Matthew 6:1-4, 16-8 What Motivates Your Christian Works?

For the most part, virtue is something that our society celebrates. To have virtue is to possess, as a quality or trait, a kind of character, moral excellence, and a commitment to doing what is right and good. Now, we should of course agree that this is the Christian’s calling: to live a life of virtue. However, we would state it in the Christian sense; that the Christian pursues virtue not for the sake of virtue itself, especially not for their own sakes, but because they live as those in the presence of God.

This idea of virtue often appears in our society through reference to the so-called "Good Samaritan." While it’s unlikely that many would be able to tell you the first thing about where the story of the Good Samaritan came from, they generally know what a Good Samaritan is. For example, one headline I read said, "Cop and Good Samaritan pull unconscious man from burning car moments before it explodes in Auckland." Another headline identified a Rotorua man who remortgaged his house so that he could set up a homeless shelter as a "Good Samaritan". Yet another article announced, "Police commend Good Samaritan as two kidnap attempts thwarted in Christchurch this morning." So, virtue is praiseworthy, even in the world, isn't it? Virtue is good; it’s heroic; it’s inspirational.

However, one important question is this: When does a person’s virtue become what is called, in modern terms, "virtue signalling"? To virtue signal is to morally grandstand; to present oneself as having a deep concern and conscience towards certain things, yet, when investigated, these sentiments are revealed to be really only self-interested. As another has put it, someone who virtue signals is not really concerned with changing minds—let alone with changing the world—but with displaying themselves in the best possible light. So, when does virtue become virtue signalling? The answer is, when one’s motivations are inward-looking and self-serving.

Therefore, I introduce this present passage with this question for each of us: What motivates your Christian service and life? What motivates your Christian works? Not that there’s any such thing as works that can save a person, but when you are a Christian, there are works that you are to do for the Lord. We know that Christian virtue is of paramount importance to the Christian man and woman; now we must consider its right and wrong motivations.

In the first eighteen verses of Matthew chapter six, Jesus transitions from the content of chapter five, yet in no way is it detached. In Matthew 5, he answered simply the question of how a disciple is to live: Now that you are a Christian, how do you live? Not how to become a Christian, but now that you are a Christian, how do you live? In other words, there is a certain kind of life that God means for the Christian, and he cannot excuse himself from it. You are to live, of course, by faith in the Son of God, but to do so you must live in accordance with the law of God; obedience to Christ. So in Matthew 5, Jesus showed us how to view the law, how to find its spiritual core, how to find the way it instructs our hearts, and how it points you to the perfections that are in God, which we are to imitate.

If Matthew 5 is all about the law, then Matthew 6 turns to the notion of living our lives as those under the eye of God, that we would assess our motivations. Now, the principle that the Lord Jesus lays out for us is in the very first verse. Matthew 6:1 lays out the principle, and the next seventeen verses through to verse eighteen then explain that principle from three different spheres of Jewish piety: giving to the poor; prayer, which we will cover in a sermon on its own; and fasting, in verses sixteen to eighteen.

The Principle

First of all, we want to understand the great principle that Jesus gives us. Let us read it again: "Beware of practising your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." There are two essential parts to this principle. There is, first, the command itself—a warning that one’s Christian life is not to be lived in a way that is motivated by the applause of man. Secondly, our Lord gives the great reason for keeping this principle: because there is no reward from God when we are motivated by virtue of self.

I have four different angles from which I want to assess this principle so we can see it clearly.

#1 It Is A Warning We All Must Hear

First of all, this principle is a warning that we all must hear. Why is that? Because Jesus is addressing here one of the most common ways our sinful nature betrays itself. We do not want to evade self-examination on this point. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it, "Here is a chapter that brings us face to face with ourselves and enables us to see ourselves exactly as we are." How many of us can say that we have served God only with an eye to God's glory? Is there anyone here who has not felt that warm rush of dopamine to the brain when we receive praise from other people for our actions and our works? How many of us are truly content to serve in such a way that, if no eye but God's witnessed us, we would be quite content? Is the approval of God enough for us, or are we lusting after more?

