"Let him who stole; steal no more, but

let him work with his hands ill order that

he mqy have somethtllg to give to him who
has need," Eph. 4:28, (Acts 20:35).
Jesus said, "The poor you always
have with you," Mat. 26:11. I can
certainly bear wimess to the truth of
that. One of the perennial pastoral
problems that I face is ministering to
the poor, especially those who call on
the telephone and show up at the door
or even in the worship service. It is
clearly an issue that needs to be
addressed and decided in advance how
you will handle or
respond to these requests
for funds. Also, it is very
difficult to even know
how to address the needs
in the local congregation
so that, as in Acts 6, some
are not overlooked, and
needs are cared for,
without supporting those
who are not deserving.
How can we attack the
problem of poverty?
Whose job is it? Who are
the "poor" that we are to
help? How are we to help
them? Ourowngoal,even
through impoverislnnent
of ourselves (2 Cor. 8-9),
is to minister to the poor
ofthepeopleofGod(Deut.15:4),and
to the world, lsa. 58:6-8.
It is unquestionable that God was
concerned for the poor and His word
instruCts us to care for the poor. God
in the O. T. provided fOf the poor in
his law, Ex. 22:11-27, Dt. 10:18-19,
P5.12:5,Prov. 22:'22-23,15a. 1:17. It
is significant, I believe, that the tithes
in the O.T. were printarily used for
participation in the annual feasts and
the balance went to support the Levites,
who had no inheritance in the land,
andthepoorwidow, orphan, and alien.
In otherwords, the tithe went printarily
to the ministry of the word and the
poor. The temple was built by the
additional free-will offerings of the
people.
Jesus characterized his ministry in
Luke 4: 18-19 saying, "The Spirit oj the
Lord is upon me because he has anointed
me to preach good news to the poor ... "
Tabitha was recognized as one who
helped the poor, Acts 9:36-41. Even
our enemies are to be aided, Provo
25:21,Rom. 12:20. Theparableofthe
Good Samaritan will always be an
example and challenge to Christian
charity, Luke 10:25-37. Care for the
poor is at the heart of Christian faith,
Jamesl:27, IJohn3:17. Thereisno
question that the poor are to be aided.
The questions remains: Who is to help
the poor? Who is to receive help? and
How are they to receive help?
1. WHO IS TO AID THE POOR?
Our text, Eph. 4:28. says that the
Christian is to stop stealing, and to
work (to provide for himself and his
family), and to have something with
which to aid the poor. The first
responsibility falls upon the individual
Christian, regardless of what anyone
else is doing. Obviously, men are to
deal with their own poverty, not by
4 mE COUNSEL ofChalcedon March, 199+
.'
stealing(includingfraud: welfare fraud,
insurance fraud, etc.), and to work.
Individual labor is the first means to
prevent paver!), and to relieve poverty,
Eph. 4:28. Indeed,intheO.T.,afonn
of slavery (notinvohintary slavery or
kidnapping, Ex. 21:16) was created
and regilIated by God for the poorman
who could not pay his debts,Lev.
25:39. He would be able to pay his
debt by working.
A. THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN.
Our first obligation is to provi,de for
ourselves (Acts 20:34, I Thess. 2:9,
4:11-12, II Thess. 3:8,
10), our own family and
itsextensions(lTim. 5:8,
16), and Christian
brothers and sisterS (I
John 3:17). The N.T.
'Christian gave voluntary
and generous contri-
butions to the needy
saints because of God's
gift 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, James
1:27, IJohn 3:17-18.
(The fa !lowing is
based on R.L. D;l,bney's
"Principles oj Christian Economy."
1. WE ARE STEWARDS. Jesus
told the rich young ruler to go and sell
everything he owned, and then to come
and follow Him, and he would have
riches in heaven. Such is thecontinuing
basic comti1.iunent reqUited to be a
Christian. We must acknowledge that
He owns it all. and weare but stewards.
Our property is purely a trust fund
from God and the whole of it is to be
used 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 to
acqUire and control private property"
Ex. 20:15,Dt. 19:14,27:17,Acts5:4.
We are, however, to be good stewards
to the highest advantage to the glory of
God, Mat. 25: 14f. Have you every
seen a V-Haul in a funeral procession?
Remember two points:
a. God can take what he wants Qob 1).
b. Spending decisions are spiritual
decisions.
2. WEMAYEMPLOYSOMUCH
OF GOD'S PROPERTY AS IS
NECESSARY FOR OUR OWN
SUSTENANCE.
We may be duly fed and clothed,
housed and equipped, for our life and
work. Not only is it properto procure
that which is necessary for our body,
but also whatever is truly needed to
give highest efficiency to body and
mind for God's service, and whatever
promotes the development of our
moral qualities. This may include our
comfort, recreations, education,
medicine, etc.
A women entered a train in London,
and passing through the first class
train was surprised to see Charles
Spurgeon seated in that section. She
exhorted him saying, "Why Pastor
Spurgeon, I'm saving God's money."
Spurgeon's terse reply was, "Why
Madam, I'm saving God's SERVANT!"
All comfon is not extravagance, nor
ungodly.
3. WEMAYEMPLOYAPARTOF
OUR MASTER'S POSSESSIONS IN
SUSTAINING AND REARING OUR
FAMILIES WHICH HE HAS
COMMITTED TO US. The same areas
that apply to us as individuals apply to
our households. We should expend
on them that which will bring their
bodies, minds, and heans to the highest
efficiency for God's service that our
circumstances pennit and require. We
must be careful, however, ofluxuries,
amusements, fineries, or wealth that
add nothing to our energies - bodily,
mentally, or morally, but on the
contrary produce vanity, worldliness,
envy, self-indulgence, and unfit us to
"endure hardness as good soldiers of
Jesus Christ." (See II Thess. 3:8, !Tim.
5:8,6:7-8).
4. WEMAYEXPENDAPARTOF
OUR MASTER'S POSSESSION IN
MAKING REASONABLE PROVI-
SION FOR OURSELVES AND
THOSE DEPENDENT UPON US
AGAINST THE CONTINGENCIES
OF 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 include
savings, investment, etc.
5. WE MUST SUPPORT THE
EXTENSION OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD AND DOING GOOD TO THE
POOR OUT OF THE RESOURCES
COMMITTED TO US. WEMUSTBE
GENEROUS, CHARITABLE, AND
COMPASSIONATE, MANAGING
OUR STEWARDSHIP WITHIN THE
BOUNDS OF BIBLICAL TITHING,
OFFERINGS, ALMS, AND
SACRIFICIAL GIVING. See IIIJohn
8, I Cor. 9:12, Mat. 23:23, Mark
12:42-44, 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. Whilewe
have every right and responsibility to
provide for ourselves and family, we
have no right to "rob God," Mal. 3:6f.
Normaywe shut our eyes to the needy,
as the Pharisees did (Mark 7: 11), or as
John warned in I John 3:17. The
Corinthians gave out of their own
extreme poveny. Thewidow gave even
in her extreme poveny, Luke 21:1-4.
B. THECHVRCHCOLLECTIVELY,
as the communion of the saints, is to
care 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. We
find that the people came, bringing
their gifts and putting them at the feet
of the Apostles to be distributed toward
the objects of need identified, whether
forthe widows orfor famine relief, etc.
Cenainly, this the first priority ofthe
deacons in the church.
The local church certainly needs to
come up with a plan for addressing the
poor within the church as well as those
who appear at the door. Standards
and requirements must be detennined
and defined. In the church, a financial
aid policy needs to be public so that if,
while helping one person whose needs
are known, another may not feel
overlooked simply because theirneeds
were not public or apparent. One way
of addressing that is diaconal visitation
to make people aware of our willingness
to help, and to place some
responsibility on them to. make their
needs known.
What if we have no immediate
needs, or our needs are beyond our
ability? We believe in the unity, the
oneness of the church. This is where,
certainly in denominational
asSOciations, we need to call upon one
another and to assist one another.
C. THE CIVIL .MAGISTRATE is a
minister of justice and only has an
indirect role in alleviating poveny. It
is beyond our scope to give an in depth
study of this issue, and a number of
books already exist which address this
matter. Briefly, however, in the O.T.,
God instituted the tithe, which was
God'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 from
the people. There were no civil
penalties attached to the violations of
these laws concerning the tithe. God
himself oversaw the people's
faithfulness to a bey Him in this regard,
often condemning and judging His
people for failing to care for the poor;
but there werenodvil penalties exacted
by the king or leaders. Even in the
D.T. "God loved the cheerful giver."
March, 1994 'i' THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'i' 5
The CiVil government is a minister
of justice and defense, Rom. l3:1f.
The civil government should insure
that people are not cheated, defrauded,
or are robbed, etc. Thl,lS, they provide
for justice and protection. The state is
to maintain a peaceful society by
enforcing the law of God, punishing
evil doers and promoting the good, I
Tirri. 2: 1,2. The powers and limitations
of civil government need to be
recognized and controlled. George
Washington said that government, ... is
not reason, it is not eloquence - it is
force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant
and a fearful master; never for a
moment should it be left to
irresponsible action." In his
first inaugural address,
Thomas Jefferson declared
that a wise and frugal
government" would leave its
citizens free to regulate their
own pursuits of industry and
improvement, and shall not
take from the mouth oflabor
the bJead. it. has earned."
(Quoted from Your Wealth in
God's World, John Jefferson
Davis, pg. 53.)
n. WHOIS,J;ORECEIVE
AID? Why should we give? The text
refers to the one in "need," the "weak:"
The primary recipients in this context
are the needy members of the church,
4:32, although we are concerned for
the whole world, !sa. 58:6f. While
having compaSsion on all men, our
primary obligation is to one another.
A. THE BIBLICAL I S T I ~ I
BUTION OF CHARITY: What is the
definitionorstandardofpoveny? One
Biblical definition of the poor is
"persons who do not have and are
unable to obtain the means for
sustaining life. If they are to survive
they are thus dependent upon the
resources of other people," (Prosperity
and Poverty, Calvin Beisner, pg.192.).
Beisner goes on to suggest that the
Bible distinguishes between three sons
of people. The rich (Greek "plousts")
who need not word to survive, but can
live on theeamingSoftheirinvestments
and the labor of others. A second
group consists of those who do not
lack daily necessities, who cannot hire
others, but who must work for a living,
the "penes" (2 Cor. 9:9, translated
"poor," meaning "laborer," to work
for one's living." ) The third group
consists of those who must depend
upon charity for survival. They cannot
sustain themselves because they are
too old, too young, or handicapped
and cannot work. These are the
"ptochos," the truly poor. All others
must work or go hungry, 2 Thess.
circumstances, were known: he'd been
robbed and beaten. I can almost
guarantee that ifl wete to find a man in
the ditch in front of the church and
give him aid there would mysteriously
be ten more in there by tomorrow.
Giving must be discriminatory -
distinguishing wonhy recipients from
the unwonhy. We are poor and
unfaithful stewards if we do not. The
case of most "beggars" or indigent is
unknown to us, and what is known is
that many are professional beggars and
welfare recipients. Thus, charity to
the unbelieving poor must always be
administered in a way that does not
promote their sin, and always aims at
. the redemption of the entire
man.
Those generally eligible
for suppon, whether in the
church or not, are those
unable to work, since we are
to provide for ourselves by
work. We must aid those
left "alone," widows and
orphans, are appropriate, I
Tim. 5:5. We must also
allow help for those who
, su ffer because of the
circumstances of life. We
3:10. (This does not mean that people ' must recognize that some poverty is
cannot give gifts to others, but only the caused by God's providence and
truly 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 GENERAL POOR. have experienced poverty through
Although,Ibelievethatourfirstpriority some calamity or disaster are proper
is 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 [Mark
first. Charity is not limited to your 5:25!], flood, earthquake, fire, etc.).
ownfamily,church, orChristians. The ThosewM are "strangers" or "aliens"
parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke (who have no propeny) and those
10, indicates that we have a exploited or oppressed are also proper
responsibility to love our neighbor objects of mercy and protection, Amos
whomever Providentially that is. That 8:4-8, Zech. 7:9-14, Isa. 1:17
does not mean that we must help (injustice, legalized theft, fraud, etc.).
anyone or everyone who is poor, 2 We must also recognize the economic
Thess. 3: 10, "If a man will not work, impact of national failure to live in
neither let him eat." The parable of the terms of God's law and the judgment
Good Samaritan concerns an of God, Lev. 26, Dt. 28, Gen. 4l.
emergency need of a man whose People do suffer through national and
6 f TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ March, 1994
cultural circumstances such as
inflation, oppression, injustice,
depression, etc. There are many poor
single parent women today, albeit that
many 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 to
obtain the basic necessities oflife. Thus,
Christian orphanages, hospitals and
medical care, homeless shelters, and
even Christian schools, etc., suppOlted
by the tithes and offerings of the people
of God are valid and
poor and needy by a common food
chest or clothes closet, etc., controlled
by the deacons. They could be screened
and directed to various approved
churches.
C. THE CHRISTIAN POOR. Our
first responsibility, beyond our own
family and relatives, is the people of
God. God's people have as their goal
to be poverty free, Dt. 15: 4, 5. Our
PRIMARY concem and responsibility
is to the poor "Christian" brother,
widow, orphan (See Mat. 25:35, Acts
good stewards, to do good in a good
way?
A. TEACHING (Eph. 4:28): We
must teach Christian responsibility for
ourselves and our family. We must
teach Christian responsibility for our
own parents in their old age when they
may be in need. We must teach the
churches responsibility to care for the
poor. We must also teach that this is
not the responsibility of the civil
government to provide welfare relief.
However, we must be willing and able
to assume responsibility.
important ministry Il.nd
evangelistic tools. And
the more we can recapture
these areas from the dvil
government, the greater
will be the opportunity
for the church.
Even those who have
experienced poverty
because of foolishness,
irresponsibility, and sin,
may receive charity
"The disciples, each according
to his ability, decided to
provide help for the brothers
living in Judea. This they did,
sending their gift to the elders
by Barnabas and Saul."
The church should teach
individual and familial
responsibility to provide for
their own families by
industry, responsibility,
honoring God with their
own giving, and caring for
the orphan and elderly.
There may even be
instruction in money
management, and business
management, as well as
encouraging, equipping,
and assisting in starting of
provided they are
repentant, and are willing
to be discipled to the LordJ esus Christ.
Moral poverty often leads to material
poverty. There is self-caused poveny
through laziness, greed, foolishness,
shortsightedness, and religious error
(pious poverty). We are under no
obligation to help the poor off the
street simply because he is poor. But
we should be willing to help the poor
in conjunction with evangelism and
disdpleship. In the case of the general
poor, all mercy should be accompanied
by a Christian wimess (Isa. 58: I, 6-
12), directed toward immediate needs,
not continued apart from Christian
disdpleship, counseling, and training.
The poor have no absolute right to
charity.
In this area, it seems that deacons
and churches in a particular area could
cooperate and combine resources, in
the name of Christ, to minister to the
Acts 11: 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 be
automatically construed as a sign of
sin, judgment, or unspitituality, Mat.
26: 11. The Bible indicates that there
were godly poor among the people of
God, those who suffered from famine,
loss of husband and father (Widows
and Orphans), those persecuted, and
strangers, who were to be shown
hospitality.
III. HOWAREWETOHELPTHE
POOR? The danger of trying to do a
good thing in a bad way is real. Because
of our deSire to do good we may end
up being "Do-gooders" who are easy
targets for the indigent. The poor
often prey upon Christians because
they know they have a conscience
conceming aiding the poor. How are
we as individuals and churches to be
businesses. Most marriages encounter
their first problems concemingrnoney.
Many young adults marry without
having had any instruction or counsel
conceming the use and misuse of
money.
B. THE TITHES AND
OFFERINGS: Here wemust say a word
about the most basic form of Christian
giving, and an issue over which there
is much disagreement.
The tithe was practiced before
Moses, Gen. 14: 17-20,28:22, codified .
in the law, Lev. 27:20-33, Numbers
18:21-24, Dt. 12:6,7, 17, 19, 14:22-
29, 26:12-15, and affirmed (not
abolished 01' denied) by Jesus, Mt.
23:23, Luke 11: 42. In the third year
the tithe went directly to the provision
ofthe local poor in the cities of Israel,
(Dt.14:28,29;Cf. 25: 12-15). There
were also, above the tithe in the O.T.
March, 1994 't- THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7
there were free-will offerings that were
, given primarily for the building of the
temple, Ex. 25:1-2, I Chron. 29:6-9.
While nowhere rescinding the
principle of the tithe, the N.T.
emphasizes (1) The fulfilling of the
law, Mat. 5:17. (2) Alms
("Eleemosune" - "mercy: from which
we 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 and
proportionally, I Cor. 16:2, d. Deut.
16: 17.) (5) IndiviQual commitment, I
Cor. 16:2, 2 Cor. 9:7. (6) The
blessedness 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 tithing
is still the moral requirement of the
people of God. However, even for
those who sincerely ;lssen that because
that is in the O.T., it is no longer
binding, their conclusion is false. To
say that it is no longer binding does
not mean, therefore, that I should
conclude that I mayor should give less
than 10%. Frankly, and I mean
FRANKLY, I have never heard anyone
advance the non-tithe argument except
as a basis to give LESS. Sometimes,
people will say that in the N.T. we
should not be bound by the tithe, but
should give more than that. , While
sounding pious, again, the NET effect
is generally to give less than the tithe.
Giving is a very private matter
generally. But it is not private with
God. God Watches the offering during
the worship (Luke 21:1-4). He is the
only one'who needs to know what you
give, and he knows the motive.
Ulctmatelywhat Goa honors is not the
amount, but the heart!
IntlieO.T. the tithe went to support
the Levites (Num. 18:21) who had no
inheritance in the land, who in tum
tithed to the High Priest (Num. 18:
26, 28). The N.T. to
acknowledge the support of those who
labor in the Word,Phil. 4: IS-18, I
Cor. 9:14,Gal. 6:6, ITim. 5:17, 18, III
John 8, as well as the poor. We must
not forget that the extent and success
of the Gospel is related to the giving of
the people of God, and giving toward
objectsthatmosteffectivelyaccomplish
the goals of the Great Commission.
C. GIFTS (CHARITABLE
ASSOCIATIONS 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, Acts
20:3,5. TheN.T.saintsputno]imiton
giving, even robbing themSelves, giving
sacrificially, toward the needs of others.
"If the people of Goa of old were
constrained by law to give, the people
of the New Covenant are
by the mercies of God to show kindness
and liberality. As the early Christian
father Irenaeus put it, 'The]ews were
constrained to a regular payment of
tithes; Christians, who have received
liberty, assign all their possessiOns to
the Lord, bestowing freely not the lesser
portions of their property, since they
have 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 could
work, gleaning was a primary means
of aid to the poor. This is the
counterpart to 2 Thess. 3: 10, "If a man
will not work, neither let him eat" One
who can work and will not is not
deserving of chatity. Modem forms of
gleaning may include clothes closets
or food pantries, for example.
E. CHARITABLE LENDING: Ex.
22:2S, Lev. 25:35-37, Dt. lS:1,2, 9.
These lending laws should be
considered separate from business
loans. Chatitable loans were interest
free. We are not obligated to support
or secure or subsidize the wants of the
8 f TIlE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon f March, 1994
poor; however, a basic and minimal
means of sustenance was the purpose.
All Christians and churches ought
to be good stewards even in the matter
of charity: We must even be regulated
in charity by the word of God. Our
fitSt responsibility is to the household
of faith, but we may not neglect the
general poor. We should not feel
guilty if we do not help people
indiscriminately. We are not obligated
to help all men, especially those who
continue an unbelieving and wicked
lifestyle. Wewillbe guilty, however, if
we are not compassionate, generous,
seek to alleviate poverty in a godly
manner.
, UltimatelywegivebecauseofGod's
supreme gift to us, 2 Cor. 8:9. It is
proof oflove for God, IJohn 3:17, 2
Cor. 8:24, Mat. 2S:3Sf. For Paul there
was a direct connection between mercy
shown 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. James
exhorts the believers to be full of mercy
and good fruits, 3:17 '(Heb 13:16)
because to reject this is to invite the
merciless judgment of God on oneself,
James2:13. Mercy giving!sultimate1y
a means of advancing His kingdom,
His gloty, and His honor.
Bibliography and
Recommended Reading:
Beisner, Calvin; Prosperit;y and
POVtTt;y, Crossway Books.
Chilton, David, Productive
Christians In an Age of Guilt
Manipulators, Institutefor Christian
Economics.
Davis, John Jefferson, Your
Wealth in God's World, Presbyterian
and Reformed.
Grant, George, Bnngtng in the
Sheaves, American Vision Press.
Olasky, Marvin, The Tragedy of
AmeTican CompasSion, Regnery
Gateway. Q