Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. Today, we’ll carry on with the topic Evangelism and Social Care - which is more important?”.

Last week, we saw in the first of two parables how the power of fatherly love drew his prodigal son to head back to his fold.  It was not so much a case of the wayward son wanting to come back as that of the fatherly love being the decisive pull factor in calling him home. The lesson for those of us working to draw people near us to spread the good news is this: there must be love within us in order to make true headway.

In the second parable of the good Samaritan, we saw how he initiated the process to show care towards the injured victim in a thorough and surpassing way, even at the risk of his own life. Likewise, the church of today must put in additional efforts to express such surpassing love with regards to the greater responsibility toward the world placed on our shoulders by God. We are willing to bring the good news to them by taking concrete and visible social actions to care for them and heal them, in the same way Jesus did when He was in this world. Besides spreading the good news far and wide, Jesus is also the Lord who heals, drives out devils and sets men free. Ours is a God who takes care of widows and orphans and all who dwell amongst us. It is the love from a God like this that truly inspires us to volunteer our services towards the Great Commission.

Who then is the older son in the parable in our church today?

Let us take a second look at the older son in this parable. Who are those in our church today that the older brother alludes to? If there are such “elder sons” amongst ourselves, then it is time for these people to repent and go back to seek forgiveness from God. The older son points to the following:

First: those who are indifferent to the repentance shown by sinners. They would even say such people are doing so because they have run out of alternatives. All other roads are blocked such as business failure, bankruptcy, divorce… These “older sons” are focusing on nothing but their wrongful past -- they are caught in this mess because of their sinful lives and have no other recourse to turn to. In other words, these self-righteous people fail to see the current repentance of these “social outcasts” and the will of God in the latest development. Deep inside of them, they regard themselves as holier-than-thou as they look at (or should I say, look down on) these prodigal sons!

Someone once asked: do we honestly believe that a killer can still go to heaven after he repented and submitted himself to the Lord while in prison? Dear brothers and sisters, we may be blinded in how we understand grace against the mentality deep within us that we are better than the next guy. How would such a killer qualify to get past the pearly gates? How can I come face to face with him in Heaven? What is grace?

My rejoinder: some time back, there was a case in the US involving a serial killer and his nine victims, all of whom were subsequently dismembered, gutted, with their innards stored in a fridge to be prepared as his meals. A psychopath, no less, you’d say. The law subsequently caught up with him and he was slapped with the death sentence. As it turned out, he repented, shed lots of tears, confessed his foul acts and accepted Christ after a pastor spread the gospel to him during his detention. This pastor said later, “The prisoner will go to heaven when his time is up; let us meet him again there.” What do you think? Do you want to meet him there? If your answer is ‘no’, then all I can say is that you would be in hell, because he would be in heaven.

Dear brothers and sisters, that is what grace is about. Grace is unconditional. We are able to enter heaven not because we are “better” than others. Rather, it is the love of Christ that enables us to receive salvation. As in the parable of the prodigal son, it was not that the wayward guy was better, but for the fact that he had a good father. It was his father who drew him into repentance and conferred him the privilege of sonship.

Secondly, the older son is someone who has accustomed himself to church life or Christian living, just as we, too, are used to taking every blessing for granted. Our hearts are no longer as warm as they used to be. Indeed, we are even moving increasingly apart from the earlier days of passionate responses to blessings as the years roll on—and becoming more detached towards the repentances confessed by others.

A story tells of a man who was hiking in the woods when he came across a rushing stream blocking his way and did not know what to do next. A nearby villager saw his dilemma and swiftly carried him on his shoulders across the treacherous waters. As this traveler did not carry much cash, he was not able to express his gratitude for the help received from this stranger. He was wondering what to do when his eyes caught the villager busy helping other stranded travelers like him a while ago. Walking over to the villager, he uttered, “I do not have to thank you anymore because my observations tell me that you have this unusual hobby of helping anyone who wants to cross this stream!” Now, that’s the mindset of an ingrate. Don’t you think so?

We pray to our Heavenly Father that we may continue to thank God for his bountiful blessings; never to become self-righteous but to stay humble. Blessings are purposed to help soften, rather than harden and turn away our hearts; grace is reminding us to hasten our fight to lead others towards salvation, even as we are filled with joy over the repentance of men. Wasn’t it Jesus who taught us that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents”? How can we not shout for joy?

Alas, just look at how our older brother was breathing fire in the parable! Why was he so upset? That was because he failed to see the one standing in front of them as his sibling, but as a prodigal son who had since been abandoned instead. This older brother had no love inside of him. Not so with his father, who was overflowing with love because he saw the drifter as his own flesh and blood. Now, who does the older son represent?

