If a person seeks to be godly, he or she must define the concept of godliness. If the concept is "a godly person must be a righteous person," that may be a non-definition. Why? If the person does not have God's concept of what it means to be righteous, or if the person has an unethical concept of what righteousness is, or if the person has an immoral concept of how righteousness behaves, he or she will not [by God's view] think or behave in ways compatible with God's concept of righteousness.
Assuming that we appropriately understand a spiritual matter that we never considered in depth may be a false assumption. This situation often creates serious spiritual problems. Often we assume we adequately grasp a basic spiritual concept. Yet, we may not grasp the concept at all. Our perspective may be ours, not God's. We may define a word in a way that is incompatible with God's definition. We may form a view that is incompatible with God's view. We may behave in a way God does not wish His people to behave. We may consider something godly that God regards as evil.
As an example, consider the first century Pharisees. We may look upon all first century Pharisees with spiritual contempt. However, Jews of the first century looked upon many Pharisees with respectful admiration. Even Jesus' twelve disciples looked upon such Pharisees with high regard. In Matthew 15 some Pharisees confronted Jesus on allowing his disciples to eat without going through the traditional religious ceremony of hand washing. That tradition was rooted in the huge spiritual concern of being spiritually clean before God (see Leviticus 10:8-10; 11:46, 47; 20:25; Deuteronomy 14:3-21; Ezekiel 22:26). This was a significant matter! Jesus quickly focused the discussion on the core issue: how an Israelite was defiled by destroying his cleanliness (Matthew 15:11). Note the response from the twelve in Matthew 15:12-- "Then the disciples came and said to Him, 'Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?'" Yet, the fact was this: the Pharisees' concern was incorrect because their concept was incorrect.
Being God's people is a responsible, serious matter! Israel was God's people. It was their responsibility to behave in unique ways. Why? They were not to forget the experience of slavery in Egypt. Consider Deuteronomy 15:1-18. (1) Every seven years an Israelite was to forgive all indebtedness acquired by making loans to other Israelites. (2) They were to seek elimination of poverty in the nation of Israel. (3) The Israelite poor were to receive special treatment. (4) If an Israelite was so poor he became an indentured servant to another Israelite, the indentured Israelite was to serve in that position only six years. The seventh year he was to be released and provided generous gifts. Why? Israelites were to remember their slavery in Egypt and God's redemption (Deuteronomy 15:15). God's redemption from Egyptian slavery was the core memory that produced this unique behavior.
The Christian is a part of God's people because God used Jesus' death to create his/her redemption. God delivered Christians from slavery to evil just as God delivered Israel from slavery to Egypt. Our responsibility to behave uniquely arises from God's character. Consider Exodus 34:6. Note this is a self-disclosure of God's character. Note the foundation of God's character arises from His compassion [expressed in mercy, grace, slowness to anger, patience, and trustworthiness].
Now consider Matthew 5:43-48. If we are God's children, we will behave as God's children. How will we behave? Compassionately! We will love our enemies, pray for our persecutors, and kindly greet those who ignore us. Why? We do this to be God's children who refuse to act like people who are not God's children. Our uniqueness arises from God's character. God's character forms our character.
If anyone [Israelites of any century prior to the cross or non-Israelite disciples of Christ] wills to be among God's people, he/she must reflect God's character. Just as the Father is compassionate, he/she will be compassionate.
Just as compassion is the foundation of God's character, compassion is the foundation of the people of God's character.
Matthew 6 is a continuation of the same sermon in Matthew 5 [as is Matthew 7]. In the sermon, the key verse is Matthew 5:20 -- "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Those who follow Jesus to God (John 14:6) must surpass the scribes and Pharisees' righteousness (1) in respect for and treatment of others; (2) in motives; (3) in trust of God rather than trust of the material; and (4) in accepting personal responsibility for the pursuit of righteous behavior.
The beginning of chapter 6 focused on the motivation for righteous behavior. It referred to a word placed on business transaction releases similar to our phrase "paid in full." Jesus' disciples are not to perform religious acts for human praise. If human praise was their motivation, they were "paid in full" when they received such praise. God "owed" them nothing for their righteous act. The emphasis was not on a payment from God, but on human motives behind the act. God notes that which is done to glorify God, not that which is done to glorify the person (Matthew 5:16).
In the beginning of Matthew 6, Jesus focused on three of the most notable, recognized acts of righteousness in first century Israel. Jesus was not condemning these acts. He condemned ungodly motives when such prompted the acts. Why Israelites did these three things mattered deeply to God. The act was significant only if the motive prompting the act focused on the glorification of God. Thus the act might or might not be a righteous act. The determining factor was not act's existence, but the intent of the act.
For Thought and Discussion
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 2