LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine; lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”  Jesus

 

In the last page of the blog, Jesus was telling Christians not to judge and we need to take the beam out of our eye before trying to remove the speck out of our brother’s eye.   In the verse at the end of this particular passage, He tells us “do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine.”  Is anyone else shaking your head wondering what Jesus is trying to tell us?  I had to look for teaching on this verse in order to correctly explain it; I was surprised at how many Bible teachers and commentaries had skipped over this verse.

 

What I did find, centered in the Christian maintaining balance.  We are not to judge; however, this might keep us from discerning or judging at all. As Christians, we cannot be so afraid of judging those in the world that we turn a blind eye to them and what they do.   If we turn a blind eye to sin and error, it may lead us into error.  The only way to avoid error is to judge correctly.  I know of no where in the Bible that God tells His people to not know the difference between truth and error. Perhaps recognizing sin and error is to be done without the condemnation that so often comes with judgment.  Isn’t that the teaching of the Matthew 7:1-5?

 

In Matthew 7:6, the Lord refers to truth as pearls.  Truth is holy and is the message found in the Christian message.  We need to understand the reference to dogs and swine.  During the time of Jesus, dogs were scavengers of the village.  They were not like our beloved pets; they were often fierce and dangerous.  The swine, in Jewish thought, stood for all that was unclean.  Who is the people Jesus was referring to?  Non-believers need to hear the truth of the gospel in order to be saved.  That group of people were not who Jesus was referring to as dogs and swine.

 

Sin has awful effects upon people – it makes them like dogs and swine.  They do not want to hear truth and they can become antagonistic, aggressive to those who speak it.  Present the truth to them and they snarl at it.  Tell them about the blood of Jesus on the cross and they laugh and make jokes about it.  You know what I mean if you have ever tried to speak the truth of God’s Word to others.  It has amazed me that just the light of Jesus in you makes people uncomfortable. 

 

Presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ in the right way may be a key.  I remember an incident that happened many years ago when I was teaching and coaching in a public school.  I would always get to school early as did a tough talking foul mouth coach of another sport.  We usually spent 15-20 minutes together in the teacher’s lounge drinking a cup of coffee.  After a few weeks, I began to see changes in him as we talked.  I don’t remember if I ever got to share verbally about the Lord Jesus; I just began to see him interested in visiting with me without the cuss words or the toughness he wanted everyone else to see.  It always amazed me how he reverted to the old self when other teachers began to come into the room.  If I had insisted on him getting “saved” how would he have reacted?  I wish I knew what happened to him?

 

Here is what I am trying to share in the above example.  There are certain things that will be offensive to some that are not to others.  We are to be careful in our approach to someone who is not saved.  I have been pretty direct with other people that if they did not get their life together, they would spend eternity in hell; when led by the Holy Spirit this direct approach was effective.  The truth must be spoken in a worthy manner and spoken in the love of Christ.  Be aware of who you are talking to and be led by the Holy Spirit with what and how you present the gospel. 

 

How else can this be done without being aware of the life led by others and being balanced in recognizing error in others.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you to a greater discernment between truth and error and how to approach it.  Let your approach be free of condemnation and be spoken in God’s love. 

 

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