Matthew 6:16 says, Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  Having taught us how to give and how to pray, Jesus now teaches us the correct way to fast.  Since the statement is when we fast, then we can assume that this means we are to fast for spiritual reasons.  I must confess that I never have done this.  My fasting is generally from the time I go to bed until shortly after I get up.  When Jesus speaks of fasting it is fasting done for spiritual purposes, and not for physical ones.  Jesus tells us that we are not to fast to call attention to ourselves as the hypocrites do.  Verse seventeen says, But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;  Jesus tells us that when we fast that we are to go about life normally, in the way that we look and act.  I believe that what Jesus tells us continually is that the way we live and worship should bring glory to God, and never call attention to our own righteousness.  We are never made righteous by our actions, but can only be made righteous through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eighteen states,  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.  We are not to fast for people to notice us, but so they won't.  It may be that they will see us not eating, but even then we are not to call attention to it.  I believe that this is true of any real worship.  We worship so that God will be glorified and we will be edified, and not that we will be praised by people.  When we do, then God will reward us openly.  Even when we proclaim God openly, we are to do it for His glory and not so that we will be praised.  Verse nineteen says, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  I am not sure that God ever expects us to keep all that He blesses us with materially for our own purposes.  Treasures laid up on earth can be destroyed or stolen, and even if they aren't, they will be left behind when Jesus comes again.  Verse twenty advises, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  We lay up treasures in heaven by being obedient to God's will.  Whatever treasures we receive in heaven will be given to us by God and will not be something that we attained by our own ability.  They will still be to be used for God's glory and they will be everlasting. Verse twenty-one declares, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  If we value the things of this world more than following the will of God, then that is what we will devote our time and energy to.  The opposite is also true.  As followers of Christ, we must devote our time and energy into serving God first and foremost.

Matthew 6:5 says, And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  Jesus teaches us that just as there is a correct way to give, so there is a correct way to pray.  This verse tells us that when we pray we are not to pray in such a way as to bring attention to ourselves instead of to God.  I don't believe that Jesus is saying that we should never pray in public, but when we do this we should never have people focused on us instead of God.  If we pray simply to call attention to ourselves, we have our reward already.  Verse six states, But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  Jesus tells us that when we pray we are to go into our closet and do so in secret.  Then, God will see us and openly reward us.  Prayer is first and foremost a communication between a person and God.  Verse seven declares, But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  I don't believe that this is as much about whether we say the same words in prayer as it is about the words having no meaning when we say them.  Jesus also tells us that we do not have to go on and on in prayer.  We may hear someone pray and tell them that it was a beautiful prayer, but if the prayer had no real meaning to the person praying, then it means nothing to God.  Verse eight says, Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  We do not need to pray to call attention to ourselves, nor do we need to get God's attention.  God already knows our needs and simply expects us to acknowledge to Him that He is the One Who can meet our needs.  Verse nine says, After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  This is the beginning of what is normally called the Lord's prayer, but I believe should more accurately be called the Lord's model prayer.  I believe that Jesus' prayer in the garden and on the cross, for example, are more His prayers.  Still, the first thing that Jesus tells us is that our prayers should be directed to the heavenly Father.  We must be sincere in our acknowledgement of Who God is.  As followers of Christ, He is our heavenly Father.  Verse ten says, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Jesus tells us that after we acknowledge God as our heavenly Father, then we are to pray, not for what we may want, but that God's will is done here on earth.  God is always at work in the world through His followers, if His followers are doing His will.  Verse eleven states, Give us this day our daily bread.  Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily needs to be met, for our daily bread.  We are not told to pray for all our wants, but for our own daily bread.  Verse twelve says, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  We have been forgiven our debt to God through our faith in Christ, and we are to forgive those who are in debt to us because we have been forgiven.  Verse thirteen states, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  Since God never leads us into temptation, I believe that this means keep us from being led into temptation.  If we remember that it is God's kingdom, sustained by God's power, and that we are to do everything for God's glory, then we will never be led into temptation.  Verse fourteen declares, For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  Jesus expands on the nature of forgiveness.  If we don't forgive those who have somehow harmed us, then why should we expect God to forgive us?  We have been forever forgiven for our trespasses against God.  Verse fifteen further declares, But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  If we will not forgive others for their trespasses against us, then God will not forgive our trespasses against Him.  I do not believe that this means that we cannot be saved without forgiving others, but that once we are saved that we are to be as forgiving in our relationship to God as He is in His relationship to us.

