Jesus had just talked about hypocritical judging and doing
to others as we would have them do to us. He told us that we are to enter the
narrow gate that leads to life, rather than the wide gate that leads to
destruction. And, then he warned us against false teachers who come to us as
wolves in sheep’s clothing. He said we should be able to know them by their
fruit.
And, then he let us know that not everyone who says, “Lord,
Lord,” is going to be with him for eternity. It doesn’t matter what words we
repeated after someone else, or what acknowledgments we made of what Jesus did
for us on the cross. And, it doesn’t matter if we have confessed with our
mouths “Jesus is Lord,” and if we say we believe God raised him from the dead.
If we have not bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, and if we
have not died with him to sin, and if we are not walking with him in obedience
to his commands, which is what it means to believe in him, then he is going to
say, “I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23;
cf. Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Lu. 9:23-26; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal 6:7-8).
Matthew 7:24-25 ESV
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
So, these words, and others that Jesus spoke, are the ones
we need to hear (Matt. 5:1-7:29). And, we need to not only hear them, but we
need to study them, and we need to take them to heart, and then we need to do
them. We must put them into practice in our daily lives, in other words (Jas.
1:22-25; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Jn. 8:51; Jn. 14:23-24; Ro. 6:16; Heb. 5:9).
So, this means that we should not try to take a speck out of
someone else’s eye while we have a glaring log in our own. First, we need to
take the log out of our own eye, and then we will see clearly to take the speck
out of our Christian brother’s or sister’s eye. So, this isn’t saying that all
judging is wrong. It is saying that hypocritical judging is wrong.
This also means that we will endeavor to treat others in the
same way in which we want to be treated, but with one exception.
If we want people to give us a pat on the back and to tell
us that it is ok if we keep sinning against God, for God’s grace covers it all,
that is not a loving thing to do to others. If we want others to close their
eyes to our sin and to say nothing to us about it, then that isn’t how we
should treat others, either. For that is not love.
Also, if we are putting these words into practice, we are
going to follow the true gospel of grace, not the cheap grace gospel. By faith
in Jesus Christ, we will die with Christ to sin and we will walk in obedience
to his commands, empowered by the Holy Spirit. And, we will no longer live to
fulfill the lustful desires of our flesh, but by the Spirit we will be putting
those to death.
We will also test everything we hear against the Word of
God, and against God’s divine character and will for our lives. And, we won’t
get caught up in following the “Pied Pipers” of this world who are trying to
lead us astray. And, we won’t jump on every bandwagon presented to us,
especially ones that are emotionally charged. But we will pray, and we will
test the spirits to see if they are of God and if they are in solidarity with
God’s Word.
And, we won’t give lip service to our God only. But we will
back up our words with our actions. We will live what we speak in the power of
God’s Spirit, instead of falling into the trap of the devil who wants us to
believe we can sin as much as we want and still go to heaven when we die.
And, if we do what we hear from the Lord, from his Word,
then not only do we have the hope of eternal life with God, but we have Jesus
as an anchor to our souls to help us through every storm life throws at us and
to help us come out victorious. And, that is because our Christian lives are
founded on Jesus and on his word, and not on the words of men in their
deceitful scheming.
Matthew 7:26-27 ESV
“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
So, this would be speaking of people who hypocritically judge
others for doing what they are doing at a much greater volume and to a much
greater extent. They are cheating, lying, stealing, abusing, gossiping, lusting,
viewing porn, and committing adultery against their spouses while they get
angry with others for very minor infringements like not picking up trash.
But they probably are treating some others as they want to
be treated because they want to be allowed to continue in all their many sinful
practices and to have no one tell them that they shouldn’t.
But that is so self-serving, and it is so unloving, for it
is like the Pharisees getting disciples after themselves only to make them
twice the sons of hell as they are. They just want to be liked by others and
they don’t care who they hurt. They don’t care who they lead to the pit of hell
as long as it gets them accepted.
Thus, they are not entering the narrow gate, for they refuse
to repent of their sins and to follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his
commands. That is because they want to hold on to their lusts and their idols
and their sinful practices. They don’t want to let go of them, for that is
their god. That is their security. That is what makes them feel good. So, they
follow the broad, easy, and lazy path, instead, which leads to destruction,
decay, and death.
So, they also are not discerning about false teachers (the
Pied Pipers), but rather they are embracing them by the droves, for they are
saying what their itching ears want to hear. They are telling them that they
can keep on sinning and still go to heaven, and they like that message, and thus
they reject the message that says they must repent and obey Jesus Christ.
So, they give lip service to the Lord only. They call him “Lord,”
but truly he is not their Lord, for they will not submit to his authority over
their lives. For, they are still the ones holding the wheel, directing their
own paths, and choosing their own steps, regardless of the fact that it is in
direct defiance to God and to His Word, and regardless of how many people they
hurt in the process. For, it is all about them and their lusts and nothing else
matters.
So, when the trials and tests come to test our faith to see
if it is genuine or not, they will flunk the test, and they will cave to the
enemy, because the enemy gives them what they desire and he doesn’t judge them
for their sin. So, they will fall, and they will die in their sins because they
refused to die with Christ to their sins and to live to him and to his
righteousness.
Enough for My God
By G. M. Eldridge
In God is the light, the brightest day.
He taught me to walk the narrow way,
Yet still I chose the path that was broad:
O, how could I be enough for my God?
With mercy so sweet, He led me along.
He held my hand, and gave me a song,
Yet still I sinned, a shameful fraud:
O, how could I be enough for my God?
I never had dreamed the day I’d see
the Son of God, who died for me,
Yet here by His side, I stand in awe:
Washed by His blood, enough for my God.
And who could forgive all the sins and the flaws?
O, how could I be enough for my God?
But gently He’ll lead by staff and by rod,
And help me to be enough for my God.
I just want to be Enough for You, God!
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