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We want to begin reading in Matthew 
6, beginning at verse 1. Take heed that you do not do 
your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them. Otherwise, 
you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, 
when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before 
you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, 
that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, 
they have their reward. But when you do a charitable 
deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is 
doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret and your father 
who sees in secret will reward will himself reward you openly. 
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, for 
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners 
of the streets that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I 
say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, Go into 
your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your 
father who is in the secret place. And your father who sees in secret 
will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use 
vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they 
will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like 
them, for your father knows the things you have need of before 
you ask him. In this manner, therefore, pray. 
Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as 
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread 
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not 
lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 
Amen. For if you forgive men their 
trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if 
you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your 
father forgive your trespasses. Moreover, when you fast, do not 
be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, for they disfigure 
their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, 
I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, 
anoint your head and wash your face so that you do not appear 
to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in the secret 
place. Your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you have 
given it. It is profitable to us for doctrine, for reproof, 
for correction and for instruction in righteousness. We pray that 
by the power of your spirit now, you would thoroughly furnish 
us unto every good work, that you would grant us grace to receive 
gladly and joyfully your word. We ask that you would forgive 
us now for all of our sins and anything that would keep us from 
receiving your word. Wash us afresh in the blood of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Send forth your Holy Spirit to 
guide us and to lead us and to direct us. And we pray in Jesus' 
name. Amen. Well, as we continue our 
study in the Gospel of Matthew, we'll just remind ourselves what's 
going on here in the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that the 
Lord Jesus, after giving the Beatitudes and a couple of other 
statements concerning the disciples of Christ, he makes this statement 
in chapter 5 at verse 17. Do not think that I came to destroy 
the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but 
to fulfill. And then he cautions us against 
two extremes. On the one hand, antinomianism, 
on the other hand, legalism. And then he summarizes in verse 
20 by saying, I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds 
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no 
means enter the kingdom of heaven. And from then on to the end of 
this particular chapter, what Jesus does is he takes the law 
of God and shows us our responsibilities in terms of ethics, in terms 
of relationship to other people. In so doing, we must exceed the 
righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, of course, 
enabled by His grace, the power of His Spirit, informed by His 
word. And then here in chapter 6, carrying 
this same idea, the exceeding of the righteousness of the scribes 
and the Pharisees, he highlights religious observances. He highlights 
acts of piety, those things that believers engage in, in chapter 
6, verses 1 to 18. He deals with almsgiving, with 
prayer, and now we come to the issue of fasting. And you will 
see the similarities between these three things. wants us 
to guard against sort of an ostentatious display. He wants us to guard 
against parading ourselves as a holy people. He wants us to 
guard against Twittering and Facebooking as our status, just 
how righteous and how good we really are. No, the whole thrust 
of this section is do not do these things in order to be seen 
by men but rather do them under the guise and auspices of your 
heavenly father, looking solely and alone for his approval and 
for his approbation. So as we come to fasting this 
morning, verses 16 to 18, I want to consider it under three considerations 
or three observations. First, there is an assumption 
in our text. Secondly, there is a warning 
in our text. And thirdly, there is a corrective. 
So an assumption. a warning and a corrective. Let's look first at this assumption. Notice what Jesus says. Moreover, 
when you fast, Just like he did with prayer, when you pray. Just 
like he did with almsgiving, when you give alms. Jesus assumes, 
Jesus presupposes, Jesus understands the reality that those who are 
saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, 
there will be resulting good works. There will be fruit. There 
will be things flowing from that declaration of not guilty and 
that imputation of righteousness. In other words, when we're saved, 
we are saved onto good works. So he assumes that the people 
of God will fast. Fasting simply means this. It is to abstain for a limited 
time from any kind of food. That's the most general definition 
of fasting. to abstain for a limited time 
from any kind of food. You can't abstain forever because 
you'll die. It is for a particular period 
of time. Now, persons with medical concerns, 
persons that have physical limitations, ought to consult with a physician 
prior to fasting. It would not be wise, it would 
not be healthy, it would not be conducive to your well-being 
if you're a diabetic and you fast. Do not engage in such practices, 
because as we'll see in this particular section, Jesus is 
not saying this is a particular end in and of itself. So don't 
leave here this morning saying, honey, I have to fast. And then 
that throws you into some sort of a medical calamity. And then 
you say, well, Pastor Butler said I had to fast. Jesus assumes, 
again, with physically strong people not having any medical 
illnesses or qualifications, he assumes that the people of 
God will fast. Now, as we see the reasons or 
when we ask, why would someone fast? I want to offer up four 
things that it is not. I thought it would be good for 
us to shed a little light and try to shed a little biblical 
light on this issue of fasting. Fasting, first of all, is not 
a pagan practice motivated by a fear of demons and a preparation 
to meet the deity. In other words, we don't do this. We don't engage in fasting because 
we're afraid of demons and we're preparing ourselves to meet the 
deity. Secondly, fasting is not a ritual 
designed to make God perform for his people. Fasting is not 
a ritual designed to make God perform for his people. Just like prayer isn't a ritual 
designed to make God perform for his people. We don't drop 
in the quarter and out comes the benefit. We don't add up 
or engage in a formulaic approach to God and out pop blessings. Fasting is not to be viewed in 
that particular light. Thirdly, fasting is not an application 
of self-control and temperance. Self-control and temperance are 
to be consistent practices among the people of God. In other words, 
you don't throw a fast on your calendar to sort of satisfy the 
requirement to be a temperate or self-controlled Christian. 
