The Golden Rule and the Way to Life, Matthew 7:12-14

It’s interesting, if not ironic, that the world has picked up on certain statements or principles contained in  the Sermon on the Mount, and yet in considering them out of the context of the rest of the sermon they fail to understand what Jesus was really teaching.  We come to another such statement today, which is commonly known as the Golden Rule. It used to be a stand alone principle that was taught in secular as well as religious settings with a certain amount of frequency.  I can faintly remember one of my teachers from public elementary school talking about the Golden Rule.  I suppose that would not be politically correct today.

However, various forms of the Golden Rule have been around since before the birth of Christ.  In fact, a famous Rabbi by the name of Hillel  who was asked for a summary of the law in 20AD said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to anyone else. This is the whole law; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.”  That statement of course is in the negative.  Jesus was the only one to phrase it in the positive.  But it is a statement that is found in other philosophies and religions as well, so it is not a strictly Christian principle, though, in the positive it is only found in Christianity.

So I should stress that the majority of religions and philosophies do not teach this principle as Jesus taught it. Their emphasis is only focused on a social dictum or a social gospel.  But Jesus wasn’t just giving a moral precept that we should all try to keep as a means of earning good standing with God and man and thus creating a social utopia here on earth.  Furthermore, if you approach this principle in a merely legalistic way, then you are guilty of what the Pharisees were guilty of, which was to keep the letter of the law as a way of earning righteousness and as a means of being seen of men to be righteous. 

Jesus, however,  in HIs sermon has always gone beyond the letter of the law to indicate that the attitude of the heart is what God is after.  And only as one has been regenerated through faith in Him can you then have the new heart that desires what God desires, that loves that which God loves.  So this statement is a continuation of what Jesus has been saying all along.  He has been establishing and delineating the character and nature of those who have been made a new creation, have been given new life, who are now a child of God and a part of the Kingdom of God. 

However,  we should also recognize that there is no getting around the fact that this is a commandment.  Those that think there are no commandments in the new covenant show their ignorance of scripture.  In fact, this is very similar to another commandment which Jesus gave in response to the question “what is the greatest commandment?”  Jesus answered in Matt. 22:37-40  “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'  "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'  "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Notice the similarity after the second commandment to love your neighbor, in the phrase “the whole law and the prophets,” to the phrase found after the Golden Rule, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  Jesus says that both are a summation of the law. And in conjunction they help to explain one another.  So, if you love your neighbor as yourself, if you treat your neighbor like you would like to be treated, then you will not steal from him, you would not commit adultery with his wife, you would not lie to him, and so forth.  All of the law found in what is called the second table of the law dealing with man’s relationship to man, would not be an issue.  

But it’s important to understand that the Bible does not teach the law is a means of salvation. That’s what the Pharisees were thinking, and it’s the thinking of much of the modern church.  The natural tendency of man is to be legalistic.  And so many have looked at the Sermon on the Mount and have seen a series of injunctions which they thought were some new form of the old law, and though we couldn’t keep the old law we can somehow keep the new law, and thus we will be saved by keeping the law, or at least, keeping it as best we can.  That is the gist of a lot of people’s theology.

But Paul said the law was intended to be a schoolteacher to lead us to Christ.  The law shows us our sinfulness in light of the standard of God and in that light it shows us our need to be saved, to be forgiven, to be made a new creation.  Only when we are regenerated, given the righteousness of Christ and made in the likeness of Christ by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can we then strive to keep the law with any hope of success.  So then we keep the law because we are Christians, not in order to become a Christian.

1John 2:3-5 says, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;  but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him.”  So keeping the law is only possible if we are Christians, not as a means to become a Christian. And keeping the law is evidence that we are a Christian.

Let me also try to clarify it this way.  Not only is the law a schoolteacher to lead us to Christ, but after we are saved, the law is a schoolteacher to raise us up in Christ, to mature us in Christ.  In the first creation, we were made in the image of God, in His likeness.  The Bible says that repeatedly.  We were made spiritual beings so that we could have spiritual intimacy with God.  But the spirit of man died in the fall.  So for man to be reconciled to God we must not only be forgiven, but we must be regenerated, to have a new spirit that can have fellowship with God.

So then in the second creation, that which is called being born again, we are once again made in the likeness of God, which is to be like Christ.  And though we have been given a new nature, a new spirit, new desires, there is still a process of training that is necessary if we are going to be conformed to the image of Christ.  So through the law of God, we come to know what is expected of us, how we are to act as the children of God, that we might in obedience to the law grow up into Him and be completed in the process of  sanctification.

Now that is the point of Jesus’s teaching here.  We are to love one another, love our neighbor, do good to them that persecute you, give good gifts to others, and do unto others what you would have them do unto you, all because that is the way God treats us.  And we are to be like Christ. So the law, this law, informs us of what we are to do, if we are to be like Christ.

And the synergy of the law is that the priority of the foremost commandment makes it possible to keep the second commandment.  What I mean by that is, only if we love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, are we then able to love our neighbor as God loves us. Being reborn in His likeness gives us the capacity to love like God.  The difficulty is that in order to love God like that, wholly, completely, then we have to get someone else off the throne.  And that someone is ourselves.  Self wants to be on the throne. Self wants to govern our lives.  Self wants to preserve and guard and protect what’s his.  And so self has to be dethroned in order to love God first and foremost. 

