Man's Praise or God's Glory? Matthew 6:1-6

In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus teaches us to beware of seeking man’s praise instead of God’s glory. Verse 1 is Jesus’s main point in this section of the Sermon on the Mount, and he will give three areas of personal worship or devotion: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting. The idea of practicing righteousness is a good thing. This is not legalism or working FOR our salvation, but being a devoted follower of Christ who seeks to glorify Him through how we live. What kind of righteousness should we practice? A righteousness that is greater than the Pharisees, which means that it is not external show or doing things to impress others, but the secret things of the heart, where only God sees, and you can’t fake it.  We should give to the needy. We should pray. We should fast. These are practices that we, as believers, should incorporate into our lives as we grow in maturity. The problem is when we do these things to “be seen” by others. Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.   You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1   https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk   You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223   VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net   FOLLOW on:   Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321   FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X: https://x.com/sdcole