Matthew 7:1-5
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.
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.
Every thief and drug dealer
in
Just because a person may be
able to quote Scripture does not mean he/she understands it! This is the classic example.
The same degree of judgment
with which you judge shall be the degree with which you shall be judged.
And, with what measure you
give that shall be the amount you shall be given.
Most Christians fail to see
the significance to verse two.
It simply declares that God
shall treat you as you treat others.
If you give with joy and a
helpful spirit, you shall receive joy from a helpful Spirit.
It has nothing to do with
giving a dollar to get a hundred dollars.
Anybody can see the faults in
another, but unless you can see clearly you cannot help the other person to
gain control of his/her situation.
Pray that God will allow you
to see clearly, and not with blur discrimination.
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.
Don’t give the holy things of
God to those that hate Him.
Heathen will and do abuse and
twist even the simplest truths.
Matthew 7:7-12
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?
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.
If God is your Father, you
may lay claim to this promise.
If He is just your God, it
means nothing.
Ask!
Christianity is a positive
relationship.
This is an admonishment to become radical in your dependence on
Christ.
Our dependency on Christ does
not result in laziness.
Instead it works to the
benefit of the
Our dependence includes a
realization that we too must be about our Father’s business (Luke 2:49).
Working in our Father’s
vineyard is a blessing!
Matthew 7:13-15
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.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Don’t be deceived! Anybody can follow the crowd onto a broad
highway.
That broad highway may seem
to lead to happiness, but that happiness is temporary.
Those who are called by God
go down a less traveled road that leads to everlasting joy and peace.
Verse 13 warns that the way
to destruction is “broad” while the way to life is “narrow” (v. 14).
The way to life is narrow
because it is by invitation only.
John 6:44 “No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws
him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (NKJV)
In John 14:6, Christ tells us
the he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Many times we find those who
tell us to “choose” Christ. That is
anti-biblical!
God chooses us to come to
Christ (John 15:16, 19)!
We do not choose Christ.
We are told to seek Christ
and yet that too is anti-biblical!
Rom 3:10-11
10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. (NKJV)
Verse 15 warns us to beware
of leaders of what many suppose to be the Church.
Just because the there is a “Church”
sign out front does not mean that what goes on inside is Spirit-led.
Rom 8:14 For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Conversely, those that are
not led by Spirit of God are not the sons of God.
Matthew 7:16-20
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.
Apple seeds produce
apples. That is a fact!
We must become fruit
inspectors.
Matthew 7:21-29
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.
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.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were
astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
The fact is that all who truly call upon the Lord shall
be saved, but many will just go through the motions with no commitment to
Christ.
You will notice that in
Verses 21-22, Christ Jesus never says that they are not actually doing the
miraculous things they claimed!
However, He knows that they
are not His!
Some are still doing
miraculous things in the name of Jesus without actually being “known” by Him!
The question is not, “Do you
know Christ?”
The question is, “Does Christ
know you?”
In adversity those who are
known by Christ will prosper.
The most astounding verses in
this last section are v 28 and 29.
Matthew 7:28-29
28 And it came to pass, when
Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes.
Jesus did not say, “Turn in
your Bibles to Psalms 51, verse 2.
He did not quote the right
reverend Dr. Smith or Jones.
He taught through the power
of the Holy Spirit, and it astonished folks.
Teaching in the power of the
Holy Spirit always astonishes folks.
Keep in mind that Christ
Jesus taught His doctrine which is identical to the Father’s doctrine!
Why did Jesus use all those
parables?
He did it so people could
understand!
Right? Wrong!
Parables are “earthly stories
with a heavenly meaning.
Right? Wrong!
Parables are spiritual
stories with a spiritual meaning!
Right? Wrong!
Jesus used them to hide the
truth.
Matthew 13:13-15
13 Therefore speak I to them
in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do
they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Esaias, which saith,
By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see,
and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is
waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have
closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I
should heal them.
Jesus hid the truth in plain
sight!