Peter wrote, “Be ready always to give an answer of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

Peter wrote his first epistle to those Christians living in a turbulent time of persecution and hostility by the world around them. On occasion, Rome even sent men out to investigate the church.

We may not feel that it’s needful to respond to the questions asked by those who do not believe, but that is precisely who Peter said we should be ready always to answer.

This practice is best known as apologetics, a word originating from the Greek word translated in 1 Peter 3:15 as answer. The goal is to defend the reason for our hope.

Apologetics does not require a debate in philosophy, science, or even theology. It doesn’t require a debate at all. It simply means that we should be able to defend our hope by answering some of the most fundamental questions concerning our faith.

Any kind of rejection can be hurtful. But no rejection has as much weight as one coming from a loved one.

Jesus knew that his gospel had the potential to rip families apart as some would believe and some would not believe. He told his apostles, “I came not to send peace, but a sword. A man’s foes shall be his own household” (Matt. 10:34-36).

Christ not only anticipated this potential conflict within homes, he even experienced it himself. 

He was first rejected in his hometown of Nazareth in Luke 4:16-30. The small village of roughly 500 people–friends and neighbors he grew up with–even attempted to take his life. The second rejection in Mark 6:1-6 wasn’t quite as violent, but disturbing nonetheless.

Even worse, the Lord’s own (half) brothers rejected him.

The types of miracles Christ performed were by no means accidents. They were intentional and with meaning. Ultimately, Jesus came to redeem us. He came to remove the curse of sin. His miracles displayed his ability and power to do just that.

The prophets spoke of one who would heal and restore comfort to those who mourn (Is. 57:18-19). They said he would establish a kingdom where no man could be sick (Is. 33:22-24). They even said that he would conquer death (Dan. 12:1-3). 

Christ could have sat on a mountaintop, reigning fire from heaven to get the attention of Israel. Instead, most of his miracles came by way of small acts of compassion. Each of them designed to show his power over the elements of the curse of sin–disease, devils, and death.

In curing disease, casting out devils, and bringing the dead back to life, he proved his mission to redeem God’s people could be accomplished. In these wondrous works, the multitudes marveled. Never before had Israel seen such things done. 

In Matthew 9:27-35, Jesus followed up a series of miracles by performing two more where he restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. As always, the unbelievers were close by, ready to deny the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

Bible teachers often have a way of overcomplicating theology–that is, the study of God. On the other hand, Jesus Christ had a way of simplifying it. Often, he did nothing more than show us the nature and attributes of God by what he did.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of God is his compassion. After all, without his compassion, he would not have sent his Son to take our place on the cross of Calvary.

In Luke 8:40-56, we read of two people in great need of the Lord’s compassion and they both found it.

The first was a woman with an issue of blood for more than twelve years. She was considered unclean and an outcast. The second was a girl only twelve years old who died while her father, a ruler of the synagogue, sought help at the feet of Jesus Christ.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which when it was full, they drew the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world…” (Matt. 13:47-50)

This is the final parable of seven which Jesus used to describe the mysterious kingdom of God that was at hand. In the parable of the tares, he already told his disciples how the hell-bound wicked would remain with us on the earth until the very end (Matt. 13:40).

In this last parable, the ultimate fate of the tares is revisited.

3 types of fishing

In the Bible, three types of fishing are described: fishing with a hook, fishing with a net, and fishing with a dragnet.

Fishing with a hook is the simple practice of taking a rod with a hook on the end of the line and catching one fish at a time.

Fishing with a net required the skill to throw the weighted net into the water so that it spread out over the surface before landing. This allowed a fisherman to catch a small school of fish at once.

Fishing with a dragnet created a vertical wall in the water which efficiently caught nearly every creature in its path. This type of fishing is what Jesus described in his parable.

Hell is real

At the end of time, Christ will return and drag his net across the entire face of the Earth. Once every person has been caught, they will be sorted. The good will go to be with the Lord forevermore while the bad will be cast into the furnace of fire.

The subject of hell is not a pleasant one, but greatly needed. As much as we’d like to ignore it, Jesus frequently mentioned it.

Hell and allusions to hell are used to describe many things from destruction to death to the everlasting hell we all think of.

In short, hell is an existence far removed from God, but with the full awareness of God and his goodness (Luke 16:22-25).

2 reasons to teach hell

What makes the teachings of hell by Christ so interesting is that the only ones who can know, understand, or believe those teachings are the very ones who will never enter everlasting hell.

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can be know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14)

So, why teach about hell?

First, it articulates justice to the saved person. Those already born of the Spirit and heaven-bound need to know what we truly deserve apart from God’s grace. We all deserve hell.

Second, it motivates the rebellious and stubborn. Some preachers warn of hell to keep people from going. It’s more accurate, according to scripture, to warn of hell so we can be sure we’re not going. It’s a subtle yet important difference.

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ in in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor. 13:5)

“Make your calling and election sure…” (2 Pet. 1:10)

The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Matt. 13:44)

In a day when there were no banks, the safest place for a person to keep valuables was in the ground. But sometimes an individual would pass away before the treasure could be retrieved.

One man–possibly the worker of another man’s field–stumbled upon some of this buried treasure. It was treasure so great, he was willing to risk his livelihood, sell all he had, and purchase the land.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matt. 13:45-46)

Pearls were one of the most precious and valuable gems of the day. They were made so valuable because they were so rare. Collecting them required a man to risk his life by plunging into the depths of the sea without modern breathing equipment or protection.

One wholesaler knew their value and sought them as an investment. When he finally found one, he was willing to rick his livelihood, sell all he had, and buy it.

Of course, these stories describe to us the kingdom of heaven.

Discovered in different ways

Both of these men found their priceless treasures in different ways. One seemingly stumbled upon it by accident. The other actively sought it. The same is true for us in “finding” God’s kingdom.

It’s a personal choice

Matthew 13 contains a series of parables. These are the first to speak of individuals as opposed to everyone in general terms. The choice to become a responsible citizen of the kingdom is personal.

The benefits are not obvious

Who knows what great treasures await beneath the ground or at the bottom of the sea? Often the blessings and benefits of God’s kingdom are not obvious–especially on the outside looking in.

It’s a source of joy

The man who found the treasure in the field was overjoyed to discover it. The benefits of the kingdom may not always be obvious, but we can count on there being joy and peace.

The rewards are priceless

This is the most apparent lesson of these parables. The kingdom doesn’t merely offer temporary joy in this life, but the kingdom extends all the way to heaven where we’ll have joy forever.

It requires sacrifice

In both cases, the treasure came at a great price. More importantly, these men were willing to make great sacrifices to pay that price. They knew they were making sound investments.

Two thousand years ago, 120 of Christ’s disciples waited in anticipation, fear, and confusion for what might happen next (Acts 1). They expected the nation of Israel to be restored (Acts 1:6).

However, the Lord had other plans for his kingdom. Instead of going to war with Rome, he instructed them to carry the gospel to the far reaches of the planet (Acts 1:8).

How could such a small group, living in a time of severe persecution–only to get worse in the near future–successfully advance the kingdom of God on this earth?

The mustard seed

“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (Matt. 13:21-32)

Though a mustard seed isn’t the smallest of all seeds, it is the smallest of all seeds which bear fruit to be eaten or consumed.

The very day those 120 disciples met together, they saw this parable come to life before their eyes. Three thousand people were baptized into the church that same day (Acts 2:41).

Not long after, the church’s greatest persecutor, Saul, was converted and became the most instrumental figure in history to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

The leaven

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” (Matt. 13:33)

Leaven is often used in the Bible as an analogy to sin. Paul told the Corinthian church to purge that unwanted leaven from among them before it spread as leaven inevitably does (1 Cor. 5:6-7).

Though the leaven in the parable does not mean sin, let’s not be overly confident to the point we think the only way to go is up. Both good and evil can rapidly spread.

Regardless, here we are, two thousand years later and a world apart, believing in that same gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Against all odds, the gates of hell have not prevailed.

Do not doubt what a small thing can become if God is for it.

In the parable of the tares, Jesus explained the place of judgment against the world and against the unrighteous by describing a field polluted with tares.

