Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
October 28, 2001 PM
Show And Tell Righteousness
Reading - Matthew 6.1-18
A couple of Wednesday evenings ago... Marlin talked about the difference between shining our light... and letting our light shine. This sparked my interest in the difference between genuine Christ-like righteousness... And SHOW-AND-TELL righteousness.
In Matthew chapter five... Jesus, in the Sermon On The Mount said... Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven. Then... Jesus says in our text:
When you give to the poor... Check your motive.
When you pray... Check your motive.
And when you fast... Check your motive.
Are we doing these acts of RIGHTEOUSNESS because of our love for God and our desire to please Him... Obey Him... OR…
Are we doing them to be seen of others?
Is our religion for SHOW & TELL... Is it theatrical... OR...
Is it genuine... SPIRIT & TRUTH... Honest from the heart... Righteousness?
Sobering questions for all of us... Sobering questions indeed!!
Church... Jesus doesn't give many warnings, but this is one, and we must not take it lightly.
He is saying...
Religious hypocrisy is condemned.
Righteousness practiced for show is useless before God.
Religion without proper motive has no reward... no forgiveness... no salvation.
For instance, in the garden, Judas gave Jesus a kiss. What a tender, touching moment... What a display of affection. But you see, the motive was incorrect, thus turning the moment into a tragedy.
Worship for show and tell, worship for the purpose of being seen, theatrical righteousness,
is a tragedy... it is empty... There is no reward from God for such behavior.
Here it is church... It makes no difference how bad the song leader... How inapt the preacher... How hot or cold the building... How few may be in attendance... If the motive is right... Then those in attendance are blessed. But on the other hand... Regardless of how good the preaching... How comfortable the building... How beautiful the singing... If it is for show... There is NO REWARD.
Then Jesus begins to contrast genuine God-acceptable worship with show and tell worship using three examples.
In giving to the poor... Verses 2-4.
In prayer... Verses 5-15,
Or in fasting... Verses 16-18.
To the Jew, contemporary with Jesus, these three acts of worship represented the three cardinal works of religious life.
Tonight... Let's examine each of these three... and see what we can learn
Example number one... Giving to the poor... Benevolence.
So... When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you they have their reward.
A hunger for the praise of men was the besetting sin of the Pharisees. We can all relate to this... Can't we? John says... They loved the praises of men more... MORE than the praises of God. History tells us that the Pharisee would sound a trumpet to summon all the poor together in one area... And then make his contribution in full view of the crowd.
Can you imagine a piano up here as the men passed the collection plate and each time someone gave, a note would be sounded corresponding with the amount of their gift? The first bass note would be sounded for a dollar, the highest piano note for five hundred. Each time a note was sounded, the audience would know the relative amount of the gift. This is show and tell religion... The kind of religion practiced by the Pharisees. The kind of righteousness condemned by Jesus. The problem here is not the amount of the gift... But the motive for giving. You see... God's people have always been commanded to give... expected to give... Right?
Giving was commanded under the Law of Moses...
-Leviticus 25.25 says... If your brother is poor relieve him.
-Deuteronomy 15.7 & 8 reads... If there is a poor man among you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward him. Rather be openhanded and freely give him whatever he needs.
-The Jews were taught to leave the hedge rows and fallen grain in the field for the poor
gleaners to reap.
In the New Testament we have many commands and examples for giving...
-In Mark 10.21 Jesus said... Give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. You see... Money given to the poor is treasure laid up in heaven.
-Galatians 2.10 tells us... To remember the poor.
-The command in 1Timothy 6 is to... Be generous... Willing to share.
-1 John 3.17 asks in rhetoric... If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in
need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
-When we put Luke 6.38, Acts 20.35 and 2 Corinthians 9.6-7 together, they read like this,
Give, and it will be given to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,
will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you... It is more blessed to give than to receive. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously... Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The early Christians were known as generous givers. Listen to these verses from the book of Acts as Luke describes their giving...
- All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
- There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales to the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need... Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field, brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.
- The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea.
Holy Scripture leaves no doubt that we should be generous givers. Scripture also indicates that our giving must be for God... and to God... So that He can reward us.
Anonymous giving is blessed by God... Rewarding the giver.
Show and tell giving has NO reward... This is Bible.
Jesus said in verse three... "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." What does it mean, do not let the left hand know what your right hand is doing? Well, we do not know for sure, but we do know that it does not mean just blindly reaching into our billfolds each Sunday and give without knowing the amount. Because Paul instructs us to give as we have purposed... planned... vowed in our heart.
I think Jesus is saying... Do not focus on the amount... But upon the need. You see church... As we think about these scriptures we've just read on giving... We understand that our giving is based upon three things... We give for three reasons:
1. Because God commands it.
2. Because there is a need.
3. And because there is a promised reward to the giver.
Isn't this the reason we give? The amount we give should be based upon these three things... Never upon what others may think. If you play the piano, you play with both hands, all ten fingers, but if you focused upon just one finger and what it was doing to the exclusion of the others, then you ruin the song. We can become so focused upon a single aspect of our giving that we ruin the music--the promised reward.
Sometimes, we in the church begin to focus on things like:
How much it is going to cost.
How will these funds be distributed,
Do the recipients really deserve it.
Is there a more deserving work elsewhere?
When we do, what happens is that we stop giving altogether or we reduce the amount. Church... Our responsibility is to give according to God's instructions. It is the Elders responsibility to distribute the funds.
The early church brought the money to the Apostles for distribution.
They gave...
The Apostles distributed.
Our reward from God is not based upon how the funds are spent... But upon our giving. You see... Our giving is not to be before men... but before God, who sees the thoughts and intents of our hearts and blesses us, rewards us, appropriately, accordingly.
The second contrast is in our prayer life... Note verses 5 through 15. Before Jesus gives us His model prayer... He give us some rules for praying...
First... Don't pray as the hypocrites.
The Rabbis taught that one should pray several times a day... They even went as far as setting those times... They also demanded a certain prayer posture. So... When these times came...the Pharisees would stop what they were doing... Take a prayer posture... Reciting a memorized prayer. Praying to them had become mechanical... And for display purposes only. Prayer held no real meaning for them... It was just something they did ritualistically.
Secondly... Do not to pray to be seen and heard of others.
Jesus is not condemning public prayers... But he is condemning private prayers in public places for the purpose of show. The essence of individual prayers is that they be sincere and private.
Prayer is a communication between a man and his God. Church... Prayer is never to be used as a sign of piety.
Thirdly... Jesus admonishes us to not use repetitious babbling.
The pagans saw God as a vindictive tyrant to be appeased... rather than a caring, loving Father to be petitioned. They believed God could be appeased by vain repetition... Saying a phrase over and over and over. You remember the Ephesians prayed to their Goddess Diana by saying... Great is Artemis of the Ephesians... They shouted this, Luke says, for about two hours. In First Kings 18... The prophets of Baal cried from morning till noon calling the name of their God.
But for us... Prayer is to be a communication with our Father. God wants to hear from us, but He wants intelligent... heart-felt communication.
You see...
Words without meaning...
Words without thought...
Words which do not come from the heart...
Are not pleasing to God... And have no reward... No answer. No... Jesus is not condemning persistence in prayer... But He is banning meaningless repetition.
Do you remember in high school sports, we used to pray the Lord's prayer before a game. And then immediately after the amen, we would say... Let's kill them? This is a good example of meaningless... show & tell praying... Praying as hypocrites.
And then... Number four... Lest we misunderstand... Jesus gives us a model prayer...A suggested prayer format... Our Father who art in heaven... Hallowed be Thy name... etc,... etc. No.. No... Jesus is not giving us a prayer to be ritualistically... mechanically repeated... But He is giving us a prayer pattern... One that communicates to the Father both our praise and our needs.
The next example of show and tell righteousness concerns fasting.
By the time Jesus came into this world... Fasting had become one of the three most important religious activities of Judaism. The Pharisees demanded that one fast two days each week... usually Monday & Thursday. Fasting to the Pharisee was intended to be a personal expression of their faith in God. Unfortunately, it had become a practice solely for theatrical purposes... For demonstration... For show & tell... It had become hypocritical worship. So... We hear Jesus say... When you fast... Do not look somber as do the hypocrites... For they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.
What was...or is, the purpose for Biblical fasting?
First and foremost... It was for mourning sins committed.
It was an act of acknowledging... confessing sin...
A sign of self-humiliation...
Fasting was an external sign of genuine repentance
Secondly... Fasting was observed as a lament over some kind of loss.
Perhaps a loss of health... or... Wealth...
Maybe the death of a loved one...
Or a loss sustained in war.
Thirdly... Fasting was used to promote concentration.
Fasting was used to cleanse the mind... and sharpen the senses.
