The objective of this lesson: To emphasize that with God, why a good thing is done is as important as doing a good thing.
How does a Christian individual correctly solve ethical dilemmas that occur within the framework of biblical teaching? Before you quickly declare, "That cannot happen!" recognize factually that it does happen.
One of the powerful evidences of God's priorities is the clash between ethical mandates in scripture. For example, Jesus urged openness in doing good deeds in Matthew 5:16 so God's follower could be an example, and in today's text, Jesus urged secrecy in doing good deeds (Matthew 6:4, 6) so one would not do right things for wrong reasons. It is not a matter of contradiction, but a matter of priority. It is also an example of the importance of context. In the first, the person does good because "that is who I am." He is not seeking attention; he is just being himself. He is not good part of the time or when people are looking. Because he belongs to God, he seeks to be good always. His good acts are a mere evidence of God's constant influence in his life. In the second, he seeks to not be hypocritical in his motives. In the matter of priorities, he always will evidence God's influence in his life, but there are some things he does privately to personally honor God. He is not ashamed of what he does, but some things he does privately to honor God.
(1) Are Christians to be tolerant of each other? Read 1 Corinthians 8:7-13. Yes! What a person ate was a major spiritual issue with many Jewish Christians (Leviticus 11). Dietary codes were an important spiritual matter with Israelites for generations.
Dietary codes always had been spiritually important to Israelites by God's instruction. They did not instantly change their foods and eating habits because they became followers of Jesus Christ. If Jewish believers in Jesus and gentile believers in Jesus were to function as one body in Christ, a lot of tolerance would be necessary.
Also, a conscientious Jewish family did not dare eat something sacrificed to an idol. To eat of the sacrifice was an act of worship (see Exodus 34:12-16; 1 Samuel 1:4, 5). Since eating part of the sacrifice was an act of worshipping the gods or God to whom the sacrifice was offered, a Jewish Christian would not eat from sacrificial meat offered to an idol. What to us seems a moot point was a real, live issue in the first century church. Many Christian Jews clashed with many Christian gentiles. Read Acts 15 and especially note verses 1-3, 5, and 19-29.
Very much at stake spiritually was (1) the common definition of worship [eating part of a meat sacrifice given] and (2) the Jewish understanding of an idolatrous act [idolatrous acts cost Israel dearly in the past, and Israel finally had learned their lesson]. These were very live, important issues in the first century.
Was eating any type of meat (like pork) wrong? No! Consider 1 Timothy 4:1-5.
A knowledgeable Christian could eat any type of meat in any setting, and it would have no spiritual significance to the knowledgeable believer.
Yet, Paul said he would be a vegetarian if his eating meat offended a Christian for whom Christ died. That is an incredible act of tolerance! Consider Romans 14:1-12 and 20-23.
Paul was truly a knowledgeable Christian who placed his confidence in Jesus Christ as he taught gentiles to turn from idols and serve Jesus Christ. Though he knew it was "right" to eat anything anywhere, for the sake of Jewish believers in Jesus Christ, he would be a vegetarian rather than offend believers who did not understand. Everyone was supposed to mature in understanding. Paul was willing to be a vegetarian to give the less knowledgeable time to mature in understanding.
(2) Is there a time and a point when error in a Christian must be confronted and condemned? Consider Paul's statements in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 and 2 Timothy 1:15-18; 2:14-18; and 4:9-18 and John's statement in 3 John 9,10. Yes!
Yet, there are times when error must be confronted and condemned. [Today, it seems to be too easy to confuse personal preference with error.]
The dilemma: when do you show tolerance and make personal sacrifices AND when do you confront and condemn? Do not think all Christians in a congregation hold the same conclusion in situations where the evidence is subject to personal interpretation. When one Christian is convinced toleration is in order, another Christian thinks condemnation is in order. The ethics of the situation clash as each perspective quotes scripture.
It takes a truly mature spiritual person to know when to do what. Unfortunately, too often the immature attack the character or credibility of the mature.
