Your Reason Determines Your Reward
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Good morning Church! I want to welcome all of our visitors today, those here and those watching online. Thank you for being with us at Allons Baptist Church today! If you are here in person, there are some visitor cards in the back of the pew in front of you there. If you want to be contacted by someone here at the church, please fill one of those out and you can simply drop it in the plate as it comes by later on. If you are watching online and want someone from the church to contact you, just stay tuned until the end of the service and all of our contact info will be put on the screen for you.
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:1-4
1 “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.
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Pray
Context
Context
In Chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus dealt with beliefs. He talked about several different topics, in which the religious leaders had misinterpreted from the Old Testament. Jesus showed them how they were misinterpreting these things incorrectly and also showed them the proper interpretation of those things.
As He continues into Chapter 6, Jesus is now going to shift to the common practice of certain things. Things that are supposed to be personal. Things were supposed to stay in between a man and God, but had been used for self-righteousness instead. These three topics will be giving, praying, and fasting.
The first of these three is giving, which we will be dealing with today, but the thought is consistent across all three of these topics. Man should seek the blessings of God alone, not other men. If we do Godly things for worldly gain, then we have missed the meaning of what we have been called to do, and we have also missed the opportunity to glorify God in heaven.
Our title for the next three weeks will remain the same: Your Reason Determines Your Reward. The subtitle for today is “Giving Without Hypocrisy”.
Content
Content
Warning Against Hypocritical Giving
Warning Against Hypocritical Giving
1 “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.
Jesus starts this section with a stern warning, “Take heed”. This phrase means literally to “take care; pay attention to; beware (be on one’s guard, be cautious or wary about, or be alert to). In other words, Jesus is warning his hearers to guard their hearts against something.
His listeners were more than likely a mixed crowd consisting of some religious leaders, some bystanders, and some genuine followers of His. This warning applies to all. Regardless of what level you are on in your spiritual journey, this stern warning applies to you.
In these particular verses, the warning is given concerning the act of giving. The KJV uses the word “alms” while the NKJV uses the words “charitable deeds”. The literal rendering of this word refers to “goods or money contributed to the poor; especially that flows from a disposition to kindness and compassion.”
So this is not referring to tithes necessarily. This is referring to when we give to those who are in need, to the poor and needy, to those who are less fortunate, to those who are in a bind.
Contrary to popular belief, this type of giving is commanded in Scripture:
29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled,
13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
So it is clear from Scripture that God expects us to give a tithe, which is a message for another day, but He also expects us to give out of compassion towards those who are less fortunate than we are. We are to have love in our hearts towards these individuals and give to them out of that love, simply because it is the right thing to do.
Not only does this warning apply to this particular section of giving, but also to the next two sections of prayer and fasting. Notice the terminology:
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.
16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.
It is clear that each of these sections are a continuation of the first, so the warning applies to all three.
This stern warning that Jesus gives is against hypocrisy. We see this word “hypocrites” in vs. 2, 5, & 16, all of which are attached to this warning of Jesus to take heed.
So this warning is “to beware, less you act as the hypocrites do”.
This is a very serious warning. It is such a serious warning, that He follows up this warning with, “Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
In other words, this act of giving is spiritual in nature and to do so hypocritically will bring about spiritual consequences. He is saying that we will suffer spiritually for these actions.
Well let’s take a look at what He is referring to. What does hypocritical giving look like?
It tells us here in verse 1, and then elaborates on it in verse 2.
Practice of Hypocritical Giving
Practice of Hypocritical Giving
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
The term used to describe these individuals is the term “hypocrites”. The literal meaning of this word in the Greek is “a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives.” This term was used in the Greek language to refer to an actor, or someone in a play. Strong’s defines the verb form of this word as “to speak or act under a false part.”
In other words, the context of this passage defines these men as actors who are pretending to serve God, while they really just want themselves to be praised.
They made a spectacle out of their giving. They would do their giving out in the open instead of doing it in secret. They would call together the crowds and give a speech when they did their giving instead of keeping it between themselves and God.
Now some may ask, “Why does it matter?” Regardless of how they chose to give, was the end result not the same? The poor person received a blessing either way. You are correct on one front, the poor person received a blessing regardless of the nature of the gift the received, but the giver of the gift was affected greatly by how he chose to give.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
God makes it clear, that when we give to others, and do so seeking to improve our own reputation, that we receive no rewards from heaven. This is a massive ramification. Everything we have is a gift from God. The money we have, the jobs we have to make that money, the family we enjoy, the very breath in our lungs is a gift from God. Without God’s help, we are doomed to die quickly. It is only because of His grace that we are here today. Whether we realize it or not; whether we admit it or not, we need God simply to survive.
Furthermore, Jesus tells us later on in this very Chapter, when dealing with the issue of true wealth:
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Though we do not fully know the extent of what these rewards are, or how they will impact us in eternity, we do know that they matter and have significance. Jesus tells us that we should be much more concerned with laying up treasures in heaven then storing up treasures here on earth.
The point is this: You can’t have both. If you truly give out of compassion to someone less fortunate than you and do so secretly, then you have laid up treasures in heaven. If you give to someone less fortunate than you while seeking the recognition of man, then you have received the fullest extent of your reward by man and will receive nothing of God concerning this event.
Your reason determines your reward.
So what does proper, authentic, biblical giving look like? What is the practice of Biblical Giving?
