11/3/13

From Gary... Learning from your friends



























A good friend will be by your side, no matter what!!!  And so it is with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.  Over the past year, I have begun to appreciate my new dogs (2013) for the affection we share.  Especially when I am down- they seem to know and show more me more attention than usual.  These things are true; but what about people?  When you find a friend, you have found a wonderful gift.  And when that friend just happens to be your spouse, then you are doubly blessed.  But what if a group of friends cared for you?  How would you feel then?  Read on to find out...

Job, Chapter 2
 1 And it happened that a day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah. And Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah.  2 And Jehovah said to Satan, From where have you come? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it.  3 And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you set your heart on My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, fearing God, and turning away from evil? And he is still holding to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to swallow him for nothing.  4 And Satan answered Jehovah and said, Skin for skin. Yea, all that a man has he will give for his life.  5 But indeed put out Your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.  6 And Jehovah said to Satan, Behold, He is in your hand; but preserve his life. 

  7 And Satan went out from before the face of Jehovah. And he struck Job with bad burning ulcers from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.  8 And he took a broken piece of pottery with which to scrape himself. And he sat down among the ashes.  9 And his wife said to him, Are you still holding fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!  10 But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish ones speak. Also, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips. 

  11 And three friends of Job heard of all this evil that had come on him. And they each one came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite; Bildad the Shuhite; and Zophar the Naamathite. And they had met together to come to lament with him, and to comfort him.  12 And when they lifted up their eyes from a distance and did not recognize him, they lifted up their voice and wept then. And each one tore his robe. And they sprinkled dust on their heads toward the heavens.  13 And they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. And no one was speaking a word to him, for they saw that his
 pain was very great.

In his heart, Job felt he was right before God and that the ailments he was having were from God.  Who wouldn't?  People blame God all the time for the difficulties in life, when in reality, it is evil that is at the root of their troubles.  Job's wife told him to curse God and die!!!  No support there!!! But his three friends were at his side for seven days and nights!!!  How many friends do you have that will do that for you?  But God was working behind the scenes and by the end of the book, Job comes out on top and EVERYONE COMES TO UNDERSTAND GOD (AND THEMSELVES) BETTER.  Job receives boutiful blessing from the Almighty and learns about God and himself.  He even prays for his three friends who went on and on about how Job must have sinned and brought all his troubles on himself.  As good as these three friends were, God was better- in fact, GOD is shown to be Job's best friend by the patient way he handles Job's attitude problem.  Humm, I wonder if God has a pet??? I hope it is a dog- I will feel right at home, then. 

From Mark Copeland.... The Church At Colosse (Colossians 1:3-8)




                     "THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS"

                      The Church At Colosse (1:3-8)

INTRODUCTION

1. After introducing himself and greeting the brethren in verses 1-2,
   Paul expresses thanksgiving to God concerning some things about the
   church at Colosse (read 3-8)

2. As we consider what Paul wrote, we learn some encouraging things
   about the church at Colosse which are worthy of our emulation as a
   congregation of Christians

[For example, notice that as a church...]

I. THEY WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS (1:4)

   A. WHAT A WONDERFUL REPUTATION TO HAVE!
      1. Some churches are known for:
         a. Being "dead on the vine"
         b. Being "lukewarm" (cf. the Laodiceans, Re 3:15)
      2. But here is a church so strong in its faith in Jesus, that word
         had made its way to Paul
      3. In this, they were like the church at Thessalonica - 1Th 1:2-
         3, 6-10; 2Th 1:3

   B. WHY DID THEY HAVE SUCH A REPUTATION?
      1. Because they really trusted in Jesus Christ ("trust" is a key
         element in the matter of faith)
      2. Because their faith was a "steadfast" one - Col 2:5
         a. They were not faithful one day, then unfaithful the next
         b. Through "thick and thin", they maintained their faith in
            Jesus and did His will!

   C. WHAT KIND OF REPUTATION DO WE HAVE?
      1. Every church has one, whether it be good, mediocre, or bad
      2. Wouldn't it be wonderful if others could say of us, "We have
         heard of your faith in Jesus Christ"?
      3. If we remain steadfast in our faith, in time they will!

[Notice also that as a church...]

