Matthew 6
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Mathew 6:1:
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. |
A Christian should not let his light shine to be praised by others, but to bring glory to the Father. The Pharisees acted to be seen of men, but true Christians behave to glorify God, caring little what people may think of them. It is by our conduct, not our pomp and circumstance, that others may be brought to honor God. We should live so that people may see from our good works the proper nature of God's way of life. Good works cannot be hidden because they stand in stark contrast to the ways of this wicked world (I Timothy 5:25). These works are required behavior at home and in the outside world. -Forerunners Commentary
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In 6:1-18 Jesus deals with three areas of righteous living that He saw as being used for the praise of men rather than for the praise of God. Giving to the poor, praying and fasting are all things that God calls His people to do, but they are also things that can easily be used for selfish gain.
Using these three acts of piety as examples, Jesus calls us to avoid hypocrisy. He calls us to live for the praise of our heavenly Father instead of living for the praise of people. He wants us to recognize how subtle sin is and that we can take good things and use them in sinful and selfish ways. --Southern Hills Life
Using these three acts of piety as examples, Jesus calls us to avoid hypocrisy. He calls us to live for the praise of our heavenly Father instead of living for the praise of people. He wants us to recognize how subtle sin is and that we can take good things and use them in sinful and selfish ways. --Southern Hills Life
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Matthew 6:2-4:
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. |
Jesus is showing us the difference between hypocritical vs. authentic righteousness. It is not only important that you do the right thing, but that you do it in the right way and for the right reason. Righteousness is an inward matter. God does not look at the outward act but at your heart. And so Jesus begins this section by saying: “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.” (Matthew 6:1)
He begins with a warning: “Be careful!” This is a strong warning. You could even translate it as, “Beware!” Jesus has just explained the deeper meaning of the law; he has called his disciples to a surpassing righteousness, and now he lets us know that we are entering dangerous waters here. There is a real danger of taking these beautiful acts of righteousness and emptying them of their meaning if your motivation is wrong. So he warns us, “Be careful! Watch out! This will require constant vigilance on your part.” -Ray Fowler |
John Gerstner said, “There is nothing that separates us from God more than our damnable good works.” Preacher George Whitefield said:
Before you can speak peace in your heart, you must not only be made sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of our heart.
Before you can speak peace in your heart, you must not only be made sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of our heart.
When we give with the wrong motivation, our giving is in vain. This is the main reason that Christ said that we must TAKE HEED!
Christ is warning us about the wrong kind of giving and how it forfeits the meaning of our action.
Our giving must be motivated by the right attitude. When we give, it is not about ourselves, IT IS ABOUT GIVING GLORY TO GOD.
Giving is an act of worship. It is never an act of giving glory to oneself.
Christ is warning us about the wrong kind of giving and how it forfeits the meaning of our action.
Our giving must be motivated by the right attitude. When we give, it is not about ourselves, IT IS ABOUT GIVING GLORY TO GOD.
Giving is an act of worship. It is never an act of giving glory to oneself.
The nature of hypocrisy. "Hypocrisy" (hypokrisis) means that what one appears to be is different from what one is. Cf. 15:7-8, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" The verb hypokrinomai means "to play a part, hence...to simulate, feign, pretend" (Thayer, s.v. ). Thus in the case of each practice discussed in 6:1-18, the individuals in question appear to be serving God, but in fact they are serving only themselves: "to be honored by men" (6:2); "to be seen by men" (6:5); "to show men they are fasting" (6:16)................as C. S. Lewis taught us in Mere Christianity, in the chapter on "The Great Sin." The hypocrites are not merely proud of being spiritual; they are proud of being (and of being thought to be) more spiritual than others, the others who have such respect for them and render them such honor. For pride's survival, it is vital that one be above the rest. None of the three exercises is really directed towards God; indeed, pride insists that God - the true and living God - not be brought into the picture. The proud person must be supreme; thus the sovereign God is the most threatening figure of all. They want to be "seen by men," but not by God (6:1). -Dr Knox Chamblain
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God is our Father who’s hidden in the dark, and He will do two things: First, He sees what we’re doing; second, He rewards us. When we know that our Father is secretly looking, we will be cautious in every little thing that we do. Even when no one is watching us and knows what we’re doing, our hidden Father will be secretly watching us. One day, everything that we’ve done in our life will be presented before the throne, and that’s why we must be cautious in everything that we do.
