0 SAB Matthew 6

Matthew

CHAPTER 6

Don't let others see your good works
6:1-4

1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Don't let others see your good works. [1]
Don't pray in public (or use repetitions)
6:5-8

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Don't pray in public where others can see you. [2]

Rather go into your room, and after you have shut the door, pray to God in secret.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

When you pray, don't use vain repetitions, as the heathen do. [3]
The Our Father (or The Lord's prayer)
6:9-15, Cf. Lk 11:1-4

9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Pray like this: [4]
Our Father [5] who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come; thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven. [6]
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation [7];
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. [8]

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If you don't forgive others,

God won't forgive you. [9]

Don't let others know that you're fasting

6:16-18

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

When you fast, don't let others know that you are fasting.
Treasures in heaven
6:19-21, Cf. Lk 12:33-34

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Don't have any treasures on earth.

Have them in heaven instead.

Because where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

The evil eye
6:22-23, Cf. Lk 11:33-36

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

If you eye is good,

your whole body will be full of light.

23But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

But if your eye is evil,

your body will be full of darkness. [10]

God and mammon

6:24, Cf. Lk 16:13

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

You can't serve two masters.

You will hate one and love the other.

You can't serve God and money.

Don't worry about food, clothes, or the future
6:25-34, Cf. Lk 12:22-34

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Don't care about your life, your diet, or your clothes.

26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Consider the birds. They don't sow or reap. Yet God feeds them.

Aren't you much better than they? [11]

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Which of you can make yourself a half-meter taller by thinking about it?

28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Why do you think about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field. [12]

Even Solomon wasn't dressed as well as these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

God clothes the grass; won't he clothe you too?

Oh, you of little faith.

31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

So don't think about what you are to eat, drink, or wear.

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Those are the things the gentiles think about.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Seek the kingdom of God, and you'll get all these other things.

34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Don't think about tomorrow. [13]

One day's evil is enough for one day.

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