The Hidden Virtue

Follow Along with the Message

Bonhoeffer would argue that there is a contrast between Matthew 5 and 6. In Matthew 5, Jesus wants Christian virtue to be visible to the world. In Matthew 6, he teaches that Christian virtue must be hidden.

Whenever we give, pray, or fast, we must evaluate our priorities and ensure that our deepest desire is to grow closer to God, to pay the price, or to count the cost of discipleship.

To implement the hidden virtue and learn the cost of discipleship, is to ask oneself this question…

1. Who Am I    ?

Bonhoeffer said, “If the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, if we become conscious of our hidden virtue, we are forging our own reward, instead of that which God had intended to give us in his own good time.”

Jesus plainly communicates that the Pharisees go through the motions of religion but with no real relationship with God.

As Christians, we should strive to find our satisfaction and fulfillment in the values of Christ and the truth of God, knowing that God will take care of our essentials.