The misguided expectation of the Jews

For many generations, the Jews waited on the Lord to send them a king. They firmly believed that king would restore the sovereignty of Israel, renew the covenant made with Abraham, and destroy their wicked, unrighteousness enemies throughout the world once and for all (Jer. 23:5-6).

The prophecies said the king would ride triumphantly into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey (Zech. 9:9). However, those who recognized the King as the king (i.e. Jesus Christ) never expected him to leave Jerusalem in a casket. Furthermore, they never expected him to be crucified by Israel herself.

Frankly, the Jews didn’t know what to do with such prophecies as Isaiah 53:2-5 which described their savior as a man of suffering. They didn’t understand the “new” covenant which was meant for the entire elect family of God–both Jews and Gentiles.

The King didn’t come to restore the nation of Israel. The King came to establish a much greater kingdom. He didn’t come to save the Jews from their physical enemies. He came to save the world from their sins and to conquer the devil and death on the cross of Calvary.

But what did that mean for his disciples living in this gospel kingdom? What about their enemies? What about justice? What about the revolution they enthusiastically anticipated?

The Lord will deal with our enemies

In the parable of the tares, Jesus explained the place of judgment against the world and against the unrighteous by describing a field polluted with tares (Matt. 13:24-30). A farmer had sown wheat in his field only to have his enemy come after him and plant darnel weeds.

In the earliest stages of development, darnel weeds look very much wheat. The farmer instructed his servants to leave the tares until harvest time. Otherwise, they risked destroying some of the good wheat.

Jesus went on to explain this parable to his disciples (Matt. 13:36-43). The wheat are those people saved by God’s grace. The tares are those left in their sin. In the end, God and his angels–the reapers of the field–will destroy the tares and gather up the wheat.

In the meantime, the wheat–those responsible citizens of God’s kingdom–are to leave the tares (i.e. the world) alone. We should avoid the world’s sin and even deal with issues of sin within the church, but we have no place to judge those out in the world (1 Cor. 5:9-13). 

Our efforts in the fields should be to save, not destroy (John 4:35). Upon the second coming of Christ, the wicked–including those who have persecuted the church–will be dealt with by God (Rev. 6:9-11). If we try and do it ourselves, we will inevitably bring destruction on some of God’s own people.

The kingdom of God as the Jews anticipated it would have been neatly defined by borders. It would have been easy to know their enemies. That’s not the case with God’s kingdom as it exists today. God’s invisible kingdom has no borders and we must trust God to deal with our enemies.

Parables are interesting. On one hand, they were used by Christ to conceal the truth. At the same time, they were used to reveal the truth to others.

The prophets spoke of the coming King and his crucifixion at the hands of the Jews (Zech. 12:10-11, Zech. 14:9). But a King implies there must be kingdom for him to rule over. What kingdom?

This is what made the parables of Matthew 13 so pivotal in history. The King himself began to describe this mysterious kingdom. However, he spoke of it in parables. Who could possibly understand the application of these parables? That is precisely what his disciples asked (Matt. 13:10).

The plan of parables

It was the Lord’s plan to speak to the multitudes in parables (Matt. 13:34). Parables are simply a comparison–a natural illustration to explain a greater spiritual truth. He used seven of them in Matthew 13 alone to describe the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.

Parables are effective for at least four reasons:

1. They make truth easier to grasp by objectifying all of its elements.
2. They make truth portable in that parables are easy to remember.
3. They make truth interesting where they grab our attention.
4. They make truth personal given the simple nature of them.

However, a parable left unexplained or one unaccompanied with spiritual revelation is little more than an impossible riddle. How could we possibly know their applications in the spiritual realm?

The purpose of parables

When the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables, Jesus said, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:11).

The preface to this conversation was the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9). Christ made it clear that some would reject him and his word and many already had (Matt. 12:24). To those who reject him, they will not be given understanding. To those who accept him, they will be given more understanding.

It’s a type of judgment which was seen in Israel during the time of Isaiah. When faced with the warnings of the prophets, Israel continued in their sin and faced judgment (Matt. 13:14-15). Often God gives us exactly what we wanted. If we reject the truth, he may very well take away that truth from us.

The purpose of parables is interesting and somewhat paradoxical. On one hand, they were used to conceal the truth. At the same time, they were used to reveal the truth to others (Matt. 13:16).

No one can begin to understand the things written in the Bible without first being born of the Spirit and also be given understanding by God (Ps. 119:18).

The promise of parables

Was the rejection of Christ by the Jews forcing God to change his plan and begin speaking in parables? Of course not. The prophet, Asaph, told us that he would use parables (Matt. 13:34-35).

The fundamental theme in this passage is that God is truly sovereign. That’s not to say we are without choices or some degree of free-will. But God is absolutely sovereign as seen in these basic points:

1. Truth is only available to some people at certain times.
2. Rejection of truth leads to greater unbelief.
3. God’s design cannot be altered.

Parables were an important part of the Lord’s teachings. In Matthew 13, one parable shows how any of us might react to the truth when presented to us.

Much of the earliest part of Jesus’ ministry consisted of miracles–healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out devils. In Matthew 13, we see a slight shift where the Bible narrative places an emphasis on his verbal teaching. He continued to perform miracles, but more of his later ministry is written in red.

An important aspect of his teaching method was the parables he delivered. Those short stories were designed to articulate a greater spiritual message through the use of natural analogies. Occasionally, he not only gave his disciples a parable, he also explained exactly what it meant.

Some seeds fell by the wayside

“And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:” (Matt. 13:3-4)

“When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.” (Matt. 13:19)

The Word of God cannot enter into the hearts of some. They are hard-hearted in the same way some soil has been compacted so much so that a seed cannot penetrate. 

Some fell upon stony places

“Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” (Matt. 13:5-6)

“But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (Matt. 13:20-21)

The Word of God is received by some with sincerity and much joy. But at the first glimpse of suffering, he/she abandons it. Some lose their faith through persecution. Others through an unwillingness to die to self as true Christian discipleship demands.

Some fell among thorns

“And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:” (Matt. 13:7)

“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (Matt. 13:22)

The Word of God is received by others who cling to it for many years. They never knowingly leave it but still allow the cares of this world–earthly things, not necessarily sinful–to consume them.

Other fell into good ground

“But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Matt. 13:8)

“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matt. 13:23)

The Word of God is kept in the secure storing place of the heart by others. It becomes their source of peace and life. There is nothing more important to them. It remains their focus from day to day.

The high standard which the Pharisees lived by fell far short. Jesus demanded a relationship with his people. But how can we and what does it look like?

We apologize for the poor audio quality of this recording.

Good morality is not enough

Reformation is the process of changing for the better. However, if you reform a lump of clay, it is still clay. That was the case for the Pharisees. No one held to a higher standard of ethics or code of morality than them. Yet, they were still far from what God demanded (Matt. 5:20).

We may appear to the best the most upstanding people in this world, but it does nothing to save us from our sins or bring us into the family of God. Breaking even one commandment causes to fall short (James 2:10). The fact that all men die proves our morality is not enough (Rom. 6:23).

The Lord’s own family did not believe

In the midst of conflict with unbelieving Pharisees, Jesus’ brothers attempted to draw him away and privately speak to him (Matt. 12:46). Yes, Jesus did have brothers. He had at least four of them (Matt. 13:55). It would appear he had sisters as well (Matt. 13:56). Of course, these are half-siblings.

The interesting thing about his brothers is that they did not believe (John 7:1-5). Two of them believed later but not in the beginning. When they tried to talk with Jesus, they thought he was out of his mind for the accusations he made about (and directly to) the Pharisees (Mark 3:21).

The true family of Jesus Christ

Jesus has no intention of accommodating his unbelieving brethren. When the messenger came to him, he rhetorically asked, “Who is my mother? And who are my brethren?” (Matt. 12:48) He wasn’t denying his natural family. He wanted the crowd to understand something about his true family.

Christ pointed to his disciples and said, “Behold my mother and my brethren” (Matt. 12:49). The real family of Christ are those born again by the Spirit of God and legally adopted into God’s family (Rom. 8:6-17). When God’s children do the will of God, it doesn’t make them his children, but is evidence they are one of his (Matt. 12:50).

The Pharisees wanted to discredit Jesus. Though they were considered righteous, their morality was proven vain when face to face with Christ himself.

