Further Instruction from the Mount - Pt 7

 

[Jesus said] “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15–20 ESV).

 

A "wolf in sheep's clothing" is an idiom for someone who disguises a ruthless, malicious nature behind a harmless, friendly facade. It serves as a universal warning to be cautious of deceptive people who use charm or a veneer of innocence to mask their true, dangerous intentions. 

 

Throughout the Scripture we are warned about false prophets (cf. Ezekiel 13, Matthew 24:23–27, 2 Peter 3:3). False prophets claim to speak for God, but they speak falsehood. To gain a hearing, they look good and make promises of great blessing and gain from the following of their teachings.  No matter how innocent and harmless these teachers appear on the outside, they have the nature of wolves—they are intent on destroying faith, causing spiritual carnage in the church, and enriching themselves. They “secretly introduce destructive heresies,” “bring the way of truth into disrepute,” and “exploit you with fabricated stories” (2 Peter 2:1–3).

 

The false teachers wear “sheep’s clothing” so they can mingle with the sheep without arousing suspicion. They usually are not up front about what they believe; rather, they mix in some truth with their falsehood and carefully choose their words to sound correct. However, in reality, they “follow their own ungodly desires” (Jude 1:17–18), and “they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed” (2 Peter 2:14). By contrast, a true prophet teaches the Scripture fully (cf. Deuteronomy 18:20). Wolves in sheep’s clothing twist God’s Word to deceive or influence the audience for their own purposes. Remember, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14), and his ministers masquerade as servants of righteousness (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:15).

 

The best way to guard against these false prophets is to heed the warnings of Scripture and know the truth. A believer who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and carefully studies the Bible will be able to identify false prophets. Christians must judge all teaching against what Scripture says. We must trust and verify by the Scripture. We can also identify false prophets by their fruit—their words, actions, and lifestyles. If a teacher in the church does not live according to God’s Word, he is one of those wolves in sheep’s clothing. Be alert and aware!

 

Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 6

 

[Jesus said] “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:12–14 ESV).

 

Our reading today contains two teachings that are related. Jesus begins with what many have called “the Golden Rule.” The second teaching deals with the choice between the narrow and broad gates, which is the path to eternal life rather than destruction. These two are taken together because they apply to those who have been given new life through grace. We cannot forget that without the new life of Christ we simply cannot choose the path that leads to eternal life. Without the new birth we are dead in our sin (cf. Romans 6:23). So, we will take them as they are presented, two sides of the same coin.

 

Matthew Henry has an interesting commentary on this truth:

 

“Christ came to teach us, not only what we are to know and believe, but what we are to do; not only toward God, but toward men; not only toward those of our party and persuasion, but toward men in general, all with whom we have to do. We must do that to our neighbor which we ourselves acknowledge to be fit and reasonable. We must, in our dealings with men, suppose ourselves in the same case and circumstances with those we have to do with, and act accordingly.”

 

If you have been a believer for very long you have come to learn this is never an easy task. Again, I am parroting Jesus with a simple statement, though it is a hard task. There are those times when others make our blood boil with anger and resentment, yet we are called to act with grace.

 

I have found this behavior to be “easier” when I remember the earlier teaching of Jesus that we not “give what is holy to dogs or cast our pearls before swine.” In Jesus’ day dogs were the cherished domesticated pets of our day. They were wild packs of animals roaming freely to kill and destroy. And, of course, swine were considered so unclean that to even come near a pig would require ceremonial and physical cleansing. The trick for me is always in determining who’s who. Jesus encourages us to pray and ask for the wisdom to do that. Often that wisdom comes experientially as the pigs and dogs reveal themselves for who they really are at their core. Once that happens it is easier to be kind and gracious, while avoiding any contact with them. I also remind myself that pigs do pig things and dogs do dog things. Expecting something different will only lead to hurt and destruction.

 

That is a narrow way, entered by the narrow gate. But it is the best path.

 

Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 5

 

[Jesus said] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [9] Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11 ESV).

 

Our reading today must be taken in the context of the previous two instructions. Remember Jesus said that we ought to be very careful in our judgment of others. In fact, He says we are not to judge at all. However, then He says we are discern the kind of people we share the wisdom of God with, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine, don’t give what is holy to dogs” (v. 6). The conundrum is in how to do that. I wrote a bit about that in the previous two devotionals; however, today we have a much more definitive answer. Jesus tells us to “ask, seek, and knock.” We do not have the necessary wisdom in ourselves to be able to rightly discern the heart of others. Prayer is the answer.  

