Matthew 7

Matthew 7:1

The Greek word translated “judge” is krino, which means “to judge to the place of condemnation.” It’s when you’re in someone’s face, so to speak, pointing your finger at them, and condemning them. In Rom_16:17, Paul instructs the early church to mark the man who causes division. And in Gal_1:8, he writes, “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.” So there is a need to judge, but not to the place of condemnation. Rather, we are to judge for identification and for restoration. I am to love people enough that when I see them erring, I am to say to them lovingly, “Because I care about you, I want you to know that you’re going in the wrong direction.” Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.Lev_19:17 Don’t hate your brother, but love him by not allowing him to continue in his sin. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.Gal_6:1 According to Scripture, I must make some judgments and identification. But I am not to have an attitude of condemnation. How do I know if I’m condemning people? If I am not willing to partake in restoration, then I am probably practicing condemnation. When Jesus walked into the Upper Room where His disciples were sitting, He noticed they had dirty feet. Did He point His finger and say, “You guys, why don’t you wash your stinky feet? It’s a mess up here.” No. John 13 says He rose from supper, girded Himself with a towel, and began to wash their feet Himself. So, too, I do not believe I have the right to point out someone’s dirty feet unless I’m willing to kneel down and wash them.

Matthew 7:2

The manner in which I judge is the way I will be judged. Is it the manner in which I will be judged by God? No. All my sins have been dealt with on the Cross of Calvary. Then who is going to judge me? People will. If I am critical of others, pointing out dirt on their feet with no intention of restoring, healing, or helping, I am going to find that same kind of judgment hurled at me. In the first chapter of the Book of Judges, the men of Judah said to the men of Simeon, “There’s a camp of Canaanites over in this valley. Let’s go take them on.” After beating the Canaanites soundly, the Israelites captured Adoni-bezek, the Canaanite king, and chopped off his thumbs and big toes. Why? Adoni-bezek himself gave the answer when he said, “Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me” (Jdg_1:7). If you chop up someone, or cut down someone, watch out. Jesus said the way you judge is the way you’ll be judged.

Matthew 7:3

I find this fascinating because the words Jesus used imply that the speckthe splinter I see in my brother’s eyeis of the same exact material as the beam in my own eye, only smaller in dimension. That’s why I can spot certain sins in other people very easily. They’re my sins. Whatever sins you struggle with personally are the sins you will point out in others most readily. David found this to be true. The prophet Nathan came to him and said, “David, we have a problem. There’s a rich man who has all sorts of sheep. Someone came to visit him, and instead of going out to his own herds and taking one of his own lambs, this rich man went to his neighbor who was very poor, grabbed his neighbor’s one and only lamb, and killed it to serve his guest.” Outraged, David said, “What? The man who has done this thing shall surely die!” The Old Testament Law never prescribed death as the penalty for this kind of transgression. Yet, with blood vessels bursting and finger pointing, David said, “Kill him!” Then Nathan said, “David, thou art the man. It’s you. You have many wives and concubines, yet you stole Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and you took her into your house. Thou art the man.” Why was David so eager to mete out excessive judgment? Because we’re always harshest with the sin in others that also lurks within our own hearts. The old saying is true: You can always tell a preacher’s sins by what he preaches against. And Jesus is saying, “If you see splinters in others, realize it’s a splinter off the beam that is in your own eye.” Jesus is not saying you shouldn’t help the brother who has a splinter in his eye. Instead, He is saying to make sure you recognize and deal with the beam in your own eye first. “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” David prayed. “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways” (see Psa_51:10, Psa_51:13, emphasis mine). “Once You deal with me, Lord, my attitude will be entirely different as I deal with others.”

Matthew 7:6

To be effective in ministry, we must make judgmentsnot for condemnation, but for identification. Is this person open? Is he sensitive? Is he hungering? Or does he just want to argue and discuss endlessly? The Lord loves to see us effective, and Satan would love to see us sidetracked. How do we know what is wise in these matters? How can we know what we should do and where we should invest our time? How does this work out practically? Jesus gives the answer in the next verse.

Matthew 7:7

Ask your Father! In the Greek language, it’s written this way: Keep asking and it shall be given. Keep seeking and you shall find. Keep knocking and it will be opened. The tense used speaks of continual action. When you don’t know what to do, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Now, please bear in mind folks that God does not want us to keep asking and keep seeking and keep knocking because He’s playing hard to get. It’s not as though He’s holding a dog biscuit out to me, saying, “Speak, Jon. Speak.” No, that’s not the heart of our Father. Rather, He is determined to cultivate a relationship with me that will be as vital in the ages to come as it is presently. Thus, He says to us, “I want you to be continually asking, continually seeking, continually knocking because you need the exercise in developing spiritual communication skills. And as you do, I’ll take care of you. I’m not going to allow you to bite into a rock or eat a snake. I’ll guide you and give you wisdom.”

Matthew 7:12

When you come across the word “therefore,” you should always stop and ask what it’s “there for.” In this verse, commonly known as the Golden Rule, it precedes a summation of verses Mat_7:1 through Mat_7:11.

Matthew 7:13

I went down the Rogue River in Oregon in a jet boat one summer, and when we came to Hell’s Gate, the water seemed so tranquil with rock canyons on either side. But our guide said, “The water below you right now is one hundred fifty feet-deep, and because the river is channeled into such a small area, it is incredibly powerful.” When filming the John Wayne movie Rooster Cogburn, one of the scenes called for a guy to jump from one of the cliffs at Hell’s Gate into this 150-feet deep pool of water. The stunt man studied the currents and found that about four or five feet below the seeming tranquility of the surface, there were whirlpools that could have sucked him straight down. Although this stunt man was paid $150,000 for one jump, afterward, he said he would never do it again. Jesus said, “Narrow is the way that leads to life.” When things get narrow, they get strong, deep, and powerful. Why One Way? A Topical Study of Mat_7:13-14 Over and over again, I find myself dialoguing on this particular point with unbelievers who say, “We like Jesus, but we reject the exclusive mentality you propagate.” Why do people feel this way? I suggest to you it is because our cultureour generation in particularis more interested in equality than in truth. We are more afraid of being thought prejudiced or bigoted than of being wrong. We are scared to death of being labeled narrow-minded. Yet, that is exactly what Jesus Christ calls us to. He came on the scene and said there is an exclusive mentality to Christianity. He was direct and straightforward when He said, “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” (Mat_7:13-14). Why is Christianity so exclusive and so narrow? First of all, narrowness is God’s protection of us. God is saying, “I understand the frailty of humanity and that you are but children. So I will keep it real simple. The options? Only two: Jesus Christ or eternal death. That’s it.” There are those who say, “All paths lead to God. You can embrace any philosophy and follow any guru as long as you’re sincere. They all lead to heaven, bliss, or nirvana.” But I ask them, “Do you believe those who followed the teachings of Jim Jones in Guyana were following a godly path as they drank Kool-Aid laced with cyanide? Do you believe if you followed Charles Manson sincerely, you would end up in the right spot eternally? Do you believe sincerely following Adolf Hitler, who used Scripture and quoted theologians, would lead to heaven?” You see, if the Lord had fifteen legitimate paths to heaven, the Enemy would still counter with fifteen thousand illegitimate destructive paths, and it would still be confusing. There will always be Adolf Hitlers, Charlie Mansons, and Jim Joneses who will be deceptive and manipulative, weird and destructive. So our Father, in His wisdom, says, “Kids, I’m going to keep it real simple. There are not fifteen paths or eighteen paths. No. There’s only one Way: Jesus, My Son.” Second, God made Christianity exclusive not only as protection for us, but as a proclamation to us. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Joh_14:6). In Greek, it is most clear that He is saying, “I am the only way. There is no other way to enter into the presence of the Father but by Me.” God’s proclamation is exceedingly clear to any and all who will listen. Third, and most importantly, narrow is the gate because of God’s provision for us. If, indeed, there are many paths to God and many routes to eternal life, then the sacrifice God made in becoming a Manslaughtered before the foundation of the world, plunging into hell, suffering in ways we will never comprehendwas all unnecessary. If you say, “Well, let’s be open-minded about the way to heaven,” you discount the provision of what God did on your behalf. Mohammed didn’t die for you. Buddha wouldn’t die for you. Only Jesus gave everything to save you from your sins. Mohammed came on the scene and said, “Do not look at me. My teachings are my essence.” Buddha never claimed to be anything of a godly man at all. In fact, his religion or philosophy is basically atheistic. Hinduism is pantheistic. Jesus alone says, “It’s Me. I am the Way.” You will hear over and over again that “Spirituality is a journey up a holy mountain, and no matter which route you take, when you get to the top, you will find God. So just wander wherever you feel inclined and embrace the other pilgrims on their paths. Don’t try to convert them, for every route leads to the top of the mountain, and they will find God just as you will.” Bunk. The analogy is all wrong. You see, it is not any mountain upon which God sits and man meanders. It is El Capitana sheer face, a stone where there are no handholds and no toeholdsa rock that is insurmountable and un-climbable. God is holy, folks. He is not some sort of portly gentleman sitting on top of a hill, saying, “Any Buddha or guru who can find Me is wonderful.” Rather, He is high and holy on the top of a sheer face, and although man is sinful, God in His love reaches down to him. It is not man meandering up to God. It is God reaching down to man, saying, “I will elevate you and save you if you grab hold of Me through the Person of My Son.” Every religion is man trying to make it up the mountain. Christianity alone says, “You’re out to lunch, off the wall, and hopelessly lostbut I love you. And I’m reaching down to you. Grab My hand.” Before I mow the grass, suppose I see a group of ants headed for destruction, and wanting their lives to be spared from the mower, I say, “Ants, repent! Hide! Run from the judgment to come!” They would look at me and scratch their heads. They wouldn’t comprehend what I was saying because I’m too big. So the only way I could communicate effectively with them would be to become one of themto become an ant myself. God declared His holiness and righteousness and love to us, but we didn’t hear Him. In His awesomeness, we couldn’t comprehend Him. So God became a Man, an ant, if you would, in the Person of Jesus, and He dwelt among us, not only to communicate to us truth, but to die for us when we violated that truth. No one else did that. No one else could. No one else would. Only Jesus. I am narrow-minded because Jesus Christ said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Jesus is God’s protection of me, God’s proclamation to me, and God’s glorious provision for me. That’s fact. That’s reality.