Even the person who has not been born of God’s Spirit–they are still dead in their sin–can appear relatively good or righteous. For example, the new birth is not required for a person to be honest or go to church on Sunday. However, even the seemingly righteous cannot stay masked when face to face with Christ. The sinfulness of a person cannot be hidden in the presence of Jesus.

If not for Christ walking this Earth, the Pharisees and other Jews could have maintained their reputation for being the most righteous people of all (John 15:22-25). But when confronted with God in the flesh, the Pharisees were disrobed to expose their vile wickedness.

Discrediting Christ

In retaliation, the Pharisees sought to discredit Jesus. They accused him of breaking the Sabbath rules. They called him satanic. It was their charge of blasphemy which ultimately led to the Lord’s crucifixion.

In Matthew 12, their claim that Jesus was casting out devils by the power of Satan was struck down quickly with the Lord’s sound reasoning. But they composed themselves and tried again (Matt. 12:38). That time, they requested a sign be shown to prove his power and authority.

His miracles to that point weren’t enough. They wanted a grand celestial display. They wanted the moon to turn red or the sun to be blacked out on command. They wanted such a sign, not to verify his claims, but to prove him wrong. They requested this sign because they didn’t believe he could do it.

The sign of Christ

Jesus agreed to give them a sign but not the one they wanted. His great and final sign would be his own resurrection from the dead (Matt. 12:39-40). It would be a spectacular sign, yet even that would not convince the naysayers (Luke 16:31). 

Sadly, these Pharisees were worse than many of the wicked Gentiles before them. A rebellious man by the name of Jonah, doing a work he didn’t want to do, recently vomited up by a great fish, stood before an evil people with a message of doom and gloom only to have those people repent (Jonah 3:4-9).

The people of Nineveh were heathens outside of God’s covenant and they repented after Jonah preached. The Jews were God’s own chosen people who were face to face with Christ himself and they utterly rejected him and all that he said and did (Matt. 12:41).

They were widely considered to be the most religious and the most righteous. However, their reformation was vain. Their morality was vain. They were bad trees bearing fake fruit. In the end, reformation was all they had. But reformation and morality is nothing apart from a relationship with Christ.

Every word spoken, every thought, and every action which stems from our hearts will be remembered by God. Nothing can be kept hidden forever.

Through unbelief, the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out a devil by the power of Satan. In response to such a ludicrous (and wicked) notion, Jesus cut to the heart of the matter which happens to be the heart.

The parable

“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” (Matt. 12:33)

Earlier in the story, Jesus showed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matt. 12:27). Their own disciples claimed to cast out devils by the power of God but Jesus must have done it by the power of Satan. In other words, Christ and the Pharisees’ disciples were supposedly producing the same fruit but from different trees. That is not possible. 

The personalization

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matt. 12:34)

Though the Pharisees had the appearance of righteousness, they were wicked trees (with plastic fruit, at best). Vipers, serpents, and dragons are all used throughout the Bible to personify evil. From the earliest parts of history in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-5) to the end of time (Rev. 20:1-3), wickedness has been shown through the imagery of snakes and serpents.

The principle

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matt. 12:35)

The treasure of the heart is a secure storing place for what we believe to be most valuable. Whatever is placed in that safe will dictate our character and our actions. Not only should we place good things in our hearts, we also want them to be heavenly things as opposed to earthly things (Matt. 6:19-21).

The punishment

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-37)

Every word spoken, every thought, and every action which stems from our hearts will be noticed by God. Even the most idle words (light conversation) will be remembered. Good things will justify and evil things will condemn. 

We might live in fear of committing the unforgivable sin because we think of it as something we merely do. It is more about who we are by God’s will.

After healing a man, possessed with a devil, Christ was confronted by the unbelief of the Pharisees once again (Matt. 12:22-24). It seems they were unable to explain away the miracle itself, so they attempted to provide an alternative explanation. According to them, Jesus had not cast out the devil by the power of God, but by the power of Satan. That was a foolish notion for at least three reasons.

First, a kingdom divided cannot stand (Matt. 12:25-26). If Satan was casting out devils, he was effectively destroying his own kingdom. Second, the Pharisees had men who claimed the ability to cast out devils as well (Matt. 12:27). How could they do it by God’s power but not Jesus? (They were frauds, by the way.) Third, a devil cannot be cast out without first usurping authority over Satan (Matt. 12:29).

This story is less about the sins of the Pharisees and more about the contrast between good and evil–heavenly power versus devilish power. That’s important to remember as we read what Jesus taught concerning the unforgivable sin (Matt. 12:31-32).

Fact: There is an unforgivable sin. But it may not be what you think.

Cannot versus will not

There are things God cannot do. He is limited by what he has declared to be right and just (Deut. 32:4). For instance, God cannot allow a sinner into heaven unless that sinner has been justified by the blood of Christ and born again by the Spirit (Rom. 5:9, John 3:3). But there’s an important distinction to be made between what God cannot do and what he will not do.

It is impossible for God to tell a lie (Heb. 6:18). But that’s not to say he cannot withhold the truth according to his own will and pleasure (Matt. 13:11). God cannot cease to exist (Rev. 1:8). But he does withdraw his presence from us when he chooses (Ps. 51:11).

God will not forgive

We tend to think of the unforgivable sin as an act which God cannot forgive. But let’s not forget that the passage says all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven. God can forgive it, but will not.

God could have left all of mankind in our fallen state of sin, but he chose to show mercy. He could have shown mercy to all of mankind, but he chose to limit his mercy (Rom. 9:10-18).

God’s hands are not tied to where he cannot forgive the “unforgivable” sin. Rather, he has chosen not to forgive in some cases.

Blasphemers by nature

Human nature is an enemy against God (Rom. 8:7). We all begin dead in our sin until the Spirit of God brings us to life (Eph. 2:1). Only then can we be receptive to and believe the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

The new birth is one link in what has been called God’s “golden chain”. When God chooses to show a people mercy, he predestinates them, calls them, justifies them, and glorifies them (Rom. 8:30). One link cannot exist without the others.

Fact: We are blasphemers against the Spirit by nature.

Who are you?

We might live in fear of committing the unforgivable sin because we think of it as something we merely do. It is more about who we are.

Jesus’ commentary on the Pharisees was not just a condemnation of something they had done or said. Rather, he was plainly stating who they were (at least who they appeared to be)–men without God’s mercy, still in a dead state of sin. Their evil works reflected that (Matt. 12:33).

Fact: A born again child of God cannot commit the unforgivable sin.

If God has chosen to show you mercy, you will be born of his Spirit, justified by Christ, and you will be with him in heaven one day (Eph. 1:3-6). If he has chosen to forgive, all sins will be forgiven.

It’s easy to ignore the perspective of men like Simon the Pharisee who did not see Jesus as the Christ. Rather, he saw Jesus as a man–a young man–a controversial rabbi who had been run out of his own home town (Luke 4:14-30). Despite Jesus’ intimate knowledge of scripture and astonishing ability to teach, virtually everything he said or did was unorthodox. People are uncomfortable with change.

As believers, understanding men like Simon is difficult. But put yourself in his shoes for a moment. As far as we know, he wasn’t there when the widow’s son was raised from the dead (Luke 7:11-17). He didn’t see the multitudes healed (Matt. 4:23-25). He knew little more than that the carpenter’s 30-year old son from Nazareth was stirring up trouble for the Jewish brethren throughout Galilee.

If you were Simon–especially if Simon was a local rabbi–wouldn’t you be concerned to hear that Jesus was in town? Would you allow this visiting rabbi (Jesus) to teach on Sabbath morning? Would you want him spreading potential lies and false doctrines? Or would you want to talk to him first?

A controversial young preacher?

“And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.” (Luke 7:36)

By all appearances, Simon was not a bad guy. If a man like him were dropped into a modern, Christian context, we’d all be talking about how Brother Simon is such a good and faithful brother. We’d see him at church every Sunday. We’d see him reading his Bible. We’d see him praying. Of course, we’d never see him committing lewd and sinful acts. He was a decent and even–dare I say–godly man.

