“A Tale of Two Treasures”

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Here in , one of the main points, if not the main point, is our relationship as Christians to our heavenly Father.[1]

[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Sometimes, when we go through a expository study of a book of the Bible, we can sometimes get so focused on the few verses we’re covering each week that we neglect to see, or if we’ve seen it we will need reminding of, a main point in the book or section or chapter. Here in , one of the main points, if not the main point, is our relationship as Christians to our heavenly Father.[1]

In this chapter alone, Jesus mentions the term “Father” 11 times. Do you think He wants us to learn something about, to see the significance and importance of that relationship (verses: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 26, 32).?

Our relationship to our heavenly Father as His children is the most remarkable and incredible relationship that we may have. We have been bought with a price, so that we can be called “children of God.” states:

Romans 8:15–17 ESV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

What a powerful thing it is to know that we are the Father’s children and that we can go before Him and cry to Him, “Abba, Father.” This section of Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount, is written for believers, for those saved by God’s grace, adopted by Him as his children. Let’s not forget that fact, and let’s remember that when we read this section of Matthew. What commands we read are those of a loving Father to His beloved children. Martin Lloyd-Jones has said,

“The great secret of life according to our Lord is to see ourselves and to conceive of ourselves always as children of our heavenly Father.” - D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

[2]

1. Two Temptations

2. Two Treasures

3. Two Questions

Two Temptations

Lloyd-Jones, in his sermon here on our verses today tells us that Jesus brings up in this chapter two temptations we all face as believers that can and do distract us and pull us away from the importance and the satisfaction that we can have in our relationship with God the Father.

The first temptation here in chapter 6:

Doing our works before man to receive the praise of man

it is the religious man doing his works before man to receive the praise of man instead of doing with the heart directed to God the Father. Jesus says that if we seek the praise of men, we have our reward, but if we seek to glorify God, the Father will reward us openly. The examples Jesus gave us are charitable deeds, prayer, and fasting. The temptation is to seek to be noticed, to be esteemed as one who is religious, holy, and to gain the praise of men.

We are to do our deeds of righteousness, that is, our response of love to the grace and mercy of God – ,

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

instead of doing these things for the praise and approval of God rather than for men, or self-satisfaction, or how it makes us feel. It is with the knowledge that God sees and knows – He sees and knows when our hearts are set of pleasing men, and He sees and knows when our hearts are set on pleasing Him, out of gratitude and love for His grace. To seek approval from men denies the truth that our place, our security, our approval, if we are a believer, is already secured for us in Christ. We are accepted in the beloved Son.

The second temptation,

Seeking treasures on this earth

is that we face as believers the temptation of often being like the world in seeking treasures on this earth.

So often, we look at the things of this earth and say to ourselves, “If only I had that, then I would satisfied, then I would be at peace, then I would feel comforted.” We seek to find security and satisfaction in temporary, transitory things instead of what we already have in our relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ. Both of these temptations vie for our attention, and both wind up distracting us from what truly matters – our relationship with God the Father.[3]

We must guard our hearts so that we can and must seek diligently, intently, as if it were hunting for a lost child sort of intensity, we must seek after the things of God and is not be distracted by the things of this world.

Those, then, are our two temptations.

A tale of two treasures (6:19-21)

1. A Fleeting, Failing Treasure

a. The imperative - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

i. Clothing – relative scarcity – status, wealth – Achan and Babylonian style garment

ii. Rust / Corrosion – Also, corrosive effect of riches

iii. Thieves – best efforts thwarted.

b. The Reasons Why

- fleeting & failing – the transitory nature of them – on earth / So, we are told not to lay-up our treasures here on earth. Why? Because they are subject to decay and destruction, to be consumed, to be carried off.

c. At root, they are selfish, v. 19

It is the laying up of treasurers for ourselves – example –

Luke 12:13–21 ESV

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

[13] Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” [14] But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” [15] And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” [16] And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, [17] and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ [18] And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ [20] But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ [21] So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” ( ESV)

The man is indicted by Jesus, not because he is wealthy, but because he is selfish. Had he acknowledged that that it all came from God’s hand, that he was but a steward of it, and therefore employed it for his master – the good works of charity, for example, he would have been “rich toward God.” They were motivated, though, not by love of the Father, but love of self.

Jesus isn’t telling us that wealth, riches, is the problem; it is our attitude toward them. Do we have an attitude toward them that is God-trusting, God-loving, God-honoring, God-pleasing; or do we have attitudes that reflect anxious, worldly care, one that forgets who he is, what he has done, what he has promised, what he can do?

Part of our sin problem, one that Jesus has died to liberate his people from, one which we find that no longer has dominion over us but still has some affect upon us, is that of wrongly attributing to people or things in which wrongly think we can find our ultimate love, security, happiness, comfort. Only the Lord God Himself can fulfill these things. But we get worked-up over these things. There is a right sort of attention and care over things to provide for our families. But we also can be so wrapped up in the pursuit of these things and someone forget that our ultimate provider and protector is our Father in heaven, to whom we ask for our daily bread. There are so many aggravators of this in our lives…

Sears Christmas Catalog – TV ads – covetousness / circumstances of our lives that tend to look to accrue what we think we lacked.

