Did God promise to grant any request made by two or three people gathered in His name?

A few days ago, a post by a Facebook friend caught my eye and stuck in my mind for hours (that’s rare for me for a Facebook post!). This lady was asking for prayer for a baby who is facing a heartbreaking illness. It is good to invite people to pray, and her compassion was obvious.

What stuck in my mind, however, was the claim that her post made about God and his promises concerning prayer. I don’t know if this lady wrote these words or if she was simply sharing them from someone else’s post, but here’s what it said:

“The power of prayer. God says where ever there is three or more gathered in his name in complete harmony he will give them whatever they ask for. So please let’s all be in complete harmony and say this prayer…” What followed was a suggested prayer that we could all pray for this baby.

This claim about God grieved me deeply and stuck in my mind for hours. Why such a strong reaction, you ask? Because the truth is this:

If God made that promise, then he is utterly untrustworthy.

How did I reach that conclusion? Just think about what your own experience has taught you. How many times have you and a group of family or friends all made the same specific prayer request to God, only to see it go unfulfilled? I would suspect we have all lived through that experience a number of times.

Do you see the dilemma that our experience raises in light of that claim? If God did in fact make such a promise about prayer, then he has failed to deliver on it repeatedly. If any other person you know repeatedly fails to deliver on a promise, don’t you eventually conclude that he is not trustworthy? Logically, we are backed into a corner on this one – if God made that promise about prayer, we would be foolish to trust him, because he has failed to deliver on it time and time again.

So we have a crucial question to consider – did God in fact promise that “wherever there is three or more gathered in his name in complete harmony he will give them whatever they ask for?”

This language of “three or more gathered” is found in Matthew 18:15-20. Here is that whole passage, so you can get the context of the whole train of thought:

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

A couple of questions at this point will bring us some much-needed clarity regarding any promise that God is making in these verses. First of all, why are the two or three gathered in this passage? We quickly discover that they are not gathered for any general purposes regarding prayer, but rather for a very specific purpose – to help resolve a dispute that has arisen within the church body. Initially, they are gathered in verse 16 to provide evidence that the claims of the offended brother are indeed true. Then, they are (presumably) gathered with the rest of the church in verse 17 as the church makes a pronouncement regarding the unrepentant brother’s status within the church body (the meaning of “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector”).

Second, what would the two or three be asking about in this context (their asking is mentioned in verse 19)? Here, we have to trace the line of thinking from verse 17 forward. At the end of verse 17, an action is prescribed as the end result of church discipline for an unrepentant brother – let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. This statement would refer to the removal of the brother’s privileges and responsibilities within the church body (it certainly does NOT mean anything like “act mean and nasty toward him”).

This act is then referred to in verse 18 as “binding” and “loosing.” Notice then that in verse 19, Jesus begins by saying “again I say to you.” The word “again” would indicate that Jesus is about to refer back to the action at the end of verse 17 in different language than what he used in verse 18. So then, what would the two or three be asking about in verse 19? The most natural answer, based on the context, is that they would be asking God to approve and confirm their decision to remove the unrepentant brother’s privileges and responsibilities within the church body.

Only now can we properly understand the statements “it will be done for them by my father in heaven” and “for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Jesus is promising that if we take the proper care and caution in overseeing the discipline of the church, God will approve and confirm the decisions that are made through this process.

There is no general promise made here about any and all prayers that may ever be spoken. It’s very important that we don’t conclude that God is making such a promise here. Why is it so important? Among several reasons, this one stands out:

People sometimes lose their faith when they expect God to grant a request and he doesn’t.

This whole discussion thus becomes very relevant very quickly. We MUST make sure that the expectations we have for God are based on what he himself has said in the Bible and not simply on popular sentimentality. Otherwise, we may end up disappointed with God for no legitimate reason, but simply because we have embraced a misunderstanding about him. That is a very sad state of affairs, indeed.

We must be very careful when we start saying “God promised us this…” or “God promised us that…” We do not want to put God on the hook for things he did not actually say! There certainly is power in prayer. May I be the last person to ever discourage people from praying! But we don’t want to find ourselves in a crisis of faith that could’ve been avoided by simply spotting an unfortunate misunderstanding.