In our first text (Matthew 6:1-18), Jesus referred to three acts of righteous behavior understood and accepted in Jewish society: giving alms (benevolent acts), praying personal prayers, and fasting (deliberately refusing to eat). These three things were so accepted as expressions of righteousness that they were not debated. Righteous people did these things.
Just as today, there were certain things righteous people were expected to do. Personal benevolent acts owned the disadvantaged and honored God. In this way even the afflicted could contribute to the physical needs of the family. Praying showed dependence on God. Fasting was a way of showing God humility by saying, "I know my place--You do not need to punish my nation again." If you were righteous, you just did these three things because that is what the righteous did.
Jesus did not question these acts as appropriate expressions of righteousness. However, Jesus focused on the motive causing the act rather than merely doing the act. He began with a caution. He said plainly if the motive was incorrect, the act was meaningless to God. If a person was motivated to do the act to receive public acclaim from people, and the person received the public notice sought, then the person received no reward from God. He got what he wanted when he received public acclaim. God did not need to respond to the act and would not.
Though these were regarded as unquestionably righteous acts, the motive prompting the act was critical to God. In fact, a wrong motive could make an unquestionably righteous act unacceptable to God. Thus, a person could do a right act for a wrong reason, and the right act have no significance to God.
Instead, perform your private acts of devotion to God secretly. God sees secretly done acts (even if no person sees them). The God who sees in secret will reward such acts because the motive of the act is to honor God, not to receive the attention of people. The notice of humans does not open God's eyes. The point: do what you do to honor God, not to capture public praise. Or, why you do what you do is as important as what you do. To God, motives matter. Give careful attention to your motives and not just your acts. Do right things for right reasons.
If the motive is focused on God, a righteous person will do some things privately. It is not a matter of being ashamed of what is done. It is a matter of honoring God.
In the second text (Matthew 7: 21-27), Jesus addressed a major weakness among the religious in all ages. The question Jesus addressed: "Why do we seek spiritual knowledge?" In his answer, he stressed two realities. (1) Make certain that what you know is in keeping with God's will. (2) Know to do; do not know merely to evaluate others' lives or to place confidence in your knowledge. Knowledge of a disaster is useless if it does not prepare a person to face the disaster!
There is a great temptation to substitute right knowledge for godly behavior. Correct spiritual knowledge is not an end in itself. People do not "know" to condemn others (consider 2 Timothy 2:24-26). They "know" to behave. The road to heaven is not paved with the mistakes of others. It is paved with godly behavior that depends on God's grace.
Prophesying in the Lord's name; casting out demons in the Lord's name; and doing miracles in the Lord's name were good things IF they reflected the will of God. How could such things possibly occur if they were not acts devoted to God? Consider Acts 19:11-17 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.
Devotion to doing good things is not enough in itself. Doing good things that are devoted to God's will is the objective.
The objective of having knowledge of God's ways is not to practice a false righteousness or to pass condemnation on others. We know in order to follow God's ways. We know in order that we might do. Knowledge is not a spiritual destination. Knowledge is an avenue to a spiritual destination.
Acquire knowledge to do in your own life, to serve God's purposes with your own behavior.
Do right things for right reasons. Know to do.
For Thought and Discussion:
How does a Christian individual correctly solve ethical dilemmas that occur within the framework of biblical teaching?
It existed for generations--from almost the beginning of the nation of Israel.
They would not eat from any meat sacrificed to an idol. They regarded such eating as an act of worship--to eat from meat sacrificed to an idol was to worship the idol.
No. Jesus said the act of eating did not make one spiritual or unspiritual (see Matthew 15:16-20). Everything was created by God and is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
He was willing to be a vegetarian to keep from offending Jewish Christians.
There is. Paul and John condemned Christians who opposed Christian teachings or association.
The dilemma is created when Christians try to determine the dividing line between tolerance and condemnation.
(1) Giving alms, (2) prayer, and (3) fasting were the three.
Jesus focused on motives.
His caution: if the motive is incorrect, the act is meaningless to God.
Such acts should be performed secretly because God sees things done secretly.
People are often tempted to substitute knowledge for godly behavior. They do not make certain the knowledge is in accord with God's will. They do not know to do.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 10