The Secret Life of the Christian - Matthew 6:1-4 - February 19, 2012
Series: Kingdom Life – A World Turned Upside Down #18
A number of years ago a Christian rock band by the name of Petra, came out with a song called, “Godpleaser.” Anyone familiar with that song? .… Truth be told it is not one of my favorites – just not my style – but I truly appreciate the words. Now, I won’t sing that song for you but I do want to read those lyrics to you. And I invite you to listen for the message hidden within, for it cuts to the heart of the Scripture passage that we will be looking at this morning. Here we go …
So many voices telling me which way to go
So many choices come from those who think they know
There's a way that seems right to a man, but it only brings him death
I wanna go the way that leads to life till I draw my dying breath
Don't wanna be a manpleaser
I wanna be a Godpleaser
I just wanna have the wisdom to discern the two apart
Don't wanna be a manpleaser
I wanna be a Godpleaser
I just wanna do the things that please the Father's heart
Some make a sacrifice and never let it show
Some make a point of letting everybody know
Some will live their lives as unto men, and they have their reward
I just wanna do everything I do with all my heart unto the Lord
I just want my life to glorify His Son
To make my Father proud that I'm His child before I'm done
No need to pat me on the back or stop to shake my hand
I just want to hear my Father say, "well done,” "well done"
I just want to hear my Father say, "well done
Open your Bibles with me please to the Gospel of Matthew. Last week we wrapped up chapter 5; this week we begin in chapter 6. This is still the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus is still teaching us about this righteousness that is greater than the righteousness of the Pharisees. We’ve spent the last six weeks looking at how the righteousness of the kingdom of God compares with the righteousness that the Pharisees were teaching. And so in each of those six examples that He gave, Jesus started off with the words, “You have heard it said …” and then He wraps it up with the words, “But I say to you ….” In other words, “This is what the world teaches you is right … but this is what I’m telling you is pleasing in God’s sight.” And we’ve seen that there’s a difference between the two. This morning we begin to look at how the righteousness of the kingdom of God compares with the righteousness that the Pharisees were practicing. We move from what was being taught, to what was being lived out in day to day life. So let’s start reading in Matthew 6, verse 1. This is what we read …
“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. “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. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1–4, NIV)
Now there were three foundational practices in the life of the God fearing Jew. Three pillars of practical righteousness if you will. They were, #1 giving to the needy, #2 actively praying, and 3# regular fasting. These were the things that a people living out their faith in God would give themselves to doing. And in these next few passages, Jesus is going to look at each one of those pillars of righteousness, and in each case we’re going to see four things. First we are going to see A Warning Given, secondly An Example To Avoid, thirdly A Principle to Follow, and finally A Reward To Be Received.
Let’s start with A Warning given. We live in a society in which nearly everything seems to come packaged with a warning of some sort. Some cross the line into utter ridiculousness like the warning on a lawnmower that says “Do not place hands or feet under mower when the engine is running,” or the label on the hair dryer that says “Do not use in the shower and never use while sleeping,” or the one on a disposable razor that says, “Do not use this product during an earthquake,” or the one on a collapsible children’s stroller that warns parents to “remove children before collapsing stroller.” My all time favorite though is the one on the Magic 8 ball that reads “not advised for use as a home pregnancy test.” (www.squidoo.com/Stupid_Warning_Lables.) Folks, if we can’t figure those things out, without reading a warning label, we probably shouldn’t be using the product in the first place - and what bothers me, is that those warnings are there for a reason, and that reason is likely that someone has tried to do that very thing in the past!
There are other warnings though that we need to take to heart and the one that we find in these verses is one of those that we ought to be taking seriously. Look at verse 1. Jesus starts with those words, “Be careful.” In the Greek, the word carries with it the idea of being, “in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger … to be on one’s guard against,” something. (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, Louw-Nida) “Be careful,” He says, “not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” This is the warning we are given. Your version might have the words, “piety,” or, “almsgiving,” in place of the “righteousness” that the NIV speaks of – but the idea behind them all is the same. They speak of giving to the less fortunate, to the needy, to the one requiring assistance. They speak of what we might consider our Christian duties, obligations and responsibilities to the world around us.
And so Jesus’ warning to us is this: Be constantly on your guard, that the things you do in the name of the Lord, are being done with the right motives. And He gives us that warning because there are wrong motives with which you and I can do good things. Many people do things – good things - things that need doing – for the wrong reasons. They do them in order to be seen doing good by others. If that is our motive we will have no reward from our Father in heaven and we’ll talk more about the idea of reward in just a little bit.
For now, let’s look at An Example To Avoid. The example Jesus chooses to use to illustrate His point would have offended a number of people in the crowd because they would have realized that Jesus was talking about them. You may find some offence in His words today as well because you realize that if Jesus was here these words would have been meant for you too.
Jesus says, “when you give to the needy,” – and notice that it’s not a question of “if,” you’re giving to the needy, but rather “when,” you give to the needy. The assumption is that if you’re seeking to live for God, you’re going to live for those things that matter to God, and people in need matter deeply to Him. So “When you give,” He says, “do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.” Jesus is talking about tooting your own horn so to speak and He makes it very clear that a wrong motive for giving and helping others out, is so that you will be honored for doing so.
