Every new year is full of expectation and hope. This is because many of you and I myself have made new commitments and promises and resolutions to do certain things this year. From Bible reading plans, to diet and exercise, to saving more and spending less the new year brings new excitement, as many of us set out to reach and achieve new goals.
As wonderful as these resolutions can be, there is a danger to be aware of. A danger that lies at the level of our motives and desires. You see, sometimes when we make resolutions to grow and mature, but sometimes the reason underneath the reason is not so much to grow and mature but to be seen by others. Say its Bible reading plans. They are many of them and they are good. Everyone Christian by the end of life should have read through the Bible many times. But where it turns foul is when we set out to read the whole Bible not to grow in the knowledge of God and in our love for God, but to be seen by others as one who is holy and righteous, when in truth we are anything but.
Herein lies the lesson before us today. Good things done for the wrong reason makes the good thing a bad thing. Church, the danger of religious performance is always at our heels, thus we must ever aim at sincerity and not hypocrisy. This is what stands before us in our passage this morning, Matthew 6:1-8.
Matthew 6 stands in the direct middle of the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve already worked through Matthew 5 last fall and in it we saw much. From the famous Beatitudes to the foundational images of being salt and light in the world, to the fundamental truth of Jesus saying He came to bring all the OT to its fulfillment, showing us that the Law and the Prophets all along were really aiming far deeper and more inward than many ever realized.
That’s where we’ve been already. After reading, studying, and applying these things we feel both rebuked for our many sins and reinvigorated toward a truer and deeper Christian life. And then this text comes next! As soon as we feel we’re beginning to learn how to practice the Christian life rightly, we get a warning on how we can easily practice it wrongly. Timely is the teaching of Christ.
Let’s begin chapter 6 now. See first…
The Warning (v1)
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
v1 gives us the warning, all about how we practice righteousness. In speaking of righteousness Jesus does not have in mind His own perfect righteousness that covers us and clothes us, rather He’s speaking of righteousness as in living out or practicing our faith, doing the good works we’re to do. The warning, then, is not against the practicing of our faith or the doing of good works, but the practice or doing that is only done to be seen by others. This kind of religious performance is rooted in the praise of man and not the pleasure of God.
But wait, what about Matthew 5:16? Doesn’t Jesus tell us there to practice our faith and do good works with the very purpose of being seen by others? He does. One chapter earlier in 5:16 Jesus says, “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” So what’s going on? Do we do good works before others, or not? Well, Jesus isn’t going back on what He said, no. Instead it’s all about the motive underneath the good works. Meaning the doing of righteousness isn’t in view, it’s the reason why we do righteousness in view. Do we do righteousness as 5:16 calls us to, so that others will see, take notice, and glorify God…or do we do righteousness as 6:1 warns us against, so that men will see us and praise us? This is the big question that exposes all acts of Christian obedience, and this is the warning Jesus gives in v1.
But there’s more to it. Jesus ends v1 by speaking of reward. If we do righteousness in order to be seen by others, we will have no reward from our Father in heaven. So, we must beware or take heed of this warning…for two great reasons. First, we must take heed our propensity toward fraudulent and phony religiosity. We are all of us susceptible to this because we’re all called to practice righteousness and do good works. So we must know how prone we are to seek the praise of man in our religious duties, and from knowing this we guard against it. How do we guard against it? Well, partly by knowing that any good work we do to be seen by man is empty. Our good works are only good if they’re works done to the glory of God and good of man. Second, we must take heed of this warning in v1 lest we practice our faith in such a way that ends up with no heavenly reward. If our righteousness is only a performance for others, we truly have our reward already. We must aim higher, and do all our good works, practice our faith, and live out our righteousness for the Father’s pleasure. Truly, His ‘Well done’ is richer and more delightful than any opinion of any man.
That’s v1. This one verse sets the theme in Matthew 6 for the first 18 verses where Jesus takes His time to explain what doing righteousness truly looks like. He mentions three practices: giving (v2-4), prayer (v5-15), and fasting (v16-18). He doesn’t go into the ins and outs of each practice but deals with them generally. This whole section, Matthew 6:1-18, and these three practices will occupy us here on Sunday mornings for the next few months.