Any concerns he had over Jesus were warranted. I’m a young (31-year old) preacher myself. I’ve had older ministers approach me with guidance and sometimes even correction. But occasionally, ministers can approach these matters with arrogance and a complete lack of respect for the younger ones.

As we learn, Simon did not bother to even give Jesus a basin of water to wash his feet. Unfortunately, his mind was made up about Jesus before Jesus ever entered his home. In Simon’s mind, though he speculated Jesus might be a prophet, Jesus was merely a man with all the wrong ideas.

The Savior of sinners?

“And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” (Luke 7:37-38)

You can imagine the discomfort among those around the table when this harlot invited herself in. Her only reputation was that she was a sinner. She’s the kind of woman you’d keep your children away from. She’s the kind of woman any good Christian would avoid.

However, there was something different about this woman. She didn’t come in expecting to meet a popular, celebrity preacher. She wasn’t looking for an autograph or hoping to have her picture taken with him so she could post it on Facebook. She was broken. She was lost. She was looking for salvation.

She hurled herself to the floor and as she sobbed, she noticed the dirty feet of Jesus. Her tears poured out so profusely that she was able to wash his feet with them. She had no towel so she used her hair to dry. To top it all off, she poured out the very perfume she once used to attract men while living in sin onto the feet of Jesus. That’s exactly where our sin belongs. This woman knew Jesus was the Savior.

The Savior of sinners and a perfect example

“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven: for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luke 7:47)

Why does this scenario seem to play out so often in the gospels? On one hand, there is a seemingly upright, religious man who is at the losing end of Jesus’ rebuke. On the other hand, there is a despised sinner who is commended. What is the difference between them and why is the sinner greater?

Ultimately, it is the way each would answer our question: Was Jesus a controversial young preacher or the Savior of sinners? But we also see a fundamental difference in their lives. While Simon was not living in sin like the woman of the story, he had not yet begun to follow Christ. It is not enough that we turn from our sin. We must also walk in faith and commit ourselves to true and sincere discipleship.

In the end, Jesus proved to be our perfect example. This story is a lesson on our perspective and treatment of others as much as anything. Unfortunately, today’s evangelism is often limited to those circles of people most like us which we are most comfortable with. Typically, they are not the people in greatest need of the gospel and our compassion.

Why do we seem to have more in common with the Pharisees who dressed in nice clothing sitting in elite positions than the abused John the Baptist?

John the Baptist was a nobody from the wilderness. Yet, he answered his calling from God and became the greatest prophet the world has ever known (Luke 7:28). A multitude of people followed him. But he remained humble and turned the attention of his disciples to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:29).

What did John the Baptist get in exchange? He was given a death sentence. As he waited for the end in a prison cell, doubts crept into his mind (Luke 7:19). Maybe he was wrong. Maybe God was displeased with him. Maybe Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t the Lamb of God they had been waiting for.

Many people have entered the Lord’s church seeking refuge from the hardships of life. They come to Christ believing he will take away all of their burdens. But God never promised to change our external circumstances. Rather, God’s born again people find the rest they are looking for on the inside.

When John the Baptist sought confirmation that Jesus was the Christ, he got it (Luke 7:21-22). But it still did not change the fact he was a prisoner. Had he done something to deserve such grief? Christ said no (Luke 7:24-28). His natural circumstance was not a reflection of his failures, but a reflection of his success.

Jesus later said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The burden of carrying a cross was great. It was large and heavy and ultimately led to death. Even so, according to Christ, this is a requirement of discipleship.

Then why is it that we in the Christian church today are so comfortable? Why do we seem to have more in common with the Pharisees who dressed in nice clothing and sat in elite positions than the abused and shaken John the Baptist? Not to mention nearly every other faithful person of the Bible.

Have we denied ourselves to the extent of John the Baptist (John 3:30)? Have we ceased to take up our crosses daily? Are we truly following Christ as we are called to do? How can be so comfortable?

Christ has brought all of his people to life and made us accepted in the beloved through his purpose, providence, compassion, purity, and authority.

On three separate occasions, Jesus brought someone back from the dead. First, the only son of a widow in Nain (Luke 7). Second, Jairus’ daughter in Luke 8. Last but certainly not least, Lazarus (John 11).

Jesus did not perform miracles to simply show his power. There was more to his supernatural works than that. Each of them–none more important than raising the dead–made more clear his eternal purpose.

When he raised the widow’s son, he eloquently put five significant attributes of his person and character on display for us to examine (Luke 7:11-17).

Divine purpose

“And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.” (Luke 7:11)

Nain was roughly 20 miles from Capernaum where had been. It was about 10 miles from Nazareth and formed a triangle between the three. The interesting thing about Nain is that was no reason to go there.

Of course, Christ did nothing without a purpose. His trip to Nain was no exception.

Divine providence

“Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.” (Luke 7:12)

With the average person was buried during this time period, he/she was carried outside of the town and buried in the ground. This was the son’s funeral procession leaving the village as Jesus approached.

Not to anyone’s surprise, Christ showed perfect timing. I believe it was by his design that he entered town just as the body was being carried out.

Divine compassion

“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.” (Luke 7:13)

We might be tempted to think of the Lord’s compassion as though he says to us, “Oh, you poor, pitiful humans. I can hardly believe you’d be so upset about such a trivial thing as death.” But that’s not the kind of compassion described here.

Compassion here refers to a strong feeling in your gut. It’s a churning of the stomach. Maybe you’ve experienced emotional pain so intense that it actually felt like your insides were burning. This is what Christ felt for the widow. It was plain and simple human compassion.

Divine purity

“And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” (Luke 7:14)

This could have been a very controversial move on the part of Jesus. First, he interrupted a funeral in process. That’s rarely acceptable in any culture. Second, he touched the bier (a casket or some kind of carrying device for the body).

It wasn’t wrong to touch the bier, but many Jews equated that with touching the dead body itself which was an unclean act according to God’s law (Num. 19:11). Of course, Christ was never unclean and always pure (Heb. 7:26).

Divine authority

“And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.” (Luke 7:15)

Beyond literally raising the dead, there’s a greater message in this story. Christ has brought all of his people to life from a state of death in our sin (Eph. 2:1-10). Through his purpose, providence, compassion, purity, and authority, we have been made accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:3-6).

What could cause God in the flesh to marvel at any man? How could a Roman centurion, hated by the Jews, have the character of a Christian disciple?

It is never surprising to read how men who met Jesus and saw his miracles were astonished. Christ astonished them with his doctrine (Matt. 7:28). He astonished them when he cast out devils (Matt. 9:33). He astonished them when he healed the sick (Matt. 15:30-31).

But it another thing to read how Jesus was astonished at us.

It only happened twice in the gospel accounts. First, Christ marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6). Second, and more impressive, he marveled at the character and behavior of a Roman centurion (Luke 7:9).

Who was the Roman centurion?

We really don’t know anything about this man. But a Roman centurion was a leader of many men within the Roman military. The name suggests he was the leader of roughly 100 men. It was not a position given to just anyone. He could not have bought his way into it or relied on friends in high places. He earned it.

A centurion got where he was through a series of successful battles (keep in mind, it was hand-to-hand combat in those days), proven leadership qualities, and the commitment to always follow the law (Acts 22:24-26).

He might have been a natural-born Roman or he could have come from a number of other nations within the Roman empire which was always expanding. One thing is for sure–he was not a Jew. If he hailed from the nation of Israel, he would have been a Samaritan.

In short, he was not a likely candidate for the faith he displayed.

The Sermon on the Mount in action

Luke 7:1 is intentional to point out how Jesus had just concluded his Sermon on the Mount. It was a radical but foundational message for the Christian disciple. It was meant to shape our perspectives on virtually every aspect of life and show us how to behave.

Surprisingly, the Roman centurion, against all odds, was an example of that sermon in action.

First, his servant was dying and he had such compassion that he sought Christ to heal his servant (Luke 7:2-3). Often, servants in Rome were thought of as little more than tools to be used or disregarded at will.

Strangely enough, he turned to the Jewish elders to run this personal errand for him. Keep in mind, there was no love between the Jews and the Romans. But this particular man had gained the respect of the Jews by supplying them with a synagogue with money from his own pocket (Luke 7:4-5).

It was not a religion he belonged to nor was he a politician trying to garner their support. It was a beautiful example of love thy neighbor.

