SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Godly MOTIVES
SERMON #355
BY: JOE MCCLURE
DATE: December 1, 2002
Matthew 6.1-18--> 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. 2. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
In this portion of scripture we notice that Jesus gives them instruction of the proper way to do 3 things.
1. Alms-giving
(a.) In secret
(b.) Sinful motive: to be seen of men giving to the poor
2. Prayer
(a.) In secret
(b.) Sinful motive: to be seen of men praying
3. Fasting
(a.) In secret
(b.) Sinful motive: to appear to men as fasting
We shall consider that our motives for obeying God's commandments must not be done for the purpose of being considered as someone great by our fellow man.
Even though we shall consider these 3 things today, we have already considered other things that Jesus has taught about that are to be done without a desire of the person for worldly reward or acclaim.
One of these is the blessing for the person who suffers persecution. The promise of reward for persecution is not the wealth of the world or the praise of men, but the assurance of everlasting life.
Jesus said to the disciples that the hypocrites gave money to the poor for only one reason. They gave to the poor to receive the glory and praise of men.
2??..that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
In all 3 of these items of Godliness mentioned here, Jesus is making the point to his disciples to not do as many who are called 'religious' do; that is they must not obey the Law of Moses for the purpose of looking Holy to their brethren.
Our hearts must be righteous before our actions can truly be righteous.
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Who are you seeking to please when you are obedient to the Law of Christ today?
Why do you obey the Law of Christ?
Do you act differently when someone is watching?
What is your motive for obeying?
LOVE AS MOTIVATOR
If our heart is righteous, we will be obedient to God's commandments because of our love for God and our love for our fellow man.
The Apostle Paul said that if he gave of all he had for others and had not love, it was vain and not pleasing to God.
1 Corinthians 13:3--> And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
When we give alms to the poor, when we pray to God, and when we fast, we should not do these things just because we want someone to see how pious we are, to affirm in our neighborhood that we are Godly and righteous.
Paul said by implication that it was wrong to seek glory from others for doing what was righteous.
1 Thessalonians 2.1-6--> 1. For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: 2. But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. 3. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6. Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.
Paul and the other Apostles could have went into the congregations and demanded acclaim, praise, and better accommodations than others due to their office and their work. Instead, Paul lowered himself in stature that he might gain many to Christ.
We find this same thought in the Old Testament in the wisdom writings of Solomon.
Proverbs 25.27--27. It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
We should learn from this that it is the wisest course of action to not toot our own horn so to speak or brag on our selves.
Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
This is not just Old Testament wisdom but is also a commandment of the New Testament.
WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
It has to do with our motive.
v When you examine your reasons for doing the things that are considered as religious activities, are they done for the glory of men, or are you seeking to worship and glorify God?
We are commanded to let our light shine before the world to glorify God, but Paul taught that we should not do anything for the purpose of glorifying our own self, but that we should adopt an attitude of humility.
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
WRONG MOTIVE: When a man's religion is intended as outward evidence of his character, his motives are not to please Christ, but he will do those things that his peers consider to be righteous. When this is true, he will only obey if it is popular to do so, or 'in season'.
RIGHTEOUS WORKS CAN BE DONE FOR THE WRONG REASON: The works that one does may even be the same works that Jesus Christ commands, but because the works done are motivated by ones desire to please men, the works become vain.
One example of this is those men who were not willing to obey Christ and suffer. Instead, they chose to conform to man's definition of what was righteous, thus avoiding any criticism.
Galatians 6:12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
In a Jewish dominated society, it was highly unpopular and even dangerous to state that a person could be righteous without being circumcised. Some of these brethren were not willing to suffer, so they aligned themselves with the ones who taught that a person must be circumcised. We can see that their motives were all wrong.
When we are tempted to conform to the world to avoid persecution, we should remember that men have no power to give us any of the spiritual blessings. They can give us esteem in their religious bodies when we are in unity with their false teaching; but they have no power at all to add us to the Kingdom of Christ or to give us everlasting life.
Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
ALMS GIVING
We have seen already that the Law of Christ to the church teaches us that it is vain to do the commandments of Christ with a sinful motive.
We need to study the Apostles' doctrine as it relates to each of these 3 items.
We saw in our last lesson the commandments that teach us to do good unto all men as we have the opportunity.
The New Testament teaches us to not forget the poor and especially those who are our brethren in Christ.
II Corinthians 9.11-13--> 11. Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. 12. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; 13. Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
If we see our brother or sister going hungry or in need of clothing and we withhold our resources from them, this is evidence that we do not love God.
1John 3:17--But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
One of the evils that we see in our world is the attitude that equates wealth with righteousness or social value.
Is a man more valuable as a person just because he is wealthy?
Have you ever wondered why that Jesus did not come into this world as the son of a rich and influential family?
Joseph was a workingman, a carpenter, and had a large family to support. Jesus had no wealth of this world and that was by intent.
LUKE 9.58-- And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
We see the Messiah in prophecy as a man despised and rejected of men with no esteem.
According to prophecy, there would be nothing about the Christ that would cause men to place great value upon or to exalt him based on human factors.