There is a very deceitful theology that is propagated by certain preachers which looks at the second commandment, that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and then extrapolate from that that it’s necessary and even a good thing, to love ourselves.  I have read some Christian books to that effect, saying that even before you love God you must first love yourself.  Folks, that is a lie out of hell.  The answer to our problem is not to love ourselves, but rather the problem is that we love ourselves.  That’s what is wrong.  But if you love the Lord with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength, then that doesn’t leave room anymore for “self” to be on the throne.  God must be first.  

And then notice, you are still not next in line.  The order is you love God first and then your neighbor is next.  You are in last place. So we need to start with God.  And that means that in order to even begin to love our neighbor correctly we must first have a right relationship with God.  We were made by God and for God, and we can function truly only in relationship to God.

So you can’t love your wife, or your husband, or your neighbor, or your enemy like you’re supposed to, unless you first love God preeminently.  And as we believe in Him, are obedient to Him, follow Him, love Him and trust Him, then we can see others as God sees us, and we can do unto others what is good, the kind of things that we would like for them to do for us.  Not doing good so that we might be repaid for our kindness.  But as God who loved us when we could not do anything to repay Him, so we do for others that which is good.  

God gives us good things in spite of our being who we are.  God doesn’t give us what we deserve. But God showers upon us His grace and mercy.  So we should love others as God loves us and show good to them as God has shown to us.  And the ultimate good that we should do for them is to show them the love of God so that they might believe in Him and be saved.  That they might be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God.  That is the good that we might do that is greater than all other good things. 

The fact is, if we truly loved others as we say we should, then we would be very concerned about their soul’s final destination.  Yet though as Christians we claim to be concerned about lost souls, yet in practice we show little concern about it.  I know, I am speaking from personal experience.  It seems awfully hard to speak to an acquaintance about the nature of their soul, doesn’t it?  It’s a subject we find very hard to broach even with loved ones, much less with our friends and acquaintances.  

And yet it’s the most important topic in the world.  And so we see this subject of our soul’s destination dealt with here by our Lord in the last section of this sermon, and He deals with it in a way that shows it’s of paramount importance. It’s a logical progression in His sermon from speaking of doing good unto others to speaking of the way of salvation.  Jesus does not ignore what is of ultimate importance.  But He goes straight to the heart of the matter.  

Jesus has shown in HIs sermon repeatedly that there are two natures, two types of people, two perspectives, two types of hearts, two types of attitudes.  Sometimes the differences seemed on the surface to be slight, but Jesus showed that there was indeed great differences which found their origin deep in the heart of man. Throughout the whole sermon Jesus shows that there is a distinct difference between the natural man and the spiritual man.  

Now Jesus takes that to the next level, and shows that there is a distinct difference in outcomes as well. There are two gates, two paths and two destinations for all men.  Jesus says in vs 13, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Now what Jesus is actually doing here is showing that there is a choice that is given to all men, there are two paths and that we are going to choose one or the other.  The Sermon on the Mount is not just a philosophical teaching that can be considered and talked about and pondered upon and admired for it’s exalted themes and then put back on the shelf and you continue as you were.  It is a choice that has to be made.  And the way to make the wrong choice is to simply do nothing, to continue going on as you are.  If you consider all that Jesus has said concerning the kingdom of heaven, and you do nothing but think about it, and then set it aside, then you have effectively said no.  You have made a choice without doing anything. Because the Bible tells us that all men are already on the road to destruction. You were born that way.

Romans 3:10-12, 16 says, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;  THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;  ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." and so as a consequence, “DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS.”

But believing in Christ is something that requires a change of direction, a change of heart.  It requires following.  It is a new way of life. It’s a decision and a commitment to believe Christ and follow Him.  Notice first of all that Jesus says the way is narrow that leads to life.  I believe that the gate indicated here is none other than Jesus Christ.  He is the narrow gate.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me.”  That’s pretty narrow.  That’s pretty exclusionary. Acts 4;12 says, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”  There is no other way of gaining the righteousness needed to be accepted by God than through faith in Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him, and what He did on the cross, our sins are transferred to Him and His righteousness is transferred to us.

Jesus says in John 10:9  "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” He goes on to say in that passage that “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  So no one can come to the Father, no one can be saved, except through faith in Jesus Christ.  Faith in what He has done for me as my Savior, as my Substitute.  He took my place on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins, so that by His death I am given life, spiritual life, abundant life.  

That is the only way to God.  That is the way to life.  But there is another way, what Jesus calls the broad way.  Many are going through that gate.  It’s the popular path.  It’s the way the world is going. But Jesus says this way leads to destruction.  Listen, it’s a terrible tragedy that the world is headed for destruction.  There is no calamity on earth, no famine, no flood, no earthquake, nothing that comes close to the world wide calamity precipitated by the fall. The entire world is destined to die, to stand before the judgment of God, and receive the wages of sin, which is death.  That’s a terrible thing of unimaginable proportion.  And if we are honest we  might find ourselves almost thinking  judgmentally towards God when we consider that so many millions of men and women are doomed to destruction. It just doesn’t seem fair.

And yet, God has given us the means by which to save them.  We know the good news, we know the gospel.  We have the antidote for their disease.  And yet, in a manner of speaking, we walk right by the dead and dying without lifting a finger to help. Maybe that’s what Jesus was referring to when He said “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  If you know that the outcome of the way of life they are on leads to destruction, then is not be a good thing that is really necessary is to tell them of a better way? Has not God done the greatest good thing that could ever be done in giving Jesus Christ as a ransom for sinners? Does this great good not compel us to tell those that are doomed to destruction before it’s too late?  That there is another way, provided by Christ,  that leads to life?

