Living Water of Washington DC. A Christian Outreach Ministry.

Preaching the Gospel to the Poor

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that a far worse tragedy than death is to die unforgiven of one’s sins. He taught that we are to fear God more than men because men can only kill the body, but God can kill the body and then send the soul to hell (Luke 12:5). In John 8, we are told that Jesus confronted the Pharisees who were denying that He was the Messiah. Jesus told them that if they did not believe He was the Messiah, they would die in their sins (verse 24). The greatest threat facing them was not that they would die, but that they would die in their sins. When Jesus said that they would die in their sins, he was saying that they are eternally condemned. Here Jesus again emphasized that the critical question regarding people’s lives was where they were going after they died, to hell or to heaven.

The Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul tells us that the “sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). As is true with a scorpion’s sting, if One takes away death’s sting then death will no longer be a threat to you; but if the sting remains, there will be much pain. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can take away the sting of death, that is, sin (Hebrews 9:11-22). Isaiah the prophet also warned his listeners that the gravest consequence of their sins was not to merely die, but to die without the removal of sin, which is the sting of death that leads to perdition. In response to the many sins of those in Jerusalem, Isaiah prophesied, “Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, ‘Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death,’ says the Lord God of hosts” (Isaiah 22:14 NKJV). “Atonement” means “covering over” and God tells us in the Bible that the blood of Jesus Christ can “cover over” the sin of the person who repents and trusts Him as their Lord and Savior.

Again, in Proverbs, we are reminded that, “The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous has a refuge in his death” (14:32). The critical question regarding one’s life is whether one will have a refuge in death. Scripture is clear that the worst event that could happen to an individual is not to die—for we all die—but to die without having his sins covered, paid for and forgiven: the worst event is to die in one’s sins.

Scripture is clear that all people from every nation, tribe and language face the possibility of dying in their sins without having their sins atoned for, paid for and forgiven before they die. That is because, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). The core problem with every human being is sin, which is wickedness in the sight of the LORD.

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

From selfishness to lust to idolatry to adultery to debauchery, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All people will die (unless Jesus returns first) and upon dying each of our destinies is fixed towards either heaven or hell.

“Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

If all of this is true, then it must be true that our physical needs in this life are not nearly as important as our spiritual needs. Indeed, the two sets of needs cannot even be compared, for this life is, as the Scripture says, “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14), but eternity is, well, forever. The sixth chapter of John gives us a good illustration of this eternal truth. A great multitude of people were following Jesus because He had performed many miracles of healing (v. 2). When He saw that they were hungry, He had compassion on them and performed yet another miracle of multiplying loaves of bread and fishes for all to eat. Jesus was God incarnate with all of the attributes of God, including mercy. In His mercy, He could not ignore the physical hunger of the multitude of people. However, feeding the people was far from his goal. At most, it was simply a “rest stop” along the way to His ultimate destination, which was to talk about death, sin, eternal life and His central role in these life events. He said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him” (verses 26-27). Jesus goes on to get to the real issue that faced all who followed him: their need for salvation. At that point, sadly, many who sought food and good health from Jesus—but not forgiveness for their sins—left Him (verse 60-66). As an aside, many today would call any other preacher under such circumstances a failure for not knowing how to make the word of God relevant to his listeners. Of course Christ’s sermon was not relevant to many, for many had their stomachs as their gods (Philippians 3:19), and He was not about to pack the Gospel in an idol’s clothing.

Jesus taught that our need for salvation is far more important than our physical need. At one point when He was teaching His disciples, Jesus told them, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing” (Luke 12:22-23). He goes on to tell them what really matters. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (verses 31-34). Jesus taught his disciples to get their minds off of their physical needs and focus on their eternal needs and the glorious promises that will be fulfilled in heaven for all those who trust Him as their Lord and Savior.

Probably the most familiar rendition of the so-called Great Commission is found in the gospel of Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19). These were among Christ’s last words after He had risen from the dead and just before His Ascension. Surely Jesus reserved what must have been the most important matter for his last words, and this matter was the salvation of all the nations. Christ’s Great Commission was not to go into the world to feed the nations, nor was it to go into the world to clothe or house peoples and nations. His Great Commission to all Christians was to go into the world to make disciples of the nations, and disciples can only be made by the preaching and teaching of the word of God.

While God has revealed Himself in nature and in the consciences of every human being in such a way to render them without excuse on Judgment Day (Romans 1:18-20), He has only revealed the way of salvation in the Bible, which is the word of God. No one can be saved unless they hear the word of God: “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The Bible makes it clear that it is a grave omission for Christians to engage in ministry to satisfy only the temporal, physical needs of people without also addressing the far more important eternal, spiritual needs of their souls.

Were the Christians who first received the Great Commission to ignore the physical needs of those to whom they were sent to preach the Gospel and make disciples? No, for such an interpretation of Scripture would contain an inherent inconsistency. The Bible makes clear that an attribute of godliness and holiness is mercy and compassion on the needy. This attribute is best represented in God in Christ’s finished work on the cross, the suffering of the Just for the unjust, all for the sake of lowly sinners with no rightful claim on heaven or any of its promises. I think it is quite interesting that when the apostles in Jerusalem finally approved of the ministry of Paul and sent him off to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, their only other request of Paul was to remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). They were reminding him of one of the implicit directions in all Christian ministry: to have mercy on the poor. They were reminding him of that attribute of godliness, which is mercy upon the needy.

Christ makes clear that we are not only to preach the Gospel to the needy, but that the needy are more likely to be receptive to the Gospel. Christ told this parable:

“A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’   
“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’   
“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’   
“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can't come.’   
“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’   
“ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’   
“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ” (Luke 14:16-24 NIV)

Why did the Master turn his servants, the organizers of the “great banquet” towards the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame? Moreover, why were they more receptive to the invitation to the Master’s banquet? It might be inferred from the above parable that those who were originally invited were distracted by worldly pursuits and possessions and were therefore distracted from the true, eternal blessings found in Christ. This would be supported by the parable of the sower, in which we are taught by our Lord that one of the soils (i.e. human hearts) upon which the seed (i.e., the word of God) fell did not bear fruit because the seed was “choked with cares, riches and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14). While the Scripture is clear that the root of all kinds of evil is the love of money, not money per se, the Scripture is also clear that too much money can be dangerous to our spiritual health. As Jesus exclaimed, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Luke 18:24). He also says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25). The Psalmist says, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10) and a prayer in Proverbs reads, “Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9). The poor are uniquely positioned to receive the Gospel because they have no material possessions to distract them from their spiritual poverty.

Yet not all of the poor will be have the sting of death removed before they die, for it is not the materially poor to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs, but the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who have nothing to offer God for their salvation and know it, which leads them to repent of their sins and beg God for mercy, only to find their loving Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life for theirs, that they might have eternal life in heaven. “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:8-11).

So we make it our goal to preach the Gospel to the poor and along the way, to have compassion and to address their physical needs. We figure that if we truly love them as our neighbors, we should tell them about the grave consequences of dying in their sins and the one and only remedy given to all of humankind by God, Jesus Christ.

Ryan George

Originally published in The Living Water Letter , February 2005,
by Living Water of Washington DC.

Last revised: January 28, 2005.