II. THEY WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR LOVE FOR ALL THE SAINTS (1:4)

   A. THEIR GOOD REPUTATION INCLUDED LOVE AS WELL AS FAITH!
      1. Toward Jesus, they showed faith; toward their brethren, they
         demonstrated love!
      2. Not only love for each other, but love for ALL the saints,
         including those in other places
      3. Again, in this they were like the church at Thessalonica - 
         1Th 4:9-10

   B. IF WE DESIRE A SIMILAR REPUTATION (AND EVERY TRUE CHURCH OF
      CHRIST SHOULD), WHAT CAN WE DO?
      1. We can be diligent in our love for one another, making efforts
         to become better acquainted and to serve one another
      2. We can demonstrate our love for ALL the brethren, by taking
         advantage of meetings and singings to be together
      3. We can ask the Lord to help us increase in this - 1Th 3:12
      4. We can urge each other to increase in this virtue - 1Th 4:9-10

[A truly strong faith in Jesus and love for the brethren is such a 
rarity in many churches, that any church which excels in these virtues 
will soon be known for such!

But as we continue in our examination of our text, we notice also that 
at the church at Colosse...]

III. THE GOSPEL WAS BRINGING FORTH FRUIT AMONG THEM (1:5-6)

   A. THE GOSPEL, WHICH SPEAKS OF THE HOPE LAID UP IN HEAVEN, HAD
      PRODUCED FRUIT IN THEIR LIVES
      1. Not only in THEIR lives, but throughout the whole world (1:6)
         - cf. Col 1:23
      2. We have seen the kind of fruit being born by the gospel:
         a. Faith in Jesus
         b. Love for the brethren
      3. In bearing such fruit,  they proved that they were truly
         disciples of Jesus! - Jn 15:8

   B. WHAT WAS THE KEY TO BEARING SUCH FRUIT?
      1. Notice that they had been bearing fruit "since the day you
         heard and knew the grace of God in truth" (1:6)
      2. By knowing (understanding, NAS) the grace of God, they were
         properly motivated to bear fruit
      3. So it is today, those who truly understand the grace of God
         will more likely respond in grateful service to God!

   C. WHAT IS "THE GRACE OF GOD" WHICH MOTIVATES ONE TO BEAR FRUIT?
      1. Simply put, it is the "unmerited favor" which God has shown us
         through Jesus Christ!
      2. We can summarize this grace of God by defining several key
         terms:
         a. CONDEMNATION - Being guilty of sin, we stand condemned in
            the sight of God and in danger of everlasting death - Ro 3:
            23; 6:23
         b. ALIENATION - Being guilty of sin, we also find ourselves
            separated from God - Isa 59:1-2
         c. PROPITIATION - but in love and mercy, God sent Jesus to be
            our sacrifice for sins to appease God's just and righteous
            anger - 1Jn 4:9-10
         d. JUSTIFICATION - by responding in obedient faith, we can be
            justified (declared not guilty) by virtue of Jesus'
            sacrifice in our stead - Ro 3:21-26
         e. RECONCILIATION - Free from the guilt of sin, we can now be
            reconciled with God through Christ Jesus our Lord - 2Co 5:
            17-20
         f. SANCTIFICATION - By virtue of Christ's death, we may also be
            "set apart" in service to the glory of God - Ro 6:17-18,
            20-22
      3. The more one understands these concepts and their implications,
         the more likely they will also bear fruit!

CONCLUSION

1. Through Epaphras, the church at Colosse had heard of this wonderful
   grace of God - 1:7

2. And through Epaphras, Paul had heard of their wonderful love which
   was the fruit of their responding to this grace - 1:8

3. Indeed, the church at Colosse had admirable qualities, which we do
   well to emulate...
   a. Not for any glory for ourselves, but rather that God and His Son
      might be glorified
   b. For it is only by His grace that we would be able to imitate the
      church at Colosse

4. Brethren...
   a. Do we have faith in Jesus?
   b. Do we love the brethren?
   ...Let's be sure to allow the grace of God to have its desired effect
      in our lives!