Matthew 6:1 says, Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.   We are not to give to God simply so others might make note of or brag about our giving.  If we do give simply so others might notice us, then we have our reward already, and that is the praise of men.  Whatever we do for God should be for His glory and not our own.  Verse two states, Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  As always, I believe this goes to our attitude and intention.  It is not always possible to keep our giving to God from going unnoticed, but we are not to be the ones to call attention to it.  As a matter of fact, we should attempt to ensure that it goes unnoticed by other people.  Whatever we do for God should be done to bring honor to Him and not attention to ourselves.  Verse three states, But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:  I believe that this means that we are to not even acknowledge to ourselves what we give to God so that we can secretly praise ourselves.  I know that it is impossible to not know what we give to God, but we should give with the attitude that even we ourselves do not acknowledge what we have given.  We need to remember that whatever we give is already God's to begin with.  Verse four says, That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.  We may want the church to keep a record of what we give, and the church really needs to keep a record of what is given for the sake of accountability, but this should never be done so that one person can be praised and another looked down on.  The person giving should never draw attention to how much he or she has given or is giving.  We are to give, as we are to live, so that God receives the glory.

Matthew 5:38 says, Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  These were really limits on what a person could demand if they had been harmed.  If someone lost an eye or a tooth, that person could not claim a right to kill the other person, or even harm that person more than someone had been harmed himself.  We often view it as a command to claim our right to be demand that the someone who has harmed us pay, but this really isn't the case.  Verse thirty-nine declares, But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  Jesus said that we are to turn the other cheek if we are slapped, which means that we are not to demand that the one who struck us suffers even more than we did.  This is not to say that people are not to be held accountable for their actions, but that we as followers of Christ are to show mercy even to those who may have harmed us.  Verse forty continues, And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  I know in the world today, if someone takes us to court that we want to give them nothing, and if we take them to court we often demand the maximum that we can get.  I believe that what was being said was that we are to realize that all this deals with material possessions and our physical well being, but Jesus is referring to our spiritual well being.  We are to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and when we are, we will put even those who may have harmed us above ourselves.  Verse forty-one says, And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  I believe that this is simply saying to go beyond what is demanded of us, so that we will never bring dishonor to God.  Verse forty-two states, Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.  We, as followers of Christ, are to help those who ask us for help.  We cannot allow the fear that we are being taken advantage of stop us from helping others.  I cannot say for sure where we should draw the line, but if we rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I am sure we will do what brings glory to God.  Verse forty-three says,  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  This might even seem like a reasonable idea in the terms of the world.  Still, as we shall see, this is not God's standard.  Verse forty-four states, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  Jesus said that those who follow Him are to love their enemies and do good for those who hate them and pray for those who despitefully us them.  We all at one time were enemies of God, but He still loved us.  Jesus set the example for us on the cross when out of love He prayed for those who were crucifying Him.  Verse forty-five states, That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.you;  If we want to be the children of God, then we must follow His instructions, which just said that we shall love our enemies.  Verse forty-six asks, For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  Jesus tells us that it is easy to love those who love us.  Even those who do not claim to be God's people do this, so why should we feel that doing this makes us any better than them.  Verse forty-seven asks, And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  I believe that this is asking if we greet only those who we view as friends in a friendly matter, how are we any better than anyone else.  We are to approach even our enemies with an attitude to love.  Verse forty-eight says, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  I do not believe that we will reach the state of perfection in this world, but if we are true followers of Christ and follow His teachings under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, then we will always strive for perfection.

Matthew 5:31 says, It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:  Divorce was allowed in the Old Testament, and it was very much at the discretion of the husband.  The letter of the law required that he give his wife a writing of divorcement.  This was a legal situation and not a spiritual one.  Under God's law, marriage is intended to be a spiritual union between a man and a woman that would last a lifetime.  We have made it a legal institution that lasts as long as it is convenient.  Verse thirty-two declares, But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.  Unless the divorce was based on adultery, then the spirit of God's law says that if a woman, in this case, is divorced and remarries, both she and her new husbands are guilty of adultery.  The same applies to the wife.  Often today people get divorced simply because they want to get remarried.  I believe that the real problem with marriage today is that it has become simply a legal institution instead of a spiritual one.  Verse thirty-three states, Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:  Matthew Henry says this refers to taking oaths to tell the truth.  We are not to swear by our own merit, but by our faith in and relationship to God.  This is the letter of the law.  Verse thirty-four states, But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:  In this verse we begin to get into the spirit of the law.  This does not mean that we are never to swear an oath, but that the oath is not to be based on material things, but on our relationship with God.  Everything already belongs to God.  Heaven is God's thorn.  Verse thirty-five says, Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  The earth is God's footstool and Jerusalem is His city, so how can we swear by, or take an oath, based on any of these things.  For our oaths to have any real meaning, they must be based on our relationship with God.  Verse thirty-six states, Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  Now we might say that we can make our hair white or black or even purple, but we really can't.  We can make it appear that way, but at the root it is still the same color.  That being said, I believe that we are being advised to not swear by our own merit or values.  As followers of Christ, God should be in control of every aspect of our lives.  Verse thirty-seven says, But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.  I believe this means that we should be truthful in what we say.  If we say yes to someone, it should not mean maybe, and the same is true if we say no.

