SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 6:1-18
Be careful to not do acts of righteousness before men; if you do, you won’t have any rewards from your Father in heaven. Instead, all you will have is man’s applause and recognition, when you really want/need God’s. Do not give to the needy for yourself and for recognition (let your left hand know what your right hand is doing). Instead, give in secret. The Father will know and will reward you.
Pray to God unseen so you are not trying to impress men in order to give the impression you are righteous. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray the Lord’s prayer. Forgive those who sin against you, and God will forgive you for your sins.
Do not fast in order to appear pious for men. Instead, don’t let others know you are fasting and look good while fasting. Your Father will see you and reward you.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 7, Day 2: Matthew 6:1-18
3a) Be careful to not do acts of righteousness before men; if you do, you won’t have any rewards from your Father in heaven.
b) About giving to the needy: Do not give to the needy for yourself and for recognition (let your left hand know what your right hand is doing). Instead, give in secret. The Father will know and will reward you.
About prayer: Pray to God unseen so you are not trying to impress men in order to give the impression you are righteous. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray the Lord’s prayer.
About fasting: Do not fast in order to appear pious for men. Instead, don’t let others know you are fasting and look good while fasting. Your Father will see you and reward you.
All of Jesus’s examples teach to do these things for God and not for man’s recognition.
4) Jesus says to shine God’s light in Matthew 5:14-16. In Matthew 6:1-4, Jesus says to not parade your good deeds around in order to seek man’s approval. Instead, God knows what you do, and you will be rewarded. Christians are to do good works so others can see God, but these works are not to be done in order to be seen doing these good works by others.
5) I tend to not care at all what others think. It can be easy to fall into the trap of putting up appearances, however. God and His opinion are all that matter.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 7, Day 2: Matthew 6:1-18
Good lesson ensuring you are working for God and not others. We can fall into this trap just because we aren’t cognizant of it.
Great reminder of God’s grace!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 7, Day 2: Matthew 6:1-18
This passage is warning us of worrying too much about your image, rather than who you truly are. Don’t do things for appearances; do them for the right reasons.
Applause and attention of men fade away quickly; God’s rewards are eternal.
Jesus speaks to giving, praying, and fasting since they were and still are so central to the Jewish faith and now Christians as well.
GIVING
Giving alms to the poor was expected of people, and it was counted as righteous. Doing so makes you a hypocrite if they are acting pious when they truly are not.
Hypocrite has ancient Greek origins of meaning “an actor.” However, its meaning changed to playing roles on a stage instead. Instead, give and not know you are giving because you are generous.
PRAYING
You should not pray to be seen. They insult God. Praying on street corners and in public without the right heart is not what Jesus wants.
Instead, pray in your room. This Greek word for “room” was a storeroom where treasures were kept.
Pray with meaning and not with words to impress God. Instead, let your words be few Ecclesiastes 5:2:
God knows our wants and our prayers before we speak them. We pray not to communicate these to Him, but instead to show God our hearts and desires and increase our faith in God.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
It’s important to remember that the Lord’s prayer is just a model that shows relationship, reverence, trust, and dependence on God.
- Recognize who you are praying to (Our Father in Heaven). Jews of the day rarely used “Father” for God as it was too intimate for them. God is in heaven, holy and glorious. Our Father includes everyone.
- God’s name, kingdom, and will above all else.
- List your needs — bread, forgiveness, and strength to resist temptation. Debts here refers to our sins. We all face temptation (James 1:13),, but we all have ways out.(1 Corinthians 10:13).
- Praise God. (Many Bible scholars agree the last line of the Lord’s supper was added later on since it was omitted by most early transcribers.
FORGIVENESS
You must forgive if you are to be forgiven by God. It is not an option.
For more on forgiveness by Jesus, read here: (Matthew 9:2-6, 18:21-35, and Luke 17:3-4).
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