Jesus' Sermon On The Mountainside: Second Command, Keep What Is Sacred

2) The Lord Jesus’ second command was to Reverence the Father by not giving what is sacred to those who despise God,

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

Pearls are formed slowly over time, layer by beautiful layer, covering a grain of sand that started out as an irritant in the oyster. The pearls in our lives start out as something that hurts, and as we hear God’s word and obey it He begins to layer that hurt with His comfort and wisdom.

Pearls can refer to personal insight into God’s word, God’s enabling and equipping, what you receive from God in prayer; your life in Christ. What is sacred can refer to what belongs to God, such as being involved in God’s work.

Dogs and pigs in ancient times referred to people who had given clear evidence that they rejected God with scorn and had a hardened contempt towards the things of God. In this verse that includes the rejection of God’s Son

The dogs and swine Jesus was referring to were wild creatures, not pets or farm animals. They were usually ravenously hungry, and often dangerous. If you got close enough to a dog or a pig to give them something it better have been something they could eat. Pearls would just frustrate them and make them turn on you.

– Be wise in choosing your audience for quoting a particular scripture, sharing a deep personal insight from God’s word, or a burden God has placed on your heart.

– Be wise in offering something sacred, like the Lord’s table, or a leadership position to someone who is not a Christian, or who is not dealing with some sin in their life, even if in every other way they seem like nice, capable people.

God’s wisdom is expressed in humility and love

We need to use wisdom in love and tenderness when we help other people.
* Don’t judge, but do use sober thinking, guided by God’s word and His Spirit, discerning what is right or wrong, true or false, good or bad.

* Humbly receive God’s conviction and correction in your own life and gently help to restore fellow believers from sin.

* Be wise about what you share with people who clearly reject Jesus and are turned off by the things of God. They may not be ready to receive the gospel in words, but you can love them with God’s love.

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Jesus' Sermon On The Mountainside, How Not To Judge

The Lord Jesus Christ's command not to judge has often been misinterpreted to mean accepting people in every condition without any thought of what is good or bad, true or false, right or wrong.

We’re afraid of being called "intolerant" or "phobic."

"Not judging" has become, in our society, a completely permissive attitude, afraid to use sober discernment in the matter of right and wrong.

That is not what Jesus is saying here. The apostle Paul gave some further insight,

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:1)

Those of you who are spiritual should gently lead the person who is trapped in sin back to the right path. You and I obey the law of Christ when we offer each other a helping hand in this way. How do we do this?

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matthew 7:3-5)

We not only need God’s wisdom in recognizing sin, we also need God’s compassion in order to truly help someone.

--> You and I can’t help someone else when we’re blind to our own problems and issues, and when we’re busy feeling superior, or dislike the other person.<-- The desire to correct needs to be transformed into the desire to help, encourage and restore.

Let the Holy Spirit bring to your mind some of the people you might be judging in your heart.
1) Put yourself in the place of the other person you are tending to judge

2) Give that person the benefit of the doubt

3) Try and see yourself from that person’s point of view

4) Ask God to remove any bit of dislike and superior attitude by flooding you with His agape love for that person

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Jesus' Sermon On The Mountainside, Judging Others

If I were to ask you what you thought the biggest need in the Christian community were today, what would you say? What do Christians today need more than anything else?

What would you say to wisdom?
* Wouldn’t you like to know how to respond to the people in your life in a way that would actually help them?

* Wouldn’t you like to know when you should speak, and when you should keep quiet?

* Who to listen to and who not to?

* What things you should do and what you shouldn’t in a given situation?

In this last section of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus gives four commands and four warnings.

The commands come in the first half, the warnings in second half, and all have to do with right conduct in relationship with others, and with God the Father, the first Person of the trinity.

1) Jesus first command was to: Reverence God the Father, Judge of all people, by not judging others,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (Matthew 7:1

“Few activities in life rival the thrill of passing judgment on another human being.” That’s one author’s comment. Think about it.
- “Oh, the nerve of that person!”

- “Well, I wasn’t raised like that!”

- “Who died and made him king?!”

In our minds we condemn people who thwart us, get in our way, annoy us, irritate us. The chief reason judging people is so satisfying is that I’m affirmed as being the better person – I know better than they do, I do better than they do. No matter what I’ve done, or how bad I am, I can always find someone else who is worse.

If they seem better than me, then with just a little bit of hunting, I’ll be able to find some flaw in them that I don’t see in myself, which automatically makes me better than they are in my mind.

- “She thinks she’s so perfect, but I wouldn’t go out in public with my bra strap showing, like she does!”

- “Everyone thinks he’s so nice, but I saw him be rude just yesterday morning!”

- “I wouldn’t let my children do what they let their children do.”

That’s why we love to read about famous, beautiful, perfect people toppling, or hear about some spiritual giant falling into sin. They seemed better than me, but now that they’ve fallen, it turns out I’m better than even that person! Without having improved in any way at all, I am all of a sudden better than them, and boy does that feel good.

But there’s a consequence to all this forbidden pleasure,

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:2

+ Give love and you’ll receive it,
+ Give mercy and you’ll receive it, you and I reap what we sow.

BUT

If we indulge in judging, we better get ready to be judged and if we want to escape judgement then we better not judge at all.

Instead, you and I need to remind each other all the time of God’s grace.

Wisdom finds its source, the Bible says, in a reverent awe of God. He alone can read hearts and knows the true motives, and He alone has the right to judge, since He really is pure, perfect, all-wise, all-knowing and the Creator of us all.

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