Not only does God watch us, He also rewards us. Even though we did some good deeds in secret, thinking that no one knows, but our hidden Father sees everything and He will reward us. Isn’t God’s reward far better than people’s reward? Isn’t it the best reward if we can stand before God’s throne and hear Him calling us a good and faithful servant? May God help us not to seek reward from people, but to solely look upon God, and to faithfully and truthfully live before Him. -ROLLOC Devotion |
We can practice this in the area of giving. Hypocrites are actors living by a double standard with the world as their stage to play pretend, and their giving is motivated not to be seen by God, but to be seen and praised by people (Matthew 6:2). Jesus assures them their reward will be no more nor less than that – the praise of others. Enjoy it for the moment, because it will be gone soon and no reward in heaven will be given to such people. Another way is shown – give for the eyes of One - give in secret - so much so your left hand does not know what your right does, give like your Father in heaven is looking and to bring a smile to Him. “Secret” doesn’t mean anonymously or mysteriously, but solely. It means to give “solely” for the eyes of One, for the joy of One, to bring pleasure to One. --Lakeview Community Church of Niles
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Matthew 6:5-8:
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. |
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| "Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion. 'Take no thought for your life...' Our Lord points out the utter unreasonableness from His standpoint of being so anxious over the means of living. Jesus is not saying that the man who takes thought for nothing is blessed--that man is a fool. Jesus taught that a disciple has to make his relationship to God the dominating concentration of his life, and to be carefully careless about everything else in comparison to that. Jesus is saying--'Don't make the ruling factor of your life what you shall eat and what you shall drink, but be concentrated absolutely on God.' Some people are careless over what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it... they are careless about their earthly affairs, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the great care of this life is to put the relationship to God first, and everything else second. It is one of the severest disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses." -Oswald Chambers |
| "If you've never lived in a place where people couldn't even put bread on the table for their children, let alone find enough for themselves, it's hard to imagine the desperation, the absolutely focusing of desire, involved in being hungry. It is sobering to realize that this is still the daily reality for about a third of the world's population.
And Jesus asks us to pray for bread. What is he on about, given that those of us who have enough bread hardly think about it at all, and those who do not, can scarcely think of anything else? Let us consider this matter from two different directions in relation to the question of prayer. First, as we can see from the story of Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-8) and the Psalms (Psalm 78:1-3, 25-31), the themes of wilderness, bread, neediness and desire are deeply entangled in Jewish tradition and infuse Jesus's own prayer no less. To ask for bread in the wilderness is to ask, not just to be delivered from death by starvation, but to have one's desires at some deep and profound level tested and purified. The people of Israel on the run from Egypt are at death's door, but have manna miraculously rained upon them in the wilderness; as the psalmist says, their "craving" is well satisfied. But immediately everything goes wrong: they would like something else, their longing gets distorted, they quarrel and complain. God has graciously given them their "daily bread," but they are immediately off once more into the devices and desires of their own hearts. We might say that their erotic life - in the broadest sense - is suddenly out of order. They ask for, and get, precisely what they desire in prayer - bread - but in their case, it only leads to wrongful further "craving." Contrariwise, we get the story of Elijah. Elijah's desires seem to be out of order at the start of the story: he retires into the wilderness in a grump, lies down in despair, wanting to die, and yet is awakened by an angel to be given just the bread that he needs to do God's will - today, now. "Get up and eat" is the command. And he does so. His desire was out of order but now is in order. God has given him his daily bread and "strength for the journey." It is all that he needs to fulfil God's will. It follows, then, from these two contrasting examples that to ask for bread now is to ask precisely for what we need today, bodily as well as spiritually, to do God's will. It is to ask for bread on the table in the most obvious and practical and physically urgent sense; but it is no less to ask for that bread on the wilderness-axis of the testing of all desire. "Give us bread now" thus means, "Give us bread that we may live and do the will of the Father in the space of Jesus," that all our desires may be wilderness-tested in accordance with his desire." |
Jan 20, 2022: Christian Century: Whose Father in heaven?
When Jesus begins the prayer that has come to be called the Lord’s Prayer with the words “Our Father” (Matt. 6:9), who is included in his “our”?
When Jesus begins the prayer that has come to be called the Lord’s Prayer with the words “Our Father” (Matt. 6:9), who is included in his “our”?
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Matthew 6:9-10:
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. |
Jesus teaches this very clearly in the Gospels. He tells us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10 KJV), and He bids us to “ask the Lord of the harvest … to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matt. 9:38).1 By this He means for us to understand and take seriously the fact that our prayer is a major factor in advancing God’s kingdom in this world. Jesus elsewhere encourages prayer in the strongest terms imaginable by saying, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). “Have faith in God … whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:22, 24). “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matt. 21:22). The clear implication of these and similar passages is that God commands us to pray and promises to answer in power when we do so. -Thomas A. Tarrants, Author, is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute
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Matthew 6:11-15:
11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. |
Paul uses this verse immediately after condemning sins such as adultery and fornication. The larger context is of satisfying the desires of the flesh which is generally the root cause of masturbation. As Paul said, something may not be a sin in and of itself, but we should not let it control us. This is what often happens with masturbation. Perhaps some do it on occasion for “physical release” and without lusting when doing it. But for many others, this is not the case. What often starts as an occasional thing for a “justifiable” purpose, easily becomes a habit, then an addiction. Yes, you can be addicted to masturbation. You can be addicted to sex, even with your spouse. Do not let the desires of the flesh control you.
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1. Use the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern for intercession.
- “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Spend some time thanking God for his fatherly love and attention. Ponder who he is and adore his majesty, holiness, sovereignty, goodness and beauty.
