 Read Matthew 6:5-8 Did you know that the word hypocrite in Greek actually means an actor, stage player or pretender? In other words, it is someone who is pretending to be what they are not. In the matter of prayer Jesus said these types of people, "Love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men" (Matthew 6:5). In other words, they made a show of the fact they were praying to God so that people would think they were righteous. But Jesus said "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6). Does this mean that all public prayer is wrong? Not at all. For it is clear from scripture that corporate prayer was practised (Acts 12:12). But to understand what was really going on we need to look at the culture of the day behind Jesus' statements. When the Temple stood there were regular times of prayer, and scripture confirms this (Psalms 55:17; Daniel. 6:10; Acts 3:1). However, when the time of prayer occurred pious Jews would stop what they were doing, no matter where they were, and make a great show of the fact that they were praying. It is clear from Matthew 6:5 that if they hadn't made it into the Temple for the prayer time they would go to great lengths to show those around them that they were indeed still praying. Proving Jesus' point that they were hypocrites who cared more about what people thought of them, than actually praying to God. Hence, Jesus' admonishment to pray in secret. Jesus also said, "Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7). This is another area that must be looked at from Jesus' 2nd century viewpoint. Idol worship was rampant during these times and idol worshippers often chanted for hours the same words or phrases, over and over again to appease the gods. Jesus' words seem to indicate that some Jews were of the mind that maybe that's how they should pray to God as well - by chanting. In 1 Kings 18:26 Baal worshippers chanted from mid-evening to morning. The multitude in the theatre at Ephesus shouted for two hours “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:34). But Jesus said, "Do not be like them" (Matthew 6:8). Yet, today we find many popular Christian leaders encouraging chanting as a means to centre ourselves to become more focused on God. They are ignoring Jesus' warnings against such things. Popular Christian author and pastor Tony Campolo says, "I say His name over and over again, for as long as fifteen minutes, until I find my soul suspended in what the ancient Celtic Christians called a ‘thin place’—a state where the boundary between heaven and earth, divine and human, dissolves. You could say that I use the name of Jesus as my koan” (Campolo, Mystical Encounters for Christians). FYI - A ‘koan’ is used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening. This is something very similar to what the pagans did during Jesus time and so we should avoid it. So how do we apply Jesus' principles to our prayer times? Three Steps to Appropriate Prayer Times
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“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men,
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Yet, in the verses above it seems like Jesus is contradicting himself by telling us to do our charitable deeds in secret. So what did he mean? Was he contradicting himself? Not at all! In fact, when we read the verses above in context we can see they come immediately after Jesus has discussed loving our enemies. The main reason he admonishes us to love our enemies is the same reason he tells us to be a light to the world – so that others may see our good works and glorify God. It is the intent of the heart that is the message here. If you are doing good deeds to make people think better of you, you are doing them for the wrong reasons. If you are volunteering to help those less fortunate because it looks good on your resume, your heart is in the wrong place. Jesus would call you a hypocrite, because you want praise from others for your volunteer work.
