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Summary of Matthew 7
We are not to judge other Christians hypocritically. We are not to try to take a small or a singular sin or fault out of someone else’s life and/or condemn him/her for such while we knowingly, habitually, and deliberately are engaged in all manner of evil, while claiming that God’s grace covers it all.
First, we are to get rid of any sinful practices out of our own lives before we try to help a brother or sister in Christ get rid of his/her sin.
In everything, we are to do to others what we would have them do to us, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. But this does not mean that if we are treating ourselves badly that we can treat others badly, too. This assumes we are treating ourselves with love and kindness and we should treat others likewise.
We are not to follow the crowd. The majority is not always right. God’s grace to us is NOT free license to continue living in sin without guilt. There are conditions for receiving salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).
We are to watch out for false teachers who masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness while they are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing intending to steal, kill and destroy us. They teach falsely that we don’t have to die to sin, submit to Christ, and follow Jesus in walks of obedience.
They teach, instead, that a mere profession of faith in Jesus is enough to secure us heaven, but that it doesn’t have to alter how we live, or it doesn’t matter if we change how we live, for God’s grace covers it all, they say.
But not everyone who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or who confesses with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, or who says they believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is saved, is bound for heaven, and has eternal life with God. Only those who make righteousness their practice and who are doing the will of God, in practice, have eternal life with God.
Many people are trusting in a lie to save them and to guarantee them heaven as their eternal destiny, so they will be fully anticipating that God will let them into his heaven based on some outward confession of faith. But if it was all lip service, and they did not make obedience to the Lord their lifestyle, unless they repented, he is going to tell them, “Away from me.”
House on The Rock
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
These aren’t the only words of Jesus which we must put into practice. Any of his teachings that were intended for people in general or for his followers in general, such as these, plus the teachings of the apostles to the church, including to those who made professions of faith only, we are to follow.
Basically, we are to put into practice all teachings under the New Covenant, and all under the Old Covenant which are repeated for us to follow under the New Covenant. We should not exclude the Old Testament, for there is much to be learned there. We just need to apply it to our lives where it fits under New Covenant teaching.
But New Covenant teaching must be learned by reading the Scriptures in their context. For many false teachings are being taught by removing Scriptures from their contexts and by interpreting them in a way that was not intended by the original context.
That is a lot like you having a conversation with someone, and someone else taking something you said out of context and repeating it in a different light than what you intended in your context. Therefore, people get the wrong impression of what you said and what you meant, and that may lead them to rejecting and/or slandering you. So, context is essential!!
The basic message of Jesus Christ and of his gospel is this. By faith in Jesus Christ, we must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily (in practice), we must submit to Christ as Lord of our lives, and we must follow him in obedience to his will for our lives (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).
If we do, we will not fall back into sin, but we will walk in the light as God is in the light and we will have fellowship with our Lord and with one another who are also walking in that light. And we will have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God now and when our Lord returns.
House on The Sand
Matthew 7:26-27 NIV
But if you are following a gospel of men which teaches you that you can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and that it guarantees you forgiveness and salvation from sin and eternal life with God, but that how you live will not impact your eternity, then you need to think again.
Especially if you are being told that faith in Jesus Christ requires no repentance, no obedience to God, and no submission to Christ as Lord, for they are calling that “works-based salvation,” and you are counting on that for your future, you need to think that one over again, too.
Jesus makes it quite clear that to have eternal life with him that we need to deny self, die daily (in practice) to sin, and that we need to follow him in obedience to his commands. For, if we do not walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit, but we continue to walk (in practice) according to our flesh, we will die in our sins. We won’t have eternal life with God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
We are not to judge other Christians hypocritically. We are not to try to take a small or a singular sin or fault out of someone else’s life and/or condemn him/her for such while we knowingly, habitually, and deliberately are engaged in all manner of evil, while claiming that God’s grace covers it all.
First, we are to get rid of any sinful practices out of our own lives before we try to help a brother or sister in Christ get rid of his/her sin.
In everything, we are to do to others what we would have them do to us, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. But this does not mean that if we are treating ourselves badly that we can treat others badly, too. This assumes we are treating ourselves with love and kindness and we should treat others likewise.
We are not to follow the crowd. The majority is not always right. God’s grace to us is NOT free license to continue living in sin without guilt. There are conditions for receiving salvation from sin and eternal life with God. We must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).
We are to watch out for false teachers who masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness while they are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing intending to steal, kill and destroy us. They teach falsely that we don’t have to die to sin, submit to Christ, and follow Jesus in walks of obedience.
They teach, instead, that a mere profession of faith in Jesus is enough to secure us heaven, but that it doesn’t have to alter how we live, or it doesn’t matter if we change how we live, for God’s grace covers it all, they say.
But not everyone who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or who confesses with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, or who says they believe in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is saved, is bound for heaven, and has eternal life with God. Only those who make righteousness their practice and who are doing the will of God, in practice, have eternal life with God.
Many people are trusting in a lie to save them and to guarantee them heaven as their eternal destiny, so they will be fully anticipating that God will let them into his heaven based on some outward confession of faith. But if it was all lip service, and they did not make obedience to the Lord their lifestyle, unless they repented, he is going to tell them, “Away from me.”
House on The Rock
Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”
These aren’t the only words of Jesus which we must put into practice. Any of his teachings that were intended for people in general or for his followers in general, such as these, plus the teachings of the apostles to the church, including to those who made professions of faith only, we are to follow.
Basically, we are to put into practice all teachings under the New Covenant, and all under the Old Covenant which are repeated for us to follow under the New Covenant. We should not exclude the Old Testament, for there is much to be learned there. We just need to apply it to our lives where it fits under New Covenant teaching.
But New Covenant teaching must be learned by reading the Scriptures in their context. For many false teachings are being taught by removing Scriptures from their contexts and by interpreting them in a way that was not intended by the original context.
That is a lot like you having a conversation with someone, and someone else taking something you said out of context and repeating it in a different light than what you intended in your context. Therefore, people get the wrong impression of what you said and what you meant, and that may lead them to rejecting and/or slandering you. So, context is essential!!
The basic message of Jesus Christ and of his gospel is this. By faith in Jesus Christ, we must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily (in practice), we must submit to Christ as Lord of our lives, and we must follow him in obedience to his will for our lives (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).
If we do, we will not fall back into sin, but we will walk in the light as God is in the light and we will have fellowship with our Lord and with one another who are also walking in that light. And we will have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God now and when our Lord returns.
House on The Sand
Matthew 7:26-27 NIV
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
But if you are following a gospel of men which teaches you that you can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and that it guarantees you forgiveness and salvation from sin and eternal life with God, but that how you live will not impact your eternity, then you need to think again.
Especially if you are being told that faith in Jesus Christ requires no repentance, no obedience to God, and no submission to Christ as Lord, for they are calling that “works-based salvation,” and you are counting on that for your future, you need to think that one over again, too.
Jesus makes it quite clear that to have eternal life with him that we need to deny self, die daily (in practice) to sin, and that we need to follow him in obedience to his commands. For, if we do not walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit, but we continue to walk (in practice) according to our flesh, we will die in our sins. We won’t have eternal life with God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