Christians, by definition, are to practice self-control. They 
are, by definition, supposed to practice temperance. They 
are, by definition, supposed to moderate what they do in terms 
of eating and drinking and all those other things. So it's not 
as if you throw a fast on the calendar and you're satisfied 
fulfilling this idea of temperance in the Christian life. Lloyd-Jones 
says in this connection, he says moderation in eating is a part 
of discipline of the body and it is a very good way of keeping 
the body under. But that is not fasting. He says 
fasting means an abstinence from food for the sake of certain 
special purposes such as prayer or meditation or the seeking 
of God for some peculiar reason or under some exceptional circumstance. So it's not just a withdrawal 
of food as an end in and of itself. It accompanies prayer. It accompanies 
meditation. In fact, fasting could be seen 
as a supplemental means to those other things that we engage in. 
And then fourthly, fasting is not for physical benefit. You 
want to lose weight, don't adopt fasting as your particular practice. Now, I understand in the realm 
of weight loss and in physical health and the pursuit of a happy 
whole body, fasting is oftentimes prescribed. That's not what Jesus 
is talking about. This isn't fast your way to a 
thinner body, a la Jesus Christ. This isn't the new diet book 
on the market. Jesus assumes you'll fast so 
that you'll have a six pack or so that you'll have rock hard 
abs. That is not what we are dealing with in this particular 
situation. I want to summarize with a quote 
from John Calvin. He says, prayer holds the first 
rank among the duties of piety. But fasting is a doubtful operation 
and does not, like alms, belong to the class of those actions 
which God requires and approves. He's not discounting it. He's 
not throwing it out. He's not saying we never engage 
in it. But you'll search the New Testament 
in vain to find a command to fast. Now before you say, thankfully, 
It is assumed, it is a practice that we see operated or undergone 
by the people of God in the New Testament. But you can't turn 
to a particular passage and say, thou must fast on Mondays and 
Thursdays. That's what the Pharisees ended 
up doing. I fast twice a week, Monday and Thursday. The didache, 
an early Christian manual prescribed, I think, Wednesday and Friday 
as particular fast days. Well, that doesn't have biblical 
warrants. But Calvin goes on to say this, 
it is pleasing to God only so far as it is directed to another 
object. In other words, stopping eating 
for a particular time is not in and of itself something that 
God will say, well done, good and faithful servant. It's not 
an end in and of itself. I think that's what Calvin is 
getting at. He says it is pleasing to God 
only so far as it is directed to another object, and that is, 
and he says several things here, to train us to abstinence, to 
subdue the lust of the flesh, to excite us to earnestness in 
prayer, and to testify our repentance when we are affected by the view 
of the tribunal of God. In other words, as we survey 
some passages in just a moment, you'll see that fasting in and 
of itself wasn't the end. It accompanied prayer. It accompanied 
meditation. It accompanied certain seasons, 
whether corporately or privately, in the lives of God's people. 
Everybody with me thus far? All right. It's important. You see books on fasting pop 
up occasionally. You see emphasis on fasting. 
Just so we have an understanding what's going on, let's look at 
some specific instances of fasting in the Old Testament. Two times 
it was commanded to be done. Two times it was commanded to 
be done. The first is on the day of atonement, 
Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus chapter 16. You remember 
that day of atonement was the one time out of the year when 
the high priest for his own sins and for the sins of Israel would 
go into the Holy of Holies. He would not go in there empty-handed. 
He would go in there with blood. Blood again to make atonement 
for his sins. Blood to make atonement for the 
sins of Israel. And then the ritual would culminate 
in his laying the hand upon the scapegoat, confessing the sins 
of Israel, and then driving that beast out into the wilderness, 
thus signifying the removal of the sin of the people of God. Leviticus chapter 16 at verse 
29. This shall be a statute forever 
for you. In the seventh month, on the 
tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no 
work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger 
who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall 
make atonement for you, cleanse you, that you may be clean from 
all your sins before the Lord. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest 
for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. and the priest, who is anointed 
and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, 
shall make atonement and put on the linen clothes, the holy 
garments. Then he shall make atonement 
for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the 
tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make 
atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 
This shall be an everlasting statute for you to make atonement 
for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And 
he did, as the Lord commanded Moses. So it is a holy time, 
a convocation. Later on, we see in chapter 23 
that on this particular time, in conjunction with afflicting 
their souls, they were to fast, they were to abstain from food. 
