REVIEW
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness ….” (Mt. 6:33a).
The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show new “Perfect Righteousness” chart explaining steps to coming to Christ (As a worm, mourning, meek, spiritual hunger/thirst with the result of legal righteousness). Explain moral righteousness, immediate moral change at conversion, gradual change through life’s challenges and speeding up moral change via CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving). Repeat the verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Heb. 10:14)
FLIP CHART: John Stott’s outline of SOM.
INTRODUCTION
“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. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt. 6:1-4).
OUTLINE FOR THIS SECTION:
1. The Citizen of the Kingdom and Almsgiving
2. An Overview of Hypocrisy
3. Keys to Avoid Becoming a Hypocrite
The text starts with “Be careful …” In other translations: take heed, take care, be careful, be aware of ….
Be careful of what? of becoming a hypocrite.
HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A HYPOCRITE
I. THE CITIZEN OF THE KINGDOM AND ALMSGIVING
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt. 6:2-4).
The Jews used the same word for almsgiving and for righteousness – tzedakah. This is the same word used in Indonesian for almsgiving but is spelled sedekah, which is an import from the Arabic and the Muslim Koran. So almsgiving and righteousness are in one sense synonymous.
The root of the Greek translation for alms in our text (eleemosune) is derived from the Greek word for mercy.
The Old Testament focuses on the poor and almsgiving:
Those that harvested a field were to leave the corners unharvested and leave behind enough stalks for the poor to glean. (Lev. 19:9; 23:22).
“… blessed is he who is kind to the needy” (Proverbs 14:21).
“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31).
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done” (Proverbs 19:17).
“He has scattered abroad to the poor, his righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 112:8).
God is referred to in the Scriptures as the defender of the widow and the fatherless (Ps. 72:12-14).
Our eternal judgment depends on how we treat the poor (Mt. 25:42, 45).
Job says it best, “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless – but from my youth I reared him as would a father and from my birth I guided the widow – if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing or a needy man without a garment, and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep, … (Job. 31:16-20).
So giving to the poor is not a work left to our own choosing. It is not a suggestion, rather it is commanded in the Scriptures.
“By the end of the First Century AD, many Jewish communities had organized a community chest to care for the poor. In each town two collectors were appointed to make their rounds of the townspeople each Friday to take up the weekly collection for the poor in money or goods. Then three others were appointed to give enough to the poor to provide for the coming week.” (Web)
There was a Rabbinic saying, “Greater is he who gives alms than he who offers sacrifices….” (Barclay, 187).
As usual, religions add value to such good works:
In the Apocryphal Books we read that charity will save a man from death, it will expiate any sin” (Tobit 12:8)
“As water will quench a flaming fire, so charity will atone for sin” (The Wisdom of Sirach 3:30).
Thus many Jews felt salvation was easier for the rich because they could purchase their forgiveness.
Pope Leo the Great (Pope from 440-461) declared, “By prayer we seek to appease God, by fasting we extinguish the lust of the flesh, and by alms we redeem our sins.” (MacArthur, 355).
FLIP CHART: Use salvation chart to show that righteousness comes through the Cross and read also the verse from Hebrews in the center of the chart.
But in spite of the misinterpretations our Lord emphasizes the value and importance of almsgiving. The fifth Beatitude states, “Blessed are the merciful ….” When giving alms we are certainly merciful.
In fact Acts 10:2, 31 indicates that God remembered the gifts given to the poor by the pagan Cornelius, the Roman Centurion and because of this act Peter brought the Gospel message to his family.
Our passage is not commanding us to give alms, it is assuming that we do give alms … “So when you give to the needy ….” (6:2).
QUESTION: How can we as individuals give to the needy, the poor, the indigent?
The BCC benevolent fund, Compassion (for children), food for Thanksgiving, Barnabas fund …. “… let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:10).
ILLUSTRATION: Point to the “Barnabas Fund” brochures on each table.
II. AN OVERVIEW OF HYPOCRISY
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt. 6:2-4).
QUESTION: What is a hypocrite?
“(Hypocrite) is a term used only by Jesus in the NT, and he uses it 17 times. …. It is clear from the literary records that it was Jesus alone who brought this term and the corresponding character (hypocrite) into the moral vocabulary of the Western World.” (Willard, 197)
Hypocrisy is endemic in fallen man. What is it? There were many Greek theaters in the Palestine of Jesus’ day. One was in the city of Sepphoris, within a few miles of Jesus’ home in Nazareth. The word hypocrite in classical Greek refers primarily to an actor but also to anyone who practices deceit. (Willard, 197)
The Greek actor wore a mask that portrayed in an exaggerated way the role that was being dramatized. If he was playing the role of a lion he would wear the vicious head of a lion.
