Matthew chapter 6. So be turning
there if you would. And while you do so, let's be
reminded that the overall theme of the Sermon on the Mount is
the gospel of the kingdom. That is a kingdom, as we've taught
before, that's a dominion or a reign, as Romans 5.21 tells
us, a reign of grace, grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. It's a spiritual kingdom inhabited
by spiritually born-again children. So, if we're to exist in this
kingdom, it is to exist in another realm, so to speak. That is, based upon having been
given another life, spiritual life. Now, as we begin chapter
6, it's this same reign of righteousness that Christ continues to expound
upon. We saw in the latter section
of chapter 5 the extent of the perfect righteousness that we
must possess. That is, the absolute perfection,
see, that is required for any to enter into the presence of
a holy God. That is, the righteousness that
we must have is one that is imputed, or that means judicially charged
or reckoned to the account of all the citizens of the kingdom
of heaven. They have a perfect righteousness. but it's one they had absolutely
no part in producing. And specifically this righteousness,
it speaks of the finished accomplishment of the Lord Jesus Christ, culminating
in His death on the cross, where there He was a substitute and
a representative for all those sinners that the Father had chosen
and given to Him from eternity past. Their sins were laid upon
Him They were charged or imputed to his account and in his death
he paid the penalty in full due for all of their sins, putting
them away forever. And God judicially reckons, imputes
or charges to them righteousness. That is the perfect satisfaction
that Christ made before God's holy law and justice by his perfect
obedience even unto death. that is obeying the law and precept
and in his death paying the penalty that was due unto sins. Now in
chapter five we saw the extent of the righteousness required
for entrance into the kingdom of God and it was summarized
there in the verse preceding our passage for today the last
verse of chapter five verse forty eight when he says be ye therefore
perfect And that speaks of the perfect righteousness that's
required for entrance into his kingdom. That's what it must
measure up to. How much must it exceed that
of the scribes and Pharisees? He says, he summarizes in verse
48, be perfect. Well, that brings us then to
chapter six and here our Lord continues consistent with the
theme of his sermon. That is majoring on the gospel,
wherein the righteousness of God is revealed. But in this
passage here, Christ begins to address, I think, the area where
we're most prone to be deceived. And I'm speaking of the deceptiveness
of religion, particularly that which comes in the name of Christ,
but actually is a denial of Christ. And here's how it denies Christ.
Religion that comes in his name but denies him does so because
it perverts the scriptures consistent with our preconceived notions.
It does so by denying God's way of salvation, the gospel of the
kingdom. And it does so in its evidence
by its insistence that salvation is not based entirely, not solely
upon Christ, not upon his person and finished work alone, but
at the cross of Calvary here, but rather it involves believing
that there's some contribution that must be made from the center
in order to procure their own salvation. So Christ begins to
discuss religious duties and activities here in chapter six,
and he sets forth how we are to determine whether or not these
efforts to obey, whether they are acceptable before God or
not. And he does this by making a
contrast. And the contrast isn't based
upon the differences in the outward activities or the outward performance
of these religious acts. In other words, it's not based
on how much you give, how much you pray, how often you give,
how often you pray, and so forth. But rather, he directs our attention
to the heart of the matter, to the motive behind that which
we do. And in these verses we'll see
Christ exposed, listen to this now, the sinfulness that is inherent
in the performance of religious activities. And listen, it's
a sinfulness that's inherent in the performance of religious
activities and duties by all of us prior to God-given spiritual
life. Christ goes right to the heart
of the matter, the motive, as he sets forth in his sermon How
we are to examine our own religious motives to see whether our participants
participation springs from the proper motive. You know there's
two motives that we should be looking for as we study this
morning. One is the motive of merit that is finding merit within. And that's characteristic of
the religion of works whether that that merit is aimed at gaining
favor before other men. or gaining favor before God,
or both. Or alternatively, it's from the
motive of grace and gratitude. And that's characteristic of
the gospel of the kingdom. That is the true religion of
grace where all merit is properly assigned to the finished work
of Christ and nowhere else. So this morning in these verses,
we're going to see Christ bring our attention right down to the
heart of the matter. And that's the title of today's
message. The heart of the matter. Christ penetrates see to the
heart of the matter to the motive here in chapter six. And he does
so by addressing three specific religious duties that we're going
to look at. They are the giving of alms, prayer and fasting. And I think it'll be useful if
we'll consider these three specific religious duties in a broader
sense. And here's how, considering,
I want you to think of how all of our religious duties, our
works of religion, our efforts to obey God, they all might be
typified by one of these three areas. Think of it this way.
