Motives for Righteous Acts
Matthew 6:1-4
In our verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Matthew, we are entering a new chapter and a new section of the Sermon on the Mount. Let me briefly review where we’ve been so far. In the first four chapters, Matthew has presented Jesus as the promised King and Messiah in fulfillment of scripture. Jesus’ preaching and teaching centered on the Kingdom of Heaven. His message was the same as His forerunner, John the Baptist, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). In Matthew 5-7 Jesus is teaching His disciples (Matt. 5:1-2) about the kingdom of heaven, God’s kingdom of righteousness. In Matthew 5 Jesus explained the righteousness of His kingdom—true righteousness. The first section was the Beatitudes which dealt with the Christian’s character. Then we had the salt and light passage which dealt with the Christian’s influence. Then we had the longer section on the law which dealt with the Christian’s moral righteousness.
Jesus taught that the righteousness that God requires is not just an external conformity to the law of God or the religious traditions but an internal righteousness of the heart. And if we were honest with ourselves, when we applied God’s standards of righteousness to our own lives, we found that we fall short. We saw that God’s righteousness is so high that He considers anger to be murder and lust to be adultery. He requires that we not only love our neighbors but also our enemies. We saw that none of us can measure up to God’s righteousness, therefore, we need a Savior. And Matthew has already stated that Jesus is the One who will “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). The whole Sermon on the Mount is meant to drive us to the Savior, Jesus Christ, from whom we can be filled with a righteousness that comes from God.
We saw that the righteousness of the Kingdom was a gift of God’s grace. Jesus taught, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). We desire the righteousness of God that we do not have when we recognize our profound spiritual poverty (Matt. 5:3), mourn in repentance over our sin (Matt. 5:4), and submit in meekness to the Lord (Matt. 5:5). The Bible teaches that God makes the truly repentant sinner completely righteous in His sight as an act of grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
Now as we begin Matthew 6, Jesus picks up the theme of righteousness again: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 6:1). The NASB translates that verse, “Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” The reason that the NASB and many modern translations say “righteousness” instead of “charitable deeds” is because the older and more reliable Greek texts of the New Testament have the Greek word for “righteousness” (dikaiosunê) in Matthew 6:1, but the NKJV is based on some of the later texts which instead have the word for “charitable deeds” (eleêmosunês). This variant in the Greek text probably came from a copyist who changed the word in order to make it match the verses that immediately follow. This is important; because in Matthew 6:1 Jesus gives not just the principle for charitable giving, but for all kinds of acts of righteousness.
And so, when we come to Matthew 6, the theme is still that of living a righteous life as subjects of the kingdom of Jesus. But Jesus knows our sinful human hearts. Having learned that God’s righteous standard is so high that none of us can attain it—that all of us are unrighteous sinners—Jesus knew the tendency of men to offer religious works to cover our sinful deeds. We might think that because we do good religious things to make up for our unrighteous thoughts and deeds. But Jesus is going to show that even the good that we do is tainted by the wrong motives.
Jesus not only called His followers to a righteousness that was greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees; but He also called them to higher motives than theirs too. Speaking against the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites, He said, “. . . All their works they do to be seen by men” (Matt. 23:5).
Jesus is calling us, as His followers, to check the motives for our good works and religious actions. He gives the general principle for practicing true righteousness in Matthew 6:1 and then gives examples in Matthew 6:2-18 that deal with three very important areas of spiritual life: in giving (Matt. 6:2-4); in praying (Matt. 6:5-15), and in fasting (vv. 16-18). Those are broad and basic areas of spiritual activity; and in instructing us on these three areas, Jesus is teaching us how we are to express true righteousness in all areas of spiritual life. These three words of instruction touch on the three basic areas of relationship in our spiritual life: charity with respect to others; prayer with respect to God; and fasting with respect to the denial of self.
Let’s begin by considering the basic principle that underlies Jesus’ three words of exhortation.
1. The principle: The motive for our righteous deeds must be to please our heavenly Father, not to be seen by men (Matt. 6:1).
Listen to Matthew 6:1 again, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds (righteousness) before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” The general principle is that we do not do our acts of righteousness before men, with the motive of those righteous deeds being seen by men. And you can see, as you read further in Matthew 6, that this is a general principle that is being expanded on by our Lord in the rest of this passage through specific examples. In Mattthew 6:2, He says, “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you . . .”; saying that the hypocrites do this “that they may have glory from men” Or in Matthew 6:5, He says, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, that they may be seen by men.” Or in Matthew 6:16, He says, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.” Do you notice the connecting words? “Therefore . . .”? “And . . .”? “Moreover . . .”? These all help us to understand that these later verses are expanding on the general principle that Jesus gives to us in Matthew 6:1.
