Matthew 7:1-11: “Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount: About Judging / Jesus Admonishes Us To Seek, Ask, And Knock”
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next
section of the Sermon On The Mount, we see that Jesus now teaches His disciples
that they must not have a critical and condemning spirit
1.1.1. Jesus tells them that they must not ‘judge’ others for
if they do so the Lord will judge them by the same standard that they are
judging others
1.1.2. Jesus also tells them that they need to remove from
their life the huge log of sin before they can be capable of effectively
removing the the small splinter of sin in a brother’s life
1.2.
We will look
at what Jesus really means when He speaks of ‘judging’ here
1.3.
We will look
at how we should handle situations that occur when we discover that someone
else in the body of Christ has sin in his life
1.4.
In these
things, we want to follow what the Bible says about them, now what may be the
latest or popular trend
1.5.
People have a
tremendous tendency to be critical of others, have you noticed?
1.5.1. People are discontent themselves and discontent with
themselves, and thus they often become critical of others
1.5.2. Employees in just about every company are disgruntled
and unhappy, and they are extremely critical of others
1.5.3. We Christians must overcome this same tendency to
become ciritical in our own lives
2.
VS 7:1-4 - “7:1 “Do not judge lest you be judged. 2 “For in the
way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be
measured to you. 3 “And 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? 4 “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?”” - Jesus
tells His disciples that there are not to judge, otherwise they will be judged
2.1.
These first 12
verses of chapter 7 here end Jesus’ teaching on the Righteousness of the
Kingdom from the Sermon On The Mount
2.2.
In these first
few verses of this chapter, Jesus teaches against the critical spirit
(censoriousness) which causes people to judge others
2.3.
In order to make
a point, in these first few verses here Jesus uses “hyperbole”, which is a form
of exaggeration which is used in order to reveal the true nature of things
2.4.
In this first
verse, Jesus commands us not to judge, however what does He mean by judging?
2.4.1. We know for many reasons arrived at from studying scripture
that Jesus does not mean by this here that we are not to in any way discern
people’s motives and heart, for instance, in a few verses here He tells them
not to give what is holy to dogs nor to throw their pearls before swine, which
means that they would first have to determine who is and who is not a swine and
a dog
2.4.2. Jesus does not mean that there should be no courts of
law to judge between people as some have believed
2.4.3. Jesus does not mean as some people in the church are
saying today that we in the church should just concentrate upon loving each
other and never teach doctrine because it causes controversy among people
2.5.
I want to quote
John MacArthur concerning the fact that Jesus here does not intend what He is
saying to His disciples to mean that they are not to be discerning of people’s
motives, "It should be noted that this passage has erroneously been
used to suggest that believers should never evaluate or criticize anyone for
anything. Our day hates absolutes,
especially theological and moral absolutes, and such simplistic interpretation
provides a convenient escape from confrontation. Members of modern society, including many
professing Christians tend to resist dogmatism and strong convictions about
right and wrong. Many people prefer to
speak of all-inclusive love, compromise, ecumenism, and unity. To the modern religious person those are the
only "doctrines" worth defending, and they are the doctrines to which
every conflicting doctrine must be sacrificed. Some years ago a church was looking for a
pastor who would emphasize holiness rather than doctrine. I once received a manuscript to review whose
primary thesis was that doctrine divides the church. Consequently, the author argued, all
doctrine- at least all that might be disagreed with and therefore divisive-
should be eliminated for the sake of the higher goal of unity and
fellowship. Right doctrine not only is
compatible with true holiness, unity, and fellowship but is absolutely
necessary for them to exist. Only right
doctrine, biblical doctrine, can teach us what true holiness, unity, and
fellowship are- and are not. In
many circles, including some evangelical circles, those who hold to strong
convictions and who speak up and confront society and the church are branded as
violators of this command not to judge, and are seen as troublemakers or, at
best, as controversial. Yet at no time
in the history of the church, or of ancient
2.6.
You see, if we
really love someone in the body of Christ, and we discover that they have some
major sin in their life, then we should not just ignore what they are doing and
not confront them, for that would be like knowing that someone has been
diagnosed with a terminal illness but one which has a cure, yet you refuse to
tell the person who is sick about their illness and the easily obtained cure
2.7.
I do want to also
say though on the other hand that just because we realize that a person has a
problem with some sinful attitude or action in their life, it doesn’t also mean
that He necessarily wants us to confront it, for there are times when He just
wants us to pray for the person and love them and let Him deal with them
2.7.1. The bottom line here is that we are responsible to be
led by the Holy Spirit in regard to how we handle situations with the people in
our lives, and if we seek His leading He will be faithful to show us what He
wants us to do
2.8.
From the points I
have made thus far, and because God’s Word cannot contradict itself since God
is the author, it must be the case that the type of judging that is spoken of
here is “rash, unfair, or excessive
condemnation and judging”
2.8.1. This type of ‘judging’ is such a common practice among
people of all eras, both believers and non-believers in Christ
2.8.2. There are times when all of us are guilty of this
2.9.