What's So "Great" About the Great Commission?--Baptism Sermon

            Words like “great” and “awesome” have lost a little bit of their punch in our language. We use them so often and for so many things that they’ve lost a little bit of their significance. For example, we might eat a really tasty pizza and say, “Wow! That pizza was awesome!” Or on the Fourth of July, we might rig up some kind of homemade bomb and when we set it off we say, “That was awesome!”

            I think it’s kind of humorous to put the dictionary definition of “awesome” into those statements. We’d feel kind of silly saying, “That pizza filled me with an overwhelming sense of reverence!” The dictionary does also mention an overwhelming sense of fear, so that might apply to your homemade bomb on the Fourth of July!

            Because of the way that we use words like “great” and “awesome,” when we talk in church about the Great Commission, we might wonder what’s great about it. Why do we call it the “Great” Commission, anyway? I’d like to give you four answers to that question today as we take a look at the commission that Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28:16-20.

            The event recorded in this passage is taking place after Jesus rose from the grave. The text says, “Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee [remember that Judas Iscariot is no longer part of the group!], to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.”

            That statement takes us by surprise in this story. What were the disciples doubting? Were some of them doubting whether Jesus had really come back to life?

            Most likely, their doubts were about their worship. The Greek term here includes the act of bowing down to someone, and even though the disciples were coming to understand that Jesus was God and the Messiah, he was also a human being, and the thought of bowing down to a human being would have been very foreign to the minds of these Jewish men.

            So most likely, they were having questions or doubts about what they should do now in the presence of Jesus. “Does he want us to bow down to him? After all, we remember him washing our feet and telling us not to act all high and mighty. What does he want us to do?”

            Jesus doesn’t address any questions of etiquette, but instead he gives them a mission, or we might say he commissions them for a job. Starting in verse 18, we begin to see why we refer to this as the “Great” Commission.

1. It comes from a great authority

            [READ v. 18] The first part of the Father’s plan for Jesus required him to submit to various human beings. He submitted to his parents while he was growing up, then later he submitted to the Jewish and Roman authorities.

            But the days for Jesus to submit to other humans are over. The Father has declared him to be the Lord of heaven and earth, and if only all men everywhere would worship him as such! But many people have not heard that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, or some have heard and they have continued in rebellion against him. And so, there is a need for the commission Jesus gives his disciples in verses 19 and 20.

2. It has a great goal

            [READ v. 19-20] What a lofty and satisfying goal this is, to call people to become apprentices of Jesus – to call them to embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then to make that fact known through baptism, then to learn from Jesus’ teachings how to navigate all the ins and outs of life.

            This is the greatest goal to which we could possibly devote our lives. What even compares to it? Accumulating a fortune that you just have to leave behind anyway? A fortune that your kids might fight over or even squander? Grasping for your 15 minutes of fame that might be gone even before you are?

            No goal could possibly be greater than this commission, and this commission also serves as the marching orders for the church. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What should our church really be focused on?” there’s really no mystery to the answer. We are to make disciples of all nations, lead people to be baptized, and teach them how to live a life that’s based on the commandments of God. Now sure, some of the details will be different for different churches based on where they’re located and the resources they have, but our common goal is laid out right here, and it’s as plain as day.

3. It has a great scope

            Notice that Jesus told them to make disciples of all nations. Previously, in Matthew 10, Jesus had sent the disciples out on a short-term preaching tour, and at that time he had told them to stay within the boundaries of Israel.

            But now there was to be no such restriction. Since Jesus has all authority on earth, all the inhabitants of Earth need to hear the offer of peace from their crucified and risen King. The Gospel is not a message for Israel alone, but for all people. There is also no room for prejudice or racism in our efforts to spread the Gospel. The offer of salvation is made to all people, and all people need to hear it.

