Helping The Poor: Isn’t That Works-Based Salvation?
Jul 04
I have always wrestled with this: I know that as Christians, we should help poor people, because it’s the “right thing to do.” Yet, helping the poor is something that everyone feels obligated to do–Christian or not. I often resist focusing in on it, as it often makes Christianity appear to be a “works-based” religion, when I know that salvation comes by God’s grace, not our works. In addition, it seems that in Christian circles, liberal/mainline Christians fixate on helping the poor or other social issues, and as a result sideline what I see as the core of the faith: salvation through Christ from eternal punishment for us sinners and new spiritual rebirth.
So it baffled me every time I read in Galatians when Paul recounts how he was appealing to the leaders of the Church to recognize that the Gentiles could also become Christians without having to follow the Law (become circumcised, etc), and at the end how the leaders decide that indeed Paul is right. But according to Paul in Galatians, they give him this one instruction:
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Why does this keep coming up in Scripture and in Jesus’ words? Why does Jesus tell people to sell all their possessions and give to the poor? Why is this so important? Aren’t we saved by God’s grace, and not by good works, such as this?
I would like to throw out something that I’ve been thinking recently:
I have been realizing recently that I don’t really trust Jesus to save me from my sins, even though I’ve thought otherwise. I keep coming back to this question: How can I say that I trust Jesus to save me from an eternal hell and wash away all my sins, but I can’t seem to trust Him with the things of this earthly life? It seems to me that giving all our possessions to help the poor isn’t so much about earning our way to heaven, as it is a test to see whether we really do trust Jesus. In actuality, all of us trust in the power of money. We know that money gets us somewhere in this life. And that if we lose our money, we know deep down inside that we are in deep trouble in this life. Yet Jesus challenges us…”Will you believe this aching feeling in your gut, or will you trust Me? Do you not trust that I made this world out of nothing and that I will take care of you for the next 70 years of your existence on this planet (or less), even if you lose all your money? How can you trust Me with your eternity if you cannot trust me with these few short years on earth?”
So perhaps one major reason why Jesus calls Christians to give everything to the poor is to prove that we really have put our trust in Him for salvation. To prove that we really are living for eternity and not this earthly life. To prove that we really do believe there is a God out there who isn’t just a “God out there,” but a God who does love us and will take care of us. To prove that our life is no longer our own, but God’s. To prove that God’s love controls us now, not our own selfishness.
I don’t think this is the only reason why we should help the poor. Obviously, there are plenty of others. Poor people need urgent help, for one. And isn’t the Gospel about a God who provides urgent help to sinners who are doomed for eternal destruction? Helping the poor is a great way to demonstrate what God does for us spiritually. It puts a face on it. I mean, didn’t Jesus give up all He had in heaven to help us? And don’t we believe that after His work on earth was done, He received an eternal inheritance? Doesn’t it make sense that we as Christians should follow Jesus’ example and give away all we have, knowing that it’s just for the remainder of our time on earth, and that we too will receive an eternal inheritance? Do I really believe there’s an eternity, and that I don’t need to be comfortable in this life?
So the next time the thought comes to my mind that I’m just trying to earn my salvation when I consider how much I money and stuff I think I should give away, I’ll remind myself that this isn’t works-based at all–it’s simply a way for me to face the question: do I really trust Jesus with my life? And have I really decided to follow Jesus?
In God’s original design of the world, poverty didn’t exist. He is probably deeply saddened that his creation doesn’t equally share their resources so that no one suffers. That may be one reason why we need to reach out to the poor.
I am not a missionary and I’ve never been one. But I know that many missionaries will try to meet unreached, poor people groups by first taking care of their physical needs before addressing their spiritual ones. It makes sense and it must help open the door to salvation and true relationship.
The bottom line that I see is that there are lots of people that need our help, and we can help them. So we should. In the end, the organization or group you are supporting is going to be better off by your support, whatever your motivations. We need to help Christians understand that helping the poor is not the way for them to obtain salvation–but we don’t need to stop helping the poor in the process.
Perhaps as a byproduct of being an Arminian gone wild, I put too much emphasis on the “works” part of salvation as well. “Faith without works is dead” repeats through my mind often. I wonder if my “tree” is producing enough fruit or if it’s in danger of being cut down. Then I wonder if it matters why I do good works…like if I’m just doing them because I think it’s important for Christians to do good works, does that count? Eventually I get tired of thinking in circles and I just think about the people I am (or am not) helping.