Almsgiving, see, it typifies those works that are aimed outward
at our fellow man. Their acts of charity are mercy
and compassion toward our fellow man. Prayer, it typifies that
which is directed Godward. And fasting just typifies those
things that are focused inward. And I'll put it this way, they
fall in the category, those things that are acts of self-denial
or self-sacrifice in devotion to God. So I'll direct your attention
now to the word, and I'm going to just simply comment on this
passage as we proceed through it. So look with me there in
Matthew 6, beginning in verse 1, where we read, 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. Christ begins
right away, and he says, listen, take heed. And I think this is
applicable to all of us, even to believers. You see, because
of our remaining sin, when we get to the heart of the matter,
to the motives and examine our motives, we'll see that as sinners,
there's really no such thing as a pure motive behind anything
that we do. Look, even our best, our best
well-intentioned efforts, they're tainted by our remaining sin. And it's going to be like that
throughout our lifetime. And when he says, take heed,
the suggestion, see, is that as sinners, we're in great danger
of erring in what he is about to say. So let's take heed. Some suggest here in verse one
that when he says the doing of alms, that it should be considered
in a more general sense as meaning the performing of any works of
righteousness, any efforts, religious efforts of obedience that would
include the giving of alms, prayer, fasting, and so forth. And some
suggest that's how we should take the reading of verse 1 in
contrast to the same wording that's used in verse 2, because
there in verse 2 it is speaking specifically about charitable
giving to the poor when it talks about giving alms. So I just
share that with you as a matter of interest, and I think that
may well be the proper interpretation, but I'm not certain of that.
But what I am confident about in this context is that as sinners,
we absolutely have every reason to obey this command, to take
heed, to really look at all of our acts of religious service. That is to examine and confront
whether or not we do what we do to be seen of men or to what
extent we may do that. And I think it's important, because
look what Christ said. He said, if that's your motive,
ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. That's serious.
And I believe the sense of this is that if the primary motive
behind your religious activities is to be seen of men, then he's
telling you, you've no warrant to consider yourself a citizen
of this kingdom at this time. So let's read on there, where
in verse 2, he is definitely addressing those works which
are typical of works that are directed outward toward our fellow
man. And he does it by specifically
talking about the giving of alms. He says, 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. Now alms, alms refers to charitable
giving. primarily to the poor or needy.
And the case is often made that the giving of alms really refers
to any compassionate acts of charity or mercy, including giving
in support of a true gospel ministry. The sense of that Greek word
there, it carries the connotation of giving to the needy in an
act of compassion and mercy. So to the extent that we support
a true gospel ministry designed for the not only the physically
needy, but the spiritually needy, I think you can certainly make
that case and extend that concept of almsgiving to that. But look,
our natural conscience tells us that we should give to those
who are less fortunate, who cannot help themselves. And not only
that, the giving of alms, see, was prescribed under the Old
Covenant, under the law of Moses. And the general principle of
giving alms is set forth in the scripture as a byproduct of God's
grace. That is the principle that we
should all give to the needy, to address their needs, whether
physical or spiritual. As Proverbs 3.27 instructs, withhold
not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power
of thine hand to do it. So, as we see in Matthew 6 here
in the text, it's presupposed that all who profess Christ,
all who profess faith in him, that they will give. Christ takes
it for granted that these disciples and others who are listening
to him as he delivers his sermon, that they were in the habit of
charitable giving. That's not the issue. That's
not even in question. See, we should all give. The
issue is the heart of the matter. That's what he's talking about
here. Why do we give? Why do we extend any act of mercy
or compassion to our fellow man? What is our motive? Now, from
what I could tell in my study, these hypocrites here that he
mentions, they did not literally sound a trumpet before they went
to give their alms. But rather, Christ is illustrating
that the desire to be recognized and receive the glory of men
by these was such that they might as well have done so. They may
as well have had a trumpet sounded to announce their benevolence,
to be sure that it would be noticed by other folks. Now if you know
human nature, you know that recognition is a powerful motivator. I don't
know if any of you have been involved in any fundraising.