4. It comes with a great promise

            After giving his disciples this commission, he gives them this promise: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

            In may seem ironic that after giving this promise, Jesus left the Earth and returned to heaven just a few days later. But by doing so, he made it possible to be with all of his disciples all the time – at the same time, no matter where they might be. Remember that Jesus’ physical body could not be in two places at once any more than yours or mine can.

            But after returning to heaven, Jesus sent his Spirit upon his disciples on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit has come to live in every believer since that time. So Jesus has certainly made good on this promise, and he will continue to do so.

            The Spirit’s presence within us is a wonderful reality of the unity that we enjoy with Jesus through faith. Baptism is a wonderful picture of that unity as we symbolize the fact that through faith, we have died, been buried, and have been raised to new life with Jesus. Let us celebrate with those who choose to take this important step.

Loving God By Loving Others--Life With God Series

            As I’ve grown more mature, I believe I’ve developed the ability to stay fairly patient with people who hurt me or insult me. But when someone hurts my children, that’s a totally different story! That’s when my claws come out, and it takes everything I’ve got not to lose my cool.

            When someone hurts my children, I take that personally, and I can’t just pretend like it’s no big deal. To put it another way, I can’t be good friends with someone who isn’t good to my children. If you want to be close to me, you have to treat my children well because I love them dearly.

            According to the Bible, your relationship with God contains that very same principle. As God’s child, if you want to have a close, friendly bond with him, you must show love to your brothers and sisters in Christ. The way you treat them will either help you get close to God or it will hinder you from doing so. In fact, as we’ll learn today, we cannot truly say that we love God well if we do not love his children.

            This truth may rub you the wrong way if you are inclined to think of your relationship with God as an intensely personal sort of thing. It can be tempting to view our intimacy with God as being the sum total of nothing more than how much time we spend in prayer and how much time we spend in Bible study. If that’s true, then our relationships with other people don’t even factor into that equation.

            But the Bible forces us to factor other people into our relationship with God. Your relationship with the Lord certainly does have its personal elements, but what I hope you will see from God’s Word today is that it also has its interpersonal elements.

            Allow me to clarify one thing before we begin to look at some passages together. Some people have interpreted these passages as tests that you can use to measure whether or not you are truly born again. I do not interpret these passages in that way, and I would encourage you not to do so either. I think that interpretive approach has too many theological problems to be a good interpretation. Rather, I think these passages help me as a born-again person to measure whether I am walking in close friendship with the Lord or not. I would encourage you to keep these thoughts in mind as we proceed.

To Love God, You Must Love Others

            The Apostle John tells us in his characteristically blunt fashion in 1 John 4:20-21: “If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

            To John, the issue is cut and dry – if you think you’re loving God well but you hate your brother in Christ, you’re lying! You may not be trying to deceive yourself or anyone else, but that is the reality because loving your brother is part of what it means to love God. In the same way that staying faithful to your spouse is part of what it means to love them, loving your Christian family is part of what it means to love God.

            Now why does John place so much emphasis on sight and love? I think it’s because for John, love is truly expressed through the tangible sacrifices that we make for each other. I show love to you when I make a tangible sacrifice to meet the needs that I can see that you have. Notice what the Apostle wrote back in 3:16-18: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

            Also, the fact that we are physically together gives me extra motivation to love you. We’ve all heard that old phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind.” It’s easy to forget to think about someone if you don’t see them. But since I see you often, I can see it in your face when you’re sad about something, or I can see it when you might be in need of something that is necessary for life. The fact that I can see your needs should tug at my heartstrings and draw out the love that I am supposed to show to you.

            So I simply cannot claim that I am loving God well if I am not loving you well. This is easy to understand by comparison with our biological families. If I am causing pain and anguish for my siblings, how could I say, “I’m being a great child toward my parents?” That claim doesn’t fly with our biological families, and it doesn’t fly in the family of God either.

So we must love each other, and also…

We Must Forgive Each Other

            When we took a look at The Lord’s Prayer two weeks ago, we read these words from the Lord Jesus: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14-15).”