Numbers 29 repeats this as well. And then the only other time 
it was commanded on a corporate level was after the exile. Israel was to observe four fasts 
during the year to remember the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. So in terms of the Old Testament, 
those were the times that it was commanded. Now there were 
other times, not commanded, where the people of Israel practiced 
fasting. And they did this, Knox Chamberlain 
helps us out here, they did this first to plead with God to act 
for a specific need, to plead with God to act for a specific 
This is what we see in terms of fasting. We ask the question, 
should I fast? When do I fast? If you have a 
specific need and you want to direct yourself more wholly and 
fully to God, not that regular prayer doesn't, but there are 
specific seasons and times in the life of a Christian where 
we might enjoy fasting with prayer because we have a specific need 
in our lives. 2 Samuel chapter 12. Second Samuel, 
chapter 12, you'll remember this instance when David fasts before 
the Lord. Second Samuel, chapter 12. We'll 
just look at a few of these texts. If you want more afterward, let 
me know. I can send you the notes. I just 
lifted this section right from Knox Chamberlain's commentary 
on the Gospel of Matthew. Not because I thought that I 
should just steal from him, but because he summarized, I thought, 
very well, the three reasons, or three reasons why Old Covenant 
Israel fasted before the Lord. 2 Samuel 12, 16. David therefore pleaded with 
God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all 
night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose 
and went to him to raise him up from the ground. But he would 
not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day 
it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David 
were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they 
said, indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and 
he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the 
child is dead? He may do some harm." So you 
see, he had a special need. His child was sick. His child 
was on the verge of death. And so he gives up food for a 
time to focus more intently on that issue of prayer. Ezra chapter 
8 Ezra chapter 8 in verse 21. We see another specific need 
and we see the way that they direct their prayers to God. 
Ezra chapter 8 verse 21. Then I proclaimed a fast there 
at the River of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before 
our God to seek from him the right way for us and our little 
ones and all our possessions. There was a particular need, 
so Ezra proclaims a fast so that the people of God can give themselves 
wholly to prayer. A second reason, an old covenant 
Israel, is to mourn before God with reference to sin or loss. 
It's a time to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. 
James makes reference of this sort of a disposition in prayer. 
He doesn't enjoin it with fasting, but he says there are seasons 
in the lives of Christ's people and in the lives of Christ's 
churches where they need to lament and mourn and weep. Now, the idea here isn't give 
up food because it promotes grumpiness on your part and you'll be in 
a better disposition to mourn before the Lord God Almighty. 
No, it is a sign of humbling ourselves under the mighty hand 
of God, giving up those things which afford comfort, which are 
lawful in their particular place, but separating ourselves from 
them for a particular time to mourn before the Lord our God. 1 Samuel chapter 7, 1 Samuel 
chapter 7 and verse 6. Verse five, and Samuel said, 
Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for 
you. So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured 
it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day and 
said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the 
children of Israel at Mizpah, their mourning before God with 
reference to a specific sin or to a specific loss. We see that 
in Nehemiah. Nehemiah gets word about what's 
going on in Jerusalem and Nehemiah is grieved and we read in verse 
four of Nehemiah chapter one. So it was when I heard these 
words that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days. I 
was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. So, it is 
to plead with God, to act for a specific need, to mourn before 
God with reference to sin or loss. And again, there are several 
other passages throughout the scripture. In fact, you can turn 
to chapter 8 in Nehemiah, since we're already there. Nehemiah 
chapter 8, beginning in verse 1. The people of God gather together 
to hear the reading of the law. Now, all the people gathered 
together as one man in the open square that was in front of the 
water gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book 
of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So 
Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and 
women, and all who could hear with understanding on the first 
day of the seventh month. That's the context. As they read 
the law, as they give the sense of the law, the idea simply is 
that they're expounding the scriptures. The people of God are cut to 
the heart. They are hurt, they are mourning 
before the Lord and what do they do? They fast. They need to be 
told to go ahead and eat and to rejoice in the fact that God 
the Lord has been merciful to them and that he is showing himself 
graciously to them. And then a third reason is to 
wait upon God. to reveal himself and to fulfill 
his promises. I think this is the gist in which 
we ought to interpret. Moses fasts when he's on Sinai. He fasts for 40 days and 40 nights 
and he is waiting upon the Lord to reveal himself and his promises. Now, unfortunately, in the history 
of Israel, in the history of the old covenant people, fasting 
took a place of an end in itself. Right? We've already identified 
that it's something supplemental, it's something to add to our 
religious observances. But in the history of Israel, 
and as we see in Jesus' statement in Matthew chapter 6, it became 
an end in and of itself. Instead of fasting to humble 
myself under God, or to plead with God, or to wait upon God, 
I am fasting so that God will reward me. It became a technique. It became an activity. It became 
something to try and manipulate God. That is precisely why in 
Isaiah the prophet, in chapter 58, verses 3 to 12, the prophet 
indicts the people. He deals with them with reference 
to fasting in verses 3 to 12. And then he deals with them with 
reference to Sabbath keeping. We can take a good thing that 
God has prescribed and use it in a way that he never purposed 
for us to do so. So that's the Old Testament. 
