3/17/24 “The Sermon on the Mount - Part 7”

The Sermon on the Mount – Part 7

Matthew 7:1-14

As many of you know, Lisa& I are avid travelers.

We enjoy going on adventures and seeing God’s amazing and beautiful creation in places that we’ve never been before.

One place we’ve never been, but we hope to visit someday – Lord willing – is Australia.

Has anyone here this morning ever been to Australia?

Not only would we love to see popular tourist attractions like the Sydney Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef, but also some of Australia’s unique animals – Kangaroos, Koalas, Wallaby’s, and of course, Tasmanian Devils…

There are also a wide variety of birds living in Australia, including a large population of quail.

These game birds – and others like them - were often hunted by using one of these…does anyone recognize what this is?

(Show Boomerang)

That’s right, it’s a boomerang.

Boomerangs were traditionally made out of wood and they were first used by the native aboriginal people of Australia for hunting quail and other waterfowl.

As many of you know, a boomerang will fly in an elliptical formation and – if thrown properly – will come back to the thrower a short time later.

Contrary to popular opinion, boomerangs were not generally used to actually strike birds while they were in flight – rather – boomerangs were thrown over areas of long grass to resemble birds of prey.

Doing this would scare the spooked waterfowl and they would fly up out of the grass….right into the waiting nets of the hunters – quite an ingenious tactic.

Today, boomerangs are usually used for recreation or throwing tournaments where the winners are those who can manage to have the boomerang return to the exact same spot as where it originally took off from.

In our passage of scripture for today, we see another kind of boomerang action…but this time, it’s more of a spiritual boomerang action that’s taking place.

Look at verse 2 (Matthew 7:2) with me this morning.

Jesus says: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

In other words, when we self-righteously and hypocritically judge others to an unrealistic standard, we can expect that God will apply that same standard to us…kind of like a spiritual boomerang that comes back to hit us in the face.

To gain a better understanding of what Jesus is teaching about in regard to judging others, we need to take this entire section of scripture in context.

So, Let’s start back at verse 1 of Chapter 7 (Matthew 7:1) where it says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

According to a recent poll of non-Christians, this verse has now become the most recognized passage of scripture from the Bible, eclipsing John 3:16 – which had held the top spot for decades.

Unfortunately, when this verse is used today by many non-Christians, it is used out of context in an attempt to close the door to any kind of thoughtful evaluation from Christians concerning biblically immoral choices in their life.

As John MacArthur puts it: “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.”

So, what is Jesus saying in verse 1 when he tells us not to judge, or we too will be judged?...is he really telling us that we should never make any value judgements about anyone else….ever?

I’ve mentioned this before, but its worth repeating.

Back in Seminary, one of our mantras regarding scripture was this: Context is King!....to truly understand scripture, we always need to look at the entire passage….never should we form a comprehensive theological position on just a single, isolated verse.

Doing this easily leads to unbiblical positions and faulty church doctrine.

The way we steer clear of falling prey to that mistake is we look at every verse in context to other verses around it – as well as making sure that our interpretation of a single verse harmonizes with the rest of scripture.

Let’s take a couple of minutes this morning to look at the first 5 verses of Matthew chapter 7 in context, shall we?

In verses 3-5, Jesus provides one of the most memorable illustrations in all of scripture as he compares sin in people’s lives to that of wood pieces stuck in one’s eye.

In verse 3, he tells of a speck of sawdust in one person’s eye while a an entire plank is in another’s eye.

The sawdust and plank are representative of sin, and Jesus is telling us in verses 4 and 5 that in order for us to truly help a brother or sister in dealing with a sin in their lives, we must first make certain that we are not also falling prey to the same sin problem that our Christian brother or sister is struggling with.

Simply put, we cannot be hypocritical in our leading or discipling when it comes to dealing with sin in someone else’s life.

Now, whenever we read verse 1, we ALWAYS need to read verse 5 as well.

Verse 5 (Matthew 7:5) says: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

This is a verse that helps to provide context to what Jesus meant in verse 1 when he tells us not to judge others.

The context is this: having unrepentant sin in our lives exempts us from being able to biblically help someone else with their sin…

BUT if we no longer are dealing with habitual, chronic sin in our lives, then we are given permission to address sin in someone else’s life.

