The Sermon on the Mount Lesson 8 - Piety and the Kingdom Citizen

The Kingdom and Religion

In chapter 5, Jesus described the character, influence and righteousness of the kingdom citizen. What we learn from this description is that being a citizen in the kingdom of God is all encompassing. How we view self, others, and the law of God must be different from the world around us. We must fully embrace not only the letter of the law, but also the heart of the law in order to participate in the kingdom.

In Chapter 6, Jesus took this same principle and applied it to religious demonstrations. Far from condemning religion, Jesus spoke to the motivation behind our acts of worship. The same character and approach to righteousness that He called for in chapter 5 is woven into the instruction of chapter 6 and is necessary as we approach God.

As we study these chapters, we should be impressed with the fact that true righteousness includes both loving our neighbor (seen in active service in the world), and loving our God (the way we approach Him through worship).

Practicing Your Righteousness

- The word translated “righteousness” (“alms” KJV, “charitable deeds” NKJV,) is the same term used in , . Typically this word refers to doing what is right, or right standing. However the context of chapter 6, changes from how we approach our fellow man to how we approach God.

Based on this “beware how you practice your religion” would be a proper view of the passage.

The admonition found in the passage should give us pause. How we approach our religious practice, specifically the motivation behind this practice, can have dire consequences.

Jesus did not dismiss the significance of the form of our worship in favor of the motivation. Instead, He emphasized that the proper form without the proper motivation destroys our attempts to approach God.

If the motivation behind our righteousness is praise from men, we have no hope for a reward from the Father.

To illustrate this principle, Jesus used three aspects of Jewish religious practice — giving of alms, prayer and fasting.

We when recognize this concern for motivation we can easily harmonize and .

- The motivation behind letting “your light shine before men in such a way that they can see your good works” is opportunity to “glorify your Father in heaven.”

- The motivation that is condemned in this verse is self-glorification.

Giving, Praying and Fasting

The idea of sounding a trumpet is likely an exaggerated metaphor used to highlight the behavior of the Pharisees.

Boxes were fixed outside of the synagogues and the temple where alms could be given. Apparently the Pharisees were known for making a show of dropping coins into these boxes in a very ostentatious manner.

Do Not Be A Hypocrite - The term was originally referred to an actor in a play, and described one who pretended to be someone else. By the first century the term referred to some kind of falseness in relation to virtue or piety.

By the first century the term had

The figure points out the falseness between the act of giving alms and the desire to draw attention to oneself. Such a person pretends to be concerned for his fellow man, and thus righteous, but in reality he is lacking the poverty of spirit that actually leads one to righteousness.

This vain person, whose righteous deeds serves as a mask and who seeks to be honored by men has no further reward.

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 1. Christian Giving (2–4)

‘We must not be troubled by unbelievers when they say that this promise of reward makes the Christian life a mercenary affair. There are different kinds of reward. There is the reward which has no natural connection with the things you do to earn it, and is quite foreign to the desires that ought to accompany those things. Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real lover, and he is not mercenary for desiring it.’ Similarly we might say that a silver cup is not a very suitable reward for a schoolboy who works hard, whereas a scholarship at the university would be. C. S. Lewis concludes his argument: ‘The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.’

Avoid Self-Congratulation - furthers the argument. Not only are we to do our giving without making a scene before others, we must also take care not to boast within ourselves.

This figure points out the nature of true kingdom righteousness and worship. It is always other centered. It goes far beyond actions and deep into the heart. It must consume the whole man.

“Jesus was sounding the death-knell of the old man” (Bonhoeffer)

Give in Secret - emphasizes the goal of the giving as much as the manner. Our worship must be God oriented to such a degree that it is only His approval that we seek.

Jesus was not condemning any public act of giving, He was not denying us the ability to keep an account of our giving or even to report it to the authorities as appropriate.

