Before Men? In Secret?

Ash Wednesday - February 9, 2005

Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Before men? In secret? We are not to do things to be seen by men, but we are to do them in secret. We are not to practice our righteousness before other people, or we will have no reward from the Father. You know, if we were to stop there, this text almost seems a contradiction of what we preach as Christians.

The life of a Christian is to be a living example of the faith to the rest of the world. You know the song, This Little Gospel Light of Mine, what are we to do with it? Let it shine. Why? Because Jesus, when He began the message which our text is taken from, said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14_16 ESV)

Are we to be seen by others in the world as different? Or aren’t we? Are we to be the light of the world? Or aren’t we?

You know what, it isn’t confusing at all. Jesus is simply talking about the motivation behind what you and I do as Christians. Listen to that first phrase of our text again. "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.”

The motivation mentioned in this portion of our text directly opposes the motivation Jesus mentions when He begins what heard earlier from what has come to be known as the sermon on the mount. Earlier, the motivation was for people to see your good works to bring glory to the Father in heaven. Now, in our text for today, Jesus warns people not to do their righteous deeds in order to be seen by men - to be praised by them.

Dear friends in Christ, it is so easy to do, isn’t it. As I’ve stated before, one on the criticisms I hear when I go and visit people is that the church is full of hypocrites. “Pastor, if you only saw how they acted outside of church. I don’t want to be part of that.” In truth, I don’t blame them.

Why do you act the way you act? Why do you do what you do? What do you hope to accomplish with every one of your actions? Are you doing what you are doing to look good to men, so that they may praise you and say all sorts of nice things about you? Is it because you want people to know what a good Christian you are?

The godly woman, who would never miss a Sunday service, and swears off all alcoholic beverages, is the same woman who will gossip to anybody about who got drunk last weekend and what antics they might have pulled.

While the man speaks out very loudly about the sexual revolution and how sexual sins need to be curtailed. He speaks out about in favor of abstinence for younger people and rightly states that living together without marriage is a sin. Yet, he never misses a day working in the yard in the summer when the neighbor’s college daughter is home cutting the grass on the riding mower in her swimsuit.

Yeah, we all look good on the outside, but on the inside, because of our flesh, we’re full of dead men’s bones.

So, we try to be seen by people doing good things, because we know what sins seethe deep in our hearts. There are those who give generously - just as long as it is listed prominently in the Sunday bulletin.

Some want to be seen studying their Bible and praying and coming to church so other know that they do, but the whole time they are at church, their minds are wandering with their eyes, checking out who else is there and what they are doing - just so they have fingers to point.

Of course, there are not many who fast anymore, but we certainly love to let everybody know how we are suffering. We wear it as a badge of honor.

Today, to help in the pursuit of looking good before others, there are many who will ‘give up something for Lent’. I invite you to get to the church office door at Zion and read the cartoons there, they are written by an LCMS pastor, Rev. Batiansila. He has one about this topic.

The first frame has a man coughing in the midst of saying, “Give up something for Lent? Sure, I’ll quit smoking.” The second frame has a woman stuffing something in her mouth saying, “I’ll give up chocolates until Palm Sunday.” The third frame has a man in an easy chair with a beer in his hand saying, “I’ll cut back to a 6-pack a day, but on Easter I’m going to really cut loose.”

The last frame shows Jesus struggling to carry his cross, and from the crowd behind Him, someone asks, “Jesus, what are you going to give up for Lent?”

You are the dearly beloved of God, and Christ’s carrying that cross is was not done to show off His righteousness. Nor was it to brag about how generous He was to the needy. Or to show how pious He was in prayer. And the fast imposed upon Him by the chief priests and elders was not His doing so that others would give Him praise.

His actions garnered for Him mocking insults and abuse from all the important and respected people. It also gave all glory to the Father. Christ’s perfect righteousness given to death on the cross - for you. All the riches of heaven He denied - so that He might sacrifice them and give them to you. In His prayers, you were always on His mind - and still are. He suffered starvation, thirst, pain, and death - that you might never suffer privation in any way.

Is it acceptable to give up something for Lent? Sure it is. And when you crave what you have denied yourself, remember the passion of Christ - come to the cross and see their your salvation and righteousness. Rejoice in God’s gift to you. Glory in the fact that God loved you so very much that He gave Himself for you unto death.

We are to live our lives every day in the knowledge of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. Everything we do should reflect not back upon ourselves, but upon God, giving glory to the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. You know, our Epistle lesson explains it this way. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 5:20_6:2 ESV)

Before men? Not if we are trying to build ourselves up in their eyes. In secret? If we are trying to hide our faith, that also contradicts Christ’s command. You are to be in the world, but not of the world - a witness to the world, yet not a showboat seeking the praise of men, saying what a good Christian you are. Seek instead the praise of your Father in heaven, living your faith in humility - knowing all your righteousness is God’s gift to you in Christ Jesus - and treasure that.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Today we begin our Lenten journey. We begin to lay up treasures in heaven, treasures which cannot be taken away.   Today, is the favorable time that God listened to you - hearing you confess that you have not always been focused upon Him instead of receiving the world’s accolades. Today is the day of salvation when God helps you, to remove all your sins against Him.

It is a favorable time, for God’s grace comes to you, for today is the day of salvation. Yeah, we’re going to journey through Lent and come before the cross. We’re going to listen closely to every word that Jesus spoken on that day He carried our sin, we are going to meditate upon them together.

But today is the day of salvation. Before men you confessed your sin - and Jesus confessed you before His Father, and they spoke to you by the Spirit telling you all is forgiven. Together, as the body of Christ, His Church, you receive from His gracious hand the righteousness He purchased when He was made sin for you - in a word, and a morsel of bread, in a sip of wine, Christ Himself comes to you and gives you His righteousness. There is your treasure. There is your heart. There is your salvation - that’s no secret. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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