Alms
Alms are gifts of money, food or goods given to the poor out of compassion. The word sounds old-fashioned today, but the practice lies at the heart of biblical faith. From the Law of Moses to the early church, God's people were expected to open their hands to the needy, and Jesus spoke of giving to the poor as something his disciples would simply do: “when you give to the needy”, not “if”.
At the same time, Scripture is deeply concerned with why we give. Jesus warned against almsgiving that seeks applause, and the apostles showed that generosity flows from the grace of God in Christ, not from a desire to earn favor with him. This entry examines the vocabulary, the background in Israel's law, the main passages and the meaning of almsgiving for believers today.
1. Etymology and meaning
The English word “alms” comes, through Latin eleemosyna, from the Greek eleēmosynē (ἐλεημοσύνη), derived from eleos, “mercy”. In its origin, then, an alm is an act of mercy. In the New Testament eleēmosynē occurs mainly in Matthew, Luke and Acts, and always refers to concrete help given to people in need.
The Old Testament has no single technical term for alms. It describes generosity with vivid expressions such as “you shall open wide your hand” (Hebrew pātōaḥ tiptaḥ 'et-yādĕkā, Deuteronomy 15:8, 11). The Hebrew word tsedaqah (צְדָקָה), “righteousness”, is important here: the Greek Septuagint sometimes renders it with eleēmosynē (for example Deuteronomy 6:25), and later Jewish usage made tsedaqah a common word for charity. The link is instructive: in the Bible, helping the poor is not an optional extra but part of living rightly before God. The same connection explains a textual detail in Matthew 6:1: most ancient manuscripts read “practicing your righteousness”, while others, followed by the King James Version, read “alms”.
2. Historical context and biblical use
Care for the poor in the Law
The Law of Moses built generosity into Israel's economic life. Farmers were not to reap the edges of their fields or gather the gleanings, but leave them for the poor and the sojourner (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22), as the story of Ruth illustrates. Every third year a tithe was stored in the towns for the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Debts were released in the seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:1-2).
Almsgiving in the time of Jesus
By the first century, giving to the poor had become one of the central marks of Jewish piety, alongside prayer and fasting. Beggars gathered at places of worship and busy gates, hoping for help from those who came to pray. Some Jewish writings of the period, such as the book of Tobit (not part of the Protestant canon), praised almsgiving in terms that suggested it could atone for sin (Tobit 12:9). Scripture itself never teaches that. Jesus accepted almsgiving as a duty but purified its motive, and the apostles placed it firmly within the gospel of grace.
In the early church
The first Christians shared their goods so that no one among them was in need (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35). The daily distribution to widows led to the appointment of the Seven (Acts 6:1-6). Tabitha was remembered for being “full of good works and acts of charity” (Acts 9:36), and the Jerusalem apostles asked Paul to “remember the poor”, which he was eager to do (Galatians 2:10).
3. Main passages
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 forbids hardening the heart or shutting the hand against a poor brother. It even warns against refusing a loan because the year of release is near (Deuteronomy 15:9). It ends with realism and command together: “There will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother’” (Deuteronomy 15:11). Jesus echoed these words when he said, “you always have the poor with you” (Matthew 26:11).
Proverbs 19:17 gives a remarkable promise: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.” God so identifies with the poor that he counts a gift to them as a loan to himself.
Matthew 6:1-4 is Jesus' central teaching. He warns against practicing righteousness “in order to be seen” and describes hypocrites who “sound a trumpet” in synagogues and streets. Whether this refers to a literal trumpet or is a vivid figure for self-advertisement is debated; the point is clear either way. Such people “have received their reward”, a phrase that in Greek suggests a bill paid in full. Instead, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” This does not contradict the call to let our light shine (Matthew 5:16); the difference lies in the aim: God's glory, not our own.
Acts 3:2-3 tells of a man lame from birth who was carried daily to the Beautiful Gate of the temple to ask alms. When he asked Peter and John, Peter answered: “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6). The beggar asked for a coin and received healing and new life.
Acts 10:2, 4, 31 presents Cornelius, a God-fearing centurion who “gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God”. The angel told him that his prayers and alms had “ascended as a memorial before God”, language that recalls the memorial portion of the offerings (Leviticus 2:2). Yet Cornelius still needed to hear a message “by which you will be saved” (Acts 11:14). His generosity was noticed by God, but salvation came through faith in Christ.
Acts 24:17 records Paul's defense before Felix: “after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.” This refers to the collection he had gathered among Gentile churches for the poor believers in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-27; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9).
4. Theological significance
Almsgiving reflects the character of God, who “executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18). Those who have received mercy are called to show mercy. Paul grounds giving in the gospel itself: “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
For that reason, alms are never a price paid for salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works, and yet created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Generosity is the fruit of a living faith, and its absence is a warning sign (James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:17). The reward Jesus promises is real, but it is the gracious reward of a Father, not wages owed to a creditor. In Matthew 25:35-40 the King receives as done to himself what was done for “the least of these my brothers”.
5. Legacy and canonical references
Beyond the passages above, Jesus told his disciples to sell their possessions and give to the needy, gaining treasure in heaven (Luke 12:33), and praised the poor widow who gave all she had (Mark 12:41-44). Paul taught that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Throughout church history, care for the poor has been a mark of Christian communities. At the Reformation, Protestant leaders rejected the idea of alms as satisfaction for sins, while insisting on organized care for the needy, often entrusted to deacons.
6. Application for today
Almsgiving asks three questions of every believer. First: do I give? Scripture assumes that followers of Christ will help the poor regularly and concretely, not only with words (1 John 3:18). Second: why do I give? Social media and public recognition make it easy to “sound a trumpet”. Jesus invites us to give where only the Father sees. Third: what do I give? Like Peter, we may not have silver and gold, but we can always point people to Jesus, and often we can offer both practical help and the gospel.
Giving in secret frees us from the need for applause and teaches us to trust a Father who sees. And because Christ became poor for us, every gift to the needy becomes a small echo of the grace we have received.