A true disciple helps suffering, needy Christians
A true disciple helps suffering and needy Christians. Jesus teaches this plainly in Matthew 25:31–46:
“{31} When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. {32} Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. {33} And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
{34} Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. {35} For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, {36} I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
{37} Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? {38} And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? {39} And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
{40} And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
{41} “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. {42} For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, {43} I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
{44} Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
{45} Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ {46} And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (ESV)
Notice three things in this parable.
1. Jesus identifies with his believing brothers and sisters to such a degree that what we do to them we do to him.
This harmonizes with what Jesus said to the apostle Paul when he confronted him on the road to Damascus and said, “Why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4) not why are you persecuting my disciples. Thus, what we do to other Christians displays are true stance toward Jesus Christ.
2. This sounds like an argument for works-righteousness and self-righteousness, if it were taken out of context from the rest of what Jesus says and what the rest of the New Testament says.
This parable agrees with what James 2 says about true, living faith always resulting in good works:
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14–17 (ESV)
The gospel teaches that regeneration leads to good works, not vice versa:
“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)
3. Jesus specifies in this parable that we perform these good works for our fellow Christians.
In this parable Jesus does not teach about what we do for non-believers; he speaks only of what we do for fellow believers. (This is not to say we should not help all who suffer, whether they are a Christian or non-Christian. See Galatians 6:10 and Luke 10:27–37.)
Verse 40 says the King will answer the merciful, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
In Matthew, “brothers” always means spiritual kin.
Note, he is referring to Christians. “brothers” and “least of these”
Moreover, the phrase “least of these,” is the superlative of “little ones,” which in Matthew always refers to disciples. For example, “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42
Similarly, Matthew 18:6, 10, 14, says: “{6} Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea…. {10} See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven…. {14} It is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
The worst imaginable surprise
In each parable of Matthew 25, people regarded themselves as acceptable to God, but on Judgment Day God rejects them. None are true disciples of Jesus, for true disciples will be received into heaven.
This interpretation of the third parable of Matthew 25 agrees with the teaching of 1 John 3:16–19:
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.” (ESV)
Conclusion
So, Matthew 25 and 1 John 3 state unequivocally that a true Christian will have compassion on his brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need, and if he continuously closes his heart to needy Christians he simply is not truly born again, and thus not a true disciple of Jesus. Showing compassion to needy Christians is a necessary mark showing that Jesus lives in you and that you love Jesus in your brothers and sisters.
So, what should you do if you do not have compassion on needy Christians and suffering Christians?
The first thing you need to do is not to go out and work harder. Rather, the first thing you need to do is get your heart right with God. You need to become a good tree rather than a bad tree. You need to truly surrender your life to God and determine to obey him in all things.
You need to fully embrace Jesus Christ as your only hope, great love, and ultimate treasure. You will love needy humans when you deeply love Jesus. You need to repent of your love of the world and of money, and replace those loves with the love of Jesus. You need to stop believing merely with intellectual ascent in certain truths about Jesus, and make him the center of your life. You need to die to yourself and the world.
When you do that, compassion will flow naturally, because Jesus will be there giving you a heart of love in place of selfishness.