I'm sure most of you at least have been solicited by someone
doing some fundraising. But you'll know that the appeal
when people are raising funds for good causes, it almost always
involves the publication of the names of those who contribute
to the cause. If you give a token amount, they
may list your name as a donor or a patron. But boy, if you
give a little bit more, you're a silver-level giver, a gold-level
giver. You're a platinum-level, diamond-level
contributor. And listen, it works. That's a testimony of the fact
that men and women act to receive the reward of recognition among
our peers. And to the extent we give for
that reason, that is the reward. No more and no less. And so it
is with our acts of religious charity. When Christ said, Verily
I say unto you, they have their reward, he's indicating that's
it. It's a reward, see, to receive the praise and honor of men,
an earthly reward, an earthly treasure. But he's saying that's
it. That's all the reward they'll
get based upon that motive. Now, verse three says, But when
thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth. That thine alms may be in secret,
thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Some think that verse three is
just a repeat or repetition of the thought there given in verse
two, that we're not to give charitably in order to be seen of men or
gain the applause of our fellow man. But I think verse 3 carries
it deeper. Look what he said. He says, don't
let your own left hand, he says thy hand, know what your own
right hand, thy right hand, is doing so that your giving will
be in secret. And I think here he's commanding
us, not only as he did in verse 2, don't do these works of religion
in order to be seen of men, but he's saying, Don't get any self-satisfaction
within in the performance of those good works toward our fellow
man. And now we're getting down to
the heart of the matter. You see, this exposes how our very
best motives for obedience, they are tainted by who and what we
are, sinners. So as you examine this, if you
take comfort and assurance from reflecting upon something good
that you did, then he's saying here, take heed. And you know,
we really should take heed because that kind of thinking may border
on actually finding merit in that which you've done. And if
you can find merit before a holy God based upon anything produced
by you, in you, through you, even if you think God was the
one that enabled you to do that. And look, God the Holy Spirit
does direct and guide us to do those things. But if you find
merit there, Then know this, you've yet to see the perfection
that a holy God really requires. Or you know there's no merit
there. Or else you've yet to see the reality of your own sinfulness,
of how far short you really follow that standard. And in reality,
if you've missed one or haven't seen that yet, you haven't seen
either, most likely. You see, as self-centered creatures,
we're always attuned and we're attracted to act in ways that
make us feel good about ourselves. You know, the bookstores and
libraries, they're full of books and writings on the value of
high self-esteem. And you know, when you do something
good, doesn't it make you feel good about yourself? It does
me. And listen, you might even feel
good about yourself if you've done something that nobody else
even knows about. In fact, We may have more pride,
or just as much, maybe more, if we do something in secret
that nobody else knows about. We can take even more comfort
in thinking that that has some sort of credits, something of
value, something of merit, potentially even. Well, I'm not doing all
this just to beat us all up this morning, but we do need to continually
recognize our sinful nature for what it really is. You can see
because there's great value in that. It'll point you to the
righteousness outside of yourself. You won't be looking for one
in here. In light of the purity and the
perfection that characterizes the righteousness of God's kingdom,
the one we must have It's helpful for us to get to the heart of
the matter as well and see how anything that is produced by
us, it has absolutely no meritorious value, not before God. Because see, it falls so short,
tainted, as it always will be in this life by our remaining
sin. So look, no works of righteousness
that we might produce, none of them are acceptable acts of obedience
before God. except and unless they be made
so, not by how well we perform them or how often we perform
them, but made so based solely upon that perfect righteousness
that's wrought out by a suitable substitute, one who can deliver
perfection indeed. You see, except we be one with
him, as we heard in the 10 o'clock hour, excepted in the beloved,
That's the way our works, our efforts are accepted. It has
nothing to do with the quality, frequency, or anything about
those things that we do in obedience to God the Father. Now, I think
it's important that we understand when Christ says that thine arms
may be in secret, that in the context here, keep in mind the
emphasis is on the heart of the manner, penetrating to the motive.