Next, we see two other important elements of the Sermon on the Mount in that centurion. As Christ approached his home, he refused to let Jesus come too close or enter (Luke 7:6). He knew he was unworthy. Remember, blessed are the poor in the spirit and those who mourn.

What extraordinary faith from such an unexpected person! The centurion knew that by nothing more than a word from Christ, his servant could be healed (Luke 7:7-8). It was this man who caused God in the flesh to marvel (Luke 7:9).

Christ concluded his Sermon on the Mount with a short parable which described the two types of people we can be–the wise or the foolish.

Let’s visit Matthew 7 one more time, as we finish the Sermon on the Mount.

The Lord concluded his sermon with a short parable, which would become much more common as we go on in the Gospel accounts. Jesus used parables many times to relate a spiritual message. This is not the same thing as an allegory though. A lot of preachers especially love to allegorize the Bible. They like to take a detail of the Bible that was not meant to be an allegory, and try to find some kind of spiritual meaning behind it. For instance, if the Bible tells us Jesus crossed the street, they will preach an entire sermon on how that is representing Christ passing from death to life, or some other extravagant notion. When the fact is, the Bible just meant Jesus crossed the street. Jesus had to go from one side to the other side. It is just that simple.

The Bible provides us context. Historical context, cultural context, and details, so that we might understand what was taking place and some of the people involved. Not everything should be allegorized. A more popular example is the five smooth stones, which David collected to go fight Goliath. What do those five smooth stones represent? Well, as far as I know they don‘t represent anything. At least the Bible doesn’t tell us they do. Now maybe there is some significance to the number throughout scripture, but as far as those five smooth stones, for all we know that is all his bag could fit, or that’s all he could find in such as short notice. Who knows? I believe it is a mistake to try to allegorize the Bible, when the Bible was not intending any kind of spiritual message in the detail. We do it, at least preachers do it, number one because we assume, because the Bible is so full of spiritual messages, that everything must be spiritual. Maybe in a sense that’s true, but that doesn’t mean there is some kind of great lesson in every detail of the Bible. Number two, at least for preachers, it makes us sound deep. It makes us sound more profound, when we can draw these little things out of scripture that nobody else can. Also, let’s be honest sometimes it’s fun to speculate what those five smooth stones represent or why Jesus crossed the street. It’s fun to talk about, but it doesn’t necessarily serve us any purpose.

Parables are a little different. Parables are a story told of some natural, ordinary event, such as a farmer sowing seeds, or in this case two men building houses. They are very ordinary events that have a spiritual message in them, but the message is very clear. The Lord makes it absolutely certain that He is delivering a parable with a spiritual message. So we don’t have to draw anything that’s not there. We know there is a message contained in these parables.

There are a couple difficulties in parables. First of all, understanding the parable itself, what is the story telling us? Sometimes that can be difficult, because we’re talking about a different culture, a different place in the world, some two thousand years ago. So, everything is a little different back then. It’s kind of like reading the Song of Solomon. There’s a great difficulty in the Song of Solomon. It’s a beautiful poem with a lot of analogies used; however it’s hard to understand some of those analogies because we wouldn’t use those same analogies today. We wouldn’t describe the beauty of a woman in the same way Solomon did. So the first level of difficulty is understanding the parable itself. What exactly is taking place? Fortunately at the end of Matthew chapter 7, starting in verse 24, this is not a difficult parable. Two men are building houses. One builds his with a solid foundation, and the other essentially builds his without a foundation at all. That is a pretty simple story and easy to understand.

The next level of difficulty with parables is understanding its spiritual application and exactly how it fits. Some are more difficult than others. Sometimes the Lord is very clear in what He is talking about, and in this case the Lord is very clear in what He means and telling of these two men building houses. Other times the Lord delivers a parable, and everyone is left scratching their heads wondering what this is all about. Like in Matthew 17 when he tell the parable of the sower who is going around sowing seeds in a field. Some of those seeds are landing on good ground, some of them falling on not-so-good ground, and as he tells the parable his disciples don’t understand it. He comes back, and he explained what each part of the parable meant. So there are no questions. However, in some of them he doesn’t explain much at all. We are left to rightly divide the word of truth, and to study scripture and try to understand it to the best of our abilities if the Lord will grant that understanding. But this parable is a very simple parable, so we’re in luck. It’s easy to understand, and the Lord is very clear about what He wants us to learn from it.

So let’s read it first of all:

“Therefore whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these saying of mind, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

What a fitting way to conclude this sermon. He is talking about building a house on a foundation. He is talking about having that good support at the base of it. This entire sermon has been a good foundation for the Christian disciple and understanding how we should behave ourselves in this life. You’ll notice he began this parable with the word “therefore”. That word means pay close attention to everything you heard before, because what I’m about to say relates to what I’ve already said.

“THEREFORE whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” (Matt. 7:24)

There is a very simple concept behind this parable. You need a good foundation. Whenever you are building something you need a good foundation, otherwise the building is not strong. Sometimes the building cannot stand. You don’t have to be an engineer or an architect to understand these principles. You can be a young child who has ever tried to build a tower out of blocks. I used to go over to my grandfather’s house when I was young, and he had one of those big cases of the ABC wooden blocks. The goal, every time I visited, was to build a single tower of blocks as tall as I possibly could, and see how many I use before it fell over. It didn’t take me long to learn that it is not a good idea to start that tower on carpet, because it has a little bit of give to it. The whole tower is not very strong when it is laid on carpet, but if you get on a hardwood floor or some other solid place that tower can be built a lot higher without falling over, because it has a solid foundation underneath it. This is a very simple concept. So in this parable, we have a story of two men. One who builds his house on a solid foundation and another who doesn’t. I imagine if you went to the bank today and asked for a loan, and said I would like to build a house on the beach on the sand, and I’m not planning to put a foundation underneath it, the bank would refuse to give you that loan. It wouldn’t work. You’re familiar with the Leaning Tower of Piza, right? This tower was intended to be a stand-alone bell tower for a cathedral. Unfortunately, they did not build the foundation very strong. They made some mistakes, however they realized their mistakes after they started building it and decided they could correct it later, and so they kept on building. They built the entire structure, and then went back to the foundation to try to fix it. It turns out they couldn’t, and for years they have tried to fix it, but it still continues to lean. It actually has leaned throughout the years, a percentage of an inch more every year, up until 2008 when they think they finally figured out, not how to fix, but to keep it from leaning any more. That’s probably only a temporary solution, if it’s a solution at all. You’ve got to have a good foundation, a good start.

As far as discipleship goes, this entire Sermon on the Mount is a great foundation, but the Lord means even more than that. We can take this into a grander scheme. Everything the Lord teaches provides for us a foundation. He says, “Whosoever heareth these saying of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” You want the foundation. You want that strong base. You’re going to have to do two things. You’re going to have to hear what Jesus has taught, and you’re going to have to do them.

Know the truth

So let’s start with knowing the truth. That is ultimately where we have to begin. We have to know the truth. The fact is though, not everyone can know the truth. Have you ever attempted to tell someone the truth, tell someone about your faith, and about what is written in this Bible and they just couldn’t grasp it? Maybe in some cases they didn’t want to, and in some cases they just couldn’t get it. No matter how many different ways you explained it to them, they just couldn’t get it. Well there is the possibility they can’t get it, not yet. I’m sure there are things I don’t get, not yet. There are things you do not get, not yet.