Matthew 7:15

In Acts 20, Paul said the same thing to the elders at Ephesus: “When I leave, men will rise up, and draw disciples to themselves.” He called such men ravenous wolves, even as Jesus did here. How will you know them? Acts 20 says they will seek to draw men after themselves instead of pointing them to Jesus. Secondly, 2Pe_2:3 says these ravenous wolves will make merchandise of you. They’ll go for your pocketbooks, concerned not so much about feeding you as they are about fleecing you. The writings that circulated among the early church, called the Didache, specifically stated that if a man said, “Thus saith the Lord. I have need of a steak dinner and a new garment,” he was to be branded as a false prophet immediately. Beware of any man who preaches about his own needs. One of Aesop’s fables is about a hungry wolf that put a sheepskin over himself and cruised into the sheepfold. It just so happened that the same night, the shepherd also had a strange craving for mutton. So he went out to his sheepfold and plunged his knife into the biggest sheep within the flock, which, of course, turned out to be the wolf. The wolf who was disguised as a sheep was eventually dealt with by the shepherd. So, too, our Good Shepherd watches out for His flock.

Matthew 7:16

We are not to be judges, but we are to look for fruit. The fruit we are to look for is not flawless, because we are all full of flaws and shortcomings. No, the issue is not flawlessness, but fruitfulness. The tree that has a lot of leaves but no real fruit is going to be dealt with severely when it is hewn down and cast into the fire.

