Good News to The Poor

(1) The New Covenant Priesthood

Jesus told the rich ruler to give everything to the poor, “Then come, follow me” (Luke 18:22), not because the ruler cared too much for his wealth, though it was true, but because Jesus required all his disciples to give up everything. Jesus said, “any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33) (NIV). This was not just a test of loyalty, he meant that literally! All of his seventy disciples of Jesus had to give up everything. This was not a requirement of the average person who was to believe in Jesus, but it was a requirement of those who were to become missionaries and ministers of the Gospel. So now we know why all of his disciples were poor, the rich were not willing to give up their wealth.

Jesus looked at the rich ruler and said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom. The Greek refers to a sewing needle. Jesus was using exaggeration (hyperbole) to make a point. The point being, that it is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God.

Then the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved? . . . We have left all we had to follow you!” (Luke 18:26,28) (NIV). Those who teach the prosperity message say that statement proves the apostles were rich. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary says, “A common error of Phariseeism and Judaism in general was the undue emphasis upon material wealth as evidence of God’s approval” (p. 940). So if rich people were blessed by God, then they must be more righteous than poor people. In other words the apostles were saying, “if the rich have a hard time entering the kingdom of God, how can anyone enter?” “How can we get into the kingdom, we are poor?” Therefore, even if the apostles had been rich, they were no longer, because they “left all” to become disciples.

And leaving all does not mean leaving it at home to come back to later. No, leaving all meant they no longer possessed their material goods. It is possible that when a disciple sold his goods he gave the money to Jesus, who then distributed it to the poor as he came upon them and used some to buy food for them. It is also possible that those included among the poor who were helped was Jesus and the disciples themselves. However, there is evidence that their goods were sold and the money given directly to the poor.

Luke 12 contains a recruiting speech for future disciples. Jesus tells his potential disciples that they should not worry about what they will eat or what they will wear because God knows they need those things, and if they seek first the Kingdom, then God will provide them with the necessities of life just as he provides for the birds of the air and lilies of the field. He urges them, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke12:33-34) (NIV).

This was not just a general admonition against materialism. Jesus was saying, “do not be concerned that you are giving up all your net worth. If you give up everything to seek the Kingdom, God will see to it that you have all the food and clothes you need. So go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor.” Again, this is evidence that all seventy disciples gave up all they had, like the rich ruler refused to do.

Jesus did not say that where your heart is, there will your treasure be, he said where your treasure is, there will your heart be. This means that if you have a lot of material goods and money here on Earth, your heart will be directed there and you will become greedy and materialistic. You will care about your material goods, and you will spend time getting, securing, maintaining, and using your earthly treasure rather than pursuing the things of God.

In the letters to the seven churches, it was no coincidence that the poor people of Smyrna were spiritually rich, but the rich people of Laodicea were spiritually “poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). You cannot have lots of material goods without becoming materialistic; your heart will be where your treasure is. This is one of the reasons that Jesus expected his ministers-in-training to sell all they had and give it to the poor. He does not want materialistic ministers.

Requiring the future ministers of the Gospel to sell all they have was not new. Jesus was following the Old Testament commands of God to Moses that the Levites were not to have an inheritance among the tribes of Israel (Numbers 1:47-49). So this new priesthood that Jesus was forming was to live with even less material wealth than the Levites.

The book of Matthew contains another speech to potential full-time disciples:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me…. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?… 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:24, 26-27) (NIV)

It is better to give up everything to become a minister of the living Gospel than to pursue the riches of the world which will lead you to become spiritually poor, blind, and naked. People who are not willing to live a life of self-denial should not be allowed to enter the ministry. Those who are willing to give up everything will be greatly rewarded at the return of Christ. In another place in Matthew Jesus said:

“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39) (ESV)

This passage is about sacrifice. If you are willing to give up pursuing a life of ever increasing wealth, you will find true life. But whoever becomes materially prosperous in this life, will loose his eternal life. Ministers like to preach on the cross of Christ but they pass over this verse because this verse requires the ministers to die to their own ambitions and desires. We must be willing to sacrifice everything to follow Christ in the ministry. It’s about sacrifice; to a lesser extent it also applies to all people who would become Christians because many people must sacrifice all they have just to be a Christian in many nations of the world today, even their very lives.

