Matthew 6 "The Secret Place"
Read Matthew 6
6 “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.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
In chapter 5, Jesus taught on the true spirit of Old Testament laws like divorce, adultery, murdery. He prefaced each teaching by saying, "You have heard it said ... but i say to you!" Jesus was re-interpreting the law so that the people would see the true spirit, not just the letter of the law. He was less interested in what things looked like on the outside, and more about what was going on in the inside. What people's true motives were toward others.
In chapter 6, he does the same thing with the things the Israelites were supposed to do. We might call them good deeds. In a similar way, Jesus goes through three spiritual disciplines meant to bring us closer to God, and warns the Jews not to do these things to be seen by others. We can assume this was happening in the Jewish community. We might say they were "parading their righteousness" to seen and rewareded by others. They were looking for compliments like, "Oh you are so spiritual!"
So Jesus teaches that when you give, pray and fast do it in secret. Though nobody will see you do it on this earth, your father in heaven will see it and reward you. Do you see that, "reward you"! When you get the applause of the world you get a reward but it is only for here and now. It is temporary and limited to the response of mere mortals. But when you practice spiritual disciplines toward God alone, you will receive a different kind of reward. The reward is you will know that God is pleased with you because you are doing what He asked you to do. In your obedience you are being drawn to God and you will be blessed by His presence and favor. It may not be with fame or money, though God is not necessarily against those things. These blessings can come in ways too numerous to describe, and also are not just for this world, but the world to come.
So in effect Jesus is saying, "Go ahead and show others your good deeds. You will most likely get praise from others, but that is it. Why not let your giving be done unto God alone and you will see a reward the world can't describe."
Christians are called to give, pray and fast, that is a given. As you engage in these spiritual disciplines this year make sure they are for God alone. The greatest reward is to know you are pleasing God and He will bless you in His way and in His time both now and forever. While we do not know exactly what this reward is, we know it will be "OUT of THIS WORLD!"
6 “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.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
In chapter 5, Jesus taught on the true spirit of Old Testament laws like divorce, adultery, murdery. He prefaced each teaching by saying, "You have heard it said ... but i say to you!" Jesus was re-interpreting the law so that the people would see the true spirit, not just the letter of the law. He was less interested in what things looked like on the outside, and more about what was going on in the inside. What people's true motives were toward others.
In chapter 6, he does the same thing with the things the Israelites were supposed to do. We might call them good deeds. In a similar way, Jesus goes through three spiritual disciplines meant to bring us closer to God, and warns the Jews not to do these things to be seen by others. We can assume this was happening in the Jewish community. We might say they were "parading their righteousness" to seen and rewareded by others. They were looking for compliments like, "Oh you are so spiritual!"
So Jesus teaches that when you give, pray and fast do it in secret. Though nobody will see you do it on this earth, your father in heaven will see it and reward you. Do you see that, "reward you"! When you get the applause of the world you get a reward but it is only for here and now. It is temporary and limited to the response of mere mortals. But when you practice spiritual disciplines toward God alone, you will receive a different kind of reward. The reward is you will know that God is pleased with you because you are doing what He asked you to do. In your obedience you are being drawn to God and you will be blessed by His presence and favor. It may not be with fame or money, though God is not necessarily against those things. These blessings can come in ways too numerous to describe, and also are not just for this world, but the world to come.
So in effect Jesus is saying, "Go ahead and show others your good deeds. You will most likely get praise from others, but that is it. Why not let your giving be done unto God alone and you will see a reward the world can't describe."
Christians are called to give, pray and fast, that is a given. As you engage in these spiritual disciplines this year make sure they are for God alone. The greatest reward is to know you are pleasing God and He will bless you in His way and in His time both now and forever. While we do not know exactly what this reward is, we know it will be "OUT of THIS WORLD!"
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