Christian cultures often misunderstand the gospel as the entry point for the newly converted, and nothing more. However, Tim Keller, in his Galatians for You, says that the gospel is not just the ABCs of the Christian life, but from A to Z of it. That means that a sustained reflection on the gospel message is the very energizing force for leading a healthy Christian life in terms of the Christian’s motive, relationships, feelings, worldviews, etc. This also means that most Christian churches in America have been idle in maintaining a sustained reflection on the gospel message. Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church has a catch phrase, “Grace changes everything,” showing that it is God’s grace that should change the Christian life and set it apart from all other lifestyles.
In other words, God’s grace has everything to do with the identities, relationships, and works of the Christian churches and all the Christians in them. For example, when our identity is really truly based on the message of grace, then we will not be highly puffed up nor go down to the pit when we succeed tremendously or fail miserably, for the grace of God is our identity, not our success nor our failures. We will never be narcissistically egoistic even when we pull off amazing success, nor will we be miserably pitiful about ourselves, nor suicidal when things in our lives went seriously wrong. How liberating is that!
Keller argues that the grace in the gospel is basic and foundational to any type of ministries of mercy. That is, expressing our Christian love to neighbors should be able to come only from a sustained reflection on the grace of God in the gospel message. That is the main thrust of Keller’s Ministries of Mercy. The book is Keller’s D.Min dissertation from Westminster Theological Seminary under the supervision of Harvie Conn, dealing with Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the Samaritan. The book comprises two parts, the first of which deals more with the gospel message’s implications on the ministries of mercy. The second part delves into the practical tips and technical dimensions of carrying out the ministries of mercy. Below I will employ a Q&A format to explain the main thesis of Keller’s arguments in the book, followed by the strengths and weaknesses of the book.
Why should Christians participate in the ministries of mercy?
To begin with, what is meant by the ministries of mercy? Keller defines it as “fulfilling others’ “felt” needs through our deeds.” This is so because people’s “felt” needs are the door to their core needs. At the same time, people feel that they are being loved when their felt needs are met. (Of course this excludes any type of illegitimate needs.) The essence of mercy ministry is that God’s love being filled in the lives of Christians are flowing over to others. Thus, the purpose of mercy ministry is to communicate and spread the love of God. In particular, Keller examines the parable of goats and lambs in Matthew 25, saying that showing mercy to those in need are taken as the measure of whether one is being saved or not. In other words, mercy ministry is the mark of the Christian who is being saved, which is a bit far from the stereotype of most Christians on this topic. Yet Keller’s analysis is truthful and in line with the messages of the Bible.
In the Luke 10 text, the Jews and Samaritans are ultimate enemies to each other. Nonetheless, the Samaritan in the parable shows an unusual degree of mercy to the wounded Jew mugged by a robber. “33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’” (Luke 10:33-35)
Shown in the example of this Samaritan is that mercy ministry should be indiscriminating, for we receive mercy from God not because we deserve God’s mercy. We often judge others with our own criteria, saying “They became poor because they were lazy. It’s no use helping them.” However, Keller points out that such judgmental attitude commonly shared among the middle class in the United States is not worthy of God’s grace. Such judgmental attitudes toward others are expressive of our own self-righteousness, a mindset evincing that we have earned what we now have through our own efforts and we can claim an entitlement to our possessions. Keller’s standard here is God’s grace toward us Christians. God’s grace is free, unmerited favor to those undeserving of it. If we received God’s grace because we deserve it, then we can be righteous toward them all we want, but that is not the case. Thus, Keller says that the degree to which we realize and grasp God’s grace is exactly the degree to which we become merciful toward ourselves and others. In fact, the Bible testifies,
“7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Cor 4:7)”
Such is God’s grace, which humbles us and teaches us that we have nothing. In fact, we are poor, as Matthew says, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and as Luke says, “blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.” This implies that our mercy should be regardless of whether we like them or not, whether we see them as deserving or not, whether we judge them to be hardworking or not.
But then, another question arises, to what extent should we help them? For God’s intention is not to make us suffer from extreme poverty because we have given away all our belongings. Instead, the Bible enjoins the following.
“17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Tim 6:17-18)
Thus, we should be merciful insofar as we can maintain ourselves and our household independently of others, which is different from case by case. We should also consider our children, who should not be unwillingly taking the burden of our own determination of service and sacrifice. Our children, spouse, and parents are important neighbors to ourselves, and they should be taken care of well.
In our taking on mercy ministries, we should let mercy limit mercy. Since God’s mercy can never become the ground in which we freely commit sins, our mercy should never be the ground in which those we help can freely continue to live in unhealthy life styles. For continuing to help them in such situations is not God’s mercy.
What are the strengths of this book?
This book has numerous merits, above all of which is it shows how God’s mercy shown in Jesus Christ becomes the guiding principle for our engaging in mercy ministry can be practically applied. Also, while most books on mercy ministry sees evangelistic ministry as a separate task, Keller makes a strong case in this book that both ministries are like the flip side of the same coin. Love is never expressed in words only. It is conveyed through deeds. Nevertheless, people should know through hearing God’s Word what God’s love is like for them. Thus, both ministries should go hand in hand in order for God’s love to be fully communicated. Conceding that there are not many churches adept at both, he still says that a sustained reflection on the gospel message should lead us to engage in both ministries.
What are the weaknesses of this book?
It is not easy to pinpoint a weakness in this book, but I would say that Keller is rather passive on engaging in social justice ministry as more proactively participating in amending structural sins of our society. Of course Keller does acknowledge that sin is not just personal, but also structural, and God’s love should be reached all the dimensions in which sin has damaged. Still, he seems rather reluctant in explaining at length the importance of social justice ministry. Other than that, this will be a great book for anybody who would like to find out about the gospel foundations of any type of social engagement. Thanks!