Genuine Righteousness

This exposition of Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18 was delivered by Pastor Rod Harris at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, August 10, 2014.

Intro:
John Bunyan in his immortal classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, has a character he calls, “Mr. Looking Both Ways.”  Bunyan describes him as a saint at home and a devil on the road.”   Unfortunately that fits many who call themselves followers of Christ.  It seems some do not realize that Christian living is a full time commitment.  It is not just for Sunday morning from 9:30 to noon!  It is a 24/7 commitment.  It touches every aspect of life.  It is to permeate all that we are and all that we do.  That is the resounding message of the New Testament and in particular the message of the Sermon on the Mount.

We are called to a dynamic, living, vibrant faith.  It is no exaggeration to say that the church today is suffering from an anemic faith.  Words like “dynamic” and “vibrant” are hardly apt descriptions of most churches.  If fact, in some instances, comatose may be more appropriate!  In Matthew chapter six I’m convinced we find a possible diagnosis and cure for what ails us.

Text: Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18

Context of the SOM
The focus throughout is on genuine righteousness.
Righteousness that is born in the heart and transforms the believer from the inside out.
Keys = Matthew 5:20 & 5:48.
In our text our Lord deals with how that righteousness expresses itself.
He states the principle in verse 1 and then illustrates it in 2-18.

This is not an easy chapter to read.  It’s not because the concepts are difficult to grasp or understand.  In fact it is easy to understand what our Lord is saying – in fact that is the problem!  Our biggest problem is not in discerning the will of God but in doing the will of God.  This passage causes us to look closely at our lives and examine our attitudes and motives.

To the Jew there were three great cardinal works of religious life.  Three great pillars on which a good, moral life were built.  The giving of alms to the poor, prayer and fasting.  These were the keys to godly living.  Our Lord address these three pillars and calls his followers to genuine righteousness.

As we explore this text we will discover that:

Thesis: Kingdom living demands a sincere expression of genuine righteousness.

Notice verse 1 where he lays down a principle.  “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before me, to be seen by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

“Be careful”, “beware”, “look out” – these words serve as a red flag or warning.  When the Scripture tells you to beware you had best take notice.  Our Lord is telling us it is a “dangerous thing” to practice our faith for the express purpose of being seen by others.  Did you hear that?  It is a dangerous thing to do the right thing in order to be seen by others and gain their admiration.  The Greek word translated, “to be seen”, is the word from which we get the word “theatrical.”  It means to play the part or to put on a show.

Jesus said, “if you do these things in order to be seen by others – do not expect any reward from your Father in heaven.”

Some would object and say this contradicts Matthew 5:16.
But this is no contradiction.
The issue in our text is motivation.
Why are you doing these things?
Is it because it is the sincere desire of your heart to honor God or is it to be seen?

There are three things I want us to note from our text.

  1. Genuine righteousness demands honest, sincere giving.  (6:1-4)
  2. Genuine righteousness demands humble and sincere praying.  (6:5-8)
  3. Genuine righteousness demands that we deny ourselves in order to focus more on Him.  (6:16-18)

Conclusion:
Kingdom living expresses itself in acts of genuine righteousness.  That righteousness expresses itself in honest and sincere giving, humble and sincere praying and denial of self in order to focus on the will of God.

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