Skip to main content

Gripped By The Gospel: Matthew 6

By
Here are some thoughts on Matthew 6

Giving To The Needy (Matthew 6:1-4)

This could be an example of what seems to be a contradiction. Jesus begins with a warning about not practicing your righteousness before other people.  In chapter 5, Jesus says: "let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works." Is this a contradiction? It is not.

The endings of both statements are needed and they get to the heart motive. There is a way to do God's work that is self-centered and a way that is God-centered. 

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). 

In both cases the issue of focus is practicing godliness for others to see, yet one is accepted and one is rejected. The difference is in motive, which takes place in one's heart. God want's nothing to do with the type of godliness that is used and abused for personal recognition. This doesn't do anyone any good.

On the other hand, God is glorified by the person who is in love with God and that love of God leads them to action. In this case, they are motivated by the desire to please God, not bring glory to themselves. 

The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:5-14)

Prayer seems simple enough, yet the disciples of Jesus needed training. My guess is, most Christians need training. For starters, the very first thing on Jesus' agenda in prayer is "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name." Hallowed is an old fashioned word that means to make holy. Thus, the top priority of Jesus' prayers is for God himself to be regarded as holy in all the earth. 

Honestly, this differs with most of my prayer patterns and the patterns I observe from most Christians. Most prayers are dominated with asking God for things we 1. Want and 2. Need. 

May it be both our greatest want and need to see God's name regarded as holy in all the earth. Just think of how many problems of yours would vanish if that were so.

Do Not Be Anxious (Matthew 6:25-34)

The first word in this section stood out to me today "therefore." This means that what is about to be said is based on what has just been said. In this case, Jesus was teaching his people not to be anxious about your life (especially food and clothes). Jesus does eventually base this on God's sovereign ability to provide, but before he says anything about this he teaches us something interesting that I hadn't seen until today. Here it goes:

Jesus teaches us that we should not be anxious because no one can serve two masters (God and money) see Matthew 6:24. We typically think Jesus is teaching here that we should not be anxious because God provides. He is teaching that, but he is teaching something in addition to that. He is saying something about the nature of anxiety and the direction our heart turns when we become anxious.

In other words, it seems Jesus is saying that there is one of two ways that a person can turn when anxiety about provisions takes our hearts hostage: God or money. If anxiety leads you to money, you will be fully devoted to it and see no need for God because you are looking to money to solve your anxiety issues. On the other hand, if anxiety leads you to God then money loses it's grip to control your soul because God is the one who solves your anxiety issues. It is ultimately up to the individual who they will serve: money, leading to anxiety or God, leading to rest. 

A Prayer

Dear God, may your name be holy in our land. May you rightly be praised with the glory and honor that is due your name. Please start with me. Please guard me from turning to the uncertainties of money to solve my anxieties. Instead, let me worship you by trusting you for everything, even the most basic necessities of life such as food and clothing. Please empower me to trust you in all things and by so doing, remain free from the tyranny of moneys false hopes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Billy Graham, Holiness, and Leadership

By
A few years ago, I was listening to a radio program on which Marshall Shelley was being interviewed about his new book, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham (Zondervan, 2005). They were giving away a few copies of the book to those who called in, and something inside me felt compelled to call. But I didn’t have a good question to ask, so I prayed to the Lord and said, “If you want me to have a copy of this book, please give me a good question to ask and I’ll call.” I’m not sure if the Lord gave me this question or if it just popped into my head, but one way or the other, I thought to ask about the connection in Billy’s life between his private pursuit of holiness and integrity, and his public effectiveness and longevity. So, I made the call and was given the last copy of the book they had to give. A couple of years earlier, I had breakfast with some friends and the subject of Billy Graham’s life and ministry came up. We talked mostly about his commitment to integrity in the area...
Post a Comment
Read more

Catechisms: Building a Heritage of Sound Faith - By Pastor Kevin Feder

By
This is an article I (Pastor Kevin) wrote in 2005 and updated in 2017. It is featured in a new resource available through Children’s Desiring God called Discipleship through Doctrinal Teaching and Catechism by Sally Michael.  It is our desire to encourage parents to use a children’s catechism as a tool in building and strengthening faith in children. A simple definition of a catechism is “organized teaching.” Catechisms are not the only things that can or should be used to instruct the next generation, yet they have useful purposes. Listed here are ten specific benefits a catechism can uniquely offer. Hopefully these ten points will help parents understand how a catechism can be effectively used in their families. 1.  A catechism is a very clear and complete gospel message. A catechism is, among other things, a very clear and concise gospel message to children. Everything a child needs to know for salvation is embodied within a catechism. The gospel is truly ama...
Post a Comment
Read more