Written at a time when my theology had shifted to an emphasis on the importance of Good Works:
In the Summer of 1999, I attended a Bible study in Odesa, Ukraine, where the speaker discussed the missionary’s role. Regarding the Ukrainian people, he said, “You know, these people don’t need us, they don’t need our help; all they really need is Jesus.”
There was a quiet nod of approval as if the speaker had said something profound and insightful, but he had lost me. I thought back to my activities in the past few days: visiting an orphanage of 400 orphans who could not afford toilet paper and stopping by an infant hospital of abandoned babies with uncontrollable twitching from lack of human contact. “Of course,” I thought, “I should have been preaching Jesus to those children who can’t use the bathroom properly or sharing my faith with the nurses rather than giving money to pay for more infant care. How silly of me. They don’t need my help.”
This kind of theology sums up the misguided emphasis contemporary evangelicals place upon preaching to justify their neglect of the poor. While at first, this statement may seem insightful or “holy,” it is nothing more than a blatant cop-out from our responsibilities as Christians. The simple fact is that these people do need our help. Preaching alone is not enough. The Bible does not merely encourage us but commands us to do more.
I have been a Christian for 25 years, and frankly, I wonder now where my concept of biblical justice came from for the first fifteen of those years.
I believe it is a sin to put the prerequisite of faith in Christ into our aid. Whether Muslim, Buddhist, or atheist, God commands us to help the needy. A cursory study of scripture from a relatively objective mind will highlight justice’s importance for the poor and needy. “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘but we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your heart know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? (Proverbs 11-12) “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (James 2:16).
Where did Christians get the idea that meeting their physical needs is optional or that our help requires a spiritual response from the needy? Not from Scripture. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind ” and Love your neighbor as yourself ” are the most important commandments (Matt. 22:36-40). The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14). Who is your neighbor? According to the parable of the Good Samaritan, it is your enemy. How much more do the poor and needy deserve our help?
Are we so blinded by Evangelical tradition that we can ignore these scriptures? Are we not like the Pharisees, who “break the command of God for (our own) tradition” (Matt 15:3)? The culprit is our comfortable American lifestyle. It’s so much easier to witness to the poor and walk away than to “Give away half of your possessions to the poor .”
Christianity is, first and foremost, relational; how else is someone determined to be a Christian? Is it not by their good deeds (Eph. 2:10)? By our fruits (Matt. 7:20)? Going out of your way to help others ( Luke 3:10-14), putting others first ( Mark 9:35), showing love in the face of adversity ( 1 Peter 2:20), giving a cup of cold water to a child ( Matt. 10:42), these are the deeds that signify a person is acting like Christ.
Is it not clear? We have made essential but secondary aspects of personal holiness primary. Real Biblical evangelism must include social justice; it is not optional.