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Matthew 6:1-4 · Giving to the Needy
Don’t Be a Hypocrite
Matthew 6:1-4
Sermon
by James Merritt
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There are very few people who never, ever get angry about anything. Even if you are the most mild mannered of mild mannered people, you have a hot-button that if someone just knows where it is and knows how to push it, they can really make your blood boil. What one thing makes you the angriest?

Maybe, it is when somebody cuts you off on the freeway. Maybe, it is when your brother or sister borrows some of your clothes and doesn't tell you about it. Maybe, it is when your favorite college football team loses to someone that you know is inferior and they lose because you know they didn't call the right play or make the right decision. Maybe, it is a certain politician or a certain political party that makes you extremely angry.

Even the Lord Jesus Christ had a hot button. There was one thing that would literally make His blood boil. It would set Him on fire. It would turn on His temper in a heart-beat and the one thing that made Jesus angry was hypocrisy.

No fewer than seven times in one message Jesus delivered He denounced the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day, with these words: "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." (Matthew 23:13,14,15, 23,25,27,29)

What was it about hypocrisy and hypocritical people that made Jesus so angry? There were two things about Pharisaical hypocrites that just literally ticked Jesus off. He said in Matthew 23:3, "For they say things and do not do them." (Matthew 23:3, NASB)

Then, even when they did do something meaningful, He went on to say, "They do all their deeds to be noticed by men." (Matthew 23:5, NASB) In other words, these Pharisaical hypocrites would publicly talk the talk, but privately they didn't walk the walk.

A Jewish rabbi wrote a book once that defended the role of Judeo-Christianity in American culture and society. He described a situation that we see so often in this country that I want to tell you is one of the things that always makes me very angry. He is what he said, "The very moment any parent might suggest that some books are not suitable for elementary school children, due to sexual explicitness, the entire academic establishment explodes in indignation at the whisper of censorship. In contrast, whenever a school library discovers some long-forgotten volume which political correctness now decrees might offend one group or another, that book is instantly yanked. When the school inflicts books on youngsters which deliberately undermine the moral and religious conviction of parents, it is termed "education". Should parents complain they are portrayed as narrow minded or "intolerant." [[1]]

I can assure you that one of the favorite sayings of Jesus would have been a saying that we hear every now and then and you and I have probably used it on someone else or even had it used to us which is, "Don't be a hypocrite." I realize that one of the biggest excuses people give for not coming to church is because, "The church is full of hypocrites." The truth of the matter is there is hypocrisy, both inside and outside the church and there is hypocrisy in all of us. So, let me give you three don'ts today, if you don't want to be a hypocrite.

I. Don't Pretend To Be Somebody You're Not

I've already pointed out to you that Jesus' favorite word for the religious leaders of His day, who were the Pharisees and Sadducees, was the term "hypocrite." In this passage we are studying today, Jesus used this word three times to describe the Pharisees. He calls them hypocrites in their giving in verse 2, hypocrites in their praying in verse 5 and hypocrites in their fasting in verse 16. It is so sad that so many people link Christianity with hypocrisy. One skeptic wrote these words, "A Christian is a man who feels repentance on a Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do it again on Monday."[[2]]

Many, many people today quite frankly connect ministers and pastors with hypocrisy, so it is nothing new.

The word that Jesus used for hypocrisy is the Greek word for actor which literally does give us the word "hypocrite."

One of the major forms of entertainment, back in the days of Jesus and Greek culture, was the theater. Greek and Roman actors would wear large masks and costumes designed to increase the size of their appearance. They would wear platform shoes to make themselves look taller. In other words, they did everything they could to make themselves appear to be something that they really were not.

They would wear different masks to portray different emotions or different scenes or different parts of the act and that is why they were called "hypocrites." Sometimes, they would wear one type of mask and sometimes they would wear another.

For the same reason that modern actors today put on heavy makeup and perhaps wear specially designed costumes or will pad their clothes to make them look bigger or stronger; they project an image that appears to be real, but it really is false.

The word hypocrite soon took on the connotation of someone who treats the world as a stage on which he is just playing a part. He tries to make himself appear to be something that he really is not; his actions really don't match his words.

There is the person who can quote his Bible from one end to the other, but he never lives it. There is the person who sits in a small group on Sunday morning pretending to be pious and religious, but rents x-rated videos to watch in the privacy of his home on Monday. It is the person who comes to church, never misses and gets all the blessings of the church, but never financially supports the church and helps the church to continue its mission of reaching people for Christ.