So our Lord has swiftly humbled us, even by stating this principle, and we need it. The religious duties that you perform—do you perform them for your own glory, or for God’s? I hope that, if we understand now that we have all the while been motivated by our own glory, that man might ascribe to us, we would swiftly fly to Christ—that we would run to Christ in repentance and ask for his forgiveness for our idolatry. So, it is a warning that we all must hear, as the Lord said elsewhere in the Gospel of Luke: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

#2 It Is Something Not Always Transparent To Man

The second point on this principle is that it is something not always transparent to man. Given our limited perception, often at times, someone who is only virtue signalling and is actually a fraud—it might not be apparent to us as observers. We might think that this person is virtuous and they are receiving due praise. Now, I have heard of no better illustration of this than the one given by British preacher Stuart Olyott, which I will adapt here. I want you to imagine somebody giving to the poor: five different people, five different men or women; all on the same day, but with different motivations. As you watch on, you can’t tell a difference, but in fact there are five different heart motivations.

It’s Christmas Day. The first man comes along and he thinks, "Well, it’s Christmas time; this is the sort of thing that people do at Christmas, so I’ll do what everyone else does and give to the poor." What is this man's heart ruled by? It’s imitation; it’s instinct. This is what people do, so I’ll do it.

The second man on Christmas Day would like to be recognised by people as being good to the poor. So, he gives to the poor as well—puts the money in the box—and knows that it will extend his influence if people can watch him do it. What is his heart governed by? Clearly, it’s selfishness; it’s virtue signalling. He doesn’t really care about the poor; he cares about the kind of influence he can gain by being seen to be giving.

A third man comes and gives to the poor, and this man truly wants people to think well of him. In fact, he is yearning that people would clap and applaud for his great generosity. This is beyond selfishness; it’s self-centredness. His conceit and vanity, his motivations—they might be invisible to those looking on, but all he wants is to be seen by others as virtuous in their eyes.

There’s a fourth man on Christmas Day; he comes forward to give money like the others, and this man genuinely does care for the poor. His giving comes from true sympathy, a care for common humanity. He is by all respects that Good Samaritan; and yet his heart is still not motivated by obedience to God.

Then there is the fifth and final man, and this is the Christian man. His motivations are righteous. Why does he give to the poor? Because he understands that it is God’s will, that the genuinely poor ought to be supported by those who have more. He knows that it is pleasing to God, and he cares not for whether man thinks great or ill of him. He cares only that he is obedient to what he knows to be true, what he knows God has given in his word. The principle ruling the Christian’s heart is the fear of God; a desire to be obedient and pleasing to their heavenly Father.

So, do you see that, while I have described five different people performing the same action—which may look the same—there are five different motivations of the heart? To us, motivation is not always transparent; people can get away with things.

#3 It Is Something That Is Always Transparent To God

Now we come to our next point: This principle is something that is always transparent to God. God always knows. It’s the flip side of the last point. We cannot rightly read the heart. We might perceive and interpret outward actions and infer their motivation, but we cannot truly tell. It’s not this way with God, friend. The Lord Jesus said in Luke 8:17, "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light." There is no hiding from God. He knows your mind, he knows your heart, he knows the seat of all your desires better than you know yourself. There’s no deceiving him; there’s no trickery with God. Man can be fooled; man can be deceived. You might lead the whole world to believe that you’re a morally upright, upstanding person, and they praise you, speak highly of you, put you on a pedestal, promote you, write about you, sing songs about you—but if your heart is truly morally bankrupt, God will know it. The whole world might be deceived; God knows the heart.

Paul says that the Lord, in 1 Corinthians 4:5, "will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God." Jesus says in this principle that it is perfectly transparent to God whether you are practising your righteousness before men or to be pleasing to him. Hebrews 4:13 declares, "And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

#4 It Is Concerning A Choice We Must Make

The final point regarding this principle is that it concerns a choice we must make. Because it comes as a warning, because it’s not always transparent to man, and because it is always transparent to God, you are presented with a choice, Christian. Whose glory will you seek? We do not want to be found as hypocrites, showing ourselves to be good while our actual motivations are wicked and we are purposefully deceitful. We don’t want to be the kind of hypocrite who thinks that we are acting in the best interests of God, but in fact, we are merely deceiving people who are watching on. The choice you must make is not about whether you, as a sinner saved by grace, are to live a virtuous life or not. That is not the choice. You must live a virtuous life.