            In our day and age of cell phones, we’ve all had the experience of having poor reception. Perhaps we’re in an area with a weak signal, or something else might be causing interference. Whatever it is, when someone tries to get in touch with us, their call doesn’t get through because we have poor reception.

            Well, according to Christ, unforgiveness in my heart causes my prayer to have poor reception with God, so to speak. My behavior toward you has created a barrier in my interaction with God. It’s not enough for me to just faithfully follow my Bible reading plan or faithfully work through my prayer list. Until I correct my behavior toward you, that barrier will remain in my relationship with God.

            We saw the same kind of idea a few months ago when we were studying 1 Peter. In his instructions to husbands, Peter wrote this: “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).”

            So from these passages, it should be clear – your relationship with God is not just a private matter between you and the Lord. Certainly, some parts of it are, but the way that you behave toward other people also factors into that relationship and affects the degree to which you enjoy a close friendship with God.

            So if we want to have a good relationship with the Lord, we must also have good relationships with other people by loving them and forgiving them when need be. When we will do that, we will find not only a greater unity with the Lord, but a greater unity with each other as well, and that unity will serve as a powerful testimony to the world that the message we proclaim about Jesus is true.

The Power of Unity for Our Proclamation of Truth

            Did you know that Jesus literally prayed for you and me on the night before he died? Christians who weren’t even alive yet at that time – he had us on the mind, and he prayed for us. Notice what he said in John 17:20-23: “I do not ask for these only [meaning the 11 disciples, minus Judas], but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” That’s you and me and all believers who have not seen Jesus in the flesh but have believed in him through the apostles’ testimony in the Bible.

            And what was his desire for us on that night? “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.” Jesus prayed that we would have unity – the same kind of unity of mind, desire, and purpose that he has with God the Father.

            And why did he desire that unity for us? What purpose would such unity accomplish? “So that the world may believe that you have sent me.” When we live in unity, our fellowship has the power to convince people that Jesus truly is the son of God, sent into this world to save mankind.

            Can people learn that by reading about Jesus in the Bible? Certainly they can, but sadly, people have all sorts of ingenious ways of evading the plain truth that they read from these pages. But when they see us living in love, with a unity that our world has never achieved, they will not be able to deny that Jesus has the power to change the hearts of mankind, and the only way that he could have such power is if he is the Son of God.

            Jesus continued his prayer for us: “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” How will we ever convince the world that we have been saved by a supernatural love if we cannot get along with each other? If they see us bickering and fighting with each other, why would they ever believe that we represent the God who is love itself?

            But if we show them godly unity and love, we give tangible proof of the truthfulness of the Gospel message that we proclaim. So when we love each other, not only do we enjoy close friendship with God, not only do we enjoy close friendship with each other, but we also draw others into the same kind of relationship with God that we enjoy. For we who have received the love of God, should we desire anything less than to see others enjoy that love as well? May we display the unifying power of God’s love in our lives today!

What to Say to God When You Pray--Life With God Series

            We all know that communication is very important in relationships, but sometimes our communication with others can be hindered by nothing more than that nagging feeling that we just don’t know what to say to them. Every one of us has avoided conversations at times because we felt like we just didn’t know what to say to that other person, or if we did have some thoughts in mind, we didn’t know how to express them in just the right words.

            As we’ve been learning in this series recently, we have a cycle of communication in our relationship with God – he communicates with us through the Bible, and we communicate to him through prayer. As with all of our other relationships, our efforts to communicate with God through prayer can be hindered by that same old feeling that we just don’t know what to say.

            Fortunately for us, Jesus has given us a model prayer that teaches us the kinds of thoughts and statements that we should express to God when we pray. By getting more familiar with this model prayer, we can get a better understanding of what we should say to God when we pray. So today, we’re going to take a look at what we usually call “The Lord’s Prayer,” as it is recorded in Matthew 6:9-13.

A Striking Observation

            Once you find that passage in your Bible, if you will just take a glance over the page on which it’s written, you might notice something rather striking about this model prayer – it’s not very long at all! The Lord’s Prayer only takes about 25 seconds to read out loud, and that’s if you read it carefully with great expression!