And to that point, let me emphasize that Jesus calls it the way.  Before the Christians were called Christians, it was called “The Way.”  Jesus says not only is the gate narrow, but the way is narrow that leads to life. We need to realize, and those we attempt to lead to Christ need to realize, that the way of life is a difficult choice.  It is  hard.  It requires leaving some things behind that will not fit on this narrow way.  We shouldn’t try to deceive people into thinking that it is something easy to come to Christ, and then later on they will begin to discover that the way is hard. It’s going to require some sacrifice in regards to the things that the world finds needful.  

The author of Hebrews likens the way to a race course, of which he says we must “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  So there is some sacrifice that is necessary if we go on this narrow way.  Self sacrifice is what is necessary.  Crucifying the flesh. Dying to self.

Also I think what is indicated is that this narrow way can only accommodate one person at a time.  Perhaps it can be compared to a turnstile, like they have at the subway stations.  Only one person can go through at a time.  I remember we went to NYC a couple of years ago with Melissa who was looking into a college up there. And this lady was taking on a tour, and she led us through this revolving door, you know the kind with four sections or so and you step into one section and it spins around and you step off on the other side.  And when the lady stepped into the section of the door to lead the way, my wife tried to jump in there with her.  The lady had a surprised look on her face when Susie crammed up against her.  It was meant for only one person at a time. 

But the point is, the narrow gate and the narrow way indicates that you are going to have to enter this gate on your own.  You can’t piggy back on your wife’s faith, or on your family, or with anyone else.  It’s an individual commitment, an individual choice. Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.  The broad way is crammed with people.  Everyone else seems to be doing the same things, going the same direction.  And there is a certain degree of confidence in numbers.  But Jesus says they are all going on the wrong path.  

Paul in Ephesians 2:1 speaks of this way, this path, as like the course of a river.  He says, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” 

I remember crossing a bridge over the Shenandoah River on a Sunday afternoon a few years ago.  And there was probably a 100 or more people out on the river floating on rafts.  They were all lazily floating along and it really looked like a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon on a hot day in the summer.  And I can kind of use that image in my mind for what Paul was referring to  as the course of this world.  The whole world is floating along, being carried along by the world’s culture, the worlds’ philosophy, the busy-i-ness of this world.  All their friends are there with them.  There is no care for what’s ahead. It hardly seems like you are even moving, and yet you are being carried along to eventual destruction. And Paul says that is the strategy of the prince of the power of the air, that is Satan, in order to keep the world entertained and oblivious of the danger ahead, to deceive and destroy.

Listen, we that know the truth, that have the truth, must share the good news with those who don’t know it.  We are the ministers that God has sent into the world so that the world might be saved.  We have the good news to give. Knowing what we know now, if we were unsaved, would we not want someone to tell us the good news about how we can be saved from the destruction which lay ahead?  Therefore, do unto others what you would have them to do unto you. For this is God’s commandment to you. 

Asking for wisdom, Matthew 7:7-11

Last time in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we said that the verse of scripture most well known by the unsaved person is that of vs 1 of this chapter; “judge not, lest you be judged.”  And though the interpretation of that verse by those people is not in line with the greater context of scripture, we did our best to show the correct interpretation.  We showed that on the one hand Jesus was saying not to judge out of a sense of comparison and condemnation of others, but on the other hand, in verse 6, He then tells us we need to judge or show discernment between those that can appreciate things of God, and those that cannot.

But if vs 1 is the verse that most unbelievers think they know, and yet have it wrong, then perhaps the verse before us today in vs 7 is the one that Christians most often claim, but yet misunderstand.  This verse is the proof text for the name it and claim it crowd.  And the problem with their interpretation is that they tend to look at this verse out of context. We have to consider the context of the sermon in order to know the right interpretation of the Lord’s teaching.  Unfortunately, a lot of Christians want to believe that in this verse God gives us a blanket approval or guarantee for anything we want to ask for.  And yet I think a careful study of this passage will show that is not what these verses are teaching. 

So for an accurate interpretation we must first consider the greater context of this passage. A lot of commentators believe that when you get to chapter 7, Jesus just gives a series of unrelated statements.  But I don’t believe that’s the case at all.  I believe there is a connection and a flow from principle to principle. And the connection to  this principle is found in verse 6 which speaks of the need for godly discernment, or godly wisdom.  The whole point of Jesus’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is to show that Christians have been regenerated, made into a new creature, a spiritual being, and that as a result of that transformation, we have received a new nature, a new way of thinking, because we are now the children of God, and being made in the likeness of God.  So in that context, Jesus says we are not to judge like the world judges, comparing ourselves to one another for the purpose of trying to show superiority in righteousness, which is really just self righteousness.

But on the other hand, Jesus indicates in vs 6 that we are in fact to judge with righteous judgment.  We need to have spiritual discernment, so that we may rightly divide the truth, and righty dispense the truth. When Jesus speaks of the dogs and swine, he is speaking of people who haven’t got spiritual discernment, and therefore cannot appreciate the truth of the gospel.  I believe it was actually a backhanded reference to the Pharisees.  They claimed to be superior to the disciples of Jesus, to be even more righteous than Jesus.  And yet they were actually unspiritual, and they could not appraise spiritual things. 