The choice is: will you choose to be rightly motivated? Will you love Christ enough that you would never dream of seeing any glory from him detracted and fall upon yourself? As John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." More must be made of Christ, and less must be made of myself. That is the Christian’s heart. So you must choose each day to deflect the glory to God. At times, man is going to want to praise you. It’s in our nature, but you must deflect; you must not become puffed up.

The Principle Applied 

Let’s apply this principle now. We have looked at the principle from verse one of Matthew 6. I want us to see how he applies it, particularly verses two to four and then sixteen to eighteen. The section on prayer in the middle will have its own sermon next week.

#1 Search Your Heart To Uncover Its Motive

First, we want to search our hearts to uncover our motives. This is the first way it applies to us: we must practise self-awareness. Maybe we have not been all that attentive to the kind of enjoyment we get when other people say thank you for something we have done. We get this kind of real kick out of it, don't we? We begin to lust after it. In fact, we begin to serve with a heart that more praise might come to us. This can easily happen. You know, pastors and preachers too—people in ministry—are not beyond what the Lord is saying here. In fact, we are in more danger because we have such a public ministry.

I just read this week a quote by the Californian preacher H. B. Charles: "A desire to preach without a burden to study is a desire to perform." A wise pastor will say to any young man who comes forward and says, "I want to be a preacher," they will respond, "But do you want to be alone? Do you want to spend countless hours with just you and the Lord? Do you desire to do the hard work of study?" Because if you do not desire to do those things and only desire to preach, really you just want to perform. You want to show off some intellect; you want to put yourself on show. That is a dangerous thing.

We must all seek to uncover our motivations in the ways we serve and in which we are gifted. We want to be found only living and serving for the glory of God, which is the number one motivator to serve, by the way. If you are not really concerned about the glory of God, you are also not going to be that interested in serving. When you are concerned about the glory of God and want his name to be made much of, it will drive you to serve more.

I might illustrate right motives for service this way. There is a well-known story about the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon and his wife, Susannah Spurgeon. They used to keep chickens and would sell the eggs to different people in the church. Despite being well-off themselves—the Spurgeons were a wealthy couple because Spurgeon was such a popular preacher that his sermons would be transcribed and sold, generating quite the income. So they had these chickens and sold these eggs. They would never give them away for free. Not even their close relatives or friends—all had to pay for eggs if they wanted them. This began to create criticism that the Spurgeons were greedy, that they were money-hungry. People knew they were well off, but they were not giving away these eggs for free. As the story goes, after Susannah Spurgeon’s death, the full story came out: every single cent of the profit from the chicken eggs had gone to support two elderly widow women from their church. The Spurgeons never told anyone; it only came out after Susannah's death.

Now, look at what Jesus says in Matthew 6:3: "But when you give to the poor", you could substitute any act of service in there, "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." There is no trumpeting there; it is a way of saying: let it be done, if so much as depends on you, that no one knows. Do it before the Lord, not before men. Are we so willing, friends, to assess our own motives, and what do we find?

#2 Do, But Do Not Trumpet

The second application is this: Do, but do not trumpet. What our Lord is not saying here is that you must never be seen by men doing your righteous deeds. There are many things you can do for the Lord in secret, which man will never know of. But much of what we do is actually in public, so the Lord is not contradicting what he said earlier in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." There’s no contradiction here. In that verse, we are commanded to do our good works in such a way that the glory deflects from us onto God. That is all that Jesus is saying here in Matthew 6.

I remember, as a child, setting up mirrors to see if I could bounce a laser off mirrors and still find it or see it on the wall. It must be like that with our pursuit of virtue in the Christian life. We must deflect from ourselves. We must be, in a way, holding up a mirror so that, when praise or adoration may come our way, if someone does observe us doing some good thing, there is a mirror we are holding, and it is quick to deflect that glory to God. We want to be rightly motivated. So, how ready and willing are you in this way? That is the question of motivation. Let them see your good works; do, but do not trumpet them for your own attention and purposes.