If you have never responded to the grace of God, why not now?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011


From Jim McGuiggan... Circumcision in Romans 2:28-29


Circumcision in Romans 2:28-29




As surely as there is a Jew and a Jew there is circumcision and circumcision. In this section of Romans Paul is stressing the ethical implications of an already existing circumcision rather than the theological implications of an eschatological circumcision. This is an indictment. His point here is that ethnic Jews in their religious, ethical and moral lives have not reflected the true meaning of circumcision. Since he is making a general survey of Israel's historical response to the torah (see 2:23 and 3:9-19) he is not saying that they lack a "Christian" circumcision that can be found in Christ alone and by the eschatological Spirit. He claims that they had never lived up to the implications of the circumcision they always had. Had they lived up to that circumcision it would not have been merely fleshly but would have been in or by "the (S)pirit". It's surely a mistake to make the Old Covenant graceless and "Spiritless". (See The Spirit: Old Covenant and New )

The circumcision in or by the (S)pirit is contrasted with one that is in or by letter. So what does Paul mean by the "letter"? Moo and many others take it to mean the Mosaic law but that's unlikely. He thinks that Paul sees the Mosaic law as a law written on stone tables and so it has the nature of "letter". But what makes us think Paul saw the Mosaic torah itself as "letter"? If, for example, Moses called Israel to have a circumcised heart and to have the torah on their hearts was he describing the torah as a "letter" condition?

But it isn't quite accurate to say that "the letter" is simply "a way of viewing" the law as people like Dunn suggest. It is less a way of regarding the law (being concerned only for its external embodiment) than it is of how the law relates to the individual (or the nation as a whole in Paul's agenda). If the law is taken into the heart (is written on the heart) it is no longer letter whereas if it remains an "external" requirement it is "letter". So, it's less "a way of viewing the torah" than it is of not keeping the torah because it is not in the heart. When the torah is called "letter" it is the torah that is called letter and not a view of the torah. Paul insists that the torah is spiritual (Romans 7:14). That's it nature, so it doesn't relate only to the external (with respect to Moo). But when Israel claims to possess it while refusing to live up to it, it becomes (mere) "letter". It is a relative description and not an absolute.

"And these words I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently"...(Deuteronomy 6:6) "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart"... (11:18)

When Jeremiah or Moses speaks of the circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4 but see 9:26 and Ezekiel 44:7) we know literal circumcision isn't in view but we also know that we're dealing with more than a merely national symbol. In these cases the mark has been moved (as it were) from the flesh to the inner centre of the person so that the meaning, faith and commitment for which circumcision stands becomes the motivating principle of their lives. This doesn't mean that physical circumcision is irrelevant to Moses or Jeremiah but they're making the point Paul makes, a true Israelite takes to his heart the meaning of the covenant of circumcision. Nor should we think that Moses or Jeremiah would think that heart-circumcision was the result of human endeavour apart from God's gracious work. That misses a central truth of the Old Testament by a long way.

In Colossians 2:11 we have a different setting and a different agenda. We have "the circumcision of Christ." What are we to make of that genitive? Does Christ perform the circumcision or is he the one who is circumcised (cut off) or does the genitive here simply say that their "circumcision" is the kind that belongs to Christ (it is a heart circumcision)? It probably means more than "this circumcision is a heart circumcision, the kind that belongs to Christ" because such a circumcision existed prior to Christ. Besides, the precise issue here isn't ethical content--it's more theological and doctrinal than that. A heresy of some kind is being exposed (a heresy that certainly includes some Jewish elements) so that one circumcision leaves the other redundant (see 2:17).

The forgiveness of sins is clearly involved and is connected with the "putting off the body of the flesh" which is the act of circumcising (2:11,13). This putting off and circumcising is done "in Christ" (2:11) and is said to be "the circumcision of Christ". What if it's the case that the circumcision of Christ is his being cut off and that the circumcision of the Colossians is seen as taking place in identification with Christ? It would be the case that they would not only be circumcised "with" Christ, they would be circumcised with him because they are circumcised "in" him. (Just as the Romans died "with" Christ by dying "in" Christ--Romans 6:3-8.)

In this section we have a series of sun verbs. The Colossians are co-buried, co-raised and co-resurrected with Christ (2:12-13). It's certainly the case, and should be insisted on, that these realities aren't experienced alongside Christ as if independent of him. They are experienced with Christ only because they are experienced in Christ.
I
n either case, Paul contrasts it with a Jewish national circumcision done with hands (2:11). So in this sense it is the "true" circumcision, which is no doubt what Paul has in mind in Philippians 3:2-4 when he contrasts Messianic believers with merely nationalist Jews who bitterly oppose the Messiah.