…and in order to address the problem of sin in someone else's life, a judgement concerning that person’s actions, words, or lifestyle must first be made to initially determine whether or not a sin problem exists.

In other words, our vision has become clear enough to biblically discern the situation, and then act accordingly.

A few years back, I went to see the eye doctor because I was beginning to notice that my night driving vision was getting blurry.

The optometrist looked at my eyes and told me that I would need to be given prescription night-driving glasses in order to safely drive my vehicle after dark.

So…now I’ve got a pair of night driving glasses, and If I don’t wear them, the dark of night takes away clarity from my eyes, enough so that I can no longer see clearly.

But when I put my corrective lenses on, I’m able to navigate the roads just as well as when the sky is full of sunlight.

When we have sin in our lives, it’s as if the dark of night comes down all around us…

But we gain clarity when someone comes along side of us, and is able to provide us with the proper lenses in order to understand God’s Word and His moral requirements.

Just like the eye doctor made a judgment about my eyes when he initially looked at them, we too make judgements about how to biblically assist others who are caught in the darkness of sin.

Jesus also says in verse 15 (Matthew 7:15) – a passage we’ll look at next week – that we are to “Watch out for false prophets…”

The only way to determine if a teacher is a false prophet is to compare what they are teaching with the truth of God’s Word – this process involves making a judgement about who speaks for God and who does not.

In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus teaches that we are to confront a sinning brother or sister by privately taking him aside and talking to them about the sin you are seeing in their life – this involves making a judgement.

2 John 10-11 says “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”

Again, to properly discern what someone is teaching requires us to make a judgement call concerning that individual and what they are proclaiming to be true.

We could go on and on… in Acts 17:11, the Bereans were complimented for using discernment in judging what they were hearing from teachers traveling through their area – this requires making a judgment about these individuals.

…our entire legal system is based on judgments about people and their choices.

So, if Jesus isn’t talking about making judgments about others in this way, what exactly does he mean when he tells us “Not to judge, lest we be judged?”

When considering the context, what I see Jesus teaching against in verses 1 & 2 is a self-righteous, hasty, unmerciful, prejudiced, and unwarranted condemnation based on human standards & human understanding. (Repeat)

Or, to put it another way, we are not to judge the motives or salvation of others – that is an area in which only God has the authority to judge!

James 4:11-12 clearly states this when it says: “Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgement on it. There is only one lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor.”

James is saying here that only God can judge someone else’s salvific destiny and their motives for making the decisions they have made.

When it comes to fellow believers, scripture tells us to discern the fruit of others, but only God has the authority to judge the motives and intentions of the heart.

When we set up man-made restrictions and regulations and then expect others to perfectly follow them, it’s like we are throwing a spiritual boomerang in the sense that God will then hold those same standards to our lives – and many times that spiritual boomerang comes back to hit us in the face!

Self-righteous judgment will become its own gallows…

Just as the literal gallows that Haman constructed to execute the innocent Mordecai was used instead to hang Haman…remember that story from the book of Esther?

God has a way of making sure that our self-righteous, critical attitudes toward others will - in time - come back around to hit us smack-dab in the face…

Look with me at Verse 6 (Matthew 7:6)

This is one of the most interesting passages in the entire New Testament.

Jesus uses the imagery of dogs and pigs here to drive home a point about the sacred nature of the news of the kingdom, or today we would more likely say the news of the gospel message.

So, what is Jesus saying here? What’s with the puppies, pearls, and piglets?

First of all, dogs in the 1st century were nothing like the cute house critters we have today…they were scavengers that would generally live on the outskirts of town and would come around after dark looking for food….think coyote rather  than cocker-spaniel.

And if you know your Jewish history, you know that pigs were an unclean animal – in fact – they were considered the dirtiest of all unclean animals.

When the youngest son in the parable of the prodigal son ends up having to clean up after pigs, that would have been the worst possible life scenario for a Jewish person to endure.

So, why is Jesus suddenly talking about these detested creatures here in verse 6?

Jesus is saying that these despised creatures represented unholy people who are so antagonistic to the good news of the Kingdom, that continually bombarding them with God’s truth can actually work against our goal of seeing them come to Christ.