Sacrifice is a dirty word to many American Christians, especially Word of Faith Charismatics who are seeking after Rolls Royces and Rollex watches. If you are not willing to give up your material goods for your brother and sister, how will you give up your life for the Gospel?

Luke chapter 14 also contains statements and parables that were part of a disciple-recruiting speech. It is conclusive proof that people had to give up their possessions to become one of his fulltime disciples:

“Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He would first sit down and think things through. Can he and his 10,000 soldiers fight against a king with 20,000 soldiers?

32 If he can’t, he’ll send ambassadors to ask for terms of peace while the other king is still far away. 33 In the same way, none of you can be my disciples unless you give up everything.” (Luke 14:31-33) (GW)

Back in those days armies frequently went to war for the purpose of plundering another nation of its gold, silver, cattle, and even people to use as slaves. In this parable the king with only 10,000 men would be wise to seek terms of peace, which means he would have to ask the stronger king, “how much gold, silver, cattle and people do you want from me to not invade my nation?” The king with the weaker army would then pay what the king with the stronger army demanded; it was called tribute.

Jesus then said, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (NIV). Jesus was here making a similar demand of those who wanted to become one of his disciples. But he was not demanding for a particular amount, he was demanding that everything be given to the poor. This was the requirement for becoming his disciple. It was not just a test of loyalty, he meant that literally. All seventy of Jesus’ disciples had to give up everything. This was not a requirement of the average person who would come to believe in Jesus, but it was a requirement of those who wanted to become fulltime apostles-in-training. All of the seventy disciples were missionaries and ministers-in-training, and they had to sell everything they had and give the proceeds to the poor.

Today the call is, “become a pastor and you will have a $50,000 per year salary, or perhaps even $100,000 salary. The big-name preachers get into the millions because of their book sales! Jesus did not say, “take up your gold and silver and follow me” he said “take up your cross and follow me” (Luke 14:27). We must be willing to make great sacrifices to follow Christ into the ministry. In another place Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) (NIV)

This means that any preacher must be willing to give up everything. It’s about sacrifice, but the only people who are expected to sacrifice today are the people who are not preachers, and they are expected to give sacrificially so the preacher can have a huge income and build a huge church building! Abomination!

If all the afore mentioned is not enough evidence that the ministers of the Early Church gave up everything, Eusebius, the first Christian historian, reports that a fellow named King Abgar wrote a letter to Jesus asking him to come and heal him, but Jesus replied that he could not but would send one of his disciples. A final letter tells what finally happened when Thaddeus was sent to Abgar and preached to all his people:

So Abgar assembled his citizens at daybreak to hear the preaching of Thaddeus, after which he ordered that gold and silver be given him. But Thaddeus refused, asking, “If we have left behind our own property, how can we accept that of others?” (Book 1, Chapter 13)

This passage from Eusebius shows that Jesus required his disciples to give up everything they had before they could become ministers. The preachers of today would have accepted gladly and would have boasted about how great an offering God had given them, as if it were proof that they are great ministers of God. “Look at all this, that God has given me!” The practice of giving up everything was continued beyond the apostolic age, as described by Eusebius:

Many of them, smitten by the divine Word, first fulfilled the Savior’s command by distributing their property to the needy. Then, leaving their homes, they took up the work of evangelists, eager to preach the message . . . (Book 3: Chapter 37)

Jesus does not expect us all to give up all we have, he only expects us to give up the amount above the basics; he only expected his future preachers and to give up all they had. Should pastors be expected to do that today? There is Scriptural evidence to support this view. Jesus said that a hireling, or hired worker, will not defend the sheep when the wolf comes:

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:11-13) (ESV)

This could mean that a hired preacher will not be willing to make sacrifices for the sheep, if so, it suggests that preachers should not be paid a salary, but should be appointed or called of God to care for the sheep. But they should have all their needs provided for, as indicated elsewhere in the New Testament. Jesus gave the disciples instructions for going into towns to preach; they were to take nothing with them such as a bad of clothing or food, because they should have all their needs met by those they preach to.

