BENEVOLENCE AS A MEANS OF EVANGELISM THAT TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

1. BENEVOLENCE AS A MEANS OF EVANGELISM THAT TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN Dates: December 21-23, 2009 Venue: Kalookan Church of Christ

2. “Turned the world upside down” • Cebuano: “Nagabalit-ad sa kalibutan” • Hiligaynon: “Nagpabaliskad sang kalibutan” • Tagalog: “Nambabaligtad ng mundo”

3. MGA GAWA 17:1-6 • 1 Nang makaraan na sina Pablo at Silas sa Amfipolis at sa Apolonia ay nakarating sila sa Tesalonica, kung saan may isang sinagoga ng mga Judio. • 2 At si Pablo ay pumasok ayon sa kanyang kaugalian, at sa loob ng tatlong araw ng Sabado ay nangatuwiran sa kanila mula sa mga Kasulatan,

4. 3 Na ipinapaliwanag at pinatutunayan na kailangang magdusa ang Cristo at muling mabuhay mula sa mga patay; at sinasabi, “Itong Jesus na aking ipinangangaral sa inyo ay siyang Cristo.” • 4 Nahikayat ang ilan sa kanila at sumama kina Pablo at kay Silas, ganoon din ang mga Griyegong masisipag sa kabanalan, at hindi kakaunting mga pangunahing babae.

5. 5 Subalit dahil sa inggit, ang mga Judio ay nagsama ng ilang masasamang tao mula sa pamilihan, at nang makapagtipon sila ng maraming tao ay ginulo nila ang lunsod. Nilusob nila ang bahay ni Jason, sa kagustohang maiharap sina Pablo at Silas sa mga tao.

6. 6 Nang sila’y hindi nila natagpuan, kanilang kinaladkad si Jason at ang ilang kapatid sa harap ng mga pinuno ng lunsod, na ipinagsisigawan, “Ang mga taong ito na nambabaligtad ng mundo ay dumating din dito!”

7. In ACTS 17:6, that phrase in the Greek NT reads like this… • ‘οι την οικουμενην αναστατωσαντες ‘ουτοι και ενθαδε παρεισιν, • hoi ten oikoume’nen anastato’santes houtoi kai ethna’de pa’reisin, • “These men having turned the inhabited earth upside down have arrived here also!”

8. ANASTATO’SANTES • αναστατωσαντες, “having turned upside down,” aorist active participle, from αναστατοω, anastato’o, “to stir up to sedition, to upset, to unsettle, to cause an uproar” (Rogers & Rogers, The New Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, 273; Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 75, s. “Stir”). • It refers to the previous action of Paul and Silas of preaching at the synagogue of the Jews the good news of Jesus, whose death and resurrection had scandalized the Jews.

9. Paul had ALSO been accused of turning the government upside down. • Acts 21:38, “And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And the [chief captain] said, Have you a knowledge of Greek? 38 Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the governmentand took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land?” (BBE). • “Worked up against the government” is from αναστατωσας, anastato’sas, aorist active participle, “stirred up to sedition,” or “turned upside down.”

10. Paul accused the false teachers of turning upside down the minds of the Galatians. • Gal. 5:12: “I would” (5:12a), οφελον, o’phelon, a particle to introduce wishes that are not obtainable (Rogers & Rogers, 430), “I desire,” “I would, oh that I would,” “Ibig ko sana” • “that they that unsettle you” (5:12b), αναστατουντες, anastatountes, “they that stir you up, they that give you trouble, they that turn you upside down,” “na iyang mga nanggugulo sa inyo” • “would even go beyond circumcision” (5:12c), αποκοψονται, apoko’psontai, “might even be cut off themselves” (BBE), “Na kapunin nila ang kanilang sarili” (TB).

11. Our good news always turns the world upside down! • Like Paul, we preach about the God who came here and became poor and offered us the riches of heaven, • Who taught us that the only way to be happy with our riches is to use it to further the ends of love, • That the only way for us to inherit God’s mansions is to throw away our pretentiousness, • That the way to go up is to go down, • That the way to end enmity is to love our enemy,

12. That the way to deal with our sins is to look at it squarely, face up to it, and strive to follow Him. • He has promised everyone life--- and died in order to make good that promise. • In this world of many imperfections, He has come to invite us to “be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). • He wants us not to remember our past but to strive to become the new man that He desires us to be!

