Matthew 6:1-4

DAY 41

Date: 3-2-25

The KING Speaks His Heart, part 2

Matthew Chapter 6:1-4

* Everything with an asterisk and is italicized and purple is my own added words and thoughts and are not part of the actual verse or quote. 

Pray

Read scripture: Matthew 6:1-4

“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.” (NIV 1984)

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY METHOD

Observation. Interpretation. Application.

Simply stated, it works by asking yourself three questions as you study read and God’s Word:

1. What does it say? (Observation) Or – what does it NOT say?
2. What does it mean? (Interpretation) Or – what does it NOT mean?
3. How does this apply to me? (Application)

Let’s go thru today’s passage using the Inductive Method, starting with vs 1:

We are going to spend a little extra time on verse one because it contains the main point, or idea, not only for our passage to today, but for the whole of chapter 6.

Verse one:

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.

Observation – What does it say?

not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men

Interpretation – What does it mean?

1. If we do our acts of righteousness, this verse tells us what will happen.
2. Q: What will happen?
3. A: you will have no reward from your Father in heaven
4. Note: This verse is speaking to Christians (either TRUE, or PROFESSING), and says, “your Father.” 
5. Meaning: If you do do your acts of righteousness BEFORE MEN, TO BE SEEN BY THEM, this does not mean you will lose your salvation. He is still “your Father in Heaven.”

We know from last week that the scriptures refer to two types of righteousnesses, men’s righteousness and God’s righteousness. And we also mentioned last week that not every verse that has the word righteousness in it clearly reveals which type of “righteousness” it is talking about. To figure that out, we need to always look at the context. So…. 

Q: Which type of righteousness does “your” refer to in this verse? 

Is it a genuine righteousness that seeks to glorify God?

Or – is it a hypocritical righteousness that seeks the approval of men, in other words, seeks to glorify the self? 

Our book says, on pg 77(?), “Truthfulness breathes freedom into the spirit. Hypocrisy is a malignancy of the soul.

Hypocrisy, like the malignancy it is, eventually destroys everything it touches, including the hypocrite himself. That is why Jesus was so harsh with the false religious leaders of his day. From the beginning Jesus was the author and friend of truth and authenticity. He is the enemy of falsehood and hypocrisy.” (Holman Commentary)

Our book also says, in the MAIN IDEA section, “Jesus’ followers must be motivated by trust in God’s provision rather than trust in any earthly source.” 

This includes especially, the need or desire to honored “before men.”

So, what is the answer to our question? 

A: The words “before men” clearly indicate that we are talking about a self-focused, self-centered righteousness that seeks to glorify the self rather than God. And this obviously not acceptable to God as a way of life for His children. 

This verse then, is a reminder and a warning to bd careful of your motives.

And that is what makes Christianity to hard, 

and so wonderfully BEAUTIFUL!!

So –

Do you trust God? And are you seeking God’s glory? 

Or – are you seeking to make yourself look good to others. 

It can’t be both. They are mutually exclusive. 

God says in Isaiah 42:8,

“I am the LORD; that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another…”

This is the Lord’s position on His glory. He will not give it or share it with any one or anything else. 

Now let’s look at the word “hypocrite.”

The word hypocrite appears 12 here in Matthew. 3 times right here in chapter 6. And 6 times in Matthew 23 alone. 

Let’s look at a few, just to get an idea of how the 

Lord feels about hypocrisy.

(Go to OliveTree)

Matthew 23:27-28 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

So, what does all this tell us. 

1. Jesus hates hypocrisy.
2. The Pharisees are hypocrites. 
3. The Lord will not share His glory; not with the Pharisees, or anyone.
4. Lord does not like see-righteousness or any form of self-aggrandizement. 
5. The Lord values honesty and humility
6. The Lord does not appreciate, value or even tolerate self-centeredness
7. The Lord GREATLY values, appreciates, teaches and REWARDS other-centeredness

Application – How do I apply it to my life?

Ask yourself, when you do good deeds, “your acts of righteousness,” to whom are you pointing? To whom are you giving the credit? Are you pointing people to the Savior? In the hopes that they may get saved? Or encouraged? 

OR – are you pointing to yourself, to make yourself known, or to impress people? 

Do we do our acts of righteousness to be seen by men? Or for men to see God?

What motivates your heart? It always boils down to an issue of the heart!

What happens If you do do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them?

REPENT!

Write down 1 Cor 10:31. 

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.“

Memorize it. Write it down every day, on a little 3×5 card, and carry it with for a week, or as long as it takes to memorize it. Know it. Pray it. Ask God to make this verse the desire of your heart. Determine in your heart to make this the goal of your life. It will change your life infinitely for the better if you do this. 

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Ok – the next three verses

Observation – What does it say?

Matthew 6:2-4

“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.”

What does it say?

… do not announce it … to be honored by men (ESV says “praised” by others)

… keep it secret … 

Notice this phrase “by men” comes up again, as it does in verse one.

Our book says, “Key to the passage is the explanation of their motive: to be honored by men.“

Q:

And what exactly are we keeping secret? Especially in light of Matt 5:16, which says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.“

(A: You!)

What exactly do we want people to see? (A: God; God’s glory!)

And what do we want people NOT to see? (A: You!)

How do we do this?

We do not want people to be seeing us, we want people to be seeing God!

We do not want people to be seeing what WE are doing, we want people to be seeing what God is doing!

Interpretation – What does it mean?

Do not call attention to yourself. Do not give credit to yourself. Do not try to get credit, even inadvertently. (Do not even think about yourself – think about other people!)

Do not even accept any credit, but, rather give all credit (glory) to God, who is truly the one who deserves it since He is the One working in you. 

The giving of the deed itself does not necessarily need to be kept secret. Just your part in it. 

This focus, to be honored by men, is also the key to reconciling this verse, Matt 6:2 with Matt 5:16.

Read 5:16

6:2 talks about honor (or praise) from men as contrasted with praising God in 5:16. 

Matthew 5:16 does not conflict with this verse, but, rather, complements it. 

Matthew 5:16 says, “… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.“

The focus of this verse is God getting the glory. The focus is on the “light.”

The focus is not on “your light” because it is really not your light to begin with, it is God’s light shining through you as you trust and obey Him. So, again, even in this verse, the focus is on God and HIS light. 

Seeking glory is a normal human condition, a fallen human condition. Seeking glory, desiring recognition and appreciation and accolades is a temptation for the Christian. But our book says, “Jesus’ exhortation to Be careful is the present tense form, and emphasizing the need to be on the alert to the temptation to seek our reward from men.”

The Bible is very clear and explicit that as we trust, obey and follow Jesus, giving Him all the credit and glory, the Father will reward us. If not in this life, for sure in the life to come. 

So, to summarize:

Our righteous acts are good.

Helping people is good.

Giving glory to God is good. 

Rewards are good.

But doing good works, to be seen by men, in order to get glory and recognition from men is NOT GOOD. It is hypocrisy and will only result in the forfeiture of our rewards. 

Anything we get from God is INFINITELY better than anything we can get for ourselves. 

Application – How do I apply it to my life?

To good deeds. To good to others. 

Jumping ahead to Matt 7, it says In Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

And jumping ahead even more in Matthew, to Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says, “ ‘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. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Isn’t it interesting that, when you really get into studying scripture, eventually, everything gets connected!

RELAVANT VERSES

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Notes:

* Everything with an asterisk and is italicized and purple is my own added words and thoughts and are not part of the actual verse or quote.