In Matthew 16, the Lord asked, “Who do men say that I am?” to his disciples and there were a lot of theories, but He said, “But whom do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art though, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but me Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 16:13-17)

His understanding that this man standing before him was the Christ, wasn’t given to him by any man, not by flesh and blood. He didn’t figure it out on his own, the Lord revealed it to him. The Lord opened up his understanding to this. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:12 he said:

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

We need grace in order to understand grace. We have God’s grace, but then we have the understanding of that grace which is also given to us. He went on:

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man recieveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

It only makes perfect sense, that in order to understand spiritual things you’ve got to have the spirit. Apart from the spirit, you can’t understand spiritual things, hence the new birth. When we are born of the spirit, we are told then that we can see and enter the kingdom of God. When we are born of the sprit, our eyes are opened to things that we have not seen before, but even as we go along the Lord continues to open up our understand little by little. I can’t tell you at what rate, but at times there are things that we don’t understand, because we can’t understand them yet. Think about this, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles, the men that followed Him around for more than two years, they got to sit at his feet and listen to him speak day after day. It’s hard to believe, but there were things they did not get. They didn’t understand. After His resurrection, the Lord comes to his disciples in Luke 24 to speak with them. First of all, there was the struggle in knowing who he was. They didn’t realize this was Jesus. After they did realize that, the Lord went on to teach them a number of things, showing them from the books of Moses all the way through the prophets, how all of it pointed to Him and what he had just done in the crucifixion and the resurrection. They’re sitting there sort of dumbfounded. Now everything has already happened. The Lord has been teaching them these things personally for a couple of years now, and they’re sitting there scratching their heads not understand what in the world He’s talking about. Then in Luke 24 verse 44:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the low of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.”

In that moment they got it. There are other occasions when the same thing happened to his disciples, the ones closet to the Lord himself, didn’t get it yet.

Now, once we have been born of the spirit. Once we have understanding, then we need to listen. It’s a very simple concept. If we can hear, then we need to hear. We need to take it in, and we need to prove it. You see, we’re going to hear a lot of things in our lives, and not all of it is going to be true. In Acts 17 as Paul and some of his travelling companions were going from city to city, they finally end up in a place called Berea, after leaving Thessalonica, and we learn in verse 11:

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

These individuals had ears to hear. They were capable of understanding, however they weren’t about to listen to anything that was told to them without taking it to God’s word. That’s what we are intended to believe. That’s what we’re supposed to embrace, what God’s word is and what it reveals about his will and not what any person around here might say. Last week, we looked at the issue of false prophets. We’ve got to try those spirits. You can’t listen to every person who comes along and tries to tell you something. You’ve got to take it all back to God’s word. They received the word with readiness of mind. They were willing to listen. They were willing to take it in, however they searched the scriptures daily, to essentially prove whether those things were so. Even the Lord Jesus Christ himself in John 5, verse 30:

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

So everything he hears, even the Lord, he would take it and weigh it next to the will of God the father. That was His version of taking it to scriptures. In Proverbs 14: 15 we read:

“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”

What that means is, the foolish man is going to believe everything he hears, and he’s going to act accordingly, while the wise man is going to pay attention. He’s going to think where is this going to make me, because we’re not just to hear. We’re not just to understand.

Do the truth

The next part of this is we actually have to do. You want to be a wise man with a sure foundation, then you have to hear the things of Christ and you have to do them. James 1 verse 22:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

It’s a form of self-deception to simply hear, to know, and never do. Verse 23 goes on to say:

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner man he was.“

So if you hear, and don’t do, it’s sort of like looking into a mirror and forgetting what you look like. I remember the first time I went in for my driver’s license and the lady in the DMV asked me, “What color are your eyes?” I don’t know. I had never really thought about it. How many times had a looked in the mirror before that point? Countless times, but I couldn’t tell her what color my eyes are. I’m not sure I could tell you today. I know my license says hazel, but I’m not sure they are hazel. I never paid that much attention. What James is saying here, regardless of what you look like, you look at yourself in a mirror and you walk away forgetting what you saw. You don’t remember what you look like anymore. You can’t remember the color of your hair. You can’t remember the freckles on your face. You can’t remember any of these details, even though you just looked at it. That’s like the man who hears, but doesn’t do anything. He actually went on in verse 24, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty…” He’s talking about the gospel essentially. “And continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

What good does any of this do if we don’t actually do anything with it? Is this about entertainment? Surely you can find better forms of entertainment that the gospel. Surely there are more exciting things in your life that can captivate your attention than hearing someone like me talk for a few minutes about this Bible, Right? Surely there’s a social club out there that is a whole lot more fun that what we’ve got right here, right now. There’s more to it than that, and we all understand this. But it doesn’t do us any good, unless we take what we learn and put it in to practice. You know what I would recommend, and I’m thinking about doing this myself. We should come back to this Sermon on the Mount time and time again, and reminding ourselves what a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ looks like. That’s our foundation for our behavior in this life. I could use some reminders, because I’m a fairly forgetful person.

In James 2:14, James asks:

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?”

Now he’s talking about a very real, practical sense. In your life here on this earth, what good does the faith the spirit has given you do if you don’t do anything with it?

“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful of the body; what doth it profit?” (James 2:15–16)

In this example, James said you’ve somebody who is cold and hungry. Somebody who is impoverished and in great need, and you say to that person be warm, be full, and send them on their way. You don’t actually give them a coat or anything to eat. Do those words mean anything to that person? Words mean absolutely nothing.

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: she me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18)

You say you have faith, but you can’t prove it without works and not without doing what the Lord has instructed us to do.

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)

That’s a real shot, isn’t it? That gives you some real perspective. You say I believe, but nothing in your life reflects that. Well guess what? Even the devils believed and acknowledged the Lord. Even the devil, when looking at the story of Job, went to the Lord knowing that He was in supreme power and had to get permission from God to do the things he did in Job’s life. Even the devils believe. What good does that do you?

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)

Now let me explain something about biblical or pastoral counseling. Occasionally members of the church, or sometimes people outside of the church, will come to me or a pastor and will want some advice. Some biblical counseling, about a particular problem they have, and I have sort of honed down want biblical counseling is all about and managed to summarize it in three questions. There are going to be variations of these questions, but I will essentially ask these three questions anytime I counsel a person. The first question is what is the problem? If you come to me with a problem, what exactly is that problem? The second question is what does God say you should do? I’m telling you 99% of the time those who come to a pastor already know the answer. They already know what the Bible would have them to do in those particular cases. Most of the time when we go to a friend for advice, we already know what we want to do or what we should do, but we want some affirmation and a listening ear. Most of the time, we already know. So the second question is what would God have you to do. Wait for the answer. My third question is, are you going to do it? You’d be surprised the answer that most people give to that final question. The wife goes to the pastor and says, I have this problem and my marriage is really hurting because of it. Question 1: What’s the problem? Well I know I nag my husband too much. I know I am constantly nagging. It’s in my nature and I can’t seem to stop. Its send him into depression, and we’re having all kinds of trouble because of it. Question 2: What does God say you should do about it? Well I should stop. I should be more compassionate and patient. I shouldn’t be so critical. I should do this, this, and this. The Bible says this. The Bible says that. I understand. Question 3: Are you going to listen? Are you going to do that? You’d be surprised the number of times a woman like that would say, I don’t know it’s just so hard. I’m not sure. Maybe you could talk to my husband. We have to do what God’s word tells us to do. It’s a very simple concept, because all in all we’re preparing for hard times.

Prepare for hard times

Notice in the parable found in Matthew 7, both the man who built his house on the strong foundation and the one who did not, face wind, rain, and storms. They both get it. That’s inevitable in this life. The question is how strong that foundation in your life when these storms finally hit. These storms come in many forms and in many different ways.

Looking at the story of Job in Job chapter one. I know many are familiar with story, but it is such a remarkable example of this because this man was pounded in his life. I mean he didn’t just have a bad day. You would look at this man and have the greatest compassion for him and think to yourself, no man can endure what this man endured.

“There was a man in the land of US, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” (Job 1:1-3)

Now this is a very early time in history. Some have said this is one of the oldest stories in the Bible, but I have no way to confirm that or exactly when this took place and when Job lived. It goes on in verses four and five:

“And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job send and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

So Job is a faithful man, and he is a blessed man as a result of it as far as his family and his material goods. Here is a man who has got it all, and he kind of deserves it all by the way he has lived his life.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” (Job 1:6)

I’m not going to get deep into the theology of this, but we have an occasion where Satan is going to approach God the Father and sort of tempt him in his own way.

“And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast though considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not though made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” (Job 1:7-10)

In other words, Job’s got everything going for him. No wonder he is such an upright individual. Give him some hard times and we’ll see how that changes.

“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:11-12)

In other words, the Lord says you can do what you want. Don’t touch Job, but go ahead. You’ve got free rein to make his life miserable, and we’ll see how Job responds to it.