Matthew 7:21

Many of these wolves and false trees will come to Jesus and say, “But, Lord, didn’t we prophesy? Didn’t we cast out demons? Didn’t we do miracles?” The question arises, “How could these wolves, these false leaders, these bogus trees do these things? How could they prophesy, cast out demons, and do miracles if they were fakes?” There are three possible answers. One is that they were lying. They never did them. Maybe they just thought about doing them, or thought they were doing them. Second, it is possible they were doing these things in the power of the devil. The Book of Acts talks about Simon the Sorcerer, who did miracles, but not in the power of the Spirit. In Moses’ day, Pharaoh’s magicians copied, to a certain extent, the miracles of God, but it was by the power of the devil. Third, the Lord could have been simply using them in spite of themselves. The Lord used Balaam, even though Balaam was not right with Him. He prophesied through King Saul, even though Saul’s heart was far from Him. He spoke prophetically through Caiaphas the high priest, saying, “Should not one man die for the nation?” although Caiaphas knew it not. Notice that many will say, “Did not we prophesy?” Always be wary of people who promote themselves in ministry. Whenever I hear a ministry say, “Look what we are doing,” bells ring, and red flags go up in my mind because Jesus taught humility and secrecy. Engraved in a cathedral in Germany are these words: Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us. You Call Me Master You call Me Master and obey Me not. You call Me Light and see Me not. You call Me the Way and walk Me not. You call Me Life and choose Me not. You call Me Wise and follow Me not. You call Me Fair and love Me not. You call Me Rich and ask Me not. You call Me Eternal and seek Me not. You call Me Noble and serve Me not. You call Me Gracious and trust Me not. You call Me Might and honor Me not. You call Me Just and fear Me not. If I condemn you, blame Me not. Sincerely Saved A Topical Study of Mat_7:21-23 It was his farewell gathering. Knowing he was on his way to Rome where he could be beheaded, Paul gave final instruction to a group of elders from the church in Ephesus. “For three years,” he said, “I have taught you and warned you with many tears” (see Acts 20). If a shepherd only warns the flock, but never feeds them, they will die of malnutrition. If he only feeds the flock and never warns them, he is simply fattening them up for the kill. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Good Shepherd both fed and warned His flock as the masses gathered around Him on the hillside. He began by talking about the pathway to happiness. His first words were “Blessed, or happy, are the poor in spirit. Happy are they who mourn. Happy are the meek.” Then He talked about the highway of holiness. Many people thought they were pretty good and fairly holy because they didn’t commit murder or adultery. But Jesus explained to them that if they were angry with their brother without a cause, they were guilty of murder. If they had looked at a woman with lust in their heart, they were adulterers. Such teaching would drive people to realize that no one is holy, that all are sinners, and that everyone needs a Savior. Finally, He taught that the broad way is hazardous, concluding His Sermon with this sober exhortation: “There are choices you must make concerning the right way and the wrong way.” There are two gates. Narrow is the gate that leads to life and broad is the way that leads to damnation. You’ve got to make a choice, and the wrong choice will be hazardous to your eternal state. There are two trees. When you’re wondering whom you should listen to or receive from, check out the fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Watch out for deception. There are two foundations. The wise man builds his house upon the rock, and the foolish man builds his house upon the sand. The wrong choice will lead to destruction. You’ll lose everything. It is in this context that we find our textan extremely sobering, heavy-duty warning. What does it mean, and does it apply to us? In Acts 8, we see an example of one who could say, “Lord, Lord, did I not prophesy? Cast out demons? Do wonderful works?” We see a man who had religion, but not relationship, activity, but not intimacy. Perhaps his story will make us think about our own situations personally. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.Act_8:1-3 Saul was a man who was radically devoted to Goda Pharisee and a scholar. Believing that Christians were a dangerous cult, Saul thought he was doing God a favor by pulling them from their houses, beating them, and imprisoning them. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.Act_8:4 Fleeing persecution, the church spread out. Christians went everywhere, and as they went, they preached the Word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.Act_8:5 One believer, a man named Philip, went to the city of Samaria, which is located between Jerusalem to the south and Galilee to the north. This must have totally confounded the Samaritans, who knew the Jews took great pains to avoid even traveling through their region. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.Act_8:6-8 The Samaritans were confounded that Philip came, convicted by what he said, and convinced by what they saw. The lame were healed, the oppressed were delivered, and the entire city was filled with joy. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.Act_8:9-11 Simon had been on the scene for many years. He was fascinating to the people and had a certain power over them because of his magic tricks. He made himself out to be someone great, and the people thought he possessed the power of God. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.Act_8:12 Although the Samaritans were confounded that Philip came, convicted by what he said, convinced by what they saw, they were not converted until they heard the message concerning the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ. Miracles do not convert people. Deliverance from demons does not convert people. Good deeds and good works do not convert people. What converts people is the message of the kingdom of God in the Name of Jesus Christ. In John 10, we read that many came to Jesus and said of John the Baptist, “John did no mighty miracles, but all things he spake concerning this Man are true” (see verse Joh_10:41). Jesus called John the greatest of all Old Testament prophets not because John did miracles, but because John spoke about Him. This encourages me because, although I might not be able to confound people with my good works or convince people with signs and wonders, I can see the conversion of people as I share this simple Gospel: Jesus loves you. He died for you. He wants to live within you. When the Samaritans heard the preaching of the kingdom in the Name of Jesus, they were baptized, which is an outward sign of an inward acceptance. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles" hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.Act_8:13-24 Although Simon professed to believe and was baptized, in reality Peter said, “You are in the gall of bitterness, in the bond of iniquity.” In other words, “Your conversion is not real. And you’re in big trouble.” Why wasn’t Simon’s conversion real? What went wrong? First, Simon had a wrong view of self. Verse Act_8:9 says he made himself out to be someone great. That’s the first problem. Jesus said if you want to be great in the kingdom, become the servant of all. Simon wanted to be esteemed and noticed by all. How are you doing in the area of servanthood? We sing the song, “Lord, make me a servant.” But how do you react when people treat you like a servantwhen they don’t thank or compliment you on what you’ve done? A servant serves without expecting acknowledgment. Jesus said if you want to be great, become the servant of all. Second, Simon had a wrong view of supernatural power. When he saw that the laying on of hands by the apostles gave the believers in Samaria power, he said, “Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost” (see verse Act_8:19). He didn’t want the power of the Spirit to change his character, only to fulfill his ambition. This is where King Saul, from the Old Testament, blew it. Saul used the things of God to exalt himself. David, on the other hand, allowed himself to be used to exalt God. That’s why Saul fell tragically and David was used powerfully. Do you have a wrong view of supernatural power? Do you pray, “Give me power that I might accomplish this task and fulfill that ambition”? Or do you pray, “Give me the power of Your Spirit to break me and make me more like Your Son”? Third, notice in Simon a wrong view of the Spirit. In verse Act_8:20, Peter said, “You don’t understand, Simon, that the gift of God is not purchased with money, nor is it earned by energy. It is a gift that is bestowed freely by God’s grace and mercy. You don’t earn it, you don’t prove that you are worthy of it, and you can’t buy it.” And yet people today, like Simon, say, “What can I do to earn the Spirit? I’ll fast for thirty days. I’ll go to church every week for three months. I won’t kick the dog anymore. I’ll give to the building fund. I’ll do this, that, or the other, and maybe then God will bless me.” That’s a wrong view of the Spirit. You cannot purchase Him with energy or with money. Jesus said, “If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask” (see Luk_11:13). You just ask for the Spirit in humility, with expectancy, and according to God’s grace and mercy. Fourth, Simon had a wrong view of sin. When told he was in sin, he said to Peter, “Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me” There was not confession, there was not repentance, there was only a concern about repercussions. Although Simon believed initially and was baptized physically, he was headed for damnation eternally because of his wrong view of self, of supernatural power, of the Spirit, and of sin. There are those today who are in danger of the same thing. You might say, “Well, I believe in Jesus.” But the Book of James says that even the demons believe. Intellectual belief isn’t enough. Salvation takes place when you put your full trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone. “But I work for Jesus,” you might say. “I teach Sunday school,” or “I’m a part of the worship team.” You might even lead a Bible study, but that doesn’t assure you a place in the kingdom. You might do many wonderful works, but if you’re not walking with the Lord personally and intimately, you’re in danger of damnation eternally. No wonder Peter pleads in 2Pe_1:10, “Make your calling and election sure.” What does it mean to make your calling and election sure, to be truly saved? Let’s look again at Acts 8. And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.Act_8:25-28 After Philip left Samaria, the angel of the Lord told him to go south toward the desert where he would encounter an Ethiopian eunuch reading from the Book of Isaiah. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?Act_8:29-30 Philip caught up with him and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.Act_8:31 The eunuch “happened” to be reading Isa_53:7-8, and he asked Philip of whom the passage was speaking. Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.Act_8:35 There can be no finer exposition, no higher teaching, no more effective preaching than using the Word of God to point to the Son of God. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.Act_8:36-39 This is true conversion. First, we see in this story the sovereign work of the Spirit. It was a sovereign work of the Spirit when He drew the Ethiopian to Jerusalem to worship. It was an equally sovereign work of the Spirit when He said to Philip, “Leave the revival of Samaria. Go to the desert. There’s a man there I want you to meet.” Second, we see the seeking heart of a sinner. The eunuch was searching the Scripture, not watching a miracle. Third, there was a Scriptural base for salvation. When Philip said, “Isaiah is talking about Jesus Christ,” he based his witness upon the Word. James declares faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Finally, there was a sincere expression by the servant. Unlike Simon the sorcerer, the Ethiopian eunuch didn’t say, “Give me power.” He said, “Baptize me.” Every one of us falls into one of these two categories: Either we are like Simon the Sorcerer, or we are like the Ethiopian eunuch. Both stories are in the same chapter of Acts. Both take place in a similar situation. But each has an entirely different conclusion. You may have been baptized fifty times or more, but when you see God, you may hear Him say, “Depart from Me. I never knew you.” You might be one who’s hung around the church for yearsmaybe you even hold a prominent position. But familiarity alone is no guarantee. The most successful skydiver in history died when he took a jump and halfway down realized he forgot to pack his parachute. Jesus talked more about damnation and hell than any other subject because He knew its reality. He was a Good Shepherd who said, “This is serious.” How do you know if your salvation is real? If you are feeling like Simon the sorcererin the grasp and dominion of sinthen you are in jeopardy. Repent today, and be finally, truly, and eternally saved. If, however, you are like the Ethiopian eunuch, you will go your way rejoicing. Romans 8 declares His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Thus, you will rejoice in your heart, and you will know that you know that you know you’re born again. No one will have to talk you into it or convince you of it because you will have His witness in your heart.

