The Surest Path To Great Reward In 2023 Series

Sermon: The Surest Path To Great Reward

Text: Matthew 5:20; 6:1-8; 16-18, 33

Matthew 5:20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Matthew 6:1-6 “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Introduction: After selecting some disciples and working a great number of miracles, a great multitude of people from Galilee, from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan followed Jesus to the mount of Olive. What a perfect spot for a discourse! Up to this point, most of Jesus’s teaching was done through signs and wonders as he was teaching by demonstration; now he chooses to teach with his words and practical application. As earnest men, usually do, He addresses His fellow men with distinctive and pointed speech. Jesus speaks in such a way to have maximum impact on His audience with God’s message. When Jesus opens his mouth, we all should open our ears and hearts. Jesus is teaching about serving, giving, praying, and fasting in a new way. The beatitudes had excited their interest and the practical application caused them to lean in closer. Jesus is not impressed by the large crowd, he understood that he must speak to a mixed multitude. Jesus addresses his message to at least four different categories of people in this crowd. This crowd is typical of any crowd, in every setting including the church. This lengthy sermon has been referred to as the sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus addresses least four different categories of people in this crowd: the Heathens or curious unbelievers, the Hypocrites, the Half Hearted and the Holy.

The heathens are those who spend their lives pursuing after carnal things without regard for God or man. The Heathens are dangerous because they are normally hostile against religion and will fight against any moral and righteous restraints that stand in their way. The Psalmist says, Heathens rage and imagine vain things. Jesus cautions us when He says, “don’t be like the heathens.”

The hypocrites are those who sometimes do righteous deeds with wrong motives. Their weakness is that they love the praise of men, more than the praise of God. Hypocrites are like actors on a stage. They are dangerous because they are not saved, nor do they want to be saved. They are great pretenders who have religion without relationship. They are dangerous because they refuse to enter the door of Salvation and righteousness and block the door and the way for others who desire to enter. Jesus cautions us when He says, “don’t be like the hypocrites.”

The Halfhearted are those who make a halfhearted attempt to follow Christ, while pleasing themselves. Jesus cautioned, If any man will come after me, he must deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. The halfhearted followers seek to please themselves above all else. The halfhearted are dangerous because their immaturity causes them to be self-centered, self-absorbed, lacking commitment and conviction, lacking character or integrity. They are like those who begin a journey without counting the cost. Their testimony will be in effective and their witness will be trod under the feet of men.

Finally, Jesus addresses the Holy. The holy are those set apart by God, for God’s glory and for the benefit of mankind. Their conduct is righteous both internally and externally. (Mt 5:16) They faithfully and willingly, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Their sole purpose is to glorify The Father. The holy followers live useful lives as Christ followers, they are a source of praise to God and reflects well on the religion which they profess, and causes honor to be paid to God, from whom this religion proceeded.