Verse eight: In  this posting we will reach back to 1:27 where we are told that pure, undefiled religion involves such things as helping fatherless children and widows “who are widows indeed” (1 Tim. 5:16). These are widows in the true church who have no one else on whom they can depend. The point I want to bring forth in this posting is that not every fatherless child and every needy widow is the responsibility of God’s true church. Note that in 1 Timothy 5:16 where it clearly says: “If any man or woman THAT BELIEVES have widows (WHO BELIEVE), let them help them, SO THAT THE CHURCH MAY NOT BE BURDENED.” This rule enables the church to help true saints who are truly dependent. This gives us our first insight into the Lord’s doctrine relative to church generosity. As a general rule the church is to LIMIT ITS GENEROSITY TO THE TRULY NEEDY WITHIN THE CHURCH. The God-rejecting world’s economic burdens are not the responsibility of God’s obedient people.

In James 2:8 we are told to love our NEIGHBOR as ourselves (the second “Great Commandment”). Death on behalf of another is, as Jesus said, the greatest expression of love. The question is, For whom did He lay down His life. He said in John 15:3 that He would die for HIS FRIENDS. Next question, Who are His friends? Several Scriptures answer this most import question. In Matthew 1:21 we are told that Jesus came to save HIS PEOPLE from their sins. The question then becomes, Who are His people, His friends? The question is answered in John 15:14,15 where He states clearly that we are His friends IF WE DO WHAT HE TELLS US TO DO, WHICH IS WHAT GOD HAS SPOKEN TO HIM AND MADE KNOWN TO US (in the Bible). The fact that Jesus focused almost entirely on those who obeyed His Father’s Word and will is graphically brought forth in Matthew 12:46-50. Here Jesus is speaking to a group of people while His mother and half-siblings stood outside desiring to speak with Him. When informed of this He asked the messenger (and us), “Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?” He then pointed toward His disciples and said, “Behold, My mother and My brethren (His people, His friends). For WHOSOEVER SHALL DO THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN, (ONLY) THEY ARE MY BROTHER, SISTER AND MOTHER.” The message could not be more clear. Jesus refused to speak with his physical family because they did not do the will of His Father. THIS INCLUDED HIS MOTHER.

In these Scriptures the Lord tells us whom God’s saints–His true church–are to help. This subject is addressed in the series of postings titled Church Generosity where we learn from Scripture that only RARELY, AND UNDER DIRECT ORDERS FROM HIM does the Lord instruct us to help those outside the church. Such was the case of the “good Samaritan.” Notice that the Samaritan helped that one man. Nothing is recorded about him helping others. I have on extremely rare occasions felt the Lord telling me to help a stranger. In Church Generosity one will learn that Paul and others helped the poor IN THE CHURCH and no one else. But there are those who refuse to follow their example. These, as the Word tells us, are not true saints, but are members of “the church.” See The Church, The Gospel And The Goats.

So-called “Faith Based” religious organizations provide various items for the community free of charge or at little cost to the consumer. The items are available to everyone regardless of their spiritual condition. Nowhere do we find this type of activity put forth in the Holy Scriptures. So why do religious people operate such businesses? Faith Based religious endeavors operate for three reasons: 1) to grant the operators a measure of religious self-worth, 2) to maintain acceptance within the so-called “Christian community,” and 3) to hide their sins. Refusing to serve God on the spiritual level by obeying His Word, Catholics and Protestants try to mask their evil by serving the world on a physical level. They then attach God’s name to their endeavors to make it appear that He is involved in them. This spiritual-in-name-only substitute for “pure religion” has become so popular and wide-spread that it has been given a name–the “Social gospel.” Social gospelists go all over the world feeding, medicating, clothing, etc. people in the name of the Lord. To make themselves appear to be working in obedience to God, they witness to the people and give them written information. The problem is that they tell the unwitting people about their version of Christianity–a perversion of true Christianity (Gal. 1:6-9). See Bait And Switch. This is Satan’s attempt to bring them into his Catholic/Protestant fold. If the Lord is to be believed, HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF IT. In summary, RELIGIOUS SUCCESS DOES NOT MAKE UP FOR SPIRITUAL FAILURE. L.J.