Hello,<\/p>\n
I am a newer Christian and love your site. Thanks so much for making it available. While I have much growth spiritually, know that you are helping me to grow.<\/p>\n
My cousin and I do not agree on the benevolence work of an individual Christian vs. the Local Church. He wants to study with me so we are going to start with a study of Church Authority. You have several articles as well that we plan to study.<\/p>\n
He attends a liberal church of Christ that performs physical work for the needy such as car washes, painting houses, etc. I\u2019ve shared that that is the work of an individual but it is not authorized benevolence for the church. He disagrees.<\/p>\n
In regards to where I need your help, it is with this comment that my cousin says: \u201cWhen I stand before God, I would rather know that I have helped individuals and His grace will cover me.\u201d I contend that we are to help others as an individual but doing it with church affiliation is not authorized. He asked if I thought it was a matter of salvation and I said that we are not to judge but what he was doing was not scriptural. How do I explain to him that helping as a local church is sinful?<\/p>\n
We also disagree on where we should do volunteer work. I\u2019ve shared that volunteering for an organization that is church-affiliated is perpetuating sin the same as making financial offerings to churches that teach false doctrine. How do I study this scripturally? What does the Bible say?<\/p>\n\t
The direction you are taking your study makes it difficult for your cousin to consider your points.<\/p>\n
My question for him is: How important is it to follow God’s commands? If it is true that God does not like for men to alter His teachings, should we be careful to stay within the boundaries that God has laid out? Behind your cousin’s statements is a belief that careful following of God’s teachings is not necessary. Of course, we see that this is not what was taught in the Bible. “Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 12:28).<\/p>\n The idea that I can make mistakes and trust that God’s grace will cover them over is addressed by Paul. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?<\/em>” (Romans 6:1-2). It is God who decides if He will extend mercy. It is not up to the one being judged to insist that he is owed mercy.<\/p>\n Your cousin is also making the mistake of rating God’s laws. He is saying that only laws in the category of “salvation issues” have to be obeyed and all other laws are optional. But James tells us, “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law<\/em>” (James 2:8-11). I can hear someone saying being partial is not a salvation issue. But James says that all laws are interconnected and carry equal weight.<\/p>\n Now notice that I haven’t said anything about the direct disagreement, but that is because his view is a natural consequence of being off track on more fundamental subjects. It is those fundamental points that need to be addressed first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello, I am a newer Christian and love your site. Thanks so much for making it available. While I have much growth spiritually, know that you are helping me to grow. My cousin and I do not agree on the benevolence work of an individual Christian vs. the Local Church. He wants to study…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[194,193,1508,192],"class_list":["post-23487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-benevolence","tag-individual-vs-church","tag-institutionalism","tag-liberalism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19669,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-church-pay-school-fees-as-an-act-of-benevolence-if-the-student-has-no-family\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":0},"title":"Can a church pay school fees as an act of benevolence if the student has no family?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, brother, can a church pay school fees as an act of benevolence if the student has no family? Answer: \"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53134,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-aid-be-given-to-a-member-who-doesnt-attend-worship-often\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":1},"title":"Should aid be given to a member who doesn’t attend worship often?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Would it be scriptural to refuse a widow benevolence because of very poor attendance at the worship services? Answer: Are you talking about benevolence by individuals? Then it would be up to the individual to decide. Individuals are to do good to all people (Galatians 6:9-10). Are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70122,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/institutionalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":2},"title":"Institutionalism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chris Reeves Truth Magazine August 2024 Christians today who were not raised during the institutional battles among brethren in the 1950s and 1960s would do well to learn the issues that divide us today. Having learned these issues,\u00a0they can then teach others the truth concerning the work and organization\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-benevolence-by-christians-limited-to-other-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":3},"title":"Is benevolence by Christians limited to other Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know whether sharing or any act of benevolence by Christians should be limited to the body of Christ alone. Answer: There are two standards for benevolence work.\u00a0 One concerns what the church can do and the other concerns what individuals are expected to do. The easy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96218,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-a-disaster-should-congregations-help-a-congregation-rebuild\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":4},"title":"In a disaster, should congregations help a congregation rebuild?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, I have already read several of your articles on benevolence, and they are quite useful.\u00a0I was hoping that you could provide some answers to the following. A church is hit by a natural disaster, and brethren have damage to their homes and vehicles. There is also damage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19226,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-why-you-talk-about-benevolence-but-then-say-the-church-isnt-always-involved\/","url_meta":{"origin":23487,"position":5},"title":"Can you explain why you talk about benevolence, but then say the church isn’t always involved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw your web site while doing some study on a series of messages this weekend I am doing on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I found your message on\u00a0The Three Philosophies of Life. I have heard from others that same approach to the parable. Do you know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}