Lesson for September 6, 2020
The Parables of Jesus
Lesson 2
The Speck of Wood and the Log
This parable is found in Matthew 7:1-5. The parable is about judging others and seeing the faults of others while ignoring your own. Jesus said that a person who is guilty of judging others will be judged by the standard that they are judging others. There is a difference between judging a person (which is God’s alone) and judging, as an act of discernment, a person’s doctrinal teaching, ideology, philosophy or stance. We must always stand for the truth of God’s Word and reject any false satanic doctrine that threatens to infiltrate our minds.
So, we have a parable to illustrate the principle of judging and projecting our faults on someone else. Jesus said that those who practice this projection of faults are hypocrites because they cannot see the “log” in their own eye but can see a tiny spec of wood in another’s eye. Jesus was saying that we need to judge ourselves before we judge another person. Only a spiritually advancing believer has the Bible doctrine in their soul to be able to properly judge themselves and another person’s doctrinal teaching. We are to be discerning regarding what is being taught by others, but the judgment of any person is strictly a matter for God. Therefore, judging others improperly carries with it, divine discipline for the believer in Christ.
The Dogs and the Swine
This parable that is found in Matthew 7:6 speaks of guarding the truth of God’s Word. That which is holy is a reference to the truth of God as found in His Word, the Bible. Dogs refers to wild, undomesticated dogs that are scavengers and aggressive and is used by Jesus as an analogy for those who reject and hate the truth of God and His Word. Pearls are a reference to all the doctrine, principles and policies that we find throughout the Bible. Swine refer to impure pigs and were forbidden to be eaten under the Law of Moses. Why would a believer ever compromise the truth when dealing with a person who hates God and the truth of His Word?
By way of illustration, Jesus asks a question of believers as to why they would compromise the truth before those who hate the truth of God and by default, if not by actuality, hate God. According to Jesus, the truth of the Word of God is to be guarded at all cost. Those who have rejected the truth will use every opportunity to discredit the truth through various means, such as, human viewpoint, philosophy, intellectualism, science or false doctrine. Paul warned Timothy to not even engage these people in a conversation regarding the truth of God’s Word. (II Timothy 2:14-18)
Stones and Snakes
In Matthew 7:7-12 we find a parable from Jesus about prayer and what is often called the Golden Rule. The illustration of prayer uses an analogy of a parent and a child. We are God’s children and He is our Heavenly Father. We are told many times throughout Scripture to ask what we will from our Heavenly Father. Jesus simply stated that if we ask, God will give it to us, if we seek, we will find and if we knock, it will be opened to us. These statements are in the future tense meaning to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. God always answers the prayer of a believer who is in fellowship and filled with the Holy Spirit. However, God’s answer may not always be what you desire it to be since He alone is omniscient and will not give you something that will harm you. Your answer may be ‘no or yes’ depending on God’s perfect will for you. God responds to our needs in every situation and often that response is based on the amount of Bible doctrine we have in our souls.
Seeking means to continue to seek the doctrinal answers, including the correct Bible promise, the proper problem-solving device or doctrinal principle to handle the circumstances that you are in. Once again, we are to keep on seeking until we find the proper way to deal with the situation. We must remember that it is God the Holy Spirit Who intercedes on our behalf before God the Father and interprets our prayers and desires when we are unable to articulate exactly what we need.
Knocking means to stay in a state of faith toward God and His Word by using the Faith-Rest Technique. Knocking means to be persistent in applying the Bible doctrine we have stored in our souls under the filling and power of the Holy Spirit. God always hears our knocking when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and will answer our prayer.
Jesus wanted to assure us that when our prayers are answered by God the Father that He will never give us stone instead of bread, a snake instead of fish. This is a reference to the logistical provisions of God for all believers in Christ. God’s gifts to us come in the form of blessings to those who have the capacity to receive His blessings. The blessings that God sends to us are always for our benefit and no believer can out give God. If we lavish gifts on our children, imagine what the gifts from God are like.
Matthew 7:12 is often cited as being the Golden Rule, which is doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Under the Law of Moses, this was a legitimate principle to follow, but in the Church Age there is a higher principle. This higher principle is do unto others as Christ has done unto you.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
This parable is found in Matthew 7:13. This verse is a reference to believing in Christ for eternal salvation. Jesus used an illustration of two different type of gates. One gate is narrow and the other is wide. Entering the narrow gate is analogous to believing Jesus Christ as Savior and the wide gate is analogous to rejecting Christ as Savior. The wide gate is the gate of unbelief and it is wide enough to include all religions or any system of human works for salvation. Destruction is a word for eternal judgment of the unbeliever. Every normal member of the human race goes through one or the other gate.