When we turn to the New Testament, we'll see several instances of 
fasting. That woman, Anna, fasted and 
prayed in the temple, according to Luke chapter 2 and verse 37. When the Spirit drove Jesus out 
to the wilderness, Jesus fasted. He gave up food for a particular 
time. We see that the disciples of 
John the Baptist fasted. In fact, you can turn there to 
Matthew chapter 19. I'm sorry, Matthew chapter nine. 
The disciples of John the Baptist fasted. Verse 14, then the disciples 
of John came to him saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast 
often, but your disciples do not fast? So the Pharisees fast 
often, John's disciples fast often, and they asked Jesus the 
question, why don't your disciples fast often? Notice Jesus' words. Jesus says, while the bridegroom 
is with them, it's a time for rejoicing. While the bridegroom 
is with them, it's a time for feasting. While the bridegroom 
is with them, it's a time of great exaltation in the presence 
of the bridegroom. That's his answer. Verse 15. Jesus said to them, can the friends 
of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? 
Have you ever been to a wedding reception where there was fasting? 
You ever been to a wedding reception where there wasn't joy? Now, 
men, don't say, yeah, my own. Or ladies, yeah, my own. Don't 
do that. Don't let that temptation rise 
up in your heart. What's Jesus appealing to? Jesus 
saying that while the Messiah is with them, they're not going 
to fast. Christ is in their midst. But 
once the bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will 
fast. That's why we see instances of 
fasting in the New Testament church. The religious leaders 
of Jesus day fell prey to treating the exercise as a pious accomplishment. Luke 18, 12. I thank you, God, 
that I'm not like other men. Thank you, God, that I fast twice 
a week, that I give tithes of all that I possess. You see, 
they were looking at it and viewing it as something that was meriting 
favor from God. This is important because it 
helps us understand Matthew six. We're honing in the apostles 
fasted in conjunction with prayer and in the ordination of elders. 
It's always intrigued me in Acts chapter 13. The spirit does not 
come and establish a missionary society. The Spirit does not 
come and establish some parachurch organization that has the task 
of identifying missionaries, equipping missionaries, and then 
sending out missionaries. The Spirit comes to the church. The church is the pillar and 
ground of the truth. The church is the house of the 
living God. And the brethren there are fasting 
and praying, and the Spirit comes among them and says, separate 
unto me Paul and Barnabas, because I want to send them out from 
the local church so that they may engage in the missionary 
enterprise and return to the local church and update the brethren 
and receive instruction, encouragement, and edification. This was not 
lost on the Apostle Paul on the first missionary journey. They 
went around preaching the gospel. They plant local churches. They 
go back through the region and they install elders in these 
churches with prayer and fasting. So you see, it is practice in 
the New Testament. In the lack of a specific command, 
there is nevertheless precedence. There is nevertheless the practice 
going on. And our London Baptist Confession 
of Faith, chapter 22, paragraph 5, says, moreover, in discussing 
the activities of the local church, It's good to review that once 
in a while. You'll see the activities of 
the local church isn't phone book sized. The church isn't 
supposed to try to do everything and not do anything well. The 
church has a pretty limited scope of what she is to engage in, 
and she is to do those things for the glory of God and the 
good of her body. But one of the things the confession 
mentions is, moreover, solemn humiliation with fastings and 
thanksgivings upon special occasions ought to be used in a holy and 
religious manner. Solemn humiliation with fastings 
and thanksgivings upon special occasions ought to be used in 
and holy and religious manner. It's not specified how frequently. It's not specified on what occasions. It's not specified or stipulated 
how many times a year a person or a church must fast. Rather, 
it is an assumed activity on the part of the people of God, 
and it aids in humbling oneself. It aids to direct oneself and 
to focus oneself solely and alone upon God. Their practice of fasting 
does not ensure more blessing, doesn't ensure more answers, 
or doesn't even ensure more of God. In other words, if you fast 
on Friday or you give up meat on a particular day, don't say, 
I did this for you, God, what are you going to do for me? Which, 
just by way of an aside, it's quite unfortunate that Protestants 
are practicing Lent. What, are we going back to Rome? 
