Wesleyan Pastoral Ministry, Evangelism, and Global Missions — Unit 6: Compassionate Ministry: The Poor, the Sick, and Justice

Key Verse

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain why Wesleyans see works of mercy as part of holiness and not as a separate project.

2. Describe three kinds of compassionate work that John Wesley led: care for the poor, care for the sick, and the fight against slavery.

3. Explain Wesley's three rules about money and apply them to a local church.

4. State the main objections to Wesleyan compassionate ministry, from both the left and the right, and give the Wesleyan answer.

5. Plan a simple, realistic response to need in a poor community, keeping compassion and the gospel together.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the evangelical Wesleyan tradition, for pastors who belong to it or want to understand it. We hold that the Bible is the inspired and final authority for faith and life. When we say "we," we mean the Wesleyan-Holiness churches and the evangelical Methodists. Some Methodist bodies have moved away from this view of Scripture. We say so honestly, but we do not follow them. Scripture says, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Where other Christians disagree with us, we state their view fairly and then give our answer.

Why This Unit Matters for You

Many CTS students serve where need is close and constant. A pastor cannot preach the love of God to a hungry family and then look away. Yet a church can also lose its message by becoming only a relief agency. The Wesleyan answer is that holiness is love of God and love of neighbor, and love of neighbor takes the shape of mercy.

Holiness Includes Mercy

In earlier courses we learned that Wesley taught Christian perfection as perfect love (see Course 3, Units 3 and 4). Love is not only a feeling. Jesus gave two great commandments: love God with all the heart, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). The apostle John asks how God's love can remain in a person who sees a brother in need and shuts up his heart (1 John 3:17-18). James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-17).

Wesley saw this clearly. He spoke of two kinds of good works. Works of piety are the ways we draw near to God: prayer, Scripture, fasting, the Lord's Supper. Works of mercy are the ways we serve our neighbor: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoner, teaching the ignorant. Wesley held that both are means by which God works in a believer. A Christian who prays but never serves is missing something, and so is one who serves but never prays. Holiness grows in the meeting place of the two.

The picture Jesus gives in Matthew 25:31-46 is serious. The King says that what was done for the least of His brethren was done for Him. We must read this with care. Interpreters differ on who "the least of these" are: any people in need, or Christ's own followers. At the least, the passage shows that genuine faith produces mercy. We do not claim that works earn salvation. Wesley taught justification by faith alone (see Course 2, Unit 5). But he also held that living faith works through love (Galatians 5:6), and that those who refuse mercy show a dead faith.

Wesley's word for this was "social holiness." He did not mean a political program. He meant that holiness cannot be lived alone in a private room. It is lived among others, and it reaches out to others.

The General Rules and the Poor

When Wesley organized the Methodist societies, he gave their members the General Rules in 1743. There were three: do no harm, do good, and attend upon the ordinances of God. Under "do good," members were to give to the needy, visit the sick and imprisoned, and feed the hungry and clothe the naked as they had ability. A person who would not follow these rules could not stay in the society.

This is a key fact for pastors. In the early Methodist movement, mercy was not left to people who happened to feel generous. It was part of the discipline of membership. The class meeting (see Unit 3) was the place where members were encouraged to do it and asked how they were doing.

What Wesley Did

Wesley did not only teach about mercy. Here are the main things he did. These are well-documented in his Journal and in histories of early Methodism.

Visiting the poor and prisoners. At Oxford, the Holy Club visited prisoners and poor families (see Course 1, Unit 2). After 1738 the Methodists kept up this work. Wesley and his helpers visited prisons in London, including Newgate, and he wrote a sermon, "On Visiting the Sick," urging all Christians to do this duty.

Helping with work and money. In the 1740s Wesley set up ways to help poor members. Among them was a small fund from which the poor could borrow without being crushed by high interest. He also tried to find work for those without it. He told rich believers plainly that wealth was a trust from God and not a private possession.