Jesus was talking about people who play a game of religious make-believe. They know all the cues. They know what to say, what to do, when to say it and when to do it, but privately they have no heart for the things of God at all.

You may remember a movie that came out about three years ago called, "Catch Me If You Can." The film was based on a true story. It is the story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., who lived a wide and crazy life as a doctor, airline pilot, banker, investor, attorney and celebrity. The irony behind his story was he wasn't any of these in reality. He intentionally was a fake and a fraud and a pretender.

He realized early in his life that he had the uncanny gift to convince people that he was "somebody" just through the way he came across with confidence and acting ability. He turned life into a game and made a living at it and soon found himself addicted to role playing. Before it was over, he had helped to perform surgery in an operating room, conned banks out of thousand of dollars, flew an airplane as a pilot and gone places and met people most of us could only dream about. The only problem was it was all a show; it was all a sham. The FBI finally caught him and he ended up spending years in the federal prison. He had so much talent, but he wasted it pretending to be something he was not.

Call it whatever you what to - putting up a front, wearing a mask, playing pretend, putting on a show, but the Bible says it is hypocrisy. What God wants you to do is just simply be who you are. Someone has well said, "Be who you is, because if you is who you ain't, you ain't who you is."

II. Don't Practice Your Religion For Show

To the Jews in the days of Jesus, there were three primary ways that you would practice your religion or practice your righteousness - through giving, praying and fasting. Not only was there nothing wrong with any of these three religious practices, Jesus expected them. Even today, Jesus expects His followers to give and Jesus expects His followers to fast, and Jesus expects His follower to pray, but He does not want us to do it for show.

He says in verse 2, "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." (Matthew 6:2, NASB)

Jesus would probably apply that verse differently today. He might say to someone, "Don't expect a building to be named after you, just because you give a lot of money to the building fund" or "Don't let accidentally let it slip out that you are a big giver, so people will brag on how you financially support the church." In other words, don't give to make yourself look good.

Jesus goes on to say in verses 3 and 4, "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:3-4, NASB)

Now, we ought to give. We ought to give generously, we ought to give gladly, we ought to give sacrificially, but we ought to give secretly. Jesus expects us to take the blessings that God has given to us and use them to be blessings to other people. Jesus expects us to be aware of people who are in need, to care for people who are in need, and to share with people who are in need.

The same thing is true with praying. "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." (Matthew 6:5, NASB)

Can I tell you one of my pet peeves that I really have in my own life and ministry and it is the same one that Jesus had? It really irritates me when sometimes in a public meeting people are called on to pray and it is pretty obvious that what they do in that time is catch up on their prayer life and they will literally pray you around the world and they just go on and on and on. They will use this flowery 1600 King James Version language to try to impress you that they really have a hot-line to God. May I just be honest with you? There are times I have heard pray and I just wanted to say after about fifteen minutes, "Knock it off!"

Think about how many times even in our own prayers, even sometimes in private are standardized, routine, monotonous, no spontaneity, no spirit initiated prayer, prayers that are long, prayers that are wordy and we use the same repetitions over and over.

I heard a pastor say something one time that really, really got me to thinking. He said there are four phrases that we use in our praying that we ought to quit using. Think about this. He said instead of saying, "Forgive me." We ought to put, "Thank You for forgiving me." Instead of saying, "Bless me." We ought to say, "Let me bless You."

Instead of saying, "Lord be with us." We ought to be saying, "Lord live through me." Then, instead of saying, "Protect us" we ought to be saying, "Use us."

In other words, when you pray in public, don't show off. Don't speak to God in some deeper voice, don't use 16th century language, be natural, be normal, and be real in your praying.

He went on to say the same thing about fasting. "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." (Matthew 6:16, NASB)

The Pharisees had a bad habit of fasting, but then telling everybody about it. They would put a sad face on, wouldn't shave, and talk about how hungry they were. When someone would ask them what was wrong they would very piously say, "Oh, I am fasting for the glory of God." In other words, they were just spiritually showing off.

That is why Jesus talked about the secret place - three times. "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:3-4, 6, 17-18, NASB)

Do you know why the secret place is so important to God? When you give secretly and you pray secretly and you fast secretly there is no applause, and nobody claps for your religious performance. There is no acclaim, nobody telling you how great you are at praying, what a great giver you are, what a great Christian you are and there are no awards, no plaques, no trophies telling you about how skillful you are in your praying, your giving and your fasting. When it is in the secret place, it is just between you and God, which is exactly the way God wants it.