We don't like our religious liberty. We don't like Christ alone as 
the Lord of the conscience. We want to retreat back to the 
stoicheia, to the elements of bondage. Protestants ought not 
to be known as Lent keepers. You know, Protestants ought not 
to just celebrate one Sunday of a year under Easter. Every 
Sunday celebrates the resurrection of our King of Glory. We don't 
eat one Sunday a year. Every time we gather in this 
place, there is an implicit declaration that He is risen. Why would we go back to bondage? Why would we let the Pope of 
Rome tell us you can't eat meat on Friday? or give up gum for 
Lent and somehow you will satisfy your religious requirement and 
the blessings will flow. When I was a kid being brought 
up in a Popish school, I like to use Popish as much as I can, 
I just saw Luther refer to papistical. What a great word, papistical. 
When I was brought up, we used to think we were getting around 
the whole Lent day. Well, I'll give up broccoli for 
Lent. I'll give up liver and onions for Lent. We thought we 
found the angle. We thought we found the loophole. 
Too bad we didn't know the scripture. Too bad we didn't know that Christ 
alone is Lord of the conscience, that Christ hasn't stipulated 
Lent, that Christ hasn't stipulated Easter, that Christ hasn't stipulated 
Christmas. Christ has given his church every 
Lord's Day Sabbath to remember his resurrection from the dead. 
He has given every time we gather together at the Lord's table 
to proclaim his death until he comes in glory. You see, I have 
this crazy idea that Protestantism shouldn't go backwards, but should 
embrace the Sabbath and should embrace the Lord's Supper and 
should do those things which are in fact commanded in the 
Bible. But that's an aside. So those 
are some specimen passages from the Old Testament and the New 
Testament. Let's go back to Matthew six 
now and pick up the warning. Pick up the warning. Notice what 
Jesus says in chapters six at verse 16. Moreover, when you 
fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance, for they 
disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Do not be like the hypocrites. 
He said the same thing in connection with almsgiving. He said the 
same thing in connection with prayer. See, all that glitters 
is not gold, but gold certainly glitters. In other words, these 
things assumed by Jesus, even though they're practiced by Pharisees, 
doesn't invalidate them for the non-Pharisee. We just must do 
it the right way. We must give our alms and pray 
and fast in a manner consistent with God's written revelation. 
We mustn't be like the hypocrites. We mustn't put on a mask. We 
mustn't pervert the particular ordinance. We mustn't twist it 
for an end it was never destined to become. Notice the specific 
practice of the hypocrites. I love the way Jesus explains 
this, too. Do not be like the hypocrites 
with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces. I wonder if some people there 
were kind of chocolate when there were people in their midst that 
probably practiced it this way, this sad countenance and this 
disfiguring one's face. Thinking about an illustration 
of this point, have you ever called into work your boss answers? And you tell him you're sick, 
but you add a cough or you put on the sick, feeble voice. I 
don't think I can come in today because I'm so sick. We probably all need to repent 
here. I was legitimately sick, but if the truth be told, I did 
add some affectation to it. I wanted to make sure he didn't 
call into question my bronchitis or whatever it was I had. This 
is what Jesus is saying about these hypocrites, the sad countenance. They disfigure their faces. They look sickly. They look pathetic. They look one. They're hungry. They're grumpy. And they want 
you to know it. And what's their end game? We 
are pleasing God. Don't be like these hypocrites, 
Jesus says. The word translated sad means 
sad, gloomy, sullen luck, which calls attention to the inward 
state of the person. It's like wearing a sock. Look 
at me, I'm fasting. I can't help but think of the 
status bar on Twitter and Facebook at this point. I'm really hungry 
today, brethren, because I'm fasting. It's to advertise something. It strips the guts out of fasting. Is it morning before the Lord? 
Is it waiting upon the Lord? Is it pleading with God before 
the Lord? No, it's drawing attention to 
oneself. The word disfigure means to render 
invisible or unrecognizable of one's face. It doesn't mean you're 
gashing it up. But to disfigure, that is with 
ashes. Put some ashes on your head so 
everyone knows what you're engaged in today or by not or by leaving 
the hair and the beard unattended or by coloring the face to look 
pale as though fasting. You see what Jesus is saying, 
don't be like the hypocrites, what the hypocrites aim for is 
the praise of men. What the hypocrites live for 
is to show themselves as the godly, as the holy, as the righteous, 
as the faster. There's an interesting play on 
words here as well that Jesus uses notice verse 16, for they 
disfigure their faces or we might translate it. They hide their 
faces. Why do they hide their faces 
so that they may appear? a certain way. Interesting, isn't 
it? They want to mar their appearance 
to provide an appearance. They neglect their appearance 
in order that they may appear a particular way, they hide their 
face so that everyone can see their face. You see what Jesus 
is doing here. Don't be like that. Don't be 
the guy standing on the street when somebody says, how are you 
doing today? Well, I'm quite hungry now that 
you've asked. Well, what are you hungry about? 