I want to emphasize three things about this general principle in Matthew 6:1. First, notice how Jesus begins: “Take heed!” The word that’s used in the original language means “to have” something, or “to hold to” something. It’s the idea of actively ‘holding your mind’ toward this warning. This is a present active imperative command in the second person plural. This means that this very clear command is for all of Christ’s disciples and it isn’t something we just do once and then forget about it. We are all to constantly beware of having the wrong motives when we do good things.
We need this warning because we are constantly in danger of falling into the trap of doing our righteous acts to be seen by others. In fact, I would suggest that the longer you walk with the Lord Jesus, and the more your life becomes characterized by acts of righteousness as a regular pattern of daily practice, the more you need to heed this warning. It’s very, very easy to begin to lose our focus; and to slide from doing acts of righteousness for the sake of God’s glory and into doing them for the sake of our own reputation.
Next, look at the principle itself: that we are not to do our acts of righteousness before men, “to be seen by them“. Now, immediately, some of you might be thinking, “But wait a minute! Didn’t Jesus just teach, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven‘ (Matt. 5:16). Are we supposed to let our good works be seen or not? Jesus, of course, is not contradicting Himself. The issue is not whether our good works are public or not; the issue is the motive behind our good works. When you let your “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,” it should be in order that they may “glorify your Father in heaven”—not that they may glorify you. If we are seeking the Father’s glory in our righteous deeds, then we’re doing them before men with the right motives of heart. But if we do our acts of righteousness before men in order “to be seen by them,” to receive their approval and applause, then we are letting the light shine so that it may shine upon ourselves. We are robbing God of His glory, and taking it for ourselves. This is what Jesus warns us against.
To do our good works to be seen by men is seeking to please ourselves rather than the Lord. Selfishness can lead to doing great exploits in the name of Christ when in reality, we are doing it for ourselves. John Wesley traveled to the primitive colonial state of 18th-century Georgia to do missionary work before he was truly converted. He thought that such action would improve his standing with God, a self-centered motive. Though he did a noble deed, he found it to be a miserable experience wrought with wrong motives.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones searching comment hits the mark:
Ultimately our only reason for pleasing men around us is that we may please ourselves. Our real desire is not to please others as such; we want to please them because we know that, if we do, they will think better of us. In other words, we are pleasing ourselves and are merely concerned about self-gratification”[1]
Also, notice the conclusion that is attached to this general principle: “Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Jesus doesn’t say, “Otherwise – that is, if you ignore this word of instruction and do your acts of righteousness before men, in order to be seen by them – then you will have no reward at all.” In the examples that follow, He says that those who do give, pray, and fast to be seen by men will indeed receive a reward. “Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16). The point isn’t that they don’t get a reward. It’s that they get the thing that they were looking for: the applause of men. And that’s all they will ever get for what they did. They do not receive anything from their Father in heaven. They gain something very meager and fleeting as their reward; and by contrast, they lose something of precious and eternal value.
Paul captures the heart of Christ’s message when he wrote, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him … And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Col 3:17, 23). Is our aim in devotion and duty one of thankfulness unto the Lord? Are we doing all things to the Lord for the glory of God?
So that’s the general principle. Let’s look now at a specific example that the Lord gives to us. In verses 2-4, we see learn that . . .
2. In our giving: Give to the needy with right motives before God (Matt. 6:2-4).
Jesus says, “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed . . .” Jesus spoke the general principle in Matthew 6:1 in the plural. But here He changes His instructions to the singular. It gives the sense of: “Therefore, when you, as an individual, do a charitable deed . . .” Jesus gets personal with us in this example.
The word used in verse two for “charitable deed” is a word that refers specifically to acts of mercy, deeds of charity to those in need. It’s translated as “alms” in the old King James Version. Jesus assumes that His disciples will act in mercy to help those in need. This expectation is not new. The Old Testament tells us in many places that God’s people are to be careful to do acts of charity. In Deuteronomy 15:11, God speaks through Moses to the people of Israel and says, “For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’” Psalm 41 promises God’s blessing to the merciful:
Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive. And he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed (Psalm 41:1-3).
Proverbs 19:17 gives a great promise for God’s people who faithfully do acts of charity, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” Merciful giving distinguishes the righteous man from the wicked man: “The righteous considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked man does not understand such knowledge” (Prov. 29:7).
The warning Jesus gives is not in the charitable giving itself; it is in the motive for it. He says, “. . . When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets.” (Matt. 6:2). Jesus speaks of two basic realms of public activity: the synagogue, which was the center of religious life; and the streets, which was where everyday business life happened. That seems to cover all possible realms of public life, doesn’t it? The reason someone would sound a trumpet when he gives is obvious: “that they may have glory from men.” But what wouldn’t have been so obvious, unless Jesus had told us, is the result: “Assuredly,” says the authoritative Son of God, “I say to you, they have their reward.” The ‘horn blowers’ got what they were after. They received the attention and the glory of men. But that’s all they will ever receive. They have forfeited any reward from God.