Caring for the sick. In a time when most poor people could not pay for a doctor, Wesley opened a medical dispensary in London in the 1740s, where the poor could receive simple remedies. He also wrote a book of home remedies called Primitive Physick (1747). Medicine in his day was limited, and some of his advice would not be followed now. We praise his motive, not every remedy. The principle is clear: the body matters to God, and the church should care for it.

Teaching. Wesley valued education for the poor, so that people could read the Bible. Helping a person learn to read was both a work of mercy and a work of discipleship.

Opposing slavery. In 1774 Wesley published Thoughts upon Slavery, a sharp attack on the slave trade and on the holding of people in bondage. He argued that no law or custom could make it right. In February 1791, only days before he died, he wrote to William Wilberforce to encourage him in the struggle against the slave trade. Wesley understood that Scripture teaches the worth of every person, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Slavery denied that truth.

Wesley's Three Rules About Money

In his sermon "The Use of Money," Wesley gave three plain rules: earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. Each rule needs the others.

Earn all you can. Wesley approved honest work. But he set limits. A Christian must not earn by harming his own health or his neighbor's, nor by a trade that damages the soul. He would not earn money in a way that wronged another person.

Save all you can. He did not mean hoarding. He meant avoiding waste, and avoiding the display of vanity and pride, so that what was saved could be used for good.

Give all you can. This is the aim of the other two. Wesley taught that we are stewards, not owners. Everything belongs to God and is lent to us.

This teaching is good for churches in any country. A congregation of poor families can still give. The widow who gave two small coins was praised by Jesus (Mark 12:41-44). A pastor in a poor area should not be ashamed to teach these rules. Generosity is a sign of grace at every income level.

The Tradition After Wesley

The Holiness churches carried this concern forward. The Free Methodist Church began in 1860, partly because its founders opposed slavery and the sale of church seats to the wealthy. They wanted pews free so that the poor could worship beside the rich. The Wesleyan Methodists organized in 1843 largely because they would not accept slavery in the church. (These stories are told in Course 1, Unit 7.) In 1895 Phineas Bresee began his congregation in Los Angeles, which became a root of the Church of the Nazarene, with a special concern for those that other churches overlooked.

We should not be proud. Many Methodists failed on the question of slavery, and churches in every age have lowered the standard. But the standard itself comes from Scripture, and it is right.

Justice

Compassion gives a cup of water. Justice asks why the well is dry. Both are in the Bible. The prophets speak against those who cheat the poor and take bribes. Micah 6:8 puts justice, mercy and humility together. Proverbs 31:8-9 tells us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Romans 13 teaches respect for governing authorities, and Acts 5:29 reminds us that we must obey God rather than men.

What does this mean for a pastor? We suggest these practical limits.

• A pastor should speak clearly when Scripture speaks clearly, for example against bribery, cruelty, abuse of workers, violence against women and children, and the trade in human beings.

• A pastor should not turn the pulpit into a political party meeting. The church belongs to Christ, and it holds people of different parties.

• A pastor should work with local authorities where possible, and should protect his church from becoming dependent on any political power.

Objections and Answers

Objection 1: "The church should preach the gospel, not run social programs."

Some conservative Christians fear that mercy ministry distracts from the soul. They remind us that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36) and that Paul "determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). They warn that some churches began with a gospel mission and ended with only a social mission.

Our answer. The warning is fair, and history proves it. But Scripture does not set the two against each other. Jesus preached and He healed and fed. The early church shared its goods (Acts 2:44-45) and Paul collected relief for the poor in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-27; 2 Corinthians 8-9). James calls pure religion caring for orphans and widows (James 1:27). Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Wesley preached for conversion more than any other cause, yet he also fed and healed. The gospel is first in importance; mercy is its fruit and its witness. We never want to give bread and withhold Christ, nor preach Christ and withhold bread.

Objection 2: "The gospel is mainly about changing unjust systems."