Example #1: Giving (v2-4)
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Here Jesus gives us His first example of giving. Not so much giving as in tithes and offerings (though there is surely some overlap there) but giving as in charity to those in need. Notice Jesus says when we give to those in need, not if, meaning gifts of charity will be a regular part of the Christian’s life. See how He lays it out. Before instructing us on how to give rightly in v3-4, Jesus clarifies how we often give wrongly in v2. And it’s here in v2 where we hear the word that so often summarizes our sin, hypocrite. This is the main error in view.
See v2. When we give we must not “sound a trumpet” as hypocrites do to be praised by others. This idea of a trumpet is one to think about. Some do believe an actual trumpet was sounded in synagogues when large donations were made while others believe there’s no historical evidence for that and Jesus is merely using a figure of speech here. I’m of the second opinion, that Jesus is using a figure of speech to teach us what to avoid when we give.[1] So when giving occurs the sounding of a trumpet would be anything done by the giver to alert others of the giving, which would really be to call attention to themselves and their great righteous deed. This Jesus says, is what the hypocrite does. We know what hypocrites are. Jesus will call many of His adversary’s hypocrites in His ministry, especially the Jewish religious leaders, because as a hypocrite the religious leaders would often play act, pretending to be something they’re not before other people.
This kind of hypocrisy in giving was a problem in their day. It was so common a problem in the first century, people parading their charitable gifts, that some synagogues created a secret room out of public view, called the chamber of secrets. In this room people could give in secret and the needy could receive in secret.[2] The hypocrite would not have enjoyed this secret room, because they desired to be seen and known by others as generous and holy and devout and…in truth they desired to be known as far holier and righteous than they really were, and that is a great sin. Jesus says when people do this, they have received their reward already. Meaning, they gave the gift desiring to receive the praise of man, so they gave before the eyes of man, and by so doing they got the praise of man. This is all their reward. Or we could simply say, these hypocrites aren’t really giving to the needy, they’re buying the praise of man.[3]
And it isn’t surprising to say it, but this great sin is still with us today. How so? Far too many love to be known for how charitable they are. Everyone knows this, and so those asking for large donations often play into this using it as an incentive when they say, ‘If you give a large amount, we’ll make sure to put your name on the building, or on a plaque, or in our newsletter, which would make sure to let others know it was you who gave this gift.’[4] And so, many gifts are given not to help the needy but so that others know these givers are so wonderful and gracious while in reality they just desired an ego boost.
How then ought we to give? See v3-4. Instead of giving hypocritically we’re to give in secrecy. Once again Jesus uses a figure of speech. He says our left hand shouldn’t know what our right hand is doing. This means rather than giving with an aim to self-congratulation, we should give with self-forgetfulness.[5] Not blowing our own trumpet or sounding the bell to let others know about it gaining the praise of man, but giving for the glory of God and the good of man. If God alone sees our charity that is enough for us. For God has richly blessed us in Christ, and we should all desire to be a blessing to others. When we do this, as v4 says, God will see our secret deed and reward us. What reward you might ask? The reward of a good conscience, the reward knowing the blessing of giving and meeting a need, the reward of growth in maturity, the reward of being enriched by God’s love, and more. Rather than seek to define what this reward is, it is generally best to leave all reward in the hands of God, for God Himself is the reward of God’s people.[6]
That is the first example Jesus gives, let’s turn now to the second…
Example #2: Prayer (v5-8)
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
This second example has similar wording and similar themes applied, this time, to the practice of prayer. Jesus instructs us in v5 and v7 on how to pray wrongly, while instructing us in v6 and v8 on how to pray rightly.
Before diving into this, let me say this. It has been my experience that many are content to be corrected on the topic of giving, while few are content to be corrected on how they pray. Prayer seems to some to largely be a matter of the heart, that is beyond the bounds of all correction as long as the heart is in the right place. Right? No. Prayer is indeed a matter of the heart, even so, we can get into habits and rhythms of prayer that are unhealthy for ourselves and unhelpful to others. As with giving before, we are all in view here and all in need of growth in prayer.