III. Don't Prefer The Applause Of Men Over The Approval Of God

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 6:1, NASB)

The word for "notice" is the Greek word which literally gives us the word "theater." It means literally, "something to be stared at." In other words, Jesus said, "You don't have to put on a show for anybody. You don't have to put on a Broadway performance." The Pharisees were just like Dion Sanders. When it came time to give or it came time to pray or it came time to fast, it was "prime-time". They had a "strut your stuff" spiritually. Jesus said about the Pharisees in John 12:43, "For they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." (John 12:43, NASB)

I want you to understand there are certain things we are to do publicly with our religion. We are to share our faith in Jesus Christ with other people. We are to share the Gospel with those who do not know how to be saved. There is nothing wrong with bowing your head in a restaurant and publicly thanking God for your food. But whenever you try to use your religion to cause other people to notice you or to brag on you and to give you praise and honor and glory, when that becomes your motive, so that, as Jesus said in verse 2, "They may be honored by men."(Matthew 6:2, NASB)

Then listen to what He goes on to say, "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." (Matthew 6:2, NASB) The word "reward" is a technical expression that was used at the completion of a commercial transaction where a receipt would be given showing "paid in full." Jesus was saying that those who trumpet and parade their good works so they can get the applause and glory of men receive their reward the moment the clapping begins and the moment the clapping ends their reward is over. They get exactly what they are looking for, no less, but no more.

May I apply this to right where we live? How many of us have given money to a charity or money to a church just to get the tax break? There is nothing wrong with claiming all the legitimate deductions at tax time that you can take, but if your motive in giving is just to get a tax deductible receipt, then you had been hold on to that receipt and treasure it, because that is all you are going to get. That is the only reward you are going to have. If you don't give just because you love Jesus and you want to see the work of God supported and just because you want to see people saved and reached for Jesus Christ, then it doesn't matter what the IRS puts down - God writes down zero.

It is so easy to fake Christianity. It is so easy to spit polish your image on the outside, but if it doesn't correspond to spiritual integrity on the inside, then to God it means nothing. Let me share with you three practical principles to take away from what Jesus tells us today.

Practical Life Points

  • Do what you do for the good of others and the glory of God - never for personal gain.
  • The real you is what you do when only God sees it. Robert Redford was walking through a hotel lobby one day and a woman saw him and followed him into the elevator. She was so excited she said, "Excuse me. Are you the real Robert Redford?" Without even a smile, he looked at her and said, "Only when I am alone." The real you is what you are and what you do when nobody sees and nobody knows, but God.
  • Trust God to reward you for all you do for others and all you give to others.

If you will do what you do with the right motive, seeking only the glory of God and not the applause of people, then your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Let me close by sharing with you a true story to show you, not only, how powerful hypocrisy is, but how damaging and how dangerous it is. A young Jewish boy, who grew up in Germany many years ago had a profound sense of admiration for his father, who saw to it that the life of his family revolved around the religious practices of their faith. Every Sabbath, the father would take them to the synagogue.

In his teenage years, the boy's family was forced to moved to another town in Germany. This town had no synagogue, only a Lutheran church. The life of the community revolved around that Lutheran church. All the best people belonged to that church. All the movers and the shakers went to that church and suddenly the father, out of the blue, announced to the family that they were all going to abandon their Jewish tradition and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, the father simply said, "It will be good for my business." That youngster who so admired his dad, was immediately, totally confused. His confusion soon gave way to anger and to bitterness that plagued him throughout his life.

Later, he left Germany and went to England to study. He began to think about what he thought life was really all about. He wrote a book and in that book he introduced a brand new world view that was inevitably to change the world. This man, in that book, describes religion as "the opiate for the masses." He urged people who followed him to forget all about God and live life without Him. At one time, his ideas became the norm for the governments of almost half of the world's people. His name was Karl Marx, the founder of communism. How many millions of people lost their lives, because of the hypocrisy of one man? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ and you claim to know Him and you want to serve Him in such a way that you not only bring glory to Him, but you maximize your influence to reach others for His cause - don't be a hypocrite.

[1] Rabbi Daniel Lapin, America's Real War, p. 35

[2] Thomas R. Ybarra, quoted in Lawrence J. Peter, Peter's Quotation Ideas For Our Time, (New York: Harper College/William Morrow and Company, 1977, p. 84.

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by James Merritt