The Bible clearly teaches that no believer is sinless. As such, each believer experiences times when he is rebuked of the Lord. It is a natural part of the Christian life. At the same time, there will be circumstances which will bring about rebuke from other believers (Ecclesiastes 7:5). These are healthy elements of Christian growth. Yet, the goal of every believer should be one where he lives a life beyond rebuke. Paul’s desire for the Philippian believers was that they “may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation” (Philippians 2:15). He then admonished Timothy to keep God’s commandment “without spot” and “unrebukeable” (1 Timothy 6:14).
Should prayer be kept private or can it be done in publick? For various reasons, some believers have grown increasingly concerned about the appropriate places to call upon the Lord. In Matthew 6:5-6, the Lord rebuked the publick prayers of the hypocrites and suggested that His people should enter into their closets to pray. The Lord Himself followed this pattern by seeking a “solitary place” in which to pray (Mark 1:35). Does this mean that the Lord opposed all publick prayer? It is important to consider the whole counsel of God. Obviously the Lord was not displeased with the publick prayer meeting held by believers in the early church – He answered their prayer by freeing Peter (Acts 12:12). Furthermore, the Lord expressed His will – for men to “pray every where.”
Our verbal communications involve the words that spring forth from our mouths. No doubt, the Lord considers these communications important and we should too. In today’s passage, the Lord gave some specific insights concerning His expectations of our communication. First, He wants our communication to be short and to the point – “let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay” (Matthew 5:37; see also Proverbs 10:19; Ecclesiastes 5:3, 7). Second, our word should be validated without the necessity of certifying it with vows, oaths, and swearing. In the context of the passage, the Lord Jesus forbade swearing “by heaven” (Matthew 5:34), “by the earth” (Matthew 5:35), or “by thy head” (Matthew 5:36). When we swear by these things, we put ourselves in danger of condemnation (James 5:12). Let your nay be nay and your yea be yea!
In the midst of suffering, Christians can fail to rejoice in future blessings resulting from obedience. Additionally, the trials of life can cause one to lose focus on the unseen future blessings. One such case involves rightfully leaving vengeance to the Lord (Romans 12:19). God's blessings are frequently not seen or realized until much later. The meek who leave vengeance to the Lord have God's promise that "The LORD lifteth up the meek" (Psalm 147:6). Nevertheless, a believer living a meek life may become disheartened by those who take advantage of kindheartedness. In fact, a meek and compassionate believer may appear weak in the eyes of the world necessitating the Lord's deliverance (Psalm 76:9; Psalm 149:4). In the end, the Lord will deliver (Psalm 76:9), lift up (Psalm 147:6), beautify (Psalm 149:4), and bless (Matthew 5:5) the meek. It is important to remember that the future blessings following life's temporary trials are worth forgoing the immediate pleasures that might come from taking matters into our own hands.
One’s actions demonstrate true compassion. Five times the Bible uses the phrase moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 18:27; Mark 1:41; Mark 6:34). Four of the five references refer to Christ’s compassion toward others. True compassion always moves people to do something for others. In Mark 6:34-44, the disciples wanted to send the crowd away hungry, but Christ refused to send them away empty. He would not allow the multitudes to leave His presence still in need. In this one example, Christ's compassion fed thousands when others would have sent them away faint and hungry. The Lord not only fed thousands with two small fishes and five loaves of bread, but also produced a miraculous amount of leftovers.