The idea that the Spirit had not been at work in pre-Christ days is clearly unacceptable. Paul claims that persecuted Isaac was born of the Spirit (Galatians 4:29) and goes on to say "it is the same now." How difficult is it then to think that circumcision of the Spirit was an ancient experience? It isn't necessary, then, to think that because the true circumcision is in or by the Spirit that this circumcision is an eschatological experience (as it most certainly is in Colossians 2 and Philippians 2).

There's this too. In Romans 4 Paul sees the circumcision of Abraham as peculiar. In historical fact he was the only one of the elect whose circumcision marked him out as already justified by faith, independent of circumcision (4:9-12). This was not true of Isaac or Jacob (Israel) and consequently they could not be the father of all (both the circumcised and uncircumcised). Which leads me to say that while all believers are "Abraham's seed" (Galatians 3:26-29) they are not "Israelites" or "Israel". Israel (Jacob) is not the father of all that believe. In fact it appears from Romans 4:11 that Paul makes a deliberate play on the timing of Abraham's circumcision--it was post faith and righteousness. "The purpose," he says, was "to make him the father of all who believe." (RSV and the versions which take "eis to eina" as purposeful rather than mere summary as in the NIV.)

From Ben Fronczek... Giving – Don’t Be a Show-off

Giving – Don’t Be a Show-off

After Jesus came into the world He set a standard that was unheard of to the people of His day. They had a religion, they thought it was biblical. It was at least sophisticated and certainly complex, but it was substandard. In a previous lesson I talked about how Jesus raised the bar, or the standard on how they should conduct themselves; that the Christian’s standard of righteousness should even surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.

In the Sermon on the Mt. He unveiled the problem with their religion. He tells these so called religious men that basically what they are doing is not much more than a show. He calls them hypocrites and the original Greek word there means, ‘An actor on a stage.’ So He was telling them that ‘You’re nothing but actors on a stage doing what you do for the applause of the people who watch.’ Their religion was a farce.

And here in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus picks out three elements of their religion to attack. 
#1 is their giving, 
#2 is how they prayed, and 
#3 is how they fasted. 

So this week and the next 2 weeks to follow we are going to look at these three topics in more detail. Jesus get right down to teaching us our religious responsibility in letting us know that whatever we do in regard to worship, it should be coming from a pure heart not hypocrisy. He tells these men that their giving, their praying, and their fasting is nothing more than a show. And that is not Pleasing to the Lord.

In dealing with these elements, Jesus tell His disciples in chapter. 6,

 “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. (Then He tells His disciples how) But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

In other words, He says, now when it comes to how those Pharisees give, it’s hypocritical, but it ought not to be so. So He tells them what the problem is and then He offers them the solution.

Now when a preacher gets into the area of giving sometimes he open up a can of worms. It seems like we are getting bombardment from people asking for our money from so called “Christian causes:” from numerous requests on the radio, tv and even in our mail boxes. But in the Bible I only read about only two kinds of giving, basically, two areas or things that they gave to. First was their systematic, structured, regular giving to the church. We know the Bible teaches that. In 1 Corinthians 16 it tells us that on the first day of the week we are to lay by and store as God has prospered us. We also see there that those early Christians lay by in store and gave a contribution to the church.
So the teaching there was that believing people gave weekly, every week, not just now and then but every week; a predetermined amount which they set aside to give to their church. I believe in doing so, we learn the importance lesson in stewardship of money. I believe that’s why God wants us to do it every week, so that every week we take stock of what we have as it relates to our funds and learn to be good stewards. It is a discipline. 

So when it says in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 
“On the first day of the week lay by and store.” 

That is a systematic, structured giving as you purpose in your heart. 

Secondly, there’s a second kind of giving we see in the Biblical text. That is giving to the poor and needy. This giving is an unstructured, unspecified, and spontaneous.  It is over and above giving to the church. Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, we read about that kind of giving when a needy person crosses our path and we are encouraged to reach out and help that individual. (eg. Story of the Good Samaritan) Beyond giving to the church and those in need, the Bible is silent.

