Matthew 7:12-18:
“Jesus Teaches The Golden Rule, About The Broad And The
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next
section of scripture we come across a verse that is very well known in the
secular world, it is the ‘Golden Rule’
1.1.1. “Thou shalt do unto others as you would have them do
unto you”
1.1.2. This rule is very simple and profound in its
simplicity for it sumerises what would be very many individual laws that Christ
would have had to give to us
1.1.3. If we would just follow this rule our lives would go
much more smoothly and we would have far fewer difficulties with people in our
lives
1.1.4. In a lot of places I see the letters, ‘WWJD’, which
stand for, ‘What would Jesus do?’, and this verse serves as a motivator for us
to consider how we should act and react in situations. This verse teaches us what Jesus would do in
many instances, He would treat others in the same way in which He would like to
be treated we He in their same situation
2.
VS 7:12 - “12 “Therefore, however you want people to treat
you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets”” - Jesus teaches His disciples the ‘Golden Rule’
2.1.
A lot of people
have written and said that what Christ said here is just what other leaders of
religions have said
2.1.1. These people quote people like Confusius who said,
“Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you”, however in contrast
to all who came before Him regarding this rule Christ’s words are in the
positive sense not the negative, as they represent more than just human wisdom,
but rather the love of God being worked out proactively in our lives
2.1.2. No religious leader ever taught this pro-active
positive principle of love which Christ teaches
2.2.
This verse is
really just the working out of the commandment to love your neighbor as you
love yourself (Lev. 19:18)
2.3.
Some people have
tried to take this verse too far and say that Jesus meant that this is the only
commandment in the Bible that really matters because Jesus says here, ‘for this
is the Law and the Prophets’, however Jesus is just saying that the the Law and
the Prophets taught the same thing, not that that was the only thing which
those books taught
2.4.
By giving us this
commandment, Jesus was spared from having to give us a whole bunch of
commandments which we were to live by, for this God-inspired this commandment
is intellectually brialliant in its simplicity
3.
VS 7:13-14 - “13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is
wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter
by it. 14 “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and
few are those who find it”” - Jesus
teaches His disciples here that there are one of two gates through which men
will go through in this life, one to eternal life, and the other to eternal
destruction
3.1.
The gate
to eternal destruction:
3.1.1. This gate is ‘wide’
3.1.1.1.This is because many are always entering into it and
also because it is the easiest of the gates to enter
3.1.1.1.1.You don’t have to do anything to enter this gate, for
by not making a decision for Christ in this life you have made a decision to
reject Him and to go to eternal destruction
3.1.1.1.2.You don’t have to believe anything to enter this gate,
in fact, you trust in anything that you want for your salvation and follow any
teachings
3.1.2. The way that a person travels after entering this gate
is ‘broad’:
3.1.2.1.Upon this path there are no restrictions placed upon a
person’s life, both from without as well as within, they can just do as they
please
3.1.2.2.The person who travels this way is self-centered and
selfish by nature, fulfilling the lusts of his flesh having only the
constraints which he may place upon himself
3.1.2.3.There are many people on this path who are very
religious but their righteousness is merely external, not the internal type
which Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount
3.1.2.3.1.Many of these religious people expend much of their
time trying to look righteous before men, however they are not the type who are
described as: “poor in spirit”, “mourn”,
“meek”, and “hunger and thirst for righteousness”
3.2.
The gate
to eternal life:
3.2.1. This gate is ‘narrow’, and in the Greek this
word for ‘narrow’ seems to indicate a small door in a gate
3.2.1.1.A person who enters this gate must stoop down in
‘repentence’ and godly sorrow for his sins, bowing down and worshipping the Lord
who alone is righteous and good
3.2.1.2.A person does not come to salvation until they accept
the lordship of Jesus in their life, for there is no salvation apart from
‘repentence’, this is not to say though that a person shall ever be made
righteous through his own works
3.2.1.2.1.We see ‘repentence’ preached by the apostles through
the book of Acts in the preaching of the apostles, Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30,
26:19-20: “2:38 And Peter said to
them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”...
3:19 “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”... 17:30
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to
men that all everywhere should repent”... 26:19 “Consequently, King Agrippa, I
did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to
those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the
region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to
God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance””
3.2.1.2.2.We see repentence taught throughout the scripture, and
Peter in 2 Peter 3:9 wrote that God didn’t want people to perish but rather
that they come to repentence, “9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as
some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish
but for all to come to repentance”
3.2.1.3.Because this gate requires repentence, though there
are many who would desire to spend eternity in heaven, though there are many
who are sympathetic to the teaching of the Bible and the gospel, and though
there are many whose lives would be considered to be religious and from the external
moral, few are actually willing to enter through this gate to salvation
3.2.1.3.1.It is not
enough to know which gate leads to eternal life, nor even to know how to enter
this gate, the person who will be saved must enter through this gate in
repentence
3.2.2. The one who goes through this small gate enters a way
that is narrow
3.2.2.1.The one who has become a Christian has trusted in
Jesus and Jesus alone for His salvation and righteousness, for ‘there is only
one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim. 2:5)
3.2.2.1.1.A Christian is not justified before God by good works,
but he is justified in order that he might do good works, which are the
inevitable result of his receiving salvation
3.2.2.1.1.1.Eph. 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.10 For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them”
3.2.2.1.2.A faith which does not produce good works is no faith
at all
3.2.2.1.2.1.James 2:17, “17 Even so faith, if it has no works,
is dead, being by itself”
3.2.2.2.The one who has become a Christian has denied himself
and taken up his cross to follow Christ (Matt. 16:24-25), and he is now expected
to live according to the constraints of God’s Word, and this will in fact
always be evident in the life of a Christian, for it is the result of his new
nature and heart he has been given by God
3.2.2.2.1.Jesus taught in order to be His disciple a person must
continue in His Word, John 8:31-32, “31Then said Jesus to those Jews which
believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”” (KJV)
3.2.2.2.2.One who has come to know Christ cannot continue to
live in sin
3.2.2.2.2.1.His seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he is
born of God, 1 John 3:9, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because
His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God”
3.2.2.2.2.2.He continually practices righteousness, 1 John 2:29;
3:10, “2:29 If
you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices
righteousness is born of Him... 3:10 By this the children
of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness
is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother”
3.2.2.2.2.3.He continually keeps His commandments, 1 John 2:3;
3:24, “2:3And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His
commandments...3:24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and
He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has
given us”
3.3.
