Giving, Praying, Fasting:
Redefining Spiritual Obligations in the Church.
Giving, Praying and Fasting are three practices encouraged by most world religions for spiritual discipline and growth. But the ways and means of bringing them to bear on their adherents are diverse — with unique peculiarities. If we know that religion and culture are products of human history and tradition - one giving rise to the other — we would understand why culture and religion are intertwined, and can’t be isolated, one from the other. This is why the practice of religion takes different forms in cultures around the world - Arabic, African, Western, and within Christendom — Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal.
Here’s the key to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
In the book of Mathew chapters 5 - 7, we see the meeting of two worlds - the worlds of the Old and the New Testaments. The Old and the New meet in Jesus. And there the Church of Christ begins and moves forward.
Jesus was emphatic about what he came to do - to fulfill the law and the prophets. He has come to exemplify in His person the purposes of the Law and the Prophets.
The Sermon on the Mount highlights the Creator’s moral imperatives for healthy coexistence of humans on planet Earth.
Christ in his teaching gives us a glimpse into life in the Garden of Eden before the fall. The believer is taken out of his natural realm into the realm of the Spirit.
In his sermon, Jesus draws a line between human traditions and the rules governing the conduct of citizens of the kingdom He has come to establish.
“You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.’
He says to them, “Show that you are God’s children by reflecting God’s character.” To be born again is to bear in your blood your heavenly Father’s DNA.
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
The bottom line:
“If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
We are called to do better.
Believers in Christ are called to listen to a different tune and dance to a different drummer than those of this world (Matthew 5: 43-48).
What does Jesus teach about Giving, Praying, and Fasting?
First, let’s hear what he says about Righteousness:
Jesus anchors giving, praying, and fasting on righteousness - doing it right. Righteousness places a believer in the right relationship with God, the Father. As members of the supreme royal family, believers in Jesus have free access to the Father for special blessings. They are well placed to impact the world around them.
Giving, praying, and fasting are believers' pathway to touching their world with the love of God.
Jesus defines righteousness as the foundation of spiritual wellbeing. He draws a contrast between believers righteousness and the righteousness of religious leaders of his day:
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt.5:20).
Think about that.
We miss it when we make a human being - a religious figure our role model. Jesus alone is believers’ role model.
Now to the nitty gritty:
Law Fulfilled
There are three sides to the Law - spanning the Old and New Testaments:
(1) Sacrificial law: Comprising all rules governing priestly function in the Temple. The sacrifices foreshadowed the coming Messiah; what he was coming to do. Jesus fulfilled the law when he laid down his life as the supreme sacrifice and ransom for sin.
(2) Civil Law: Comprising rules governing community and social interactions in Israel. The rules were applicable to the Israelites living under the Mosaic law there and then. Christians in the modern world, living under the constitutions and laws of their respective states are not subject to this law.
(3) The third and subsisting law is Moral Law — enunciated in the Ten Commandments. Moral law is universal law that is true for all human societies and times. It forms the central theme of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount. Here, Jesus underscores different levels of piety - religious, Christian, and how they play out in peoples’ lives. The word piety is used in some Bible translations in place of righteousness. Jesus speaks to the righteousness of the individual, contrasting one with another: The righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and believers’ righteousness in Christ.
With the sacrificial laws off the stage, believers are called to excel in moral laws, set ethical standards, build relationships , and be at peace— with God and neighbors. Living by ‘spiritual/moral’ laws becomes the key motivation. It is what makes believers great in the kingdom of heaven.
One enters the kingdom saved by grace and faith in Jesus. It is what every human needs not to perish. “For God loves the world so much that He gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him shall NOT PERISH, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law was based on conformity to the sacrificial and civil laws. There were over 300 of such laws. Jesus has fulfilled the law and the prophets. Already fulfilled in Jesus, the sacrificial/ceremonial laws become obsolete and out of date. Also, the rules and laws tied to the ceremonies are no longer relevant. So to be ceremonially clean or unclean is no longer required for services in the post-Temple worship assembly.
In sum, authentic righteousness is found in Jesus and his commands. Religious rituals without salvation in Christ take no one to heaven. Tithing cannot, and active ritual performances will not. By contrast, taking ownership of righteousness through faith in Christ’s atoning death on the cross, and His resurrection, opens wide the door to the Kingdom of heaven.
Jesus on Giving, Praying, and Fasting:
Jesus defines Giving, Praying, and Fasting as practices of righteousness, warning his disciples not to do them in front of others to be seen by them. “If you do” he says, “you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:1).
The three practices are to be done targeting an audience of One. They are practices of righteousness involving the believer and his/her Father in heaven. They are not meant to be made public to attract peoples’ attention or praise. To do so is to render the practices null and void, and of no effect. In other words, our giving should go to the poor and needy, and be done unannounced to the world.
Followers of Jesus are warned not to give like the hypocrites.
Hypocrites are actors on the stage, dressed in someone else’s garb and acting the character of another in public glare. What you see is not real.
Jesus was specific about who to give, how to give, and who will give the reward:
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done in the secret, will reward you.” (Matt.6: 3).
By the same token, believers are commanded to do their praying in secret:
“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your unseen Father. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
The same attitude informs the practice of fasting. It is an exercise involving the believer and his/her Father in heaven. The command is
“Do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward” (vv.16–18).
The key word characterizing the practice of righteousness is Secret with a reward.
The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law take delight in making public, the practice of their religious duties. They had no scruples about showcasing their prowess. It is the way to call attention to themselves and be recognized. No doubt, they were lavishly rewarded with accolades — financial gains, and “national” honors.
Dr. John Stotts, revered Bible scholar, characterises such leaders as hypocrites. Here’s what he says about hypocrites:
“The hypocrite gives, not to benefit others, which is the whole purpose of giving, but to benefit himself. He prays not to seek God’s face, which is the great purpose of prayer, but to seek his glory. He fasts not to discipline himself, but to display himself. He turns an act of self-discipline into an occasion for self-display. He uses God and his fellow men, or practices intended to honor God and help his fellow men, to pander to his conceit.”
It is how people turn religion and charity into an exhibitionist parade to boost their personal ego.
