The Importance of Jurisdiction in Charity
In Matthew 25, Jesus said that a day would come when he would say, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."
When asked by the righteous when they did these things, he will say, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
It is my opinion that the disaster that befell New Orleans in 2005, just a few days before one of the largest celebrations of decadence and wickedness in the nation, was the hand of God's judgment. And what is God's purpose in bringing judgment?
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:32 (NIV)
This disaster brought an unprecedented opportunity to call people to repentance by providing much needed relief in the name of Jesus.
I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. Mark 9:41 (NIV)
God rewards those who give to people in need -- BUT ONLY WHEN WE GIVE IN CHRIST'S NAME. There is great confusion about this in our culture; a culture that has completely disregarded what God's Word has to say concerning jurisdiction. And so I feel we need to give some careful thought to this question: According to God's Word, who has jurisdiction over charity?
Many would say, "Who cares how people get the food, water, and supplies they need, so long as they get them? The problems are overwhelming; people are suffering from a desperate lack of basic necessities. Who cares about jurisdiction?" The answer: GOD CARES.
In Deuteronomy 21, God gave the solution to another serious problem; that of an unsolved murder.
If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall...
What is the solution to the problem? God says that the beginning of the solution is to determine who has jurisdiction. He does not want his people to call in the experts; he does not want a special Federal Task Force established; he doesn't want a government agency created to specialize in rural homicides. NO! That is seldom ever God's will. God says, "Measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns." The leaders closest to the situation are to have jurisdiction! And NOTHING is to be done until proper jurisdiction has been established.
God's word calls for us to follow this principle in dealing with each of the problems we face in society. He is not a pragmatist! Repeatedly in his word we see him insisting that we not simply get the job done; rather, we must do it his way. For example; God told Moses to build a tabernacle. He did not simply give him a few instructions, and then say, "Use your imagination, and come up with something that works." Rather, he told him Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:9 (NIV) Another example; Uzzah was a godly man who had such zeal for the LORD, and such an outstanding reputation in the community, that he was chosen by King David to help bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. And yet we read in 1 Chronicles 13, When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. (NIV)
David had to find out the hard way that God is not simply satisfied with results. He created everything out of nothing -- he doesn't need our great ideas and novel approaches to get something done! What he wants is for us to do it his way, and to leave the results to him. And a vitally important part of doing things God's way is to make sure the biblical lines of jurisdiction are carefully observed.
The four primary jurisdictions outlined in God's word belong to the four God-ordained institutions of society; the Individual, the Household, the Church, and the State. And the Bible gives clear jurisdiction to the Household and the Church for charity -- not the state.
Why does this matter? Because whoever holds the purse strings of charity wields tremendous influence over those who receive it.
Psalms 112:1-10
1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
(NIV)
The generosity of Godly men is what establishes them as leaders in their community. In both 1 Timothy and Titus, we find that elders in the church of God must be given to hospitality; they must be sharing what God has given them with others. This is an important qualification for leadership, and the power of being able to share with others enables them to mentor and disciple those in need, thus building and strengthening the Kingdom of God in the land.
On the other hand, the wicked see what the Godly are doing, and it vexes them. Why? Because THEY WANT THE POWER! They want to have the influence of generosity without themselves being generous. This vexes satan as well, for when Godly men share with those in need, the Kingdom of God advances. And so, he has devised a plan to take the resources away from the Godly and give it to the wicked, by having the government usurp the jurisdictions of the church and the household and distribute charity.
The Homechool Advantage took a group of 13 men this past weekend to a suburb of New Orleans . These men pulled cash out of their pockets, and we went to BJs and purchased over $4200 worth of water, food, and supplies. We loaded up a borrowed trailer with the supplies and fuel, and headed for Louisiana . When we arrived in Kenner , we were directed to a government distribution center, where a government official asked us to include our trailer of goods in their distribution system. BUT -- no preaching, no Bibles, no sharing the gospel, and no giving things to the people except through their distribution line.
It did not take long for the men to realize that what was taking place there was in no shape, form, or fashion bringing glory to Christ! The policemen were roughly handling the crowd, saying, "Hurry up, move along, only one item per person!" Little old ladies on walkers would struggle through the line, where they would be handed cans of food with no bags; and when our men offered to carry the things to the people's cars, they were forbidden by the government official. When the line closed so the government workers could go smoke a cigarette, people stood in a long line in the hot sun, waiting. Some of our men began taking supplies from our own trailer and giving to the elderly, and the government official angrily called everyone together to forbid our helping the people, even tearing a box of baby wipes from one man's hands who had a small baby, and throwing it on the ground. He poked his finger in Frank's chest and said, "If you try to distribute this stuff without going through our system, I will have you arrested!"
Frank calmly looked him in the eye and said, "Here I am; arrest me. But we ARE going to distribute this food and water in the name of Jesus!" The government official stalked off to talk to the police, and our men began to fervently pray. God did an amazing thing; when he came back, the official's whole demeanor had changed. He gave us permission to distribute the supplies any way we wanted, and even offered to help us find someone to go with us to find a neighborhood that was in need.
Satan desired to take our charity and use it to help perpetuate a wicked system. But God broke through this red tape, and we preached freely and gave out Bibles to people in the housing projects, taking things to the homes of the elderly and the sick, praying with them and calling them to repentance.
As we have continued to find more information, we have heard many stories about the government's relief effort and that of their civilian tool, the Red Cross. I have no way to independently verify these accounts, but I find it hard to believe that so many similar stories would not hold some element of truth.
And so the government has overstepped its jurisdiction in providing charity, and the result is that people are not being called to repentance and are denied Christ's salvation. As we were preparing to make three trips to provide relief, no businesses were willing to help us. Their response was always "We already gave to the Red Cross." My sister's husband was the mayor of an affluent north Atlanta suburb, but even she could not get any of the local rental companies to loan us a truck or enclosed trailer, because they were only giving to the Red Cross.
In Proverbs 1, the Wise One says, My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, "Come along with us.....throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"-- my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.
If at all possible, share your charity with those in need personally. Let God use you to make a disciple of Christ through your personal generosity and mentoring. If you can't do that, then make sure your charity goes to people who are going to personally give it in the name of Jesus -- if for no other reason, so that you will not lose your reward! But do not throw in your lot with those who wish to share a common purse with the government. For those who need a recommendation, we heartily recommend that you give to Vision Forum. I know these people, and can give you my assurance that they will make every effort to see to it that the resources at their disposal are used to build the Kingdom of God . For more information, click on the following link: http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/
John 4:13-14
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
(NIV)
May the Lord give us all the wisdom and courage to know how to offer the Water of Life to those to whom we provide a cup of water -- IN JESUS' NAME!
Captain Bret