Pastor Blogs - How do evangelism and relief of the poor relate?

When you consider demonstrating love to someone in need, is your first inclination sharing the Gospel with them or meeting their material needs? Should we attempt to evangelize the poor without helping them financially? Should evangelism take precedence over acts of mercy? What is the relationship between evangelism and giving relief to the poor?

To answer these questions we must, as always, look to the Bible as our example and authority. Jesus summed up the law by telling us to love God and to love our neighbor. He then told us who we should consider our neighbor by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus is clear that we must take care of our neighbor. But to what end?

When Jesus met people’s physical needs, he was doing so to point them to himself and the Gospel. He fed 5,000 people so he could continue to preach to them. Jesus healed a blind man in John 9 so that he would believe and so he could identify himself as the Messiah. He healed others so that their faith would be confirmed and strengthened. Jesus always used acts of mercy to proclaim gospel truths.

No matter how much assistance we give to the poor, it will never substitute for the saving power and grace of gospel. Evangelism must be our priority when ministering to people. Paul makes sure we know what our priority should be, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:3).

However, the priority given to evangelism does not necessarily mean it should be done first. It is often difficult to practice acts of mercy and evangelism at the same time. Practically, we must assess each situation and relationship first before unwisely blurting out the gospel message. For example, if a fire destroys a neighbor’s home, it would not be wise to speak the gospel to them first. We must first help them find shelter and care for their immediate needs. This is not to say that you should avoid opportunities to share the gospel with strangers. It simply means that acts of mercy and evangelism go hand-and-hand. They complement each other in ministry. We must use wisdom in deciding how to use both of them for God’s glory. Evangelism needs to be primary, but caring for the poor is an evident outpouring of the gospel message.

The next blog post will deal with giving wisely to the poor. We will answer the fundamental question of “Are there deserving poor and underserving poor?”