Words of Jesus
Part 4

• Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
• 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

This is not to say that we are not to make righteous judgments. We have to make judgments as to whether or not someone is guilty of murder or we can't have law and order. We are to be very careful not to make unfair judgments and assumptions without knowing all facts. What type of judgment we use toward others is what type of judgment that will be used against us. We can rightly judge that Adolph Hitler was a wicked man because of the fruits he revealed in his lifetime. We are to judge by the fruits of people we see.

Here is John Wesley's commentary on verse one.
Judge not - any man without full, clear, certain knowledge, without absolute necessity, without tender love.

The key is walking in love when we make judgments.

• Matthew 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
• 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
• 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Its easier to find fault in someone else than to see a worse fault in ourselves.

If we try to correct someone without first looking at ourselves, we will appear to be hypocrites.
If a candidate for office blasts his opponent for some great error, the first thing the opponent will do is remember a worse error in the accusing candidate.

That doesn't excuse our own errors but we should be very slow to see faults in others. Yet there is a proper place for proper unbiased, righteous judgments.

Verse 5 is the key to understanding what Jesus meant in this whole passage. To remove the blindness from our own eyes and then we can see clearly to help someone else escape from error.

• Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

The deep holy things contained in scripture cannot be given to those who are reprobate and so deep in sin that they would not profit but turn and rend the one bringing the word. The simple gospel message of salvation has to be given first before one can receive the deeper truths of the word of God. If the simple gospel is continually rejected, we must not try to force it upon anyone but back off and leave them to God, yet never giving up on them.

• Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
• 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
• 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
• 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
• 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

This how much it delights our Heavenly Father to give us the things we need. We first need to major on asking for the things that further the gospel and help us to live godly. Understanding of His written word is also available for the asking.

• Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

I wanted to include a verse from Luke because it shows us what to ask for when we pray. We must not think when we read these passages that God is telling us to ask for riches and material things and we would be given them. We have to get away from that thinking because it will seem to some that it shuts out the kingdom from the poor and those that do not get rich. We are to seek spiritual things first and then trust God to take care of the material necessities that we need.

When I hear of people seeing a piece of property and claiming that property in the name of Jesus it makes me cringe. What if someone else wants that property. To exalt ourselves to the point that we think God prefers to give us a certain piece of property above someone else we assume is less worthy, is not the character of a true Christian. This is not walking in a meek spirit. This is not the gospel and it is not what Jesus is trying to say to us. There may be times when we have to ask for things in emergency situations but as a whole, the type of things we are to seek God for are the spiritual. He will care for us after that. Other scriptures bear this out.

We are to ask for the Holy Spirit and then the Holy Spirit will guide us in the correct things.

• Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

I believe this verse sums up what Jesus is trying to say to us. In judgment, in correction and in seeking, treat others in the exact way you would want to be treated. The true way is not the way of the crowd.

• Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
• 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

If we want to enter the strait gate, we can find out how by the study of God's word. Following the majority and going the way the world goes is not the way. You can probably make a guess that when the majority follows a certain way, it is probably wrong. Unfortunately contrary to what we normally think, the majority of mankind is on the path to hell. I didn't say this, Jesus did. The thing is that we don't have to. God made a way and plainly tells us the way. That way is Jesus.

Remember though that the devil believes in the existence of Jesus so it is more than just believing that He existed. We must believe in what He has to say to us as well. We must believe that He is the only way of salvation. Further study bears this out that we can't just be hearers but doers.

I will be careful to add here that there maybe fringe groups who are so far out of touch with society and with the word of God that even the worst sinners would not follow them so there are exceptions. We are seeing this today. When people want to change their own gender and kill their own children in the womb, something is terribly wrong. The word of God must be our guide in all matters of right and wrong. There are even those that want to allow a baby born alive in a botch abortion can be left to die. If that isn't murder, I don't know what is.

• Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
• 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
• 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
• 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
• 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
• 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

We must examine these scriptures carefully. We are not to make assumptions and judge without seeing the fruits. We can't go by gossip or slander and begin to judge without knowing for sure what the truth of what we are judging. Thank God we have the word of God in written form so we can fairly judge the truth from error.

False prophets say one thing and do another. They may speak some words of truth to gain followers but sooner or later their fruits will be known. In fact a mixture of truth with the false is more dangerous than words containing all false statements. If we know the word and are people of truth that believe strongly in Jesus, we will not want to draw followers after ourselves for gain or money and power. I believe that the Lord knew some would go astray and attempt to draw followers after themselves. God made sure that we have in a volume of a book, the bible to instruct and teach us how to spread His gospel and things to avoid. We need to be careful when this bible is translated and changed into modern languages that we do not change the original meaning. We have that happening today as well.

In the past men went overboard with this and killed anyone who tried to translate the bible into other languages. Now we tend to err in the other direction and everybody is changing it so much that some of the translations do not even seem like a bible. That is why I play it safe and stick to the King James. Its not that I don't think there may be other good ones, it is just because there are too many of them and I don't have the time to examine all of them so I will stick to the one I have confidence in and the witness of the Spirit shows me that it is the word of God.

A dedicated person who continually studies the word of God is hard to deceive by false teaching. When the prosperity doctrine first started being preached, my dad rose up red flags immediately. Why? Dad knew the word of God and studied it. He never blindly followed every fad and fashion that came down the pike.

There will be more false teachers as the world gets worse just before the Second Coming. There will be false signs and wonders.

Let us be careful here because we can't accuse all healing and miracles as false signs. God is still a God who heals the sick. Jesus shows us how to spot the false so let us not accuse the true also.

• Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
• 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
• 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This does not mean that everyone that has prayer for the sick and casts out devils is a false teacher. I believe this to mean that those were doing those things but they didn't do what Jesus said. Perhaps they went about healing for money, control and ignored the word of God. They allowed sin in their lives while professing to heal the sick.

These next verses explains better what Jesus meant: I love how the bible will explain itself. That is why we can't take a few scriptures out of its setting and preach a doctrine from just one or two.

• Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
• 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
• 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
• 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

We use to sing this song in Sunday School. It teaches a simple but powerful message. Do what Jesus teaches, not just claim to do them. Hear and do, not just name and claim. If we go to church, hear the gospel, listen to the preacher, sing God's praises and ignore everything Jesus taught us, what profit is it?

It is not religious rituals, baptisms, communion services that save us, it is doing what the word of God says. Receiving the one God sent to save us, His Son, Jesus the Christ. We repent of sin and turn to Christ for salvation. Repentance is the way to change. Repent means to turn around from our ways and go God's way. How are we to know God's way? Study the word of God and find out.

Words of Jesus Part 5

Words of Jesus Index