Well, I'm fasting. I'm pleasing God. I'm serving 
the Lord. I am giving myself wholly to 
him. Then go get in your closet and give yourself wholly to him. Don't stand out here on the street 
with this sad face and with this disfigured appearance so that 
you can promote your appearance. Doesn't make sense. Notice. Who is their audience that they 
may appear to men to be fasting? The hypocrite seeks man as his 
audience and not God. The alms giver does that. He 
sounds the trumpet before he drops the money in the box. The 
prayer does that. He's got to demonstrate how earnest 
he is even before he gets into the synagogue or into the temple. 
You see him on the street corner there praying. It's not because 
he's earnest. It's not because he's fervent. 
It's because he wants men to say, look at him pray. And what 
does the faster do? The man who fasts. He is doing 
it for men. As a general rule, my dear brothers 
and sisters, the day you give up a meal, or meals, plural, 
so that men will approve of your religious observance, you have 
betrayed the Lord of Glory. You have sinned the sin that 
Jesus condemns in this particular passage. So Charles Spurgeon 
said it this way. He says to look miserable in 
order to be thought holy is a wretched piece of hypocrisy. To look miserable 
in order to be thought holy is a wretched piece of hypocrisy, 
he says, and as it makes fasting into a trick to catch human admiration, 
it thereby destroys it as a means of grace. He goes on to say, 
if you really want to fast, fast from vain glory, ambition, pride 
and self glorification. He's right on, isn't he? Why do you give alms? Why do you pray? Why do you fast? If it's to be seen by men and 
approved of by brethren, then, as Jesus says, you have your 
reward. Assuredly, I say to you, they 
have their reward. If that's what you're looking 
for, it's very easy to obtain. I mean, especially in a debauched 
society like what we live in. I mean, if you don't kill babies 
and beat your wife and smoke crack cocaine, you already look 
like a virtuous and noble fellow. You throw fasting into the midst, 
and you throw some prayer in there, and you give some alms 
occasionally, you may get an award from the society for being 
the greatest guy in Chilliwack. Jesus says that's not why you 
do these things. You give your alms because God 
has saved you unto good works. And you want to alleviate the 
suffering of your brothers and your sisters. You want to do 
good to all, especially to the household of faith. You pray 
first and foremost for worship. You pray first and foremost to 
acknowledge God's supremacy and lordship and sovereignty over 
your life. You come and cast yourself wholly 
in dependence upon him. And with reference to fasting, 
you use it as a means to assist you, to focus yourself, to direct 
yourself, to guide yourself into constant communion with the Lord 
God Most High for a specific season. You don't do these things 
so that men will say how great you are. You don't do these things 
so that you get a pat on the back. You don't do these things 
so that everybody will say, boy, that guy's great. What is Jesus 
teaching us? Humility is what's important 
in the kingdom of God, right? It's not rocket science. It's 
not brain surgery. Any fool can give up a meal and 
direct attention to himself. The saint of Christ does what 
Jesus says, and he seeks God's approbation alone. Let's look 
thirdly, then, at the corrective. Notice the manner that Jesus 
prescribes. But you, when you fast, anoint 
your head and wash your face. He is saying, be normal. We might 
say it this way, comb your hair in the morning, shave and go 
about your normal daily interaction. The anointing the head with oil 
is not trying to make yourself affected the other way. I'm so 
happy. I'm so great to throw anybody 
off our trail. We might be fasting. That's not 
what he's saying. He's enjoining upon us normalcy. He's enjoining upon us routine. He's saying, wash your face, 
anoint your head, go about your task like you do each and every 
day. D.A. Carson says, oil does not 
here symbolize extravagant joy. You see, that would be just as 
bad the other way. You walk around with a big fake 
smile on your face all day. People are still drawn to you. 