Practice of Biblical Giving
Practice of Biblical Giving
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your charitable deed may be in secret;…
The practice of true compassionate giving is built around secrecy. He says that we are not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing, that our charitable deed may be in secret.
In terms of an individual, this might not make sense. Our left and right hands do not have brains of their own. They are both controlled by the same brain. Anything we do with our right hand is going to be known, and the same for the left.
But if we look at this in terms of the body of Christ, where there are many members within the body, then it is very possible for us to give to someone individually without the rest of the church knowing about it.
Not don’t hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that we should never give corporately. Obviously we are expected to do so from Scripture. It is also not saying that we should never come together at a business meeting and talk about helping a family in need. Obviously these things are ok and expected of the church.
What this is saying, is that if you come across someone throughout your day (a homeless person that just grabs your heart; someone you randomly talk to that is having a hard time; blessing the waitress where you eat with a well-above average tip; etc.), you should not then come to church and tell everyone, hey guess what I did today; guess how I blessed someone today; listen to how much of a blessing I was to someone today...right.
When we are moved by God in our hearts to help someone less fortunate than ourselves, or even just a random person who we feel in our hearts we are supposed to help, we are not to broadcast that. This was an act of God performed through us to be a blessing to someone else, and that is where it should stop.
Giving in this way accomplishes two things:
It acknowledges that the gift was not about us.
When we give out of compassion, where does that compassion come from to start with? It comes from God right? We have all been there… We are eating at a restaurant and something just hits us. We are not really sure why, but we just feel like we are supposed to give a really good tip to them. That feeling comes from God. God knows exactly what that person is going through, what that person is struggling with, and exactly what type of blessing they need. So He puts it in your heart to bless them over and beyond on that particular day. This is a complete work of God. He put it in your heart to give; He blessed you that week/month to where you could give; He lined it up that you would come on that particular night when that person was waiting on tables; He knew what type of blessing they needed. He did it all. The part where you come in is because of His grace. He graciously allowed you to be the conduit of His blessing to another individual. Outside of that, it was and is all God.
When we take this beautiful act of God, which is meant to be a blessing to someone who is in desperate need of one, and then make it all about us by telling others what we have done, we are attempting to highjack the blessing. It wasn’t about you, it was about them, but now you are trying to make it about you. When we come to the realization that God could have used anyone to provide that blessing, but that He chose us out of all people, that within itself becomes the only blessing that we need. Bask in that grace that God has poured out upon you and leave it there.
It gives all the glory for the thing accomplished to God.
When this act of God is done in secret, He gets all of the glory. You praise Him for allowing yourself to be a part of this blessing, and the one who was blessed praises Him because they received exactly what they needed in a most desperate time of their life. Everyone praises the God of all blessings. But when you begin to tell others about what happened, all of a sudden it is your name getting talked about instead of His. In a sense, you are stealing the glory that is only deserving of the Father and taking it for yourself. You are now taking the credit for something that was wholly a work of God.
So Jesus tells us to keep these things secret. We are to leave them between us and God. We are to let God receive the glory He deserves and simply be thankful for allowing us to be a part of the process.
I think this is why Jesus constantly told those whom He healed not to say anything to anyone. He didn’t want the glory that belonged to God. He constantly pointed people to the Father, and He did not want to be in the way of that. So when He healed someone, He would tell them not to say anything, so that God would get the glory.
By doing so, we receive the promise attached to this biblical giving.
Promise Attached to Biblical Giving
Promise Attached to Biblical Giving
4 … and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Sometimes we wonder why others always seem to be blessed by God. This verse tells us partly why that is. This is not a catch all for all blessings, but it is part of it. We are told that those who bless others out of the compassion of their heart secretly, will be rewarded openly because of that.
God will reward those who are faithful in this act of biblical giving. He promises as much. This provides us with the most astounding truth: God sees what is done in secret.
And this is what I would consider to be the hardest part of biblical giving and the very thing in which Jesus gave such a stern warning against. We as people struggle with the concept of doing something good and right, and receiving no recognition for it. It is just a truth. Most people really struggle with this.
You give, and give, and give but yet no one ever seems to notice. You work yourself to death at church, for the church, and no one ever says thank you. You show up early to work every day to unlock the doors, turn on the lights, and fire up anything that needs to be fired up but no one ever thanks you for it. You take a gift to work for every single coworker you have on their birthday, but when it comes time for your birthday, everyone forgets.
When this happens, the devil likes to get in your head, twist the truth of God around, and make you feel, unnoticed, unimportant, and undervalued. He wants you to believe that no one cares about you. He wants you to believe that it is even worse than that, not only do they not care, but they actually do not like you at all.
He does this by twisting your mind to believe something that is simply not true. By reminding yourself of some things, you can defeat these thoughts and emotions:
I did not do it for people, but for God. My reason determines my reward and I am perfectly happy letting God decide what that reward will be.
God sees everything I do. No matter what the circumstance, God knows the truth and sees how much I care, and how much I have given of myself to this event, this person, this job, this role, etc.
God will reward me in His own way, and whatever He decides to do will be more than sufficient.
Commitment
Commitment
Jesus is best example of true authentic biblical giving. He gave everything. He gave everything out of love, and He never paraded around saying, “Look at what i did”. He left His reward up to God, and that reward was truly great:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