Jesus used the term hypocrite in the moral sense representing a person that was “acting” the part of a righteous person, but that part did not represent their true heart. For example they put on an “act” of giving but their heart is not involved.
A religious hypocrite treats the world as a stage where the plays the part of a pious individual, a devout worshipper of God. He lays aside his true identity, puts on a mask, a disguise of piety. He deliberately seeks to deceive people with the goal of attracting applause and praise.
The religious hypocrite is an actor in a play titled “It’s all about me.” Hypocrites act out a part about themselves, a part that is false. They are acting as if they are giving, praying, fasting, having devotions, attending church, Bible Study for the Glory of God but instead are really doing spiritual disciplines to purchase praise and attention for themselves.
Hypocrisy can be very subtle and sometimes we are not even aware of it. But we can catch ourselves giving a word about fasting or almsgiving and know in our hearts that our motive is not for the glory of God but for personal attention.
Jesus speaks about hypocrites being beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside, like a whitewashed tomb full of dead men’s bones and everything that is unclean (Mt. 23:27).
“These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6).
A Christian hypocrite is a religious deceiver. He acts as if his heart is focused on God and his spiritual activity is for the glory of God whereas his real goal is to bring attention to himself.
III. KEYS TO AVOID BECOMING A HYPOCRITE
QUESTION / TABLE DISCUSSION: What concrete steps can we take in order to avoid being a hypocrite? I have listed at least 5.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt. 6:2-4).
1. CHECK YOUR MOTIVES
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men …”
One writer said that some rich people would blow the trumpets in the street to gather the poor and then would pass out money. They argued that they did this so that the poor would come to get the money.
Some feel that there is not a literal trumpet meant here, rather Jesus is using humor to make a point, describing for us a man “blowing his own horn” not so much as to gather the poor but to draw attention to his own generosity. Is Jesus poking fun, making a joke about the pious Pharisees, bringing humor into his sermon?
What Jesus is focusing on is motive. Why do we perform spiritual disciplines, e.g. almsgiving? In fact motive is the key to all we do. Why do you wear a certain dress? To impress a girl friend, another man or your husband? Why do you drive a certain car? To send a message about yourself to others?
Why do you practice the “Spiritual Disciplines?” To make yourself feel good? To impress others? What is our motive?
QUESTION: What changes “charitable giving” into “charitable buying?”
The motive of gaining personal praise and attention.
ILL: A man came into my office one Sunday and told me it was his first time to worship with us and that he intended to make our church his church home. He then handed me a generous check, with the promise that I would receive one just like it every week. I told him I did not want to receive his checks personally and suggested that he should give anonymously as the rest of the church family did. If he had continued to give a large amount every Sunday, there was no good reason for him to have announced his generosity to me or to anyone else. How much better for him simply to have put the check in the offering during the service. (MacArthur, 356).
ILL: At the end of the concert on one occasion there were two ushers applauding harder than anybody in the whole of the crowd. The people who were music-lovers smiled up to see two ushers clapping with great enthusiasm for the performance. Then one of the ushers stopped and the other one said to him, “Keep clapping you dope, for if we get an encore we get overtime!” It was not their love of music, it was overtime that was motivating them to clap.
ILL: There was once a fable told about a dog, and the dog boasted about his ability as a runner. One day his friend said: ‘If you are such a good runner, you chase after the rabbit there.’ The dog took off and chased the rabbit and failed to catch it. The other dog stood and laughed at him and ridiculed him for boasting as he did. The dog that failed to catch the rabbit replied, ‘You must remember that I was running for my dinner but that rabbit was running for his life.’
The question is not whether or not good words should be seen by others but whether they were done for that end.
If you want to avoid becoming a hypocrite, check your motive. Why am I spending extra time in prayer? Why am I visiting a sick friend? Why am I volunteering to help out in a ministry? Why am I raising my arms in worship? CHECK YOUR MOTIVE!!!!
2. PRACTICE SECRECY
. . . that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret . . .
The basic principle in our text is that we are not to perform righteous acts in order to be seen by people.
The Jewish teachers understood this and claimed that those who gave alms in secret were greater than Moses.
MacArthur writes, “It is said that there was a special, out-of-the way place in the Temple where shy, humble Jews could leave their gifts without being noticed. Another place nearby was provided for the shy poor, who did not want to be seen asking for help. Here they would come and take what they needed. The name of the place was the “Chamber or the Silent.” People gave and people were helped, but no one knew the identities of either group.” (Quoting Edersheim, pg. 357)
The Rabbis said that in the highest kind of giving was when the giver did not know to whom he was giving, and the receiver did not know from whom he was receiving.” (Barclay, 171)
ILL: Years ago The Chaplain magazine told how the noted preacher Charles Spurgeon and his wife were called miserly because they sold all the eggs their chickens laid and wouldn’t give any away. Because they always made a profit on their butter, milk, and eggs, rumors circulated that they were greedy. The Spurgeons, however, took the criticism graciously, and only after the death of Mrs. Spurgeon was the truth revealed. The records showed that their entire profits had been used to support two needy, elderly widows whose husbands had spent their lives in serving the Lord. The Spurgeons had refused to defend themselves because they did not want to call attention to their giving.