On September 18, 1997, CNN founder Ted Turner made an announcement at a dinner being held in his own honor. That night he announced that over the next ten years he was going to donate $1 billion to United Nations programs. His decision to do so was based on the increase of his net worth over a period of a few months. “When I got my statement in January,” he said, “I was worth $2.2 billion. Then I got another statement in August that said I was worth $3.2 billion. So I figure its only nine months’ earnings, who cares?” … “I’m no poorer than I was nine months ago, and the world is much better off.” “Asked how he came to pick the figure $1 billion, the irrepressible Turner said, “A billion’s a good round number.” (http://edition.cnn.com/US/9709/18/turner.gift/) Folks, Ted Turner did a good thing that day, but there’s a very good chance that he did it for the wrong reasons. Consider this: He announced what he was going to do to a room full of people. He then contacted Larry King and got himself on that show to talk about his giving. In many ways he used his gift of $1 billion to promote himself – it wasn’t about others, it wasn’t about God - in many ways it was all about him.
But Scripture tells us that it’s man who looks at the outward appearance; God looks at the heart. And the heart is what really matters. Let’s turn to the Gospel of Mark for a moment and consider the widow who gave her last two coins. Mark chapter 12 beginning in verse 41.
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41–44, NIV)
Now what that widow gave, was a pittance. Absolutely nothing to most people – but to her it was everything and she gave it to the Lord. The Pharisees and the rich people that Jesus watched that day, gave that which cost them nothing, and there was no reward beyond the praise of man for many of them. Perhaps they gave to be seen by others. But the widow gave differently. She gave very little, relatively speaking, but in the eyes of God her gift was of far greater value. And the greatest part of the gift was not those two coins – God does not need your money – but He desires to have your heart. Her heart was for God and the motivation that inspired such sacrifice on her part was a desire to please God and to trust in Him. That type of heart attitude honors God and brings glory to Him, and, according to the words of Jesus, will be rewarded by God Himself. On the other hand, Ted Turner, like the wealthy people Jesus mentioned, gave that which cost him nothing, and to be seen by others, and in doing so, Jesus would say that he has received his reward in full.
Many of us will wrestle with the same temptation as Ted Turner – not trying to figure out what to do with $1 billion – but wanting other people to see the good we’re doing that we might be praised or receive recognition or honor or that others might think well of us. Have you ever sat in church just dreading the moment the offering plate is passed around? You really don’t want to give but you’re afraid of what your neighbor might think of you if you don’t, so you dig around in your pockets and come up with a couple of loonies, or $5.00 bill or something like that – and when the plate comes around you put it in. But the only reason you’re doing it is because you feel guilty. Or maybe you put a couple of $100.00 bills, in or write a big cheque, but leave it face up so everyone after you can see what you put in. You’re doing it to be seen by man and your motives are not right before God. If that’s the case, Jesus says that the momentary praise or appreciation or recognition that you get from your fellow man is the only reward you will ever get for your giving.
The truth is that we like our good deeds to be noticed and appreciated. We want others to see how good we are, how spiritual we must be, because of the way, or the amount, which we’ve given or the ministries we’re involved in. We do a good thing by giving, but our motives aren’t right before God. When our motive is to impress others, or to make ourselves look good, and we are noticed, or praised by others, then we’ve received all the reward we’re ever going to get. It’s here one moment and gone the next. Transient. Fleeting. Meaningless.
Personal honor is a wrong motive for giving but there is another motive, which sounds good, and yet is just as wrong, and that is to give with a desire to gain favor with God. I’ve known people who have given to God’s church, or to the needy, some have given large amounts, but they are doing it in order to gain favor before the throne of God. Guilt seems to be a big factor in these instances. They know their life is not nearly what it should be and they think by giving generously that it will help balance out the sin in their lives, that their offering will cause God to overlook their transgressions and to show them favor in this life and the next. Some are even trying to earn their salvation by their good deeds but no amount of money, no resume of good works, has ever earned man or woman a place in the kingdom of God.
In the 7th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21–23, NIV)
We’ll look at that passage in greater detail later in this series. For now, simply understand this: our giving, our good deeds, our religious observances, never have, and never can, earn our salvation. We can go through all the motions but if the heart has never been made right with God it makes no difference. All we’ve been doing then is pretending to be one thing while in reality we were another. The Greeks had a word for a person like that – they called them a “hypokritai.” It was a word used for an actor – one who pretended to be something that they were not. That’s where we get our English word, “hypocrite” from. And that’s the word that Jesus uses to describe those who draw attention to themselves and their gifts so that they might receive honor and recognition and praise from man. A religious hypocrite wants others to see a spiritual depth that they don’t really have. They are self-seeking and they are deceived and Jesus says, “Don’t be like them!”
