As we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount, or what I prefer to call the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus has been giving the characteristics of those who are citizens of the kingdom. And in that context, Jesus said that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Now we all know that is a high standard, because the scribes and Pharisees were known for their fastidiousness in regards to the law.
Jesus then addresses the whole issue of the law and the difference between the teaching of the Pharisees in regards to certain laws, and God’s perspective of the law. And He expounds on six laws as illustrations of the kind of righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. And it is clear that Jesus correlates righteousness with obedience to the law. Now the emphasis is not on keeping the law as a means of salvation, because He has made it clear that the natural man cannot be righteous enough to earn favor with God. But rather Jesus is teaching that once you are born again, made into a new spiritual man by the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account, then according to your new nature you will live righteously. Righteousness is emblematic of your new nature. So the result is that Jesus said in vs 48 of the last chapter, “you shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If you’ve become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, you’re going to show the same kind of character as God according to the level of your spiritual maturity. And God’s character is righteousness.
Now in this next section, Jesus talks about the motivation for our works of righteousness. As He indicated in the Beatitudes, God is concerned about our heart, which is where our motivation for good works comes from. If we love God, if we have a new heart, new desires, then our love for God and to see Him glorified will be the motivation for serving Him. Our righteousness must be a righteousness that brings glory to God. Not a righteousness that draws attention to ourselves, in which we get the glory. That was what the Pharisees were guilty of. They practiced their righteousness to be seen of men. It isn’t that we are not supposed to practice righteousness. We are. But we don’t do it to draw attention to ourselves, to show how righteous we are before others so that they will notice us. But we practice righteousness because our Father is righteous, and we want to be like Him, and be noticed by Him and to cause men to notice Him. He is our Father, and so we act like our Father and work to bring glory to Him.
So in that regard Jesus says in vs1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” This is the general principle in regards to works of righteousness and Jesus will go on to illustrate it in three ways in vs 2 through vs 18. He gives three illustrations of practicing righteousness; almsgiving, praying and fasting. Three expressions of righteousness. Not that these three are the only ways in which we practice righteousness, but they serve as examples of righteousness, that we might learn the spiritual principles applicable to all aspects of life.
You may remember that Jesus has said previously in this message that we are to “let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.” These two statements are not contradictory, however, but complimentary. The point is not to hide your good works, but to manifest good works in such a way as to bring glory to God and not for selfish purposes. We don’t practice righteousness to be seen of men. But rather our works should point people to God. We live by the power of God in us and that results in people glorifying God for what we do. This is a general principle that controls our motivation for righteousness. And our motives are what Jesus is referring to here.
Whether or not our works are righteous or not comes down to the motivation of our heart. Is the motivation for what we do to please God or to please men? If it is to please men, then perhaps the real motivation is to bring attention to yourself. When we strive to please men we are really looking for their recognition, so that they may applaud our efforts. It’s quite possible that what we try to make appear as selfless works of charity or benevolence, is actually quite selfish, if we were to honestly appraise our motives. Our works of righteousness are done either to please God or to please ourselves. And if our righteousness is going to be of any effect, then we need to analyze our motives to be sure that we are doing them to please God.
The Westminister Shorter Catechism states as it’s first question, “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer is, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” That statement speaks to our motivation, our primary purpose in life as the children of God. Only as our primary purpose in life is to glorify God can we have the joy and fulfillment that God promises us in this life. Unfortunately, many Christian’s perspective on this is skewed. For many the purpose of the Christian life is all about embellishing my life, making me happy, fulfilling my desires, and glorifying my life. And so the purpose of my salvation is to glorify me. To make me happy. But true joy and fulfillment comes not in self realization but in living for God and to bring Him glory.
Jesus should be our example for how we are to live. He lived His life for the glory of God. He said that the words He spoke were of God and the works that He did were of God. He lived His life entirely for the glory of God. And as Peter said, we are to follow in HIs footsteps. Only as we live for God can we find satisfaction in this life. When we live for ourselves, we will only find frustration and futility.