- “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Turn your intercession to God’s purposes in the wold. Where are you trying to bring your kingdom rather than putting your efforts toward God’s kingdom agenda? Consider what God’s kingdom agenda might be in your relationships and in the world. Pray for these things. What might partnering with God around his will look like?
- “Give us today our daily bread.” Pray for your needs and those whose lives are closely linked with your won. Pray for those who are in danger, suffering and in places of decision-making or costly love.
- “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Confess your grudges, bitterness and oversensitivity; dwell at the foot of the cross. Thank God for what it is like to be forgiven.
- “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” As you look ahed into your day, notice the tasks and transactions ahead of you. Where might you get off track? Become aware of the ways you may be tempted to spin the truth, manage your image, live out your false self, lose your patience or envy another. Pray for the Spirit to work in you to change you. Ask for protection and courage for the day.
- “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” End your time of intercession with prayers of trust in God’s goodness and his redemptive plan. -CCF Siloam Springs
If in anything we need Divine instruction, it is in drawing near to God. It does not appear to have been Christ’s design to establish a form of prayer, nor that it was ever so used by the disciples; but merely a brief directory as to the matter and manner of it. Such a directory was adapted not only to instruct, but to encourage Christians in their approaches to God.
[1]Andrew Gunton Fuller, The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller, Volume 1: Memoirs, Sermons, Etc., ed. Joseph Belcher (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1988), 578-583.
- First, The character under which we are allowed to draw near to the Lord of heaven and earth.—“Our Father.”
- Secondly, The place of the Divine residence.—“Our Father, who art in heaven.”
- Thirdly, The social principle which pervades the prayer.—“Our Father—forgive us,” etc.
- Fourthly, The brevity of it.—“Use not vain repetitions, but in this manner pray ye.”
- Fifthly, The order of it.—Our attention is first directed to those things which are of the first importance, and which are fundamental to those which follow.
- “Give us this day (or day by day) our daily bread.” Bread comprehends all the necessaries, but none of the superfluities, of life.
- “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” As bread in this prayer comprehends all the necessaries of life, so the forgiveness of sin comprehends the substance of all that is necessary for the well-being of our souls.
- “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The last petition respected the bestowment of the greatest good; this, deliverance from the worst of evils. Christ teaches us to suspect ourselves.
[1]Andrew Gunton Fuller, The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller, Volume 1: Memoirs, Sermons, Etc., ed. Joseph Belcher (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1988), 578-583.
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Matthew 6:16-18:
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you [openly. |
What Jesus is forbidding here
. . . because we sometimes miss the point.
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The main lesson Jesus is teaching here in Matthew 6:16-18, when you fast, don’t look like to the world you are suffering & telling others you are hungry as hell. Make your appearance seem normal, your fasting is between you & God & no one really needs to know. Wash your head & put on a fresh face. If you are sincere & want the Lord’s direction He will give it, but not to the public world. His answer will come to you, in your heart & mind. Most times God’s greatest blessings are just between you & Him in secret, of course others will see it. -ISamuel120 Blog
Matthew 6:19-21:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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Matthew 6:24:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. |
"If you are Christians, be consistent. Be Christians out and out–Christians every hour, in every part. Beware . . .
of half-hearted discipleship, of compromise with evil, of conformity to the world, of trying to serve two masters, of trying to walk in two ways, the narrow and the broad, at once. It will not do. Half-hearted Christianity will only dishonor God, while it makes you miserable!" --Horatius Bonar |
Barth identifies two archetypal lordless powers – (i) the myth of the state; and (ii) its “close relative,” mammon. For Barth, the state (which he also refers to as “Leviathan”, a reference to Hobbes’s work) does not equate to the structure of government itself, but refers instead to the power and ideology of the state when it exalts itself, and breaks loose from and disregards the rule of law.21 And mammon, for Barth, references when economic resources, themselves morally neutral, begin to establish their own forces which expert pressure on humanity to submit in obedience. Money is what Barth calls “an intrinsically harmless but useful fiction.” It is an idol, an anti-Christ, that demands and commands our obedience, and when it “meets and joins with that other demon Leviathan” (i.e., the State), it becomes an “absolutist demon,” pursuing endless accumulation and relentless commodification, and employing the tools of violence in order to satiate its unyielding appetite for more. --Karl Barth, The Christian Life, 224. Cf. Paul Fletcher, “Prolegomena to a Theology of Death,” Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 50, no. 2 (2008): 139–57. 23 Walter
To serve here means to serve as a slave; we either serve God as a slave, giving Him the love and service that He desires, or we serve mammon as an idol.
Mammon, therefore, is in direct opposition to God, replacing God, and being an alternative to God; we either serve God or mammon.
The Lord indicates that, for us to serve Him requires that we love Him, give our hearts to Him, and cleave to Him, giving our entire being to Him; it also means that we hate mammon and are saved from mammon. -agodman
Mammon, therefore, is in direct opposition to God, replacing God, and being an alternative to God; we either serve God or mammon.
The Lord indicates that, for us to serve Him requires that we love Him, give our hearts to Him, and cleave to Him, giving our entire being to Him; it also means that we hate mammon and are saved from mammon. -agodman
- matthew 6:25-34 -
