MATTHEW 6:1-18 APRIL 24, 2011
“WHEN FAITH IS JUST AN ACT!”
I realize I am showing may age, yet do you remember when Coke used the slogan, “the real thing”? The implication was, no one should accept a substitute. One of the concerns of Jesus was that his followers should have the real thing; a vibrant, real faith. The opposite of a real faith is a public display of being religious. This act is well known as being hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not a recent invention, but has existed for centuries.
Jesus is speaking to his followers in Matthew 6 about how one lives out his/her faith. Matthew 6:1 (NIV) 1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” The acts of righteousness are acts that naturally come from someone who has had an inner change of heart. Everyone who has repented of their sins and have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord will exhibit this inner change with a desire to participate: in giving, prayer, and fasting (acts of humility). The phrase, acts of righteousness, comes from the Jewish tradition. These three activities were a part of everyday Jewish life. Jesus was concerned that his disciples have the right heart and mind attitude. These acts of faith, sometimes called spiritual disciplines, play a vital role in our spiritual maturity. These signs of faith: giving, prayer, and fasting will normally expand in importance the more we live out our faith.
Proverbs 16:2 (NIV) “2 All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” God examines our hearts to see if what we do is sincere or whether we are doing something only to be seen by others. It can be quite difficult to determine when a politician is being sincere or is doing something simply for the publicity. However we can not fool God, as He knows our inner motivation on all things. God does reward us for good behavior. Yet, there will be no pat on the back by God, if our motives are wrong. In order to make clear what He was saying Jesus gave an example. In Matthew 6:2-4, (NIV) 2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” In the Temple court there were metal receptacles shaped like trumpets in which you placed your offerings. In those days there wasn’t paper currency, checks, or credit cards; as all of the money was coins. So when one dropped your offering in, it could make a large noise. In other words Jesus tells his disciples not to make a show of your giving so people will notice you. If that is your motivation, then God will not be pleased with your gifts. We should not “toot our own horn”! “Hypocrisy is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.” (NIV Application Commentary) Instead, Jesus encourages us to be quiet in our giving so that we will receive God’s approval.
Charles Spurgeon was a well-known Baptist preacher in London during the late 1800’s. Charles and his wife raised chickens and sold the eggs. Several member of his church complained when they would not give any of the eggs away to those who asked for some. The Spurgeon’s never once explained or gave any reason. After their death, it was discovered that the money earned from the sale of the eggs had gone to support several widows of missionaries who had no source of income. I’m sure their reward in heaven was great.
A second practice of Jewish religious devotion was prayer. Religious Jews prayed publicly at least twice a day: once in the morning around nine and once in the afternoon around three. Jewish tradition was to pray out loud in the Temple. So one can imagine that prayer could become quite a show. Jesus tells his followers to do the opposite. From the CEV Matthew 6:5-6, “When you pray, don’t be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the meeting places and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward. When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private, and he will reward you.” Jesus is not against praying in public, but again is concerned with the motivation behind the prayer. We know Jesus was not against praying in public as he would not have taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father”. Jesus wants prayer to be an intimate conversation with our God.
Another of Jesus’ concerns was not to pray in the manner of the other religions. These other religions were noted for long repetitive prayers without saying anything of meaning. In the confrontation Elijah had with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:25-26 (NIV), “Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered.” The religious followers of Artemis in Acts 19:33-34 (NIV) kept repeating as “they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" God is ready to listen to us, but God can not be manipulated by chanting phrases or slogans. I recently watched a documentary on Buddha. Buddhists are encouraged to devise a sound or phrase that will become a mental trigger to induce a meditative state. They will repeat this for hours on end. Matthew 6:7-8 (NIV) “7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Jesus was not against spending a lot of time praying as he often would spend a whole night praying with his Father. God already knows what we will ask, yet our prayers express our desires, needs, and concerns for which our Father is always willing to commune with us. Jesus then taught his disciples a model of how to pray, which is now called the Lord’s Prayer. Next Sunday I will preach on the prayer itself, so come back again.
Years ago in a small country church one of the dear old saints would always say the same prayer each week at prayer service. This went on year after year. His prayer was, “O Lord, clear out the cobwebs from my life.” Finally, after hearing the same prayer, one of the other members got up and prayed. “Lord, don’t do it. Have him kill the spider.”
The third act of religious devotion was fasting. Fasting is not an activiity for which the modern church promotes. Fasting in the Old Testament was only required once a year for the religious festival for the Day of Atonement. The Jews were to refrain from food and drink, except for water to prepare for the act of national repentance in which all Jews confessed their sins and were ceremonially cleansed. The purpose of fasting is to humble oneself before God, especially during times of great stress and need. The practice had also become used as a public show of devotion, of showing off how good you were. The Pharisees loved to let everyone know by how they disfigured themselves by wearing clothes in disarray and of putting ashes on their heads. Jesus encouraged “When you go without eating, don’t try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward. Instead, comb your hair and wash your face. Then others won’t know that you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.” (CEV)
Jesus understands that we will never be perfect and our motivations may be mixed, where we may have good and bad motivating factors. Yet what Jesus condemns is intentionally acting out of the wrong motives. It is when we know we are showing off in front of people. As Christians we are to be motivated by our love and thankfulness for what God has done for us. This Resurrection morning should motivate us to be truly grateful for what Christ has done for us. Our prayers, giving, and spiritual practices should be a by product of our love and appreciation for God’s blessings.
Christ has risen!
Let us pray.
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