For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 6:1).

The lifestyle demanded by Jesus in Matt 5 is difficult. That’s why it can be tempting to pretend—to fake it. It’s also why we are sometimes tempted to put on a show, in three areas.

Three key areas

• Giving. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others” (Matt 6:2).
• Praying. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others” (Matt 6:5).
• Fasting. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others” (Matt 6:16).

Motivation

• This concerns motivation.
• It’s all about the heart—in both testaments.
• The Lord is pleased not by religiosity, but relationship.
• Jesus knows our tendency to make ourselves look better than we are.

Rewards

• Though we do not earn salvation, we do accrue rewards (treasure) in heaven.
• These rewards are forfeit when we have behaved religiously in order to impress others.

Final questions

• Why do I do what I do?
• Would I still share my faith—or do other “Christian” things—if no one were around to witness it?
• Would I pray if I knew for sure no one would ever ask me about it?
• Am I using external or sub-Christian metrics to evaluate my faith, or am I truly dealing with the heart?

Next: Alms, the first of the three areas in which Jesus calls us to sincerity and modesty in the performance of our religion.