And it's important to keep that in view so we're not tempted
to misconstrue what is being taught here. He isn't legally
forbidding any giving that might be recognized by men. You see,
some might be tempted to use such an interpretation to justify
hoarding what they have under the guise that since others might
find out about it, I just won't give anything. And you can see
the foolishness of that reasoning. Yes, that's very convenient and
self-serving to us. The phrase, the beginning phrase,
when thou doest thine alms, shows that Christ is taking it for
granted, that the charitable, compassionate extension of mercies
to others is being done. To misapply that, it'd be like
someone saying this, I'm not, I'm going to start, I'm going
to quit going to church and forsake the worship services, you know,
because I wouldn't want anyone to think that my faithful attendance
here was some sort of legal act that I think has any merit. And
you can see that such reasoning there would amount to, that's
just a convenient twisting of the scriptures to fit our natural
and sinful preferences. Look, as we're about to look
at, the Lord looks on the heart, and He knows us. We might soothe over our own
conscience with such reasoning, but God knows us, and we can't
get away from that. And Christ is telling us here,
though, He's not talking about What what you give, how you give,
how often you give. He's talking about the motive
for which you give or by which you give. You notice he says
that the father which seeth in secret, who knows all things,
including our motives, it says he shall reward thee openly. I'm reminded of what our Lord
told Samuel in first Samuel 16. He said. The Lord seeth not as
man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance. But the
Lord looketh on the heart. You know, we can fool one another,
but there's a judgment to face and we can't hide from God. He
knows our thoughts. He knows our motives. He knows
them better than we know our own. The Lord looks on the heart. Now, when he says there, he mentions
that he would reward them openly. I believe that refers to the
judgment. When all things will be brought
to account before angels and men, the scriptures tell us,
when God in his gospel, see, shall be vindicated, as it tells
us, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is
indeed Lord. Then all shall know, see, that
his one way of salvation, conditioned on Christ alone, that it was
the truth and that all who were found in him, all who had been
brought to trust in Christ alone, so as to find all their merit
before God to be based upon a righteousness they had no part in producing,
but one that was imputed, charged to them. Well, then I believe
their heavenly citizenship and the magnificent inheritance that
awaits them, all the blessings that accompany that citizenship,
I think, shall openly be made known to all. And that's what
I think he means when he says he'll reward them openly. You
see, the issue here is, where is your reward? Do you get it
today, or is your reward based on a treasure in heaven? Beginning
in verse 5 now, we're going to look at the issue of prayer,
keeping in mind also the sense in which praying is typical of
religious activities that are directed Godward, such as prayer,
meditation. And he says in verse 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. There he says it again, they
have their reward. He's implying that's it. The
praise and the esteem of their fellow man, that's their reward,
nothing more. And he says, 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." So again, Christ
is going to the heart of the manor, to the motive for prayer.
And later on in verse 9, we'll see He deals with the manner
of prayer, but here He's talking still about the motive. And we
know from the whole of Scripture that He's not forbidding public
prayer. We're to pray publicly. But in
our meditation and prayer that is directed Godward, whether
it's publicly or, as he commands, in the closet, privately, here,
too, we see that remaining sin defiles even our best efforts
at praying to God. You see, no public prayer in
our worship services is important. You know, it's difficult to remember
that even when we pray in public, we're praying Godward toward
God. We're not praying for our audience. But I'll tell you, this will
get to you. Aren't you, like me, tempted
or inclined to pray? Look, at least somewhat mindful
of how you're being heard by others, of whether they're evaluating
something of your knowledge. Are viewing you as more or less
spiritual based on the things you pray? Are your thoughts and
your prayers directed Godward or are they directed to the audience? You just can't get away from
our sin, can you? But listen, I thank God that our feeble attempts
at prayer, they too are accepted because, and look, if and only
if we're accepted in the beloved. I'm thankful for Romans 8, 26,
where we're told that God, the Holy Spirit, helps believers
as they struggle to pray as they ought by interceding on our behalf,
knowing our hearts. He says he, with groanings that
can't be uttered. And I know, I know you are too.