Wolf in Sheeps Clothing
This parable is found in Matthew 7:15-23 and refers to false prophets. The apostate false teachers are those that reject or distort the truth of the Word of God for selfish motives. These teachers are called false, which is the Greek word “pseduo.” They represent themselves as true in order to gain entrance into a ministry. II Peter 2:1-3 says they come in covertly, like a spy would infiltrate an organization. We know these false teachers are unbelievers from certain words in the context, such as destruction. Destruction is the Greek word “apoleia” and it means eternal destruction or eternal separation from God. Some of these unbelieving teachers deny the deity of Christ and deny the saving power of the Gospel.
These false teachers have deliberate motives, which include monetary greed, sensual pleasures, luxurious lifestyles, power, and fame. They actually train themselves in the art of greed and lust. The Bible says that they use fabricated words of flattery with promises of prosperity in order to extort money and material possessions. They are members of the “mutual admiration society,” pretending to admire certain people in order to gain acceptance. They literally make merchandise, the Greek word “emporeuomai,” of the unsuspecting, unstable, spiritually weak believer. (II Peter 2:3,14,15,18; Jude 11,16,18)
They play upon the emotions of the duped believer since they themselves are ruled by their emotions. These false teachers have no substance in their message, they scoff at the truth and will not accept the authority of Biblical doctrine. These unbelievers bring with them into these ministries destructive, self-willed, erroneous opinions that lead to divisions and the formation of sects. It is, of course, impossible for them to bring in accurate doctrinal information from God’s Word, since they are unable to learn truth as unbelievers. These apostates are so arrogant they even reject human authority and speak evil of persons in authority over them in order to carry out their own agenda.
The Bible says that these false teachers live a lifestyle of the “rich and famous,” while turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (a license to sin). They are arrogant souls, in love with themselves, in love with money and love to brag about it. Conceited, unholy, lovers of sensual pleasures, they cannot be appeased. They are arrogant in their speech, lack self-control, especially over their emotions, and cannot be trusted. With everything they have accumulated, they are nevertheless ungrateful and callous to human affection, they do not honor their parents and are haters of anything good. We are commanded to avoid these blasphemers of truth. (II Timothy 3:2-5; II Peter 2:2,12, 13,14,19; Jude 8,16,18)
The followers of the apostate teachers are those who allow themselves to be seduced and become the fruit that is produced by false doctrine. They are those who reject truth and believe the fabricated lies of the false teachers. Peter tells us that many will follow their evil ways, so it should come as no surprise when these ministers of Satan “pack the pews.” The pivot (remnant according to grace) has always been a small elite group of believers that refuse to compromise accurate Bible teaching. The others that follow after the “about to” ministers (God’s about to do this or that, but never seems to get around to doing it), have become enemies of the Cross of Christ and partakers in satanic activity. They have been enticed by words of flattery, which promise wealth and physical healing from a “fairy god mother” type of god. (II Timothy 3:6, 4:3-4; II Peter 2:2,3,14,18; Jude 12,16)
As a result of being seduced, they become slaves to the idea that God is going to bless them with houses, cars, money, the perfect job, family harmony and healing of the body. Failure to seek truth from the Word of God leaves them with only Human Viewpoint Thinking and its resultant misery and bewilderment. They cannot understand how God can allow them to suffer so much and why He doesn’t wave His “magic wand” and fix all their problems (after all they prayed about it!).
These same duped believers send their hard-earned money to these deceivers in hope that they will receive blessing in return. They become the “shopping mall” for the false teacher, as he calls in any needed revenue for his personal desires. It is often called “seed money,” but only the false teacher gets to harvest the crop. Year after year these poor, ignorant believers send their rent money, car payment money, even their food money for a chance at the “Christian lottery.” It is a sad state of affairs, but no one has an excuse before God for being seduced by false doctrine. If a person wants to know truth, God will provide it for them.
The followers of the apostate teachers fail to take responsibility for their own decisions and actions, entering into the arrogance of self-justification, self-deception and self-absorption. Because of their instability from lack of Bible doctrine in the soul, they are easily lured away into apostasy themselves. Like a fisherman catching a fish, these false teachers entice the weak believer, not only into taking the bait, but paying for it.