Matthew 6:24

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. NO MAN CAN SERVE, [ douleuein (G1398)]. The word means to 'belong wholly and be entirely under command to,' TWO MASTERS: FOR EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE, AND LOVE THE OTHER; OR ELSE HE WILL HOLD TO THE ONE, AND DESPISE THE OTHER. Even if the two masters be of one character and have but one object, the servant must take law from one or other: though he may do what is agreeable to both, he cannot, in the nature of the thing, be servant to more than one. Much less if, as in the present case, their interests are quite different, and even conflicting. In this case, if our affections be in the service of the one-if we "love the one" - we must of necessity "hate the other;...

24._No man can serve two masters _Christ returns to the former doctrine, the object of which was to withdraw his disciples from covetousness. He had formerly said, that the heart of man is bound and fixed upon its tr_easure; _and he now gives warning, that the hearts of those who are devoted to riches are alienated from the Lord. For the greater part of men are wont to flatter themselves with a deceitful pretense, when they imagine, that it is possible for them to be divided between God and their own lusts. Christ affirms that it is impossible for any man to obey God, and, at the same time, to obey his own flesh. This was, no doubt, a proverb in common use: _No man can serve two masters _He takes for granted a truth which had been universally admitted, and applies it to his present subject: where riches hold the dominion of the heart, God has lost his authority. True, it is not impossibl...

19-24 Worldly-mindedness is a common and fatal symptom of hypocrisy, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a profession of religion. Something the soul will have, which it looks upon as the best thing; in which it has pleasure and confidence above other things. Christ counsels to make our best things the joys and glories of the other world, those things not seen which are eternal, and to place our happiness in them. There are treasures in heaven. It is our wisdom to give all diligence to make our title to eternal life sure through Jesus Christ, and to look on all things here below, as not worthy to be compared with it, and to be content with nothing short of it. It is happiness above and beyond the changes and chances of time, an inheritance incorruptible. The worldly man is wrong in his first principle; therefore all his reasonings and act...

Verse Matthew 6:24. _NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS_] The master of our heart may be fitly termed the _love_ that reigns in it. We serve that only which we love supremely. A man cannot be in perfect indifference betwixt two objects which are incompatible: he is inclined to despise and hate whatever he does not love supremely, when the _necessity_ of a _choice_ presents itself. _HE WILL HATE THE ONE AND LOVE THE OTHER._] The word _hate_ has the same sense here as it has in many places of Scripture; it merely signifies to love _less_-so Jacob loved Rachel, but _hated_ Leah; i.e. he loved Leah much less than he loved Rachel. God himself uses it precisely in the same sense: Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I _hated_; i.e. I have loved the posterity of Esau less than I have loved the posterity of Jacob: which means no more t

NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS ... - Christ proceeds to illustrate the necessity of laying up treasures in heaven from a well-known fact, that a servant cannot serve two masters at the same time. His affections and obedience would be divided, and he would fail altogether in his duty to one or the other. One he would love, the other he would hate. To the interests of the one he would adhere, the interests of the other he would neglect. This is a law of human nature. The supreme affections can be fixed on only one object. So, says Jesus, the servant of God cannot at the same time obey him. and be avaricious, or seek treasures supremely on earth. One interferes with the other, and one or the other will be, and must be, surrendered. MAMMON - Mammon is a Syriac word, a name given to an idol worshipped as the god of riches. It has the same meaning as Plutus among the Greeks. It is not known that...

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 6:1 _The_ _relation of our Lord and his disciples to the religion of the day _(_continued_);_ vide _Matthew 5:17, note. (_b_) Our Lord turns from cases which could be directly deduced from the Law to those which belonged only to recognized religious duty. Of these he instances three: alms (Matthew 5:2), prayer (Matthew 5:5, Matthew 5:9), fasting (Matthew 5:16). It is, indeed, true

NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS,.... Whose orders are directly contrary to one another: otherwise, if they were the same, or agreed, both might be served; but this is rarely the case, and seldom done. This is a proverbial expression, and is elsewhere used by Christ, Luke 16:13. The Jews have sayings pretty much like it, and of the same sense as when they say w, "we have not found that כל אדם זוכה לשתי שולחנות, "any man is fit for two tables."'' And again x, "that it is not proper for one man to have two governments:'' their meaning is, that two things cannot be done together: FOR, EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE, AND LOVE THE OTHER; he will have less affection and regard to the one, than to the other; as the service or orders of the one, are less agreeable to him than the others; OR ELSE HE WILL HOLD TO THE ONE;

Matthew 6:1. _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._ The motive which leads a man to give, will form the true estimate of what he does. If he gives to be seen of men then when he is seen of men he has the reward he sought for, and he will never have any other. Let us never do our alms before men, to be seen of them. Matthew 6:2. 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. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself sha

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The Better Righteousness.(Matthew 6:1 .) 2. Kept in the World; Single-eyed; Trusting God.(Matthew 6:19 .)_ Our Lord said: “For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 5:20). This righteousness He had taught in His confirmation and expansion of the law, but now He speaks of something higher still. He makes known the motive of this true righteousness, which the heir of the kingdom is not alone to possess but also to practice. The motive is in all to act in the presence of the Father. The first eighteen verses of the sixth chapter shows this in a threefold relation. First, in rel

TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS IN RELATION TO WEALTH. The Sermon here passes from the shortcomings of the Scribes and Pharisees. There are scattered parallels to this section in Lk. MATTHEW 6:19. TREASURE (Luke 12:33 f.). Jesus has already spoken of earthly and heavenly reward; here the theme is earthly and heavenly wealth. Note the Hebraic parallelism and tautology in this thumbnail sketch of Oriental wealth, consisting largely of garments (_cf._ James 5:2 f.). rust (Matthew 6:19 f.) is literally eating, and refers to the mice and other vermin that play havoc in the granary. DIG THROUGH (_mg.):_ see...