Scripture is in red, Comments in black
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. Everyone is guilty of sin and if you have broken one commandment you have broken them all, in other words most sins are equal. Since all have sinned you have no right to judge the sins of another because you are as guilty as everyone else. If you think otherwise you are only fooling yourself.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Once you judge someone God will judge you in the same manner. If you constantly remind someone of past sins God will constantly remind you of yours. If God has forgiven a person’s sins they are forgotten and never remembered again. If we cannot follow the example of God then God will not forgive your sins and He will not forget them.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? The depth of your sins may be worse than the sins you proclaim in others. Do you mention the small mistake of another while you are blinded to your own sins and actions? I have learned in the past those who proclaim the loudest that another is a thief are usually guilty of that crime. The same is true of some self proclaimed Christians. A Christian’s duty is to lead others in the truth of the word of God, not condemnation. It is impossible to lead others to Christ if all we do is accuse and condemn others. Never forget, Christians know that everyone sins and if you accuse others you are making a fool out of yourself because of your own guilt. The best thing to do when someone makes a mistake is to tell them of God’s love and forgiveness and that you have made mistakes as well but God has forgiven and forgotten your sins. Tell them to trust in God and repent. God does not want to condemn but to love and this is how Christians ought to be. God is not willing any should perish but all come to repentance.
4 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?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Thou hypocrite, Jesus uses this phrase often and if you are guilty of judging others He is talking to you. Make sure you have confessed your sins to God and that you clearly see you own life before mentioning the sins of others. Help your brother but never think of yourself as better than he. Never remind others of past sins lest God strongly remind you of yours.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. What Jesus is saying is it is fruitless to present a truth to someone who has already rejected the truth. If a person refuses to listen, do not keep returning to that same person with the same truth because he will only start to hate you and the word. He will not accept a new truth until he has accepted the truth he has already heard. It is better to go to a person who has received the truth because they will be more likely to welcome new truths.Let’s look at:Proverbs 9:
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. God does not want a Christian to be hated because of the way you plant the seed. If you are hated you cannot bring others to Christ. It is another matter to be hated by evil because you love Christ, Christians will always be persecuted and hated by evil.
Back to Matthew 9: 7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. God is listening and will provide. Ask God for blessings and receive them, knock and he will open the way to heaven for you. Christ Jesus is the vessel through which you ask and He is the opening of the gateway to Heaven.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Mankind is inherently evil yet man takes care of his children and family. How much more will God take care of you? God loves everyone beyond measure and therefore will not refuse anyone that comes to Him through Christ Jesus.
Always pray “not my will God but yours be done” and ask in the precious name of Jesus.
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. The golden rule, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. I believe we could go further and say: treat others as Christ Jesus treats His church with love, kindness, honesty, forgiveness and patience. This is a short list because Jesus is much more than can be put into words.
13 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:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. If you follow the crowd you will find yourself walking into death. There are only a few that will follow Jesus into life therefore be aware of where you are going. If the path you are following seems easy and smooth and there are crowds around you lift up your head and look for Jesus. If you don’t see Him turn yourself around fast! God does not promise a smooth journey through life only peace, happiness and life everlasting in Heaven if we learn and follow the truth of God.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Satan will fool you and cause you to follow him instead of Jesus. If you die while following Satan you may wind up on that broad path to your destruction. Don’t believe the stereotype of Satan. Satan was the covering cherubim (the one in charge of protecting the mercy seat of God). He will come and be exactly as you would expect Jesus to be because he is the great deceiver and if you don’t understand the truth you will be deceived. Satan will devour your soul.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Test the fruits of those proclaiming to be Christian.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. If you do not follow the will of God you can only bring forth fruit of evil and you will be cast into the fire and destroyed.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Verses 16-20 talk about testing the fruit of those that claim to be of Christ. It is also about those that lead or teach you. Test the fruit; discover if it is of evil. Research the teachings for yourself. Study God’s word closely and thoroughly so that you know the truth. Never reject a teaching that may go against the traditions of a church. Keep your mind open. There is a seed of Satan in every church because that is where he can do the most damage. Jesus is always warning us of false teachers, doctrines and prophets, this includes false churches.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. If a false teacher misleads you, you have only yourself to blame because Jesus warned you. If you do not study and understand God’s word you cannot do His will.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Anyone can claim to be Christian but then again I could claim to be president of the U.S. but that would not make it true. What you do on earth does not matter if you have not received Christ as your savior. That is the first step you must accomplish. Good works will not give you access to God or Heaven; only the blood of Jesus opens the gate. 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I hope no one ever has to hear Jesus speak these words but unfortunately many will simply because they thought they could gain Heaven on their own. Many will ignore the pleadings of Christ; to believe on Him and repent. If you are not working the will of God you are working the desires of Satan. This is a spiritual war and there are only two sides. There are no neutral parties so you better decide if you want to win or lose before God brings you to the judgment seat. For those that declare they are atheist I can say only one thing, change your mind or lose. God says there are no true atheists because God gave a measure of faith to everyone, so that will not be an excuse. Romans 12: 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 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. The rock here is truth in God’s word and Jesus is the rock foundation. It is a solid foundation that will withstand all attacks.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 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. If your foundation is in traditions or doctrine of man you may be lost at sea, everything you worked for lost to the winds, even your soul.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Jesus had the authority of God. As we will see Jesus will be scorned and many will test him on scripture but all that oppose Him will be made to look as fools. (scribes) Read the study #4 for more information on these people.