It was used to make one's heart more receptive to God's call... and instructions.
Number four... Fasting was also used as an appeal to God.
Fasting was entered into for the purpose of getting God attention...
Requesting His Divine intervention...
His help in some problem... sickness... famine... war... or some pestilence in the land
We never talk about fasting without the question coming up... Are we to fast?
I believe the answer to be YES... Without hesitation... YES.
Do we have a command to fast?
Do we have a New Testament example of fasting?
Is fasting necessarily inferred in New Testament Scripture?
Let's see what we can learn.
First... No where does Jesus command fasting... However... If He did not expect citizens of His Kingdom to fast... Why did He bring it up here in the Sermon on the Mount?
Jesus didn't say... If you give to the poor... Do it this way... If you pray... Do it this way.... If you fast… Do it this way.... He said WHEN YOU GIVE... PRAY... FAST.
You see... Jesus expected us to do all three.
Personally... I believe He is necessarily inferring that we are to practice Biblical fasting. Church... How can we hold... as doctrine... the rest of the Sermon on the Mount and exclude Jesus' statement on fasting? We are expected to give to the poor... We are expected to pray... and I believe we are to fast.
Secondly...
Jesus fasted..
Jesus taught fasting...
In Matthew 9.15... Jesus said... There would come a time when His disciples would fast.
Thirdly... The church at Corinth was commanded to fast in I Corinthinans 7.5... Our King James reads... Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer.
Fourthly... Paul and the early church practiced fasting.
Paul fasted on more than one occasion.
In Acts 13.1 & 2, the church at Antioch fasted as a item of worship or service to God. In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
The Greek word translated worship in the NIV is a form of LATRUO... Translated ministered in the King James... Could be translated service. I believe Luke is saying that FASTING was done as a part of their worship, service, ministering to God... RIGHT? They also fasted before they sent Paul and Barnabas off on the first missionary journey.
I believe we have sufficient New Testament examples to practice Biblical fasting. Perhaps we do need to point out here that fasting... like prayer... and giving to the poor... Is a personal thing. Our Christian liberty gives us the freedom to practice fasting as we are convinced and convicted by the Word of God.
I hope you will review the Scriptures... and purposes for fasting and apply this New Testament discipline when you feel it appropriate as in...
Mourning our sins...
As a lament over our losses...
To promote concentration and cleansing...
And as a personal appeal to God.
May God bless our efforts in Biblical fasting... However... Jesus makes it plain in our text that fasting is not to be practiced for show & tell.
Church, we must understand that there is a difference between appearing to be righteous and being what God wants us to be. In this text, Jesus plainly teaches that SHOW & TELL RIGHTEOUSNESS is not to be practiced by disciples of Jesus... Because...
It robs us of reality...
It may give us a false reward... The praise of men... But it robs us of God's reward.
Hypocrisy robs us of our influence for God as others see and sense our false motives.
Let me close with this story about the ugly results of show and tell religion.
Years ago there was a young German boy who had a profound admiration for his father. His father was a strict Jew and demanded that his family practice strict Judaism. A few years later the family moved to a new home in another town in Germany. After a few weeks the father announced that the family would change their religion. They would be forsaking their Jewish faith, and join the Lutheran church. The whole family was in question... WHY? Why give up that which he had so strictly raised them in? The father replied... It will be good for my business if we join the Lutheran church... And so they did!!.
The family was embittered, especially the young boy. He carried that bitterness off to school in England. For three years he reflected... wrote... and inwardly debated his fathers religious hypocrisy. In his turmoil, the young man conceived a new world philosophy, a new world view that would be better than his father's show and tell righteousness. He wrote his views in a journal. In one chapter he wrote about religion being an opium of the masses. In that chapter he explained that all religion was explainable by economic reasons. Since then, millions of people have lived under his new world system that had its beginning because of his father's own religious hypocrisy. His name was Carl Marx... The father of Communism. The world we live in has felt the effects of one man's religious hypocrisy.
How about your religion and mine tonight?
Is it show and tell?... Is our righteousness theatrical?
Or do we do what we do because we love God and want to please Him and obey Him?
If your religion is real and you want to become His child, you can tonight by:
Faith,
Repentance, and
New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins.
Perhaps we have been practicing a show-and-tell righteousness, and it has influenced our children, friends, neighbors and working companions wrongly and we need to rededicate our lives to righteousness inside out.
If we are subject to this invitation, let us respond now as we stand and sing.
Will you come?