“In secret” is not to be taken literally and absolutely. If it were we could perform no spiritual discipline that might be noticed by another person. Also “secrecy” can be a cloak for avarice, stinginess.
In the early church the believers knew that Barnabas has sold a field that he owned and gave the money to the fellowship (Acts. 4:37).
ILL: The church in Pamekasan sought to purchase the building next door, and needed to raise the money. They printed out a list showing who and how much each had given for the purchase of the building. One fellow gave $25,000, another $5,000, and yet another $100. The list was projected by an overhead for the whole church to see. Is this good or bad?
In one sense, it is bad because the giving has not been in secret. Is there a positive aspect of doing this?
A Good Prayer: Dear Father, deliver my from myself, from my vanity, from putting my piety on display, from spiritual stripping.
A person who often parades their practice of spiritual disciplines could be called a “spiritual stripper.”
Two verses that seem to be in conflict: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (5:16) ….. “Do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret …” (6:3-4).
QUESTION: How do you reconcile these two verses?
5:16 is dealing with the matter of cowardice. Note, it comes right after the verses on persecution; 6:3 is dealing with hypocrisy, parading our spiritual life for personal praise.
The Christian always lives on a razor’s edge and needs poise and balance. Christians tend to be either monks or hermits, or else ostentatious. We should go to neither extreme.
We are to let people see our good works so that they will glorify God (correct motive) and not us. If our goal is so that praise and applaud comes our way, this is hypocrisy, and secrecy is the cure!!!
John Stott says it well, “Show when tempted to hide and hide when tempted to show.”
Do you believe that our Father sees? That He is good? That He will reward? Then practicing the spiritual disciplines in secret is fine!
3. BE SELF-FORGETFUL
“…. do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ….” (3)
Don’t do mental arithmetic, adding up your spiritual brownie points, even silently, to yourself. Practicing your spiritual disciplines, even in secret, can still generate pride in our hearts.
Arrogance and pride is the only sin that makes everyone sick except the person that has it.
It may be that the individual is giving with the right hand and patting himself on his own shoulder with his left hand.
The idea of right-hand, left-hand is to emphasize self-forgetfulness and not self-congratulation. So subtle is the sinfulness of the human heart that we can deliberate steps to keep our giving secret while simultaneously dwelling on it and congratulating ourselves. (John Stott)
The goal is to dismiss our practice of spiritual disciplines from our mind so as not to congratulate ourselves. We should not tell others nor dwell on our activities. The idea is that practicing spiritual disciplines become a part of our lives, as second nature, and habit forming.
ILL Do any of us slyly mention to our friends that we brush our teeth? Do any of us walk around the house all day congratulating ourselves because we brushed our teeth?
ILL: These good works so flow from our lives that they become second nature, as driving a car or speaking English. We don’t try to get attention by referring to these things nor do we congratulate ourselves. Don’t summon to your mind and gloat over the fact that you practice the “Spiritual Disciplines.” Just practice them until they become a unconscious habit of life and you won’t even know that you are doing them.
“By this expression – do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing – Jesus means that we ought to be satisfied with having God as our only witness.” (John Calvin in Stott, 131)
John MacArthur: The principle here is that if you REMEMBER God will FORGET; and if you FORGET, God will REMEMBER. (360).
4. FOCUS ON YOUR AUDIENCE
“Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (4)
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:20).
We are not only called to a greater righteousness than the Pharisees, we are called to a higher goal – God.
There is no question that the world is a stage and in one sense we are actors …. or at least our actions are being observed. The real question is “to which audience are we playing – to our neighbors and friends or to God?”
The root problem is that our practice of spiritual disciplines can easily turn to hollow religiosity especially if our total focus is not on the “Audience of One.”
We are all just a second away from being a Pharisee, a hypocrite. The more active you are in practicing the spiritual disciplines, the greater the danger you have of slipping into hypocrisy. A person who never prays doesn’t have much danger of parading his prayer life … although he could do so as an outright liar.
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were not living for the “applause of heaven,” Thus heaven did not applaud.
SING:
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
Our ‘Acts of Righteousness’ (Spiritual Disciplines) must surpass those of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. They do when they are performed solely with an “Audience of One” in mind.
5. KEEP THE REWARD IN MIND
They have received their reward in full. … Then your Father . . . will reward you” (Mt. 6:2,4).
Many leaders believed in Jesus but would not confess him, for, John writes, “… they loved the praise from men more than praise from God” (John 12:43).