Don’t underestimate the importance of Jesus’ warning about covetousness and the love of money and worldly things. Worldliness is ever the most constant, subtle, and powerful enemy of your salvation and eternal life. There are multitudes who imagine that they can serve God on Sundays for an hour or two and money for the rest of the week; or God with their lips and money with their hearts, or God in appearance and money in reality. [Stott, 158][4]

2. A forever, faithful treasure, vv. 20-21

a. Heavenly / contrasted with earthly. V. 20

i. Eternal, in the heavens, kept and preserved for us:

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

ii. If what we value, what we prize, isn’t tied to that which is fading and failing, our hope won’t be found to be foolish. If it is God-oriented, God pleasing, God-honoring, loving what he loves, type of treasure, it is beyond losing. Heaven is the realest of real places. It is invulnerable to any of the things which would spoil things.

3.Laying up treasures

– not earning of heaven by our works. Attitude of Wesley – work as hard as you can, save all that you can, so that you can do as much good as you can. Wesley – 28-30 pounds per year / 30K / loose change in pockets and some in his bedroom drawers.

i. But there is in the life of the believer the notice of God, the accrediting of faithful service of Him that we see in Scripture. Jesus tells us in the parable of those who have done well – “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your master’s happiness.” And we know that as we’ve seen from , that it all really loops back to the Lord – that it is all a result of His doing. 'Whatever is laudable in our works proceeds from the grace of God.' -John Calvin

The Lord’s concern is not with your wealth but with your loyalty.

Matthew 19:16–30 ESV

16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 19:16-

[16] And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” [17] And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” [18] He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, [19] Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [20] The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” [21] Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [22] When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. [23] And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. [24] Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” [25] When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” [26] But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [27] Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” [28] Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. [29] And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. [30] But many who are first will be last, and the last first. ( ESV)

Where was this young man’s heart? You can tell by his reaction. His heart is controlled by his wealth and riches. This young ruler is wealthy and supposedly has a lot going for him, but he is not willing to let those things go in order to follow Jesus. He is willing to love his neighbor and do the commands that pertain to his fellow man, but when it comes down to loving the Father and having no other gods before Him, he is not willing to let go of the wealth he obtained here on earth in order to gain eternal life.

A wealthy man can be utterly devoted to the Lord’s cause and a poor man can be utterly indifferent to it.

Two Questions:

I want us to ask ourselves (and also answer) two questions.

The first question we must ask ourselves is:

“Where is my treasure?”

In asking this, we will answer the question “Where is my heart?” because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The second question to ask ourselves is:

“Where is my focus?”

tells us: [1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ( ESV) Am I focused on the seen or the unseen?

The question is: where is your treasure to be found? What do you love? Who do you love? What do you seek? The pronouns are plural in vv. 19-20, but the “your” is singular in v. 21: the application is direct and personal. What about you?[5]

I don’t know where your heart is or what your heart is longing for. I do know that if you are serving yourself by storing up wealth or popularity or whatever it may be, that will come to an end, an end of woe. It is only temporary. But if you are serving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you will not be disappointed. There is an inheritance waiting for you when you go to be with the Lord. I am calling us to repent of those things and to change our minds and our behaviors. I am calling us to repent on a daily basis, as this is a continual battle we face day in and day out. We have seen the power of God in our Lord Jesus Christ displayed for us in the gospel and repented; that must continue every day. We must see the grace of Christ in our daily lives and its effects day in and day out. This is a Father Who loves us, who has given His only begotten son for us, who daily loads us with His benefits, who protects and defends us from all of His and our enemies, who gives us everything. Everything! Everything? Everything pertaining to life and godliness! Who has said never will I leave you nor forsake you - Who has said when you pass through the waters, I will be with you, nor shall the rivers overflow you. We must live by that grace, through faith, in what is to come. That is living in the light of this Father’s wondrous love for us.

Works Cited or Consulted

Augsburger, Myron S. The Communicator's Commentary Matthew. Word Publishing Group, 1982

Carson, D. A. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World: An Exposition of . Baker Books, 2004.

Chamblin, Knox. Matthew Volume 1 (1-13): A Mentor Commentary. Mentor, 2010.

Chamblin, Knox. A Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, 1993.

Deffinbaugh, Bob. 19. Where Is Your Treasure? (). https://bible.org/seriespage/19-where-your-treasure-matthew-619-24. Accessed December 4, 2014.

Dickson, David. Matthew (Geneva Ser. Commentaries). Banner of Truth, 1981.

Doriani, Daniel M. Matthew (2 Vol Set) (Reformed Expository Commentary). P & R Publishing, 2008.

France, R. T. The Gospel of Matthew (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2007.

Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, with the New International Version of the Holy Bible (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol.8). Zondervan, 1984.

Hendriksen, William. Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew (New Testament Commentary). Baker Academic, 1982.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 6 Volume Set. Macdonald Publishing Co, 1985.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

MacArthur, John F. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary). Moody Publishers, 1985.

Morris, Leon. The Gospel according to Matthew (Pillar New Testament Commentary). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.

Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew (New International Greek Testament Commentary). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2005.

Platt, David. Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). Holman Reference, 2013.

Rayburn, Robert. Forsaking the World. http://www.faithtacoma.org/content/2004-02-01-am.aspx . Accessed December 4, 2014.

Reed, Gordon K. Living life as Christ taught it: a study of the Sermon on the Mount, . Christian Education & Publications, 1973.

Ridderbos, Herman N. Matthew (Bible student's Commentary). Zondervan, 1987.

Ryle, J. C. Matthew (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels) (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels). Banner of Truth, 1986.

Sproul, R. C. Matthew (St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary). Crossway, 2013.

Notes

[1] Deffinbaugh.

[2] Lloyd-Jones, p. 78.

[3] Deffinbaugh, Bob. 19. Where Is Your Treasure? (). https://bible.org/seriespage/19-where-your-treasure-matthew-619-24. Accessed December 4, 2014.

[4] Rayburn.

[5] Rayburn.