When he says here in verse five, go into thy closet, it clearly
refers to a private place in contrast to those who Not just
those who pray in public, we're to pray publicly in our worship
service, but those who pray in public in order to be seen of
men. Think of the evil of that, praying
to God to be seen of men. We need to remember what prayer
is about. I plan to address in a separate
message the verses 7 through 15 that include the passage that
most of religion calls the Lord's Prayer. And it deals with a manner
of prayer. But when we get there, you'll
see that prayer is to be an expression of our need and dependency on
God. And as such, that's totally inconsistency
with such evil thoughts of pride that would have us to use prayer
to parade our piety in front of others, to seek to attract
the attention of others, or to gain a reputation of great spirituality. And you know, when I think of
this, I can't help but think of those folks who make a public
display in a public restaurant or eating establishment by bowing
their heads to say a prayer in a restaurant before they eat
their meals. And I'm ashamed to say years ago, I too occasionally
would do that. And you know, when I did, I was
proud of my willingness to take that stand, to make a statement
that I was a man of prayer, see, as part of my witness. Think
about that. What's that a witness of? Witness
of what? I'll tell you what it was. It was a witness of my own
self-righteousness. It was to be seen of men. It
brought attention to me, though I didn't recognize it as that.
It was driven, see, by my interest in how others viewed me. And
that activity, I thought, was letting my light shine before
men. But that's not letting your light so shine before men that
they see your good works that glorify your Father, which is
in heaven. No, that's vain glory. And it's
designed to bring attention and glory to the sinner, not to the
Savior. Now, it was interesting here
for me to learn that this same word for closet, that it It's
used here, it's translated later on in the book of Matthew as
secret chambers. And I read where some believe
that those Jews who were contemporaries of Christ, who heard his sermon
on the Mount, that when he referred to thy closet or secret chambers,
that one place in particular would likely have come to their
minds. And that would be the innermost section of the temple
where God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. It was a closet, a secret
chamber from which the people see were barred. Only the high
priest could enter as a representative of the nation to meet God. And
he had to carry sacrificial blood with him or God would strike
him dead. And the one piece of furniture inside that Holy of
Holies inside the veil was the Ark of the Covenant, which contained
the tablets of the broken law, the broken tablets Upon that
ark sat the mercy seat. And here, in that holy of holies,
one man spoke to God and God spoke to one man. Now, think
of it. On this side of the cross, in
Hebrews 10, 19, we read, having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. by a new
and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil." That veil that separated the Holy of Holies was miraculously
torn in two when Christ died. He says, through the veil, that
is to say, His flesh. That is His death. Based on His
death, we have full access to the Father in prayer. And having
a high priest over the house of God, Let us draw near with
a true heart and full assurance of faith, of the faith that looks
there for all of our reconciliation before God, for our access to
the throne of grace, having our hearts see sprinkled from an
evil conscience. He's knowing that even my sinfulness,
the sinfulness that exists in the best prayer I can deliver,
that's all been taken away. My heart has been sprinkled from
that evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Think of the privilege that's afforded us by virtue of our
mercy seat. The scriptures tell us that Jesus
Christ is our mercy seat. He's the one that covered the
broken law that was typified there under the old covenant. In other words, think by virtue
of the satisfaction made by Christ in perfect satisfaction to that
law and justice, in appeasing God's wrath, You see, for having
broken that law, that's what the mercy seat means. It means
propitiation, that which would appease the wrath of God for
all the sins that he bore there on the cross of Calvary so that
we might commune directly now with a holy God based solely
upon the very blood and righteousness by which grace reigns in his
kingdom. So go boldly into that closet.
based solely, see, on that which provides you access and fellowship
with God the Father, the blood of Jesus. That's just another
way of saying, based upon the righteousness, see, which was
established and finished by His death, His blood. Now if we approach
God in that closet, OK, that is in in a secret place, so as
not to be seen of others, but also based solely upon the very
ground of reconciliation, his blood and righteousness, the
mercy seat which covered that broken law, whereby because of
that I can commune with him in prayer on that one and that only
basis, really the only basis upon which I can rightly call
him my father. Well, if I can do that, And if
I've been given spiritual life to cause me to look there, then
I can know that I shall be among those that he speaks of that
shall be rewarded openly. Now, as I said, we're going to
skip verses 7 through 15, and I want to deal with them separately
in another message as I deal with the manner of prayer. So
skip with me down to verse 16, where we'll consider the issue
of fasting. Keep in mind, again, the sense which fasting is typical
of religious activities that are directed inward in this sense,
that they might fall in the category of religious acts of self-denial
or self-sacrifice in attempts to focus on God, to be in a prayerful
spirit, whatever. So in verse 16, Christ says this
about fasting. He says, 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. Now fasting, see, consisted of
a practice that was very common in their day of occasionally
abstaining from food or drink or other pleasures to subject
the needs and the desires of the body to the burdens of the
heart, to a prayerful spirit before God. And while it appears
there was no command, see, to fast under the old covenant that
I could find, here again the context suggests that if, that
Christ assumes that these who were listening to him, that they
would fast, as was customary in their day. He says, when ye
fast. And certainly he did nothing
here to discourage the practice of fasting. But rather, again,
he goes straight to the why, the motive. We know that the
Pharisees, they required fasting at least once a week. We know,
you remember in Luke 18 and the parable there that the Pharisee
boasted he fasted twice per week. You know, he went way beyond
what was customary. Now, read with me in verse 17. He says, But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face, 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.
