Matthew 6:1-6
Righteous Works ~ part 1
Read…
Matt.
Pray
Intro
√ Key verse
You’ll remember that when we began studying the Sermon on the Mount we identified the key verse to understanding the subject and application of the Lord’s sermon as Matthew 5:20…
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
That truth is as shocking today as it was when Jesus first said it!
That is, how on earth can we exceed the righteousness of the religious leaders who kept the Law of Moses so strictly that they even tithed on the spices from their gardens!
The answer, only by abiding in a relationship with the King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ!
So, as we continue to study the sermon of the King understand that Jesus is teaching us what True Righteousness is…
…not the keeping of rules and regulations that can be measured by external conduct.
Rather, true righteousness is a matter of the heart, a matter of character that will be manifest in our conduct and more importantly…
…by our attitude in life.
As we study the Sermon on the Mount we need to keep that context in mind so that we don’t lose sight of what the Lord is communicating.
√ True vs. False Righteousness
Righteous Words; In chapter 5 Jesus addressed what the Pharisees said…
“You’ve heard that it was said”
As opposed to…
“But I say”
Righteous Works; As we turn to chapter 6 Jesus moves from what the Pharisees said to what the Pharisees did. You’ll note the repetition of the word…
“Hypocrites” (pretenders)
Regarding the conduct of their lives, and Jesus’ instruction…
“Do not do” contrasted with “do”
As such Jesus reveals the false righteousness of the Pharisees by revealing their wrong motives behind their pious behavior.
That is what they did had the appearance of being righteous…
…but the way in which they did their pious works revealed that they were just pretenders and that their righteousness was not sincere.
In contrast the Lord tells how to practice true righteousness in all that we do for Him. Specifically Jesus speaks to 4 areas of personal piety in this chapter…
Our giving
Our praying
Our fasting
Our investing
While the Lord’s comments are directed toward the Pharisees, there is great application for the Church today as Christians have fallen into the same hypocrisy that marked the lives of the Pharisees!
Ap. So, let’s examine our own life and allow the Holy Spirit to make any corrections that may be needed that we might live a sincere and truly pious life.
Pretending piety (vs. 1-2)
Matt. 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matt. 6:2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
√ Pretending piety
Everything that the religious leaders did was for the sake of gaining the attention of men, that’s why Jesus warns…
“do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.”
That is, rather than doing something good to please the Lord and to bless others…
…they did good works to gain the praise of people.
Ex. Almsgiving
The Law of Moses instructs God’s people to be generous with those who are less fortunate.
In the day that Jesus ministered on earth the Temple had a treasury with large collection boxes for depositing alms for the poor and gifts to God.
When the religious leaders gave a gift they made sure that everyone knew about it!
While the Pharisees believed that their generosity made them righteous…
…Jesus tells us that while other people may think highly of them, God wasn’t impressed at all.
√ Problems with pretenders
A person might wonder what the Lord’s problem is with those that give with a false motive…
…after all the poor are still blessed by the gift?!
The problem is that when a person calls attention to themselves for doing a good work they also…
Rob God of His glory – after all He’s the One who gave us the treasure and talents to bless others. Our good works are supposed to point people to God, not us!
Rob themselves of His reward – because God can’t bless a prideful self-promoting nature. That would only encourage our flesh.
Rob themselves of His praise – because we’ve done the good work to gain the applause of Man.
So, doing good works with a selfish motive isn’t righteous as the Pharisees believed…
…it was simply pretending to be pious.
Ap. Why do we serve?
That’s a good question to ask of ourselves because we all have a little Pharisee in us! Are we giving or serving to…
Impress the pastor so that he’ll think better of us?
Draw the attention of the congregation to stroke our ego and promote ourselves and our agenda (i.e. Ananias & Sapphira)
Make ourselves look more spiritual than we really are?
All of these motives are wrong because they feed our flesh nature, not our spirit.
Ex. Giving parades and posting names of those that give
So, test yourself and see if your motives are correct and that you’re doing good works to demonstrate your love for Jesus. Make sure that you’re not a pretender!
Practicing piety (vs. 3-4)
Matt. 6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
Matt. 6:4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
√ Practicing piety
Having revealed the pretend piety of the Pharisees, Jesus now tells us how to practice true piety.
Regarding the giving of alms Jesus tells us to do it such a way that we do not draw attention to ourselves.