            Now it could be that this model prayer is short because it is, after all, only a model, an example. We know that these verses don’t say everything that Jesus wanted to communicate about prayer because he had more to say about prayer at other times in his teaching.

            But it could be that the length of this model prayer is meant to teach us that our prayers don’t necessarily have to be very long. I believe we get the same impression when we remember what Jesus had to say back in verses 7-8 [READ Matt 6:7-8].

            Notice the main point of these verses – a multitude of words does not make our prayers more effective, so we should not think that they do. We don’t need to drone on and on because our Father knows what we need before we ask him. These observations have led me to think that it is okay – and perhaps even preferable – to keep our prayers short.

            This thought may not be earth-shattering to you, but I’ve got to tell you, it’s been very challenging to me. To be honest, I think I’ve spent most of my life believing that effective prayers have to be long prayers – in other words, if I want to have any chance of God answering my prayer, I need to make it long.

            I don’t know when or where I picked up that idea, but I can tell you, it really has affected my prayer life. For a long time now, I know I’ve thought that if I want to truly have a “good” prayer time, I’d better be prepared to pray for at least 20 or 30 minutes – the longer the better, even if I wind up repeating myself, and even if I find my mind wandering a lot during that time.

            But as I’ve started to reflect on Matthew 6 and some other passages of Scripture, I’ve started to think that a much better principle to follow might be this:

When you pray, say what’s on your heart, then say no more.

            At times, you may have many people that you’d like to pray for in the same prayer, or you may have a heavy burden that you need to bring to God. Those prayers will naturally be longer, and of course, there’s nothing wrong with that! But at other times, you may simply want to say “thank you” for a small blessing or you may need to confess a sin that you’ve become aware of. I believe we should feel free to simply say those things without feeling like we have to make a 10-minute production out of our prayer.

            Effective prayers are not necessarily long prayers. When you’ve said all that’s on your heart, that will suffice. Don’t drone on with half-hearted words just because you feel like your prayer needs to be a certain length. Say what’s on your heart, then say no more.

A Well-Balanced Prayer Diet

            Now I do believe that The Lord’s Prayer mentions the kinds of thoughts that we need to express in our overall habits of prayer. We don’t want to neglect any of these thoughts even though we may not include all of them in every single prayer we pray.

            To help us remember these thoughts, I’d like to tie The Lord’s Prayer together with a commonly used acronym that serves as a helpful memory device. It’s the acronym ACTS. As we go through this acronym, please don’t think of this as a hard-and-fast outline that each of your prayers must follow. Think of it more like a guide for a well-balanced prayer diet. You can achieve a well-balanced diet for your body even if you don’t eat foods from every food group in each meal. Likewise, you can have a good balance in your prayer life even if you don’t touch on every part of this acronym in every prayer that you pray.

A—Adoration

            The letter “A” in this acronym stands for adoration. That word refers to statements that express our praise to God or our love for Him.

            In The Lord’s Prayer, we find adoration expressed in the statements, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” The Lord’s name refers not just to the title that we might use for Him, but to His reputation and His fame as well. It’s similar to when we say, “So-and-so is really making a name for himself.”

            “Hallowed” is not a word that we use often. We may use it at times to refer to the “hallowed grounds” of a battlefield, and we mean that that location has a sacredness to it and is worthy of special honor because of its history.

            So “hallowed be your name” might be paraphrased as “may you receive the unique honor that you deserve.” It’s a statement that expresses how valuable we believe God is, and that He’s worthy of our love and honor. These are ideas, then, that we want to regularly express to God in our prayers.

C—Confession

            The “C” in this acronym stands for confession. In this model prayer, Jesus teaches us to confess our sins to God when he says, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Notice how Jesus ties this aspect of our relationship with God together with the way that we treat other people. Tuck that thought in the back of your mind for now, because that idea is going to be the subject of another sermon soon to come. We’ll talk about how our relationship with God is affected by the way that we treat other people.

            For now, I want you to remember that this model prayer is given for people who can call God “Father.” In other words, it is given for followers of Christ – Christians. This little observation would teach us that even after we have become born-again, there is still a need for us to confess our sins to God and ask him for forgiveness.