4 Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t stop to greet anyone on the way. . . . 7 Stay with the family that accepts you. Eat and drink whatever they offer you. After all, the worker deserves his pay. . . . (Luke 10:4, 7) (GW)

Here we have food and drink and a place to sleep as being payment for preaching. This is considerably less than most preachers expect in America. Does this mean that preachers should not be paid a salary, but only have their needs met?

I suspect that God does not require pastors today to give up everything, especially if they have families to support, so they cannot live like Elijah in a cave. But I also believe that the way we pay pastors needs to be reformed. The average pastor’s salary, according to one source, is about $40,000 a year, which is near the national average for all Americans. But The 2006 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff says the average salary is $77, 076 when you include life and health insurance and other benefits. However, the larger the church the larger the salary tends to be, which means there are many pastors earning over $100,000, and some earn several hundred thousand. TV preachers tend to be millionaires.

I happen to agree with Antioch Community Church in Waco, TX, that the pastor should be paid no differently than any other Christian worker or missionary, with a base salary plus more for a wife and more for each child. Pastors should not be paid according to the world’s system, as they currently are. The wealth of some ministers actually turns some people away from Christianity. This is why Paul would not accept income from the Corinthians:

12 If others have the right to expect this from you, don’t we have an even greater right? But we haven’t made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. … 18 What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel. 19 I am a free man, nobody’s slave; but I make myself everybody’s slave in order to win as many people as possible. (1 Cor. 9:12, 18-19) (GNB)

Here in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul said that even though he had a right to receive compensation from them for preaching the Gospel to them, he chose not to be paid in order to not put any obstacle in the way of people who are interested in the Gospel message. Why would being paid be an obstacle? Because people of that day, as well as our own, suspect that many preachers are just preaching for the money. By not accepting income from the Corinthians, he will win more people to Christ. Wealthy preachers are an obstacle to many people accepting Christianity today.

(2) A New Covenant Society

Giving up their material goods was very important training, yet there was more to this than ministers not becoming materialistic and learning to live by faith. Because there were no food stamps, welfare, or Social Security, there were many needy people that Jesus wanted to help. He could have bought an empty chest and performed the miracle that most American Word of Faith preachers dream will happen, by filling it will gold coins, but that is not the way God operates.

Modern Christianity has mostly stopped helping the poor in the way they once did. The majority of Christianity in America today says that poor people should give offerings to the Church, then God will bless them and even remove their poverty, but that is the opposite of what the Early Church did. The Early Church met the needs of the poor, which is how taking care of the poor and sick became one of the basic tenants of the true Christian faith! But

Even though Jesus does not require the average Christian to give up everything as he does ministers, he does expect us to sell any excess goods whenever a need arises. Which is why the early Christians sold land or houses and gave to people as needs arose (Acts 4:35). So it is best if Christians of like mind live close together and share there goods:

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. . . .34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:32, 34-35) (ESV)

Those in the Early Church did not give all they had all at once because there were no banks in which to keep the money safe. Therefore, people sold their items of high value when needs arose. And those needs were NOT a multi-million dollar church building, or a new Cadillac for the pastor, but were clothes and food and housing for those who could not earn enough to supply all they needed. This was one of the reasons so many thousands joined the Church right after it started. All the people knew that they could be injured or would some day get too old to provide for themselves, and there were no social services.

So God established the first social services and retirement program in the history of Western civilization! And he appointed his Church to carry out that program. If the Christians in America had been following the teachings of the New Testament, there would have been no need for the establishment of Social Security, because the early Christians also took care of the nonbelievers!

(3) Servants of God

Jesus did not come as a ruler, but to serve others: “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:26-27) (NIV). The Greek for “serve” in that verse is diakoneo (1247) and means “To serve, wait upon, with emphasis on the work to be done … serve by waiting on a table… care for someone’s needs… helping someone directly is involved. …” (Complete WordStudy Dictionary (CWD)).

