8-20-2022 Edgewater Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Keith “Hypocrisy” Matthew 6;1-18
Hypocrisy is when we do something to be seen by other people in an attempt to deceive people, to get something. This is an attempt to make oneself look better. So hypocrisy is when we do something in front of people to make ourselves look better. Doing good things for the wrong reasons. The heart of the message in Matthew chapter 6 is summed up in verse 1. It says to take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven.
There are two key phrases that are spoken throughout this whole chapter and they are right here in the 1st verse. Be Seen and Reward. Jesus makes the point that when we do good things just to be seen by the people around us and we are trying to impress people, then the recognition that we get from them will be the only reward we receive. So this is about motivation. What is it that is motivating you. Everyone should do good right? But what is it that motivates you to do those good things? Jesus said don’t do good just to look good. Do good for God. Do what is right for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
Your motives matter because doing right things for the wrong reason will not please God. We can follow every commandment and every law outwardly, but God looks on the inside; He looks at the heart. Back in chapter 5, Jesus showed us that sin is a matter of the heart. Here in chapter 6 the same is true of our good deeds. Jesus uses three examples of how to do the right things for the right reasons. He addresses giving, prayer and fasting.
1) Giving: Verse 2 says when you give to the needy. It says when and not if, so it is not an option. We are to give to those in need. In those days Israel didn’t have a welfare system but they did have the Law of Moses. The Law said to provide for the poor. Many people used this as a chance to show off. The Pharisees followed the law carefully. But Jesus said everything they did was done for people to see. It was all for show. They would blow a trumpet in the synagogue and in the streets as a way to alert the poor that the giving was about to commence. More important to the Pharisees was that everyone would see that they were giving.
Jesus called them hypocrites. Jesus criticized the Pharisees because although they were doing right things, they were doing it for the wrong reasons. Jesus says for us to give in such a way that people praise God and not us. In fact in verse 3 it says to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Let your charity giving be done in secret and God which sees it in secret will reward you openly. Jesus looks at our hearts and He knows what our motives are. So if someone sees us giving, that doesn’t mean that we won’t get a reward by God. Our giving is not something we do to impress other people. It is between us and God. Period.
2) Fasting: Verse 16 says when you fast, not if you fast. Jesus said don’t be like the hypocrites that look all sad and dirty when they are fasting so men will know they are fasting. Jesus said they have their reward of only getting the recognition they get from men and no reward from God. Fasting was a common practice in the Old Testament times. The Law said you had to fast once a year. The Pharisees in Jesus’s time fasted two times a week. When they fasted, these guys made sure that everybody knew it. It was obvious because they would look sickly, weak, hungry and gloomy.
Jesus said that when we fast we should anoint our head and wash our face so we don’t appear to men to be fasting. Do our fast in secret and our Father God who sees in secret will reward us openly. When you fast, that is something that’s between you and God. No one else needs to know that you haven’t eaten that day. Period.
3) Prayer: In verse 5 Jesus says to not be like the hypocrites who love to pray standing in the synagogues or on the street corners so men can see them. Jesus said they have their reward of getting only recognition from men and not from God. Jesus wants you to have private prayer and not be praying just so people can see you. Public prayers are appropriate when practiced with the right motives. Jesus prayed in public sometimes but more often He would withdraw to a quiet place alone to pray to God in private.
Most of our prayers should be intimate and personal. It is a personal, private time between you and God the Father. If you don’t have that personal relationship, then I encourage you to do that. In Thessalonians it says we should pray without ceasing. We should be in a constant state of communication. Walking with God. The Pharisee hypocrites always made sure that they were in a crowded spot whenever they began to pray. They wanted to be seen by as many people as possible when they prayed. Jesus said their reward for praying to be seen by others was just that. They were seen by others and that was their only reward. That’s why you did it and that’s what you get. Period.
Jesus tells us in verse 6 that when we pray, we should go into our room and shut the door. Pray to God in your secret place and God the Father which sees in secret will reward you openly. Have a personal, private prayer time with God. The God, who you have a personal relationship with. It is important to take off your mask and spend time alone with the Father. He knows everything about you anyway. Also don’t use vain repetitions in your prayers. This is memorized stuff you say without thinking about it. Be real and personal with God.
