Awaiting a Savior: The Gospel, the New Creation and the End of Poverty

by Aaron Armstrong

What causes poverty? What am I supposed to do about it?

These questions are driving a new generation of Christians to take action on behalf of the poor through social and political action, global partnerships, and financial generosity, as they desire to become the generation that ends poverty forever. Yet in pursuit of this goal, they risk losing sight of a fundamental reality: the root cause of poverty isn’t found in material or external circumstances. The root cause of poverty is sin— and sin is not a problem we can solve.

But Jesus can.

In Awaiting a Savior, Aaron Armstrong reminds readers that even as we are responsible for pursuing biblical solutions to poverty, our hope for truly resolving it comes not from the good we do, but from the return of Christ, who will once and for all put an end to sin, suffering and death as he brings about the new creation.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Poverty, Nonfiction, Christian Living

112 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Daniel Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the October 2011 release from Cruciform Press Aaron Armstrong delivers a quick and concise biblical theology of poverty. A quote taken from the back cover summarizes the main message of the book;
Christians are called to serve the poor…generously, joyfully, by grace, to the Glory of God. But elimination poverty is a misguided and dangerous goal. Poverty is rooted in the fall of man and there is only one savoir.
The books starts by unpacking for us the root cause of poverty. We are not dealing with lack of financial resources, lack of proper education or lack of family support. Poverty is rooted in sin, and as long as sin reigns in our mortal bodies poverty will persist. For me, this was very helpful. To see poverty fundamentally as a spiritual issue and not a material issue helps me focus how I serve the poor in my community. Aaron says: Ultimately, poverty can only be addressed at the heart level, one person at a time, as salvation through the shed blood of Christ pushes back against the fall of man (46-47). And looking back to the end of Chapter 2 he explains that our motives must be nothing other than making God’s name great.
A statement that is brought to light in chapter 3 really made me stop and think. Aarons writes, Sin thus not only causes poverty, but also poisons our attitude towards those suffering within it in (46) How often have I been walking downtown and had a homeless person asks me for change and I walk by and ignore them. Sometimes we don’t give people in need the time of day, or how often do make a demeaning remark about them to our friends or say nothing when they do. Every person, even the homeless man who takes our money to buy drugs or alcohol needs to Jesus Christ through the Gospel, and our ministry to them must lead them to the Gospel. We need to remember our state apart from Christ. We were enemies of God, but it was while we were enemies of God that Jesus Christ died for to reconcile us to himself.
In chapter 4 Aaron shares with us what Jesus taught is the greatest commandment—Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. If we separate those two commandments, we fail to obey either one. Loving out neighbour in real tangible ways is a much a proof of our salvations as anything else. How we relate to God directly affects how we relate to others. Unfaithfulness to the Lord will lead to lack of concern for our neighbour—but the opposite should also be true. I really appreciate this point, I have heard this taught many times and I have studied these words many times, but I have never made the connection serving the poor.
We cannot separate what we believe from what we do. Aarons backs this point with an outstanding quote from William Wilberforce, the famous abolitionist, Christianity calls on us, not merely in general to be religious and moral, but especially to believe the doctrines, and imbibe the principles, and practice the precepts of Christ.” It is not enough for Christians to just be good moral people. We are called to believe the doctrines, drink deeply of the principles, and practice fully the precepts of Christ. Again and again Aarons brings us back to the greater goal of our helping the poor—the glory of God.
Awaiting a Saviour is definitely a homerun! It is insightful, biblically grounded and has really helped me develop a Gospel-centered understanding of poverty and my role in alleviating it(not resolving it) until the Return of Christ when he will put an end to sin, suffering and death as he brings about the new creation. Even as I am writing I am tempted to continue interacting with the ideas from the book and share them with you. But, it is probably better to read the book for yourself. Finally, Kudos to Cruciform press. Firstly, for finding great authors and secondly, for packaging the books in such as accessible format.
The book can be purchased directly from Cruciform Press
http://cruciformpress.com/our-books/a...

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Love the focus on how to deal with poverty. Recommended

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because poverty is a spiritual issue, you see in the pages the heart of God. In today's world, we are big on social justice and ending the injustice of poverty, slavery, clean water, etc., however, just as Jesus as said, you will always have the poor with you, maybe that was the first clue of how we as God's people we need to look at these social injustices. Aaron does that quite well. The focus being on our problem, sin, and the solution Jesus and what the cross signifies. A great reminder that Aaron writes is that sin is not an environmental condition or something that varies in its essence from one person to another. Aaron takes great examples from the bible that helps to see clearly our poverty issue and thus in return brings us closer to the heart of God. I also liked the covenant and it's signifance as well. Very well written book!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful, easy-to-read, introductory primer on the spiritual nature of poverty and the need for a Savior to alleviate it. This book would pair very well with When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself by providing a biblical theological framework within which to better understand poverty and how to best alleviate it.

[KC McCauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book provides a biblical, helpful perspective on poverty. Instead of making you fee like you can't do anything to help, or trying to persuade you that you can solve global poverty by yourself, this book points you to seeing Jesus' return as the ultimate solution while providing practical ways to help in the time we have now. Great read!

[Casey Lute]

Awaiting a Savior is a good book which provides a biblical framework for working through the issue of poverty and how the Christian is to view it. See my complete review here: http://caseylute.com/uncategorized/bo...

[Becky Pliego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Armstrong does a great job in dealing with the difficult issue of poverty and our response to it.

My review is on my blog:

http://www.beckypliego.com/2011/10/aw...