13. I think we have crystallized our teachings to some point… • We can NOW conclude that the work of the church of Jesus on earth consists of three: • (1) Evangelism • (2) Edification • (3) Benevolence

14. Evangelism – the proclamation of the Good News • ευαγγελιον, euangelion, which means “evangel, or good news”; ευ means “good,” αγγελιον means “news.” • αγγελιον, angelion, has the same roots as the word αγγελος, angelos, “angel, messenger” • It also has the same roots as ευαγγελιστες, eu’angelistes, “evangelist,” “gospel preacher,” or “good newser” (as Jim Massey would say)

15. In our work of evangelism, • The whole world is our field, every creature is the object of our efforts, and the Bible is the seed of God that we keep sowing. • We aim for change, not only for ourselves, but for the people of the world whom we love. • Our goal is to keep on, that we all may finally be found sitting before that table, with the rest of them who love His appearing, partaking of the Supper of the Lamb.

16. Picture the people in sin… • Like planets they are wandering through space, without any sure direction, drifting aimlessly, ending finally into that Black Hole of destruction from which they could no longer return. • We in the Lord’s church are here to provide them directions, that they may stop groping in the dark and focus their eyes toward the light. • Our benevolence efforts must therefore be geared toward directing these people to Jesus to embrace the lifestyle that He wants us to have.

17. Benevolence? Have you heard of this story? • Grupo: “Pastor, kailangang gumawa na rin tayo ng benevolence program natin upang makakatulong man tayo kahit paano.” • Pastor (nag-isip ng malalim): “Benevolence? Tama kayo. Kaya madaliin natin itong meeting natin at uuwi na ako. Kawawa din yong misis ko.” • Grupo: “Bakit po? Ano pong nangyari sa kanya?” • Pastor: “Tatlong linggo na po kaming hiwalay ng kwarto.” • Grupo: “Eh, anong kinalaman niyan sa benevolence program natin?”

18. This was the verse he showed them… • “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband” (1 Cor 7:3, KJV).

19. 1 Corinthians 7:3 • The word wrongly translated “benevolence” is the Greek word οφειλην, opheilen, meaning “obligation, due.” • τη γυναικι ‘ο ανηρ την οφειλην αποδιδοτω, • te gunaiki ho aner ten opheilen apodido’to, • Literally: “Let the husband pay the wife [his] obligation.” • Pakikipagtalik – pagbabayad ng utang, fulfilling obligation

20. αποδιδοτω, apodido’to • “Let him pay” the obligation • Present tense – referring to continuous action • Imperative – it is a command • Active – you yourself should do it

21. “Benevolence”: Etymology • Old English word, borrowed from French, which borrowed it from Latin. • Latin: BENEVOLENS • BENE, “well” (cf. benign). • VOLENS, present participle of VELLE, “to wish” (rooted from Indo-European). • Hence: “To wish one well.” • http://www.thefreedictionary.com/benevolent

22. Benevolence is • “a disposition to do good” • “an inclination to do kind acts” • “an act showing kindness and good will” • wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

23. Benevolence • From AGATHOSU’NE, αγαθωσυνη, which means goodness. • It is a generosity that springs from the heart that is kind and will always take care to obtain for others that which is useful and beneficial (Rogers & Rogers,431).

24. Benevolence is coupled with kindness or gentleness • Kindness is CHRESTO’TES, χρηστοτης, which also means “gentleness.” • “It refers to a kindly disposition toward one’s neighbors, showing goodness and concern toward other people, a kindness that expresses sympathy” (Rogers & Rogers, 431).

25. Benevolence is a trait produced by the Spirit of God in us. • Galacia 5:22-23, “Subalit ang bunga ng Espiritu ay pag-ibig, kagalakan, kapayapaan, pagtitiyaga, kagandahang loob, kabutihan [benevolence], katapatan, 23 kaamuan at pagpipigil sa sarili. Laban sa mga ito ay walang kautusan.”

26. The rich are commanded to practice benevolence • 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (Montgomery), • “Charge the rich of this world not to be supercilious, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in God, who provides all things richly for our use. 18 Charge them to practice benevolence, to be rich in good works, to be open-handed and generous, 19 laying up right good treasure for themselves in the world to come, in order that they may obtain the Life which is life indeed.”

27. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 • (1) Charge (6:17a), παραγγελλε, para’ngelle, present imperative active, “to give orders, to command, to instruct” (Rogers & Rogers, 499). “Atasan mo sila” (TB). It is a continuing command. • (2) “The rich of this world” (6:17b), τοις πλουσιοις εν τω νυν αιωνι, tois plousi’ois en to nun aioni, to the rich people of this present age. • (3) “Not to be supercilious” (6:17c), μη ‘υψηλοφρονειν, me hupsilophronein, “not to be highminded, not to think highly of themselves” (Ibid.). “Huwag magmataas” (TB).

28. (4) “Not to trust in uncertain riches” (6:17d), Literally, “not to put their hope on the uncertainty of riches” (Marshall, Interlinear Greek-English New Testament). “Huwag umasa sa kayamanang hindi tiyak” (TB). “Trust,” ηλπικεναι, elpike’nai, is perfect active infinitive, a finished action whose effect continues to the present. It means to put one’s hope on someone or something and to let that hope rest there. “To hope and continue to hope” (Rogers & Rogers, 499).

29. “Riches are uncertain because they may soon be taken away. No dependence can be placed on them in the emergencies of life. He who is rich today, has no security that he will [still] be [rich] tomorrow; and if he shall be rich tomorrow, he has no certainty that his riches will meet his necessities then. A man whose house is in flames, or who is shipwrecked, or whose child lies dying, or who is himself in the agonies of death, can derive no advantage from the fact that he is richer than other men” (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament). • Brethren, one thing that is certain about riches is that they are uncertain!

30. (5) Trust in God, who continually provides all things richly for our use (6:17e). Rivers will run dry, the ice in the Arctic Ocean will melt, and climates will change, but God will not. Only God is certain. Trust God, not riches. He always provides. “He provides for our use.” “Our use,” εις απολαυσιν, eis apo’lausin, meaning “for our pleasure or enjoyment” (Rogers & Rogers, 499). God keeps on providing all things so richly that no granaries or depots in this world could contain His blessings.

31. (6) Charge the rich to practice benevolence (6:18a). The word here is αγαθοεργειν, agathoergein, from agathos, “good,” and ergos, “work,” meaning “to do good deeds, to do good works, to do that which is noble and praiseworthy” (Rogers & Rogers, 499).

32. (7) “To be rich in good works” (6:18b), πλουτειν εν εργοις καλοις, ploutein en ergois kalois. “Maging mayaman sa mabubuting gawa.”. • (8) “To be open-handed, or ready to give” (6:18c), ευμεταδοτους, eumetado’tous, “to be ready to impart” (Marshall); “to be sharing well, to be generous” (Rogers & Rogers, 499). It is a picture word coined from ευ, “good,” μετα, “stand by,” δοτους, from doto, “to give” (BAGD).

33. (9) “To be willing to communicate” (6:18), “To be willing to share,” ειναι κοινωνικους, einai koinonikou’s. Sharing one’s blessings is a form of communicating the language of divine love. In benevolence, both the givers and the receivers are in fellowship with the one God who provides these blessings to all.

34. (10) By being benevolent, the rich will be laying up right good treasure. • “Sa gayo’y magtitipon sila para sa kanilang sarili ng isang mabuting saligan para sa hinaharap upang sila’y makapanghawak ng tunay na buhay” (TB).

35. Galatians 6:10 • “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Montgomery NT). • (1) αρα ουν ‘ως καιρον εχωμεν, Ara oun hos kairon e’chomen. Literally, “Therefore as we have the time” (6:10a). Take note that this passage no longer talks about the rich alone doing good. It is no longer the question of whether we have money or not, but whether we have TIME to do good or not. Everyone, whether rich or poor, is to do good, and doing good does not wholly involve money.

36. (2) εργαζωμεθα το αγαθον προς παντας, ergadzo’metha to agathon pros pa’ntas.“Let us do the good to all” (6:10b). A hortatory subjunctive that speaks to the heart. The good, το αγαθον, to agathon, is anything that uplifts your fellow man. προς παντας, pros pa’ntas, refers to “all men,” regardless of sex, color, religion, need, lifestyle, ideology.

37. (3) μαλιστα δε προς τους οικειους της πιστεως, ma’lista de pros tous oikei’ous tes pis’teos. “And most of all to the members of the family of the faith.” Are we accused of being partial to church members? There is nothing wrong with it (Rom. 9:13). Nobody has any right to question the preference of the Divine Giver, nor have any right to dictate on God to change His preferences as He reveals in His Word. The sense of the passage is: Do good to all, but most of all to Christians.

