Religious Conduct.
Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Mat 6:2 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.
Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
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Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
As long as I have been a Christian I have tried to refrain from calling myself religious. I didn’t come from a religious background and when I got converted, I didn’t join a religion.
I found a completely new way of living and although my family and acquaintances considered me to have found religion or become religious, I never considered myself as religious.
I do not believe that Jesus founded a new religion.
He came to bring new life, a new way of living.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Having looked at where the word religion or religious came from, I can understand how people put that label on someone who has been converted to any “religion”, whether it is Christianity, Islam, Bhuddism or any other faith.
The word religion comes from a Latin word that means “to tie or bind together.”
This happens when one joins a group of other believers in a particular faith.
Especially Christianity when one becomes a Christian is said to be baptised into one body. (The Body of Christ). “to tie or bind together.”
Lactantius quoted the expression made by Lucretius (religionum animum nodis exsolvere)
( religious mind fast bonds) in proof that he considered the word 'ligare' --meaning to 'bind'--as being the root of the word 'religion. (to bind, yoke, burden, or restraint;)
The English word for religion seems to come from two Latin words; relegure, to read something over and over again.
This again can be what one does when one commits themselves to a belief system.
I.e. Constant prayer or attendance to a church or synagogue or Mosque.
When religio came into English around the 12th century, as the word “religion”, it took the meaning of "life bound by monastic vows" or monastic orders.
Cicero connected lego, (to read), and re (again), relego, in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully.
St. Augustine, following the interpretation given by Lactantius in Divinae institutiones, IV, 28 derived religio from re (again) and ligare bind, connect,
For this study, we will be using the word religion in the sense that it is the way in which we practice our faith as the title suggests, Religious practice or Religious conduct.
Mat 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
The word alms here is eleēmosunē, (compassionateness), that is, (as compassion exercised towards the poor)
It is very hard to do a good deed in the presence of others without thinking what they are thinking about you.
So here Jesus addressed the danger of cultivating an image of righteousness.
If we do a good deed with the idea of receiving something in return, then we have our reward.
Whether it is payment being financial or in kind, a pat on the back or for our own honour, glory or acclaim.
So, if your motivation for doing your compassionateness is any of these, there is no reward from God for you have received your reward from men.
One may ask what Jesus meant, when He said in Matt 5:16 “Let your light shine before men”, if our deeds of righteousness should be done in secret.
What Jesus meant was the unbeliever should see us acting in a compassionate way but Christians should not be doing good works simply to be seen by men.
Mat 6:2 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.
This saying is still prevalent today, it is not literally sounding a trumpet but it said that some who do “charitable works”, tend to “blow their own trumpet”, to let everyone know what they have done.
Works of a Christian should be done quietly and for the right reason, out of compassion and for the glory of God.
The hypocrites that Jesus is talking about, are the ones that think that they are better than others for their giving. Some thought that they were purchasing forgiveness for sins, as do some people today. They think that they can buy salvation, work their way to heaven.
However, we are taught that only those things that are done in the righteousness of Christ are true good works.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
However, it is better to do the right thing with a wrong motive than do the wrong thing.
If we can learn to do the right thing with the right motive, our reward is in heaven.
Mat 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Now, it is impossible for us not to know our own actions, but we can deny ourselves any indulgent self-congratulation. We can refrain from giving ourselves a pat on the back.
Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Spurgeon quote:
“Keep the thing so secret that even you yourself are hardly aware that you are doing anything at all praiseworthy. Let God be present, and you will have enough of an audience.”
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
It is better that our prayers are straight and simple. There is no need to impress God or men.
If fact we may be able to impress men but we certainly cannot impress God.
Impressive prayers in a public meeting can have a detrimental effect on other Christians, especially younger Christians who may struggle with public prayer.
We need to remember, as Jesus said, we won’t be heard for our many words.
Matt 6:7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
The word vain means “empty” or “useless”; so Jesus is warning us that repeating worthless phrases in our prayers will not help them be heard by God. Our Heavenly Father is not concerned with word count, flowery expressions, or mantras; He desires “truth in the inward being”
Psalm 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Many religions—including some branches of Christianity—have prayers that they advise repeating over and over again. Some churches even go so far as to require their members to recite a certain prayer a specific number of times in order to be absolved of sin.
Our Father’s and Hail Mary’s.
This is a kind of paganism and superstition; such prayers are “vain repetitions” that have no place in the church. Jesus has already atoned for our sins once and for all.
Hebrews 10:10 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
We can approach the throne of grace boldly on the merit of Christ’s sacrifice,
Hebrews 4:15–16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in,
Not because of our “many words.
Another Spurgeon quote:
“Christians’ prayers are measured by weight, and not by length. Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.”
Prayer should be more of what is on the heart than what is on the tongue. What we say should be our hearts desire, and offered in simplicity of faith.
Matt 6:5 thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
There are many street corners, even in our prayer meetings and church services. We should not be praying to be seen of men.
Sadly this is a common fault in churches today.
Our prayers should to be heard of God, not to be seen of men.
Mat 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
The idea is of a private place is where we can impress no one, for we speak to God.
In the same way that one can be lonely in a crowd, one can be private in a group.
To say enter a private room does not mean we should not pray publicly but that our prayer is to God alone (secretly) and God hears us secretly.
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Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Jesus uses a second example of hypocrisy in the act of fasting.
Fasting again is a private thing, something between a person and God.
Fasting is not something that makes us more religious, it can help us draw close to God and concentrate our thoughts on the things of God.
There may be times when a group have a collective fast, just like collective prayer but it is as an individual that we approach God, whether fasting or praying.
When we fast, we should not go around telling others, we should not make it obvious by looking sad to let others know that we are fasting, again our fasting is done from a secret place.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Just like praying, our fasting is between ourselves and God and does not need advertising.
This way, we avoid the hypocrisy of false religion and our religious conduct is worthy of Christ.
