ARE YOU PLAYING THE HYPOCRITE PART ONE

Matt 6:1-18

 

I came across a question in my study on this passage and the question is “Why do people not attend church?”

 

Some of the answers are….. 

The church is boring.

The service or the sermon is too long.

They always want my money.

I’m not a fan of organized religion.

The church has become too political.

The church is a joke because it’s full of hypocrites.

 

The question after this was “How should

the church respond? Guilty as charged, the church is full of sinners, and we know that many of the things she has done needs repentance, and complete renewal.

 

In this section of Jesus’ sermon, He address three important pillars of the first century Judaism 

Giving

Prayer

Fasting

 

Understand! What Jesus talks about here does not minimize or abolish the importance of these three acts of worship. What Jesus addresses is the false act of hypocrisy and claiming it as genuine-heart worship. Because according to Jesus we are to be displaying what? "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matt 5:13-16

You come to this passage in chapter six, and it seems that Jesus contradicts Himself with what He expresses in Matt 5:13-16.

 

How am I to let my light shine in light of the

biblical truth that is before me?

How do I let my light shine before others

if I don’t show it… to others?

 

See! Jesus isn’t speaking out against your good works as you shine as a light for His glory. The true child of God is to display the Beatitudes, speaking truth into darkness, walking with integrity, is something the world needs to see you shine for His glory. But! Jesus is speaking of a particular spiritual practice that is not to be done before the watching world, but in private. Jesus isn’t talking about righteousness with respect to doing deeds, but about the practice of personal piety. What Jesus addresses in this sermon is that we are to display genuine acts of worship without the expectations of having a fan club or making it a show. What this means is?  “We are to worship from a genuine heart that doesn’t seek the praises of men.”

 

“Again what Jesus says here would have

stunned those listening”

Because first-century Hebrews celebrated publically and showed visible displays of religion.

 

Example like…. 

Yom Kippur “The Day Of Atonement”…… Lev 23:26-32

Feast Of Tabernacles…… Lev 23:34

Purim……as recounted in the Book of Esther.

Passover….Exo 12:15-20

Even today they still celebrate those and others…. Holocaust Martyrs' And Heroes' Remembrance Day….. On that particular day a siren is sounded at 10 a.m., as the nation observes two minutes of silence, pledging “To remember, and to remind others never to forget.”

 

What Jesus is addresses in this message is the “heart and motives.” The question we need to ask ourselves is….

 

“Why do we do what we do?” 

“What moves and motivates us to do what we do?”

 

Especially! As it pertains to eternal things, and the redeeming grace, given to us through Jesus Christ and His righteousness. As one person said “Desire for religious respect or reputation will immediately drag us into the rightness of scribes and Pharisees because that desire always focuses entirely upon visible action, not on the source of action in the heart.”

 

Giving…..Don’t give seeking the praises of others (v1-v3)

 

The Bible is very specific about the acts of giving whether it’s financially, your abilities, or your time. In chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians Paul encourages the church to take care of one another, not because you’re being forced too, but because of your love for the saints in Christ. Because in 2 Corinthians 9:5-8 we read this “Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

 

They were told to give sacrificially, joyfully, liberally, and thankfully. Jesus knows that giving is a blessing and a gift to others, because He gave Himself to the poor in spirit, to be rich in Christ, through the gospel. Here is the warning Jesus gives though “Beware of practicing” and “to be seen by them” Other translations say “Take heed”; this gives the importance to listen very carefully to what is being asked of you. We are to “be careful” which a “present imperative” this is a “command” to be watchful, or vigilant, as a child of God. It’s like the idea of hearing a directive when you’re told to jump you respond with “How high? To which the Master would respond with “How about you just jump, without asking another question.” This isn’t up for debate or taking Jesus’ advice into consideration; it’s a command by a holy God that we are to be vigilant. What Jesus is teaching is an important question that we need to ask ourselves when comes to giving, prayer and fasting.

 

What is my motivation for doing this?

Is it to glorify our Heavenly Father?

Or is to promote my righteous and gain glory for doing good works?

 

If the answer is for self-promotion then the answer has been revealed to you here in this text.

 

“they have received their reward” (v2)

 

This means…”An earthly goal will get an earthly reward and nothing more.” This world may praise your good deeds, but you’re heavenly Father will not, if this is your motivation. Jesus illustrates how our giving is to be done rightly. (v2-v4)

When you give…. 

We don’t post it on Facebook

We don’t post it on Instagram or Tik-Tok, it in video.

We do don’t Twit about for others to see how righteous we are.

We don’t sound the trumpet or have a parade about what we have done.

