WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
Our Savior was rejected in Nazareth see;
Then He;
We see that He;
He then tells us how to get saved;
Jesus ends His Ministry in Judea and;
John the Baptist Exalts Christ.
Jesus finished His Ministry in Judea and went up to Galilee but did not take the long road the Jews normally take to avoid going through Samaria but went straight to a place called Sychar near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus and the Woman of Samaria.
Jesus returned via Samaria to Galilee and we see The Rewards Of Service John 4:28-38, The Growth Of Faith John 4:39-45 and lastly The Reward Of Trusting Jesus’ Word John4:46-54.
Back in Galilee after a year in Judea;
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.
Nazareth’s loss was Capernaum’s gain. The people in the latter city recognized that His teaching was authoritative. His words were convicting and impelling.
The Sermon on the Mount.
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
The Beatitudes. Salt and Light.
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
Retaliation and Love Your Enemies
Secret giving and secret praying
What to Seek and Whom to Serve
Frederick Brotherton Meyer, a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic presents it to us this way;
JUDGING SELF; ASKING GOD; SERVING OTHERS
Matthew 7:1-12
There is abundant need for a right and sound judgment, illumined by the Spirit of truth; but there is a world of difference between it and the censorious and critical opinions which we are apt to form and utter about others. Human nature is fond of climbing up into the judgment seat and proclaiming its decisions, without hearing both sides or calling witnesses. Beware of basing your judgment on idle stories and gossip. In any case, do not utter it, if it be adverse, unless you have first prayed about it and sought to turn the sinner from the error of his ways. Let God search you, before you search another. See Psa_139:23-24; 1Co_4:1-5; Heb_4:12.
We-ask for a gift; seek for what we have lost; knock for entrance. Only a door stands between us and Christ! He will not give us stones or serpents, even if we clamor for them; but He will never fail to give good things-and above all His Holy Spirit-only we must ask for them.
The Roman Emperor Severus was so charmed with the Golden Rule that he had it inscribed on the walls of his palace. Let us inscribe it on our hearts and act on it in the power of the Holy Spirit, who sheds God’s love abroad in the hearts of those who believe.
We thank William MacDonald (1917-2007) who, for more than forty years, written directly about the key issues of Christianity. Leaving a promising business career as an employed investment analyst with First National Bank of Boston “at the foot of the Cross”, he had travelled worldwide, proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ for the Believer’s Bible Commentary.
Do Not Judge
Matthew 7:1-6
This section on judging immediately follows our Lord’s provocative teaching concerning earthly riches. The connection between these two themes is important. It is easy for the Christian who has forsaken all to criticize wealthy Christians. Conversely, Christians who take seriously their duty to provide for the future needs of their families tend to downplay the literalness that some place on Jesus’ words in the last chapter. Since no one lives completely by faith, such criticism is out of order.
This command not to judge others includes the following areas: we should not judge motives; only God can read them; we should not judge by appearance (Joh_7:24; Jas_2:1-4); we should not judge those who have conscientious scruples about matters that are not in themselves right or wrong (Rom_14:1-5); we should not judge the service of another Christian (1Co_4:1-5); and, we should not judge a fellow believer by speaking evil about him (Jas_4:11-12).
7:1 Sometimes these words of our Lord are misconstrued by people to prohibit all forms of judgment. No matter what happens, they piously say, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” But Jesus is not teaching that we are to be undiscerning Christians. He never intended that we abandon our critical faculty or discernment. The NT has many illustrations of legitimate judgment of the condition, conduct, or teaching of others. In addition, there are several areas in which the Christian is commanded to make a decision, to discriminate between good and bad or between good and best. Some of these include:
1. When disputes arise between believers, they should be settled in the church before members who can decide the matter (1Co_6:1-8).
2. The local church is to judge serious sins of its members and take appropriate action (Mat_18:17; 1Co_5:9-13).
3. Believers are to judge the doctrinal teaching of teachers and preachers by the Word of God (Mat_7:15-20; 1Co_14:29; 1Jn_4:1).
4. Christians have to discern if others are believers in order to obey Paul’s command in 2Co_6:14.
5. Those in the church must judge which men have the qualifications necessary for elders and deacons (1Ti_3:1-13).
6. We have to discern which people are unruly, fainthearted, weak, etc., and treat them according to the instructions in the Bible (e.g., 1Th_5:14).
7:2 Jesus warned that unrighteous judgment would be repaid in kind: “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.” This principle of reaping what we sow is built into all human life and affairs. Mark applies the principle to our appropriation of the Word (Mar_4:24) and Luke applies it to our liberality in giving (Luk_6:38).
7:3-5 Jesus exposed our tendency to see a small fault in someone else while ignoring the same fault in ourselves. He purposely exaggerated the situation (using a figure of speech known as hyperbole) to drive home the point. Someone with a plank in his eye often finds fault with the speck in the eye of another, not even noticing his own condition. It is hypocritical to suppose that we could help someone with a fault when we ourselves have a greater fault. We must remedy our own faults before criticizing them in others.
7:6 Verse 6 proves that Jesus did not intend to forbid every kind of judgment. He warned His disciples not to give holy things to dogs or to cast … pearls before swine. Under the Mosaic Law dogs and swine were unclean animals and here the terms are used to depict wicked people. When we meet vicious people who treat divine truths with utter contempt and respond to our preaching of the claims of Christ with abuse and violence, we are not obligated to continue to share the gospel with them. To press the matter only brings increased condemnation to the offenders.
Needless to say, it requires spiritual perception to discern these people. Perhaps that is why the next verses take up the subject of prayer, by which we can ask for wisdom.
Amen!
Please pray the Holy Spirit-The Paraclete will use these sermons and studies to bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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