The Most misquoted Verse in History

Matthew Chapter 7

Most people read the bible like this:

PICTURE

But it must be read in its entirety.

Matthew 7:1–20 KJV 1900

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 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. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

So if you read this whole passage the message is actually very clear: You better start Judging Right Away!!!

The issue that Jesus deals with is not about NOT judging but rather judging in the right way.

He said:

John 7:24 KJV 1900

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Notice he commands us to judge, but in righteous Judgment.

Christians must exercise discernment; for not everyone is a sheep.

Some people are dogs or hogs, and some are wolves in sheep’s clothing! We are the Lord’s sheep, but this does not mean we should let people pull the wool over our eyes!

The Reason We Judge:

Matthew 7:6 KJV 1900

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.

As God’s people, we are privileged to handle the “holy things” of the Lord. He has entrusted to us the precious truths of the Word of God (), and we must regard them carefully.

No dedicated priest would throw meat from the altar to a filthy dog, and only a fool would give pearls to a pig.

While it is true that we must carry the Gospel “to every creature” (), it is also true that we must not cheapen the Gospel by a ministry that lacks discernment.

Even Jesus refused to talk to Herod

Luke 23:9 KJV 1900

9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

and Paul refused to argue with people who resisted the Word.

Acts 13:44–49 KJV 1900

44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

The reason for judgment, then, is not that we might condemn others, but that we might be able to minister to them.

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The reason for judgment, then, is not that we might condemn others, but that we might be able to minister to them.

It is a wise Christian who first assesses the condition of a person’s heart before sharing the precious pearls.

The Resources God’s Give us

Matthew 7:7–11 KJV 1900

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. 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?

Jesus seems to interrupt this teaching by changing the subject to prayer, but its nota change of subject at all. What we need more than anything else is wisdom, and we receive it by asking.

James 1:5 KJV 1900

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

The Guiding Principle in Judgment.

Matthew 7:12 KJV 1900

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.

This great truth is a principle that ought to govern our attitudes toward others.

It only applies to believers, and it must be practiced in every area of life.

The person who practices the Golden Rule refuses to say or do anything that would harm himself or others.

It is this principle that reminds us, that measure we judge others will be measured back to us.

If i see a bother or sister in spiritual danger and make that judgment and reach out to them in the hope of restoration, that is exactly what i want others to do to me if i am in danger.

But simply to condemn them without love is the last thing I would want, so it is not what i should give.

If our judging of others is not governed by this principle, we will become proud and critical, and our own spiritual character will degenerate.

Practicing the Golden Rule releases the love of God in our lives and enables us to help others, even those who want to hurt us.

The 2 Basis for Judgment:

Number 1: The 2 Ways

Matthew 7:13–14 KJV 1900

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.

These are, of course, the way to heaven and the way to hell.

The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way. But we must not judge spiritual profession by statistics; the majority is not always right. The fact that “everybody does it” is no proof that what they are doing is right.

These are, of course, the way to heaven and the way to hell. The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way. But we must not judge spiritual profession by statistics; the majority is not always right. The fact that “everybody does it” is no proof that what they are doing is right.

Quite the contrary is true: God’s people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world. The reason is not difficult to discover: The way of life is narrow, lonely, and costly.

We can walk on the broad way and keep our “baggage” of sin and worldliness. But if we enter the narrow way, we must give up those things.

Here, then, is the first test:

Did your profession of faith in Christ cost you anything?

If not, then it was not a true profession.

Many people who “trust” Jesus Christ never leave the broad road with its appetites and associations. They have an easy Christianity that makes no demands on them.

Yet Jesus said that the narrow way was hard. We cannot walk on two roads, in two different directions, at the same time.

Number 2: The 2 Trees

Matthew 7:15–20 KJV 1900

15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 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. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

These show that true faith in Christ changes the life and produces fruit for God’s glory.

These show that true faith in Christ changes the life and produces fruit for God’s glory. Everything in nature reproduces after its kind, and this is also true in the spiritual realm. Good fruit comes from a good tree, but bad fruit comes from a bad tree. The tree that produces rotten fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “Wherefore, by their fruits you shall know them” ().

Everything in nature reproduces after its kind, and this is also true in the spiritual realm.

Good fruit comes from a good tree, but bad fruit comes from a bad tree.

The tree that produces rotten fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.The second test is this:

The second test is this:

Did my decision for Christ change my life?

“Wherefore, by their fruits you shall know them” ().

No change then there is no salvation.

If you faith is costing you nothing and your decision to follow christ did not result in a dramatic change in your life - then i am exercising righteous judgment in saying that you are not born again. I say that not to condemn, but to minister and encourage you to come to Jesus.