January 10th Matthew, 7
7v1-5 Self examination first
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.
7v6 Be careful
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.
7v7-12 Asking for Gods help
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.
7v13-14 Straight is the gate
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.
7v15-20 Look for fruit
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.
7v21-23 Some religious people will be lost
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.
7v24-29 The wise and foolish men
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.
Christ is saying that we should not be judgmental of other people. Almost invariably we would be harsher in judgment on others and lenient on ourselves. Christ says No don’t even judge others because the standard in which you judge will be the standard set to judge you. The Lord then speaks about the brotherly need to correct your brother. This is a good thing BUT not if you have a bigger problem than your brother. He might have a spec of wood in his eye but if you have a house beam in your eye then don’t even think about it. Get your own eye sorted out and then you will be able to help your brother. Then Christ says be careful who you do try to help. Some people are like brute beasts you can’t help them and they might turn on you and hurt you. If you find yourself in need then ask God for help and he will help you. In general we are to be kind to everyone this is the whole background to the Mosaic Law. Christ says 'Obey the Law’ from the heart not just outwardly – this is the narrow way. The crowd will follow the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. That is the broad way which allows pretty much anything following the teaching of the scribes but the narrow way is to live righteously before God according to law with true motives. This is the way to life for the law abiding Jew. Next Christ says beware of false teachers. You can tell false teachers because though they might talk about the law, the question is, do they keep the Law. Their righteous deeds are the outward display of righteousness. In the Judgment some will say, l did this or l did that, but God will say, l never knew you because you do not have a relationship with me. The Man who hears the Law and does it, is like a man who builds his life on the rock but the man who builds his life on the teaching of the scribes is building on shifting sand. Though they may appear superficially to be the same, the storm is coming and that will test the reality of the foundation. The people were amazed at his teaching it was like nothing they had ever heard.
Steve
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