Week 7 Questions

1.  Two words come to mind when I read these verses.  Motive and audience.  This week reflect on these 2 words when you read through these verses.

2.  Are your prayers a duty or a privilege?

3. What is the purpose of fasting and does it have a role in your life?

4.  Is this format working for you?  Any suggestions or changes to make this work better?  Is anyone having problems with the login or posting?  The questions are meant to stimulate discussion but are not intended to limit the conversation.  Please share what is important to you.

Week 7 Matt 6:1-18

Giving to the Needy

 ¹ “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
   ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

    ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
   ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
   but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’
   ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

    ¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Week 6 Wrap-up

The themes I see in these verses are love and submission.  A life lived in Christ means submitting to his authority in every aspect of our lives.  As Paul says this is the transforming and renewing of our minds.  This allows us to love others beyond our own capabilities.  I like Tom’s description of having compassion and love for difficult people.  This is more than emotional love.  It is an act of the will that is accomplished when we have the love of Christ in us.  We are commanded to love God and love others.   There are no exceptions for difficult or even spiteful people.  It is easy to love when we are loved in return.  How much more is it to love those that are hurtful to us?

Submission to Christ also involves truth telling.  The people during Christ’s time were abusing the use of oaths.  They would swear by lesser things than God and therefore their words would not be binding. They could speak in partial truths and not fulfill the contract of their words.   It is similar for us.   Is it ever okay to speak anything less than the truth?  I find myself wanting to hedge on this one.  It is easy to rationalize telling partial truths when it seems insignificant, (e.g. white lies), to protect a family member or protect my own interests.  I would be taking a part of my life and making it exempt from the truth and therefore God’s authority.  Christ clearly speaks against this.

Submitting to Christ also means giving up “our rights”.  We have no right to retaliate, no right to our money or possessions, and no right to our time.   Read 1 Cor 9:19-23.  Paul was willing to give up his own rights and identity for the sake of the gospel.  What does this mean for us?  How we respond to a personal attack, use our time, money, and resources is evidence of our willingness to submit to Him.  Are you looking for opportunities to use what God has given you for the purpose of growing His kingdom?

I want to make an additional point about retaliation.  In today’s culture we have a perceived right to retaliate when we have been disrespected.  It takes enormous effort and self control not to fight back.  It does not mean we are to be doormats but our conduct should be consistent with a Christ-like life that is expected of us.  Read Romans 12:19-21.  “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good”.  This is not possible with our own strength but only with the love of Christ working in us.

This leads us to verse 48.  We are called to a standard of perfection but we all have fallen short, (Rom 3:23).  It is obvious we can’t do this on our own.   Christ’s sacrifice on the cross perfected our record but we will continue to sin, and he will continue to perfect us throughout life.  This is the hunger and thirsting for righteousness mentioned in the beatitudes and turning to him for daily forgiveness and cleansing.  We will continue to sin and may even enjoy doing it but He will continue to work on us.  Initially, it may be a gentle prodding, but it may be harsh if we continue to ignore him.  You can be sure He will continue shape us for his purposes.  See Phil 1:6.

The bottom line is our conduct is very important.  People come to know Christ as they see Him in the scriptures and in our conduct.  We may be the closest someone may ever get to Christ.  Is Christ’s love evident in your conduct?

I read these verses and questions and what comes to mind for me is compassion. I have tried to love difficult people and it is very tough. I get caught up in my hurt and anger which leaves little room for love. I pray to God to extend the compassion He uses to love me in spite of my hurt towards Him. I pray that God allows me to see the person as He sees them giving me the ability to step outside of myself. If I can do this, I sense compassion building and love trailing closely behind. I reflect on Christ hanging on the cross and asking God to forgive the people because they do not know what they are doing. What compassion Christ shows in light of these people killing Him. I pray for just a sliver of this.

Week 6 Questions

Give us your thoughts about these verses as God speaks to you this week.  Here are some questions to think about.