Here we see that Christ goes beyond telling them to simply
refrain from the self-serving efforts of, you know, putting
on this frown face or whatever it is to make sure folks knew
you were fasting. But here he says actually take
some proactive measures so that others will not recognize that
you're performing this religious activity. So how does that apply
to us today? I believe it has something to
do with not wearing our religion on our sleeves, so to speak.
In other words, not conducting ourselves in such a way that
brings attention upon ourselves under the pretense that we're
performing some sort of act of self-denial or sacrifice that's
solely motivated by our devotion to God. Now, there's no direct
command that I could find. in God's Word requiring anyone
to fast or teaching that we should fast. So we have to conclude
that that specific act, that's left to the discretion of each
believer to decide whether they should fast, when they should,
if so, when, how often, how long. You see, the only thing that
our Lord requires of those that do fast is what we see here in
this verse. And listen, you might well substitute
for fasting here the performance of any act of self-denial that
would reflect your devotion to God, and His only requirement
is that it be done in secret. Do not appear unto men to fast. Now, that's the only rule or
guideline pertaining to fasting that I'm aware of in the Scriptures.
There was nothing wrong with the practice of fasting. But
when sinners believe that that in some way commends them unto
God, or when they even think that this or any other religious
practice is proof that they are saved, or that they are in favor
with God, or look, when they take pleasure in allowing others
to judge them in favor with God, to judge them to be saved based
on such acts, then that becomes a dead work, fruit unto death,
and it's to be repented of. As before, that esteem, see,
whether it's self-esteem or the esteem by which others hold us,
well, that is their reward. And again, that's it, their only
reward. Look, always keep in mind what
Christ said as it was recorded in Luke 16, 15, when he said,
ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your
hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men, is abomination in the sight of God. We can't have
it both ways, see? Now, I believe verses 19 through
24 pretty much summarize all of these preceding verses. So,
look with me in verse 19. This summary begins like this.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. The light of the body is the
eye, speaking of the understanding. If therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye, thine
understanding, be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, not really
light, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and Mammon." There in verse 22, considering that the eye represents
the understanding, how we view and judge things. He says, if
the eye, the understanding, if it's single, that is, if it sees
and bows to God's testimony, to the realities of his word,
not how we might want to understand them, but what God has to say
to us here. His standard by which he judges
men, if it bows to that, it won't have anything else to do with
any other righteousness than the one he produced and has made
the sinners by imputation. to God's gospel, that is, His
way of salvation to the exclusion of any other. If your eye is
single, see, if your understanding is single, He says, the soul
is full of light, that is, of truth. This refers, I believe,
to the light of the gospel of Christ, the light wherein the
glory of God is revealed, 2 Corinthians 4, 6, where we see how He can
justly justify sinners. If the eye, see, the understanding
If it be evil, that is, if it's, as we've seen in these verses,
if that motive is self-serving, if I find some merit within,
in other words, an understanding that's clouded with our self-interest,
our self-righteousness, our self-love, our religious pride. The soul
then is full of darkness. The evil here doesn't see refer
to immorality, although immorality is evil. But that's not what
he's talking about here. He's talking about religious
men and women performing religious activities. But see, until sinners
see the truth of God as it is in Christ, the whole soul is
full of darkness, no matter how much other truth they may have. And they do. You can turn on
the television and you can listen to messages all over this town.
And I've heard some where I said, well, I don't disagree, but he's
not dealing with the vital issues that affect men so necessarily.
But there's a lot of truth in this book. You see, the Jews
had a lot of truth. The ones he's speaking to here,
they had a whole lot more truth than the Gentiles. They had the
gospel in picture and type. And the Gentiles had been left
to themselves. But those Jews, for the most
part, they were still full of darkness. Why? He says, if therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. You see, they rejected the light
they had. That light refers to the truth,
the gospel, which really did reside in the nation of Israel.
