Recently, I wrote in response to a video put out by Brannon Howse on his Worldview Weekend site. In this video Mr. Howse addressed the issue of charity in the "corporate Christian Church," where he claims that the biblical mandate is one of exclusion of non-Christians' need and one favoring only Christians who have need.
In other words, as far as he is concerned, the biblcial position is to favor the Christian believer over the non-Christian unbeliever with our charity, and that it is wrong for the corporate Christian Church to be involved in any work of charity that extends outside of its congregation, or outside of the body of Christ.
This is not biblical, and in that article which I've posted here on this site, I explain why such a view is not biblical and not Christ-like. While I agree with Mr. Howse that it is not the role of the Christian Church to get involved in Liberation Theology, Black Liberation Theology, Socialist and Communist "Wars of National Liberation," Social Change, Social Justice, or Economic Justice and other liberal and far Left Marxist causes, it is the role of the Church, and I mean each and every individual in the body of Christ - as much as it is possible, to be involved through our congregations in Christian Orthopraxy, something that Mr. Howse and his colleagues seemed to have overlooked.
This is to be used as a tool to extend the caring arm of God's hand to those who are truly needy in our communties, and to bring the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah while we do it. Christian charity is the best venue in which to launch envangelistic campaigns within our own communities, as we win souls for God's kingdom - souls who are lost and for whom Christ died and rose again from the grave.
The best example I can give of this is Samaritan's Purse led by the Reverend Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, and the 700 Club's Operation Rescue, but the local church can be involved too.
My own congregation of Beth Israel is very involved in this work in its Compassion Projects, and every offering given at every service is used for this purpose. These are some of the blessings that Beth Israel's Compassion Projects have brought to the needy of many lands while sharing the Gospel of salvation with the lost in those lands:
1.) They have assisted in providing housing, food, and clothing, while helping to promote the spiritual growth of widows in Armenia.
2.) They have given umbrellas and rain ponchos to persecuted believers in Burma and Thailand during the rainy season.
3.) They've provided Israeli women (Jewish and Arabic) with a Messiah-based discipleship ministry to help them overcome life-controlling problems such as drug and alcohol addiction, homelessness, and abusive relationships.
4.) They helped pastors in Mindanao, Philippines revive farming as a supply ministry.
5.) They've helped share the Gospel and rescue children in Ghana oppressed and treated as domestic slaves or forced to hard labor.
6.) In Africa, they're helping support the Sicite language team and provide much needed Scripture materials in this unreached nation in Africa.
7.) In Mongolia, they're helping to train the poor on how to properly care for their animals which are a source of income in that land.
And there is much more that I can cite here as examples to help ilustrate the proper Christian and biblical manner in which we as believers can extend God's caring hand to other people.
Part of America's biblical iliteracy is theology that excludes and favors some over others and misuses the Word of God to justify it in the name of Christianity. This is another sign of our times, and part of the apostasy and falling away. The theology of exclusivity and superiority has no place in the Christian Faith, and is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His disciples.
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