HONOR ALL MEN. LOVE THE BROTHERHOOD: Part of a Theology of Financial Giving

The Lord has been kind to lay on the hearts of the members and pastors of Sojourn the desire to care for those outside the walls of this church, both in Germantown and the wider city of Louisville. We believe this is a charge issued from our Lord Himself in passages such as Luke 10:29-37 (the story of the good Samaritan). But we must not forget that which the New Testament makes clear is the prerequisite to this charge. We’re instructed by the apostle Peter, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood.” (1 Peter 2:17) We are to honor everyone, but we are to love the brotherhood (It's crucial to note that the Bible is using the terms 'brother' and 'sister' not in the sense of a universal brotherhood of all men--an idea spun by liberal theologians at the beginning of the last century--but rather fellow Christians). Paul echoes this sentiment in his letter to the church at Galatia: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

It is clear in Scripture that there is a marked difference between a believer’s responsibility towards a fellow believer and his/her responsibility towards a non-believer (we’ve seen Jesus recognize this distinction throughout our study of Matthew: 12:46-49, 18:17; see also 1 Corinthians 5:9-13). Deuteronomy sheds some light on one practical implication of this difference: “You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you…There should be no poor among you…If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.” (Deuteronomy 15:3-4, 7-8)

The Bible teaches that loving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is much more than just financial care—but it is certainly not less! The Apostle John exhorts us, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John. 3:17-18) And James tells us, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?” (James 2:16)

THE EXAMPLE OF THE EARLY CHURCH

The book of Acts documents for us the very first Christian church, containing the very first Christians. And what is it that we find these immature young believers doing right away? “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” (Acts 2:44-45) We know from a few chapters later that the church in Acts wasn’t practicing Socialism—individuals still owned property, had money, etc. But all of a sudden, these men and women were thinking and living out of a Gospel framework—and it was this Gospel that compelled them to give freely to their brothers and sisters in need. As a matter of fact, this love for the brotherhood—believers taking care of one another—is what Paul seems to be looking for first and foremost when determining whether new churches are in fact TRUE Christian churches. Thus, even when these young believers get so much wrong (1 Cor. 5; Gal. 1:6, 3:1-5; Rev. 2-3), Paul can always recognize them as true Christians by their love for one another: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” (2 Thes. 1:3; also see Eph. 1:15-16;Col. 1:3-4) And again, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9) We see here that there is something wrought in the Christian by the Holy Spirit that compels him to love his fellow brothers and sisters and that this love is one distinguishing mark of true faith in Christ.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SOJOURN?

First and foremost we should give to the offering on Sundays. Part of owning our own building is maintaining that building and part of growing numerically is providing enough staff to shepherd this ever-increasing flock. The Lord has blessed us with wise, caring leadership whom we should trust to leverage our resources to maintain the ministries of our church—ministries that by necessity require money.

But it also means we should go beyond just giving an offering on Sundays. It means that the members of this church should be involved in one another’s lives enough to spot real personal needs. It means we should buy one another meals. It means we should give struggling newly-weds money for rent. It means that if we’re able, we find a seminary student who seems to be gifted for ministry and we help pay for his/her education. It means we pay for a car repair that we know a poor college student in our community group can’t afford. It means we offer to take care of baby-sitting bills for a few months to give parents one less expense to worry about. In short, it means that we operate out of the same gospel framework we see among the new believers in Acts 2, praying that by the Lord’s grace and through the power of the Gospel, we would give not only according to our means, but also beyond our means (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). May the Lord find in Sojourn this sort of love for one another that is ever-increasing!