SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/13/2020 9:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Practice and Reward of False
Giving”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 6:2
Message of the verse: “2 "When
therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do
in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I
say to you, they have their reward in full.”
We
now move from false righteousness to false giving as Jesus continue to teach
the truth, showing that the scribes and the Pharisees were teaching a lie to
the Jewish people. John MacArthur writes
“A hupokrites (‘hypocrite’) originally
was a Greek actor who wore a mask that portrayed in an exaggerated way the role
that was being dramatized. For obvious
reasons the term came to be used of anyone who pretended to be what he was not.
“John
Calvin believed that in all virtues the entrance of [hypocrisy] was to be
avoided, there being no work so praiseworthy as not to be in many instances
corrupted and polluted by it.”
In
the same way that the people were duped by Satan as we have been looking at
through our study of the Sermon on the Mount, he uses the same tactics in the
church as Satan uses hypocrisy. This
comes in two forms, and the first is that of nonbelievers masquerading as
Christians, and the second is that true believers who are sinful but pretend to
be spiritual. It is believed that the
warning that Jesus gives here is for both groups.
MacArthur
quotes Augustine who said “The love of honor is the deadly bane of true
piety. Other vices bring forth evil works
but this brings forth good works in an evil way.” The reason that hypocrisy is so dangerous is
because it is so deceptive. Hypocrisy
uses things that are basically good for purposes that are basically evil. Augustine goes on “Hypocrisy is the homage
that vice pays to virtue.”
Now
we want to move onto the word “alms” as MacArthur explains “Eleemosune (alms) literally refers to any act of
mercy or pity, but came to be used primarily of giving money, food, or clothing
to the poor. It is the term from which
we get the English eleemosynary, a synonym for charitable.”
In
this passage we do not see Jesus teaching about giving, but He does use the
word “when” so perhaps He is indicating it is something He expects us to
do. When we give alms it refers to
actual giving, not good intentions or a warm feeling of pity that never
find practical expression, that is we feel bad for someone but do nothing about
it to help their need.
The
Bible teaches us that God always delights in acts of mercy and generosity as
seen in Lev. 25:35 “’Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his
means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger
or a sojourner, that he may live with you.”
In Deuteronomy 15:13-14 we read about what should happen when an
Israelite releases a slave: “13 “When
you set him free, you shall not
send him away empty-handed. 14 “You shall furnish him liberally from
your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give
to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.”
Throughout the Word of God we see that God’s people were continually
reminded to be considerate of and generous to the poor, whether fellow Israelites
or Gentile strangers.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am reminded of a passage that is in the 25th
chapter of the book of Matthew. 34 “Then
the King will say to those on His right, ’Come, you who are blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35
’For I was hungry, and you gave Me something
to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger,
and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you
clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to
Me.’ 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, ’Lord, when did we see You
hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38
’And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe
You? 39 ’When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 "The King will answer and say to them, ’Truly
I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even
the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left,
’Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared
for the devil and his angels; 42 for I
was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave
Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a
stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick,
and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, ’Lord,
when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in
prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, ’Truly I
say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these,
you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life.’” This
passage is about the sheep and the goats as judgment comes at the end of the
tribulation period. The sheep gave to
the poor, the goats did not. I truly
believe it is also applicable today.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
I desire to act like the sheep in this passage.
10/13/2020 10:35 AM
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