None of us can
really qualify to be a judge in this life because we are not God, and thus we
don’t truly know a person’s heart, nor do we know all of the facts relating to
any incident
2.10. I know from my own experience and failings as a
Christian that it is so easy to jump to conclusions and judge someone without
knowing all of the facts, in fact I have judged people’s character many times
just because of how they appear to me to look.
I remember times that I was convinced that a certain person was of a
certain character just because they looked like or reminded me of someone who
was that way.
2.11. When we judge others, we become both the judge and
jury and condemn the person without knowing all of the facts and circumstances,
and when we judge we act like we are God because we judge their heart, and only
God knows people’s hearts
2.12. What is scary here is that Jesus gives us the warning
that if we judge others that we ourselves will also be judged
2.12.1.This judgment from God can occur through events in
this life as well as the judgment before the Judgment Seat of Christ
2.13. Interestingly, Jesus teaches here that if we judge others
that we will be judged ourselves by the same standard that we judge others
2.13.1.The person who judges is by nature a hypocrite because
he does not judge himself by the same standards that he judges others,
therefore his punishment shall be that he shall be judged himself by the same
standards that he judges others
2.13.1.1.For some reason, man by his very sinful nature seems
always to minimize his own falling short and maximize the falling short of
others, when in fact the very sin that he condemns his brother for is but a
“splinter” compared to the “log” of sin that is in his own life
2.13.1.1.1.Many times that splinter that a person sees in someone
else’s life is merely a reflection of the huge log that is in his own eye
2.13.1.1.1.1.It is an odd thing that sometimes the very thing that
a person loathes in someone else’s life resides right in his own life, and in
many cases he is much more of an offender than the person whom he is judging
3.
VS 7:5 - “5 “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”” - Jesus
teaches that if we want to take the splinter out of a brother’s eye we must
first remove the log within our own
3.1.
Twenty years ago
when my wife and I had first married, we lived near a school for beauticians,
and at that school a person could go and get a haircut by one of the students
for $3.00. However, because these were
students who were cutting the hair, sometimes your hair would get chopped up. But, chopped hair can be cropped off if
necessary and in a few months it would grow out and could then be cut
properly. Conversely, the other day I
read about a new laser surgery technique where they actually shine a laser beam
into a person’s eye and with that beam can correct a person’s sight
problems. Now, if I ever need to go to
have this kind of procedure performed on myself, I wouldn’t ever consider
having a trainee perform it. No, because
of the damage that this procedure can cause, as well as it’s potential for a
good result in my eye sight, I want a person who is highly skilled to do
it. Well, in the same way in dealing
with the precious souls of people, it takes a very skilled person to be able to
effectively be used in their lives to perform spiritual healing, healing from
their problems with sin. The skilled
person in that case is the person who has first let the Lord deal with their
own life and mold them into the image of Christ. Any person who allows the Lord to do this
work in his life will be able to effectively help others with their lives.
3.1.1. The person who would help must himself be allowing the
Lord to work freely in his life, otherwise he will:
3.1.1.1.only be a stumbling block to the one he desires to
help
3.1.1.2.lack the skill necessary in order to know what the person
needs to do in order to be healed from this sin and restored
3.2.
Sin distorts our
judgment, our very ability to have insight into spiritual matters, and thus the
log must be removed from our eye if we are to be able to see so that we could
remove a splinter from someone else’s eye
3.3.
If we want to be
able to be used by the Lord in other people’s lives, then we must first confess
our own sins and allow the Lord to soften our hearts and deal with anything
that is hurtful that is within us
3.4.
We are supposed
to ‘judge’ ourselves and if we just concentrated upon ourselves we would find
plenty of work that we could do, and we would prosper in the Lord
3.5.
God can and will
use anyone who is willing to allow Him to purify his heart through the blood of
Christ, and when he is used by Him there shall be no greater joy in all of life
3.6.
Another point
here is that when we are walking in the Spirit, walking in God’s perfect will
for our life, then our focus will be upon ourselves and perfecting ourselves,
we will not be so concerned about watching what everybody else is doing and
judging others
4.
VS 7:6 - 6 “Do not
give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces”” - Jesus tells His disciples to not give what
is holy to dogs nor throw their pearls before swine
4.1.
As was mentioned
earlier, this verse shows us that Jesus must want us His disciples to be
discerning of people’s heart motives (though we are not to judge)
4.2.
Jesus is teaching
us here that we must discern a person’s character because people must have a
transformation of their nature in order for them to be able to appreciate the
things of God, and if we try to act as their counselor and give them the
counsel of God’s Word and they have not had that transformation, we will be
wasting our time on them
4.3.
The character of
dogs:
4.3.1. Dogs have no appreciation of anything, they would just
as soon eat poop for dinner as gourmet
4.3.2. Dogs (though they are not as bad as cats) really only
care about what suits themselves, for their interests are purely selfish
4.4.
The character of
pigs:
4.4.1. You can wash a pig up, place ribbons around it’s head
and a pearl necklace around it’s neck, yet still if it sees a pig sty it will
go and wallow right back in the mud
4.4.1.1.This occurs because the pig does and always will have
the nature of a pig though you try to clean it up externally
4.5.
