Treasure in Heaven | Sunday, May 1, 2022

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20) > > Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

When wealth becomes the measure of God's favor, the heart drifts from devotion—so Jesus calls us to lay up treasure in heaven and seek first the kingdom.

The Path Into True Righteousness

Last week we began a new series in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters five through seven, considering Jesus' teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount. In chapter five Jesus describes the way into a true righteousness that exceeds the surface-level religious righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Speaking to ordinary followers—fishermen, farmers, carpenters—he said in Matthew 5:20 that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Set that against the opening words of the sermon in Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." There is a clear contrast. The hyper-religious behavior of the scribes and Pharisees was not kingdom-worthy, yet the kingdom is granted to those who are poor in spirit. This was novel and even revolutionary. The scribes and Pharisees were the teachers and keepers of the law—for all intents and purposes, good people, probably the most outwardly righteous you would see. But Luke's gospel says they trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and as a result they despised others. Those are the great pitfalls of self-righteousness: arrogance and unkindness, looking down on others.

The Proper Use of the Law

True righteousness is imparted or imputed to those who recognize their poverty of spirit, who humbly grieve over their spiritual destitution, and who then hunger and thirst for a righteousness that is not their own—a righteousness ultimately given by Christ. It is my conviction that the law was given not to make us righteous, for as Paul says in Galatians, if righteousness could come by the law, Jesus would not have needed to die. Rather the law is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, a sign directing us to Jesus. It reveals my lack and causes me to mourn over my lostness.

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:20)

The law helps me see how truly bad I am. Paul writes in Romans 7 that "sin through the commandment becomes exceedingly sinful." The law shines like a bright light on the depths of my brokenness so that I cry out, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" That is the proper use of the law. The scribes and Pharisees used it improperly, teaching that the law was given to make us righteous and that you could become holy by keeping it perfectly—according to their own interpretations, which were often off from the true spirit of God's law.

A Pharisee Test

You may have experienced this in your own life—keeping all the rules, thinking yourself holy and perfect, and looking down on others who weren't keeping them your way. Or you may have been on the receiving end of someone's self-righteous judgment. There is a good Pharisee test here: if you find in yourself an arrogance that thinks you have it all figured out, that you are a good person, and you mockingly look down on others, you might be a Pharisee. That is a dangerous place to be, for in Matthew 23 Jesus speaks a curse against the Pharisees and calls them hypocrites.

In Matthew 5 Jesus makes the law exceedingly weighty so that sin might become exceedingly sinful. Anger, he teaches, is like murder before God, which makes us all murderers. Lust is the same as adultery, which renders every person an adulterer. Breaking your vows and oaths is evil, and we have all done that. Retaliation is wrong; we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Each of these teachings is intended to bring us back to Matthew 5:3—to humble admission of and grief over our own lack of righteousness. Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are those who mourn; blessed are the meek. It is then that we begin to hunger and thirst for a righteousness that is not our own.

God's Ongoing Sanctifying Work

It is at that point—poor in spirit, mourning, made meek, hungering for righteousness—that the saving power of God's mercy and grace begins to work in my life. And this is how God's sanctifying work is accomplished day by day. As I behold the Lord's glory revealed in his Word, I see myself for who I really am in the light of his great glory. Realizing my poverty, mourning over it, humbly confessing my sinful lack, I cry out for his forgiving and transforming grace. Graciously he cleanses, changes, and transforms me more and more into the image and likeness of Christ.

God's Word is living, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. God already knows the depths of my brokenness, but often I do not. His Word exposes it and shines a light so that sin becomes exceedingly sinful, so that I mourn over it and call out for his forgiveness. As God accomplishes this work, he makes me more like him. And this is key: God desires to magnify himself in me that he might glorify himself through me to others. Our culture desperately needs to see the forgiving, cleansing, transforming grace of God at work in God's people.

Charity, Prayer, and Fasting—Done in Secret

The scribes and Pharisees not only sought righteousness by keeping the law; they made a show of their religious adherence. It is one thing to observe rituals to bring glory to God, but their aim was not to glorify God—it was to receive the glory of men. This was true in their charity, their prayers, their fasting, and their displays of wealth. So just as Jesus clarified the proper use of the law in chapter five, he clarifies charity, prayer, fasting, and wealth in chapter six.

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 Himself reward you openly. (Matthew 6:3–4)

The Pharisees gave to the poor only to receive a pat on the back. They prayed long, loud prayers in the synagogues and streets purely to be seen as holy.

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. (Matthew 6:6)

They fasted in such a way as to appear more holy. But Jesus says:

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; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:17–18)

God's children give to the poor, but not to be seen. We pray to our Father, but not to be considered notably spiritual. We fast—abstaining from food or other earthly pleasures to bring our appetites under control—but not to be praised. Notice that Jesus says when you give, when you pray, when you fast—not if. For Jesus, these are normal and regular behaviors of his followers, the ways we express our devotion to God. None of them are to be done for the admiration of others, yet God does reward openly those who give and pray and fast.