So the connection from vs 6 to 7 is the need for discernment, or wisdom. And to that end, Jesus is saying that we should seek from God the necessary spiritual wisdom and discernment.  We need to seek wisdom from God because it’s not a natural trait. The natural man thinks that he can tell the difference between good and evil.  But there is a great difference between natural wisdom and spiritual wisdom.  As we learned in our study last Wednesday in 1 Corinthians, the “natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”   So to understand spiritual things, to have spiritual wisdom and discernment, then we must receive it from the Lord. 

And Paul says that in 1 Cor.1:12 saying,  “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”  This spiritual wisdom, Paul says, is not of the world, not according to man’s distinctions, man’s judgment, but it’s a gift of God.  It’s the grace of God spread abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit so that we might have spiritual discernment.  

That spiritual discernment given by the Spirit of God enables us to judge with righteous judgment, so that as He says in vs 1 we will not be judged.  As Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:15, “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”  To appraise is to judge, to determine value, to distinguish.  And Paul says if we are spiritual and led by the Spirit we are to judge all things with righteous judgement, and yet not be judged.

So there is a need to ask for wisdom because spiritual wisdom is from God, it’s not natural, and the natural man cannot ascertain it. James, the half brother of Christ recognized this need, and I believe in answer to that he wrote a parallel text in James 1:5, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  We have a resource for spiritual discernment, for judgement, for wisdom, and it is freely given to us by God our heavenly Father.  Wisdom is an unmitigated promise to those who believe.  But it’s something that we need to pray for, that we need to seek after, and strive for. 

Paul, writing to the Philippians says that it was his prayer that they would have wisdom and discernment.  Phil. 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,  so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;  having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which [comes] through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” 

Notice Paul is making the distinction there that they are spiritually mature, that they would exhibit Christian love but with knowledge or wisdom and discernment.  He desires that they reach the stage where they could not only discern between bad and good, but between what is good and best.  That they would grow in maturity to approve the things which are excellent, and that spiritual maturity brings about fruit, which is righteousness, which glorifies God.  

We raise our children to be able to discern between good and bad when they are babies.  But as they grow we hope to train them in wisdom and discernment that they may also be able to discern between what’s just good, and that which is best.  That’s why Paul could say, “all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable.”  To be able to judge what is best, what is God’s best, requires spiritual discernment.  And God promises to give His wisdom to those that seek it with all their heart.

We see the flip side of that far too often in modern evangelicalism.  The popular preachers, the television preachers especially often present a gospel that is superficial, that is a form of merely pop psychology in the name of Christianity.  And so they find some verse like the one we are considering today and they may read it, but then they formulate opinions and interpretations of it that are devoid of spiritual truth.  It’s simply the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of psychology, of the power of positive thinking, or whatever it is to make you feel good, under the name of Christianity.  It’s intended for the spiritual naive, for the carnal Christian, or for the unbeliever. But it’s not the wisdom of God and so it’s actually destructive heresies. Peter warns of that in 2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

So Hosea 4:6 says “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” That’s why Jesus said in the last chapter, “If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”  If you think the darkness is light, then you are in real trouble. If you are listening and ascribing to pop psychology while thinking it is the truth of God then your faith is in danger of being shipwrecked.  We need to have discernment that sees the truth of God because only the truth can set you free. Whereas a half truth will cause you to end up on the rocks.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of this need for spiritual maturity in chapter 5, saying in vs 11 that he had many more things to say to them, but it was hard to explain because they were only interested in fleshly things.  They had no appetite for deeper spiritual truth.  He said they needed to mature beyond that of being babies, beyond just feeding on milk.  Solid food he said is for the mature, it’s for the discerning. And then he says “who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” 

It takes practice, in the sense of perseverance, a continual striving, in order to train your spiritual senses to discern good and evil, between truth and error, and between good and best.  It’s like that guitar over there.  I can buy the same guitar that some rock star has, and I can even try to play the same song on that guitar, but if you listen to him and then listen to me it will be obvious that I do not have the skill that he has. But  I can assure you that he wasn’t born with that ability.  It came by hours and hours and possibly years of practice.  And as Christians we have to practice, by diligence, by perseverance, putting our faith into practice, putting God’s word into practice and by diligently seeking and following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

And I think that is what Jesus is saying here, “ask and you shall receive,” the verb indicates a continual asking. Keep seeking, keep knocking.  It’s not that God isn’t listening, but that spiritual maturity and wisdom is a continuing progression as we are obedient in faith to what we have been shown. Our discernment is trained by constant practice, by constant reliance upon the spirit of God as we persevere in the truth. 

So far from being a blanket promise that God will do anything I ask Him to do, that He will give me whatever I ask for, regardless of what it may be, we can be sure that God’s purposes are much greater than simply the gratification of my fleshly desires.  If anything, we ought to be glad that is not what Jesus is saying. There have been many things in my life that I have asked for, prayed for diligently, and yet God did not give me what I wanted.  And though I was disappointed at the time, today I can look back and say I thank God that He knew what was best for me.  We can thank God that this is not a blanket promise to fulfill our wishes, but that it is a promise to fulfill what I need in order to be spiritually mature and complete. 

