The Bible Says It and I Believe It

Have you ever heard this in the midst of a “discussion” among believers who do not see eye to eye— “The Bible says it; I believe it; that settles it!” But, of course, that does not settle it because people do not always agree on what the Bible says or what it means, or how it applies to the issue at hand.

At the risk of making you think I am about to wade into the swamp of theological controversy, I want to ask: Is the Bible so clear about some truths that an ordinary believer can stand firm on them come what may? I think it is and one way of making that determination is to see a truth repeated over and over in Scripture, especially spanning many generations and contexts.

When I am writing or speaking about the priority of serving people in need, I usually support what I’m saying with biblical references. For me, that the Bible is clear about the importance of serving people in need is reason enough to do it. I don’t need to know that serving others will make me feel good. I don’t even need to know what a difference it makes for those being served and/or the community. The Bible says it and I believe it. Period.

And when the Bible says it over and over, sometimes using virtually the same words, well, the biblical case is about as strong as we can hope to see. That’s what I want you to see in this blog.

The Psalmist Says It

In the collection of Scripture passages pertaining to mercy ministry in Appendix C of Compassionaries: Unleash the Power of Serving there is a little-known passage from Psalms that speaks clearly about God’s heart for people in need.

“He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.”

Psalm 146:7-8

The Psalmist says God cares for the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, and so forth. This is borne out elsewhere in Scripture to the point that we can say one of the clearest and most compelling priorities for God is that people in need be cared for. He cares what happens to these folk, and He expects His people to care too.

Does any of the Psalm 146 passage sound familiar? If you are thinking that it sounds like something Jesus said, you are right. I’ll get to that below. For now, I want you to see that God’s heart for people in need is a thread running through the Bible.

Isaiah Says It

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . .”

Isaiah 61:1

More than any other Old Testament book Isaiah looks toward the future when God will remake His relationship with His people and reinstate his priorities. This verse says the time will come when God sends the Promised One who will act for the Father himself under the direction of His Spirit in caring for people in need. The downtrodden will be lifted up. The brokenhearted will be comforted, and the captives will be set free.

Jesus Says It

When Jesus went to his hometown synagogue, and he was given the chance to speak to the congregation composed of his family and childhood friends, he asked for the scroll of Isaiah in which this verse appears. He read it aloud, then applied its message to himself. We know what his hearers did not realize at the time, namely that he was stating that part of his mission and ministry was founded on the same priorities God set forth in Psalms and Isaiah.

There you have it. The same priority of serving people in need is given in Psalms, Isaiah, and by Jesus. The words are eerily similar. Is that coincidental? Not at all. It’s purposeful. It shows a pattern God wants us to see. Serving people in need is God’s work, and He shares that work with us. Repetition evinces emphasis. When we want to emphasize a point, we repeat it. God does too.

Have you heard the old story about a new pastor who preached his first sermon in his new church? It went well, but on his second Sunday, he preached the same sermon . . . , and the third and fourth and so on. By this time the congregation was confused and a little agitated. Finally, someone got up the courage to speak to the pastor about all this repetition: “Pastor, you keep preaching the same sermon every week. Don’t you have any more?” The Pastor said: “When y’all start doing what this sermon says, I’ll move on to something else.”

Have we gotten the message God intends by repeating His priority of ministering to people in need? The Bible says it. Do we believe it?

Let me hear from you

How have you experienced the priority of serving people in need from your reading of the Bible? Does it seem to you that this biblical priority is not sufficient to move some church folk to get involved in serving others?