Chapter 13
GLORY FROM MEN (OR) GLORY FROM GOD
(Matthew 6:1-18)
Before we begin our study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father we ask You to please bless this study. Please cause us to better understand the issues You are bringing before us. Help us to examine our lives and repent of anything thing or any attitude that is contrary to humbly serving You and seeking after Your Glory.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
As a prelude to our study let us read what Jesus once said about receiving praise and glory from one another and not seeking after the praise and glory that comes from God. His instruction is recorded in,
John 5:43-44
"[43] I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. [44] How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
Since this issue is extremely important the Holy Spirit recorded for us the issue that some of the leaders of the Jewish faith had in expressing their faith in Jesus Christ. To read what He wrote we go to,
John 12:42-43
"[42] Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; [43] for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."
To determine whether or not we are seeking glory from man rather than glory from God we will examine the following four areas of the Christian life.
1. Acts of Charity
2. Fasting
3. Prayer
4. Public Service
The first area of concern with respect to our attitude and motivation in our Christian life centers around our,
ACTS OF CHARITY
The potential issue and instruction for this area of our Christian life is given in,
Matthew 6:1-4
""[1] Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. [2] "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … If I give to those who are in need in a manner that draws attention to myself so I could be viewed or considered as a righteous or holy person then I have forfeited my reward in Heaven. In other words, if I give in this manner, then I have already received my reward here upon earth.
3-4 … In other words my gifts to the poor should be motivated by the love of God flowing from within me.
Perhaps another way of looking at this issue is by reading the following correction the Apostle Paul gave to the church in Corinth. The instruction he gave us is recorded in,
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
Let us notice the following verse,
3 … The Holy Spirit teaches us that even if I give all that I possess to the poor and do not do it out of love and compassion then I will have gained nothing.
The next area in which we might be trying to impress our fellow man rather than humbling ourselves before God is in our,
FASTING
This issue is recorded for us in,
Matthew 6:16-18
""[16] When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [17] But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, [18] so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Again let us notice that the issue our Lord is dealing with is that: (1) when we fast, are we doing it to try and impress our fellow man of how holy and righteous we are? Or, (2) are we doing it because we are so much in love and awe of God that we are humbling ourselves before Him?
The third area of concern centers on,
PRAYER
The potential issue concerning our prayer life is recorded in,
Matthew 6:5-6
""[5] And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. [6] But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Let us notice the following verses,
5 … In other words; “When I pray do I do it in such a manner as to draw attention to myself so others would think I'm a holy and righteous person?” Or, “Do I humble myself before God and truly present to Him my prayers, petitions and praises?”
6 … To develop a more personal and trusting relationship with God, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that our prayer life should primarily be an intimate time with Him in our own private prayer closet.
Some might be concerned that if they pray by themselves then God the Father will not hear them. We must remember that if we pray in His will, He not only hears us but will also respond to our prayers. To see this let us read an excerpt from what Jesus told His disciples when He was preparing them for His departure. The passage of interest for this study is in,
John 14:11-14
"[11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [12] I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
Before we misinterpret verses 13 and 14 we must remember that the above promise God made to answer our prayers comes with the condition they are to be in accordance with His will. This is recorded in,
1 John 5:14-15
"[14] This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. [15] And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."
As we reflect upon the above glorious promise one might ask as to; “How can we know God's will?” The answer to this question lies within the following excerpt from Jesus’ “Parable of the Vine.”
John 15:4-8
[4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me [“] I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. [7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Let us notice the following verse,
7 … We are to abide in Him and His words are to abide in us.
Now some may ask; "How does a person remain in Christ and have His word abide in them?"
First of all, to have His words abide in us we must faithfully and prayerfully read His word, the Bible.
Secondly, to see how we are to abide in Christ let us read from,
1 John 3:21-24
"[21] Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God [22] and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. [23] And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
Let us notice the following verses,
21 … The Scripture is instructing us to have a clear conscience before God, which means all known sin must be confessed and repented of.
24 … “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”
Does this mean that we should not ask for prayer by someone else? No! The Apostle Paul was always asking for prayer. To see this consider the following excerpt of what Paul wrote while closing his letter to the Romans.
Romans 15:30-33
"[30] I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. [31] Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, [32] so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. [33] The God of peace be with you all. Amen."
In addition to asking for pray from others, we are also to pray for others. To see this let us consider the following Scripture,
Ephesians 6:18
"[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Now some may ask; “What about group prayer?” “What about praying together with other born again believers?” To address these questions let us read what happened after Peter and John were released from custody for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The passage of interest is in,
Acts 4:23-24(a)
"[23] On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. [24] When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God..."
The fourth and last concern involves our,
PUBLIC SERVICE
Perhaps the best way for us to see the issue for this area of our Christian life is by reading an excerpt of what our Lord once said about the scribes and Pharisees. The Scriptures of interest are in,
Matthew 23:1-7
"[1] Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: [2] "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. [3] So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. [4] They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. [5] "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; [6] they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; [7] they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'"
Let us notice the following verses,
1-3 … Many of the teachers of the Scripture were and are teaching the truth. Thus, upon hearing the truth or hearing God's Word we are to follow it. However, since many of the teachers did not practice what they taught or preached they were and are hypocrites.
5-7 …In other words, all the works and deeds they did was done to impress others. They did this by wearing wide phylacteries and long tassels, loved to have the best seats in public places and cherished respectful greetings from others. In other words they were not seeking the glory of God or the good for others. No, they were in fact seeking glory and honor that comes from men.
As a side note: A phylactery was a small case that contained Scriptural texts. They were worn on the left arm (close to the heart) and forehead (close to the mind) (Deuteronomy 6:6-8).
The tassels were to remind them to remember and obey God’s commandments (Numbers 15:37-41).
In contrast to this display of self righteousness let us look to,
THOSE WHO TRULY SOUGHT AFTER GOD’S GLORY AND THE SALVATION FOR OTHERS
Our first example is,
John the Baptist
First of all John did not preach in a magnificent setting or structure. Nor did he seek after the best seats in public festivities or other places. Instead, he preached in the desert or wilderness. This is recorded in,
Matthew 3:1
"[1] In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea"
Secondly, his clothing was not one of fine linen and long flowing robes. To see this let us now read from,
Matthew 3:4
"[4] John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey."
With this in mind let us now read what Jesus had to say about John the Baptist. It is recorded in,
Luke 7:28(a)
"[28] I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; ...""
For our second example let us now consider,
The Apostle Paul
We also discover that unlike the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, who enjoyed the best seats of the festivals and the gracious greetings and platitudes from others, Paul was persecuted. To see this let us read go to,
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
"[23] ... I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. [24] Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, [26] I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. [27] I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."
In addition, Paul did not accept any glory or honor from men that was due to God. An example of this occurred after God healed a man in Lystra.
Acts 14:8-18
[8] And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. [9] This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, [10] said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked. [11] Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” [12] And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. [13] Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. [14] But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out [15] and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, [16] who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. [17] Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” [18] And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them.
A WARNING
We find that our Jesus Christ warns us to beware of following or imitating those who seek after the glory of man rather than God. To read His warning let us go to,
Luke 20:46-47
""[46] Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. [47] They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.""
This brings us to,
THE MESSAGE OR POINT OF THIS STUDY
Paul beautifully summarized the message for us in,
1 Corinthians 11:1
“[1] Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
With this exhortation let us now close this study by reading the following example of Christ.
Philippians 2:1-11
[1] Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, [2] fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. [3] Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. [4] Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. [5] Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, [6] who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, [7] but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. [9] Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, [11] and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen