Public and Private Prayer

The assertion has been made by some atheists that Jesus commanded His followers to keep our faith to ourselves. They wrongly claim that Jesus taught His followers to keep all of our religious observances private, and out of public view. But this is a distortion of what Jesus actually taught about public and private prayer in His Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus was speaking out against the religious leaders who made long, loud, pompous prayers in public just to impress other people. Their hearts were not humbled to be in the presence of the Almighty God. Instead, these religious leaders were puffed up with self-pride, self-righteousness, and self-satisfaction. They were drunk on the applause of other people. And they did not think to look for the approval of God alone. That is what Jesus condemned when He said:

"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:5-6).

He also preceded this teaching on prayer with a similar teaching on doing good deeds (Matthew 6:1-4). But Jesus also said, in the very same sermon:

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).

The difference between the public religious observances that Jesus condemned, and the public observances that He approved, is the inward intentions of the heart. Our motives are just as important to God as our actions are. To do the right thing for the wrong reason is an abomination in the sight of God. But to do the wrong thing for any reason is also an abomination in the sight of God. We are commanded by God, not only to do what is right and good in His sight, but also to do it for the right reason.

Jesus condemned the religious leaders of those days because their piety was all just a show to impress others with their own, pretensions. They were not trying to draw people to the heavenly Father. They were seeking applause and glory for themselves. Such outwardly religious persons probably would not practice private prayer much at all, since they are not really interested in communing with the heavenly Father. The people Jesus was speaking against were only interested in impressing each other and exalting themselves above others. But Jesus wants us to be unashamed to honor Him publicly. It's just that it is God that we are to glorify; not ourselves.

The right thing to do is to obey the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the right and proper motive is to give the glory and honor and praise to God. We are not to be the focal point. God is. We are to honor God with our words and actions; not so that others will praise us, or give us the recognition, but that they will give the praise and recognition to the only One who deserves it. And that is God. And God's approval is the only approval that we should be concerned with seeking.

Nothing Is Secular

There is no such thing as secular, since all the universe belongs to its Creator God. Everything was created by Him for His glory. And all we have; the strength of flesh and spirit, and every breath comes from His hand. 

Even our sins are not secular because they are committed against God who alone can forgive our sin and remove our guilt through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Someone might say now, "Wait a minute. Those were the Pharisees, Jesus' critics, who said only God can forgive sin". But be that as it may, they were correct. Only God can forgive sin. 

This is because He is the only real plaintiff in cases of sin. This is because sin is committed against Him. What the Pharisees got wrong was that they failed to recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, equal with the Father.

When we forgive sin, we are only agreeing with Jesus, or leaving the case up to Him to judge.

So there is truly nothing secular. Everything belongs to "the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numbers 27:16). And all things will be judged by Him.

Psalm 24:1, Hebrews 11:3, Numbers 27:16, James 1:17, Mark 2:5-12, John 1:29, Colossians 1:13-14.

More Than We Are Ready to Bear

In the little upper-room of a house in Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples partook of the Passover meal. It was the Last Supper before Jesus would be offered up as the Passover Lamb, to die for our sin on a Roman cross.

The words that Jesus spoke to His disciples during that meal, including the prayers that He prayed for His disciples and Himself, have become known as the Last Supper Discourse (John 13-17).

He told about His imminent death, which disheartened His disciples. He also described the hostility and persecution that they would face for being His witnesses. 

But He also told them of the comfort they would receive, and great things that they would accomplish in bringing the message of salvation to the world. He told of the ultimate joy that would be given to them, and all who believe as a result of their preaching. 

Then He said:

"I still have many things to say to you, but you can not bear them now" (John 16:12).

We may readily imagine that He was referring to sad, and discouraging things. And perhaps He was. But the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul wrote:

"'What no eye has seen, 

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived' - 

the things God has prepared for those who love Him -" (1st Corinthians 2:9, Isaiah 64:4; NIV).

Paul was also moved by the Spirit to say:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

At times it can actually be painful to hear glad things. There have been times when I could not stand to listen to joyful music or glad songs. So perhaps when Jesus said what He said, He was also referring to things too wonderful, and marvelous for us to bear while we live in this broken world of sin, trouble, and strife.

C.S. Lewis once remarked about Tolkien's books:

"Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron here is a book which will break your heart".

Certainly, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him can be no less, but more even more beautiful.

You Can't Be Good Without God. And Here's Why.

The rally cry of the American Humanist Association is "Good Without a God". A big problem with the "Good Without God" mantra is that a person's definition of what is "good" is determined by what that person believes. A person who believes in the God of the Bible will have a different definition of "good" than a person who believes in a different god, or no god.

And if God is real, as I affirm that He is, than His definition of what is good is the only correct definition. And so if our definition of "good" is different from His; we may think that we're good, but we're not. And the heart of what God calls good is to be in a good relationship with Him - personally. He is concerned not only with our outward behavior, but our inward spiritual condition; which correlates directly with our relationship with Him. So being good requires that we obey God because we recognize Him as our Father. And that requires faith. As the Scriptures say:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Hebrews 11:6.

Some other specific passages that tell us what God considers to be good include:

• The Ten Commandments; Exodus 20:1-17

• The Sermon on the Mount; Matthew chapters 5-7, also see Luke 6:20-49

• The Last Supper Discourse; John chapters 13-17

• The Fruits of the Spirit; Galatians 5:22-23

Some specific passages describing what is not good in the eyes of God include:

• Galatians 5:19-21

• Romans 1:18-32

Now here is another big problem with the "Good Without God" mantra. According to God's definition, no one is good! This is a repeated statement in the Bible. 

• Ecclesiastes 7:20 says "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin."

• Romans 3: 10-12 says "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

• Psalm 14:1-3 says "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

• Psalm 53:1-3 repeats this verbatim.

• In Matthew 7:11 and Luke 11:13, Jesus calls all the people listening to Him "evil"! He says "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

• In John 7:7, Jesus makes a similar remark when talking to His half-brothers. He told them "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil."

• And in Mark 10:18, Jesus gives a personal challenge to one man to admit that Jesus is God. When the man called Him "good teacher" Jesus answered "Why do you call me good? No one is good-except God alone."

• The same conversation is also recorded in Luke 18:19

• And finally, Romans 3:23-26 reads "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."