People are still asking you what's up. The point is, be unassuming. The point is not lie, not deceive. I mean, if somebody asks you, 
are you fasting? Jesus isn't saying lie to him. The point is, don't draw attention 
to yourself. When you put the money in the 
box, don't blow the horn. When you go to the prayer meeting, 
don't stop between your car and the fellowship hall and say, 
Lord, I can't wait to pray. That has one focus. Not God. Now, if you get knocked 
down by thugs, go ahead and pray. But if you're doing it to be 
seen as a holy prayer, Jesus says, don't be like the hypocrites. Oil does not here symbolize extravagant 
joy, but normal body care. Carson says the point of verse 
18 is not to draw attention to oneself, whether by somber mean, 
the sad, disfigured face, or extravagant joy. What's up with 
you today? You're overcompensating. You 
must be fasting. Don't announce it one way or 
the other. Be normal, be routine. Don't 
walk around whining and don't walk around overcompensating 
so that no one would ever think to think that you were fasting. 
And then notice the reward that the believer receives. You may 
not get credit from friends and family. Your pastor may not see 
you give alms or pray or fast. Your wife or your husband may 
not see this, your children may not see this, your parents may 
not see this, but your father who sees in the secret place 
will reward you openly. What's Jesus' point? Don't be 
like the scribes and the Pharisees. Don't stand around on street 
corners thanking God how you're not like other men. Don't stand 
around on street corners congratulating yourself for your religious accomplishments. Don't draw attention to yourself 
in the public place. Don't draw attention to yourself 
in the company of others, but rather let your righteousness 
exceed the scribes and the Pharisees. When you pray, when you fast, 
do it for your father alone. That is to be the focus. That 
is to be the believers orientation, not the praise and the applaud 
of men, but rather the favor of God most high so that you 
do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your father who is in 
the secret place and your father who sees in secret will reward 
you openly that is the exposition. A couple thoughts in conclusion, 
then we'll pray. First, the believer's religious 
conduct. The believer's religious conduct 
does not secure his acceptance with God. Isn't that good news? Isn't that why Jesus came into 
this world? Sinners to save? The believer's 
religious conduct is a result from his acceptance with God. In other words, we're saved by 
grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. It is 
all squarely upon the active obedience of Jesus and the passive 
obedience of Jesus. His perfect life, His substitutionary 
death, His resurrection unto glory, that secures our status. If I was a black preacher, I'd 
say, can I get an amen? Because that's where you need 
to amen. Our acceptance with God is based 
upon Christ alone. Notice Jesus doesn't say, Alms 
give and pray and fast so that you'll receive the declaration 
of not guilty and the imputation of righteousness. No, you are 
saved by grace alone through faith alone. The believer engages 
in these particular things as the result of, as the fruit from, 
the justifying grace of God Most High. Never forget that. Never give alms, never pray, 
never fast, because you think somehow it secures your favor 
with God. Your favor is secured with God 
through Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus, according to Romans 8. Therefore, 
having been justified by faith, Romans 5.1, we have peace with 
God. For by grace you've been saved 
through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is grace, it is gift, it is 
God saving us. But then Paul goes on. We are 
his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God 
prepared beforehand that we should do. Our acceptance is with God, 
our acceptance with God is through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Secondly, 
some temptations associated with religious observance. some temptations 
that we are prone to fall prey to if we're not watchful with 
reference to these particular acts that Jesus highlights here. The first is a formal approach, 
a formal approach. And by formal, I mean we focus 
simply on the external. Formal, I mean that it's written 
down in our day timer and we actually did fast on that particular 
day. Or if somebody were to say, when 
was the last time you fasted? Not that we should ask all that. 
It's interesting. We don't know the fasting habits 
of the early church. Maybe they understood Matthew 
6. They're just thinking through this. You know, some of the heroes 
of the faith in the Christian church, we read their journals 
sometime and we see that fasted on Wednesday, fasted on Friday. 
I remember as a young believer thinking, wow, that's amazing. 
That's awesome. I'm rethinking that now. Do you necessarily need to record 
it in your journal? Do you need to Twitter it? Do 
you need to Facebook it? Do you need on a blog to say 
books I have recently read and fasts I've actually engaged in? It's just not under edification. 
It seems to fly in the face of what Jesus is speaking of here. 
It's between us and God. A formal approach is condemned 
in the prophet Isaiah. Here's what Israel fell into. 
Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen? Why have 
we afflicted our souls and you take no notice? In other words, 
we're engaged in the activity, Yahweh, we're doing what you 
said, Yahweh, why haven't you taken notice? Why haven't you 
delivered? Why haven't you blessed? It's 
a formal approach. They're engaged in the activity 
because it's the right thing to do. They're engaged in the 
activity because they have to obey the activity. They're engaged 
in the activity for all the wrong reasons. A second problem associated 
or a temptation that we fall prey to with reference to religious 
observances, not just fasting, but prayer and almsgiving as 
well, is a formulaic approach. Formulaic. That means I put in 
the appropriate time and I get out the requisite blessing. If 
I give 10% of my income, or I give 20% of my income, Malachi 3 says 
God will bless me, He'll enlarge my territory, and He'll cause 
my vats to overflow. So that's my impetus, that's 
my driving force, that's my reason for giving, is so that I can 
get. That formulaic approach is propagated 
very often times under evangelical guise. Some churches engage in 40-day 
fasts. We're not going to do that. We 
get grumpy after 40 minutes fasting. Nowhere in the Bible do you find 
a command for a 40-day fast. In fact, I'm not a doctor. I'm not the son of a doctor, 
but I highly discourage that approach to Christianity. When 
you fast, Jesus doesn't mean for 40 days. You try one meal. You try two. Lo and behold, try 
a day. You get a day down without shooting 
somebody, and then you might want to add an additional meal 
in there. Who's driving that? Yes, we should have humble fastings. Yes, there should be seasons. 
