Live the Faith

Paul often referred to the Christian life as “the faith.” In 2 Timothy 4:7, he testifies of himself: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” In other words, he lived it. He lived his life in complete reliance on God. And that is what we are commanded to do in Matthew 6:25-34—to live the faith; to live in complete reliance on God the Father.

To make His point, Jesus speaks about worry or being anxious. We all tend to worry about nearly everything. But Jesus says that worry is the very thing we should not do. When we worry about things, we show a lack of trust in God. To live the faith, our trust must be solely in Him.

The heart of the message in this passage is: Don't worry—not even about necessities. “Do not be anxious” (ESV), or “do not worry” (NKJV), is a command given three times (vs. 25, 31, 34). Because we are commanded not to be anxious or not to worry, to do so is wrong.

To worry is to be disobedient to God. “For this reason” (v. 25) refers back to the previous verse, where Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (v. 24, NASB). So a Christian's only Master is God. With that in mind, verse 25 might read: “Because God is your Master, I say to you, do not be anxious.”

A bond-slave's only responsibility is to his master. So when believers worry, they are being disobedient to God. They are being unfaithful. They are failing to live the faith. Disobedience is sin, not to mention foolish. So we are told, “do not be worried about your life” (v. 25a).

In the Greek, the command “do not worry,” includes the idea of stopping what is already being done. In other words, we are to stop worrying and never start worrying again. The following phrase, “about your life,” makes the command all-inclusive. The word “life” (Greek, Psychē) refers to the whole of a person's being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Jesus is referring to “life” in its fullest possible sense. Nothing in any part of our life, internal or external, makes it right for us to be anxious when we have the Master that we do.

Worry is the sin of distrust. To worry is to distrust the promise of God. To worry is also to distrust the providence of God. Yet, it is a sin that Christians commit often, perhaps more than any other. The English word “worry” comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is what worry does; it strangles you both mentally and emotionally. It may be the cause of more mental and physical problems than anything else.

A believer's normal and consistent state of mind should be one of contentment, not worry. Every believer should be able to say with Paul, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need" (Phil. 4:11-12).

Our contentment is found only in God. When you trust God to provide, you will not worry “as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on” (v. 25b). As Jesus went on to say, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v. 25c). God will provide. So don’t worry; just trust! Live the faith.

To worry is unnecessary because of God.. The basic thought behind verses 26-30 is that we have absolutely no reason to worry, all because of God—our “heavenly Father” (v. 26). Jesus is asking you this: “Have you forgotten who your Father is?” Then He brings His point home by way of three illustrations.

First, concerning food: “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (v. 26). It is likely that Jesus pointed to some passing birds as He said, “Look at the birds of the air.” As an object lesson, He called attention to the fact that birds do not have set methods for acquiring food. “They do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” They have their life from God. The Lord provides them with an abundance of food and the instinct to find it. He “prepares for the raven its nourishment when its young cry to God” (Job 38:41).

“Are you not worth much more than they?” God will surely provide for you as well. He gives you the abilities needed to find what He is providing, just like the birds. The birds work at finding what God has provided. We are to use our God-given resources to find God's provision. So don’t worry; just trust! Live the faith.

Second, concerning longevity: “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (v. 27). God has set the boundaries of every person’s life. Nothing we do will force God into extending our life's span. You can worry yourself to death, but not to long life.

The gift of life is a gift from God to be used for His purposes. Live your life to obey, honor, please, and glorify Him, leaving everything else to His wisdom and care. That is how you live the faith.

Third, concerning clothing: “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!” (vs. 28-30).

Here flowers are the model. Some of the people to whom Jesus was speaking may have had little clothing, perhaps no more than one set of coverings for their bodies. So He pointed to the flowers and assured them of God's concern and provision. They made no effort to grow and had no part in designing or coloring themselves. Yet, they were not lacking. God did it all, and in splendid detail.

Those flowers soon die and are used to make fires under the oven to bake bread. But you are eternal, destined to spend eternity in heaven with God. Surely, God will take care of all your needs.

“You of little faith!” (v. 30b). To worry, even about things which we need to survive, is sinful and shows “little faith.” A person who worries about those things may have saving faith, but he does not have faith that relies on God to finish what He has begun. So don’t worry; just trust! Live the faith.

To worry is inconsistent with our faith. Therefore, it is unreasonable, as well as sinful. Worry is characteristic of unbelief. “Gentiles” (v. 32; Greek, Ethnoi), literally means “peoples,” or “a multitude.” In the plural, as here, it usually referred to non-Jews, or “Gentiles,” and, by extension, to unbelievers or pagans. Worrying about what to eat, drink, and clothe themselves with (v. 31) are things “the Gentiles eagerly seek” (v. 32a).

Those who have no hope in God naturally put their hope in things. They have nothing to live for but the present, and their materialism is perfectly consistent with their religion. They have no God to supply their physical or their spiritual needs, their present or their eternal needs, so anything they get they must get for themselves. They are ignorant of God's supply and have no claim on it. No heavenly Father cares for them, so they have reason to worry.

But that is a completely foolish and unreasonable philosophy for you, because you have a “heavenly Father” who “knows that you need all these things” (v. 32b). To worry about our basic needs is the mark of a worldly mind, whether you are a Christian or not.

When you are faithful and trusting you will “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” you will “let your requests he made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). When you trust and live the faith, you will refuse in any way to “be conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2).

Within this series of rebukes Jesus gives a positive command with a beautiful promise: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v. 33). The cause of worry is seeking the things of this world, and the cause of contentment is seeking the things of God's “kingdom and His righteousness.” Focus your attention on the things of the Lord and He will take care of all your needs. To seek first God's kingdom is to pour out your life into God’s eternal work—to win people into that kingdom. To seek first His righteousness is to seek a life of holiness. Again that is what it means to live the faith.

To worry is foolish and unfaithful. Jesus concludes, saying, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 34). Making reasonable provisions for tomorrow is sensible, but to “be anxious for tomorrow” (ESV), or to “worry about tomorrow” (NKJV), is both foolish and unfaithful. God is the God of tomorrow, as well as the God of today, and of eternity. “The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23, NASB).

Are you so committed to worrying that, if you cannot find anything in the present to worry about, you think about possible problems in the future? That is what some people do. They just have to have something to worry about. Jesus said, “Tomorrow will care for itself” (v. 34b). That is the conviction of the child of God who does not worry because he knows that “tomorrow will care for itself,” because it is in God’s hands.

“Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 34b), is not a call to worry about that trouble, but to concentrate on meeting the temptations, trials, opportunities, and struggles we have. In doing so, we rely on God to protect and provide as we have need—and He is faithful. There is no need to add worry to the trouble of each day.

The message is clear. We are not to be anxious and worry about our basic needs. We are not to be anxious and worry about our daily troubles, nor for the future. To be concerned; to pray and lay them at the Father’s feet—yes. To worry and fret over them—no. Rather, we are to trust God in all things. We are to rest in His faithfulness. That is what it means to live the faith. As Isaiah said, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock” (Isa. 26:3-4). Amen.