There are in fact several different Greek words which are all translated “serve” or a form of the word, so it was not just a general term. The other Greek words refer to public service, involuntary service in bondage, military service, the service of a priest in the temple, worship offered to God, and so forth. Therefore other words could have been used rather than a word that refers to waiting on tables. Jesus was not speaking in Greek, so when Luke chose which Greek word to relate what Jesus had said, he chose the word that referred to serving food. Jesus came to serve mankind, literally, not just die in our place.

The apostles continued what Jesus started by personally distributing food to those in need. The book of Acts relates that some Jews were upset because “their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1) (NIV). Some people were overlooked because the apostles were distributing food and preaching and teaching and studying the Scriptures. Therefore, to make sure everyone received their daily food, the apostles appointed seven others to distribute the food, which included Stephen and Philip. The important question is why were the apostles distributing food in the first place? Because that is what Jesus trained them to do, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). A passage in Matthew shows that Jesus was training his disciples to be servants:

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28) (ESV)

Just as Jesus came to serve others, even give his life, he expects his ministers to become servants as well. According to Jesus, all ministers are to give up everything and not have great material possessions or monetary wealth. But the average minister in America today drives a Cadillac or other luxury car; while in fact he should be the one who drives a used car because the difference in price can feed many people, or fix a lot of roofs, or buy several used cars for those who cannot afford one.

In light of all this information it is no wonder that God brought down the PTL network in 1987 with such a bang. Even though PTL did provide food and some shelter to a few needy, the many millions of dollars spent on grandiose buildings could have fed and clothed millions of people. Just the water slide and giant swimming area at Heritage USA cost 13 million dollars, in mid 1980s dollars (Bakker, I Was Wrong, p. 517). Between 1984 and 1987 Bakker spent 15 million dollars just on printing and postage for his mail-outs, probably asking for money (Ibid, p.517).

It is not enough to give small token offerings to the poor, we should sacrifice to help them. Right after Peter said, “We have left all we had to follow you!” Jesus said, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age” (Luke 18:29-30) (NIV). In Matthew Jesus says the person will receive one-hundred times as much. How can you receive 100 mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers? It refers to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Their house is our house, their family is our family. It does not refer to receiving literal material wealth like some people teach today! Barnes’ Notes says:

This is not to be understood literally, but that he will give what will be worth 100 times as much in the peace, and joy, and rewards of religion.

Do you fear that there will be no Social Security when you retire? You should fear, the way the Church is today, but the Early Church had no such fear. Even though they had no Social Security or retirement, they knew they would be cared for. The Amish are the only people in America who legally don’t have to pay Social Security, because they don’t collect it. They take care of their own like all Christians should.

Yes, God will supply your needs, but if you have no income or a low income, God’s plan for supplying your needs is for your brothers and sisters in Christ to help you. Just as Christ came to serve us, we now must serve him, by serving those God loves. And not just full time ministers, we are all servants of Christ:

If the Lord called you when you were a slave, you are the Lord’s free person. In the same way, if you were free when you were called, you are Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought for a price. Don’t become anyone’s slaves. (1 Cor. 7:22-23) (GW)

He died for all people so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the man who died and was brought back to life for them. (2 Cor. 5:15) (GW)

Not living for ourselves does not mean no longer pursuing sinful activity, though you should not do that either, it means no longer pursuing our own wants and desires. Christians spend a lot of time engaged in sports or boating or some other recreation when they should be cooking food for the hungry or mowing the yard of an elderly person. We are now slaves of Christ, which means we must busy ourselves helping others rather than helping ourselves.

Many people believe and teach that the purpose of the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers, is to equip people to do the work of preaching, teaching, etc. But that passage says, “to prepare God’s people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12) (NIV). There is no possible way that the average person on the pew should be trained for the ministry. They are not called of God into the ministry. They are not all part of the five-fold ministry, therefore they should not be taught or think, that they are going to be in the ministry. The five-fold ministry is to train people to do “works of service.” In other words, they are to be trained to do good deeds. It is the lay people who should be doing most of the feeding of the poor, which is why the apostles gave that job to others in the book of Acts. So also the ministers today should be training people to do good works. It is our calling to serve God in good deeds, as previous stated by Paul.