Paul speaks of this dichotomy between the natural and the spiritual in  2 Cor. 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

So if we are going to apply this doctrine which Jesus is teaching us here, then the first thing that is necessary is that we need to realize our need.  We see that inherent need expressed in Jesus’s instruction to ask, seek and knock. The Lord simply wants to emphasize that we are to show persistence, perseverance and diligence. In Luke 11, Jesus gives a parable of a man who had a guest arrive at midnight, and since he had no food to set before him, he went to a  neighbor to ask to borrow bread.  And because of his persistence in knocking, He said, the neighbor eventually gave him the bread.

So these three words emphasize the element of perseverance that is so necessary in the Christian life. How often have we taken stock of our walk as a Christian, and we  realize that we are not where we ought to be?  So we make a fresh commitment to go to church more regularly, to read my Bible more diligently, to pray more often, and then we make some progress for a few days, or maybe a few weeks, and then we find that we have lost our resolve. That is what the Lord is talking about.  If we are really going to reach the level of spiritual wisdom and maturity that God desires us to have, it’s going to take persistence and perseverance, which is expressed by asking, seeking and knocking.

Jesus indicated that this characteristic was an element of the new nature of a Christian when He gave the Beatitudes at the beginning of the message.  He said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. But it’s an ongoing filling.  In the natural state we don’t eat once and then we are forever filled.  But we eat continually, day after day.  And so we need to go on hungering and thirsting, day after day for the spiritual food, for the wisdom from God so that we might discern between good and evil and bring about the fruits of righteousness. 

I think this idea of hungering and thirsting for righteousness  is collaborated by the illustration that Jesus uses of a son asking his father for a loaf of bread in vs 7, or asks his father for a fish in vs 8.  Jesus correlates this continual seeking with food, because I believe this promise has to do with spiritual food.  And through perseverance we receive that which we ask for.

And that segues into our next principle that is taught in these statements, and that is that God is our Father.  We have emphasized this point repeatedly several times in our study of this sermon, because Jesus Himself emphasizes this point so often.  God is our Father.  He says if our earthly fathers does so for us, then how much more will our heavenly Father do good for us that ask Him.

But let me emphasize that Jesus is not teaching the universal fatherhood of God, or the universal brotherhood of man. That isn’t a biblical principle. And what Jesus says here illustrates that it isn’t biblical, because He says, “if you then being evil…” He doesn’t include Himself, because there was no evil in Him. But He includes the whole of mankind.  “If you being evil” indicates that we not only do things which are evil, but that we are evil.  Our human nature is essentially evil and those who are evil are not the children of God, but as Jesus says elsewhere; “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.” So by nature we are the children of wrath, we are evil, we are enemies of God, and we are not HIs children.

We can only become the children of God by regeneration.  We must be born again.  1 John 1:11 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name.” You can become a child of God only when you are born again through faith in Jesus Christ.  And only as a child of God can we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit by whom our spirit is made alive in Christ. So then we have a Helper, a teacher, who Jesus said will lead us into the truth. 

And because God is our Father and we are HIs children, we can be confident that He will not give us anything that is not good for us, or good for HIs purposes.  Again the comparison Jesus makes is to the human father, saying  "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?”  If human fathers are like that, then how much more is our Heavenly Father?  The devil loves to try to tell us that our Father doesn’t care when something happens to us that we think is bad.  But Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father can never give us anything that is evil.

And to add to that point then we must realize that God never makes a mistake.He knows the difference between good and evil far beyond what we can imagine.  Sometimes as a father I have decided upon some action in regards to my children, and then sometime later I have realized that I made a mistake. I meant well at the time, but I didn’t realize how it would turn out.  But God knows the future and the past, and He can never make a mistake.  He gives us what is best, though we sometimes have to trust Him in that because at the time it may not seem like the best thing to us.  But God knows the future, and He is working all things for His good purposes. 

The last thing we can take from this passage is that God gives good things to them that ask Him.  What good things is He talking about?  Is He talking about a new house, or a new car, or a pay raise in your job?  No, those things may or may not be good things.  I often find myself asking God for something, perhaps that He would allow me to get some more money.  I used to be an antique dealer before I became a pastor.  And every few months it seemed I would find what I called a national treasure - a home run. And I would make a lot of money off of that one item.   It happened so often that I thought it would always be that way.  

Today of course I no longer am an antique dealer.  But I confess that somewhere back in my psyche I still kind of have that prospecting bug, that sense of wanting to find a treasure.  But on my budget I am relegated to scrounging through the neighborhood thrift store instead of going to pricey antique shows. But still, I will admit that I sometimes pray that God could still allow me to find another national treasure.  I pray kind of like Samson when he was captured by the Philistines and grinding at the mill, “Lord, give me strength one more time.”  But God hasn’t seen fit to do that.  And though I would like to think I could handle it ok, perhaps even do a lot of good things if I found something like that, yet God knows what is best for me. Perhaps God knows, if I found a national treasure it might tempt me to not take my ministry quite so seriously, maybe even cause me to be tempted to quit the ministry when things don’t go the way I want them to.  So I have to trust that God knows best.