Why do you do good deeds? Why do you feed the homeless or care for the orphan? As a Christian your motivation should be to please the Lord. To offer yourself into His service to use as He sees fit. For example, when I was 19 years old and a brand new Christian, my life had new meaning. I wanted to make God happy and serve Him, but I had no idea how to do that. Up until that point in time, my life was solely focused on me. But when Jesus came into my life I had a complete change of heart and character. I can remember one day stepping outside and saying, “Lord, direct my feet today. Show me how I can serve you.” So I started walking and the more I walked the more I knew where I was supposed to go – the nursing home around the corner from me. I hesitated of course because as a young person nursing homes freaked me out. And this one in particular reeked of vomit and urine. It was run by the government and to say it was poorly run would be an understatement. So I didn’t want to go there because A) it smelled B) I was afraid of what I would find and C) I was not sure what I was supposed to do once I got there. But I obeyed because I wanted to please God. My motivation was not to make myself look good or feel good, but to obey God and please Him. So I walked right up to the front doors of that senior home where a few severely crippled seniors were sitting outside in wheelchairs. One of them looked up at me almost immediately and said, “Are you here for me?” I took that as my cue and said, “Yes. I guess I am.” I introduced myself and Bill (that was his name) asked if I would take him for a walk in his wheelchair. To make a long story short, at that time I was singing in different churches on Sunday mornings. Turns out, the church I had just sung in that Sunday morning was where Bill was a member, and he was miserable because he had been forgotten by them. You see, up until the time he was put in the nursing home, someone would pick him up every Sunday morning to bring him to church. As his disease progressed (he had cerebral palsy) and he became more difficult to understand, they just stopped coming. And every Sunday Bill would wait outside the nursing home for someone to come get him to take him to church. This is why he said, “Are you here for me?” Ultimately, God used my desire to please Him to answer a lonely man’s prayer that his church would remember him. Now, I don’t tell you all this to make myself “look good”. This happened over 30 years ago and Bill is long gone. I tell you this to show you how we can let our light shine without bragging about it, so that God can be glorified. It is all about our attitudes and motives. If you give or do a charitable deed for the praise of men, God's light will not shine through you. Why? Because you are seeking to glorify yourself not God. And when we are obedient and we seek to please the Father, miracles can happen. In this case, the miracle was that the very church I had sung at that morning was the church who had dropped the ball on making sure Bill got to church on Sunday mornings. What are the odds for me to have sung at that church and then that very afternoon meet a man who was desperate to attend there? As a young person let me tell you, that act of God had a huge impact on me and how I approached my days. So God helped Bill but He also taught me to be acutely aware that He was guiding the events of my day. Letting our light shine is different than giving money or helping a charity for the praise of men. Giving by faith (either monetarily or by deed) is all about attitude and motive. Jesus called those who gave and made a big deal about it, hypocrites. He said in Mark 7:6, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Mark 7:6). God receives more glory and praise when we don't advertise what we are doing. So let your light shine "in secret" as it were. You will be amazed how God works His good, pleasing and perfect will through an obedient heart.
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Read Matthew 5:43-48
Continuing on with our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus once again says some very hard things. Love your enemy? How is that even possible? How are we supposed to love those who murder innocent children persecute us for our faith like the members of the terrorist group ISIS are doing? How could Jesus ask that and how do we reasonably implement it? Fortunately, by digging into Scripture we find our answers. More importantly, we discover that once again the NIV leaves out crucial verses that make what Jesus has said, so much easier to understand.
Let's start by looking at the first verse of this passage: "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’" (Matthew 5:43) Once again Jesus refers to the Torah to lay the foundation of where He is going. So let's look at the passage He was referring to. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18) The first question we need to ask is - who is our neighbour? According to the Hebrew definition of the word used here, which is rea`, our neighbour would be everyone we meet, from friends and intimate companions, to fellow citizens. The Greek word for neighbour was plēsion and meant the same thing. Our neighbour was anyone we meet. The Law made it clear then that no one was to treat anyone badly, even to the smallest of citizens. Jesus goes on to say: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44-45, NKJV). And it is here that we find the NIV has once again deleted crucial verses that show us the steps to loving our neighbour. Here is what the NIV says: But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45, NIV). As you can see, the NIV deletes how we are to love our enemies - by blessing them, doing good to them and praying for them. And why are we to do these things? So that we may show we are children of God. This is what makes us different above all else and it is why Christians are supposed to be known as a peaceful, non-retaliatory people. We are not supposed to respond in kind. We are not supposed to behave like the world. We are to rise above it. Proverbs 25:21-22 says it best: If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you. Jesus goes on to say that if we only love those who love us how are we any different than tax collectors? FYI - tax collectors were on the low rung of the ladder in Jesus' day because they were public officials of Jewish nationality who worked for the Roman government, and were generally despised by the people. It was common knowledge that the tax collectors cheated the people they collected from by collecting more than was required and keeping the extra for themselves. The tax collector Zacchaeus, confessed to the Lord that he had done this (Luke 19:8). So, yeah - very hard to like, let alone love. Yet Jesus said: "If you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?" In other words, loving our enemies by doing something good for them (bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you) is how we win them over to Christ and isn't that our ultimate goal? To see those still trapped in darkness enter into the light of Christ? Matthew 5:48 sums up what happens to the Christian who loves their enemies as Jesus described. Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48, NKJV). The KJV version and the NIV both say, "Be ye therefore perfect." The NKJV in a roundabout way explains how that perfection is attained. The word for "perfect" comes from the Greek word teleios which means "perfect, of full age, completed". In other words this final verse tells us that if we practice love the way Jesus taught us, we will become fully mature, perfect, and complete in Him - just as our Father in heaven is perfect.