 

So, Jesus teaches about prayer and encourages persistence through the commands to "ask, seek, and knock." He reassures followers that, just as a loving earthly father gives good things rather than harmful objects, God the Father will generously and lovingly answer the prayers of His children. Because living out these teachings—such as loving your enemies, forgiving others, and avoiding hypocrisy—is humanly impossible in one's own strength, Jesus teaches that believers must continually turn to God for help, wisdom, and inner transformation.

 

The verbs "ask," "seek," and "knock" are continuous in the original Greek, indicating a steadfast, active pursuit of God and His will. It is a call to draw near to God with your needs, actively search for His ways, and persistently wait at His door. Asking is the basic level of making requests. Seeking implies a greater investment of time and effort to find God's truth, while knocking indicates knocking on the door to enter into His presence.

 

Then Jesus uses the illustration of an earthly father. If a hungry child asks for bread or a fish, a loving father wouldn't maliciously hand them a stone or a snake. Jesus reasons that if imperfect, sinful humans know how to give good gifts, "how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" This does not mean that God is a vending machine, nor that we have a "blank check" to ask for anything we want with the guarantee that God will grant it. God’s definition of a "good gift" may differ from human desires. He promises to provide exactly what is best for a believer's spiritual growth and will never grant a request that is ultimately harmful to His children.

 

I like what John Piper says about this:

 

“When you pause to consider that God is infinitely strong and can do all that he pleases, and that he is infinitely righteous so that he only does what is right, and that he is infinitely good so that everything he does is perfectly good, and that he is infinitely wise so that he always knows perfectly what is right and good, and that he is infinitely loving so that in all his strength and righteousness and goodness and wisdom he raises the eternal joy of his loved ones as high as it can be raised — when you pause to consider this, then the lavish invitations of this God to ask him for good things, with the promise that he will give them, is unimaginably wonderful.”

 

So, ask, seek, and knock as often as you want. Be persistent. Then trust God’s goodness to provide exactly what is best.

 

 

Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 4

 

[Jesus said] “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6 ESV).

 

With today’s reading we come to a conundrum of a sort. Remember, Jesus just said in the previous five verses of this passage that we are not to judge others. Now He comes and says we are to make a judgment about what we share with people based on our knowledge of them. That requires judgement. So, which is it? Do we judge or not? I’ll have much more to say about that tomorrow, today let’s concentrate on the specifics of this instruction.

 

Jesus does warn against sharing sacred, spiritual truths with people who will not respect or appreciate them and will likely react with hostility. It calls for believers to balance the grace of not being judgmental with the wisdom of discernment in their relationships.

 

Here are the key aspects of this verse to understand:

 

There are some metaphors we need to understand first. In the biblical world, dogs were generally wild, roaming scavengers, and pigs were unclean. Both represent people who aggressively reject God's truth or hold it in utter contempt. These are not the domesticated animals that we are so familiar with today. The sacred things and pearls represent the profound, precious teachings of the gospel and the wisdom of God. The warning is very clear. Because these individuals do not understand the true value of spiritual wisdom, they will discard or mistreat it. He also cautions that these individuals may eventually turn and harm the person who offered them the sacred knowledge.

 

Most of the time I find myself leaning more toward the belief that there aren’t very many “pigs and dogs” that are in my circle of conversation. Because of that I share the gospel with everyone. However, I also filter my conversations with some of the other aspects of the Scripture with some people I know are not amenable to an honest conversation without resorting to attacks and name-calling. Tomorrow we will see how we can better make the decision of who’s who. For now, commit to sharing the gospel with all people.

 

Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 3

 

[Jesus said] “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see 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,’ when there is the log 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.” (Matthew 7:1–5 ESV).

 

Our reading today speaks to Jesus’ condemnation of the improper judgment of others. It begins with this simple warning: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7: 1-2). In his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, W. E. Vine says the word judge “primarily denotes to separate, to select, to choose, hence to determine, and so, to judge or to pronounce judgment.”