Thirdly, the older brother mirrors those Christians who turn a deaf ear to the calls in the Bible and choose to ignore their fellow men who have fallen into sin. He must be muttering these words under his breath: “Please go your way, man, and if you die, so be it! I’ve nothing to do with you. You are the fire logs that sustain the flames burning fiercely in Hell!” These heartless folks spare no thought whatsoever to those in less fortunate circumstances. The return of his sibling in repentance did not so much as bring about a ripple of excitement in him. O Lord, have mercy on all of us -- may we never take after the older brother!!

Who are the “priests” and “Levites” in our church today?

One: They are among those who would rather stick to the religious and ceremonious rites of the Christian practices rather than attend to the core values within the gospel teachings. The priests and the Levites are characters from the religious world. It could be they are in a hurry to carry out duties required of them in the holy temples, and did not want anything to get in their way. For instance, should this badly injured man whom he came across fail to survive, he would not be able to perform many religious rites. Dear brothers and sisters; in his sight these religious rites mean much more than holding onto the spirit of benevolence and kindness. Calling on anyone to forgo compassion and kindness for the pursuit of ceremonial rites was never the original intent of the bible. A person who fears the LORD and overflows with compassion is someone who walks in step with God.

Second: They are those who refuse to respond to the call for social action and turn away from people who have fallen into dire times. Today, there are many people who live in abject poverty, or under the heavy yoke of sin, or are having a hard time groaning under certain political systems. Take the Middle East for instance. We see the place teeming with loads after loads of refugees desperate to get on to the shores of other countries, seeking help and compassion from people they meet. There are many groups from the church that offer assistance, make sacrifices to ease their sufferings, set up various institutions to show concern and lead them to experience the love of God.

Unfortunately, there are also groups of callous people who neither offer help nor pray for their fellow men but leave these pitiful folks to their own devices. Isn’t that the mindset of the priests and Levites who chose to turn a blind eye towards the badly mauled traveler in the parable of the Good Samaritan? Dear brothers and sisters, let us not emulate these cold-blooded characters but take the cue from the good Samaritan and the father of the prodigal son instead.

How can we strengthen the links between evangelism and social action?

We need to see how we can further pair our gospel and social responsibilities with our evangelism ministry. The history of the church shows that several suggestions or viewpoints had been put forward to join gospel and social responsibility into a single unity in the past. Let us take a look at the relationships that have been floated in the following concepts:

One, the spread of the gospel bears the fruits of social work, even as it results in a man being born again. Such a renewed life shines through the commitment to minister to others. What’s more, one of the main aims in disseminating the gospel is to take up social responsibility. The Bible, in the book of Titus chapter 2 verse 14 teaches us, “…… God …purified for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” God has brought salvation to us through the gospel, and called us to do what is good thereafter. I am engaged in social work and action to show concern to others because I have accepted the gospel. Thus, I need to spread the message, which leads to lives of people being transformed. They will then take up social service, too. In other words, the spread of the gospel bears the fruits of social work.

Second, social work can be a bridge to spread the gospel. It can clear away the prejudice and suspicions amongst people, open up tightly clammed hearts and create opportunities for people to hear the good news.  It has been said, “If I were to turn a blind eye to the suffering people around me, we should not be surprised if they were to turn a deaf ear to our message of eternal salvation in return.” Dear brothers and sisters, let there be no doubt about this: the ministry of social care is indeed a bridge to spread the good news. Inasmuch as we have shown our care to these folks, they would be willing to listen to the good news that we are trying to spread.”

Three, social work is not merely the outcome and our aim to spread the good news. Neither does it merely bridge the gap for us to do that. It is also the “companion” that stays with us throughout our evangelism efforts. Our work and His Word pair up as two blades that make a pair of scissors perform the way they should; they are also the pair of wings that enable a bird to soar to great heights --neither of which would be possible otherwise.

Likewise, evangelism and service are inter-connected to each other -- even overlapping at times too. May God favour us with such wisdom and insight. Let there be no sense of guilt within us whether we are spreading the Word, or doing social service, as all of these are gospel ministries. May God help us to carry through this Great Commission. Amen!

Let’s pray

Dear Heavenly Father, 

How I thank Thee! When You sent your only begotten Son to this world, He did not stop at spreading the gospel. He went on to do work revolving around social concern and service. Your Son went on to send out His church in like manner as You did. Therefore, all followers in the church must take after Jesus Christ to likewise spread the Word, and carry out work to provide social care, enable the people around us to experience Your Love as expressed in the bible even as we receive His wonderful compassion and blessings. May Your Presence be with us, even as with the church -- as we accomplish this Great Commission together. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen.

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：[email protected]