“And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up to the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking there came also another, and said Thy sons and they daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brothers house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” (Job 1:13-19)

Job has lost his substance, his livelihood, and his children all in one foul swoop. One right after the other, these servants are coming up to him, interrupting one another, while he was yet speaking, and informing him of this bad news. How would you respond to it?

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and feel down upon the ground, and worshiped,” (Job 1:20)

He did not ask, why me Lord? He did not question why it was happening. He didn’t ask why the Lord would allow such a thing. He didn’t become angry at God for allowing such a thing to happen. He began to worship.

“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:21-22)

Do you notice how Job has such an accurate perspective of himself. What do I deserve in the first place? None of it. That’s one of our problems today. We have such an entitlement mentality. We deserve what we have, but we deserve more. No we don’t. Well the story continues, and I’m not going to get into it all, but in Job chapter two here comes Satan again. Satan has allowed the power to cover Job entirely in boils from head to toe. This is a very painful skin condition. Even Job’s wife in Job 2:9, doesn’t understand why he isn’t cursing God yet and Job refuses to do it.

“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10)

By the end of Job, in Job chapter 42, we learn the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than in his beginning. Now, why do we suppose Job, a man who endured such terrible things, should remain so strong in those moments and furthermore why the Lord would continue to bless him in all of this. He blessed him more than he had ever been before. Well he eschewed evil and worshiped God. In short, he did what the Lord would have him to do. That’s how he lived his life, and it provided for him a solid foundation. So when the very worst of things came his way, he was able to stand up strong. He was able to persevere, and even his perspective was in the right place.

In II Corinthians 12, Paul describes a thorn in his side. We don’t really know what it is, but it is a very painful thing for him.

“For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor. 12:6-9)

In other words, Paul prayed three times asking him to remove this thorn from his side, and the Lord said no, but my grace is sufficient for thee. This is something we do not understand until we suffer. This is something we cannot fully comprehend until we’ve been there, but you want to be ready for it. You need that solid foundation. In 2 Timothy 3:10-12, Paul wrote:

“But thou has fully know my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

If you live by faith, life is not going to be easy. He makes that guarantee. The Bible does not present it as though, as a faithful disciple your life is going to be rosy. It doesn’t even present it as though, you might run into some obstacles along the way. Generally the Bible says you will suffer. You will have bad things come your way. Eventually the storms will come and try to beat down your house, but Paul goes on in very encouraging words to this young minister he is writing to:

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of who thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 3:13-15)

Cling to the scriptures he says. Evil men will wax worse and worse and troubling times will come. Cling to the scriptures. That is when he says, a verse that we are all familiar with:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

In Matthew seven, once the Lord finished speaking this perfect sermon we read in verse twenty-eight:

“And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

You see the scribes were very familiar with scripture, and they certainly asserted a certain authority over people, but they didn’t teach like this man taught. They didn’t teach like Christ. There was something special about Christ and the way he taught. He taught as one having authority, not one asserting authority. This was actually a very neat sermon. Probably not seen that way by some of the Pharisees and different ones who were on some of the losing end of some of his comparisons, but I speculate this was a very humble, or humble-delivered sermon, however there was still a certain authority in his voice in the things that he said, understood and taught.

So they were astonished, primarily at his doctrine. It is an astonishing thing, especially for the individuals who would have been in his congregation. They have long learned religion one way, and here he comes and says you’ve got it wrong. This entire sermon again, is one big contrast between who his disciples ought to be and who they were in the Jewish tradition. So as the Lord brings this entire sermon into a close he says, these things that I have written and everything else he would ever say that would be written into this Bible, he says you must understand them and you must do them. If you want to prepare for what life may throw at you, then that’s what you need, those two things.

Full sermon transcript provided by Autumn Baker.

We all face a choice between the path of life and the path of destruction. Even those of us choosing the right path run into obstacles which divert us. Perhaps the most significant and dangerous is the false prophet or false teacher (Matt. 7:15-23).

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits…” (Matt. 7:15-16)

Christ expressed this danger as a subtle threat but also said there would be warning signs…

1) Signs, wonders, and false visions

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matt. 24:24)

Do not underestimate the power of Satan working through these men. While some will merely fake these wondrous works, others will actually perform them. Even so, these wolves will inevitably give themselves away at some point by leading people away from the true living God (Deut. 13:1-5)

2) Bringing harm to God’s people

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matt. 5:15)

Despite his appearance, he is a ravening wolf which means he is hungry and vicious. Much like the devil, false teachers are seeking whom they may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). They will move slowly and carefully, but the object is destruction.

3) Serving themselves

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Rom. 16:17-18)

Much like the false prophets of the Old Testament, false teachers today are looking to personally gain from the misery of their students (Eze. 22:25-27). It is not the Lord they serve nor the church. They serve only themselves.

4) Smooth talkers

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Tim. 4:3-4)

Using the enticing words of man’s wisdom is a popular and effective tactic of the false teacher. It has always been the nature of man to desire something other than the truth (Is. 30:9-11).

5) Hypocritical sinners

“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” (Matt. 23:13-14)

The wolf may look like a sheep, but a closer examination will reveal his fur and fangs. This is why so many of the qualifications of an elder have more to do with his character than his work in the ministry (1 Tim. 3:1-7). If he gives the illusion of genuine disciple in his teaching, there’s a strong possibility that his life reflects something else altogether.

6) False teachings and doctrinal errors

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” (Rom. 16:17)

Obviously, not all Christians can agree on sound biblical teaching. But among the other characteristics of a potential false prophet, this is one that clearly should be added to the list. If the false teacher is not a sincere believer, his lack of love for the truth will become evident in his teaching.

7) Denying the Lord

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Pet. 2:1)

John called them antichrists multiple times. It might seem obvious that a man denying or opposing Christ has no place in the church, yet, Christ has been effectively removed from many Christian congregations. Instead, they learn of God (often as an ambiguous figure) and learn how to better our own lives. Slowly, the reality of our sin and our need for Christ the Savior has vanished.

Concerning a man in question…

What does he say about Jesus?

“Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 16:15-17)

Does he preach the gospel?

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Gal. 1:6-8)

Does his character glorify God?

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

The path which leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14) is a road far less traveled. This means the disciple of Christ is to be different and unconventional.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)

This is the climax of the Lord’s sermon on the mount. It all comes down to a choice between life and destruction. But what does it mean to choose life in this case? Christ said few would find it but when John saw a vision of heaven he saw a great multitude around the throne that no man could number (Rev. 7:9).

Life and destruction are broad terms used in at least three different ways throughout the Bible:

1. Physical life/destruction
2. Spiritual life/destruction
3. Eternal life/destruction

It’s an easy mistake to always apply these references to the eternal. But in context of the sermon on the mount, this commandment the Lord gave cannot be the ways to eternal life or destruction.

The only way to obtain everlasting life is through perfect righteousness (Matt. 5:48) which can only be achieved by Christ (Matt. 5:17-18). His righteousness was then given, through the grace of God, to all of God’s elect family (Rom. 3:20-22, Eph. 1:3-6).

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus was teaching the ways to spiritual life or destruction (on Earth).

The path of spiritual destruction

Jonah experienced this type of destruction in life when he was disobedient…

“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly…I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I…The waters compassed me about, even to the soul…When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord…” (Jonah 2:1-7)

David’s disobedience also led to him the misery of spiritual destruction…

“Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities…Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation…” (Ps. 51:8-12)

This type of destruction is reserved for the child of God as the Father uses it to discipline…

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth…Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb. 12:6-11)

The path of spiritual life

Obedience, on the other hand, allows us to glean the blessings of the eternal life we already have…

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

This well of eternal water becomes available to us when we are born of the Spirit…

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

The path which leads to life is the same path of peace and rest Jesus spoke of later…

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

Choosing the path less traveled

This is not a decision we make once in our lives. It’s one we make over and over again, day after day. But it’s not an easy choice. First, it goes against our nature to choose the right path. Second, the right path is far less traveled. It requires we go against the grain and make unconventional choices.

In the United States, 70 percent claim to be Christian. Only 41 percent attend church even semi-regularly. Even church-goers can be broken down further. Some are faithful believers while others merely keep the pew warm. Furthermore, the faithful believers hold to varying degrees of the truth.