 

Jesus is saying that we ought not to assume the office of a judge, in the sense of the Lord’s judgment. Jesus is condemning harsh, censorious judgment. We are not to be hypercritical or hypocritical. As Max Lucado wrote, “It’s one thing to have an opinion. It’s quite another to pass a verdict. It’s one thing to have a conviction; it’s another to convict the person.”

 

Jesus uses a humorous illustration of someone who has a log in their eye trying to remove a shaving from someone else’s eye. Ridiculous. Absurd. And wrong. First, remove the glaring fault from your life before you try to correct others for their minor flaws.

 

Judging is wrong when we judge others by jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts, without understanding the situation or the circumstances, by impugning and attacking their motives, with partiality, partisanship, and prejudice, with censorious, nit-picking, hair-splitting assumptions, by appearance instead of righteousness, and without grace, mercy or love. Further, we ought to remember the “log in our own eye”… when we have worse faults in our own lives which need correcting.

 

Further Instruction from the Mount - Pt 2

 

[Jesus said] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25–34 ESV).

 

Tomorrow’s troubles are often the chief source of anxiety. In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has just gone over the trouble with valuing this world over the Kingdom world. He is emphasizing it with the emphasis that His followers should resist the pull of worry by remembering the Father’s faithful care and by giving priority to His kingdom. Life simply is more than possessions. You’d think we would understand that but we often find that simple things are the hardest things to master.

 

Jesus reminds us that life is greater than food, drink, clothing, or any other possession. If God feeds the birds and clothes the fields with beauty, He will certainly care for His people. Then He asks a very pointed question: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Worry consumes energy without producing peace, provision, or control. It magnifies tomorrow’s trouble while weakening today’s faith.

 

Again, the antidote is to seek first the Kingdom of God. Instead of fretting over daily needs, believers are called to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” This does not deny real needs; it places them under the care of the Father who already knows them.

 

Let me suggest one simple thing that might be helpful if you are a “fretter.” Trust God with your anxieties. Don’t ignore or deny them. God already knows what you’re feeling and He’s ready to help. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Write down the things that concern you, whatever they are. Talk to God about those things. Lay your requests and concerns before Him. Then, thank God for His faithfulness and provision in the past; and, trust God to continue to take care of your worries about tomorrow.

 

Choose today to let the peace of God guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

 

 

Further Instructions from the Mount - Pt 1

 

[Jesus said] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV).

 

As Jesus continues with His teaching from the Mount, He instructs his followers to prioritize eternal, spiritual wealth over temporary material possessions. He teaches that earthly treasures are temporary and vulnerable, whereas heavenly treasures are secure. Ultimately, He explains that a person's devotion naturally follows what they value most.

 

The picture I’ve attached today is of the interment of Aurora Schuck. When she passed away from cancer in 1989, she was laid to rest inside her beloved red 1976 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. The burial required 14 adjoining plots and a massive custom concrete vault. You can visit this gravesite at Riverview Cemetery in Aurora, Indiana. It seems her husband, Raymond, purchased 14 burial plots to accommodate the size of the car and vault. A custom concrete vault measuring 27 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 6 feet deep was constructed. A crane was used to gently lower the polished, drained Cadillac—with its top down and Aurora belted into the back seat—into the ground. Thirteen years later, when Raymond passed away in 2002, his cremated remains were piped down into the same vault so he could be reunited with Aurora and her cherished car for eternity.

 

Well, that may be a bit excessive, or at least eccentric. However, we should not get confused. Jesus isn’t condemning earning an income. He’s not ruling out earthly possessions. He’s not outlawing all saving. Or any enjoyment of His gifts. He’s telling us not to get our hearts wrapped around them. And make them our primary investment in this life.

 

He’s ruling out the selfish accumulation of stuff. An overly extravagant lifestyle. He’s telling us not to get too comfortable here on earth. To put our hope in the things of this age. Those things won’t last. They wear out. They break down. They decay. Or they get stolen. Back in Christ’s day, people lived with far more awareness of how transient everything was. Life was far more volatile, much more dangerous.

 

We don’t feel it quite as much today. We fool ourselves. We tend to think possessions and wealth will guarantee us a future. We can fight off thoughts of death for a time, but one day, a hearse will drive our bodies away. And, as they say, there won’t be a U-Haul behind… maybe a Cadillac, but not a U-Haul! Take care to treasure heavenly things!