See, in the Law of Moses, under all those types and pictures,
we just spoke of one, the Ark of the Covenant, inside the Holy
of Holies. And it resided in the testimony
of the prophets as well. And that light became darkness,
see, not because the light changed or was insufficient, but it was
because the Jews rejected it. And so it is today, see, when
men take the religious things, even this word, the word of God,
and they distort the understanding of scriptures so that it fits
our natural preconceived notions of the way we want God to save
us. And so, in doing so, they presume
they have light. But look, that's not the light
that glorifies God. It's not the light that exalts
Christ and that would remove all boasting in them. And how
is that evidence? How do we know that exists? It
exists, and we see it manifest as people cling to the false
notion that their salvation, their acceptance before God is
conditioned in some way, at least to some degree on themselves,
they find merit within. We're getting to the heart of
the matter. See the motive. And here we see just how deceptive
religion can be when you consider that to be an error on the light,
that is on the gospel truth, on how God saves sinners based
solely on the person and work of Christ, based on his righteousness,
nothing else. To be in error there, see, is
described by Christ to actually be in great darkness. He said, how great is that darkness? You see, you know, the emphasis
is there because we all naturally know that acts of immorality,
murder, adultery, stealing, we know those things. We don't have
to be taught those things. We know those things are wrong,
but right here, There's deception. That's great darkness. You see,
in going to the heart of the matter, Christ exposes that you
can't have it both ways. No man can serve two masters,
he says. God's word, see, isn't here for
us to cherry pick and choose what fits our natural persuasions
so that we can go merrily along and not be confronted with the
reality of our desperate need for true mercy from God. Instead, so we go about, or men
are inclined to go about, maintaining, perceiving and understanding
the gospel in a way that they can maintain some control over
determining their own eternal destiny by insisting that salvation's
condition, again, at least in part, in some way, in some degree,
on something that proceeds from us, It might be, well, all I
did was believe, or I accepted Him as my Savior, or I invited
Him to my life. But that's a condition based
on you. You see, our believing is a fruit and effect. It is
not a cause of our salvation. There is no merit there. And
he says, how great is that darkness? Look, it's so great that it takes
a new life, a spiritual life, We have to be born again, be
given new eyes to see something we couldn't see before. If we're going to see any different,
that's what it'll take. God must give us an understanding,
and I pray that he'll do just that for anyone and everyone
who hears this message, if he hasn't done so already. When
I consider verses 19 through 21 in the context, I see it as
a reminder to continually take heed and inventory of why. We do what we do to examine our
own hearts. Where's your treasure? What do
you treasure? What is really most important
to you? Where, where are our priorities? Well, God knows, but he knows
our hearts. It matters not if you and I are able to fool each
other because we can, but the judge of all, the one that will
ultimately matter. He seeth in secret. Christ declared
that wherever your treasury is, there will your heart be also.
Philippians 3 20 says of those who have spiritual life, that
their conversation and that word means their citizenship is not
of this world, but says their citizenship is in heaven. They
are made citizency of his kingdom and their reward is in heaven. Their reward is not found in
this world. But do you and I go about our
daily lives as citizens of this kingdom, or do we live predominantly
as earthly citizens, as if everything is wrapped up in this fleeting,
decaying, temporary life here on earth? How are we to lay up
for ourselves treasures in heaven? Well, verse 33 of this chapter
is helpful. As Christ commands there, He
says, Seek ye first. The kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you. You see, we're
talking about an inheritance. It's not even earned by our seeking. It's unearned. That's what an
inheritance is, an inheritance that is incorruptible. It's eternal. And listen, it is no less magnificent
than that which the Lord of glory himself. We're talking about
the impeccable Lamb of God. The God-man, it's no less than
what he could merit in his life and death. And now that's got
to be some kind of good. Look, in closing, consider God's word
as he gave it to us in Colossians 3, 1. There we read, if ye then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, live
like it. As we heard in the 10 o'clock
hour, walk as children of light. Where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God, set your affections on things above, not on things
on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. What
motivates you? Where do you find your reward?
Where's your treasure? Well, that tells you where your
heart is. And that's the heart of the matter. And as I hope
you've seen today, that really does matter.