Some Christians, including theologians of the social gospel and of some forms of liberation theology in Latin America, teach that the heart of the gospel is liberation of the poor from oppression, and that sin is chiefly structural. They are right to see that the Bible cares about the poor and about justice, and many have suffered for it.

Our answer. We agree that sin has social effects and that the poor are on God's heart. But Scripture makes personal sin and need of forgiveness basic to every person, rich or poor (Romans 3:23). Jesus died for sinners, not for a class. If we reduce salvation to political liberation, we have lost the cross. The Wesleyan way holds both: new birth changes the person, and changed persons change families, workplaces and communities. This is how the revival in Wesley's England helped many poor people, not by a political program but by transformed lives, with moral and practical help.

Objection 3: "Poverty is a sign of sin, and wealth a sign of God's blessing."

Teachers of the prosperity gospel say that faith always brings money, and that the poor lack faith. Some ordinary Christians quietly think the same.

Our answer. Scripture does not teach this. Job suffered although he was righteous. Jesus said, "Blessed are you poor" (Luke 6:20). The rich young ruler was not saved by his wealth (Mark 10:17-27). Paul warns that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). God does bless His people and meets their needs, and Wesley taught honest work and thrift as good. But Wesley also warned that riches are a spiritual danger. A pastor must never tell a poor believer that his poverty proves weak faith.

Objection 4: "Giving to the poor makes them dependent."

This is a practical objection, and it is often true that careless aid can hurt people and damage the dignity of the receiver.

Our answer. Wesley agreed that idleness is not a virtue, and he worked to create jobs and lend money. Paul told the Thessalonians that the one who will not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). But the same Bible commands generosity. The answer is wise mercy: meet urgent need at once, and then help people toward work, skill and dignity, with the local church walking beside them.

Pastoral Application

Heavy rains flood a poor neighborhood. Three families from your congregation lose their homes, and so do several neighbors who do not attend any church. Your church treasury is small. Your leaders disagree. One says, "We must save our money for the building fund." Another says, "Let us give everything and trust God."

A wise pastor can proceed in steps.

First, meet the urgent need. Food, water, dry clothing and shelter come before speeches. Ask the leaders to open church homes and church space at once.

Second, take stock honestly. Who has been affected? What can members give? Who can organize? Keep a simple record of money received and spent, so no one doubts your honesty.

Third, serve the neighbors too. Galatians 6:10 puts believers first but not alone.

Fourth, speak of Christ with those you help, with gentleness and not as a price for the help. Pray with them, invite them to the church, and be ready to listen.

Fifth, think beyond the first week. Talk to the local authorities about drainage and safe building, as justice requires. Plan for rebuilding with the families doing the work they can.

Sixth, resist both extremes. Teach the three rules and let each member give what he or she can, however small.

Summary

For Wesley, holiness is perfect love, and love of neighbor takes the shape of mercy. He taught that works of mercy, together with works of piety, are means through which God works in believers. The General Rules of 1743 made doing good a part of Methodist membership. Wesley visited prisoners and the poor, opened a dispensary, helped poor members with funds and work, valued education, and opposed slavery in Thoughts upon Slavery (1774) and in his last letter to Wilberforce in 1791. His sermon "The Use of Money" gives three rules: earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can. The Holiness churches continued this work, as in the Free Methodist stand for free pews and against slavery and Bresee's ministry among the poor in Los Angeles. We answer those who say the church should only preach, those who say the gospel is only social liberation, those who link money with faith, and those who fear dependency. The Wesleyan way keeps the gospel first and mercy as its fruit.

Further Reading

• John Wesley, sermons "The Use of Money," "On Visiting the Sick," and "The Good Steward."

• John Wesley, Thoughts upon Slavery (1774).

• John Wesley, Primitive Physick (1747).

• John Wesley, "The Nature, Design, and General Rules of the United Societies" (1743).

• John Wesley, Journal.

• John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament, on Matthew 25 and James 2.

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