Before God or Men?

(Matthew 6:1) “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men.”

Here we have another classical example that God’s ways are far above the justification that men have stumble upon seeking out acceptance. This in itself proves that we need recognition and we need to have our ego’s stroked. The Lord Jesus who was and who is God, never once walked the face of the earth trying to find acceptance to the exclusion of His Father’s will. It has always been about God’s resolve and it will forever be about His will. Let us consider the act of a charitable deed. If I give money to the poor but I do not recognise God as the one who equips me with the insight and material wealth to aid someone in need, I exalt myself and seek recognition from men and often much is said about this. How often have you read about some great rich man or woman that has giving millions to charity? When I enter into this realm the Word clearly teaches me that I have my reward. I am honoured by men. Let me ask a question, how the honour of men will assist me in the day of judgement, as they will also stand under the judgement of God and be evaluated. It is only the judge you can pass a ruling and not those who are under the judge. People’s opinions will have little bearing on that day. It is important you understand the law so that you may abide by it. I love the way the Word speaks so simply, we often try and complicate its interpretation, and often to our own detriment. Here we see how God views charitable deeds! It is clear that we are to do them secretively, why? It proves that we recognise that God is real to us and although we cannot see Him with our physical eyes, He is plainly seen to those who believe on the Lord Jesus and all those who have His spirit. If and when we act in obedience to God’s will, He will act righteously, as He is righteous and the laws of His existence unfold in accordance to His will. If I have not understood this principle and I find that I still seek recognition from men with my charitable deeds, then I am concerned for my own salvation as “repentance from dead works” is one of the first foundation blocks that must be laid in a believer’s heart. I am justified by the work of the cross and not by men exalting me as a good person. I can do nothing in myself to find justification by God to inherit salvation. That however does not mean I am excuse from charitable deeds, I must have the heart of giving freely to others, the Lord Jesus gave of His life freely so that I could live. When we read proverbs and its wisdom is unearthed we see God making reference to Him being pleased with those who look out for the poor. We must take care of orphans and widows, but we must do it in secret; (Matthew 6:2-4) "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Avoid every attempt that is a man centred attempt to be justified by God; it is a lie from the devil Himself. Sin is a tricky deceiver; it has many forms and will always look for survival. The day is coming when it will have its reward, it will be squashed like a bug underfoot. I elongate for that day, as sin has been hard on me. All I need to do is glance down at my body and I see the scars of its effect on my life. My right femur is two inches shorter than the other, I have a deadly virus living in my body and looking to possess it and take control, my testimony has been tainted by it and my mind recalls thoughts that my eyes have witness throughout life, with many of those deliberations in direct opposition to who God is. The war rages on! Sin is to blame for all of this. Sin an enemy that will be bound up in the Lake of Fire with the Devil and all his followers. Even death is a fruit of sin, death only entered in to the existence of mankind after Eve ate of the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Prior to this death was foreign to their understanding, if they understood that their lives would eventually end, they would have made eating fruit from the Tree of Life a priority, yet the idea never entered their minds until they ate from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, against God’s commandment. It was only then that God placed cherubim’s with flaming swords to protect the fruit from getting into immoral hands, they were to keep it away from people awake to sin.

Until God sent His great Son, my great Saviour to break the shackles of sin by defeating it by its own rules; He squashed the father of sin by defeating him in an “away game”. He did it as a man and on earth, how great is our Redeemer, what an amazing exploit! Jesus the one who came to take away the sin of the world, and now because of His accomplishment I can go free, do we understand the magnitude of what this really means dearly beloved? We serve such a great, merciful, gracious God, may He teach us to love Him with an unattainable desire in adoring Him more. You are so worthy of our all our worship, our great Jehovah, please be patient with us, I realise how impatient I am with others and yet require your fortitude with me. My mind cannot fathom why you chose to die for me, yet I am abundantly thankful and understand that Christ’s sacrifice requires my all. Your word through the Apostle Paul instructs us all to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto you, it is only our reasonable service and nothing more, but yet we long to hang on to our wills even if it is contrary to yours, forgive us I pray and change our hearts so that our wills will reflect our Saviours glorious example in every area of our lives.

So may we remember to do charitable deeds, but it must be in secret, not allowing our left hand to know what my right hand is doing. God sees all, and never let us think differently. If we abide in Him, he abides in us and we will be the beneficiaries of His grace and He will reward those who diligently seek Him, openly! This is a way of finding favour from our Father and not seeking futile recognition from men that will have very little benefit.

Signing off

Tyrone