So what are the good things that God promises us? Well the answer is found in a very similar  message that Jesus preached which is recorded in Luke 11.  Jesus there says in vs13, ”If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

The Holy Spirit then is the good thing that God promises to give us. Three times in Jesus Upper Room Discourse, on the night before He was crucified, He gave the promise of the Holy Spirit.  Notably Jesus called Him the Spirit of Truth.  In John 14:17 He said, “that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, [but] you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” Then in John 15:26 He said "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, [that is] the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me”  And in John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” 

Listen, this is so important.  I am afraid that some of us here today would rather have the promise that God will give you whatever it is you ask of Him.  But He has given you a better promise than that.  He has promised to give you the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit who will lead you and guide you into all truth as you rely on Him and seek Him to guide you.  He is an ever present Helper.  He is always with us.  And He has discernment and wisdom that He is able to give to those who seek Him.

The Holy Spirit is the giver of all good gifts.  He is the giver of life.  We are born of His Spirit.  He is our Heavenly Father.  We have His Spirit living in us to guide us and give us wisdom and discernment in all things. It’s so amazing how this section of the Sermon on the Mount we are looking at today ties in so closely with what we were studying in 1 Corinthians 2 last Wednesday night at Bible study.  And in that study you should remember we read from

1Cor. 2:12 which says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”  

This is the best gift that we can receive.  If we have the Holy Spirit, then we have an ample supply of everything that we need for life and godliness.  Through Him, God will richly supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.  So "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Eph. 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,  to Him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Do not judge, Matthew 7:1-6

The first verse of scripture we read today at the beginning of this passage is undoubtedly the most famously known verse in the Bible among those who are not believers.  Yet unfortunately, though they know the verse well enough, they do not understand very well what it means.  For the unsaved, or even for the so called carnal Christian, it is the proof text that they hope gives accommodation to whatever lifestyle they chose to live.

However, just a few verses further in this chapter, in vs 15-16, Jesus says that we shall know them by their fruits.  And so it is evident that some sort of judgment is necessary and even commended for Christians.  So a careful analysis of what Jesus said, as well as what the scriptures say elsewhere is obviously needed.  And we hope to do that this morning.

As you are all probably aware, today’s text is a part of the greater Sermon on the Mount, which we have been studying for several months now.  And in our study we have emphasized repeatedly the importance of considering the minutiae of individual verses in the greater context of the sermon.

In chapter 6, we especially noted the principle which is that the Father is always looking at us.  He sees the heart, the motivation behind what we appear to be on the outside.  And so it is in this section, we are to remember that we are always walking under the watchful eye of our Father in heaven.  Even though Jesus’s instruction appears to be mainly concerned with our relationship to others, yet still the important thing is our relationship to God.  What man thinks of us is not as important as what God thinks of us.  We must remember that in this new life we have in Christ, that it is but a moment, a transitory span of time, and that we are all headed towards a final destination, and to a final judgment, and an ultimate assessment before the Lord.

The Christian would always remember that he is walking in the presence of God, that he is going on to meet God, and that reality should be the basis for all that he does in life. And if we truly are God’s children, then we are undergoing a process of refinement, a process of judgment and discipline, because we are being prepared for the final judgment. As the scriptures tell us; we shall all have to give an account for the things which we do and say while on the earth.

So our Lord begins this section dealing with how we are to walk in this world under the eye of God by saying “Do not judge…”  Simply looking up the word judge in the dictionary is not going to answer our questions as to what the Lord meant in such a saying. As I said at the beginning, the world loves to quote this verse back to us as a means of excusing their lifestyle. It’s also used by spineless, liberal churches to promote an easy believism style of Christianity that is opposed to nothing, stands for nothing, and consequently, amounts to nothing. 

So it is vital that we understand correctly what it is that the Lord is teaching here. As I mentioned, vs 15 of this same chapter indicates that we are to judge in regards to false teachers.  Futhermore,  any student of the Bible knows that the State or government is given the responsibility to judge in certain judicial matters. God uses the government to restrain evil and punish evildoers.  So the government is supposed to judge in certain situations.

And not only the State, but also the Church is supposed to judge.  How do we determine if someone is a false teacher or not unless we exercise judgment?  Titus says, “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning.” (Titus 3:10)  How do you know if a man is disagreeable towards the gospel unless you are able to judge his actions?  Jesus said in John 7:24, “Judge with righteous judgment.”  He says in Matthew 18 that if a man is in sin, go to him privately.  And if he doesn’t listen to you, go again with one or two more.  And if he denies you again, then take him to the church.  And if he neglects the church, then let him be to you as a heathen.  And there are many more instances in scripture where we are told as a church to exercise judgment.

So what does the Lord mean when He says, “do not judge?”  I think the problem is illustrated in the attitude of the Pharisees.  Remember the Pharisee and the sinner who went to the temple to pray and the Pharisee thumped his chest and said, “Lord, I thank you that I am not like that man.”  It was the comparative,  condemning attitude that was so wrong.  It’s a self righteousness that finds it’s validation in comparing themselves to others and then condemning those who they think are less righteous than they are.

But the Bible makes it clear it’s not just Pharisees that have this problem.  After all, this sermon was addressed to Christians, to those who were believers. This attitude of condemnation is something that affects us all. It’s a self righteous spirit.  A critical spirit. He is talking about a self righteousness or superiority that expresses itself in a derogatory manner, and ultimately ends up in contempt for others and puts a stumbling block in front of others. 