(4) God’s Love in Action

The Kingdom is not just for one day or one meal. A mere handout is not establishing God’s Kingdom in people’s lives. It should be a complete and well-coordinated effort to meet people’s needs in a long-term way. It should also be a means to bring people into the Kingdom. Feeding the hungry not only demonstrates God’s love for others, it demonstrates our love for them. Jesus said:

“Love each other as I have loved you. This is what I’m commanding you to do. The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.” (John 15:12-13) (GW)

So Jesus expects us to literally give our daily lives for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As I look at the Church world today, I don’t see this happening. A few people are willing to give their lives as missionaries, but almost no one will even give up their excess material provide for our poverty stricken brothers and sisters.

We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. 17 Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? (1 John 3:16- 17) (ESV)

The Living Bible puts it this way:

We know what real love is from Christ’s example in dying for us. And so we also ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers. But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him – how can God’s love be within him?

The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary says:

The dramatic conclusion we are irresistibly led to is this: “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” We are to do this not simply because that is what Jesus did, but because that is what Jesus revealed to be the demand of agape love. Love is denial of self for another’s gain…. How can we know whether we would sacrifice our life for a fellow believer? We can know by being compassionate toward such a one in his or her present need. If we are unable or unwilling to sacrifice material advantage for the sake of our fellow believers, we know that the love of God is not in us. (Vol.2, p. 1097)

We must be willing to give to those in need or the love of God is not in us. Based on this information, a large number of Christians in America are not true Christians. Pews are filled with people every Sunday who do not have the love of God in them, yet they believe they are going to heaven because they read their Bibles and pay tithes and were baptized in the Church. They have been deceived by the material goods. They have been deceived by a false gospel of wealth, or a false gospel of Eternal Security.

The following passage in Acts shows that the money the people gave to the apostles was not just for the work of preaching, but was for individual needs such as clothes and food. It also shows that they prepared their food and ate together:

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need…. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:45-46) (NIV)

Of course they were glad; they finally had a network of people who, working together, would remove hunger and the fear of becoming destitute in the future. 1 Corinthians 13 is Paul’s well known passage about love, “If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, … If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” (13:1,3) (NIV). Paul was referring to the motive for giving possessions and doing good works. Some rich people give in an effort to ease their consciences or because they think they can buy their way into heaven. Heavenly reward from giving is something you can receive only if you first qualify by trusting in Jesus as your Savior.

Paul goes on to say that all things on this earth will pass away, including all our good works. The only things that will remain into eternity are “faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (13:13). God is love and love is the foundation of all that he does and should be the foundation of all that we do, including our good works. This passage does not say that love is more important than giving, so that you can claim to have love without giving, it just means that it is possible to give without love as the motive. It does not remove the command to demonstrate love by giving of our goods and our time; in other words, our lives.

The food distribution in Acts was not just a few free meals each month, like some churches do, but was for poor believers on a daily bases. The Early Church is the example which we should follow. It does not mean that every person who becomes a Christian must sell all they have and give it to meet the needs of others, but it does mean that we should give everything beyond our basic needs. This does not mean we cannot have a telephone or even a computer, because these are tools that can help us in many ways, and even help us help the poor, such as having a telephone line for calls from people in need. And having a computer is necessary to have a web site that can teach people or provide information on where a person can receive help. Even televisions can be useful educational and lifesaving tools. For example, during bad weather they show the progress of dangerous storms and they show the damage done by storms so that we can know where the needs are greatest.