            It’s not that we’re asking him to save us all over again or to adopt us into his family all over again. The reality is this – when we are born again, our relationship with God moves out of the courtroom and into the living room, because we are his children now, we’re family. And as with any family, we have a need to ask for forgiveness when we have done hurtful things that bring grief to our family members.

            And so, we need to confess our sins to God when we become aware of them. If you sense that you are not regularly aware of your sins, ask God to give you a greater sensitivity toward your sins. If we ask God to make it clear to us when we have sinned, I think he will be happy to answer that prayer.

T—Thanksgiving

            The “T” in this acronym stands for thanksgiving. Ironically, we don’t find the words “thank you” in this prayer, although we can certainly see gratitude peeking out from between the lines of these verses.

            Other passages of Scripture make it clear that we should offer thanks to God in our prayers. For example, Philippians 4:6 says, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Colossians 4:2 likewise says, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

            If we would keep this thought in mind, we would find ourselves with numerous opportunities every day to say thank you to God. In fact, this could be a good way to carry out the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.” If we would offer a very brief prayer of thanks to the Lord as our various blessings come to mind, we would find ourselves saying thank you quite often.

S—Supplication

            The final letter in this acronym stands for supplication, which is just a fancier word for “making requests.” This may be the most humbling truth about prayer – we are invited to bring our requests to the Lord. It certainly makes sense for us to speak statements of adoration, to confess our sins, and to thank the Lord because after all – we are speaking to our superior, our Creator and Savior. The fact that he is willing to hear our requests is an example of sheer grace.

            We see supplication communicated in the three statements of this prayer: 1) your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; 2) give us this day our daily bread; and 3) and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

            Notice how the first statement of supplication is based on promises that God had already made. He had already promised that he would establish his kingdom of righteousness in this world; he had already promised that one day his will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. So Jesus was teaching us that some of our requests at least should be informed by and fueled by the promises that God has made in the Bible.

            So for example, we can request that Christ would return soon; we can request that God would show us how his strength is made perfect in our weakness; we can request that God would make his presence with us clear to us, since he promised that he would be with us always. Knowing God’s promises, then, gives us an important base of knowledge that should influence what we ask for in prayer.

            As far as the other two examples of supplication, notice how they give us a balance between our physical needs and our spiritual needs. We need to pray about both kinds of needs without neglecting one or the other. Sometimes our physical needs can feel so urgent that they dominate our prayers and leave us with little energy or concentration to pray for our spiritual needs. On the other hand, it might feel selfish at times to pray about your own physical needs when you remember the great spiritual needs of so many people all around you.

            The goal would be to not get off-balance in either direction. Remember your physical needs and remember your spiritual needs. Remember your own needs and remember the needs of others.

            So by learning some lessons from this model prayer, we don’t have to remain tongue-tied whenever we pause to pray. With these thoughts as our guide, we can simply say what is on our hearts, then we don’t have to feel pressure to say more, as though God has a minimum word count requirement for our prayers. With Christ’s example before us, may prayer become more delightful to us all the time.

Speaking to God in Prayer--Life with God Series

            When I play board games, I’m the kind of person who likes to play as an individual. If a game is designed for me to have a teammate, that’s fine—I can live with that. But sometimes, I find myself at a gathering that has 12 people, but we have a board game that only allows for four players. Now what? Some of you don’t mind just pairing up with another person, but I would rather bow out and watch everyone else play than play with someone as a team.

            The reason for that is pretty silly, to be honest—when I think I have a winning strategy, I get so stubborn that I don’t want to have to work with anyone else! They may not see the obvious superiority of my strategy, and they may have the audacity to suggest a different plan!

            Playing a board game as an individual is one thing, but there are some activities in life that simply require partnership and cooperation. Communication is definitely in that category. We’ve all been in one-sided conversations before, and we can all attest that they are a far cry from real communication. Communication truly is a two-way street; it involves sharing and receiving. If only one person is truly interested or active in a conversation, communication simply will not take place.