For praying wrongly Jesus brings up the same ego issue as before. As we’re to avoid hypocrisy in giving, we’re to avoid hypocrisy in prayer. How does hypocrisy show itself in prayer? Simply put, by making a show of it. As with giving, we can easily fall into the trap of praying not to commune with God but to impress those who hear us. If you’ve been in the Church for any length of time you’ve likely seen this before. One stands to pray in the gathering of God’s people, they say some choice words, well-crafted phrases that provoke us, they raise their hands, use a pleading tone, dramatic pauses, and might even shed a tear…giving us the impression of deep and sincere prayer.[7] All this might be well and good, but it can also be a subtle attempt to parade one’s piety and seek to show oneself as astoundingly spiritual.
This is exactly what the Pharisee did in Luke 18 that Jesus rejects. There we read, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
It's the simple sincerity of the sinner that prays better than the religious hypocritical professional. The sinner knows he is nothing and God makes something of him, while the religious person tries to show that he is something but really reveals he is nothing. One looked far more impressive and powerful, but it was the weaker prayer that had true power.
v7 adds more to how we pray wrongly, giving us the error the Gentiles make in seeking their gods. Jesus says they often heap up phrase after phrase, sticking to the stating formulas repeatedly, doing a kind of mindless repetition to get the attention of their gods. Many today make the same error, thinking that quantity of their words matters in prayer more than the quality of their words. Jesus reminds us here, God isn’t impressed with many words, He’s after what the heart and soul are saying.
Prayer it seems, has ditches on all sides. So much so that its not out of bounds to ask if there should even be public prayer at all? But that would be an overreaction to this text. Jesus prayed in public, and prayer is commanded to be present when God’s people gather. As with giving before, public prayer here isn’t the issue. The issue is our motive underneath the action. It must not be a hypocritical parade, attempting to show ourselves to be more holy than we actually are.
How then ought we to pray? We look to the instruction of v6 and v8. Instead of praying hypocritically, we’re to pray in secret (that’s v6) and pray in sincerity (that’s v8).
Praying in secret is not a mandate that all prayer should be isolated and individual but more so getting at the glad discipline of private prayer. The practice of praying in secret, just you and the Lord, is a practice every Christian should eagerly and gladly devote themselves to. I think this is where most of our prayer ought to exist. Like an iceberg, our private prayer should be the portion under the surface hidden from sight yet seen by God while all our public praying should be the portion above the surface, smaller yet seen by others. There in private we have an audience of one, God alone. And it’s there, alone with God, where all our other prayer is fueled. Prayer with our families, prayer with others, and prayer in the Church. All those other moments of prayer ought to be filled out and fueled privately in secret, lest we become those who only pray in public. If that were the case our devotion to prayer wouldn’t be a desire to commune with God so much as it would be our seeking after the commendation of man.
Finally, to pray in sincerity is to pray in line with who God is. v8 presents this. We don’t pray to inform God of our plight or our problems, not at all. God is God! He knows our plight and all our problems entirely. We pray and we seek Him already knowing that God knows everything we’ll say to Him in prayer. Why pray then? Because prayer offered with a sincere heart is prayer not desiring to inform God, but desiring to be transformed by God. Sincere prayer seeks to be with the Lord and to enjoy His sweet company.
Secret and sincere prayer will greatly help us avoid hypocritical prayer.
Conclusion:
So what’s been the point today? Religious duties like giving and prayer can be great heartfelt delights that glorify God and bring much good to man. But they can also be hypocritical wicked acts that only seek to parade our supposed righteousness. While the difference between these two might be hidden from us, nothing is hidden from God. He sees all. Thus, whether others see our righteousness or not, we aim for sincerity not hypocrisy in all we do.
So question: are you a hypocrite? I hear this a lot. ‘I don’t want anything to do with your church or your faith or your Jesus at all, you’re all just a bunch of hypocrites’? How do we answer such a statement? Perhaps some of you have even said that yourself.
Well, one of the freeing things about the gospel is being able to answer this objection in the affirmative. ‘Yes, you’re right. More right than you know. Our church is full of hypocrites, I fight hypocrisy myself more than I’d like to admit it. But the glory and goodness of the church is not that no hypocrites are here, but that a perfect Savior is here! He came and lived and died and rose for us, and now by the power of His Spirit He is making us all new.’
He is our great hope.
[1] R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew – NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007) 236.
[2] France, 236, footnote 35.
[3] Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1-13 – WBC (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1993) 140.
[4] R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom – PTW (Wheaton, IL: Crossway: 2001) 151.
[5] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew – PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992) 138.
[6] Morris, 139.
[7] Hughes, 153.
