In the book by Ronald Sider, ‘Rich Christians in an age of hunger’ are challenged to act justly, not only as consumers and campaigners, but also in their lifestyle in general. Rich Christians are challenged to consider the environmental impact of their lifestyles and to ‘live more simply that all may simply live’ – a saying from Mahatma Gandhi used as a fundraising slogan by Christian Aid.
The dangers of greed
Read Colossians 3:5-8 and Matthew 6:24-34. Greed, over-consumption and striving for material security are seen as indications of a lack of trust in God. Why is greed seen as idolatry? Give examples of how serving money damages people and planet.
The example of the Early Church
Read Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:31-37. Go around the group and list all the characteristics of the lifestyle of the early church as seen in these passages. What can Christians learn today from their example?
Generosity, simplicity and contentment
Read 1 Timothy 6:6-10 and 17-19. Discuss John Stott’s view that ‘we are to cultivate generosity on the one hand and simplicity with contentment on the other’ New Issues Facing Christians Today (1999), page 280. What does this mean in practice?
Care for Creation
Read Genesis 1:26-28 and 2:15. What do these verses say about mankind’s responsibilities as caretakers of God’s creation? Find examples from the Jubilee and Sabbath laws that show God’s concern not only for justice for humans, but also for the non-human creation, such as animals and the land (Leviticus 25, especially 1-7).

Living more simply is expressed in a number of ways e.g.
• Simplifying diet
• Reducing consumption
• Reducing possessions
• Reducing work time
• Reducing travel
• Increasing self-sufficiency
• Reconsidering technology
• Care for the planet e.g. by recycling

TO DISCUSS
• Ask each member of the group to contribute one action they have already taken to live more simply or to care for the planet (such as recycling), and to say very briefly why they consider this important.
• If you are not doing anything yet, are there obstacles that prevent you doing so?
• If not, what might you consider doing first? What else might you start doing next?

In 2015 the World Bank estimated that 702.1 million people were living in extreme poverty, down from 1.75 billion in 1990: about 347.1 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and 231.3 million in South Asia. In 2012 it was estimated that, using a poverty line of $1.25 a day, 1.2 billion people lived in poverty. UNICEF estimates half the world’s children (or 1.1 billion) live in poverty. Another estimate places the true scale of poverty much higher than the World Bank, with an estimated 4.3 billion people (59% of the world’s population) living with less than $5 a day and unable to meet basic needs adequately.
Matthew 25 41 ‘Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was ill and in prison and you did not look after me.”
44 ‘They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or ill or in prison, and did not help you?”
45 ‘He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
46 ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’
James 2 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Deuteronomy 15 7 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards them. 8 Rather, be open-handed and freely lend them whatever they need. …. 10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

TO THINK ABOUT
1. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 15:11 in John 12:8 “You will always have the poor among you?” Does this imply that poverty is inevitable and therefore in some way or to some extent Christians are relieved of an obligation to relieve poverty wherever they can?
2. Jesus said in Matthew 25:45 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” James 2:15 says, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.” Are Christians obliged to help everybody who is poor, or only other Christians?
3. How does the challenge of poverty affect the total amount of our income which we keep compared to the amount we give away? Should we only give to Christian charities?
4. How does the challenge of global poverty influence our priorities in our giving when it comes to supporting local/UK charities or overseas charities?
5. How does the challenge of poverty affect how much we spend on ourselves? e.g. on housing, transport and travel, food and drink, clothes, holidays and special treats, communication, entertainment, technology, any other large items or regular spending?

The Bible has a great deal to say about the need for justice in trade and challenges us to act justly as consumers, promoting products that benefit people and planet, rather than harming and exploiting them. As ethical consumers, we can make a difference. We can help bring justice and transformation to communities through trade. There are many things we can do to bring about justice through Fair Trade, which guarantees farmers a minimum price for their product, however low the international market price falls. As a result, producers can afford to send their children to school, get decent healthcare and buy enough food for their families. This is one aspect of loosening the chains of injustice.