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“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person.
Have you ever noticed in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount how he gently prepares his audience to accept something new? He starts off by letting them know who is blessed and why (Matthew 5:2-12). He then goes on to point out that if they are going to follow Him, their behaviour will have to be different than those around them (Matthew 5:13-16). He enforces this by letting His listeners know that He is the fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17-20). He then goes on to begin almost every topic with a variation of this set of words: "You have heard that is was said...but I tell you," referring to the laws of the Old Testament (Torah). In fact, for the rest of Matthew five that is how he begins each topic. He did this to contrast the Pharisaical interpretation of the Law with His fulfillment of its intent. And once again we see in the verses above that Jesus gets to the intent of the law and in the process shows us what grace is all about.
The principal of retaliation was taken from Exodus 21:24 as a means to end disputes. The judicial penalty of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was a common practice among the Hebrew nation as well as other nations of the time. But Jesus realized those who enforced these laws were using them as a license for revenge. This is why he started this topic off with, "You have heard that it was said," because now He was going to tell them a new way to live and the proper interpretation of Exodus 21:24. Rather than give in to anger and revenge against your neighbour, Jesus proposed a better way on how people were supposed to react when confronted with evil. And by evil I am talking about the sin nature that is present within all people. It doesn't disappear as some Christians are taught to believe. Just because you have been forgiven by God and saved from eternal punishment because of Jesus' sacrifice for you, doesn't mean your sin nature (your ability to sin) has disappeared. It will be present with you until the day you die. This is why Paul voiced his displeasure at the war that raged within his body (Romans 7:13-25). Instead of responding with anger, violence or revenge (giving into our sin nature) Jesus wanted people to follow His example and rise above it. Therefore we need to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). As God showed grace to us, we are to show grace to others. Jesus then goes on to give us five examples on how we can extend grace to others. Five Ways We Should Respond in Difficult Situations
The passages above do not mean that a man or woman should not defend their family when threatened or defend their country. But rather they should not attempt personal vengeance, to compensate for a personal injury. Jesus' life is the best example of how to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21) and how to live life with grace. It is one every Christian should try to emulate.
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“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Continuing on with a look at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, I want to take a closer look at oath taking and the implications it might have for Christians in the world today. Are we for example, forbidden from swearing on a Bible in court?