(5) Table Ministry

It is no coincidence that Jesus used the illustration of serving tables to show his mission here on earth:

“For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (Luke 22:27) (ESV)

The daily food distribution in Acts was not the first distribution of food; they did this because that is what Jesus taught his disciples to do, to literally be servants. However, the apostles did more than feed fellow Christians and the poor, Jesus and the early Church held dinners as an evangelistic tool. This is not clearly explained by the NT writers, but it is there in the Scriptures, and we will see this unfold throughout the New Testament. The apostles were not writing books of doctrine. The Early Church was living it every day so why would they need to spell everything out? But the evidence is there nevertheless. For example, Jesus is referred to as one who eats and drinks with sinners:

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9:10-11) (ESV)

In those days they did not cook up a lot of food because they had no way of preserving the food that was not eaten. They had no refrigeration, so they only prepared as much food as they expected to eat. How then could “many” tax collectors and sinners eat with Jesus and the disciples? There is only one way, the food was prepared for that purpose, and during the meal Jesus had what amounts to an evangelistic outreach. The above account continues:

12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13) (ESV)

In other words, he was eating with sinners in order to call them to repent. There is another passage that shows that Jesus frequently ate with sinners so he could use the occasion to preach to them:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” (Mat. 11:18-19) (ESV)

Jesus came eating and drinking with sinners, but it was a wise thing to do because it was his form of ministry. Jesus said people will try to enter the kingdom but be cast out; they will say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets” (Luke 13:26) (ESV). This shows the kind of ministry Jesus had, providing both physical and spiritual food. Jude also mentions holding dinners for people:

These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, looking after themselves . . . (Jude 12) (ESV)

The love feasts were the dinners which were held to feed the poor people of the community, which also served as an evangelistic tool. Jude was speaking out against ministers who would not give money to provide food at the love feasts, yet they attended and considered them all-you-can-eat dinners. Judging by size of their waist lines, there are a lot of all-you-can-eat preachers today, dinning with God’s money.

So the Early Church also practiced a table ministry which Jude called “love feasts.” I can hear the practitioners of dead religion now, “But Paul said, ‘the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’” (Romans 14:17) (NIV). True, but the context shows that he was actually talking about evangelistic outreach dinners:

“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.” (Romans 14:20) (ESV)

It is no coincidence that Paul connects the “work of God” with dinners, because that is the kind of ministry Jesus had. Paul was saying that at our love feasts, we should not serve food that sinners consider unclean. Suppose an idol worshiper considered fish an unclean food. What good would it do to serve fish at an evangelistic outreach? None. It is only after conversion that he would see fish as being clean. Earlier in verse 17, Paul was saying that the Kingdom is not merely food and drink. The giving of food and drink is merely a means of showing God’s love, and so is a means to get people into the Kingdom. Therefore, we should offer them food which they consider clean. Just because we know a particular food is clean does not mean we should insist on serving it. It does no harm to not serve certain foods, so that we do not offend people.

Therefore, this passage shows that the Romans and Paul believed and practiced the table ministry of the Early Church. This means having outreach dinners should be a ministry of every single church today. Such a ministry is less effective in prosperous areas, like America, but can still be effective because many people will come to socialize and meet new friends. Early Church writer, Tertullian, also refers to love feasts:

What marvel, then, if love so great as ours should lead us to feast together? . . . Our feast shows its principle in its name: it is called that which in the Greek signifies ‘love.’ However much it may cost, expense incurred in the name of piety is a gain; since we help by this consolation those in need . . . but amongst us, as with God Himself, greater consideration is shown for the poor . . . sufficient is eaten to satisfy hunger; so much only is drunk as becomes the chaste. Satisfaction of appetite is so far indulged in, as is consistent with the remembrance of the duty of worshipping God during the night: conversation is regulated by the knowledge that the Lord is listening. After hand-washing, the lights are brought in, and a general invitation is given to sing to God as each one is able, either from the Holy Scriptures or from his own natural capability; it may be gathered from this how little one has drunk. Prayer in like manner closes the feast. (Tertullian, Apology)

This passage shows that their dinners were not just occasions for socializing, but were for helping the poor; no doubt also the poor who were not members of their congregation. Conservative Christians don’t like the last part, because it shows what they drank could make them drunk.