All too often we don’t like to hear sermons on giving. I believe it is an unpopular subject because 
#1 it has been abused,  and 
#2, I believe people don’t understand the blessing of giving that Bible speaks about.

To begin with, you have to begin with this premise; that God doesn’t really need your money. He can get along fine without it. In fact, God got along quite well throughout all eternity before He ever made you me and our money. I think some people forget that God ran the whole universe before there were any people in it, and it didn’t cost Him a penny.

So 1st of all we need to remember that we are not doing Him a big favor by giving Him a big check. God is not at the mercy of us and how much we give.
BUT the thing you and I must realize is that we need to give it. And why do we need to give? Because in giving we find  one of those Christian paradoxes I talked about last week. Like, how we really live by dying, or we become free by becoming a slave, or how we are the strongest when we are weak.  Well in this case the Bible teaches us over and over again that you receive a blessing when you give.
God tell us in scripture to give so that He may give you back even more. It is     a blessing promised by God that most of us forget or don’t even know about. Most people don’t realize that there’s a cycle of blessedness that takes place when we give.

I’d like to illustrate this from Scriptures. In Proverbs 11:24-25 it says,
 24” One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

See the principle here? It’s like this  If a farmer too cheap to buy few bags of seed to sows in the ground he not going to have tons crops to harvest in the fall.  You see there is a cycle that needs to take place. You buy the seed, you sow it, and God produces the increase, multiplying the seed, producing a crop. If you sell it you get more money back than you paid for the original of bags of seed you bought to plant.  If you feed it to your cows that’s all the less you have to purchase, again money that’s in your pocket.  With that money you buy more seed the following year. You plant it, and you harvest tons of crops again and around and around and around you go. The whole thing depends upon your faithfulness to fork out some cash to buy the seed in the first place and sow it.
Do you realize a farmer takes everything he has and throws it in the dirt and operates on faith that God will give him a big return. God gives him that return and the cycle begins. That’s the illustration. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. In other words, as you give, God blesses. And when God blesses, you, out of His blessing,  you give again. But if you step out of that circle, that cycle of blessing and don’t give, you don’t get a return. There’s no investment for God to bless and multiply. There’s no return, and that just keeps lending to more poverty. Pretty soon you’re out of resources. 

Isn’t that what Solomon said there in this Proverbs. He said,  
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. “

And mind you, the principle about giving is not just about monetary things. The principle of giving is broader than just giving money. We can give our time,  talents and acts of love which God will in turn bless and multiply.  I believe it is important to give because it puts us in a circle of blessing which demonstrates  our faith and reveals God’s willingness to bless us. You give. God blesses. Out of His blessing you give again. There’s only one way to live as believing people. God says, and that’s to give, because you put yourself in the flow of His blessing.
Now the New Testament says a lot about some basic principles to consider as we give. I want to share some of them with you before I move to our text. Let me give you just eight simple principles to remember as you give. Eight simple principles that’ll help you to give in a non-hypocritical way.

First- Giving is investing with God. That’s what I’ve been saying so far here. It puts you in the cycle of blessing.
“If you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly. If you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully.”
 God does not need your money, but you need to invest with Him to get into the flow of His blessedness. Of course that’s not the only reason one should give, it’s not just about our greed and getting ahead with God’s help, but rather it’s investing in what is important to God, glorifying Him and hopefully expanding His kingdom.

Secondly, We need to remember that giving should be sacrificial. 

David said,
“I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

You think or say, “God here, I don’t need this, this is what I have left over, you can have it.” That isn’t an act of love. This is the problem we read about in the book of Malachi. I believe God is please when we give something to Him which is important and valuable to us. Then it is a sacrifice pleasing unto the Lord.
I think of Mark 12 where Jesus sat and watched the Jews as they gave at the Temple. And then along came a poor little widow. All she only had was two mites, hardly worth anything.  And yet the Lord said she gave more than everybody else when she gave them.  Why? Because that’s all she had. It was the essence of her sacrifice that made her offering significant.
Thirdly, giving is never related to how much you have. People say “If I had more, I’d give more.”  

In Luke 16:10 it says  

He that is faithful in little will be faithful in much. And He that is unjust and little will be unjust in much.”