It seems an act of righteousness, the practicing of a spiritual discipline, merits only one reward – a reward from men (applause, attention) or a reward from God. We need to make our choice.
“They have received their reward in full” is an accounting term. They were paid.
The idea here is that they put on their performance, the full act, in giving of alms. The crowd was there, saw the performance and applauded. They received their pay, full reward, the applause of the crowd. They were paid in full!!!
ILL: Last week Ted Turner announced that he was donating one billion dollars to the United Nations. The billion dollars is the amount his Time Warner stock climbed in the last 9 months. He himself admitted that he was giving away only one third of his wealth. Regardless of how you look at it, though, making a decision to give away one-third of your assets is a remarkable decision. Therefore, we have to give Ted Turner his due.
And look at what he is giving it to. Not to the typical causes of the rich: not to the Turner Museum in some lucky city; not to endow a Turner chair at some fine university; not to create a spacious football stadium with gilded sky boxes; not to build a center for the performing arts. Rather, Turner is directing his dollars to food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for the poorest of this world’s poor. And, he has virtually dared his fellow billionaires to follow suit. “If you are rich, you can expect a letter or a call from me,” Turner promised-threatened last week.
All of this is laudable. However, I do have one problem with what Turner did. This is a guy who cannot help but be self- promotional, calling Larry King to tip him off before his announcement. And, he made his announcement in a New York ballroom filled with tuxedos and evening gowns and reporters and television cameras.
“It is possible for a believer to take a leper’s ulcerated limb in his hands and caress it and gently speak words of comfort and have no reward from God. It is possible to pray for your enemies and have no reward. It is possible to preach like an angel and have no reward. Why? Because it is possible to do all these things for the recognition of men and not of God. I find this terrifying, for it means that my life, which is ostensibly given to God, can in the end count for nothing. The outwardly most self-effacing saint in our congregation may have all of his “good deeds” rejected. (Hughes, 136)
What appears to be selfless may be just a very subtle form of selfishness (MLJ, 14).
The greatest reward and the reward we need to focus on, the reward that we receive when we practice correctly any or all of the Spiritual Disciplines is the deep happiness and joy of experiencing “The Divine Embrace.”
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Mt. 22:37).
This is the most important commandment because, besides God receiving our love and worship and adoration, we experience the greatest joy and happiness when our hearts and lives are engrossed in loving him.
“O my Lord, the stars are shining and the eyes of men are closed, and kings have shut their doors, and every lover is alone with his beloved, and here I am alone with Thee.” (Rabi’a al-‘Adawiyya, an 8th century Sufi mystic from Iraq)
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied [find our happiness and joy] in him” (John Piper).
FLIP CHART: Go over the list and point out how each “Spiritual Discipline” should lead us into a more intimate relationship with God… into the Divine Embrace.
Thanksgiving, Solitude / Silence, Fasting, Meditation, Personal Bible Study, Service (helping, teaching, mercy …), Private Personal Worship / Praise, Confession, Attending Adult Community, Journaling / Reflection, Prayer, Small Group Bible Study, Bible Memorization, giving (including to the poor), Church Worship Attendance, Practicing the Presence of God, Fellowship with Other Christians, etc.
FLIP CHART: Draw a circle on the Flip Chart. On the top of the circle write: Love God. At the 3 o’clock position write “Spiritual Disciplines;” at the 6 o’clock position write “Intimate Relationship,” at the 9 o’clock position write “Reward = Joy / Happiness.” Then draw arrows clock wise from “Love God” to “Spiritual Disciplines” to “Intimate Relationship” to “Reward = Joy/Happiness.”
We avoid hypocrisy by keeping the key reward of practicing spiritual disciplines (including giving, praying and fasting) in mind, which is the joy and happiness we experience in the Divine Embrace, in an intimate relationship with our Dear Heavenly Father.
KEYS TO AVOIDING BECOMING A HYPOCRITE WHEN PRACTICING THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES:
1. Check Your Motive
2. Practice Secrecy
3. Be Self Forgetful
4. Focus on Your Audience
5. Keep the Reward in Mind
SO WHAT???
1. All of us should be involved in alms-giving, participating in the benevolent fund etc.
2. Any spiritual discipline that is done for the praise of men and not for the pure honor of God is meaningless. Honoring God with our lips while our hearts are far from us is the Biblical illustration of a hypocrite.
3. We should continual do a “motive check-up” when practicing the spiritual disciplines.
4. Practicing secrecy when using the spiritual disciplines is a way to help protect us from hypocrisy.
5. If we are congratulating ourselves in our practice of the spiritual disciplines, it is obvious that the practice is not second nature to us.
6. We need to remember that we always focus on playing to the audience of One!!!
7. The greatest reward a Christian can ever experience is the Divine Embrace, and practicing the Spiritual Disciplines frees us from all hypocrisy and will lead us into deep and constant joy of that experience.