Matthew 6:18
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. 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.
Fasting is to be done for God the Father in private rather than put on show to gain notice from people, and the Father who sees what is hidden will give an open reward. All religious practice is to aim at pleasing God instead of winning praise from others, bringing contentment of heart and surrender of the will to the Holy Spirit rather than striving for place and position. Self-denial and inward trial are matters between the soul and God alone, so they are not to be advertised by a gloomy face but carried with cheerfulness that lets the Spirit's hidden work become visible in Christlike character. Fasting is never to be made a public display of devotion nor imposed as a way to earn salvation or merit heaven, for salvation rests on the merits of Christ the crucified and risen Saviour and not on self-made righteousness. Such sincere service offered to God through Christ's grace shapes the character, restores the soul's original loveliness, and imparts the character of Christ itself.
Setting and Meaning
The verse was spoken on a mountainside in the Sermon on the Mount, given especially to the disciples but within hearing of the gathered multitude after crowds from Galilee and many other regions had assembled to hear and be healed. The Sermon was spoken with divine authority in plain and simple words of eternal life that the poor and unlearned could understand. It was given so simply that even a child can study it without being misled.
The Sermon corrects false ideas about God's kingdom, teaching its conditions of entrance and its foundational principles. It sets forth a kingdom of divine grace rather than a promise of earthly glory or political freedom. It corrects views of God as stern and without compassion, mercy, or love, revealing His true character as paternal love. It teaches people to address Him as Our Father, restoring confidence in His love, as part of the pure gospel explaining God's holy law of love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor. The verse itself directs fasting to the Father in secret rather than appearing unto men to fast, with the promise that the Father who sees in secret will reward openly.
Practice and Life
Religious practice is to be directed toward God rather than human praise, impressing the heart toward contentment and yielding the will to the control of the Holy Spirit. That yielding cures striving for place and position and pushing a fellow worker aside to make room for personal plans and to advance personal plans. It makes the greatest desire to work in just the place God assigns, to serve where He has placed them, where He can look with approval upon the work. The lessons of the sermon on the mount are to be shown in daily life, with fasting directed to God and not performed to gain notice from people, exemplified by hiding self in Christ and speaking modestly and not seeking human attention in religious practice. Secret trials and self-denial belong between the soul and God, and the fast is not to be shown through a gloomy appearance. Cheerful service reflects Christ's character, and though people may not see the inward work between the soul and God, the Spirit's work in the heart will become visible, and the Father who sees what is done in secret rewards openly.
Fasting and service must be sincere and directed toward God rather than done to attract attention or win praise, with God seeing service performed in secret and rewarding it openly. Such service, offered through Christ's grace, forms the character, restores the soul's original loveliness, and imparts Christ's character. Fasting is not to be used as a public display of religious devotion. Fasting and prayer imposed on oneself to gain salvation or merit heaven are not required by God, for this self-made, Pharisaical righteousness can harm health and does not save. Salvation depends on the merits of Christ, the crucified and risen Saviour.
The pure gospel given upon the mount explains God's holy law and sets the holy standard of character requiring love to God with the whole heart and love to neighbor. That standard condemns mingling human wisdom with the divine, confusing minds about right and holy methods in business, and unjustly acquiring means at another's expense. Those who practice such methods prove they have not yet learned that law and its explanation, and need a cleansing process, a purging of the soul temple. The verse contains lessons not yet learned that require recognizing every gift as coming from God and letting gratitude for His goodness fill the heart until a heavenly atmosphere surrounds the soul. It requires ordering life by the truth of God found in His word and studying the Scriptures diligently as the truth of the living God, the foundation of faith and the assurance of hope of eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.