AMEN
Hypocrisy is when we do something to be seen by other people in an attempt to deceive people, to get something. This is an attempt to make oneself look better. So hypocrisy is when we do something in front of people to make ourselves look better. Doing good things for the wrong reasons. The heart of the message in Matthew chapter 6 is summed up in verse 1. It says to take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven.
There are two key phrases that are spoken throughout this whole chapter and they are right here in the 1st verse. Be Seen and Reward. Jesus makes the point that when we do good things just to be seen by the people around us and we are trying to impress people, then the recognition that we get from them will be the only reward we receive. So this is about motivation. What is it that is motivating you. Everyone should do good right? But what is it that motivates you to do those good things? Jesus said don’t do good just to look good. Do good for God. Do what is right for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
Your motives matter because doing right things for the wrong reason will not please God. We can follow every commandment and every law outwardly, but God looks on the inside; He looks at the heart. Back in chapter 5, Jesus showed us that sin is a matter of the heart. Here in chapter 6 the same is true of our good deeds. Jesus uses three examples of how to do the right things for the right reasons. He addresses giving, prayer and fasting.
1) Giving: Verse 2 says when you give to the needy. It says when and not if, so it is not an option. We are to give to those in need. In those days Israel didn’t have a welfare system but they did have the Law of Moses. The Law said to provide for the poor. Many people used this as a chance to show off. The Pharisees followed the law carefully. But Jesus said everything they did was done for people to see. It was all for show. They would blow a trumpet in the synagogue and in the streets as a way to alert the poor that the giving was about to commence. More important to the Pharisees was that everyone would see that they were giving.
Jesus called them hypocrites. Jesus criticized the Pharisees because although they were doing right things, they were doing it for the wrong reasons. Jesus says for us to give in such a way that people praise God and not us. In fact in verse 3 it says to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Let your charity giving be done in secret and God which sees it in secret will reward you openly. Jesus looks at our hearts and He knows what our motives are. So if someone sees us giving, that doesn’t mean that we won’t get a reward by God. Our giving is not something we do to impress other people. It is between us and God. Period.
2) Fasting: Verse 16 says when you fast, not if you fast. Jesus said don’t be like the hypocrites that look all sad and dirty when they are fasting so men will know they are fasting. Jesus said they have their reward of only getting the recognition they get from men and no reward from God. Fasting was a common practice in the Old Testament times. The Law said you had to fast once a year. The Pharisees in Jesus’s time fasted two times a week. When they fasted, these guys made sure that everybody knew it. It was obvious because they would look sickly, weak, hungry and gloomy.
Jesus said that when we fast we should anoint our head and wash our face so we don’t appear to men to be fasting. Do our fast in secret and our Father God who sees in secret will reward us openly. When you fast, that is something that’s between you and God. No one else needs to know that you haven’t eaten that day. Period.
3) Prayer: In verse 5 Jesus says to not be like the hypocrites who love to pray standing in the synagogues or on the street corners so men can see them. Jesus said they have their reward of getting only recognition from men and not from God. Jesus wants you to have private prayer and not be praying just so people can see you. Public prayers are appropriate when practiced with the right motives. Jesus prayed in public sometimes but more often He would withdraw to a quiet place alone to pray to God in private.
Most of our prayers should be intimate and personal. It is a personal, private time between you and God the Father. If you don’t have that personal relationship, then I encourage you to do that. In Thessalonians it says we should pray without ceasing. We should be in a constant state of communication. Walking with God. The Pharisee hypocrites always made sure that they were in a crowded spot whenever they began to pray. They wanted to be seen by as many people as possible when they prayed. Jesus said their reward for praying to be seen by others was just that. They were seen by others and that was their only reward. That’s why you did it and that’s what you get. Period.
Jesus tells us in verse 6 that when we pray, we should go into our room and shut the door. Pray to God in your secret place and God the Father which sees in secret will reward you openly. Have a personal, private prayer time with God. The God, who you have a personal relationship with. It is important to take off your mask and spend time alone with the Father. He knows everything about you anyway. Also don’t use vain repetitions in your prayers. This is memorized stuff you say without thinking about it. Be real and personal with God.
AMEN