Sermon Tone Analysis

Wednesday, June 22, 2022 Commands of Christ – 24a

A Christian's Relationships: To False Prophets

Last week we looked at Jesus’ command in:

Read Matthew 7:12

Matthew 7:12 (NASB95) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 7:12 (TPT) “In everything you do, be careful to treat others in the same way you’d want them to treat you, for that is the essence of all the teachings of the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 7:12 (CJB) “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the Torah and the Prophets.

It commands us to empathize with others.

Because that is what WE want others to do for us.

2: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner also: the capacity for this

2.

In what sense does this rule sum up the Law and the Prophets?

Matthew 22:36–40 (NASB95) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.

39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Doing this enables us to obey what Jesus said were the greatest commands:

Love God

Love others as ourselves

3. How would the world be different if we all lived by the Golden Rule?

Study 24:

1.

Why are people likely to follow popular leaders or celebrities?

I asked my granddaughter about a show that she watches incessantly.

It’s because she wants to BE the lead character: A good student (but not a nerd) (rare for children’s shows), beautiful and live an exciting life.

So do we follow them because we want to BE them?

2. Why are most people apt to believe in heaven but quick to dismiss the reality of hell?

God is love.

But He is also a righteous God.

Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95) For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Think about how this lines up with one of the 7 parts of a Biblical worldview.

Heaven would not be heaven with all of the world’s failings there to torment us.

Revelation 21:8 (NASB95) “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:27 (NASB95) and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:15 (NASB95) Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

We will deal with false prophets, but let us start with

The history of the Christian church has been a long and dreary story of controversy with false teachers.

Their value, in the overruling providence of God, is that they have presented the church with a challenge to think out and define truth.

But they have also caused much damage.

Jesus' warning "Watch out for false prophets" (Matthew 7:15) is addressed to us all.

If the church had heeded his warning and applied the tests in this passage, it would not be in the perilous state of theological and moral confusion in which it finds itself today.

Read: Matthew 7:13-14

3. What command did Jesus give His followers in this passage?

(7:13)

Enter through the narrow gate.

4. What exactly are we called to enter?

Why? (7:13)

5. How are the two gates different (Matthew 7:13-14)?

Storms:

1. Which is first, the way or the gate?

Does a person enter through the gate in order to walk down the way, or does he first walk down the way in order to reach and go through the gate?

Probably the former.

The Gate is mentioned first, referring most likely to conversion.

The way, a possible reference to the Christian life, most likely comes second.

Pilgrim’s Progress describes Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

There is a path that leads to the gate.

There are dangers and dangerous people who want to keep us from the gate.

There are people who want us to stay in the City of Destruction ( Obstinate and Pliable)

Then there are dangers and dangerous people who want to keep us from the Celestial City.

Perhaps Jesus is commanding those who, aware of the coming destruction through the power of the Holy Spirit, have traveled to the 2 gates and have make a decision.

Jesus is clear in His command: enter the narrow gate.

Storms goes on to say:

2. Let me describe the scene this metaphor is designed to portray.

The first thing we see are the two gates.

The gate leading to the easy way is wide, for it is a simple matter to get on to the easy road.

There is plenty of light shining on the path.

People are going through ten, twenty, even thirty abreast, all arm in arm.

They are driving cars through with luggage racks filled to capacity, some even pulling overloaded U-hauls behind them!

As Stott says,

“we need leave nothing behind, not even our sins, self-righteousness or pride.

The gate leading to the hard way, on the other hand, is narrow.

One has to look for it to find it.

It is easy to miss.

As Jesus said in another connection, it is as narrow as a needle’s eye.

Matthew 19:23–26 (NASB95) And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”

26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Further, in order to enter it we must leave everything behind—sin, selfish ambition, covetousness, even if necessary family and friends.

For no one can follow Christ who has not first denied himself” (194–95).

Matthew 16:24 (NASB95) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

The Wicket Gate in Pilgrim’s Progress is (according to Wikipedia) … was a narrow gate into a city that allowed the city] to avoid the risk of having to open the main gates to the castle or city for just one or two individuals on foot.

Because the wicket was only one person wide, it only allowed entry one at a time and enabled the guards to better control access.

Croquette game has wickets — only one ball wide

Storms says:

I would suggest that the narrow gate is actually a turnstile!

No one enters the kingdom as part of a group.

Your affiliation with this church, your citizenship in this country, will do you no good.

The gate admits only one person at a time.

The decision is yours.

It is personal.

It is individual, not collective.

You cannot enter the kingdom on the coattails of a believing parent or spouse or child.

Describe the wide gate and wide road:

Storms:

The way that is on the other side of the wide and glittering gate has accommodations everywhere: rest stops, a Holiday Inn every few miles, gift shops, gas stations, etc.

There are countless people along the way, seemingly happy and carefree, all of them encouraging you to follow: “It’s so easy.

It’s so uncomplicated.

It’s so free!”

As Stott says,

“there is plenty of room on it for diversity of opinions and laxity of morals (no one will ever question your beliefs or criticize your behavior).

It is the road of tolerance and permissiveness.

It has no curbs, no boundaries of either thought or conduct” (194).

6.

In what sense is the gate of Christianity small and the road narrow?