Matthew 5:21 says, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:  These next several verses begin to contrast the letter of the law with the spirit of the law.  The letter of the law is concerned with physical acts, whereas the spirit of the law is concerned with the attitude behind the action.  Verse twenty-two states, But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.  The action, stated in the last verse is killing and its punishment.  I personally believe that this refers to murder, but that may be too narrow of a definition.  In this verse, the spirit of the law says that if we have been angry with our brother without cause, we are just as guilty in the eyes of God as one who has murdered someone.   We are even told that if we call our brother a fool we are in danger of hell fire.  We need to remember also that our brothers or sisters are any fellow believer.  Getting angry at other Christians without a spiritual cause is never acceptable to God.  Verse twenty-three states, Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;  Bringing gifts to the altar of God is a good thing, but gifts must be offered with the right attitude.  Verse twenty-four states, Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.  If we have brought our gift to God and remember that we have a problem with our brother or sister, then we are to leave our gift at the altar and find our brother or sister and make things right.  We are not told to take the offering with us, but to leave it there.  The attitude that I am not giving another penny to that church as long as someone I disagree with is there is not acceptable.  Verse twenty-five says, Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.   If we really did quickly settle disputes with others, even our adversaries, then we might put a lot of lawyers out of work.  This verse seems to indicate that the follower of Christ is at fault and could be thrown into prison if brought to trial.  We should certainly quickly settle disputes where we are at fault, especially since our actions reflect upon God.  Verse twenty-six states, Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.  This simply tells us that if we have wronged another and haven't sought a resolution to the problem with that person, we might find ourselves in imprisoned until the debt is paid.  Verse twenty-seven says, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  This is once again the letter of the law, looking at the actual physical act of adultery.  Verse twenty-eight says, But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.  This is the spirit of the law, where our very thoughts and not just our actions are judged.  Former president Carter took a lot of heat for saying he was guilty of looking on another woman with lust, but this is the way God judges us.  Verse twenty-nine says, And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  Since I do not see a bunch of one eyed Christians, then either nothing we see offends us, or leads us away from our relationship with God, or we don't take this verse literally.  Verse thirty states, And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  Again, we don't see many one handed Christians who are one handed because they cut their hand off because it led them to sin.  The point is that we should not allow sin to enter our thoughts, then our eyes and our hands will not offend us.  Still, we would be better off spiritually to lose a hand or an eye and remain spiritually pure than to remain physically whole and become spiritually defiled.  God judges not only our actions, but He judges our thoughts as well.

Matthew 5:13 says, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  We, as followers of Christ, are called the salt of the earth.  We are to enhance life for those we meet, just as salt enhances the flavor of food.  I also believe that just as salt can help preserve food, we as followers of Christ can spread His word to help others come to a preserving knowledge of God.  Salt is of no use if it is not used, and we are of no use to God if we are unwilling to spread His word.  Just as a little salt can flavor a lot of food, so can a little faith reach a lot of people if we only reach out in the love of God.  Verse fourteen states, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  The lost of the world stumble around in spiritual darkness today, and if they are ever to see the light of salvation, we as followers of Christ must shed His light into the world.  We are to be like the light of a city set on a hill.  We should never cower in fear of the world, but should continually shed God's light into the world.   Verse fifteen states, Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.   I believe that this is telling us to never attempt to hide the light of Christ from the world.  People should know by the way that we live that there is something different about us if we are indeed followers of Christ.  We are not called on to hide our faith, but to be a shining light in the world.  Verse sixteen states, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  When we shine the light of Christ on the world, we should do so that the lost might see the light and God might be glorified.  The light that we shine should never point to us, but must always point to God.  Verse seventeen declares, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  Jesus came to live up to the law of God that it might be fulfilled.  The things taught by the law of God were not destroyed, but Jesus once more put the emphasis on the relationship one has with God and not on the ritualistic following of the law.  Verse eighteen says, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  We are told as long as heaven and earth stand that not even the least point of God's law will pass away.  When the new heaven and earth come, we will not need the law, because we will all be children of God by faith, and sin and death will have been defeated for all time.  Verse nineteen states, Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  If we break the least of God's commandments and teach others to do so, we will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.  We will still be a part of that kingdom, because we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the law.  Still, we will be the least in the kingdom of God.  The opposite is also true.  If we follow God's law and teach others to do so, we will be called great in God's kingdom, though we can never do this simply hoping to be greater.  We must do so because it is what God expects of His people.  Verse twenty declares, For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.  If we are looking to find salvation through the law of God, then our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, who saw themselves as superior to all others in keeping the letter of the law, and yet they did not know the spirit of the law.  Being super religious without a relationship with Christ as Savior and Lord will never bring anyone salvation.