Why Does The Government Do More Than The Church To Help The Poor? Series

THE POINT OF THE PASSAGE: Taking care of the needy widows was a big deal in the early church.

- There was a different societal structure and a lack of social safety net back then. The church stepped in to help.

- Unpack some of the passage.

- The passage raises a more general question: why does the government do more than the church to help the poor in contemporary America?

WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT DO MORE THAN THE CHURCH TO HELP THE POOR?

QUESTION #1: Is it wrong for the government to be doing something about the poor?

ANSWER #1: In the government designed by the Mosaic Law, there was a 3.3% tax to benefit the poor in addition to other help for the poor.

a. The 3.3% tax to benefit the poor.

- There were three “tithes” that were required of the Israelites in the Old Testament under the Mosaic Law:

1. The Lord’s tithe or the Levite’s tithe.

- Numbers 18:21.

2. The festival tithe.

- Deuteronomy 14:22-27.

3. The poor tithe.

- Deuteronomy 14:28-29.

- Because this third “tithe” was only due every third year, it was more like a 3.3% tax.

- I have used the word “tax” here. Under the Old Testament system, Israel was a theocracy, so required giving was akin to our taxation.

- So the taxation added up to about 23.3%.

b. Other help for the poor.

- Some examples:

1. Gleaning the corners of the field.

- Leviticus 19:9-10.

2. Eating small amounts of produce and grain.

- Deuteronomy 23:24-25.

QUESTION #2: Why doesn’t the American church do more for the poor?

ANSWER #2: We spend a lot of our money on buildings and salaries.

a. Compare the idea of house churches.

b. Discuss the structure of NewPoint Church.

- Multi-site, video teaching, lay leadership.

A FINAL QUESTION: How different would things be if we had a heart for the poor?

- I mean that (“different”) both in terms of impact on the community and how the church would be structured.