Yes, in the ordination of officers, we can accompany our prayer with 
our fasting. But what seems to be latent in 
such a position is a formulaic approach. We do this X amount 
of time and we'll get this many people. We'll get this much in 
terms of whatever. I don't want to read motives. 
I don't want to judge. You're probably saying you're 
really doing that. I'm not trying to. But it gives the appearance 
of putting a coin into the slot, pulling down the arm, and hoping 
for three cherries. Our approach to religious observances 
must not be formulaic. Thirdly, our approach should 
not be proud. I think we've already nailed 
or hammered this particular nail, so we won't spend a lot more 
time, but pride is being condemned by Jesus. Don't be like the hypocrites 
who alms give to be seen by men, who pray to be seen by men, who 
fast to be seen by men. Leave this out of your Christian 
journal. So that your posterity doesn't get convicted, they're 
not as holy as you. You ever read that? John Wesley, 
he fasted all these days. Have you ever fallen under the 
weight of that? I'm not only like Wesley. Wesley's not my standard. Jesus 
is. When he says fast every Wednesday 
and Friday, we must fast every Wednesday and Friday. But because 
a hero in the church did it, And then wrote about it. I'm 
not picking on Leslie. I mean, this is not something 
confined to him. Oh, it's just that anti-Wesleyan perfection 
thing you're getting at. It could be anybody. John Doe, 
who records for posterity his religious fastings. Why? What's 
the purpose? What's the end game? What does 
it serve? I guess if it's a journal that no one else will ever see 
and you want to record, hey, I actually gave up three meals 
that day and I didn't yell at my wife and I didn't, you know, 
want to want to run my car into a pole or whatever. OK, yeah, 
you can do that. You can go ahead. It's not my 
business to tell you one way or the other. Some people, when 
they work out, they write down, hey, I managed to lift 120 pounds 
today, 15 times. Great. They're probably not doing 
it for posterity, because posterity is not going to say he did only 
120 pounds. It's amazing. The posterity in the Christian 
world says, wow, that's amazing. We need to pray or fast on Wednesdays 
and Fridays. We need to guard against this 
pride, this pride that is in our hearts. This temptation to 
blow the trumpet before we put some money in the box. This temptation 
to make sure everybody knows that we pray, to make sure that 
everybody knows that we fast. If God is for you, who cares 
what men think? And then the fourth temptation 
associated with these religious practices is neglect. I don't 
want to be a Pharisee, so I'm not going to give alms. I don't 
want to be a Pharisee, so I'm not going to pray. I don't want 
to be a Pharisee, so I'm not going to fast. The neglect is 
never the proper response to a perversion of a particular 
activity. Do it the right way. Don't neglect 
it. Engage in the activity. Do it 
for the glory of God and for your well-being. And then finally, 
for any and all who are here that do not know Jesus Christ, 
my instruction to you is not to go out and fast. Go out and 
pray. Go out and give all. My instruction 
is simply this, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall 
be saved. That's my instruction. That's 
what the gospel is all about. And that's the response to the 
gospel. The gospel centers in on and focuses upon not our religious 
observance, but upon Jesus, upon his life, his death, his resurrection. And the scripture says, believe 
on him and you will be saved. The best thing you can hear as 
an unbeliever, the best instruction you can hear, the best encouragement 
is to believe what the gospel says, what the gospel is concerning 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we thank you for its consistency. 
We know that you condemn throughout a formal and a formulaic approach 
to you. We just ask God in heaven that 
you would enliven us by the power of your spirit, that you would 
cause us to reflect upon this section in Matthew 6, 1 to 18, 
and cause us, God in heaven, to fight against the pride in 
our hearts, to fight against the temptation to be seen by 
men, to fight against the temptation to leave these things off. God, 
grant us grace to glorify and honor you because you have saved 
us, because you've been merciful to us, because you have blessed 
us richly with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ. We pray for those who do not 
know you. I pray that you'd open their eyes and their hearts to 
the truth of Christ and crucified and resurrected. May they, by 
your grace, believe and be saved. And we ask through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, amen.