Matthew 7:24

Here is the familiar story of two men building houses. Both men used the same material. Both built in the same geographical location. But one man’s house stood while the other man’s house collapsed. The difference was in the foundations. One built on the rock, the other on the sand. In Palestine, all land becomes parched in the summer, causing even the sandy and unstable areas to appear rock-solid. The true test doesn’t come until the rain falls. Jesus here is saying, “Be careful where you build your house. Build on something tried and true. Build upon the Rock.” Who is the one who builds his house upon the rock? The one who hears the Words of the Lord and does them. Who is the one who builds on the sand? The one who hears His Words but doesn’t do them. One of the great dangers for we who love the Scriptures is to think hearing is equivalent to doing. You might say tonight, “Yeah, I agree with the teaching Jesus gave on judging. I shouldn’t judge. I need to show mercy. Right on.” But if you leave here and immediately turn to someone and start gossiping or analyzing, judging or critiquing, you’re foolish, and your house will collapse. We have such need to hear these words of Jesus because Bible students are in great danger of being foolish men who erroneously conclude that because they are hearing the truth and agreeing with the truth, they are automatically practicing the truth. The wise man not only hears Jesus’ words but also puts them into practice. And his house stands when the storm comes. When Bad Things Happen to Good People A Topical Study of Mat_7:24-27 When a Congressman was killed in a plane crash after researching United States assistance in the Ethiopian famine, the words of the minister conducting his memorial service caught my attention. “Why good people experience tragedy, I can’t say,” he said. “Why bad things happen to good people, I don’t know.” This statement has been stirring in my mind for some time now. Why do bad things happen to good people? Are there no answers? Whether concerning lives lost in Ethiopia, or your own situation of the past week or two, people always ask the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? A few years ago, a best-selling book was entitled just that: Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. The author concluded there are no real answers, even as the minister said there are no easy answers. I suggest to you, however, that there is a profoundly simple answer to this question. It is this: There are no good people. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.Rom_3:10-12 You see, the world thinks, “I’m Okay, you’re Okay.” But regardless of what psychologists tell us, this just isn’t so, for those who look to worldly understandings and explanations miss the central truth: There are no good people. So the real question is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why do good things happen to bad people?” You might have had a bad day or a terrible time this last month or two. But what we deserve is to live in terror, in tragedy, in difficulty every day of our lives because there is none that is good, no, not one. “Why, then,” we sometimes wonder, “are good things happening to those people who live next to me? They’re not in church today; they’re out on the lake water-skiing. Yet they get the raises and promotions. Why do good things happen to them?” The first verse my kids learned was Psa_73:1, “God is good,” followed by 1Jn_4:16, “God is love,” because I’m convinced that the first concepts we should teach our kids are the goodness and the love of God. He is a loving Father who causes His sun to rise on the just and on the unjust, sending rain upon the crops of the good and on the evil (Mat_5:45). God loves to bless because He is good. I once read a quote that said, “God is the victim of bad PR, usually propagated by those who know Him.” Too often, believers and unbelievers alike generate the false idea that, although God occasionally does a good thing, He’s basically mean. We hear sermons and testimonies to that effect, saying, “God got my attention when He broke my legs and took away my house and caused me to go bankrupt.” That’s not Father God, that’s the Godfather! One of the great frustrations I have in talking with unbelievers is their impression that they have to wait until their marriage is on the rocks, until their finances are crumbling, until cancer is eating them up before they will consider Christ. They think their lives have to fall apart before they turn to Jesus. So to the person who’s skiing on the lake today, behind his power boat, beside his cabin, having left his five-thousand-square-foot house in the city, we shouldn’t