Jesus was promoting a heart that is so God-oriented that thoughts of human praise or self-congratulation are completely foreign

“By this expression, he means that we ought to be satisfied with having God for our only witness.” (John Calvin)

The True Reward - The end of verse 4 almost seems contradictory. At first glance, it seems that we have gone from selfless good deeds to reward seeking. However, when we understand that the reward of the passage is the natural end of the righteousness act we can see there is no conflict.

“We must not be troubled by unbelievers when they say that this promise of reward makes the Christian life a mercenary affair. There are different kinds of reward. There is the reward which has no natural connection with the things you do to earn it an dis quite foreign to the desirer that ought to accompany those things. Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real love, and he is not mercenary for desiring it…The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.” (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)

When you pray

Giving, Praying and Fasting

To illustrate the principles of righteousness and religion Jesus chose three acts that were common to Jewish worship.

Giving alms, or caring for the poor was commanded in .

Pray has always been an essential element of religious life.

Fasting was practiced throughout Old Testament times as a sign of mourning () and a means of aiding prayer (). The only commanded fast was during the Day of Atonement (; ).

Do Not Be A Hypocrite — The term was originally referred to an actor in a play, and described one who pretended to be someone else. By the first century the term referred to some kind of falseness in relation to virtue or piety.

The figure points out the falseness between the act of worship and the desire to draw attention to oneself.

Acts of worship are intended to draw attention to God, His goodness, His provision, His power.

Therefore to perform an act of worship in order to draw attention to oneself is to act out a lie.

The person who would seek this type of praise is lacking the poverty of spirit that actually leads one to righteousness.

Hypocritical religion is perverse because it is destructive. We have seen that praying, giving and fasting are all authentic activities in their own right. To pray is to seek God, to give is to serve others, to fast is to discipline oneself. But the effect of hypocrisy is to destroy the integrity of these practices by turning each of them into an occasion for self-display.

Avoid Self-Congratulation — Not only should our acts of worship be conducted without concern for praise from others, but we should not seek self-congratulation either.

- The figure used here presents an impossibility if taken literally and yet it describes an attitude of heart that must be fully embraced.

This admonition presents a danger that all Christians must grapple with. We must not be self-conscious in our piety, for our self-consciousness may quickly devolve into self-righteousness.

— The same principle applies to our prayers. We might notice the progression of verses 5-7 is the same as verses 2-4.

The admonition about giving alms begins with the public demonstration and moves to the heart of the giver.

Likewise, the admonition about prayer takes us first into the inner room and then into the inner heart

The meaningless repetitions of verse 7 refers to grandiose language or seeking unnecessary eloquence, the desire for a “beautiful” prayer.

“Jesus was sounding the death-knell of the old man.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

What is done in secret — Our worship must be God oriented to such a degree that it is only His approval that we seek.

Jesus was not condemning any acts of public giving or public prayer. He was not denying us the ability to keep an account of our giving or considering carefully the words we use in prayer.

Jesus was promoting a heart that is so God-oriented that thoughts of human praise or self-congratulation are completely foreign

“By this expression, he means that we ought to be satisfied with having God for our only witness.” (John Calvin)

The True Reward — The end of verse 4 almost seems contradictory. At first glance, it seems that we have gone from selfless good deeds to reward seeking. However, when we understand that the reward of the passage is the natural end of the righteousness act we can see there is no conflict.

The goal of kingdom citizenship is fellowship with the King. Beyond this the character of the kingdom citizen is a reflection of the character of the King. The natural end of these pursuits is life with the king.

When we get lost in descriptions of mansions and golden streets we run the risk of destroying our own reward. What we must be seeking is His presence (; ; )

“We must not be troubled by unbelievers when they say that this promise of reward makes the Christian life a mercenary affair. There are different kinds of reward. There is the reward which has no natural connection with the things you do to earn it an dis quite foreign to the desirer that ought to accompany those things. Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real love, and he is not mercenary for desiring it…The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.”