These are regular parts of our faith and a tangible living out of our mission as a church: to live life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. We connect with God through prayer and even through fasting, and we connect with the world by giving charitably and caring for needs.

Treasure on Earth or Treasure in Heaven

For the remainder of our time I want to look at the final section of Matthew 6, where Jesus speaks about wealth—a teaching that is imminently applicable to us in the United States in 2022. The Pharisees believed righteousness was connected to their observance of the law and their ritual expression of faith. They also connected worldly wealth to God's blessing—that if you have wealth, God must love you.

This mindset drives what we call prosperity theology, or the prosperity gospel. Sadly, this has probably been the biggest Christian export from the United States in the last forty years, and it is not good. It goes against much of Scripture, taking passages out of context. The idea is simple: if I am wealthy, then I must be blessed by God and in good standing with him. If that were true, you would want to be wealthy to prove your righteousness. But Jesus turns the idea upside down.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19–21)

This is a call to having a proper focus. It is not entirely about wealth, but about focus. If I believe earthly treasures prove my righteousness and God's blessing, my focus will be on my holdings here on earth. But Jesus says do not treasure them, for they are temporary—they rust, they are eaten by moths, they are stolen by thieves. From the very beginning of the sermon Jesus has been shifting his followers' focus from this world to another. My flesh, however, knows only this world; it will not go on into eternity, so it is absorbed with the here and now. Twenty-first-century Western culture is structured to keep me constantly focused on the treasures I treasure.

My Focus Determines My Devotion

Jesus aims to change my focus, because my focus determines my devotion. We attend to those things we give our attention to. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This does not mean earthly wealth is wrong or evil. As one commentator wrote, "It is not so much the disciple's wealth that Jesus is concerned with as he is his loyalty." Materialism can be in direct conflict with loyalty to God.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9–10)

Paul reminds us of their temporary nature: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." Earthly goods are not bad in themselves, but they become dangerous when we give them all our attention, thinking they will satisfy us or prove our faithfulness or reveal God's blessing.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22–23)

This is a strange-sounding saying. The eye is not a lamp shining out into the world; rather, it is the lamp through which light comes into the body. Again, this goes back to focus. Our eyes are what we use to focus on the things of this world. Good things can become bad things if you make them the thing. If your gaze is inordinately fixed on the wrong things, your whole body will be full of darkness. My focus affects all of my being.

You Cannot Serve God and Mammon

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)

Mammon means money, wealth, or riches. I do think you can serve God with riches, but you cannot serve God and riches and be totally devoted to both. This is the issue of love, loyalty, and devotion. My focus determines my devotion, and my devotion cannot be divided between God and riches. This is a hard but important truth. My flesh wants many things, the world has many things to offer, and our culture constantly markets them to us. We can trick ourselves into thinking these temporary things will satisfy or prove God's blessing, but devotion to them hinders our walk with God. A wrong focus on riches becomes a snare leading to many harmful desires. Riches are not evil in themselves, but they can be dangerous.

Do Not Worry—Seek First the Kingdom

The challenge embedded in this exhortation is a normal human concern: if I am not focused on all this world offers, how will I take care of myself? That is where my mind goes too. Our world in 2022 is fixated on possessions, bank accounts, 401ks, real estate, interest rates, and inflation. The last several months have been difficult—rising inflation, rising interest rates, GDP down in the first quarter, banks warning of recession. Even when things seem to be going well, there is an undercurrent of concern. People wonder how they will take care of themselves. But Jesus has a word for this.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on... Look at the birds of the air... your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow... even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these... But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25–34)

This is an essential lesson: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things—what you will eat, wear, and where you will sleep—will be added to you. This is a command to have the right focus. A proper focus directs me into the blessedness of peace and rest. Jesus says again and again, do not worry. He does not want us absorbed with concern, but seeking first the kingdom.

The Things of This World Never Satisfy

So many of us, and those we know, are striving for the right degree, the right job, the right house, the right spouse, the new car, the better computer, a nicer watch. Yet every time we see someone finally get the thing they've been striving for, the testimony is always the same: it doesn't satisfy. There is always something more, something better. The thing breaks, gets scratched, gets stained. Just read the three-thousand-year-old book of Ecclesiastes—the story hasn't changed in thousands of years. The striving only leads to less peace, less rest, less joy, and more stress.

What is the alternative? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. As Paul wrote in Colossians 3, "Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

My focus determines my devotion. If I am absorbed with riches, my heart will follow, those things will deceive me and pull me from devotion to God, and I will experience stress, worry, anxiety, and fear instead of joy. But if I set my focus on things above, it changes my entire being. My devotion cannot be equally divided between riches and the Lord; it must be committed entirely to him. And as I seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, he, as a loving Father in heaven, takes care of all I have need of.

I encourage you to spend time with the Lord this week—not just once on Sunday—in prayer, in his Word, setting your focus upon him, and see whether what he has said is not true: that he will help us not to be worried, anxious, or fearful.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would work in our lives, that You would continue the work of transformation that You promised You will be faithful to complete until the day that we see You. Lord, work that out in us so that we would reflect Your glory to the world around us, that people who know us would see You working in our lives. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.