Instead, He gives us A Principle To Follow. Look at verse three with me … “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret.” If you ever want to know if you’re motives in doing something in the Lord’s name are right before God, consider if you are content to do them in secret with no-one else ever knowing about it. If you’re able to give, and to give cheerfully, without anyone ever knowing about, then you’re probably on the right track. Many of us here today give on a regular basis when the offering plate comes around. As your pastor I have no idea of what you as an individual give, or if you even give, but I would like to ask you a question: Would you still give as generously as you do, if you didn’t receive a tax receipt for your donations? If the answer is, “No,” then your motives in giving aren’t right before God. You’re giving for gain rather than for God’s glory and for God’s kingdom. The treasurer will never know the difference. The pastor will never know the difference. The person sitting beside you week after week will never know the difference. But God will know, and God is the one we ought to be concerned with. God is the one we want to be pleasing and honoring with the way we do life.
In his first letter the Thessalonians, Paul writes these words, “We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, NIV) And to Timothy he writes to him commanding him to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV) Why? For as Jesus says in the book of Revelation, “I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Revelation 2:23, NIV) And in 1 Corinthians we read that it is He who will “bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5, NIV) That which you hide from your fellow man will one day be exposed by God and all the secret motives of the heart will be laid bare before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So what’s the Principle to Follow? Colossians 3:23-24 sums it up nicely … “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23–24, NIV) Friends, when you give, give in such a way that God is honored and glorified, not just in the eyes of others, but from the very depths of your own life. Don’t give to receive the recognition or praise of your fellow man. Don’t give to be noticed and appreciated by other people, nor to impress them. Don’t give in attempt to wipe out your guilt or shame at your sin nor to attempt to gain salvation or favor with God. Rather, give in such a way that God, who sees all things and knows all things, is pleased with the attitude of your heart as you give of the many blessings you have received, to others who are in need. This is the type of giving that is pleasing in God’s sight and that will one day be rewarded, not by the fleeting praise of man, but by the enduring hand of God Himself.
Does that mean that all giving and acts of righteousness are to be completely done in secret? The answer is a resounding, “No!” Remember what Jesus said earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NIV) The object though is always that God would be glorified rather than us. Let me give you an example of how that might look.
In the year 125 AD a Greek philosopher by the name of Aristedes presented a defense of
Christians to the Roman emperor Hadrian. To defend them he gave testimony to what the people had seen in the ordinary, everyday lives of those who were called Christians. He said:
“He who has, gives to him who has not, without grudging. When one of their poor passes away from the world, and any of them sees him, then he provides for his burial according to his ability. If they hear that any of their number is imprisoned, or oppressed, for the name of their Messiah, all of them provide for his needs, and, if it is possible, that he may be delivered, they will deliver him. If there is among them a man that is poor, or needy, and they have not an abundance of necessities, they fast two or three days, that they may supply the needy with their necessary food.” (Covet God’s Approval by Michael Luke, www.sermoncentral.com)
Isn’t that amazing? These Christians were giving, not for their own glory, but for that of God. They gave to help those in need; not that they themselves might be honored. They sacrificed from what little they had to help those who had even less. And the world took note. Here was a people who lived unlike any others, and they served the living God.
Well, Jesus goes on to close these verses by speaking of a Reward To Be Received. “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4, NIV) We find the English word, “reward,” in three places in these four verses. In the Greek though they’re two different words that are used in this passage that have been translated as “reward.” The first is the word “misthos” and it’s used in verses one and two. It’s a word that literally means, “wages.” Wages are something that you earn and when your wage has been paid you’ve been paid in full – there’s nothing left outstanding, nothing left owing. You have received your reward. So the man or woman who does their good deeds to be praised by others, having received the praise and recognition that they sought after, has received their reward in full and they can have no expectation of reward from the hands of God.
The final time we read, “reward,” in this passage, it is the Greek word “apodosei.” This type of reward is not an earned waged. It is the disproportionate return of God’s grace. In other words it is a reward that goes above and beyond anything that was actually deserved. It is payment for deeds done, not in full, but beyond measure. It is a disproportionate reward that falls in your favor. And the emphasis is on the source of the gift – God the Father – and therefore the quality of the gift in comparison with the hypocrite’s wages. (Tyndale New Testament Commentary, pg. 131-132)
They wages of the hypocrites – the praise of man – is here today and gone tomorrow. But the reward of the one seeking to honor God and to bring glory unto Him goes far beyond the fleeting and the temporary. It may be realized in part here on this side of eternity; it will be realized in full, and will endure for all time, on the other side of eternity. It will be a reward cherished and held dear long after the empty praise of man has crumbled to dust and been blow away by the winds of time. This is the reward that Jesus says we ought to be seeking after!
I want to close this morning with an exhortation that Paul leaves with Timothy. He writes, “Command those who are rich in this present world (that would be us whether we have much or not so much – compared to most of the world each one of us rich) not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17–19, NIV)
In order to do so we practice a giving that is pleasing to God. We learn to give – not to seek the praise of man – but rather the glory of the Father. We live by that principle that Jesus gives us in this passage - to honor God in all things that through us the world may know Him and give Him the glory that is His due. As you seek to live out the righteousness of a life of faith, in all you do may you seek to be found approved of God rather than praised of man that you may know the Father’s reward for you and hear Him speak those beautiful words, “Well done, well done.”
Let’s pray …