One person has
written that both gates/ways are funnel shaped:
The Broad Gate to eternal damnation has people entering the big end of
the funnel, but exiting the small end when sin has had its effect on the life
and death and damnation are the result.
The Narrow Gate to everlasting life has people entering the small end of
the funnel, however the way actually leads to joy and abundance and people exit
the big end of the funnel to everlasting joy, bliss, and reward
4.
VS 7:15-18 - “15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you
in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them
by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from
thistles, are they? 17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad
tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad
tree produce good fruit”” - Jesus
warns His disciples to beware of false prophets
4.1.
Having told His
disciples that there are two gates into which every person must enter, Jesus
now warns His disciples to beware of those who would come as spiritual leaders,
but who would only lead them through the broad gate to eternal destruction
4.2.
False prophets
have been a problem for God’s people since the time of the patriarchs of the
Old Testament, and the Bible is full of warnings concerning them (see Isa
9:15,16 Jer 14:14-16 23:13-16 Jer 28:15-17 29:21,32 Eze 13:16,22 Mic 3:5-7,11
for instance)
4.2.1. We see from the magicians of Pharoah’s court that just
because someone can even perform miracles, as Pharaoh’s magicians could do, it
doesn’t mean that we should follow them
4.2.1.1.Satan can mimic the works of God through people, as is
intimated in Deut. 13:1-3, “13:1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises
among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes
true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods
(whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the
words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is
testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul””
4.2.1.2.In 2 Peter 2:1-2, Peter wrote to tell us that it will
always be the case that false teachers will creap in amongst us, “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.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the
truth will be maligned”
4.3.
John wrote in 1
John 4:1 that we must “test the spirits” in order to see if they are of God,
“4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the
world”
4.3.1. We must test everything that anyone teaches by God’s
Word, for if what a supposed prophet says that is supposed to be by inspiration
of God, that word cannot contradict what God’s has already revealed, for God
cannot contradict Himself, and He does not change ( Heb. 13:8 )
4.4.
Shepherds in
Israel would wear a coat that was made out of sheep’s hair, and here Jesus is
not telling us to worry about a goat (or unbeliever) dressed up in sheep’s
clothing, but a wolf, which indicates that this person is impersonating a
leader or shepherd of God’s people
4.4.1. Zech. 13:4 shows that in the Old Testament times a
false prophet would sometimes dress in the same clothes as one of God’s
prophets, “4 “Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will
each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a
hairy robe in order to deceive””
4.4.2. False teachers are very subtle and deceptive at first
when they come in among God’s people, but finally over time their true colors
are revealed
4.4.2.1.The stories of cults and cult leaders in our time
reveals how men who once seemed fundamental in their doctrine and lives eventually
led their people astray into the most horrible of deceptions
4.4.2.1.1.For instance, Jim Jones was the pastor of “People’s
Temple Christian Church” which at one time was a mainstream conservative
fundamental church, then after leading the people into bizarre extremes Jim
convinced them all to drink poisoned kool-aid to their deaths
4.5.
Jesus tell us
here that the false prophets and teachers in the church are ‘ravenous wolves’
who cannot help themselves, for under inspiration of satan they have their
appetitites whettened to devour God’s sheep with their heresies and sinful
practices
4.5.1. In 2 Peter 2:12, Peter teaches us several things about
false teachers, ““12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures
of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge,
will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed”
4.5.1.1.They act “like unreasoning animals, born as creatures
of instinct” (not able to think for themselves or able to be reasoned with)
4.5.1.2.They are as animals which cannot be tamed, only good
to be ‘captured and killed’
4.5.1.3.Their opinions are based upon ignorance not
knowledge (as they revile the character
of angels)
4.5.1.4.They will be destroyed along with the fallen angels
(thrown into the
4.6.
Jesus teaches us
here that we will know false teachers by their fruits
4.6.1. Having told us earlier not to judge people, which as
we saw was to make rash, excessive, and unfair condemnatory judgements against
people and their heart attitudes and motives, Jesus tells us here that we are
to be “fruit inspectors”
4.6.1.1.Being a fruit inspector, we are to see if a person’s
teachings match up against God’s inspired Word, as well as whether the person’s
life is lived in a Christ-like manner, according to the teaching of God’s Word
4.6.1.2.We are still not to judge people’s heart and motives,
rather just inspect whether or not their lives and teachings match up with
God’s standards
4.6.2. Jesus teaches here that a person cannot be led and
inspired by God and not have the fruits of the Spirit in his life, nor can he
be teaching and preaching that which is contradictory to what God’s Word
teaches, for God (the God tree) can only produce good works and teachings (good
fruit) in a person’s life if He is leading that person
4.6.2.1.Likewise, bad fruit (deeds and false teachings) can
only be brought about by abiding in a bad vine (being a child of the devil, or
temporarily led by him, not of or by God)