There is another principle that is inherent in this teaching. And that is that we are always in the presence of God. We are always being seen by God. Nothing we do escapes His notice. He sees our every action, He hears our every word, and He even knows our every thought. Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.” Why should we beware of that? Because “otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
In other words, God sees all that you do. He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. He knows your motivation. You might be able to deceive men, but you cannot deceive God. I think it speaks of the callousness of our heart that we make such a display out of our works in order to prompt the adulation of man, and yet ignore the truth that God sees our hearts. Jesus said in Luke 16:15 "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” We need to remind ourselves constantly that God sees us at all times and that He knows our hearts and the motivation behind our actions.
I think one of the best scriptures that speak to this that we can meditate on is Psalm 139. The psalmist says, “You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. ... Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” It’s a wonderful thing to recognize the presence of God with us, but it is also a humbling thing which we should remind ourselves of on a daily basis.
The psalmist considers that God sees him at all times, and he cries out to Him in a prayer that should be a model for us as well; “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Jesus mentions another principle here in this passage which is that of rewards. Some people don’t like the idea of varying rewards in heaven. They like to think that when we get to heaven we’re just going to exist in some kind of mindless, remorseless bliss. But Jesus indicates here that there are rewards which come from God for things that are pleasing to Him.
Even Jesus Himself lived His life looking forward to reward in heaven. Hebrews 12:2 says, “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And in Hebrews 11, we are told of the saints of old that “they were seeking a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God,” and in particular Moses, who “considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
So as Christians it is legitimate to look for a reward. It is the outcome of our faith. Heb. 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Also Paul speaks of our reward for our works in 1Cor. 3:11-15 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is [to be] revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
But what Jesus teaches us here is that there will be no reward if in fact we did our works to be seen of men. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” If you have your reward from men, then you will have no reward from God. That is a sobering thought. When I think of my preaching, for instance. If I am concerned about how men will react to me, and whether or not they will like me, and I construct my preaching to be liked by men, then I will receive no other reward from God. What a tragedy that would be. And I would urge all of you to examine your spiritual life and consider whatever work you have done in light of this principle. Is it to receive accolades or acknowledgment from men or from God?
Now then, we have examined thoroughly the principle, let us look then at the first illustration that Jesus uses; that of the giving of alms. The giving of alms refers to giving to charity, donations, gifts and so forth which were given to the temple for the relief of the poor and the service of the temple. Today it might be correlated to the giving of offerings to the church, or giving for charitable purposes.
First of all, I would point out the obvious. Jesus considers the giving of alms to be a work of righteousness of a citizen of heaven. In the Old Testament they were required to tithe up to 27 percent of their yearly income. In the New Testament, the requirement of the law is done away with because the temple service has been done away with. But the principle of giving is still in effect in the church.
Paul states the principle in regards to giving, comparing it to sowing seeds in a field which will bring forth fruit. He says in 2Cor. 9:6-8 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one [must do] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
Now I am not going to belabor this point because that is not the intent of this message. But I will say that if you are being disobedient against the command of God to give, you are going to miss the reward of God. However, here Jesus is assuming that Christians are going to give, but the motivation for their giving is what is under consideration.
First of all, He says the wrong way to give is to announce it. Vs.2, "Therefore, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Now in the temple there were these trumpet like receptacles which were mounted on the walls. And people would line up to drop in their offerings. And so rich people, or people desiring to be noticed, would make sure that they had an offering of very many coins that would make a loud clatter as it dropped down the trumpet. Of course, that was designed to draw attention to themselves. Jesus could have been referring to that practice. Or it is possible that some people would actually have a trumpeter to go before them to draw attention to their giving. But I think that regardless of what means they used to to draw attention to themselves, the point that Jesus is making is that you do not use giving alms as a means to be noticed by men. In fact, if you do, Jesus says you will not receive a reward from God. Your reward is the reward of the accolades or applause you received from men.
We see that type of activity all the time in the secular world, don’t we? Some ultra rich billionaire holds a press conference, or has his publicist send out press releases to the media to let everyone know that he is giving a couple of million dollars or so to such and such a charity. And everyone fawns over him for their magnanimity. Well, Jesus says that they have already received their reward. They got their name on a building, or on a placard somewhere but in a hundred years from now no-one will even know who they were anymore.
Later on in this sermon, speaking directly to this principle, Jesus says in vs 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” When we give for the glory of God, to be used by God, then our giving is in reality laying up treasure in heaven. And in heaven we will be rewarded for our faithfulness in that regard.