I am sure that the dinners which the Jesus held were small; they did not have the use of a church dinning hall. In the book of Luke, Jesus gave us some guidelines for whom to invite to our dinners:

“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14) (ESV)

I do not believe it was a coincidence that Jesus used the illustration of a servant waiting on tables to show his type of ministry. Jesus said he came to serve, and since Jesus and the apostles held dinners for the poor, I believe Jesus actually served food to those at the table! Shortly before Judas was to betray Jesus, Jesus took a basin, some water and a towel, and washed the feet of the twelve apostles, then said:

“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:15-17) (ESV)

In those days most people wore sandals and walked on dirt roads, so people’s feet would always get dirty. To wash someone’s feet was something that a lowly servant or slave would do. The command to wash each others feet does not apply to us today because we wear shoes and walk mostly on pavement. However, what this shows is that Jesus was commanding the apostles not to think of themselves as very important people who were to lead the Church, but to think of themselves as servants. Since Jesus washed their feet and no servant is greater than his master, then no job was beneath an apostle, even washing people’s feet. Ministers of the Gospel are to be true servants, doing whatever is needed. However, as we saw in Acts, the apostles did not have enough time to distribute daily food and study the Scriptures and preach the Good News. So they assigned the task of food distribution to apostles-in-training. Nevertheless, as shown by this example, they should still occasionally do the lowest form of servitude to remind themselves that they are just servants, and they will be blessed if they do so rather than delegating all the service work to others.

(6) Growing Slack

As you would expect, many Christians even in the Early Church had a tendency to become slack in their good works. So Paul had to spur people on:

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; (Romans 12:10-11) (NKJ)

This passage is wrongly translated in the King James Version, “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” I especially like the Living Bible’s translation. I will include verse 9 for better context:

Don’t just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. (LB)

The literal translation says, “in diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (LIT). In these verses Paul is talking about their good works. They should do their work with diligence, because it is serving the Lord. The KJV makes it sound like Paul was referring to working hard at their means of employment. Perhaps this is where the early Protestants got their work ethic that resulted in modern Capitalism. If they would funnel all that work ethic from making money into serving others with good works, we would have another historical revolution greater than Capitalism! The Capitalist mantra, “He who dies with the most toys, wins,” is false. He who dies having helped the most people, wins.

Jesus did more than spur people on to good works, he chastised the Christians at Ephesus for abandoning their good works:

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:4-5) (ESV)

The Living Bible says, “turn back to me again and work as you did before.” So, just how important is doing good deeds if Jesus would threaten persecution because they stopped doing good deeds? Very! In 2 Thessalonians Paul exhorts the Christians to keep doing good deeds:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ . . . comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thes. 2:16-17) (ESV)

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. (2 Thes. 3:13) (ESV)

The prospect of having to spend lots of your free time doing good works is not very appealing to most pleasure-seeking people; they would rather be at a football game or playing Bridge. But that is why it has been called sacrifice, and taking up our cross; to do otherwise is sin. There are many passages in the New Testament that shows that the early Christians worked hard at doing good deeds. Here are a few more:

… who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:14) (ESV)

My dear friend, you are so faithful in the work you do for other Christians, even when they are strangers. 6 They have spoken to the church here about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way that will please God. 7 For they set out on their trip in the service of Christ without accepting any help from unbelievers. 8 We Christians, then, must help these people, so that we may share in their work for the truth. (3 John) (GNB)

For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish [not be lazy], but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:10-12) (ESV)

Notice that in several above passages, good work is referred to as showing love. This passage says that, if the Christians addressed in the book of Hebrews earnestly do good works, they can be assured of their ultimate salvation. The NIV puts it this way:

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (NIV)

If theologians had their way, the above passage would be cut out of all Bibles because, taken at face value, it is a bold heresy! It clearly says that people who work hard at doing good deeds can be assured of making heaven. This is quite the opposite of modern Protestant theology that says salvation is “faith plus nothing;” only believe and you will make heaven. This explains why so many Christians are doing nothing!

In Luke 6 Jesus said that we also have to do good to those who are unthankful and even those who are evil:

33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that! 34 And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount! 35 No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. (Luke 6:33-35) (GNB)

According to this passage, in order to be considered Sons of God, i.e., born again Christians, we must do good to those who are our enemies, who are evil, and those who are ungrateful. How much more should we help fellow Christians who are in need!