure to live inneither let him eat. The parable of the terms of God's law and the judgmentGood Samaritan concerns an of God, Lev. 26, Dt. 28, Gen. 4l.emergency need of a man whose People do suffer through national and

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cultural circumstances such asinflation, oppression, injustice,depression, etc. There are many poorsingle parent women today, albeit thatmany are so because of sinful practices.There may be poor people who,ahhough working and responsible,

may not be able to or find it difficult toobtain the basic necessities oflife. Thus,Christian orphanages, hospitals andmedical care, homeless shelters, andeven Christian schools, etc., suppOltedby the tithes and offerings of the peopleof God are valid and

poor and needy by a common foodchest or clothes closet, etc., controlledby the deacons. They could be screenedand directed to various approvedchurches.

C. THE CHRISTIAN POOR. Ourfirst responsibility, beyond our ownfamily and relatives, is the people ofGod. God's people have as their goalto be poverty free, Dt. 15: 4, 5. OurPRIMARY concem and responsibilityis to the poor Christian brother,widow, orphan See Mat. 25:35, Acts

good stewards, to do good in a goodway?

A TEACHING (Eph. 4:28): Wemust teach Christian responsibility forourselves and our family. We mustteach Christian responsibility for ourown parents in their old age when they

may be in need. We must teach thechurches responsibility to care for thepoor. We must also teach that this isnot the responsibility of the civilgovernment to provide welfare relief.However, we must be willing and able

to assume responsibility.important ministry Il.ndevangelistic tools. Andthe more we can recapturethese areas from the dvilgovernment, the greaterwill be the opportunityfor the church.

Even those who haveexperienced povertybecause of foolishness,irresponsibility, and sin,may receive charity

The disciples, each accordingto his ability, decided to

provide help for the brotherslivin in Judea. This they did,

sending their gift to the eldersby Barnabas and Saul.

The church should teachindividual and familialresponsibility to provide fortheir own families byindustry, responsibility,honoring God with theirown giving, and caring forthe orphan and elderly.

There may even beinstruction in moneymanagement, and businessman age ment , as well asencouraging, equipping,and assisting in starting of

provided they arerepentant, and are willingto be discipled to the LordJ esus Christ.Moral poverty often leads to material

poverty . There is self-caused povenythrough laziness, greed, foolishness,shortsightedness, and religious error(pious poverty). We are under noobligation to help the poor off thestreet simply because he is poor. Butwe should be willing to help the poorin conjunction with evangelism anddisdpleship. In the case of the generalpoor, all mercy should be accompaniedby a Christian wimess (Isa. 58: I, 6-12), directed toward immediate needs,not continued apart from Christiandisdpleship, counseling, and training.The poor have no absolute right tocharity.

In this area, it seems that deaconsand churches in a particular area couldcooperate and combine resources , inthe name of Christ, to minister to the

Acts : 29 30

4:36-37,6:1, 11:27-30,2 Cor. 8-9,James 2: 14-17.) Poverty among the

people of God must not beautomatically construed as a sign ofsin, judgm ent , or unspitituality, Mat.26: 11. The Bible indicates that therewere godly poor among the people ofGod, those who suffered from famin e,loss of husband and father (Widowsand Orphans), those persecuted, andstrangers, who were to be shownhospita lity.

III. HOWAREWETOHELPTHE

POOR? The danger of trying to do agood thing in a bad way is real. Becauseof our deSire to do good we may endup being Do-gooders who are easytargets for the indigent. The pooroften prey upon Christians becausethey know they have a conscienceconceming aiding the poor. How arewe as individuals and churches to be

businesses. Most marriages encountertheir first problems concemingrnoney.

Many young adults marry withouthaving had any instruct ion or counselconceming the use and misuse ofmoney.

B. THE TITHES ANDOFFERINGS: Here wemust say a wordabout the most basic form of Christiangiving, and an issue over which thereis much disagreement.

The tithe was practiced beforeMoses, Gen. 14:17-20,28:22, codified .

in the law, Lev. 27:20-33, Numbers18:21-24, Dt. 12:6,7, 17, 19, 14:22-29, 26:12-15, and affirmed notabolished 01 denied) by Jesus, Mt.23:23, Luke 11: 42. In the third yearthe tithe went directly to the provisionofthe local poor in the cities of Israel,(Dt.14:28,29;Cf. 25: 12-15). Therewere also, above the tithe in the O.T.

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there were free-will offerings that were, given primarily for the building of thetemple, Ex. 25:1-2, I Chron. 29:6-9.

While nowhere rescinding theprinciple of the tithe, the N.T.emphasizes (1) The fulfilling of thelaw, Mat. 5:17. (2) Alms

("Eleemosune" - mercy: from whichwe get eleemosynary [non-profit]corporations), Mat, 6:1 Acts 24:17(The basis for alms is rooted in Dt.15: 10 in the same context oftithes) (3)GeneroSity,Actsl1:28-30,ITim.6:18,James 2:1S-16. ' (4) Regularity andproportionally, I Cor. 16:2, d Deut.16: 17.) (5) IndiviQual commitment, ICor. 16:2, 2 Cor. 9:7. (6) Theblessedness of giving, Acts 20: 35. (7)The consequence is the glory of God,2 Cor. 8:19, 9: 12-13, Dt. 16:17.