There are at
least three reasons why we should not give what is holy to dogs nor cast our
pearls of wisdom from God’s Word before them
4.5.1. It is ‘inappropriate’
4.5.1.1.The things of God are of infinite value and worth and
it is inappropriate to give them to someone who does not appreciate them at all
4.5.2. It is ‘ineffective’
4.5.2.1.Until a person’s nature changes he will not be able to
appreciate or be transformed in his life through the counsel that we give to
him
4.5.2.1.1.Being careful not to give to those who do not
appreciate it the counsel of God’s Word does not also mean that we do not love
that person, quite the opposite, we must never stop loving even the hardest of
sinners for Christ’s sake
4.5.3. It is ‘counter-productive’
4.5.3.1.When we push someone when they are not ready to
listen, we just end up driving them away and causing them to harden their heart
even more towards the Lord, and this then will make it even harder for them to
be won
4.6.
The old saying is
true, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. However, you can salt his oats!”
4.6.1. We salt the oats of non-believers in our lives when we
cannot share verbally with them of the things of God by living our life as God wants
us to live it and by loving them with the love of Christ
5.
VS 7:7-8 - “7 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and
you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened”” - Jesus teaches His disciples here that
perseverance in apprehending the Lord will always eventually be rewarded
5.1.
Each of the verbs
in these verses, ‘ask’, ‘seek’, and ‘knock’ are in the present tense which
communicate that it is the persevering in these activities that causes them to
eventually be successful (i.e.,
“continually ask”, “continually seek”, and “continually knock”)
5.2.
The words ‘ask’,
‘seek’, and ‘knock’ also indicate a progression of intent and effort in
apprehending the Lord in prayer
5.3.
The words ‘ask’,
‘seek’, and ‘knock’ also reveal the level of zeal and devotion that every
Christian ought to have in looking to the Lord
5.3.1. We should ‘ask’ the Lord continually to fulfill all of
the needs in our lives and continually make supplications on behalf of others
in our life for their needs
5.3.1.1.Ps. 50:15, “15 And call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I shall rescue you, and you
will honor Me.”
5.3.2. We should make our goal in life to ‘seek’ the Lord
with all of our hearts, both that we might know Him and know His ways
5.3.2.1.Prov. 8:17, “ 17 “I love those who love me; And
those who diligently seek me will find me””
5.3.2.2.Heb. 11:6, “6 And without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”
5.3.2.3.Jer. 29:13, “13 ‘And you will seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart ’”
5.3.3. We ought to come boldly to the throne of grace in time
of need and ‘knock’ upon heaven’s door claiming that according to the Father’s
perfect will He shall meet the need that we may bring
5.3.3.1.Luke 11:5-9, “5 And He said to them, “Suppose one
of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a
journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and from inside he shall
answer and say, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my
children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 “I tell
you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his
friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as
he needs. 9 “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you””
5.4.
The promise is
not to some of God’s children, but to all who are saved, that if we ‘ask’ that
we shall receive, and if we ‘seek’ that we shall find, and that if we ‘knock’
it shall be opened to us
5.5.
There are people
who take these words of Jesus out of context and insist that these point to a
blanket statement that any person at any time and for any reason may ask for
anything in prayer and receive it, however this would be to contradict what the
vast body of scripture says. Scripture
gives us other requirements that must be met in order to know that our prayers
will be answered:
5.5.1. FAITH:
5.5.1.1.Matt. 21:22, “22 “And all things you ask in prayer,
believing, you shall receive.””
5.5.2. PRAYING ACCORDING TO HIS WILL:
5.5.2.1.1 John 5:14-15, “14 And this is the confidence which
we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears
us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have
the requests which we have asked from Him”
5.5.3. KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS:
5.5.3.1.1 John 3:22, “22 and whatever we ask we receive
from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing
in His sight”
5.5.4. ABIDING IN JESUS AND LETTING HIS WORD ABIDE IN
US:
5.5.4.1.John 15:7, “7 “If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you””
5.5.5. UNSELFISH MOTIVES
5.5.5.1.James 4:3, “3 You ask and do not receive, because
you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures”
6.
VS 7:9-11 - “9 “Or what man is there among you, when his son
shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he shall ask for a
fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is
in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”” - Jesus teaches His disciples that if an earthly father will give good
things to his children when they ask, that even more so will the Lord do for
His children
6.1.
Jesus teaches here
that trusting in the nature and character of God ought to motive us to pray
6.1.1. The most unselfish relationship on earth typified for
the non-believing is the relationship of a father or mother with his/her
children, for parents will naturally sacrifice greatly for their children and
seek to satisfy the needs that they have
6.1.2. The Lord desires only good to happen in our lives, and
He works all things together to be for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28), therefore
we can seek Him and trust Him in every situation in our lives
6.1.3. No matter how greatly an earthly father may love a son
or a daughter, the Lord loves that one even more, for the Lord’s love is a
perfect love, untainted by anything that is sinful or selfish
6.1.4. In Luke’s account of this sermon, Luke 11:13, he adds
here that Jesus said that if we ask for the Holy Spirit that He will give Him
to us, “13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask Him?””
6.1.5. Forever and ever. Amen”