The first qualification I believe Scripture teaches is that those of the “household of faith” have a priority to the funds of the church over those outside of the Kingdom of Christ. This is a fundamental qualification set by Jesus Himself in Matthew 25, and by the apostle Paul in Galatians 6. We are to care, first and foremost, for our brethren in Christ, the household of faith. We see this exemplified in the earliest days of the New Covenant church when the people of God were selling their lands and houses to meet the needs of those in the body of Christ. We see it on a local church level when we see the Antiochan church giving to the churches of Judea during the days of the famine that was prophesied of by Agabus. If we are not caring for individuals within our churches, and for local sister congregations–in biblically faihtful denominations–then how can we, with a good conscience, talk about mercy ministry to those outside the Kingdom?
The second qualification the Scriptures teach has to do with the ability of individuals to work for themselves, and the likelihood of other God-ordained sources of support. Remember that somewhat strange passage in 1 Timothy where Paul is setting out the criteria for widows to be cared for in the church? In that place, Paul explains that a widow is not to be “taken into the number” (lit. cared for financially) if she was under the age of sixty. This was probably because she was more likely to be remarried and provided for. If there is the likelihood of provision from other sources, or jobs to be had, the church is not to expend its resources on that individual. In his commentary on the pastoral epistles George Knight writes: Continue reading>>>
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