If we are to choose the right path, we can expect to different. David once displayed his faith through a very unusual, unconventional fighting tactic when he faced Goliath (1 Sam. 17:3-49). Jeremiah was largely hated by the masses for speaking the truth (Jer. 20:7-9).

We’re not supposed to copy or be like the rest of the world (Rom. 12:2). After all, is there anything more unconventional than the life of a Christian disciple according to the sermon on the mount?

The “golden rule” can found in almost every religion and secular philosophy throughout history. However, within the Christian faith, it is unique.

The “sermon on the mount” is the key to understanding who the Christian disciple is and how he/she ought to behave. Within it, we are given the right perspective on ourselves (Matt. 5:3-12), the world (Matt. 5:13-16), God’s unchanging Word (Matt. 5:17-48), religion (Matt. 6:1-18), and money (Matt. 6:19-34).

Jesus also taught the right attitude when it comes to our relationships with other people. He began with how we are not to treat others (Matt. 7:1-6), followed by how we should treat others.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them…” (Matt. 7:7-12)

The golden rule is a positive commandment

The golden rule is such a valuable ethical principle that it has made its way into virtually every religion and even into secular philosophies. However, the Bible presents a much different (and much better) version of it than what is commonly believed and practiced.

Outside of the Christian faith, the golden rule is treated as a negative commandment. When we perceive it that way, our motivation to follow it becomes mere self-preservation. For example, we may not punch someone in the nose because we don’t want to get punched in the nose by them.

The golden rule is not meant to merely restrain us from doing evil to others but encourage us to do them good. For example, if I only have enough money to buy one coat and I need a coat, but choose to buy someone else a coat who is also in need, I have followed the golden rule. I have sacrificed myself for them.

The golden rule is a positive commandment motivated by love.

The golden rule fulfills all other commandments

“…for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12)

The golden rule originated with the Old Testament of the Bible. At the same time, the golden rule is really a summation of the entire Old Testament. Jesus said it was the greatest of all commandments (Matt. 22:34-40). Paul said all of the commandments can be comprehended with it alone (Rom. 13:8-9).

The law said, Thou shalt not kill. You will never kill a man if you are always willing to lay down your life for his. The law said, Thou shalt not steal. You will never steal from a man if you are always giving to him.

Every commandment of God is wrapped up in this one positive commandment known as the golden rule.

Ask, Seek, Knock

We are lovers of self by nature (2 Tim. 3:1-5). The golden rule does not always come easy for us. But God is a giver of what we need. He is a giver of strength. If you think you can’t follow the golden rule, Christ said you can because he makes you able.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt. 7:7-8)

Listen to the entire discourse by clicking the “Play” button above.

The commandment to “judge not” in the Bible is not without exception. It’s a matter of making godly judgments and avoiding self-righteous condemnation.

(Our apologies if the audio quality of this sermon is less than ideal.)

The “sermon on the mount” is the key to understanding who the Christian disciple is and how he/she ought to behave. Within it, we are given the right perspective on ourselves (Matt. 5:3-12), the world (Matt. 5:13-16), God’s unchanging Word (Matt. 5:17-48), religion (Matt. 6:1-18), and money (Matt. 6:19-34).

Jesus also taught the right attitude when it comes to our relationships with other people. He began with how we are not to treat others (Matt. 7:1-6), followed by how we should treat others (Matt. 7:7-12).

The greatest sin of the Bible?

The entire sermon is in contrast to the religious elites of the day. Namely, the Pharisees. While the Lord refused to condemn a woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:11) and he prayed for those who crucified him (Luke 23:34), he harshly rebuked the self-righteousness of the Pharisees (Matt. 23:13).

The self-righteous person is one who creates his own system of morality and imposes it on others. It causes him to wrongfully judge others by a standard apart from God’s commandments. He essentially makes himself a god by assuming the roles of king, judge, and possibly executioner.

To judge or not to judge?

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?” (Matt. 7:1-4)

Matthew 7:1 is a common defense we use when we feel we are being judged by another. But in this very chapter Jesus gives commandments to judge (Matt. 7:6, 15). In context, to judge is to judge according to a self-righteous standard. He meant we are not to condemn others.

Poor and ungodly judgments are typically the result of an erroneous view of God, others, and ourselves. We assume the role of God and assume things about others we cannot know.

Click the “Play” button above to hear the full discourse on Matthew 7:1-6.

Epidemic is an appropriate word to describe the state of pornography in our world today. Our churches need practical helps for fighting these temptations.

“…Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matt. 5:27-28)

Our exposure to lewdness (especially of a sexual nature) is commonplace today. In particular, there is pornography which can easily stream into our homes through the Internet. The statistics would suggest there are many more people struggling with this problem than we may realize.

One-third of all Internet traffic is to pornographic material. 93.2 percent of males have viewed pornography before the age of 18. Worse yet, 66.5 percent of college students (male and female) surveyed believe viewing pornography is acceptable on some level.

Paul wasn’t hesitant to address such issues (fornication, homosexuality, etc.) and neither should we.

1) Read, study, and memorize God’s Word

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Ps. 119:9-11)

2) Teach your children about the marriage bed

“Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” (Prov. 5:18-19)

3) Treat all women as someone’s daughter

“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” (1 Tim. 5:1-2)

4) Remove or avoid the triggers of lust

“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matt. 5:29-30)

5) Consider the spiritual consequences

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience…” (Col. 3:5-6)

6) Replace your desires with purity

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11)

7) Turn to your family in Christ for help

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.” (1 Thess. 5:14)

8) Realize the power you have through Christ

“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:3-4)

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Phil. 4:13)

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

9) Use the marriage bed as God intended

“…to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband…Defraud ye not one the other…” (1 Cor. 7:1-9)

10) Don’t look in the first place

(To listen to the entire discourse, click the “Play” button above or subscribe in iTunes.)

Possessing a lot of material things or money can be spiritually dangerous. But our love of money can be even more troublesome.

It is commonly said Americans vote their wallets. In other words, many of us vote for candidates we believe will give us the greatest financial benefit. Some hope to get more by way of welfare programs. Others hope to get more through tax breaks. Both motivators can very well suffer the same flaw.

We live in a materialistic culture where our assumption is that we deserve prosperity. As a result, we’ve racked up a $13.5 trillion mortgage debt, $1 trillion student loan debt, and $852 billion credit card debt.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Tim. 6:10)

Money itself is not evil. I’d encourage everyone to make as much money as possible (Eccl. 5:19) so you can give as much as possible (Prov. 3:9-10). Labor is a wonderful thing that was expected of mankind even before sin (Gen. 2:15). Diligence is rewarded and laziness brings poverty (Prov. 10:4, Prov. 12:24).

The fast track to sin and misery

Possessing a lot of material things or money can be spiritually dangerous (Matt. 19:23-24). Prosperity has ruined more people than poverty. But our love of money can be even more troublesome. It can lead to pride, covetousness, theft, or almost any other sin imaginable. This is true for the rich and the poor.

Solomon was the richest king in Israel’s history. He had everything yet came to the conclusion it was all worthless (Eccl. 4:2-11). Judas Iscariot, not likely a wealthy man, deceitfully obtained all he could (Matt. 26:6-16). His pursuit of money led to a misery which resulted in his suicide (Matt. 27:3-5).

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all wealthy yet faithful (not perfect) men of the Bible. Again, there is nothing evil in responsibly seeking more wealth. There is nothing evil in being wealthy. But our perspective can quickly change what is innocent to what is wicked (Mark 10:17-23).

Making the right investments

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21)

When we invest our money, we risk that money in hopes of a return on our investment. Imagine if I was your financial advisor and recommended you invest in phonograph technology. You’d laugh at the notion.

Any investment on this earth is foolish because it is only temporary unless we invest in eternal things. You’ll never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer. We need a better perspective on material things unless it truly is our goal to be richest stiff in the cemetery.

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:22-23)

In driver’s education, they teach new drivers to keep their eyes on the road straight ahead of the car. If you look to the right or the left, your car will start to drift in that direction resulting in an accident.

Since material possessions are not evil of themselves, it is a matter of our focus or the extent of our investment in them. If you get out of balance, you may very well pierce yourself with many sorrows.

(Listen to the full discourse on Matthew 6:19-34 by clicking the “Play” button above.)