Proverbs
22:9 ¶ He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his
bread to the poor.
Proverbs 21:13 ¶ Whoso stoppeth his ears at
the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
God requires Christians to give liberally of
their money to help and to feed the poor, particularly the poor in the church.
Romans 15:26 For it hath pleased them of
Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which
are at Jerusalem.
Galatians 2:10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which
I also was forward to do.
Throughout the ages of Christianity there have
always been groups who would dissent from the established norm and form
churches that they pronounced more fit the New Testament model. The Puritans of
the Church of England and many modern Fundamental Baptist churches claim that
they are New Testament Churches. But, are they? It is clear by a careful
reading of the historical book of Acts and Paul’s letters as well as history
itself that the New Testament churches did not surrender their poor to
government programs or state sponsored support, of which there was very little.
The early Christian church not only took care of
its own poor and the poor of other churches but also of the pagan poor around
them that came to them for help. This caused consternation among the Romans due
to the shame it heaped on them for not taking care of the poor outside of
distributing bread to get political support or to limit social unrest. The
modern church doesn’t care to look into the immediate and personal needs of its
members as the assumption is there will be some state program they can take
advantage of to help.
Looking back into the most early church and
forward again into the Tribulation to come the book of James says in the famous
passage about putting your money where your mouth is, the ‘faith without works
is dead’ passage;
James
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one
of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding
ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it
profit?
Charity, which one Biblical definition is the
active and tangible way that brotherly love in the Christian church is to be
expressed;
2Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Is a very fundamental way of manifesting the command
that Jesus gave to His disciples;
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye
are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
So much so that charity is listed as of more
importance than faith and hope.
1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith,
hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Voluntary aid to those who are truly poor,
willing to work, but unable to sustain themselves, is fundamental to the
Christian faith. The church does not have to support you if you have family
that can do so in the church, or if you have the capacity to support yourself
but by your own choices won’t, or if your need is really just your refusal to
give up material possessions in order to meet the circumstances in which you
find yourself. But, if there is someone truly in need a Christian must do what
is within their power to help, particularly within their own family or church.
It would be interesting to see how many of those
people who blast tax supported programs to aid the poor actually give a
significant portion of their disposable income to help the poor in Christ’s
name We are notorious for doing what James lamented; for writing a check with
our tongues that our hearts aren’t willing to cash.
God promises to bless those Hebrews who gave
bountifully, not sparingly, but bountifully to those in less favorable
circumstances than themselves. Would you think that He would do any less for
Christians?
Proverbs 22:10 ¶ Cast out the scorner, and contention shall
go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Let’s review what the scorner is again. He or
she doesn’t hear rebuke or correction (Proverbs 13:1) and will be angry at the
person who tries to shed light on their error (Proverbs 15:12). They look for
wisdom but with their scornful attitude they can’t find it and never will
(Proverbs 14:6). 15:12 shows that they won’t even go to the wise to seek their
wisdom. 21:24 shows us that scorners are proud and haughty. But what
characterizes the scorner’s attitude?
Psalm 1:1 links them with ungodly sinners. They are
mockers (2 Chronicles 30:10). Psalms 44:13, 79:4, & Ezekiel 23:32 shows
that scorners hold the people of God in derision, which is contempt by the
fifteen verses in which it is used. Proverbs 1:22 & 19:29 shows them to be
synonymous with fools. We know about fools. The fool has said in his heart that
there is no God (Psalm 14:1 & 53:1).
So, in this Proverb, if you get rid of the
scorner, you’ll be getting rid of contention, defined in this verse as strife
and reproach, and a lot of conflict and division in the church will go with
them. Paul even talked about people who actually preached Christ with
contention.
Philippians 1:12 ¶ But I would ye should
understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are
manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14 And many of the
brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak
the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;
and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love,
knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18 What then?
notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is
preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
Notice how in this passage contention’s
definition is envy and strife (conflict). As the scorner will not humble
himself before God or man, is arrogant and haughty, proud and incapable of
correction, it is best to turn someone like that out of the congregation before
he destroys it. Let God deal with him or her. The only way their heart will be
changed is by God, directly by the application of His words to their spiritual
heart.
The big question you need to ask is not one you
ask by looking around at the other people in the church and trying to figure
out who is a scorner, if it’s not obvious. No, the big question is, are you a
scorner? Ask yourself. Examine yourself.
2Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the
faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Are you mocking people who have a simple faith?
Do you hold the humble people of God in derision? Do you think their customs
quaint and amusing, their faith naïve, their practices not intellectually
satisfying to you? Do you hold their convictions in contempt and view their
hopes and fears as humorous in a sad way? I remember hearing a young Christian,
impressed with the worldly education he was receiving, call the church his
parents attended, a bunch of “hicks”. They weren’t sophisticated enough for
him. What he didn’t understand is that there are Appalachian farm mothers who
can barely read but know that King James Bible forward and backward that know
far more about what matters in eternity than the most sophisticated Harvard
educated graduate students.
Look to yourself if you be a scorner. The Proverb
says the church is better off without you. Repent of your wickedness and turn
to Christ.
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