To Be Seen of Men or God?

1. Read: Matthew 6:1-4

2. About the Text:

1) Matthew 6 continues Jesus Sermon on the Mount.

2) He turns attention toward hypocritical acts of devotion in . . .

a. Giving

b. Prayer

c. Fasting

3) The Pharisees and others were more concerned about a show of spirituality than true spirituality.

4) Their main concern was to be seen by men, not by God.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. Giving to the poor was a requirement under the Law of Moses.

1) “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you” (Leviticus 25:35).

2) “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs…. You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land’” (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).

2. The wisdom literature also discusses helping the poor.

1) “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Psalm 41:1).

2) “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13).

3. The prophets call attention to the neglect of the poor.

1) “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them” (Isaiah 41:17).

2) “Also on your skirts is found The blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search, But plainly on all these things” (Jeremiah 2:34).

3) “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother” (Zechariah 7:10).

4. Jesus teaches three things regarding charitable giving.

1) Do not give to be seen of men.

a. Men will praise those who give to charity as great humanitarians/philanthropists.

b. Many give to increase their public stature or what others think about them.

c. Giving should be between the giver and God alone.

2) Do not sound a trumpet to call attention to your giving.

a. Do not make a public spectacle of personal giving.

b. Giving in the name of the Lord should be between us and the Lord alone.

c. “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given” (Proverbs 19:17).

3) Do your giving in secret and let it be between you and God alone.

5. When we give privately, God will reward us openly.

1. The Law of Moses assumes that people will pray to God.

1) There are forty-five prayers recorded in the Law of Moses.

2) There is no explicit legislation regarding prayer.

2. The Psalms have much to say about prayer, though.

1) “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found” (Psalm 32:6).

2) “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).

3. The scriptures warn about hypocritical prayer.

1) “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).

2) “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15).

4. Jesus gives three teachings about personal prayer.

1) Do not pray like the hypocrites, to be seen of men.

a. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation” (Matthew 23:14).

2) Pray to the Father privately and one’s reward will be given openly.

a. This is not discussing corporate prayer led in the assembly.

b. This is not forbidding prayer before we eat a meal in a restaurant.

c. Jesus is talking about making a show of praying to try to demonstrate self-righteousness.

3) Do not use vain repetitions because God knows what we need.

a. We can say the same prayer at different times.

b. But repeating words without thought will not manipulate God into responding.

c. This is what eastern religions still teach about “mantras.”

d. They think that certain word combinations repeatedly will compel God.

e. Some “Christian” religions practice this also.

5. We will discuss the model prayer in a later lesson.

1. The Law of Moses prescribed fasting only on the Day of Atonement.

1) “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:27).

2) “It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32).

2. Isaiah had much to say about hypocrisy in fasting.

1) Isaiah 58:3-9

3. Jesus’ teaching on fasting.

1) Do not be like the hypocrites who disfigure themselves.

a. In Jesus’ day, people would put dirt on their faces and walk around crying out.

b. They might dress in dingy clothing also as a way of showing their fasting.

2) Anoint your head and wash your face when you fast so that no one knows.

a. There is no need, when fasting, to let anyone else know about it.

b. This is an act of personal devotion to God alone.

3) Direct fasting toward God the Father alone.

4. Jesus main point is to please God not men.

1) One’s personal devotion to God is not to be put on display to gain favor with the masses.

2) The danger with this kind of thinking is that we will soon be seeking to please men instead of God.

a. “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

b. “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

3) We see this in the world today in various forms.

4) Many corrupt religious people think that godliness is a way of gain (1 Timothy 6:5).

5) “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

1. How are we practicing our acts of devotion toward God?

1) To be seen of men?

2) To be seen of God

3) Are we even doing personal acts of devotion?

4) What is our private devotional life with God like?

2. Invitation