"Be Not Ye Therefore Like Unto Them” (1 Of 4)

Illus: Recently one mother, who had to do this with her first baby, explained that she began to cry as she wrapped that little eight-pound boy up in his warm blanket to get him ready for the day-care. She said that throughout the day she was constantly wondering what he was doing.

Jesus knows exactly how a mother feels. When He was getting ready to go back to heaven, He knew the danger His children were in. He tried to prepare them for this time.

-In Matthew 10:16, He said, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

-In Luke 10:4, He said, “...behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”

-In Acts 20:29-30, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

In our text we see that the Lord was preparing His disciples for such a time. He knew of the hypocrites of that time and He did not want His disciples to be like them.

This is why, in verse 8, He admonished them, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE THEM...” That is, BE NOT LIKE THEM IN THEIR:

(1) GIVING - verses 1-4.

(2) PRAYING - verses 5-13.

(3) FASTING - verses 14-18.

Notice, the first thing He wanted to talk to them about was GIVING. Many Christians make the mistake of thinking God is like “Uncle Sam,” in their thinking that God has plenty of money so why should he want the little bit that they have.

Listen, God requires us to GIVE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. But, the primary reason is because our giving reflects our love for Him.

One of the best ways for a politician’s rating to fall in the polls is for the news to get out that he has not paid his taxes. Immediately voters come to the conclusion that he is not fit for office because he does not care enough about his country to pay his taxes.

Giving of our MONEY is A BIG PART OF the Christian’s life. Jesus chose to deal with giving first. Listen, it is important that we give, but HOW WE GIVE IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT!

In this list of three things - the first thing Jesus emphasized was that Christians BE NOT LIKE THE HYPOCRITES IN THEIR GIVING. For us to not be like them, we have to consider HOW DID THEY GIVE?

I. THE MONEY.

Look at verse 1. We read, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, TO BE SEEN OF THEM: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”

Did you know that people respond better in their GIVING, PRAYING and FASTING if there is someone to watch them. It is the nature of man that he likes to be SEEN!

Illus: Former television pastor, Rex Humbard, used to pastor the church in Akron, Ohio. Almost every Sunday the church was full, reaching as many as 5,000 a Sunday. When he was pastoring, he televised the Sunday morning services. During the services the television cameras were constantly scanning the audience as they prayed, gave, and worshipped the Lord. When he announced he was going to retire and the services were no longer televised, did you know that their attendance was cut in half immediately?

It is a statistical fact that if you can provide a forum for people to be seen, THEY WILL BE THERE TO BE SEEN!

In Matthew 6:1-4, the Lord is teaching that we should not GIVE to be SEEN. Does that mean Jesus was teaching that we should never give an offering in public collections?

Many good folks think that was exactly what He was teaching. If that was the only verse in the Bible that teaches how we are to give, I could understand why some folks would think that. However, throughout the Bible we see that God’s people PRACTICED PUBLIC GIVING. Why?

God has a purpose in having His people give in public. What is that purpose? The answer to that question is found in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

If ALL of our good works, which includes our giving, were done in secrecy, how would the lost world see that we love the Lord?

Illus: Maclaren said, “The thing to be taken heed of is not the doing it BEFORE MEN...THE DOING IT TO BE SEEN OF THEM.”

We can see the GIFT, but God sees the MOTIVE BEHIND THE GIFT. The Pharisees and scribes gave publicly. They gave TO BE SEEN OF MEN. So Jesus told the people, “BE NOT YE THEREFORE LIKE UNTO THEM...”