Rather, we’re to give our gift in secret, or do our good deeds in a quiet way.
How? Note vs. 3…
“But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”
The Lord isn’t saying that we’re supposed to somehow cut the neurological connection between our hands…
…rather, He’s telling us to our good deeds and then forget about them!
Ex. Our parking lot
Do you know who paid for it? Either do I! Whomever the giver was made sure that it was between them and the Lord.
That’s the behavior that Jesus tells us is a blessing to both God and His people!
Additionally, Jesus tells us that when a person gives (or does a good deed) in secret…
…that God will reward them openly!
“…and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” ~ vs. 4
Ex. Daniel and Joseph
Both these heroes of the faith set themselves to please God rather than man, and both were later exalted to positions of great authority and power.
Ap. Rewards
While not all of us are destined to receive the accolades of our generation, none-the-less, a Day has been appointed in which God Himself will honor all who have served Him faithfully.
All of heaven’s host will be watching when God rewards you openly and places a crown upon your head for what you did for Him while on earth.
So, practice your piety in such a way as to please God, not draw the attention of men.
Pretend prayers (vs. 5)
Matt. 6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
√ Pretend prayers
In this next section the Lord turns His attention to the pretend prayers of the religious leaders. Jesus has a lot to say on the subject of prayer…
…what pleases God and what doesn’t.
Who we’re to pray to
How not to pray
How to pray
In the interest of time we’ll just cover the first section today and grab the rest in our next study.
√` Publicity prayers
The Pharisees were infamous for their long, loud, and dramatic prayers.
While many of the people in that day thought the Pharisees had a direct line to heaven…
…Jesus reveals that they’re prayers went no further than the ears of the people around them!
What was wrong with their prayers?
They were praying to the wrong audience!
Look again at verse 5…
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Note to whom they are praying – to men! They’re not praying to be heard by God…
…they’re praying to be seen and heard by men so that they will appear to be pious!
Please understand that God isn’t against praying in public, the Bible is filled with examples of godly men who prayed publicly.
Rather, He is not pleased with prayers that are only a publicity stunt that are meant to draw attention to the one who is praying.
What’s fascinating is that many Bible scholars suggest that the public praying of the Pharisees began as a bold witness for the Lord!
Ex. During the reign of Antiochus Epiphanies
Shut down Temple worship, sacrificed a pig on the altar in the Temple court, and forbade the public worship of God.
The Pharisees followed the example of Daniel and continued to pray publicly…
…on street corners, in the Temple court, at great cost to themselves, that they might be an encouragement to the Jewish people.
But, by the time that Jesus came along the prayers of the Pharisees were just publicity prayers to draw attention to themselves.
Jesus tells us that those kind of prayers don’t get God’s attention!
Ap. Don’t use pray time to impress the people around you with your knowledge of the Bible!
God doesn’t need a theology lesson! Just talk to Him, not the people in your prayer group.
Pious prayers (vs. 6)
Matt. 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
√ Pious prayers
Jesus tells us that the prayers that the Father hears, and that He answers, are the prayers prayed to Him!
He tells us that we should seek a quiet place where we can talk to God alone.
A place where we can be open and real with the Lord and where we won’t be tempted to pray “to be heard by men”.
Remember, Jesus isn’t putting a restriction on public prayer, rather He is addressing the wrong practices of the Pharisees who prayed to draw attention to themselves.
Ex. Praying publicly
Jesus Himself prayed publicly ~ John 17
Peter and John prayed publicly in the Temple ~ Acts 3
Paul prayed on the beach with the Ephesian elders ~ Acts 20
So, the Lord’s instruction then is that pious prayers are those prayed to be heard by God…
…not to heard by men.
Ap. Pray!
I’ve discovered that the people who pray best in a group setting are those who pray often in a private setting.
Through private time in prayer they’ve become intimate with the Lord.
That intimacy is demonstrated by an openness and humility in the way that they approach the Lord.
So, when they pray in public it’s almost like there’s no one around!
The exhortation then is that we should all spend time in private prayer so that when we pray publicly it is sincere and not pretend.
Close
√ Pretend piety
God wants us to practice piety…
To give generously
To pray sincerely
But, Jesus warns us to steer clear of the pretend religion of the Pharisees who do their good works and pray their prayers to impress people…
…instead of God.