1.  Are there situations or an area of your life that is exempt from the truth?

2.  What rights do we have as Christians?

3.  What does it mean to be perfect?

Week 6 Matt 5:33-48

Oaths

    ³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.^[a]

Eye for Eye

    ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^{[b] 39} But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

    ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[c] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ 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. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Week 5 Wrap-up

No responses this week.  I hope this is useful and God is speaking to you through this study.  This portion of scripture gives us three great moral illustrations.  Victory over anger, purity in sexual matters, and faithfulness in marriage.  It should be noted that these verses are speaking to true believers in Christ.  The non-christian certainly may benefit from following these principles but he is not capable of truly fulfilling them on his own without a heart that is controlled by God.

It is easy for us to compare ourselves to another person and come to the conclusion that we are somehow “better” because our sins are lesser than theirs.  I may be verbally abusive to my wife but at least I don’t hit her like that guy, or maybe I had one extra-marital affair but that guy has had several affairs.  I may drink a little too much on occasion but “Joe” drinks way more than I do.  The point is you can always find someone that appears worse than you.

The principle that Christ is expressing  is not the concern for external righteousness but what is inside the heart.    We feel good about ourselves because no one can see the anger or sexual impurity that is hidden in our thoughts.  God is as concerned about anger as much as murder, impure sexual thoughts as much as actual adultery.   He is concerned about what is in our hearts.  The external righteousness or goodness that is part of our image means nothing when there is unconfessed sin in our hearts.  It is easy to substitute the ceremonial aspects of religion, (e.g. attending church or bible study), for the demands of a clear conscience before God.  Only God can provide this “divine” righteousness over time through the transformation of our minds and our hearts. 

I had an “ah ha” moment with my reading this week on marriage.  What is the purpose of marriage?  Love, happiness, security, and producing a family come to mind.  These are good reasons, but I think the central reason is to illustrate the relationship between Christ and his bride, the church (us).  When a person is joined to Christ through salvation and in love, this creates a permanent bond that endures forever.   So it is when Christ joins a Christian man to a Christian woman.  This should be a permanent bond between two believers.

This is illustrated in the story of Hosea and his marriage to Gomer, the harlot.  God told Hosea  that he was to remain faithful to her despite her unfaithfulness to him.  They had 3 children together and Gomer had many lovers.  She eventually left Hosea and lived with other men.  Each lover was more of a loser than the last one.  They could not provide for her.  Hosea continued to give money to these men in secret so that Gomer, whom he loved so much, would have clothing, silver, oil, and wine.  Gomer did not know that Hosea was paying the bills and she would give her lover the credit.  How hurtful that must have been to Hosea to see his wife embracing her lover and thanking him for the gifts she received.  Certainly no one would have faulted Hosea for making a dramatic scene in the midst of his hurt.  He just continued to be faithful in his love toward her. 

Finally Gomer sank to even greater depths and was put on the slave block for sale.  She was naked and exposed to the community.  God told Hosea to buy her and he did.  After he had won the bidding he went to her, clothed her, and then took her home.  As instructed by God he continued to love her and demanded her faithfulness.  He did not punish her or even give her what she may have deserved in our eyes.  He redeemed her out of slavery and committed to love and remain faithful to her.

There are two points I gleaned from this.  First, I am the adulterous wife in this story.  Seduced by the world in so many ways.  Seeking satisfaction in life’s pleasures.  Christ is the faithful husband paying my bills.  I may run from Him and do things that hurt Him deeply but He continues to love me and pursue me.  He redeemed me from the slavery of this world.  He wants me for himself.

The second point is this is the example of true love in marriage.  I need to love my wife in this manner.  Loving her unconditionally, placing her needs before mine without expecting anything in return.  I should be encouraging her spiritual growth, lifting her up with praise and being careful not to criticize her in public.  I am called to love her as Christ loved the church.  Christ gave himself for the church, not criticizing it, but cleansing it with the word so that it may be presented to himself holy and blameless.  (Eph 5:25-28)

There are many other points of discussion in regards to marriage, divorce and re-marriage but obviously we won’t be able to cover all of them.  I am still interested in your thoughts about the topics of this past week.  You can always email me with questions or prayer requests if you don’t want to publish them on the blog.