Matthew 6
6
Doing Good Deeds Secretly
1“Be careful not to do good deeds in front of other people so that they’ll see you. If you do that, you won’t get any reward from your Father in heaven.
Giving to People in Need
2“When you give to people in need, don’t announce it by having trumpets blown in front of you. That’s what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets because they want people to notice them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 3But when you give to people in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
Prayer
5“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that other people will see them. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 6When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who can’t be seen. Then your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, don’t keep talking on and on like the people who worship other gods. They think their prayers will be answered because they’ve talked so much. 8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.
9“Therefore, pray like this:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
10May your kingdom come—
may your will be done on earth
as it already is done in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread,
12and forgive our sins,
just as we forgive those who sin against us.
13Don’t let us fall into temptation,
and save us from the evil one.’
14If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don’t forgive other people, your Father won’t forgive your sins.
Fasting
16“When you go without eating, don’t look all sad like the hypocrites. They make strange faces so that people will notice that they’re fasting. Truly I tell you, that’s all the reward they’ll get. 17But when you go without eating, refresh your hair with olive oil and wash your face. 18Then no one will be able to tell that you’re fasting. Only your Father, who can’t be seen, will know it. And your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
God and Money
19“Don’t try to get a lot of riches on earth, because moths and pests can destroy your things there, and thieves can break in and steal them. 20Instead, make sure you have a lot of riches in heaven, because moths and pests can’t destroy anything there, and thieves can’t break in and steal anything. 21Wherever your riches are, that’s where your heart will be.
22“The eye lets light into the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy, then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it’s really dark!
24“No one can serve two masters. Either you’ll hate the first and love the second, or you’ll be devoted to the first and not care about the second. You can’t serve both God and money.
God Knows What You Need
25“So I’m telling you not to worry about your life, what you’ll eat or drink, and not to worry about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t there more to life than eating? And isn’t there more to the body than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air. They don’t plant or harvest crops, and they don’t put grain away in barns. But your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27Can any of you add even one hour to your life by worrying?
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes, 29but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed as well as one of these flowers. 30If God dresses the wild grass so well, even though it’s here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, isn’t he even more likely to make sure that you have clothes? You have such little faith! 31Don’t get all worried and say, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32People who don’t trust in God are concerned with those things. But your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33So be concerned about the kingdom of God first, and do what he wants you to do, and all those things will also be given to you. 34Don’t worry about tomorrow—let it worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.
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Matthew 6: RAD
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Matthew 6
6
1“Make sure not to do your good deeds in front of people, just so they can be seen. Otherwise you won't have any reward from your Father in heaven. 2When you give to the poor, don't be like the hypocrites#6:2. A word taken from the Greek which literally means “play-acting.” who blow their own trumpets to announce what they're doing in the synagogues and in the streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth: they already have their reward. 3When you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. 4That way what you give will be in secret, and your Father who sees what happens in secret will reward you.
5When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people can see them. I promise you, they already have their reward. 6But you, when you pray, go indoors and close the door, and pray to your Father in private, and your Father who sees what happens in private will reward you. 7When you pray, don't babble on meaninglessly like the foreigners do, who think they will be heard because of all the words they repeat. 8Don't be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him. 9So pray like this:
Our heavenly Father, may your name be honored. 10May your kingdom come! May your will be carried out in earth as it is in heaven. 11Please give to us today the food we need. 12Forgive our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. 13Please don't let us give in to temptation,#6:13. Or “Please don't allow us to enter temptation.” The sense here is permissive rather than causative. In other words the prayer is for God not to allow temptation to overcome us. He is not the one bringing the temptation. and save us from the evil one.
14For if you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you don't forgive those who sin against you, then your heavenly Father won't forgive your sins.
16When you fast, don't be like the hypocrites who put on sad faces and make themselves look terrible so that everyone can see they're fasting. I tell you the truth, they already have their reward. 17Instead, when you fast, wash your face and look smart, 18so that people won't see you're fasting, and your unseen Father who sees what happens in private will reward you.
19Don't pile up wealth here on earth where moths and rust ruin it, and where thieves break in and steal it. 20Instead, you should store up your wealth in heaven, where moths and rust don't ruin it, and where thieves don't break in and steal it. 21For what you value the most shows who you really are.
22The eye is like a lamp that lights the body. So if your eye is healthy,#6:22. Or “good, innocent.” then your whole body will have light. 23But if your eye is evil, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the ‘light’ you have is actually darkness, how dark is that! 24No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and Money.#6:24. Literally, “Mammon,” a transliteration from the Aramaic word for the Syrian god of money and wealth.
25That's why I'm telling you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about what to eat, or what to drink, or what clothes to put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds#6:26. Literally, “birds of the air,” referring to wild birds rather than domesticated birds.—they don't sow or reap or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they are? 27Who of you by worrying can add a minute to your life? 28And why are you worried about clothes? Look at the beautiful flowers in the field. See how they grow: they don't work hard, they don't spin thread. 29But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these flowers. 30So if God decorates the fields like this, grass which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, won't he do much more for you, you people who trust so little? 31So don't worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32These are all the things that the heathen chase after, but your heavenly Father knows everything you need. 33Seek his kingdom first, and his way of living right, and everything will be given to you. 34So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There's already enough evil in every day.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com