Read James 5: 1-5

James was obviously a no-nonsense person. James wants us to live out our faith: to let it change the way we live our everyday lives.
1. Who do you think the rich people are in verse 1?
2. Why does James condemn the hoarding of wealth in verse 3?
3. What message is conveyed by the phrase ‘fattened in the day of slaughter’?
4. Compare James’ view of wealth with those of our society today.
5. Discuss the contrast between unjust trade and fair trade, and how these issues might connect with the passage in James.
6. What examples can we find in today’s world of this: ‘The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty’ (James 5:4)
Isaiah and Jeremiah say that God is angered when the luxury enjoyed by the rich is a result of the exploitation of poor workers (Isaiah 58:3 and Jeremiah 22:13-17).
Fair trade aims to benefit, rather than harm, people and planet (Leviticus 25, especially vv1-7).

Discuss examples of exploitation that you are aware of today.

Read Deuteronomy 24:14,15 and Leviticus 19:13.
Apart from fair wages and prices for products, what else is required when employing workers?

Read Leviticus 19:35, 36 and Micah 6:11.
What else is required to help make trade more fair?
Unjust global trade means that more and more land in the poorest countries is used to grow luxury cash crops for supermarkets, rather than for growing food for local people (Proverbs 13:23). Fair trade aims to help farmers prosper on their own land by paying them a just price for their produce.
What can we do?
The action pledge of the Trade for Life campaign reads ‘I believe trade should work in the interests of all people. I promise to act with others to change the rules that govern international trade so that they work to eradicate poverty, protect the environment and ensure equal access to life in all its fullness.’ Discuss this pledge. Do you agree?
See www.fairtrade.org.uk and www.traidcraft.co.uk

Meditate individually in silence on Amos 5:21-24:
‘I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!’ (Amos 5:21-24)

QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS

Is “Fair Trade” merely a fashion, or a luxury which only relatively well-off Christians can afford? Or is Fair Trade a vital element of discipleship for all Christians?

Should our church become a “Fair Trade” church?

The Old Testament Jubilee laws show God’s concern for justice in society. We are challenged to loose the chains of injustice. Today, this may include tackling the root causes of poverty and the traps of debt, locally and globally.

‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.’ (Psalm 89:14)

‘Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you…’ (Leviticus 25:10)

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-15.

For Moses, the long journey is over. He has led the Israelites through the miraculous exodus and the desperate years of wandering in the desert. Moses’ life is almost finished, but finally the people stand at the entrance to the promised land. A new generation is ready to cross the Jordan and enter Canaan. Now Moses reminds them of the road they have travelled and the agreement they made with God in the desert.

1. How would this particular law have affected the lives of the Israelites as a covenant people? (vv1-3)
2. How does God’s promise in verse 4 relate to the statement in verse 11?
3. What do verses 7-10 add to the law that has been given?
4. What concerns underlie these laws and what relevance do they have to our lives?
5. Every 50 years you make a new beginning – this is the Jubilee principle in the book of Leviticus. You cancel any debts still owed; if there are slaves, you set them free – it is a chance for renewal for everybody.’ How should this principal be worked out in UK society today?
6. What are the causes of debt in UK society today?
7. What should the church be doing to help people caught in “the debt trap”?
8. What should individual Christians be doing about the problems of debt.
9. Read Leviticus 25:35-38 and Exodus 22:25-27. How should we as Christians and as nations approach the issue of loans?
10. What does Jesus say in Luke 6:32-36 about lending to others?
11. What does Matthew 6:12 teach us about forgiveness?

As Christians, we are challenged to love our neighbour in very practical ways. Our neighbours include those in most need in the poorest countries of the world. We can work together with them to help transform their communities. By working with other churches to do this, we demonstrate to our own community that Christians are called to bring good news to the poor. But our neighbours also include people living down our street and in our community who need our help.

‘[God] upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.’ (Psalm 146:7)

Read Matthew 4:23, 9:35 and Acts 10:38.

In what ways did Jesus show a concern for physical as well as spiritual needs?

Read Matthew 25:31-46.

What does the King challenge us to do in our lives here on earth to help our neighbours? What does the King mean when he says, ‘whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’? (v40)

So the simple question for us to discuss as Christians and as North Springfield Baptist Church is this.

“WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?”

1. What kinds of needs are experienced by people in our community and our town?

2. Which of these needs should be our priority? Which neighbours is God calling us to help?

3. What forms of practical help could we be giving to these folk as individual Christians?

4. What forms of social action might we be being called to as a church to help our neighbours?

What does the Lord require of you? To Act Justly…

A series of studies adapted by Peter based on material by Christian Aid.
Session 1: A call to act justly
Session 2: Social action
Session 3: Drop the debt
Session 4: Fair trade combined with Justice in global trade
Session 5: An ethical lifestyle

Session 1: A call to act justly – To loose the chains of injustice

‘With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings…? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:6, 8)

Read Isaiah 58:1-14

‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…’ (Isaiah 58:6)

Isaiah speaks to us from a time of turmoil and uncertainty. The empires that surrounded Judah were competing for land and superiority. How could such a small nation survive? But Isaiah saw a vision of a Holy God, high and lifted up. The message Isaiah delivered to the people of Judah called them back to a God of the whole earth. This brought hope for their future but, with it, judgement for their sin.
1. In which ways were the people obeying God’s commands? (vv1-3)
2. What are they condemned for doing? (vv3-5)
3. How is the fast that God requires different from the lives they are living? (vv6-12)
4. What effect would God’s fast have on them as individuals and a nation? (vv6-14)
5. Compare the ways we seek God now with ‘the chosen fast’ from the passage.
One interpretation of the passage is that being religious, or even having compassion and showing charity, are not enough. We must ‘loose the chains of injustice’ to tackle the root causes of injustice in our world, through action on issues such as unjust global trade, international debt and our lifestyle in rich countries. Act Justly will show us many ways in which we can help transform our world.

1. Discuss the difference between meeting people’s immediate needs and ‘loosing the chains of injustice’.
2. What should WE be doing to “loose the chains of injustice” in society and in the world?
As Christians we are called to ‘act justly’, because God is a God of justice and love. We are challenged to learn what it means to ‘loose the chains of injustice’ (Isaiah 58:6) in our world and to work to transform our world. Today, this may include finding out about the root causes of global injustice and taking action, as campaigners, consumers and in the way that we live. This session calls us to act justly.

‘I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.’ (Psalm 140:12)
‘The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.’ (Proverbs 29:7)

‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’ (Proverbs 31:8,9)