A good commentary on this principle is found in Romans 14 where Paul says to avoid judging one another in respect to food or drink or a Sabbath day. They had been exalting those matters to a primary position in the church, and judging and condemning others who did not share their views.  And Paul says such was wrong. Rom. 14:10, 12 “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ... 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Now then, Jesus has given the principle, “Do not judge.”  And so He then does as He has when presenting other principles, which is to give the reasons we should obey it. The first reason is “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”  The common understanding of this would be summed up in the adage, “those that live in glass houses should not throw rocks.” In other words, those that criticize others can’t stand it when they receive criticism. 

And while there is truth in that, that is not really what Jesus is saying here.  He is not speaking of being judged by others, but do not judge, lest you be judged by God.  God is the judge.  As the verses we just read in Romans 14 say, “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ... 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Now this is not a popular doctrine among a lot of evangelicals today. They point out that John 5:24 says that if we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have passed out of judgment into life. Or they add Romans 8:1, which says, “There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”  And so they think that we have escaped all judgment if we are a Christian.

But remember, this passage we are looking at today, as well as the one in Romans 14, is addressed to the Christian as well. Those who have been made a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. So it behooves us to be reminded that there are three types of judgment.  Lack of understanding of the three types of judgment causes many Christians to be overly glib in regards to what the Bible calls the fear of the Lord.

First of all, there is the judgment which is the final judgment.  Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” There is a judgment which determines the Christian from the non Christian, the sheep from the goats, those destined for heaven and those destined for hell. This is the great judgment which decides those who are a part of the Kingdom of God and those who are not.

Then there is a second judgment to which we are subject to as God’s children.  Paul speaks of this judgment in regards to communion, in 1 Corinthians 11. He warns against eating the supper unworthily, because you eat damnation unto yourself. In vs. 29 Paul says, “For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.  For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.(are dead) But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

The point is clear that God judges HIs children when they are guilty of sin or living in sin. Paul says the punishment may result in sickness and even death.  Paul speaks of another incident involving punishment and discipline of a believer in 1Cor. 5:5 “[I have decided] to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”  In other words, the sinning person may be allowed to die in order that His spirit may be saved at the judgment.  But as Paul said in chapter 11, if we examined ourselves, and judged ourselves rightly, then we would not be judged.  So it is quite incorrect for a Christian to assume that there is no accountability in regards to his actions once he has been saved.

That’s why Hebrews 12:6 tells us that “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”  If you are truly a child of God, then He promises to discipline you, even to scourge, that is to whip those that He loves.  And conversely, if you do not receive discipline, then you are not a son, but an illegitimate child.  Once again, the principle is that we are all under the watchful eye of our Heavenly Father, and God is watching our lives and judging our sinfulness, all for our benefit.

There is a third kind of judgment taught in scripture, the judgment which is often referred to as the judgment of rewards, or the Bema seat judgment. Romans 14 again states, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  1 Cor. 3 says that “everyman’s work shall  be made manifest,” and the “day shall declare it.” Whatever a man builds upon the foundation, whether gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble, it will all be judged by fire.  So there is a judgement of our work since we became a Christian.

2Cor. 5:10-11 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”  That is addressed not to unbelievers, but to Christians.  We are judged in this judgment not to determine our eternal destiny, but it is a judgment that will affect our eternal destiny, deciding what will happen to us in the realm of the Kingdom of Heaven.  As indicated in Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on! Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”  Notice their deeds follow with them. Our works follow us into heaven.

So the chief reason then, why we are not to judge, is so that we are not judged ourselves by the Lord. We must be careful to obey His word, as we live now in this world. If we judge, then He says we shall be judged in terms of that very judgment we rendered.

So the second reason for not judging is because the Lord says, ““For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” In other words, when we judge, we end up producing judgment upon ourselves.  We even set the standard of judgment. (by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you).  The world calls this principle karma, that you get back what you give out.  But that falls short of what Jesus is talking about. 

The Lord is saying that God Himself will judge us according to our own standard.  Consider other references to this, such as in Luke 12 where Jesus talks about the servant being beaten with few stripes or with many stripes.  Jesus says in Luke 12:48 “but the one who did not know [it,] and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

Another text in support of this is Romans 2:1, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.  And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.”

We have to be careful if we set ourselves up as an authority, as a judge. We are going to be judged with that same standard.  And though our judgment we mete out is from men, we will be judged by God, according to the standard we set.

The last reason Jesus gives is found in vs 3 to 5 of our text.  "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”   

This last reason is really an illustration, which is dripping with sarcasm and irony.  What the Lord is saying here is that we should not be judges, because we are incapable of it. We can’t do it.  We have all heard of the blind leading the blind.  But this is worse than that.  This is a blind eye doctor trying to do surgery on a man who has something in his eye. That would almost be humorous if it wasn’t so terrifying to think about.

What Jesus is getting at in this illustration is that if we are really as concerned about righteousness as we try to appear to be, then we would have addressed the issues in ourselves first. We would judge ourselves if we really cared about righteousness.  But the truth is you are more concerned about people rather than principles.  You are concerned about showing your self righteousness, and condemning the other person, all the while affecting to care about their spiritual condition.

Notice He says, "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?”  If you want to be able to see clearly to take the speck out of another person’s eye, first make certain that your own eye is clear.  And notice that the implication is  that the fault in your own character is actually greater than the fault in the other person. 

And because of that glaring fault in ourselves, while appearing to be righteous in regards to another’s faults, Jesus calls us hypocrites,  It’s interesting that in all the other cases in which He called someone hypocrites, it was usually someone outside of the church.  But now He calls those who are supposed to be Christians hypocrites.  We pretend we have this great interest in the other person’s well being.  But in fact, He indicates that we are glad to expose it.  We get some kind of satisfaction about exposing someone else’s weakness. And to some extent, Jesus puts the heavier burden of sin upon us than those whom we are attempting to judge.