38. 1 John 3:17 • (1) “He who has this world's goods” (3:17a). ‘ος δ αν εχη τον βιον του κοσμου, hos d an eche ton bi’on tou kosmou, literally, “Whoever has the means of life of the world” (Rogers & Rogers, 596). “World’s goods is of value to us [because] it meets our wants this side of the grave; and perhaps also because it is sought supremely by the men of the world” (Barnes).

39. (2) “And sees his brother have need” (3:17b). Literally, “And beholds his brother having need.” “Beholds” is θεωρη, theore, present subjunctive active, “to see” (Rogers & Rogers, 596). Present subjunctive shows the action to be continuing. εχοντα, e’chonta, “have,” is present active participle, speaking of continuous action (Ibid.). χρειαν, chrei’an, “need,” means “need of food, raiment, shelter; or sick, and poor, and unable to provide for his own wants and for those of his family” (Barnes).

40. “And shutteth up his bowels from him” (3:17c). και κλειση τα σπλαγχνα αυτου απ αυτου, kai klei’se ta spla’nchna autou ap’ autou, “And shuts the bowels of him from him.” κλειση, klei’se, aorist subjunctive active, “to shut up, to lock” (Rogers & Rogers, 596). Aorist subjunctive speaks of immediate action. “And immediately shuts up his bowels of mercy from his brother, never opening up.” “The bowels… are in the Scriptures represented as the seat of mercy, piety, compassion, because when the mind feels compassion it is that part which is affected” (Barnes).

41. “How does the love of God dwell in him?” (3:17d). How can a man say he loves God but does not love those who bear the image of God? “Love of God” here is genitive of description, meaning “the love one has for God.” How can the man who keeps seeing his brother having need, and remembers him having need, say that the love of God dwells in him when he shuts the door of compassion in his heart for that brother? The meaning is plain: We cannot have the evidence of piety unless we are ready to do good to others, especially to fellow Christians.  

42. CASES OF BENEVOLENCE IN THE BOOK OF ACTS • Acts 2:44-45 • Acts 4:32-35 • Acts 11:27-30

43. Acts 2:44-45 • “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need” (ASV).

44. Acts 2:44-45 • (1) “And all that believed together” (2:44a), παντες δε ‘οι πιστευσαντες επι το αυτο, pantes de hoi pisteu’santes epi to auto, literally, “and all the believing ones together,” active participle telling us that the ones who believed in the Messiahship of Jesus at that time had that togetherness. • (2) “Had all things common” (2:44b), ειχον απαντα κοινα, eichon apanta koina. ειχον, “had,” is imperfect indicative active, speaking of continuing action in the past.

45. Acts 2:44-45 • J. W. McGarvey: “This was not a community of goods, by which all were placed on a pecuniary level” (J. W. McGarvey, Commentary on Acts of the Apostles). • B. W. Johnson: “(1) the goods were not a common fund, but each one had goods that he possessed; (2) he did not say that his goods were his own; (3) they used all as if it belonged to all; (4) there were none that lacked” (The People's New Testament).

46. Acts 2:44-45 • (3) “And they sold their possessions and goods” (2:45a). “They sold,” επιπρασκον, epi’praskon, imperfect indicative active of πιπρασκω, pipra’sko, “to sell.” It is a customary imperfect that speaks of continuous action in the past. The sense of the text is “They sold from time to time” (Rogers & Rogers, 234). They sold, when there was a need to do so, as much as was necessary, in order to procure the means of providing for the wants of each other.

47. (4) “And parted them to all” (2:45b), και διεμεριζον αυτα πασιν, kai dieme’ridzon auta pasin, literally, “and distributed them all.” Distributed them to supply the wants of their poorer brethren. • McGarvey: “Poor brethren must not be allowed to suffer for the necessaries of life, though it requires us to divide with them the last loaf in our possession” (Ibid.).

48. (5) “According as any man had need” (2:45c).καθοτι αν τις χρειαν ειχεν, katho’ti an tes chrei’an ei’chen, “according to their necessities.”The basis for the distribution was the needs of everyone. Some may have little needs, others may have great needs. The profoundness of their system does not lie in the equal utilization of goods but in the satisfaction of the users.

49. Acts 4:32-37 • And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

50. Acts 4:32-37 • 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as any one had need. 36 And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, 37 having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet” (ASV).