Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 313

November 8;   Acts 6:2;   95/260(II);   ‘The Gospel First’

Acts 6:2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

There are natural needs in every community and the Church does have the responsibility to help those with various needs.  Ephesians 2:10 exhorts us, as Christians, to do good works.  The religious world thinks that good works are the way a person earns heaven.  Their generosity and efforts ‘entitle’ them to spend eternity with Jesus.  What is so incredibly troubling about this thinking, is that it is an absolute lie.  Until I found out what the Bible said concerning the Lord Jesus and the sacrifice of Himself for my sins and sicknesses, I probably would have believed that good works earned heaven.  Statistically, 7 out of 10 people, believe that heaven is earned by good works.  Religious teachings, inspired by the devil, sound good, but if not corrected, lead to eternal separation for our Lord.  The disciples of the Lord summoned the early church and verified that there were natural needs to be dealt with.  It is a blessing to help others.  The wise disciples, also told the members of the church, that their job was to study and teach the Word of God.  The disciples would go on and choose 7 men, with a good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, who would take care of the natural needs of the Grecian widows.  When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He did not command them to meet the natural needs of the people (though this would be part of the Church’s work).  He exhorted them to preach the gospel, make disciples, get people baptized in the Holy Spirit, cast demons out of them and get them healed.  This is and always will be the Church’s main responsibility.