So what is involved in getting the log out of your own eye?  The eye is a most delicate and sensitive organ.  If you even try to touch it it closes up. And so it is with the soul.  It is the most sensitive thing spiritually there is in a man.  To be able to deal with it requires patience, humility, sympathy, and compassion.  Furthermore, you cannot help another unless you have first been cleansed yourself. When we have rightly judged ourselves and taken care of the sin in our own life, then and only then can we speak the truth in love to those who are taken in some fault.

The final statement in the passage we are looking at today at first glance may look like it’s unrelated to the previous verses.  But actually it is the final statement in regards to this principle regarding judging. Up to now the Lord has told us that we should not judge in the sense of condemning, or as a means of comparison to make ourselves look better.  But now He let’s us know that is not the total statement in regards to this matter.  What follows should help us to find the proper balance.

The Lord is not saying in “do not judge,” that we should not have any discernment or judgment whatsoever.  There could be no discipline in the church without discernment.  There would be no such thing as exposing false teachers without discernment.  So while the Lord tells us not to have a critical spirit, He never the less tells us to be discerning.  We are supposed to discriminate between truth and error.  We are supposed to test the spirits to see if these things are so. We are supposed to beware of false prophets.  So we are to discriminate, but not just so we can condemn them, but that we might help them. So here we learn how we are to help the brother who has a speck in his eye. We must be able to recognize the speck and the log and discriminate from person to person accordingly.

First of all, Jesus says, ““Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”  What does He mean by that?  Well, He is referring to the truth, that which is holy, and which He likens to pearls. He is talking about the truth of the gospel, the message of the Kingdom.  

Secondly, in referring to dogs and swine, He cannot be saying that we should avoid giving the truth to the unbeliever, otherwise we could never be able to be a witness for the gospel.  So what then? Well, if you recall the four gospels, Jesus never approached people in a cookie cutter fashion.  He never approached two people the same way. He clearly differentiated between people and different types of people.  He confronted the Pharisees differently than the publicans and sinners.  He handled Nicodemus differently than the woman of Samaria. He had another approach for the woman caught in adultery, and another for her accusers. He answered Pilate in his court, but He had nothing to say to Herod in his. So it’s obvious if you study the gospels that Jesus handled people differently, yet the truth remained the same. But He varied the way it was presented dependent upon the situation of the person.

And we  must remember that this principle is intended for us as well. So first we must recognize that we must learn to discriminate between different types of people. We should not approach people in a mechanical, prescribed way of evangelism, for instance. You must consider the person, and what his situation is. Otherwise, we may be guilty of doing something similar to trying to take the speck out of someone’s eye.  We may achieve a certain feeling of self righteousness in our evangelism, but end up accomplishing very little for the kingdom.

Paul said that he became all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. To the Jew he became a Jew, to the Gentile he became a Gentile.  That is the first principle, to distinguish the person and the situation and properly accommodate the message to them. We have to know what each situation needs and each person requires. You do not handle Pilate and Herod the same way. 

And then we must be careful in the way we present the truth. We have to approach people correctly.  The gospel is offensive enough on it’s own.  We should not add offense to it unnecessarily.  We should not be a cause for blaspheming and cursing, as it was said of the Jews.  People may indeed blaspheme and curse us, but let it not be on our heads because of the way we presented the truth.

Finally, we need to have studied the scriptures so that we know which doctrines of the truth are necessary for this particular person.  For instance, to the unsaved person, to go beyond the basic doctrines the depravity of man, the judgment of God against sin, and  justification by faith is not helpful, and in fact can be disadvantageous to our purpose.  People will often try to get off the subject of repentance from sin and faith in Christ and want to talk about predestination, for instance.  To go beyond the basic tenets of the gospel with an unbeliever is akin to giving a baby a T bone steak.  It’s beyond their understanding.  

What this reveals to us is that we are unable to save someone.  It’s a supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit that causes a person to come to a point of repentance and faith.  We are to so shine our light before men that they might see, but only God can give sight to the blind.  Only God can save.  Only God can forgive sin.  And only God can give new life.  He uses us, not to judge, but to shine the light of truth.

When we are dealing with someone we need to realize their true condition.  We need to understand that they are under the dominion of sin and they are deceived and blind to the truth.  In that sense they are like dogs and swine, they might either bite the hand that feeds them, or they cannot appreciate the pearls of the gospel. They don’t appreciate the things which are holy.  And so we have to have a great compassion on such people.  Nothing but the illumination and  rebirth from God can enable them to appreciate the truth, and understand the truth.  So we have to recognize that God has to do that which we cannot do.  We show them compassion and we share with them the truth of the gospel according to what they can understand at this point, and then we trust God for the growth and increase of that seed which we plant.

Only when we have compassion on sinners the way Christ loved sinners can we hope to break through to them and help them become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.  We need to have the discernment given through the Holy Spirit that we might be able to help those who are still dead in their sin, and are destined for judgment.   The amazing thing is that God has chosen to use broken vessels like us to distribute the words of life to a world that is dying.  Let us have compassion for the lost, and be careful not to have a critical, hypocritical spirit as we endeavor to bring others into a saving knowledge of the truth.