Giving is not a matter of how much have, it’s a matter of where your heart is and where your commitment is. You can have a lot and be stingy or have just a little and be just as stingy, or you can have a generous heart whether you have a lot or just a little.

Fourthly: How many spiritual blessing we have will be in direct proportion to our attitude about giving and how generous we are. 

In other words, if you’re not faithful in what you do with what you have, God’s is not about to give you the true riches. 

In Luke 16:11-12 it says  

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

What are true riches? Spiritual things, Things of God; people, their souls ministry, and God is not about to give a strategic ministry to somebody who can’t handle money or other thing He has given them. There are many men who never made it through Bible school or seminary, some have even left ministry because they were poor stewards and the Lord didn’t want them in a position over His flock.  So depending how you handle what God has given you including your money, God may withhold some true spiritual responsibilities from you if you are not wise. So learn to be a good steward of what you already have now.

Fifth: What you give is up to you.
  In  2 Cor. 9:7 it says,

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver..” 

 Whatever you purpose in or decide in your heart to give, that’s between you and God.  We read in Corinthians that the Macedonians gave abundantly out of their deep poverty. The Philippians gave because they chose to give out of a heart of love. There is no NT law on how much we should give. It is a freedom we have in Christ.  It’s your personal decision..

Sixth: We should give in response to particular needs. 
So then we should be sensitive to and listen to needs that come our way. In Acts 4 and Acts 5, the early church shared its resources because there were people who had a need. Paul went all through Asia Minor collecting money from the Gentile churches to give to the saints of Jerusalem because there was a need due to famine.

Seventh: Giving demonstrates our love, not law. 
As I already mentioned, there is no New Testament law commanding us to give a fixed sum. We’re not giving to please some legal system. Our giving should be an act of love and devotion to God and His children. That’s why it’s to be given cheerfully, not grudgingly . It’s not a law. It should be an act of love; a gift of love.

Eighth:Our giving should be generous, that’s right generous. 
And I believe how generous we are will be determined by all of these other factors.It will come down to 
(How much do you want to invest with God?)
& (How much you willing to sacrifice for Him who sacrificed all for you?)
& (How much spiritual riches do you really want to be worthy of?)
& (How many needs do you really want to meet?)
& (How much love are you willing to demonstrate?)

So the point is God is not saying give because He needs your money.  He’s saying give because it’s a spiritual exercise that blesses your life. 

 Now these principles cover our giving to the church and our giving to the needy, but let’s go to the giving to the needy because that’s the text we’re studying.

The Old Testament made it abundantly clear that the people of God were to give to the poor. In fact, in Leviticus 25:35 it tells people to give to the poor whether they’re a travelers or somebody who belongs in the land. In Deut. 15,  it says if you come across a poor person, make sure you meet his needs. You can read it in Psalm 41:1, Proverbs 19, Proverbs 21, Proverbs 29, again and again. It says when you give to the poor, you give to the Lord.    Why?  Because this kind of giving put us into the cycle of blessing. Such giving is investing with God, because this kind of  giving is directed to His children who cross our path who are in deep need. And so the Lord teaches on this matter of giving, because obviously the scribes and the Pharisees and the people following them were not giving with these principles in mind. They weren’t giving  self-lessly or out of a pure heart. They were giving to put on a show.

That’s why in the Sermon on the Mt. Jesus addresses that attitude. He said,

“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.  “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. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

So what is He saying?   – Give, but don’t do it to toot your own horn. Don’t do it to show off in front of others to get their praise. If you do that then Jesus tells us that’s the only reward you’ll ever get. Rather He said, ‘do it in secret,’ in such a way that the person you are helping won’t be embarrassed or humiliated. Do it in such a way other won’t see what you did and pat you on the back. Rather, do it out of love, and then Father God who sees what you have done in secret, will reward and bless you so that you will even be able to help others.
I think this teaching is pretty simple and to the point.

As we study the Sermon on the Mt., more than anything Jesus wants us to know that God is concerned about our heart, and the attitudes we have when we do things in His name.  And He lets us know right up front that there is no room for phony show-offs in His kingdom. Rather He wants His disciples to be humble, and motivated by love…So much so that we are will to make sacrifice in His name. Then He in turn will bless you by multiplying your blessings.

For more lessons click on the following link: http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566