Let us first look at the history Jesus is talking about here. In Exodus 20:7 we find this verse: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. So what does it mean to take the Lord's name in vain? And what does that have to do with swearing an oath? The word for "vain" in Hebrew is shav' and it means emptiness, vanity, falsehood, lying or worthlessness (of conduct). So "taking the Lord's name in vain" was to use it in a false, empty way. Many have taken this to mean we shouldn't curse using God's name and so we shouldn't, because it is using God's name in a profane way. Which we find in Leviticus 19:12 and is also something we should not do. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. So we have two verses that warn us about using the Lord's name in a false or profane manner (in vain). How does this relate to what Jesus was talking about in regards to oath taking? Deuteronomy 23:21 gives us an idea: When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. The word "vow" comes from the Hebrew word neder and means to promise or swear to do something. In this case making a vow to God and not following through is considered a sin. Each of these verses shows us that using God's name when taking an oath, as a way to show everyone your statements are true is essentially using it in a false, empty and profane way. In Old Testament times oaths taken in the name of the Lord were looked upon as binding, and if you didn't follow through with that oath, or you were never meaning to follow through, it was strongly condemned by Jewish Law. However, by the time Jesus came on the scene, the Jews had developed an elaborate system of oath-taking, adding to what the Lord had commanded, which often formed the basis of actual lying. In other words, there were stages of truth and thus also of falsehood within the system of taking oaths. Jesus alluded to this in Matthew 23:16-22. According to Jesus, all such oath-taking was unnecessary if one were in the habit of just telling the truth. It's so simple! Tell the truth and you do not need to take an oath. Hence his command do not swear at all. Jesus said, "Do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black." Again, the Lord is driving home the point that no one should use God's name in vain this way, because He is Holy and the creator of everyone and everything and so should be respected - not used to extract the truth out of someone or extract a promise from someone. Instead, we are to let our yes, be yes and our no, be no. Why? Because as Jesus said, "Whatever is more than these is from the evil one." This is why Christians will not and should not swear on a Bible in a courtroom or swear using God's name in any way at all. Jesus is telling his disciples to speak the truth in such a way that their “yes” means yes and their “no” means no. To make an oath or vow that is binding and using God's name to cement that oath is, as Jesus says, "from the evil one."
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Read Matthew 5:27-32
Continuing on with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, today we look at what Jesus had to say about adultery and some of the strange things he said in regards to that topic.
It is interesting to note that when you look up the word "adultery" in Strong's Concordance you get the standard definition of the word which is "to have unlawful intercourse with another's wife". But you also get this definition, "A Hebrew idiom, the word is used of those who at a woman's solicitation are drawn away to idolatry, i.e. to the eating of things sacrificed to idols." So what did Jesus say about adultery in general? Like he did with anger, he looks at the intent of the heart. As he did with anger when he equated it as being the same as murder, he says that when a man looks lustfully at a woman it is the same as committing adultery with her. The intent of the heart is what is looked at here and to drive that point home Jesus added the following: "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30, NKJV). So did Jesus literally mean that he wants us to pluck out and cut off our body parts? Not at all! Jesus is using the eye and the hand as a metaphor for how dangerous it is to give into the sin of adultery. What Jesus implies is that if your right eye is infected with disease then the logical thing to do would be to pluck it out. Likewise, if your hand is diseased and it is spreading the logical thing to do would be to cut it off. His point is not that one should literally pluck out their eye, or cut off their hand but that one should recognize that the source of lust comes from within the mind and heart of man, not from the physical organ itself. It is when we allow those lustful thoughts to fester that they grow and are acted on, thus resulting in sin. Jesus is teaching that men and women need to bring their lust under the control of the Holy Spirit. Jesus goes on to discuss divorce and how the sin of the heart (wanting what it can't or shouldn't have) results in adultery. In fact, he stressed that those who are married should never divorce unless the sin of sexual immorality (fornication) is present. I talked about the meaning behind fornication in another post and why it was so important to abstain from it. The point is clear, lust begins in the mind or flesh (as does all sin) and weaves its way into the heart, infecting the whole body. Once the mind begins to make excuses for why it's okay to sin, then it has no trouble convincing the heart of following through. God looks at the intent of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9-10), so if we do not bring our desires under the total control of the Holy Spirit then we are allowing sin to reign in our lives and ultimately saying to God, "I don't want to be obedient to you. You are no longer in charge of my life." And God will do as you ask and leave you to your own desires (Romans 1:24-25; Psalm 81:11-12). This is why we are told time and time again in scripture to run from sin because it destroys not just your relationship with God, but in the case of adultery, it destroys whole families. This is why Jesus put it so bluntly, because in the end it would be better to lose a limb than to see the destruction the sin of adultery can wreak.
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