Micah 6: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Here in the prophet Micah we find a wonderful summary of what Christian living is all about. In weeks to come we are going to study the first and second parts of God’s command – to act justly and to love mercy. In particular we will be thinking about what it means to act justly in all kinds of practical issues, from international justice to social action, from debt relief to fair trade, and what it means to adopt an ethical lifestyle. But before we come to these practical outworkings of our Christian faith, we should not forget the context and the climax of the verse.
God calls us all to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Walking with God. That is the life Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden before they rebelled against the only commandment God had given them. Genesis tells us that God is Almighty and eternal, beyond time and before time and outside time, That Creator God who is good and pure made everything from nothing and to begin with everything He created was good too; it was very good! God created human beings and placed them in Eden The word “Eden” means ’delight’ and ’pleasure’ and that is exactly what God intended for Mankind. In Eden, God provided Humankind with everything necessary for his happiness and well-being. Physically, he had abundant food and drink. For his heart, God gave man a companion so as not to be alone. For his spirit, God gave him purpose and responsibility of caring for creation and becoming a creator too. God also surrounded Man with beauty. And to satisfy their souls, the greatest privilege God gave to human beings created in God’s image was the ability and opportunity to walk and talk with His Maker, each day, like good friends.
Genesis 38 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
God is a God of relationships. The whole purpose of creation was so that human beings could walk with God and have a relationship with God. God was walking in the garden. Enjoying the beauties of all He had created. But in the garden specifically because He wanted to walk with Adam and Eve – the crown of his creation. That was why human beings were created – to enjoy relationship with their Creator. How wonderful that must have been like! For Adam and Eve to walk in the Garden side by side with the Living God. To talk face to face with God. That was what God intended for human beings – and the Bible tells us about just a few since who have had that amazing experience.
Genesis 5:22 Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ,,, 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.(Genesis 6:9)
Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.
Enoch, Noah, Abraham walked with God. And of Moses it was said he TALKED with God, face to face.
Ex 33:10 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshipped, each at the entrance to his tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Numbers 12:6 “When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. 7 But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.8 With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD.
God walking and talking with human beings. That is why he created us, in his own image. If we want to know a bit about what God is like we can look at ourselves, as human beings created in God’s image. We are created for relationships. Relationships with the rest of Creation, relationships with the animals, relationships between man and wife created to complement each other, relationships with God.
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) wrote, “You awaken us to delight in your praise; for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Human beings were designed to have a walking talking relationship with Almighty God. That was God’s purpose for his chosen and redeemed people Israel.
Leviticus 26:9 “ ‘I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. …11 I will put my dwelling-place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
God walking among human beings. He is our God – we are His people. That is what it means to be truly human. The Westminster Catechism reminds us that the Chief End of Man, our destiny as human beings is, “To Glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” God created us for a relationship with Himself. And the good news is that one day we will all enjoy that relationship. We will be even closer to God than Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. That is the wonderful promise we have received in Christ, the promise we heard about before Christmas in the Book of Revelation – that one day all of God’s people will see God face to face and walk with Him.
REVELATION 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Revelation 22:3 The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
This privilege of seeing God face to face and walking with Him is God’s gift to us through Jesus who came to share the relationship the Son of God has with the Father even with us. We thought about that last week when we heard the words Jesus spoke to Mary on the morning of His resurrection.
“I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17)
As we said last week, Jesus came to share with us the relationship He has with His Father. In the Gospels we find God referred to as Father with different frequency. 4 instances in Mark, 44 in Matthew, 15 in Luke, and 109 in John. An even more remarkable variation appears if one considers only the occurrences of the absolute form, “the Father”: once in Mark, twice in Matthew, three times in Luke, seventy-three times in John. It is almost always only Jesus who calls God Father or the Father or my Father. In John only Jesus is “the Son”. Yet Jesus comes to share with us that relationship He has with the Father.
John 17 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me.
“just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” “one as we are one: I in them and you in me.”
Knowing God as our Father and knowing that I am His child. Jim Packer wrote, “You sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”
–J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1973/1993), 201-202
Knowing God as our Father. That is what eternal life is all about – knowing God and knowing Jesus – a relationship which not even death can take away! And we can enjoy that eternal life in all its fulness very simply. By walking humbly with our God.
But what does it mean? To walk humbly with our God?
Some commentators and preachers take the view that this phrase simply sums up what the first and second parts of the saying command. We will be walking with our God when we are acting justly and loving mercy. And it is certainly true that we cannot be walking with God if we are acting unjustly and neglecting mercy and lovingkindness. But I believe this third phrase is about more than simply obeying the commandments. I think walking with God includes much more than God pointing us on the right path. When Ruth and I go for a walk together we don’t just follow the same path. We enjoy being together and sharing the experience by talking together.
So “walking humbly with our God” will surely involve communication with God. And not just once a day and twice on Sundays but all the time. Turning to the Bible to listen to God speaking to us. And then praying any time, any place, anywhere, praying without ceasing. In the words of Brother Lawrence, Practising the Presence of God throughout the day. God does not just send us out by ourselves to act justly and love mercy. God invites us to walk in love with Him every step of the way.
There is a danger that Christians can be too busy getting on with living life to fit God in. We can even be too busy doing God’s work in the church or too busy reaching out to witness to the world to fit God in. Most Christians need to give much more of our attention to walking with God. I don’t have the exact quote but I remember hearing some challenging words from a letter written by the evangelist and preacher David Watson shortly before he died. He said something like this.
“I have loved the Lord’s work more than I have loved the Lord Himself.”
“I have loved the Lord’s people more than I have loved the Lord Himself.”
“I have loved the Lord’s word more than I have loved the Lord Himself.”

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
I have quote before these words of the seventeenth- century Roman Catholic Frenchman Francois Fenelon.
“Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you to conquer them, talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and to others.
If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject… People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back, neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved conversation with God.”

Familiar, unreserved conversation with God. That is “walking humbly with our God”.

MICAH 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.