True treasures of the Church

Jesus set an example for His church in showing compassion and mercy to those in need. Dr. D. James Kennedy explores how the early church walked just as her Master walked:

Saint Laurence was a deacon in the Christian Church, who was quite generous, especially to the poor. He lived in Aragon of the Roman Empire of the third century. During one of the persecutions, he was ordered to bring to a Roman official some of “the treasures of the Church.” What he brought were some poor, downtrodden and lame people, and he said to them, “These are the treasures of the Church.” For this response, he was roasted to death on a gridiron. (J. D. Douglas, gen. Ed., ‘The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church’, rev. ed. [Grand Rapids: Regency Reference Library of Zondervan, 1974, 1978], p. 586.)

… Jesus set the great example of helping the poor, of caring for the poverty-stricken and downtrodden. He bid His followers to go and do likewise. One of His best-known parable is that of the good Samaritan, the kindly gentleman who stopped and cared for the stranger in need when neither the priest nor the Levite would (Luke 10:25-37). This parable has had a great impact on Western civilization. So also has His parable of the sheep and the goats, wherein Christ says, “Inasmuch as you did it [help the poor] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). This teaching has introduced the idea of “Christ’s poor,” where the poor are treated as if they are Jesus Christ Himself.

… The early Christians made history through generosity to their own, and to nonbelievers as well. The late Yale historian Dr. Kenneth Scott Latourette wrote that “in the use of money for the general welfare, Christianity brought five significant innovations.” (Latourette, ‘A History of Christianity’, p. 247.) The first of these innovations, wrote Latourette, is that giving was an obligation of all who joined the ranks, rich or poor, each according to ability.

Also the motive of Christian giving was new. It was done out of love for Christ, for the Christian teaching is that Jesus was rich but became poor for our sakes, so that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Furthermore, the objects of giving changed:

The Christian community stressed the support of its widows, orphans, sick, and disabled, and those who because of their faith were thrown out of employment or were imprisoned. It ransomed men who were put to servile labour for their faith. It entertained travelers. One church would send aid to another church whose members were suffering from famine or persecution. In theory and to no small degree in practice, the Christian community was a brotherhood, bound together in love, in which reciprocal material help was the rule. (Ibid.)

Christian giving was also personalized – from individuals to individuals, not to “masses of men, although often, as in times of famine, it dealt with large numbers.” (Ibid., p. 248.)

Another innovation of Christian charity, according to Latourette, was that it was not limited to church members. They extended their giving to non-Christians as well, so much so that Emperor Julian “the Apostate,” the last Roman emperor to try to stamp out the Christian faith, marveled at how the Christians loved even the pagans, even their enemies. Dr. Richard Todd, history professor at Wichita State University, writes, “It was the church’s care for its own poor and for outsiders that so impressed the pagan Emperor Julian.” (Dowley, ‘A Lion Handbook: The History of Christianity’, p. 191.) Julian wrote: “For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg and the impious Galileans [Christians] support both their own poor and ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.” (Quoted in ibid., p. 147.)

Historian after historian verifies the same thing: The early Church had a great record of helping the needy. Will Durant says that the early Church attracted converts by providing a way out of Rome’s harshness. These converts, declares Durant, “turned from Caesar preaching war to Christ preaching peace, from incredible brutality to unprecedented charity.” (Durant, ‘Caesar and Christ’, p. 667.) Oxford scholar Dr. Robin Lane Fox adds:

To the poor, the widow and orphans, Christians gave alms and support, like the synagogue communities, their forerunners. This “brotherly love” has been minimized as a reason for turning to the Church, as if those who were members could know of it. In fact, it was widely recognized. When Christians were in prison, fellow Christians gathered to bring them food and comforts: Lucian, the pagan satirist, was well aware of this practice. When Christians were brought to die in the arena, the crowds, said Tertullian, would shout, “Look how these Christians love one another.” Christian “love” was public knowledge and must have played its part in drawing outsiders to the faith. (Fox, ‘Pagans and Christians’, p. 324.)

(D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe, ‘What if Jesus had never been born?’, Rev. ed. [Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001], pp. 28-31.)