 

Because what Jesus says here it has the “the complete opposite effect.” (2b) That person demonstrates that he or she is, fake and self-serving. It’s that person who says “Look at me everybody” You are never to announce your righteousness on social media or call for a press conference. We live in such a “me-centered” culture today, which is full of narcissists, who love the attention of others, even in the church. Jesus says, “Don’t be like the ‘Hypocrites’ who do this all the time in the Synagogues and on the streets.” (v2) These are the ones who display an outward beauty that is full of dead men’s bones. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” Matt 23:27. The Hypocrite who stands and counts himself righteous above others. “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." Luke 18:10-14. “Hypocrite” refers to the act of claiming to believe something but acting in a different manner.

The word is derived from the Greek term for “actor”—literally, “one who wears a mask”.

 

R C Sproul said in his commentary “Maybe you have noticed that when Academy Award-winning actors give unscripted television interview, they stumble over their words. They are unable to make an intelligible sentence without the crutch of a script-line that someone else has written for them to utter.”

 

They need time to memorize their lines so that they can assume the identity of the character they are playing. So in other words, it’s someone who is pretends to be someone their not. Jesus here is referring to the “spiritual play actor” as “seen on TV” A person “the religious elites” who pretend to have a piety that they never actually possessed in order to receive the applause of men. Jesus exposes the “religious play actors” in Matt 15:7-14 “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."

 

In Mark 12:38-40 we read "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

 

Its play-acting devotion towards God, its empty self-seeking worship and it seeks praises of others over a holy and transcendent God. We would call this “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism” Its “spiritual play acting” because it appeases the conscience. Moral deists believe…. and see if this sounds familiar with Jesus’ audience.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism believes…..

 

A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.  God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. Good people go to heaven when they die. The beliefs of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism are “moralistic” in that they place a high value on “being good”. The beliefs of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism are “therapeutic” in that the primary value is “feeling good about oneself.”

 

J I Packer said “The real problem is that moralism is not Christianity, and most people who hold these beliefs are likely to identify themselves as Christians when in fact they are living to glorify themselves!”

 

This is why Jesus addresses the heart….it exposes our sin motives to the Light of His holiness, and His righteousness, and declares that we are guilty. The disciple of Christ MUST NEVER give so that he or she can pat themselves on the back, or be applauded for their own goodness.

 

So! How are we to give? The reason we genuinely give of our funds, abilities and time is for this one reason. (v1b) “Your Father who is in heaven.” The reward we desire is with our Father in heaven. Just as a child seeks approval and confirmation of a parents love for them, we seek, we long for, the approval of our Heaven Father.

 

Giving…..We are to Give seeking the pleasure of your heavenly Father. (v1, v4)

 

We do this how?

 

As Jesus says “quietly and “in secret” because we desire God to see and not man. Do it so privately, and with so much secrecy, that, if it was possible, you didn’t know yourself, much less make it known to others. As one person wrote "He that gives a gift to his friend out of love, may make it known, "but not if it be by way of alms". Now a disclaimer! If others hear about it or see my giving, it only encourages them to be faithful steward’s themselves. But we are never to seek the approval of others for what we do in heart of genuine worship.

 

As the writer of the Book Of Acts says “We should give like Barnabas. “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.” Acts 4:32-37. We give like Barnabas and never like Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 1:1-11

When we give out of the heart, whether that is funds, abilities and time, we are doing from the heart of worship. Why? Because our “Father who sees in the secret will reward you.” My reward is to be with Him…this is not our home. I love every one of you here, I love my family dearly, but I love Him more; and I desire to depart which is far better. As Paul wrote “But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” Phil 1:22-23. The greatest reward that a child of God has is to know that God loves us and He sought and brought a sinner, into His holy family though His Son. This is something we are never to take lightly or learn the art of “fakery” or the art of “play acting”.

 

Because the hypocrite already have their reward;

Its earthly that sought earthly praises, and from others.

 

And sad reality is! They have received their reward and yet it is not from God.

 

“This reward is worthless from the

view point of eternity.”

 

They are like Cain, who brought his gifts… not from faith, nor a desire to glorify God and serve Him. But for their own self-gratification. And just like Cain, they are more concerned to be known as a giver, than to actually give from a genuine heart of worship. The true child of God, imperfect as we are, there is a genuine heart of worship in our giving, abilities, and time, because it’s for His glory and not ours.

 

And we don’t care to seek that glory for ourselves because

our reward is with the Father who is in Heaven.

 

As Paul said “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation (Rather, “his due praise)” from God.” 

1 Cor 4:5 

“The purposes and intentions of the heart will be revealed.

All our plans shall be made known on that Day.”

 

Think about for a minute! And it is a most fearful and alarming truth, that no man can conceal his purposes beyond the Day of Judgment.

 

“What the Father will reveal on that day

will reveal your true self.”

For the “play-actor” it will be utterly devastating to receive your due reward which is eternal punishment for all eternity Because you already tasted and received your reward and it wasn’t from God.

 

But for the “true child of God” it will be glorious because we know see Him face to face in all His glory. Your Father sees you in secret and will reward you openly; he will do it and no one else. “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7