say, “God’s going to get you"but, “Hasn’t God been good to you?” The Bible says God demonstrated His love for us all in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom_5:8), but people in the world today have lost this understanding. They don’t realize that God demonstrated His love for all people when Jesus died for us, that God looked at us and desired to bless us, even while we were still sinners. Rain falls on the just and the unjust (Mat_5:45). The sun shines on the believer and the unbeliever because God is good. Everything He gives us is because of graceunmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. But if we don’t recognize this, if we misinterpret the source of our blessings, we become narrow, bitter, and full of sorrow. In our text, Jesus says a day is coming when the rains will fall and the winds shall beat on the house of every man. Of what storm is He speaking? Death. The statistics are conclusive: Ten out of ten people die. Every person who has ever lived since Jesus spoke these words has built his house and done his thing until the storm came, at which point it was determined whether he had built upon the rock or upon the sand. Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount speaking of two roads: one unto life, one to destruction; two trees: one of fruitfulness, one of failure; two foundations: one to stand, one to collapse. The choice is yours. Upon which foundation are you building? “Wait,” you say. “I have one more question. If God is our good Father, why does He allow the devil to inflict pain and disease, destruction and death, discouragement and difficulty? Can’t God stop the devil and put an end to our misery?” Yes, He can. And yes, He will. But presently, God allows storms to arise that test our foundation in order that we might see where we stand eternally. Several years ago on the East Coast, cod fishermen began to experience a real demand for their product, and they began to ship frozen cod all over the country. They discovered one drawback, however. In the freezing process, the cod lost their flavor. To remedy this, the fishermen shipped their cod live in saltwater tanks to be processed once they reached their destination. The fish arrived okay, but because they were sitting in these tanks, they became spongy and soft. For several years, the fishermen didn’t know what to do. Then someone had a brilliant idea: Ship the fish in saltwater tanks, but throw in some catfishthe natural enemy of the codfish. They tried it. The catfish chased the cod all around the tank as they traveled cross-country, and when the cod arrived, those that made it alive were flavorful and were sold at premium prices. The catfish were necessary to keep the cod moving, thereby enhancing their texture and flavor. So, too, God says to us, “Because I want the best for you both now and in eternity, I will allow an occasional catfish to come into your tank and chase you around for a little while. Otherwise, you’ll just sit around and get soft.” I will not test you above that which you are able (1Co_10:13). I will always be there for you (Mat_28:20). Call upon Me in the day of trouble (Psa_50:15). Cast your care upon Me (1Pe_5:7). And remember, all things are working together for good (Rom_8:28). Trust Me (Psa_37:3). Build your life on the Rock, gang. Jesus is a sure foundation, and He won’t let you down.

Matthew 7:28

After this thirty-minute sermon, the people were amazed, accustomed as they were to hearing teaching by scribes who did nothing more than quote other scribes. “Rabbi So-and-So says…but Rabbi So-and-So disagrees. So Rabbi So-and-=So proposes.” After hearing all these rabbis, a person would say, “Wait a minute. This is crazy. What’s the solution? Where’s the authority? There’s no conclusion!” Jesus said, “You have heard it said of old, but I say unto you…” The crowds marveled, “Wow!” they said. “He speaks with authority, and what He says makes sense.” Did the masses then say, “We’re going to follow Him! This is great! He’s our Man!”? No. That’s not what happened. Why? C. S. Lewis, in his classic book, Mere Christianity, gives this answer: When I was a child I often had toothaches, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my motherat least, not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain: but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists; I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie. That’s why I thank the Lord for the saints at Applegate Christian Fellowship. Because they, as a group of rag-tag disciples, say, “Lord, we have a toothache, and You are the dentist. Keep on drilling. Sleeping dogs notwithstanding, Father, do whatever it takes to make us right.”