But again, Jesus is not dealing at this point with the worthiness of giving, that should be something that all Christians are in agreement about. But rather the motivation and how we can give without negating our reward. And so Jesus says how we are to give. He says in vs.3 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.”
In other words, don’t announce the fact that you are giving. But Jesus takes it even further than that. He also is saying, do not even announce it to yourself. Your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing. Now what does that mean? I believe it means that you are not to keep track of your giving in such a way as to take credit for your giving. I also think that it means not doing the math, so to speak. Not being calculating in your giving.
The Pharisees were known for giving of their tithe, even to the mint, even down to the mint and dill and cumin in their herb gardens. They trimmed their herbs and brought in these little pieces of mint and dill as evidence of how scrupulous they were. And yet their motivation was to be seen of men. Jesus uses a word there in vs 2, which is hypocrites. He may have been obliquely referring to the Pharisees in using that word. In another place He outright calls them hypocrites to their face. So it’s likely He was referring to the Pharisees because they did their works to be seen of men.
Hypocrite in the Greek is “hypokritēs”. It means an actor on a stage. It means doing something for the applause of men. And unfortunately, I think it characterizes much of what is done in the church in the form of not just giving financially, but also in our time and talents. I think much is done not for the glory of God, but for the appreciation of men. Much of what is done is calculated to be noticed and appreciated by men.
Furthermore, I think that as Christians we can be calculating in our giving by either being very frugal or very scrupulous. But God loves generosity. He loves us generously. He lavishes His love upon us. He is not stingy in His grace. And neither should we be.
Remember what Paul said in 2Cor. 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” An abundance for every good deed; that’s giving according to the grace that God has given to you.
I have my own theory about this phrase, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. I’ve never heard any other preacher say this, or theologian or commentator for that matter. So I’m on my own here. But I hope I have been given some discernment. In the Middle East, they had ancient calculators called an abacus. They were used by the Greeks and the Romans and the Egyptians before them. They were capable of doing very sophisticated mathematical formulas on the abacus which were made like tables which had rows of beads. And in one archeological excavation many years ago they found a vase from this time period covered with drawings, and some of the drawings showed a man who is presumed to be a treasurer, moving beads on the counter with one hand while holding a writing tablet with the other. So my opinion is that Jesus could have been referring to an ancient abacus, which was used to solve math problems. Therefore, according to my theory, He is referring to using this calculator with one hand and writing down the numbers with the other.
Whether I am right or not is not really the point, however. The point that Jesus is making is that you are not to even let yourself know the amount or the total of your giving, as if to validate to yourself your degree of righteousness, but to let God do the accounting. Let God keep track and you just be faithful to give as He has given to you. And then God will reward you in kind.
And this principle is not just applicable in giving. That is just one illustration of keeping accounts. It’s possible to do good deeds and keep accounts. It’s possible to build up resentment because for years you did this and that, and you feel you suffered so much, and you were not appreciated for it as you thought you should be. And one day you find that resentment has turned to bitterness. Perhaps you were looking for the wrong kind of reward. You were looking for man’s appreciation. And as such you lose your reward from God. That’s why the gospel tells us that we are to do all things, such as love, or serve, or work as unto the Lord, not because we hope to get reciprocation from man.
Listen, whatever work of righteousness which we do, if we do it for the Lord, then we will receive a reward. If we keep accounts, and we are stingy, or self serving, then God will not reward us. The good news is that He rewards even the smallest of good deeds. Paul said that God judges us according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. So God isn’t concerned with the size of your gift, but the heart of the giver.
Jesus said in Mark 9:41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” God rewards us not on the same basis as men, who only appreciate the rich or the wealthy. But God rewards us according to what we have, and how we used what we have for His glory. Remember the widow’s mite; she gave more than everyone else, because she gave out of her poverty. And she gave in such a way as only the Lord knew what she had given and what resources she had to give.
So let us remember that God’s presence is always with us. His eyes are constantly upon us. Therefore let us live in all respects for Him, to please Him, and to bring glory to Him. And let us draw comfort from the fact that God sees all, He knows our hearts, He sees every act, and He will give us HIs reward, which is far beyond any reward that we can get here on earth. He will give us a reward that will not fade away. Let us lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven and do the works of God here on earth, in order that we may bring glory to God and enjoy Him forever.
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