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We are just beggars helping other beggars find bread

We are just beggars helping other beggars find bread

Last updated on: November 19, 2025 at 6:23 pm by Adrian Warnock

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We are just beggars helping other beggars find bread 2025-11-19T18:23:55+00:00 Adrian Warnock

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Let’s offer bread humbly. Image: Pixabay

Why have so many Christians become smug and judgemental? Why is our politics so divisive?

It’s time to bring back an attitude that used to be popular amoung Christians. We need to stop looking down on outsiders and angrily condemning them as sinners who by implication are clearly worse than us. To be honest there are some Christians who even do this to other Christians. Some reject others who are different to them so much that they are really not pleasant to be around.

Jesus never told us to cancel others when they offend us or have a different lifestyle

RC Sproul explains:

“We often hear that people don’t like to be in the presence of Christians because Christians manifest a smug, self-righteous attitude or a goody-two-shoes, holier-than-thou attitude. But this should not be the case. Christians have nothing to be smug about; we are not righteous people trying to correct the unrighteous. As one preacher said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” The chief difference between the believer and the unbeliever is forgiveness. The only thing that qualifies a person to be a minister in the name of Christ is that that person has experienced forgiveness and wants to tell of it to others.”

Sproul, R.C. (2014) What Is Repentance?. First edition. Orlando, FL; Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust; Ligonier Ministries (The Crucial Questions Series), p. 26.

Help When Life Hurts

This article is part of a growing collection, drawing from Adrian Warnock’s medical and psychological expertise, lived experience, and Christian faith.

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The line about us just being beggars who have discovered where to find bread and have a duty to tell others about it is one that I remember Christians emphasised in my youth. It’s a line I’ve not heard so often recently, and the mentions I have found online seem to have been written years ago.

Part of the damage of the culture war and Trump’s deception of evangelials has been to replace humble identification with “sinners” with prideful rejection. The concept of Christian’s as beggars offering bread is aknowledged by Sproul not to have originated with him. The heart of the thought seems to go back to Luther:

“The year 1983 marked the five-hundredth anniversary of the great reformer, Martin Luther, whose stature increases with time. Found by his deathbed, scrawled in German and Latin, was this declaration: “We are beggars: That is true.” This statement may have inspired D. T. Niles to say, “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where he can find a piece of bread.” Not a sweet roll and a cup of coffee, but a bite of the staff of life—bread! The church is a fellowship of beggars, receiving and offering love, support, and hope. Committed Christians acknowledge their dependence upon God and their interdependence on one another. They are always in the bread line, if not receiving, then giving.

Jones, G.C. (1986) 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, pp. 74–75.

But of course this is echoed in the Bible. Jesus commands us

“Freely you have received; freely give.” Matthew 10:8

Jesus also told us some of in his last recorded words that we must teach others to obey what he has taught us. We must be obedient to Jesus and become Christlike.

Remember Jesus strongest criticism was not directed towards those labelled as “sinners” but towards the self righteous Pharisees who loved themselves not others. Just one example of the strong contempt Jesus had for such people is seen in the account of the Pharisee and the Prostitute .

On Earth Jesus loved sinners and was called their friend. Are Christians today acting as friends to every one they meet? Are we more like the Pharisees or are we more like Jesus? Maybe it’s time we remind ourselves of what Jesus really said.

But surely the idea of us being like beggars who’ve found incredible riches and must share them with others is inspired by the story found in 2 Kings 7 During a seige of Jesusalem some lepers leave the city and discover the enemy has run away hastily leaving their riches behind. Having enjoyed the plunder for a while they say:

“This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone!“ v9, NLT

Some key points to conclude

we must share the good news
we must do so humbly recognising that we too have sinned and needed Gods grace
we never grow out of being dependent on Jesus mercy so we must show it to others
there is no one so far from Jesus that his love cannot reach them and save them!
the Apostle Paul described himself as the worst of sinners yet was the greatest pastor ever.

This post was made using Logos Bible Software. Follow the link for their deepest discount sale ever! This is an affiliate link.

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About Adrian Warnock

Adrian Warnock

Medical doctor · Published author · Patheos writer since 2003

I have always lived within sixty miles of London, UK where I studied, worked and worshipped for thirty years. I began writing for this Patheos blog in April 2003, making it one of the longest-running individual columns on the Christian Internet. My writing here, on Substack, and in my books is influenced by my medical training, eight years of working as a psychiatrist in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), eighteen years working in medical research in the pharmaceutical industry, twenty-five years of serving as a pastoral leader in a growing multicultural church, and a difficult decade of lived experience with chronic illness, including blood cancer, and the unexpected losses, including early retirement, that resulted.

Together, these all shape a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach which I first wrote about on Patheos in 2013. This model offers us hope, compassion, and healing in all life’s challenges. This holistic approach is based on the idea that all truth is God’s truth.

At times, since my illness, my faith has been faint. I wondered if this was the end of my story. I was not strong enough to live for Jesus the way I wanted to. I could not change myself. And then hope reminded me: The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. I aim to approach suffering with hope and compassion, and address tough questions including:

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you?

Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010; 2nd edition, Amazon, 2025)
Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance?

The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts (Amazon, 2026)
Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime?

Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart (Amazon, 2026)
How do you become a Christian? Can you know if you really are one?

Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus Co-authored with Tope Koleoso (Christian Focus, 2014)

Qualifications

I qualified with an MB BS from the University of London (equivalent to an MD in the United States), hold postgraduate qualifications in psychiatry (MRCPsych) and pharmaceutical medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed), and took theological training courses run by Newfrontiers.

Connect With me

Substack: adrianwarnock.substack.com (the best way to ask questions)
Twitter/X: @adrianwarnock
Facebook: Adrian Warnock
Email: [email protected] (I may not be able to respond to every message)

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We are just beggars helping other beggars find bread

Why have so many Christians become smug and judgemental? Why is our politics so divisive?

Jesus never told us to cancel others when they offend us or have a different lifestyle

“Freely you have received; freely give.” Matthew 10:8

Some key points to conclude

This post was made using Logos Bible Software. Follow the link for their deepest discount sale ever! This is an affiliate link.

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What miraculous event saved Daniel's friends from execution by fire?