Psalms 120-122
1 Corinthians 9
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus emphasized the importance of caring for the poor and needy. In fact, He teaches “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40). Although Paul came to faith separate from the rest of the apostles, after a number of years in ministry, he presented himself to the other apostles in Jerusalem and, when affirming his calling and his message to the Gentiles, they noted one requirement of him: “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along’’ (Galatians 2:10). Even though Paul’s conversion was different from the apostles, he shared the same desire as them to care for the poor and the needy.
If Jesus placed such an emphasis on caring for the poor and needy, does it mean that our treatment of the poor will earn us a place in heaven? The answer is: no. Jesus was not teaching a works-based salvation, where if we were good and charitable toward the needs of others that we could earn our way into heaven. What Jesus was teaching is that to know Him is to have concern for the hurting. Why? Because a by-product of a living relationship with Him is that we begin to care about the people and things that He cares about. This then becomes evidence of the Spirit at work within us because we have care and concern for the people around us.
James, the brother of Jesus, talked about how our faith is proven by what we do. In other words, to claim to have faith in Jesus but do nothing for the poor is a deficient faith. James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:14-16).
Our gospel proclamation also requires gospel demonstration, where the gospel of salvation is a gospel that demonstrates care and concern for the poor. Hence, when we talk about mission, we always talk about our evangelism in the context of compassion and justice. As we place our faith in Jesus and experience His activity in our lives by His Spirit, one of the by-products is that we are caught up with His concern and care for the needs of humanity. This is evidence of our union with Him.
Dear Jesus, as I place my faith in You, open my heart and my eyes to be caught up in the same concerns that You have for the poor and needy. Thank You, Lord.
1 Corinthians 9
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus emphasized the importance of caring for the poor and needy. In fact, He teaches “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40). Although Paul came to faith separate from the rest of the apostles, after a number of years in ministry, he presented himself to the other apostles in Jerusalem and, when affirming his calling and his message to the Gentiles, they noted one requirement of him: “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along’’ (Galatians 2:10). Even though Paul’s conversion was different from the apostles, he shared the same desire as them to care for the poor and the needy.
If Jesus placed such an emphasis on caring for the poor and needy, does it mean that our treatment of the poor will earn us a place in heaven? The answer is: no. Jesus was not teaching a works-based salvation, where if we were good and charitable toward the needs of others that we could earn our way into heaven. What Jesus was teaching is that to know Him is to have concern for the hurting. Why? Because a by-product of a living relationship with Him is that we begin to care about the people and things that He cares about. This then becomes evidence of the Spirit at work within us because we have care and concern for the people around us.
James, the brother of Jesus, talked about how our faith is proven by what we do. In other words, to claim to have faith in Jesus but do nothing for the poor is a deficient faith. James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:14-16).
Our gospel proclamation also requires gospel demonstration, where the gospel of salvation is a gospel that demonstrates care and concern for the poor. Hence, when we talk about mission, we always talk about our evangelism in the context of compassion and justice. As we place our faith in Jesus and experience His activity in our lives by His Spirit, one of the by-products is that we are caught up with His concern and care for the needs of humanity. This is evidence of our union with Him.
Dear Jesus, as I place my faith in You, open my heart and my eyes to be caught up in the same concerns that You have for the poor and needy. Thank You, Lord.
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