I believe that the principle of tithingis still the moral requirement of thepeople of God. However, even forthose who sincerely ;lssen that becausethat is in the O.T., it is no longerbinding, their conclusion is false. Tosay that it is no longer binding doesnot mean therefore, that I shouldconclude that I mayor should give lessthan 10%. Frankly, and I mean

FRANKLY I have never heard anyoneadvance the non-tithe argument exceptas a basis to give LESS. Sometimes,people will say that in the N.T. weshould not be bound by the tithe, butshould give more than that. ,Whilesounding pious, again, the NET effectis generally to give less than the tithe.

Giving is a very private mattergenerally. But it is not private withGod. God Watches the offering dur ing

the worship (Luke 21:1-4). Heis

theonly one 'who needs to know what yougive, and he knows the motive.Ulctmatelywhat Goa honors is not theamount, but the heart

IntlieO.T. the tithe went to supportthe Levites (Num. 18:21) who had noinheritance in the land, who in tumtithed to the High Priest (Num. 18:

26, 28). The N.T. c o n ~ i n u e stoacknowledge the support of hose wholabor in the Word,Phil. 4: IS-18, ICor. 9:14,Gal. 6:6, ITim. 5:17, 18, I I IJohn 8, as well as the poor. We mustnot forget that the extent and successof the Gospel is related to the giving of

the people of God, and giving towardobjectsthatmosteffectivelyaccomplishthe goals of the Great Commission.

C. GIFTS CHARITABLEASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITU-TIONS): See Mat. 19:2I Mk 12:43-44 , Luke 10: 30-37, 14:13-24 , 18:22,19:8-9, Acts 4:32-37, ' 11:29, Acts20:3 ,5. TheN.T.saintsputno]imitongiving, even robbing themSelves, givingsacrificially, toward the needs of others.

Ifthe people

ofGoa of old wereconstrained by law to give, the people

of the New Covenant are c o n s t r i n ~ dby he mercies of God to show kindnessand liberality. As the early Christianfather Irenaeus put it, 'The]ews wereconstrained to a regular payment oftithes; Christians, who have receivedliberty, assign all their possessiOns tothe Lord, bestowing freely not the lesserportions of their property, since theyhave the hope of greater things, m John

Jefferson Davis, Ibid" pg.113. 'D. GLEANING: Lev. 19:9, 10;

23:22, Dt. 23:24, 2S; 24:19-21,Ex.23:10,11, Ruth, Mat . 12:1, and Ruth.For those who were poor and couldwork, gleaning was a primary meansof aid to the poor. This is thecounterpart to 2 Thess. 3: 10, If m nwill not work, neither let him eat Onewho can work and will not is notdeserving of chatity . Modem forms of

gleaning may include clothes closetsor food pantries, for example.

E. CHARITABLE LENDING: Ex.22:2S, Lev. 25:35-37, Dt. lS:1,2, 9.These lending laws should beconsidered separate from businessloans. Chatitable loans were interestfree. We are not obligated to supportor secure or subsidize the wants of the

8 f TIlE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon f March, 1994

poor; however, a basic and minimalmeans of sustenance was the purpose.

All Christians and churches oughtto be good stewards even in the matterof charity: We must even be regulatedin charity by the word of God. Ourfit t responsibility is to the householdof faith, bu t we may not neglect thegeneral poor. We should not feelguilty i f we do not help peopleindiscriminately. We are not obligatedto help all men, especially those whocontinue an unbelieving and wickedlifestyle. Wewillbe guilty , however, ifwe are not compassionate, generous,

~ seek to alleviate poverty in a godlymanner.

, UltimatelywegivebecauseofGod's

supreme gift to us, 2 Cor. 8:9. It isproof oflove for God, IJohn 3:17, 2Cor. 8 :24, Mat. 2S:3Sf. For Paul therewas a direct connection between mercyshown by God, Eph. 4:2-9, Titus 3:S,and the mercy he showed to others.Being without mercy, Rom. 1:29-32,represents the fuU dental of God. Jamesexhorts the believers to be full of mercyand good fruits, 3:17 '(Heb 13:16)because to reject this is to invite themerciless judgment of God on oneself,James2:13. Mercy giving sultimate1ya means of advancing His kingdom,His gloty, and His honor .

Bibliography andRecommended Reading:

Beisner, Calvin; Prosperit;y andPOVtTt;y, Crossway Books.

Chilton, David, ProductiveChristians In an Age of GuiltManipulators, Institutefor ChristianEconomics.

Davis, John Jefferson, YourWealth in God s World, Presbyterianand Reformed.

Grant, George, Bnngtng in theSheaves, American Vision Press.

Olasky, Marvin, The Tragedy ofAmeTican CompasSion, RegneryGateway. Q

Documents

1994 Issue 2 - Biblical Charity: Ministering to the Poor Through the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon