Mercy ministries- specifically mercy towards another’s physical needs- is something that we as a church have examined before.  However, it is something that we need to be reminded of- that we need to be purposeful about putting into practice.  As we go through life we as individuals must be alert to opportunities to express the gospel of Jesus Christ through merciful deeds.

Recently there have been a couple of items in the blogosphere that have been particularly helpful.

First was the following comment from the Reformation21 blog.

A helpful comment from Michael Cassidy, who is one of the leading evangelics in South Africa:

“Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that doom them, the economic conditions that strangle them, the social conditions that cripple them, is dry as dust religion. We can go further. We can say it is false religion. Deeds are demanded of us. Words and deeds belong together — the words interpreting the deeds and the deeds embodying the words of Christian compassion.”

Second, was a post from the New Attitude Blog by Doug Hayes (Matthew Manjarrez pointed this one out to me).  I was going to post some highlights but there is simply too much good stuff- so here is the whole thing.

What is the mission of the church? Are God’s people called to evangelize the lost by preaching the gospel and calling people to repentance? Or are we to spend our time and resources ministering to the needs of the poor? Are these two activities even meant to be distinguished from one another? Is the gospel preached when we act in harmony with the mercy and justice of God? Are the needs of the poor best met when we address spiritual need, rather than putting food in the bellies of lost souls?

Church history has taught us that ministries of mercy are often erroneously equated with evangelism. Even today, some would say that we proclaim the gospel by meeting physical needs, breaking the chains of oppression and setting people free from multigenerational conditions of poverty and suffering. At best, evangelism is an afterthought; at worst, it’s not a thought at all, but is presumed to be present in deeds reflecting justice and mercy.

On the other hand, some would claim that it’s not the mission of the church to care for the poor at all. They would view a strong emphasis on social justice as inherently worldly, an exchange of the eternally glorious, life-giving gospel for the ONE campaign’s audacious goal to “make poverty history.” The job of the church is to evangelize, not to combat poverty. After all, they might argue, what good is a full stomach if you’re on your way to hell?

So which one is it? Is the church to be concerned with evangelism or care for the poor?

Yes.

It is the job of the church to preach the gospel, and it is the job of the church to care for the poor. Too often, these two high callings are treated as an “either-or” proposition, but Scripture calls God’s people to a “both-and” embracing of both. We are called very clearly to preach the gospel, and we are called very clearly to serve the poor. One should not be done to the exclusion of the other, nor does our obedience to one fulfill our mandate for the other.

It’s important to recognize the difference between evangelism and mercy ministry. They are members of the same family, but they are not one and the same. The former is the all-important proclamation of the gospel, the latter a demonstration of the gospel’s effect on the life of the one who would proclaim it. Both are beautiful displays of the many-faceted mercies of God, whose compassions come in many colors though they flow from one source in the cross.

If we consider it our calling only to preach the gospel, we may address people’s spiritual needs very well, but we miss an opportunity to substantiate the truth of our words through our actions. We miss an opportunity to glorify God by displaying another beautiful aspect of his mercy. I believe Christians need to become more comfortable with the fact that God is glorified through our merciful actions, even if they never lead to the salvation of the person we’re ministering to. If you faithfully care for a suffering friend or family member over a period of years, yet that person dies without Christ, you have not wasted your time. You have greatly glorified God through perseverant, merciful action! This may seem like a startling statement at first, but Scripture does not command us to serve the poor merely as a pretense for evangelism. We care for the poor as a means of reflecting the merciful character of God. As we faithfully do that, his name is glorified. The eternal results are his domain.

Does this mean we’re off the hook when it comes to evangelism? Can we simply care for people’s physical needs and leave it to God to make the gospel known to them? No. Remember, we’re talking about displaying the many-faceted mercies of God. One of those facets – the greatest one that makes all the others possible – is God’s desire to forgive repentant sinners through faith in Jesus Christ. If we neglect this greatest mercy of all, can we honestly call ourselves compassionate people?

We must never confuse these two great mandates the Lord has placed upon us as his people. We can’t accomplish one by doing the other, and the absence or minimization of either represents a failure to carry out the mission God has called us to. Yet even as we distinguish between evangelism and mercy ministry, we recognize that the gospel is the common thread that binds the two together. We desire to take advantage of every opportunity to proclaim the gospel with our lips even as we are demonstrating its authenticity with our deeds. The gospel is central to everything we do. It is the hub from which and to which all ministry flows. Our hope is always to proclaim the gospel, even when our primary ministry activity is oriented toward physical mercy rather than evangelism.

When Paul and Barnabas received their commission from the other apostles to take the gospel to the Gentiles, they were specifically exhorted to “remember the poor” (Gal. 2:10 ESV). “Remembering” is a thoughtful and intentional action, and the implication is clear that this was to remain a priority even in the midst of their evangelistic pursuits. As the other Apostles extended the right hand of fellowship and affirmed Paul and Barnabas’ evangelistic mission, they made it clear that even evangelistic fervor would be no excuse for neglecting the poor. Paul and Barnabas were commissioned to be “both-and” Christians, and this was a commission they received with joy.

Don’t you love Paul? He’s probably the one person in history who was more zealous than anyone to preach the gospel, yet as he reflects back on this moment in history, he wants us to know that no one had to twist his arm to remember the poor. It was the very thing he was eager to do. Where the gospel is preached, it is to be accompanied by care for the poor. Where the poor are relieved of their suffering, it is to be done in the name of Christ with the good news of the gospel resting on our lips.

May these two towering mandates of Scripture be for us – as they were for Paul – the very thing we are eager to do, for the glory of Christ.

This entry was posted by Tim Pickard on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.