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, clearly laid-out, gospel-centered theology of social justice. A short, but worthy read.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Armstrong works through the idea of poverty reduction in this shorter work. He begins by shifting the focus from poverty as the problem towards the idea that poverty is a result of the problem, which is sin. He clarifies this by stating that poverty is not always a punishment, though it certainly can be, but those in poverty should not simply assume they are suffering because of their sin - they are suffering because of the fall of man. In the Old Testament, Israel was told how to care for those in poverty and they were told that they would be blessed by God if there was obedience by the nation. Those two things can coexist within the same geographical region and still be true independently.

Just as poverty is not necessarily an indicator of being punished, so too is wealth necessarily a sign of being blessed or affirmed by God. If poverty is a result of sin, then the first step in reducing poverty as longstanding issue should be to reconcile the individuals to God. Secondly, we should work as Christians to meet the needs of those in poverty. Most people in the USA think that poverty is primarily a foreign nation problem, but a large percentage of our population is well within the bounds of poverty. Armstrong gives some practical examples of how to fight poverty in our nation immediately as well as how to work to reduce poverty over time. Mostly helpful work.

[Aszerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great at pointing out the issues with the world and churches attitude to poverty but it took quite a while to get to the solutions. Thankful for this books perspective, that was saturated in scripture. I am hoping to better serve the poor with the gospel as the forefront, after reading this book!

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you recall I reviewed When Helping Hurts this last December and was impressed with the practicality provided by it. Awaiting a Savior in contrast would be a theological foundation for dealing with poverty which “is fundamentally a spiritual issue” (p. 20). Aaron connects poverty with the gospel story. He looks at the fall (p. 18 “the fall has made poverty the default setting” emphasis original; p. 22), redemption (p. 45), and consummation (pp. 11, 97) as they relate to poverty. Says Aaron, “The root cause of poverty is sin” (p. 8) and
Therefore, the basic premise of this book is that our good faith efforts to address legitimate questions of poverty and injustice must never lose sight of the fact that poverty will persist as long as the heart of man is ruled by sin. (pp. 9-10).
and lastly
While we are responsible for pursuing biblical solutions to poverty, our only hope for an ultimate solution is in the return of Christ, when he will put an end once and for all to sin, suffering, and death, and bring about the new creation. (p. 11)
You can taste the flavor of Awaiting a Savior through these statements.

What I also appreciate is Aaron’s faithfulness in expounding the gospel and making sure the issue of social justice is emphasized in a way which honors the gospel while also not downplaying the importance Scripture places on serving the poor. Let me provide you an example. Aaron says,
Those whose hearts are inclined to the Lord will seek true justice on earth as it is in heaven. Covenant faithfulness always leads to ethical faithfulness. (p. 56 emphasis original)
Such a small phrase but so important--“covenant faithfulness.” He connects the issue of poverty and the Christian duty to combat poverty within the larger theme of covenant in Scripture. It’s how the OT attacks the issue and provides continuity with a New Covenant ethic. A few pages later he fleshes this out,
We are called to care for the poor because God is glorified in our doing so. We care for the poor because we know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of grace. We were the poor in spirit. We were lost and without hope. We were separated from God and enslaved to sin. (pp. 67-68)

Social issues are important not because it’s popular amongst hipsters but because justice is important to God. Justice is part of who he is. You cannot preach the gospel in word without demonstrating its transformative effect in deeds. The one without the other is empty (James 2). Aaron has written a balanced and engaging book. And if justice is important to God then understanding foundational issues related to it should be important to Christians.

[Alan Rennê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente livro! Apresenta uma posição bastante equilibrada a respeito da pobreza. De um lado, o autor bate nas reivindicações daqueles que apregoam a redistribuição de renda como a solução para o pobreza. Do outro, ele reprova a falta de compaixão dos adeptos do outro espectro político que, muitas vezes, nada fazem além de dizer que a pobreza é culpa dos pobres.

De acordo com o autor, a raiz e a fonte da pobreza é o pecado, "a pobreza por trás da pobreza". Assim, nenhuma ação política solucionará o problema da miséria. Apenas Cristo o fará, de uma vez por todas, na consumação de todas as coisas.

Ótima leitura!

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poverty is the result of sin, argues Armstrong. Thus, the only way to truly end poverty is to truly end sin, which Christ will do at the end of the age. In the interim, he offers some practical insight into what the Christian response to poverty should be. If you haven’t read some of the recent, more thorough works on poverty, this is a great primer to the issue. Otherwise, it will likely retread familiar ground.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't all to sure I would like this book at first, as it seemed a negative take on poverty and the potential alleviation (given Jesus' words that we will always have the poor with us). That said, Armstrong does an excellent job of explaining why that will remain true, what it says about our hearts, what can realistically be done, and the hope for the future. His key phrase, for Christians, I think is this: Covenant faithfulness, requires ethical faithfulness.

[Adam Joseph]

Timely & Theological

Aaron Armstrong does a wonderful job describing succinctly how our theology must inform our action with regard to poverty. He lays a biblical foundation and quickly builds a practical framework upon it. The refrain heard throughout the book is "covenant faithfulness means ethical faithfulness." A very timely message for today's views on poverty.

[Aaron]

Since I wrote the book, I'm not allowed to review it (I'm a bit bias). But if you're reading the book, I hope you find it helpful—and be sure to check out some of the endorsements and reviews at CruciformPress.com.

[Marguerite Harrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read. I have that in e-book format.

[Phoenix Carvelli]

Review copy won on Goodreads.com on 4-7-12.