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.

Judging

Some folks like quoting the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:1. He said "Judge not, that you be not judged". Jesus said that. So it is a holy command that must be obeyed. But in the same sermon, He also said that false teachers can be known by their fruits (i.e. deeds; Matthew 7:15-20). And that is a description of the act of judging - knowing that a person is fake, based on their actions. Is this a contradiction? No.

The Christian life requires one to distinguish between good and evil, for the purpose of rejecting what is evil in favor of what is right and good in the sight of God. You can not follow Jesus without discriminating against evil. You can not follow Jesus without cultivating the spiritual discernment to recognize and reject sin and falsehood when you encounter it. 

In order to obey Jesus, one must learn to determine who is a good example of Christlike holiness, and whose example should not be followed or encouraged. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and said, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). 

So you see the logic. If one is following Jesus, then that one, in turn, becomes a tangible example for others who want to follow Jesus. But this automatically involves recognizing who is not following Christ, and therefore whose example should not be followed or encouraged. 

The cultivation of this discernment is accomplished largely by reading and studying God's holy word, the Bible, and talking to God in prayer. Further cultivation is achieved by practicing what you have learned from God's teachings, as well as conferring with fellow believers who also prayerfully read and study the Scriptures.

So how is this not contrary to the statement "Judge not, that you be not judged."? When Jesus said those words, He was talking about a certain attitude that one should not have while following Him. One should not have an attitude of superiority over others in the Church, or even outside the Church for that matter. 

One must be able to distinguish the good examples from the bad examples. But one must also be humbled by the realization that we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God. It is only by the grace of Jesus Christ that any of us are saved (Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-10).

And so we have to realize that our power to judge is limited to deciding whose example is good to follow and encourage, and whose example is not good to follow or encourage. But only God Himself can really make the final, absolute judgement of what is going on in any person's heart and life.

We also have to be on guard against the tendency to be a fault finder. Some people sin by always intentionally seeking out flaws and short-comings in their neighbors, and never recognizing the work that God is accomplishing in them. And this fault finding tendency may distract the inordinate judge from surrendering his or her own self to God to be purified by Him. 

Or the fault finder might be just as hard, if not harder, on his or her self, and thus inordinately torment his or her self with excessive guilt and shame. Christ came to free you from shame and guilt, not to intensify it in you. If you are tormenting yourself with shame and guilt, you need to surrender that shame over to Christ. Let Him take it away from you. Let that guilt be nailed to the cross. You are not a prisoner to it anymore.