Isaiah 53.2-3-- 2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
I point these things out about Jesus so that we will be reminded of the truth that those who are lowly esteemed by men are not to be considered rejected of God, nor should they be ignored and disregarded by Christians.
We should not be lured into the deception that wealth gives a person spiritual esteem.
DO YOUR ALMS IN SECRET
Now, I would like to consider whether the teaching of Jesus here in our text condemns all open giving.
Is it sinful to give in such a way that our charity is known by others? Must we always give in an anonymous fashion?
Was the charity of any Christian in the New Testament known by others?
Acts 2.45à And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Was the giving of alms part of letting their light shine before men to glorify God?
The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus to show himself as a pattern to others by his good works.
Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
This means that Titus was to show by his own good works how that others ought to do their good works. His example was to be a pattern that others followed. If so, how could his alms giving have been in total secrecy?
One of the qualifying factors that the church was to look for in a widow before supporting her financially was a good report in doing good works.
1 Timothy 5:10à Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
If she relieved the afflicted in secret, how could there have been a good report of her good works in this area?
The purpose that we are to allow others to see our good works should be for only one purpose; to glorify God.
If we do good works to be praised of men, our good works become an abomination before God.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for this very thing in Luke 16.15.
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
The main point here that we learn is that when we give it should be a private giving.
We should not broadcast it loudly so that all will be sure to see just how giving and wonderful that we have been in taking care of the needs of the poor.
We must not give for the purpose of seeking the glory of men for ourselves.
PRAYER
The question that the text begs of us to answer in this portion of what Jesus said is; when we pray, must we enter our closet to pray?
Is it sinful to pray in the church assembly?
I will attempt to prove that Jesus did not intend to say this at all and to draw this conclusion, we must take the verses out of the context.
Jesus is condemning the prayers of the hypocrites.
He is not condemning prayer in the church while standing, but he is condemning the prayer of the person who desires for the others present to get the impression that he is very pious or righteous or a Holy person.
In other words, the hypocrite stands up in church or goes out on the street corner to pray loudly and says to those nearby, "HEY, NOTICE ME HOW GREAT A MAN I AM, NOTICE HOW GREAT I AM AT PRAYING".
To say that we are commanded to pray always in our closest would mean that we could never pray anywhere else, but that we would have to always be at our own house.
Those without homes or those who were traveling, such as some of the disciples that Jesus is talking to is getting ready to do would not be able to utter a pray until they returned home or got a home.
To interpret this passage in this way would be in contradiction to the prayers that Jesus commanded on other occasions.
Luke 21:34-36
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. [35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. [36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
We have no accounts of Jesus praying in a closet. In Luke 9.28, at his transfiguration, Jesus took 3 disciples with him into the mountain to pray.
Luke 9:28-- And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
On another occasion, Jesus prayed in the presence of several people who were not believers.
John 12:27-29
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. [28] Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. [29] The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
The point that Jesus is making with His disciples is to not make a show of their prayers.
There are times when our prayers are private and we will find seclusion, but it is not commanded in the Law of Christ, in the Apostles doctrine which they taught by inspiration of God.
Notice the type of prayer that we see in the New Testament church.
We see the disciples gathered together in the upper room in the days preceding the Day of Pentecost praying together.
Acts 1:13-14
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. [14] These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
We are to pray wherever we are and whenever we need to, without regard to our location in relation to our home and its closet.
I Thessalonians 5.17-18--17. Pray without ceasing. 18. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
We do not need an audience to pray, nor do we need to be vocal in our prayers for them to be heard.
We can take notice of the special prayers of the church for a special need when Herod put Peter into prison.
Acts 12:5
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
God answered the prayers of the church for Peter and an angel delivered him from the prison. Notice that the church gathered together to pray.
Acts 12:11-12
11. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. 12. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
If these prayers were in secret, how do we know about them? How could they pray together without the other one knowing about it? Together teaches us that this was a united effort of several Christians gathered together praying on behalf of Peter.
Paul and Silas prayed in prison, without waiting to go home to their individual prayer closets.
Acts 16:25
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
There are a lot more scriptures that deal with prayer that we will not consider today as that would take an entire hour or more on its own. However, these few verses will point out that we can pray in the presence of others who hear us pray.
One of the things that Jesus teaches them here that we should be aware of is that God already knows what they need before they pray.
It is not necessary to ask everything in our life that we need with a long prayer.
The Apostle Paul points this out as well.
ROMANS 8.26-27-->26. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
REPETITION
We can learn from the teachings of Jesus that it is not necessary to repeat over and over again in our prayer the same things; that the prayer that is sincere is acceptable to God; and to always pray to God and not to men.
Jesus gives them an example of what he means by a brief, sincere prayer and the acceptable way for them to pray.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
As we know, the kingdom came when the church of Christ began on the Day of Pentecost.
Does this indicate that every time that we pray that we should pray the Lord's prayer?
This is not the case at all. Jesus was giving them a sample of a brief, to the point prayer that met all of the qualifications of the things he had been teaching them about prayer.
