Matthew 6:1-4

Introduction:

Good morning. My name is Josiah Wilson. I am the Youth Pastor at New Community. I graduated last semester. Most of you know me already, so I’m not going to spend much time introducing myself. I will be continuing our time in Matthew. Let me recap what Chris said last week. Chris wanted to establish this idea of how Jesus expected his people to hear what he was saying and do what he said . In other words Heres how to be the kingdom now go be the kingdom. Let me give you some context for Matthew 6. We will be spending our time in Matthew 6, specifically 6:1-4. However, the main idea from today will cover up to verse 18.

Matthew 6 is a part of the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus expects his people to hear and do these things. That’s the idea of the Sermon on the Mount. I want to ask a question. Why do we do the things we do? Why do I volunteer? Why do I choose to volunteer for this age group? Simply what am I trying to achieve or gain? When I decide to do things. Keep that question floating around in your head. Remember, this is the mindset Jesus wants the people to hear. This is how to be the kingdom of God now be the kingdom of God. With that in mind, Let me read for you, Matt. 6:1-4.

Matthew 6:1–4 (NRSV)

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

What’s Almsgiving and the practices:

A couple of words that I was to define quickly. Piety is religious action or righteous living. Alms or almsgiving is giving money to the poor. Three practices that were expected in the Jewish culture at this time were Almsgiving, praying, and fasting. Almsgiving because the Greek and Roman cultures did not care about the poor or less fortunate. It would make sense for the Jewish culture to be different as that is what we are taught and learn that we are to be different from the rest of the world. When participating in these practices is how you determine your worth, how Jewish you are, and how good of a person you are. This culture was an Honor-Shame culture. I am going to assume most of you understand the honor-shame culture because it is something we are taught here at MCC. If not lets use a story from the bible.

I want you to think of this like the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18. This Pharisee is at the temple praying, saying things like I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of income, and he was praying this. He even says thank you. I am not like this tax collector. Do you see how this is an Honor-Shame? How the Pharisee thinks of himself so righteous and better than anyone else that he thanks God for not being like someone else. He is actively shaming the Tax collector. Not only for where the Tax collector falls in the hierarchy of their culture but also how the Pharisee is taking all of the honor, and that is left is shame. Do you think College is like that? Think about it do you see similarities? #Biblestudy time, let me get my coffee cup in this picture. I got a 90% on this test. Oh, you only got a 30%. I go to chapel, and you don’t? I'm Fasting social media. Hey, I’m fasting social media. Here's how you can contact me. I volunteer, you don’t? I don't have as much student debt as you. I've gone on more mission trips than you. You don’t highlight like I do in my Bible.

Truly righteous or not:

What’s the problem here? What is the broken world question? Let me reread verse 1.

Matthew 6:1 (NRSV)

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Let set something straight. Im going to tell you what to do at the beginning of this sermon. If you know me this is something I don’t do often.Do not perform Piety. Piety being righteous actions or living. Do not annouce to the world do not perform. Bible studies. Make the connection to the similarites.

When performing Piety for others, that is bad. So what does that mean? Well announcing to every one. How you are being righteous is not correct. Bible study is not bad, and Fasting is not bad. Those aren’t wrong actions. Being pious is not a bad thing when done well. Please don't hear what I am not saying. I’m not saying don't bible study, don't fast, don't pray, don’t volunteer. The question we should ask before doing those things is, why I’m I doing those things? Intention matters when we are practicing righteousness. That’s what we do when we pray, fast, and sacrifice our little money or talents. When we are doing those things, we are growing. We are becoming righteous, and that starts to transform our lives. Those things are needed. Yes, please read your bible and do a study. You can study with a group of people. Yes, do that. If you are posting on social media to invite people, that’s different. What matters when practicing righteousness is intentions and motives. Our hearts are linked to our intentions and motives this starts to turn into a heart question.

Correct actions with improper motives are not pleasing to God. Here let me reread it for you, verse 2.

Matthew 6:2 (NRSV)

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

Don't bring it to everyone's attention when you are doing it. We all have those temptations. Most of you had me in class. I've done these things. I've done them from insecurities or because I wanted to give off a persona that I am a better person. I am more righteous. The kingdom of God is not that. Jesus says to beware of practicing piety before others. Remember, this is how to be the kingdom. Now go be the kingdom. The kingdom of God doesn’t have a place for improper piety. You do not want to be responsible for making someone feel ashamed of themselves. Imagine yourself in the tax collector's shoes of hearing this person who is supposed to be righteous say. I am better because I do these things, and thank you, God, and I am not like the tax collector.

Think about it in our context. The world doesn’t always have a good opinion of Christians. I think it’s because we perform Christianity instead of being Christian. You want to help redeem the world. Don’t perform. We are young, and our personalities and our characters are still growing and being shaped. It's like this. describe the clay metaphor. Don’t let your cement dry when you are performing pious actions for the purpose of gaining a selfish reward. Because that is the type of person you will become. But why do we perform? What’s the reason? Where in our hearts have led us to believe we must perform this way? What’s the reward I get if I do this?

Gods reward versus Humans:

We do it for a particular reward. Let me read verses 2-4.

Matthew 6:2–4 (NRSV)

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

There are two different rewards. Let's read verses 5-6 and 16-18.

Matthew 6:5–6 (NRSV)

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:16–18 (NRSV)

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

There it is again, two rewards. One reward is from humans the other is God’s reward. Truly I tell you they have received their reward. What’s the human’s reward? You gain approval and praise from other people. You performed these pious actions. Awesome!! Good job, you are accepted! You are a good person (Hello pride, my old friend). That’s what the human reward is. Is that worth it? Is it worth it to dishonor God's image? Oh yeah, you who are made in God’s image, supposed to be his image, just performed Christianity to gain the approval of others. You did it for selfish reasons, not to give glory to God or be righteous in your own heart. But to gain some worthless reward, something that is temporary. That’s what the human reward is. That’s what awaits you if you choose to continue to perform piety.

But the other reward is God’s reward. What is it? The kingdom of God. Remember, Jesus is telling people how to be the kingdom and to be the kingdom. The reward is being the kingdom. Do you want to be God’s image? Do you want to build the Kingdom of God? Then, practice piety correctly. Don't showboat yourself about how good of a person you are. Please do it. But don't show it off. Let your cement dry in the kingdom of God. Let your Clay dry as the person you want to be. A person who practices piety for the right reasons. Ask yourself what type of person you want to be. Do you want to be a genuinely righteous person? Or a person who is performing piety. The kingdom is eternal. It is available for all. It is full of love. Which reward is better?

Application:

God wants us to seek the kingdom. By being pious, yes. Please pray, please fast, please give to the poor, please go to chapel, please volunteer, please study your bible. When do those things well and with the right intention you will grow. will it happen overnight I don’t know God can do that if he wants but probably not. It will take work to grow into the person you want be. Do not perform. Refrain from proving to everyone that you are a good person. Do not show it off. Do not perform Christianity. Stop it. Don’t continue. You aren’t being the Image of God. Your heart determines if you will bear the image of God rightly. Get your intentions right, your motives right. I cannot make that decision for you. This is only something that you have to decide and choose. Will it be an easy problem to fix? No, it takes time to break out of bad habits. But it is possible and can happen. Do not worry about the approval of others, only God’s. I am going to leave you with this and say a prayer. Piety done well is not a bad thing. When done well, you are participating in New Creation