Serving the physical needs of others Christ healed people and fed thousands of people—before they became believers. Many of them did not even seem to understand His message. If someone is given a miraculous gift to do this today, it would certainly be a great ministry. But Christ was only one and today believers are many. There is much they can do by using their natural physical resources to help the needy. There are many people in need of food, clothing, health-care, tools to obtain work, and other economic necessities. It is important to remember Matthew 5:16, quoted at the beginning of this section. Good works should be done so that people receiving them will glorify God. Christ did His works "in my Father's name" (John 10:25). Matthew 6:1–4 warns that we should not do good works so that people will praise us. But the ones receiving the benefit of a believer's good works ought to know they were done in God's name and credit God for them. They should know that it is because people obey God that they have been helped, not just their "good luck" or getting their share of the country's wealth. Jesus taught people to repent and turn to God when He did good works for them (John 5:14; 8:1; Luke 5:32; 13:3). The BEST way to be sure that people receive physical help in the name of God along with a message of repentance and forgiveness through Christ, is to do it oneself. It takes a while to develop discernment as to who is really needy and who is simply skilled at asking for a handout. But that is a valuable skill to learn. It is wonderful when physical help to someone can be combined with the personal teaching and encouragement mentioned above. There are many Christian charities that promise to provide help in the name of God, but one ought to check and be sure that they are really doing it. The Bible warns of false brethren—"tares among the wheat" (Matthew 13:24–30) and that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1Timothy 6:10). We should not be surprised when some people who handle a lot of other's money become corrupt, that they give it to the needy in a less than Christ-like manner, or that they keep too much of it for themselves. The exact methods of helping people in need vary so much that we will not try to cover them here. They can range from one person helping another needy person to a congregation that pays the expenses of one of their members to go feed the poor and preach the gospel in another country. Wading through government bureaucracy can be the most difficult part of this operation—but thousands of people may get their only view of what God and the Bible is like from such missionaries. Helping the oppressed This subject may not seem like a Christian activity to some, but it is found throughout the Bible. Some scriptures are included here: "Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. " (Proverbs 31:9). "Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow…. Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them." (Isaiah 1:17,23, NKJV). "This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed." (Jeremiah 22:3). "For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts." (Amos 5:12). "I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. " (Matthew 25:36). "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:2-3). "May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me." (1Timothy 1:16-17). In some countries, especially in dictatorships, there may be little that individuals can peacefully do to help the oppressed. But the United States of America was founded on the basis of the citizen being the highest level of government. Much of the Declaration of Independence is a complaint about injustice by the English King. While many freedoms in the United States have been lost, most citizens still have the right to "petition the government for redress of grievances", to vote, to be juries, to write letters to publications, to gather information for the oppressed and to visit and encourage them. The most common thing believers will say is, "I cannot get involved with the government, it does not accept the Bible and it is corrupt." This is exactly why the USA has its current problems: people who believed the Bible gradually got out of government, and have been replaced, in many cases, by the greedy and the corrupt. The other common thing people will say is, "What can one person or one little group do?" That question has been answered by what many "one persons" and "little groups" have done. Those who are evil do not like the light shown on them and sometimes one or a few letters to them—or to the press—will cause them to change. People boycotting businesses have caused them to change. Local elections, in some places, have such a poor voter turnout that one local congregation, convicted that they should act together, can change the outcome. Examples of people who need help abound. Here are a few: pre-born babies (over a million killed every year), abused children of bad parents, abused children in government programs (sometimes taken away from bad parents, sometimes taken away from good ones), mistreated prisoners (private studies indicate half probably should not be there to begin with), people unnecessarily in mental institutions against their will (they frequently have no legal way to get out by themselves), victims of crimes of all types, etc. This is not everyone's ministry, but it should not be no one's ministry. Obviously, those with legal and government expertise can probably help in the biggest way. But many of us could do a lot more to help individuals whom we know. We can pray for them. We can befriend them and talk to them rather than ignore them, as is usually most convenient. We can help them do simple things. We can spend a few hours to find out something about elected officials to determine which is the most just—according to the Bible. Our discernment might not be perfect, but years of Bible instruction and the Holy Spirit should allow a believer to do a better job than the "average voter" of finding the most righteous candidate. God did command His people to appoint just officials in all their localities (Deuteronomy 16:18–20). The principle of Galatians 6:1 should certainly apply to this service. If someone is becoming like the corrupt politicians, prisoners or others that they encounter in their efforts to help the oppressed, they should stop their efforts to help in order to get their own life in order. Summary of Reaching Out to Others There are many other ways to reach out to serve others. The ones listed here do not represent an extensive study of the best ways, but simply methods that most individuals or groups could do if they so decided. Group projects have a way of brining joy and a feeling of oneness to a group—to work together for a righteous goal and to achieve it. But if a group's outreach consists primarily of individual ministries, it is still very important that the members share what happens in those ministries and encourage each other. Encouragement is the main reason stated for assembling together in the book of Hebrews: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching. " (Hebrews 10:25). | 