Jesus is telling us this, I believe, because He doesn’t want us to experience the loss of an eternal reward. He wants us to be truly rewarded by His Father. While giving to those in need relieves human suffering, there is a bigger aim that the Christian keeps in mind. He desires to help others but more than anything, he offers his gift with a sense of gratitude for the great mercy that the Lord has shown him. He keeps the Lord in his eyes as he makes his gift. He gives with a view toward pleasing the Lord. It is because the believer has so thought upon the character and practice of Jesus Christ that he desires to do as Christ did in giving, and all to the glory of God.
And so, Jesus calls us to be different from those who seek the glory of men. In the original language, Jesus places the emphasis on us. It’s as if He says, “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matt. 6:3).
When we do an act of charity, we are to do the exact opposite of blowing a trumpet before ourselves as we do it. We’re to do our best to keep it from becoming public. The right hand is normally the active hand. So, Jesus assumes we shall use it when handing over our gift. Then he adds that our left hand must not be watching. John Stott comments that not only are we not to tell other people about our Christian giving; there is a sense in which we are not even to tell ourselves. We are not to be self-conscious in our giving, for our self-consciousness will readily deteriorate into self-righteousness.[2] By his words “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” writes Bonhoeffer, Jesus “was sounding the death-knell of the old man,”[3] For self-centredness belongs to the old life; the new life in Christ is one of uncalculating generosity.
You must completely trust the Father if you are going to do your charitable deeds in secret. You have to count on God alone to see it and reward it. But Jesus makes this wonderful offer: Do your charitable deeds in secret, “and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” or simply, “will Himself reward you.”
What a wonderful promise! You can be sure that the Father will not forget! Jesus said, “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42).
How can we do our charitable deeds in such a way as to truly keep them secret, and entrust them to the reward of the Father? Let me suggest three things.[4]
First, when doing a charitable act, I begin by giving myself to the Lord as an act of devotion and worship. The Macedonian churches were examples of this. In 2 Corinthians 8:5, the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers about the generosity of the believers in Macedonia toward suffering Christians in Judea. He said that the Macedonian Christians gave very generously; “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” That’s a good pattern to follow. First, give yourself to the Lord. Turn yourself and all that you have over to Him. And then, when He calls you to give to the needs of others, it’s not you doing the giving but Him. You are only His instrument of blessing; and God gets the glory—not you.
Second, remember what it says in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Think about what that means. When we desire to meet someone’s need, it’s a good work that our heavenly Father has prepared in advance for us. And if we have first given ourselves to Him, then we are to simply walk in the good work that He has already prepared for us. In that case, all we’re doing is being obedient to His call and stepping into what He’s already prepared for us. What glory would we deserve for doing that? None at all.
And finally, having faithfully done the act that God has given us to do as His instrument, I strongly suggest that we forget about it completely. Don’t tell anyone else about it. Don’t dwell on it. Just forget about it and move on. In doing so, you will be entrusting that charitable act to God, and depending on Him to remember it and reward you for it in heavenly glory. Jesus spoke of what would one day happen before His throne in the form of a parable, and said,
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:34-40).
You can be sure that He will remember and will fully reward every act of charity done in His name in secret.
Every time I give, every time I pray, every time I preach, I must ask myself, “Why I am doing this?” Am I giving for others to think well of me? Am I preaching to please people? Am I praying for others to see how pious I am? Or am serving God in order to simply please Him?
We as believers in Jesus Christ must be constantly examining ourselves to be honest before God. None of us are everything God wants us to be. But we have the opportunity to walk in a personal relationship with God and live in such a way as to make a difference in eternity. Isn’t it amazing that so many people trade the rewards of eternity for the trite praise of men here and now? We are of all people most honored that we can invest our lives in those things which will matter in eternity.
At the end of the day, God’s opinion is the only one that matters. It doesn’t matter what I think of you or what you think of me. His opinion of our worship, our Bible study, our preaching, our singing, our teaching, our praying is the only one that matters. So we have to ask ourselves when we come together to worship, “Who is our audience? Is it each other? Or is there indeed an audience of one, God alone, whose favor we desire?”
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[1] Martin Lloyd Jones, The Sermon on the Mount, vol. II, 14. Quoted by Phil Newton, NO HYPOCRISY, Copyright South Woods Baptist Church. http://archive.southwoodsbc.org/sermons/matthew_06.01-08,16-18.php
[2] John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 130.
[3] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (1937: 6th and complete English edition, SCM, 1959) quoted by John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985).
[4] Greg Allen, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2005/010205.htm#f1
