A. The world has come to expect churches to supply the temporal needs of every person who wants help.
1. Most churches receive many requests for financial assistance on a regular basis.
a. These requests include money for rent, money for utilities, money for food, and money for many other needs. Usually, the people making the requests have heartbreaking stories to explain why they have such needs without the means to supply them.
b. These requests most often come from people who are not members of the Lord's church.
2. Answering these requests can be very difficult. It is not that the answer is difficult to determine, but rather it is difficult to deliver the answer.
a. Regardless of how heartbreaking a person's story may be, the Lord's church has no authority from the Lord to function as a charity for the temporal needs of the world.
i. There are no commandments or examples in the Scriptures for the church to operate in this way.
ii. Every commandment and example in the Scriptures regarding the benevolent work of the church reveals that the collective local church is authorized to assist only members of the Lord's body.
iii. Even when the church is authorized to practice benevolence, it is very limited (see 2Thess. 3:6-15; 1Tim. 5:3-16 – more on this below).
b. Therefore, the answer to most of these requests is no.
B. The truth of the Scriptures regarding church benevolence is not according to the expectations of the world.
1. Many believe that the church is obligated to supply the needs of those who call upon it, regardless of their relationships to Christ.
a. Many of the denominations function to supply such needs, creating unauthorized extra-church organizations and institutions to do so.
b. This is how false expectations of the Lord's church have been created.
2. Therefore, when a church denies a request for assistance from an outsider, that denial may be unfairly considered as calloused and cold, in violation of the love of God.
II. THE WORK OF INDIVIDUALS IN BENEVOLENCE
A. In truth, individual Christians are obligated to assist needy persons.
1. Notice the teaching of the Scriptures regarding the practice of benevolence.
a. Consider Galatians 6:10 – "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”
i. This passage is clearly addressed to individuals (see verse 5 – "For each one will bear his own load”).
ii. Notice the preference that Christians are to give their fellow Christians.
b. Paul wrote, "He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Eph. 4:28).
c. Jesus taught us to practice charity in love toward all men (Matt. 5:42; Luke 6:27-38).
d. James even wrote that "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father” is "to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Jas. 1:27).
i. Just as Christians work to keep themselves holy, they must also work to assist the needy as part of their practice of religion.
ii. This passage has often been used to justify church institutions (orphanages, retirement homes, etc.), but it is not an instruction for the collective church.
e. Notice the principles given for individuals in the Proverbs (3:27-28; 11:24-26; 13:22; 14:21; 18:16; 19:17; 21:13; 22:9; 25:14; 28:27).
2. Based on these passages, we understand that the work of charity toward outsiders falls upon individual Christians and not the collective church.
B. However, let us not overlook the obligation of the persons in need and their families.
1. God has prescribed honest industry as our means to profit (Prov. 6:6-11; 10:4; 12:11, 24; 13:4; 14:23; 15:19; 19:15, 24; 20:13; 21:25-26; 24:30-34; 28:19; Eph. 4:28; 2Thess. 3:6-12).
2. Men have the responsibility to provide for their own families, which includes their wives, children, and aged parents.
a. Notice 1Timothy 5:8 – "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
b. It is unfair and wrong to expect other people or the church to provide that which should be provided by oneself or one's family.
III. THE WORK OF THE CHURCH IN BENEVOLENCE
A. Consider the work of the church in benevolence as directed by the New Testament.
1. The book of Acts is filled with examples of the church assisting its own members (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37; 6:1-6; 11:28-30). There are no examples of the church assisting the general public.
2. The epistles of Paul contain instructions for the church to take up collections and practice benevolence toward their fellow Christians (Rom. 15:25-27; 1Cor. 16:1-4; 2Cor. 8-9). Nowhere does Paul mention assisting the general public for temporal needs.
3. Notice some specific limitations placed upon the church in the matter of benevolence.
a. The church is not allowed to help a member who will not work, but rather the church is not to associate with such a person (2Thess. 3:6-15).
b. Regarding benevolence toward widows, the church is very limited (1Tim. 5:3-16).
i. If the widow has children or grandchildren, then they have responsibility for her.
ii. If the widow does not meet certain qualifications (age, faithful works, etc.), then she cannot be put on the list for support by the church.
4. By considering these specific limitations, we learn the general idea that the church's work of benevolence is extremely limited.
B. Members of the Lord's church should have full confidence that any temporal needs will be well supplied.
1. The Lord has given us this great assurance: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
a. "All these things” in this verse refers to the necessities of life (see Matt. 6:25-32). God provides all these things for those who make a priority of His kingdom and righteousness.
b. This promise of God's providence is fulfilled for Christians in two ways.
i. Faithful people who can abide by God's law of industry, work, and profit will have their needs supplied.
ii. When faithful people encounter needs that they cannot supply by their own efforts, then they can rely upon the church and their brethren to assist them.
2. Experience tells us that this is true. As David wrote, "I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
C. Christians have this temporal comfort because they made the spiritual things of God their first priority.
1. This is what the world fails to understand about the Lord's church.
a. The church's nature and work is spiritual rather than temporal.
b. Any temporal benefits received because of one's relationship with Christ are secondary.
2. Those who seek the spiritual benefits of Christ have no need to worry for temporal things. They are like Mary who chose the "good part” (Luke 10:38-42).
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Of course, there are legitimate situations that arise in which people have needs that cannot be supplied by themselves or their families.
1. Christians have support systems through their relationships with the Lord and their brethren whereby their needs may be supplied.
2. Persons who have such needs but have no relationship with the Lord must beg others for assistance. They can have no comfort or confidence that they will find someone to help. They are at the mercy of strangers. For many, this is the only time they have any interest in the Lord or His church, for they hope to receive some temporal help.
B. Let us recognize the obligations and responsibilities of each individual and the church that are set forth in the word of God.
1. Let us work to meet those obligations and responsibilities fully so that our Lord will be honored and glorified. We cannot help everyone, but we can meet God's requirements.
2. Regardless of the world's expectations, if we do God's work in His way, He will be pleased.
