Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 6

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Matthew 5-6 Summary

— Mathew 5, 6 &7 are the Sermon on the Mount

— Jesus is describing what the (coming) Kingdom of God is / will be like

— Higher Law than Moses (Grace vs Law)

— Jesus not presenting the way of salvation; speaking to those already His own

— Deals with the desire of our hearts; looking inside to what we are really like

— Chapter 6 of Matthew deals with the external part of religion (Righteous that we practice)

— “What we are determines what we do.”

—> Prods self-examination

THEME:

— The inner motives which govern external acts of righteousness, such as the giving of alms, prayer, fasting;

— the relationship of the subjects of the Kingdom of Heaven to God

In chapter 5 Jesus (The King) speaks of the righteousness which His subjects must possess

— It must be a righteousness to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees

— Comes only through trust in Christ

In chapter 6, Jesus talks about the righteousness that the subjects of the Kingdom are to practice

— The motive is the important thing in what you do for God.

Not for third party consumption

— These things are between the soul and God.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This chapter is divided into two parts:

Our Religious life ( 1- 18 )

— Our religious life, the culture and nurture of the soul — this is divided into 3 sections for our consideration

— Our charity towards others — almsgiving

— Prayer and our relationship to the Father — prayer

— Personal discipline — fasting

— Our piety, our worship, the whole religious aspect of our life, and everything that concerns our relationship to God

— We are reminded that we are journeyman, not of this world; our citizenship is in heaven

Our relationship to life ( 19 - 34 )

— The everyday man who is subjected to “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”

— The man who is concerned about food, drink, clothing and shelter

— The man who has a family and children to raise and who, therefore is subject to what is called in Scripture “the cares of this world”

Eight examples:

1. Giving Alms: Vs. 2-3

2. Personal Prayer Vs. 5-8

3. Disciples Prayer Vs. 9-13

4. Forgive Others Vs. 14-15

5. Fasting Vs. 16-18

6. Mammon & generosity Vs. 19-21

7. Personal Focus Vs. 22-23

8. Single hearted devotion Vs. 24

Q: When you do alms, you can lose your reward if you do what ( 6:1-4 )?

Giving without Hypocrisy ( 6:1-4 )

( 6:1-4 ) “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.

Hypocrisy

— We see hypocrisy all the way from Genesis to Revelation

— The world begins and ends with hypocrisy

— Among the 12 we had hypocrisy (Judas)

— Amos rebuked the Northern Kingdom for their hypocrisy ( Amos 5:21 )

— Isaiah did the same thing to the Southern Kingdom ( Is 1:11 )

— God says, you know, all that I introduced: your religion, your feasts, your moons and sacrifices, and incense, I despise it all

— Why?

Because it is all phony

— The word hypocrite has its origins from the Gr.

theater, describing a person who wore a mask

— The word used in the NT normally describes an unregenerate person who is self-deceived

—The people described here do things for appearance sake; their actions may be good but their motives are hallow

— Outside of idolatry, the greatest sin of Judah and Israel was hypocrisy

— “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.”

( Is 1:11 )

— Speaking to the Pharisees on one occasion, Jesus said “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” ( Mark 7:6-7 )

— These empty acts are their own reward

— God does not reward men-pleasers ( 5:16 ) because they rob Him of glory

— Jesus rebuked hypocrisy:

— Matthew 6:2, 5, 16

— Matthew 7:15 (wolf in sheep’s clothing)

— Matthew 9 ( a mourner who mourns a death because he is paid )

— Matthew 13 (wheat and tares)

— Matthew 21

— Matthew 23

— Other verses 2 Pet 2:17, 1 Thess 2:5

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

( 6:1 ) “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.

Principle #1

Principle #1: The delicate nature of the Christian life

— Earlier we read, “Let your life shine before men that they may see your good works,” now we read, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them”

— We are to live in such a way that men look at your life and will glorify God

— But, at the same time, he is not to do things in order to draw attention to himself

Q: Matthew 6:2 in the KJV used the word “alms.”

What are alms?

Is giving of “alms” a good or bad thing?

( 6:2 KJV ) Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.

Verily I say unto you, They have their reward

— See a need and giving is a good thing!

— Internal not external; Secretly vs openly; Glory to God not yourself!