25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25 (LSB)
God’s Kingdom is real. It is not completely fulfilled in this world. It exists in the hearts of His people here, but in eternity, it is totally manifest. God is transcendent. He is not affected in any way by His creation, the Universe. However, He is also imminent in that He sent His beloved son as a Man to become the New Adam. He did this to start the process of developing Kingdom Life in this world. Our Lord’s atoning work on the Cross purchased His people by His blood….
All those believe and repent as God effectually calls them. They are regenerated. This changes them forever. They become like unto their Lord. The Kingdom of God becomes manifest in their lives as the old man remains, but is displaced over time through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We await the return of our Lord to fulfill His Kingdom. In the meantime we must learn how to conform ourselves to Kingdom Life in this world. In Matthew 6:1-7:12 our Lord sets forth principles for spirituality in religious life, everyday life, and community relationships.
Our Lord begins this by showing us that our faith can be expressed in a hypocritical way. In vv1-4 we see that it is very easy to be hypocritical in our giving.
1 “Beware of doing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Therefore, when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 (LSB) <Continue reading post>