At face value, these are surprising words coming from the mouth of our savior as we generally are instructed to continue to preach the good news of the gospel to everyone no matter who they are – and that is the case for the vast majority of people in our lives.

But Jesus is saying that there will be a certain percentage of people who act on nothing more than animal instinct, it seems…

…And who will react aggressively to our repeated attempts to show them the truth of God’s Word…thus doing more harm than good.

Only the Holy Spirit can miraculously open the eyes of these individuals…if their eyes are to be opened at all.

Verse 7 begins a section of five verses that speak to the importance of prayer and to the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.

Verses 7 & 8 (Matthew 7:7-8) are not saying that God is some magic genie in a bottle that simply exists to grant us our heart’s desires…these verses are not giving us a ‘blank check’ for us to receive whatever we want.

Rather, they speak – essentially – to the goodness of God that is wrapped into His sovereignty.

Sometimes – when we pray - we will not receive the answer that we were hoping for.

This does not mean that God doesn’t care, or that He isn’t listening!

Many times, what we think will be best for us – or for someone else we love – would really have the opposite result….causing undue hardship and pain.

Remember that country song from the 90’s called ‘Unanswered Prayers’?

The last couple lines of the chorus are: “And just because He doesn’t answer, doesn’t mean He don’t care, ‘Cause some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”

The next time one of your prayers is answered in a way that was not what you were hoping for – remember that the Lord knows you better than you know you…and, because of that omniscience, He also knows what is ultimately best for you.

Verse 12 (Matthew 7:12) should look very familiar to you.

This has traditionally been called ‘The Golden Rule.’

Here Jesus is paraphrasing the 2nd great commandment found in Matthew chapter 22, verse 39 when He says: “…Love your neighbor as yourself”

One very important thing to know about this idea of “doing to others what you would have them do to you” is that Jesus brings forth this command in a positive – rather than negative – context.

What I mean by that is that when other religions or philosophical ideologies express this sentiment , it is always stated in a restrictive – or negative – context.

It will sound something like “Do not do unto others what you do not want them to do to you”…or something similar to that.

Do you see the difference here?

One command is rooted in fear of retaliation, while the other command is rooted in love for others.

Jesus says that we are to be actively doing for others what we would want them to do to us…in other words, to love people – not just refrain from hurting people out of fear that they will hurt us in return.

This is an important part of how kingdom people operate – and another way in which we are to be separate from the culture around us.

Lastly, Jesus provides the illustration of the narrow and broad gates, leading to the narrow and broad roads, traversed by two different groups of people.

In verses 13 and 14 (Matthew 7:13-14) Jesus presents the appeal to which the entire sermon has been moving toward.

It’s an appeal to choose God’s kingdom of righteousness over Satan’s kingdom of sin.

It’s an appeal to choose a counter-cultural life of service to Christ over a sinful life of service to oneself.

At the end of the day, It’s an appeal to choose life over death.

The gate and road to destruction are wide because most people desire to be on this road…

God doesn’t force people to be on this busy highway – he gives us the free will to choose which road we will travel….and, sadly, most people will choose the wide road of least resistance – the road of comfort, the road of sin, the road of destruction.

Self-indulgence will always be more popular than self-denial.

Mankind doesn’t like restrictions – that’s why the culture will nod with approval when someone mentions God….but when the name of Jesus is brought up – that’s when the culture pushes back.

Why? because the name of Jesus brings with it….restrictions.

Following Jesus is, indeed, a narrow path - because salvation is found only through one name – the name of Jesus.

Jesus himself says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”

Jesus also states in John 10:9 “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”

Acts 4:12 reminds us concerning Jesus that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Following Jesus is like choosing to hike a challenging trail with considerable elevation gain rather than choosing to remain on the wide, fast-moving interstate of comfort & ease.

But when you spend the time and energy to hike to the top of a mountain, not only are you better for it physically, but the views are better than anything you’ll ever experience on that flat, crowded interstate.

This is what its like to follow Christ.

Even though self-denial and self-less service can at times be challenging – the rewards of following Jesus are indescribable…much like the views from a majestic mountaintop…..Exhilarating, inspiring, uplifting, transforming.

Enter through the narrow gate.

Travel down the narrow road.

For it’s the narrow road that leads to life everlasting.

Let’s Pray.