Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Deuteronomy 28:11-12
The majority of people in the world think free enterprise, i.e., capitalism is evil, and the United States is the great evil empire, and yet no nation does more to aid the down trodden, the devastated and the oppressed in this world than the United States of America.
An interesting note about these nations is that they are either socialist or communist, and for many the Bible is banned and so is free speech. Charity within the populations is minimal because the love of Christ is absent. Sadly, “The people sit in darkness, living in the shadow of imminent death, bound in affliction and oppression, because they have rebelled against the words of God, and they have despised the counsel of the Most High.” Ps.107:10-11.
One reason liberation theology is so popular in many third world nations is because their political and religious leaders give them a reason for their poverty. They are told they are poor because the United States consumes so much of this world’s goods. They are not told they are impoverished because they have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ and driven out gospel missionaries. They are not told they are poor because they have a failed leadership model, or failed economic policies. I believe we do consume too much today in America because we have become a covetous people, but it is also true that we consume much because we have worked hard and we have made the sacrifices to have much. However, it is obvious we have become spoiled and this may only change if our excesses are withheld from us, and God may be doing that now through divine national discipline.
However, “When the prosperity of the wealthy is gone what will the poor then lean on? Where will charity come from? Where will taxes to run the country come from”? [4]
Clark Pinnock p.138 Exploding the Myths by Erwin Lutzer.
Who will pay for the alleged entitlements for the poverty stricken masses when the wealthy are taxed into oblivion, or they leave the country? To disincentivize a people to create legitimate prosperity is to create an environment of apathy, and potential anarchy. The salvation gospel for liberation theology proponents is defined as releasing the poor from the bondage of his poverty and oppression from those who are powerful and wealthy. Through releasing the poverty oppressed people of the world liberation theologians think they can find redemptive favor with God. It is a salvation by works which requires religion standing hand in hand with government against those who have prospered. But prosperity is not just about material wealth; it is mostly about personal freedom. God wants to prosper people and some people can’t stand that.
The nations where poverty and oppression exists would be prospered if...
1. They would embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior, and establish sound doctrinal churches where God would work on their behalf.
2. They would have the mentality to work hard together
3. They would elect sound leaders who would protect the divine institutions of free will, marriage, family and nationalism, and they would vote out leaders who do not.
4. They would establish strong militaries to protect those divine institutions
But God is no respecter of persons. A nation can lose it favored status with God if they allow evil leaders to be empowered. They will work to influence weak minded people that have little that the reason they have little is not their fault, that it is someone else’s fault.
These evil leaders say they are siding with the little man when in truth they are doing nothing more than strengthening their own political careers while stifling the God given talents and abilities of the people.
We know Satan works in the cosmic system [orderly evil] to denigrate God’s plan for every human being. He spreads doctrines of demons and seducing spirits through the hearts of apostate preachers, national leaders and opportunist who will sell their very souls to keep themselves in power. A nation which is drawn into class warfare by its political and church leaders will be drawn into a battle between human good and divine righteousness. When this takes hold the people will have a warped view of divine justice and the righteous standards of God. God’s divine standards will be supplanted by the evil machinations [plans] of men.
When the path of least resistance and minimal effort is offered as the standard for excellence, a substandard which has been advocated in our workplace and our public class rooms for years, then it is no wonder so many seek to bring down those who have by the grace of God raised the bar so high.
Jesus Christ has set the standard for all believers and that standard is, “be ye Holy for I am Holy”. Since God is neither lazy nor is he the author of confusion neither must his children be. Since God is fair and creative so should we be. Since He is humble so should we be.
The Biblical Model for Helping the Poor
We know our Lord said the poor shall you have among you always, Mt.26:11, and it was even said He became poor [not in dollars, but that he came from heaven to earth] that we might be rich, II Cor.8:9. Our Lord said we should give to help the poor, Lk.14:11-14.
In Rom.15:26 Paul tells of a contribution taken up by the Macedonian and Achaia believers to help the poor saints who were at Jerusalem. These saints were under severe persecution because of their testimony for the Lord. Not once did our Lord or any of the writings of scripture advocate laziness, nor begging, nor an excessive taxation system upon the wealthy to redistribute wealth to aid the poor. The poor of the Old Testament were called upon to glean the fields for food. The grain was not gathered and processed into edible food for them. They still had to go out into the fields and work for it. The wealthy were then, as well as now, expected to look out for the poor as many still do.
Charities are a wonderful way to help the poor, especially when family members are not able to help. The Church should help the poor among its ranks, but let not the poor be poor because they have not learned to live within their means, or because they refuse to work. Hard times can hit any one of us in a moments notice and we may need assistance for a little while. A widow or handicapped person may need assistance for the remainder of their lives, but these are people who cannot do for themselves. Marxism and liberation theology would lead us to believe that it is the prosperous persons’ fault that others are poor, and then impose laws to reward their misfortune with the profits of the prosperous.
God told Adam he would have to make his living all of his days by the sweat of his face in Gen.3:17-19. This applies to everyone. They too must also accept the curse of earning their living by the sweat of their faces, not Adams. God does not expect the sweat of your face to be expended to feed those who can feed themselves. God’s love is real, but love is to be exercised within the borders of divine knowledge and divine justice. We must look at what the Bible says regarding legitimate charity, and inexcusable slothfulness.