**Read Matthew 6:1-18 and Romans 4:13-17
I. Religious Hypocrisy
- In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus taught us not to be hypocrites like the so called "holy or religious" (Pharisees and Scribes). In James 2:17, it says that "Faith without works is dead". At the same time, we learned from previous studies that "it is by grace of God that we are saved, not of our works...". We can be the nicest and most helpful people but if we do not have faith in God then we're just "nice and helpful people". On the other hand, we can be the most faithful and religious person, but if we don't bear fruit of our faith then we don't have faith at all. If we say that we are saved, accepted Jesus as our savior, repented from our sins, and decided to live a righteous way, we are then changed within. Our transformation starts from the inside and once we are born again, it will show in the outside that we are now true followers of Christ. Once we are believers and have established a relationship with our Father, the Holy Spirit will guide our hearts to do good things, not to gain favor from God, but to be the light of the world and show God's love through us and glorify His name. If we have true faith, then we do good works. But when we do good works, we don't have to tell the whole world what we did. God knows what we did and we don't have to broadcast it to everyone in Facebook, twitter, or other social networks to gain recognition or praise. Instead of glorifying our own name, we need to glorify God. Tell the whole world that it is God who gave them all their blessings. When we do good things, let us do it in secrecy with no though of getting a reward. Ask yourself, if nobody will know or if I would not get anything from this charity, would i still do it? If the answer is yes, then the change has started in your life. If your answer is no, we need to examine your motives and hearts. This goes the same way for any new things that happen in our life. When we have lots of money, or we bought a new car, house, or maybe an IPhone 5 or IPad, we don't have to post it in Facebook or Instagram. Because when we do, what do we really gain from doing this? What is our purpose for showing all these nice expensive things but to be proud of ourselves. Pride keeps us away from God. When we start getting successful, we start believing that we all did it by ourselves and that we do not need the help from God. Pride is having faith in ourselves. We need to have faith in God instead! When we receive blessings, we need to give grace to God, thank Him for everything that He has given us, glorify His name. From now on, instead of saying: "I am proud of you, or myself, or this and that", let us start saying, "I am blessed!". Instead of living with the world as self-centered, let us live with the Lord and be God-centered!
- In Matthew 6:5-15, Jesus taught us how to pray. Praying is an intimate time with God. Jesus told us to go to a secluded room, and devote our time and spirit to God. Second, praying is telling God what is in our hearts. Jesus instructed us not to not say repetitious and memorized prayers. God is an all-knowing God, and He already knows the desires of our heart even before we say it. Prayers such as the rosary, where "Hail Mary's" are repeated numerous times is a great example of this. Repeating words over and over again will not put your prayer at the top of the line. We, don't have to babble just like pagans and say the same thing over and over again just to be heard by God. At the same time, we should not pray to any human being, dead or alive for they are not God and don't have the power to heal us, forgive our sins, or give us salvation. Remember that it is said in 1 Timothy 2:5 that "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus". It is only through Jesus Christ and no one else. No where in the bible does it says to pray to Mary or saints, or your dead family members. We only pray to our Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
II. Salvation, The Free Gift of God
- In Romans 4:13-17, Paul explains that Abraham was blessed through his faith alone, before he ever heard about the rituals that would become so important to the Jewish people. We too are saved by faith alone. It is not by loving God and doing good that we are saved; neither is it by faith plus love or faith plus good works. Salvation is not a gift that we in any way coerce God into giving us, it is the free gift of his grace. We are saved only through faith in Christ, trusting him to forgive all our sins.
III. Proverbs for Today/3:7-8
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.
IV. Old Testament Reading:
Genesis 24:52-67, Genesis 25, Genesis 26:1-16 and Psalms 10:1-15
Prayer: Father God, we thank you and we glorify your name for you are the giver of everything that we have here on earth. We thank you for all the blessing that you have provided for us. We continue to pray for more blessings and for all our heart's desires. May you grant our prayers and shower us with your grace. Forgive our sins and forgive those that have sinned against us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
