Almsgiving Series

Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 6:1-4 (Almsgiving)

Matthew 6:1-4, NIV

1 "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

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 others. Truly I tell you, 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.

INTRODUCTION

What legacy will we leave when the sun sets upon the landscape and duration of our lives? Will we be labeled a giver or taker, selfless or selfish?

Giving is a critical component within the grounds of faith we commit to as born-again Christians. Giving allows us to share in the bounty of what God has graced us with and the satisfaction of knowing we are doing something good for others.

Where giving becomes distorted and misunderstood lies entirely upon the heart's motivation, we can easily donate our time, energy, and finances to churches, missions, and other charitable organizations, but is the source of our motivation rooted in the idea, "What is in it for me?"

We must ask thoughtful and convicting questions to reveal whether we are giving to be recognized, receive praise or reward, or appease guilt.

Jesus said, "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:43-45).

The fruit we bear provides testimony to the inward change produced in our hearts at salvation. Therefore, from God's perspective there can be no mistaking those who are genuinely transformed by the redeeming quality of Jesus Christ because the heart's motivation is pure and selfless, just as He was.

COMMENTARY

1. "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

How can we live lives of profound generosity?

God is a giver. He gave his only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world. Not only that, but he also gives us life, breath, sunshine, rain, and everything else. As his children, we should be contributors as well. The previous verse, Matthew 5:48 says, "Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect." Christ teaches on giving right after calling us to be perfect like our Father. Therefore, one of the ways we should aspire to be perfect like our Heavenly Father is by generous giving.

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ once again challenges the error of the religious leaders. In Matthew 5:20-48, he confronted their misconceptions of the law. They lowered God's directives on matters like murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, loving one's neighbor, etc. In Chapter 6, he confronts the wrong way they did their acts of righteousness: giving, praying, and fasting. The entire context follows Christ's strong words in Matthew 5:20 that if our righteousness does not go beyond that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, Christ is warning his followers to bear fruits that match their kingdom citizenship.

In Matthew 6:1-4, Christ teaches principles about how to live profoundly generous lives that is like God and please him.

Matthew 6:1-4,asks the Big Question, “What principles can be perceived about living a radically charitable life?”

Believers Must Practice Giving as a Spiritual Discipline. Thus, whenever you do charitable giving, do good to please God.

Jesus warns against doing good to be seen by others. "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men: Charitable deeds is the word righteousness. Jesus tells us to not do righteous things for the sake of display or image (to be seen by others).

Jesus has just clearly shown God's righteous standard; He anticipated the thought "Wouldn't everybody be awe-struck if I was like that?" So here Jesus addressed the danger of cultivating an image of righteousness. It is almost impossible to do spiritual things in front of others without thinking what their opinion is of us as we do those things, and how they are thinking better or worse of us as we do what we do.