You can read of a much longer prayer of Jesus to God the Father in John 17.1-26, during which he prayed for His disciples and for all believers that would result from their teaching. He prayed for their protection, not from the world, but from the evil that they would encounter. He prayed for their unity with one another, with Jesus Christ, and with the Heavenly Father. Jesus said that their unity was necessary so that the world would also believe that Jesus was from God, or that He was truly the Son of God.
Did Jesus violate his own teaching in His prayer to the Father?
By comparing this prayer in its length and what Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount, we can put what Jesus said in context and understand that he was not dictating that they always just say what is called the 'Lord's Prayer', but that he was teaching the lesson of always praying from a Godly perspective.
The natural man within us spends too much time being concerned with how we are viewed by those that hear us.
When we pray a secret prayer, with no one listening but God, we are not bothered by this temptation.
One final thought regarding prayer before going on is that no man on this earth should receive our prayer.
It is Jesus the Christ who sits on the throne in Heaven, making intercession on our behalf.
Our prayer should always be in His name, or by His authority because He is our High Priest. That is the reason we always end our prayers in church by invoking the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
INTERCESSOR
Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
An intercessor is one who asks a favor for someone else.
In the context of this scripture, we understand that Christ sits on the throne at the right hand of our Almighty Father intervening on the behalf of His servants in the Kingdom of Christ.
In this role, He acts as our High Priest.
MEDIATOR
Jesus is the mediator between God and men.
The Apostle Paul gives us an exhortation regarding prayer in his letter to Timothy, a preacher in the church of Christ.
1 Timothy 2:1-6
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; [2] For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. [3] For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; [4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
DEFINITIONS OF PRAYER:
v Supplication=petition or request
v Prayers=prayers during worship
v Intercession=interview, meaning a specific request; contrasted with a general prayer
v Giving of thanks in prayer=using grateful language in a worship prayer
v Mediator=A go-between; in this case, it appears that Christ repeats the thoughts put forth in our prayers to God, the Father on our behalf
These definitions come from the Greek-English dictionary.
It appears that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanks giving can all be lumped together and called prayers, but it points out to us that there are different kinds of things that we are to include in our prayers, and there are different reasons for our prayers.
Some may be specific in nature, while others may be more general in nature.
As an example, we might ask God to bless all of our brothers and sisters in Christ in a general broad way, but we might have a specific request for one person who is suffering or has requested that we intercede on his/her behalf.
I point these scriptures out so that we might see that prayer should be defined in more depth than just the 'Lord's Prayer' of our lesson today in Matthew 6 and also to remind us that when we pray, we need to do so in Spirit and in Truth, with great concern that our prayers will be acceptable to God.
ADVOCATE
Here is another New Testament scripture that teaches us that Christ is in Heaven to appear before God, the Father for us.
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
When we sin and ask for forgiveness from God, the Father; John says that in this case that Jesus Christ is our advocate.
We might consider what an advocate on earth does in court, as he argues our case before the judge and better understand the usage by John of the word to describe Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:1-2
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
A CONDITION OF FORGIVENESS
If we pray from an honest and sincere heart, we will be righteous as we ask Jesus to mediate on our behalf only if we also have a forgiving nature of the trespasses of men against us.
Colossians 3:12-13à 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
If we are sitting here in worship, asking for forgiveness, while we are holding a grudge against our brother or sister in the pew in front of us; we have prayed a vain prayer.
I have not included all the points regarding prayer that could be considered, but let us continue to study God's Word so that we will always come to God with a Godly motive in our hearts.
FASTING
Finally, we see the 3rd item of our lesson.
Jesus told them that they hypocrites only fasted so that men would know that they were fasting; that men would regard them as pious.
Jesus said that they put on a sad face when they fasted.
Jesus said to His disciples that they should anoint their head and wash their face when they fasted. In other words, anything that would give away the fact that they were in a period of religious fasting; these things should be avoided.
As we look at fasting in the New Testament church, we see that the point that Jesus is making here is the same as for giving alms and for prayer.
It was not the case that no one else was to know about the fast, but that the fast not be for show to impress others.
Is it a sin to fast and someone else besides you be aware of your fasting?
It was known that the brethren at the Athens church of Christ fasted and prayed. Their prayer and fasting was not in secret; but it was with a Godly motive and a Godly purpose.
Acts 13:2-3
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
We see fasting and prayers as together; where one is present, the other is also. Paul and Barnabus selected elders in every church by prayer and fasting, as they commended them to the Lord, or as I understand it they asked God to watch over them and guide them and help them with their work as elders.
This process of fasting was not in secret. Others besides Barnabus and Saul knew that they fasted and prayed.
Acts 14:23--And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Husbands and wives are allowed to be apart as regarding the marriage bed only if they have dedicated that period of time to fasting and prayer.
So, the point is, even though not too many people would be aware of their fasting, it was not totally in secret as the husband and the wife would know of the other's fasting and prayers.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
As we bring this lesson to a close, let us each examine ourselves regarding our motive when we give to the poor; when we pray, and when we fast.
Be careful to watch over your soul; work out your salvation with fear and trembling; and when you are tempted to consider how someone watching or listening regards you, if you will remember this lesson of today; the Word of God will give you strength to glorify God in all you do.
Do all that you do, in word or deed, do all with a Godly Motive; do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