Be aware of yourself. If you get a real kick out of receiving praise from others, you will soon be of no use to the Lord, and he is going to have to humble you. That is what Jesus says in verse two concerning the Pharisees and hypocrites in the synagogues: "So that they would be honoured by men." That is what they live for; they love attention; they love to be the main character in their own story. Jesus says in John 12:43, "For they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." Verse sixteen of Matthew 6, when they fast, "they put on a gloomy face" so other people can see how solemn and how serious and sober they are. It is a holier-than-thou attitude. As Daniel Doriani, commentator, put it, "He [Jesus] does not say it is wrong to be seen giving a gift to the needy, but it is wrong to give in order to be seen giving." There is the difference.

#3 The Reward Of Men Is No Reward At All

The third application is this: The reward of men is no reward at all. You see, Jesus is acknowledging here that there is actually a reward that can be had from men. Look at what he says in verse two: "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." Look at verse sixteen: "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." What he’s saying is that there is a reward; man will praise you, and it is going to feel good, but it is nothing to be excited about. It is no true reward. For what, at the end of the day, is the praise of man? What does that count for? It counts for nothing. To receive praise from man but the frown of God is to receive nothing. You have detracted from God’s glory; you are guilty of idolatry; you have made this world and creation about you and yourself. You cannot live for the praise of God and for the praise of man simultaneously: "Choose this day whom you will serve." It is black and white. It is one way or the other. Man may elevate you, he may wish to praise you, but you must not be satisfied with that. You must seek to detract attention from yourself in all possible ways. Don Carson puts it this way: "These hypocrites were purposefully drawing attention to themselves. They wanted the plaudits of men and got them. That’s all they got. That’s all you’ll ever get."

#4 God Rewards Rightly Motivated Works

Last heading: God rewards rightly motivated works. When we live virtuous lives for Christ, out of devotion and a pure heart for the Lord, seeking only his praise, his adoration, because we want to be obedient to him—these works are seen by God. Christian, if you have been giving financially, if you have been serving away in the background for years and years and no man has noticed, maybe that is a good thing, because God has noticed. Some of the most generous Christians I know, or know of—whether they have much or little to give—do so in such a humble and secretive way that you would never know, but God knows. God sees. They are not concerned about whether man notices; they want the praise of God. He sees what we do in secret; he sees what we do in public. All is transparent to him, including your motivations. He sees the right and wrong motivations of your heart. As the Lord Jesus says in verse four, "Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." It is a promise. Verses seventeen to eighteen: "But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

So, how does this work? In what way does God reward the Christian? This is certainly no promise of what we would call a prosperity gospel. It is not a "give and it comes back to you tenfold." It is not that kind of promise—as if God promises to make you prosperous and wealthy. That is not what you need; nor is it that he promises you will have no problems in your life or perfect health. It is not that either—as if, if you just have enough faith and are obedient enough, God will pour out all kinds of material, earthly, worldly blessings on your life. No, but there is blessing in living obediently to the Lord, with pure motives. Scripture does say he blesses those who honour him.

Ultimately, his reward comes in the age to come. Scripture is clear: there are degrees of reward for faithfulness in this life for the next, and yet at the same time, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

None of us get to heaven on any merits of our own, only by the finished work of Jesus Christ, who shed his blood on the cross for the remission of sins. All that we do and all that we receive in reward become crowns to cast back at Christ’s feet and say, "Worthy are you, O Lord. Who am I to receive your love, to receive your grace?" Heaven is not earned by merit, but by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and came to save us from our sins by dying on a cross. As Scripture says in Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him."

So, Christian, what are you motivated by? Is it the praise of man? If so, repent; flee now to Christ. Say, "Father, forgive me for my idolatry. I want to live solely for your glory, Lord—that I would be made little of, that you would receive the praise." Live out of that reality; worship him, for he is due praise—not you. Let us be nothing, but let him be everything.