            In the last couple of weeks, we’ve learned that God communicates to us through the Bible. Today, we’re going to start talking about how we communicate to God, and that is through prayer. Along with obedience, prayer forms a major part of how we respond to what God communicates to us in the Bible.

            Since prayer does form a major part of our response to God, it’s just like God to give us plenty of teaching about it in the Bible. Today, we’re going to start taking a look at the model prayer that Jesus gave us which we often call “The Lord’s Prayer.” We’ll take a close look at the Lord’s lead-in to that prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, and in that lead-in we will find the roots of fruitful praying.

The Roots of Fruitful Praying

            If I had to sum it up, I would say that the roots of fruitful praying are to pray in a manner that fits with what our God is like. We must pray in a way that is befitting the kind of character that God has, as He has revealed it to us through His promises and actions. In that light, we find two attitudes in Matthew 6:7-8 that could give us a disease in the very roots of our prayer lives if we don’t watch out for them.

Diseased Attitudes About Prayer

1. God can be manipulated into answering my prayers

            Notice the warning that Jesus gives us in Matthew 6:7 – “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Let me focus here not so much on what these non-Jewish people did, but on what they thought – they thought their prayers would be heard because of their own actions. Their confidence for answered prayer was not in their god, but in whether or not they did things in the proper way.

            In this case, Jesus highlighted the practice of offering long, drawn-out prayers, but the actions could be anything. He could’ve mentioned offering the proper sacrifices or demonstrating sorrow in a visible way like cutting yourself, because those were also common practices among the Gentiles.

            This attitude toward prayer is a hallmark of false religion. There are many examples of this notion that I can make my prayers effective by my own actions. Consider the Muslim habit of prayer, for example. They believe that their prayers will be effective if they offer them at precisely the right times of day, facing the proper direction, and with the proper order of standing, kneeling, and bowing. Or we could consider Hindu practices, such as crawling for miles to a temple in order to show your sorrow over your sins.

            Whenever I start to think that I can force God’s hand by something that I do, I am catching a disease at the roots of my prayer life. Yet it’s very easy to slip into this mindset. I might think to myself, “If I just get down on my knees and stay there until my knees are raw and my back aches, then God will see how serious I am about this prayer business, and he will answer my prayer.” Or I might think, “If I can just work myself into tears about this, then God will see how desperately I desire this request, and he will give it to me.”

            I have a friend who preached at a church one time, and during the course of the service he prayed a prayer from the pulpit. After the service, the elders of that church were furious with him because he didn’t end his prayer in the way that they thought was necessary. They told him that he had to end his prayer with, “In Jesus name I pray.” They thought his prayer wouldn’t be effective with any other ending.

            My friends, let me be clear about this – when God grants us what we request, it is not because of anything we have done, but simply because of what God is like. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He is willing to answer prayer because he is good, not because we have made him cry “Uncle!” by using the right postures or the right phrases.

Remembering what God is really like is the key to avoiding the second diseased attitude.

2. God needs to be convinced to care about me

            The Lord continued his teaching on prayer by saying this in verse eight: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” In their religions, the Gentiles had no reason to think that their gods really cared about them. Perhaps their gods kept tabs on them, but there wasn’t really a notion of personal concern or affection.

            For that reason, their prayers were more like uninvited interruptions, and if you’re going to interrupt your god and make a request, it had better be good, right? You had better speak eloquently, or you better offer lots of compliments. Or better yet, you might try to butter him up by offering some gifts or making some vows.

            But what a drastically different situation we face when we pray to the true and living God – the God of the Bible! As Jesus reminds us here, he is our Father, and one way he demonstrates that is by keeping up with our needs – anticipating them and knowing them before we even realize that we have them!

            When we go to God in prayer, we are like a weary traveler who stops at a home to ask for shelter only to find that the table has already been set for our arrival! The bedsheets have already been turned down in expectation of our visit! Prayer is not a means to convince God to care about us because he already does!

            When we feel like God needs to be convinced to care about us, the result is that we will not pray about very many things. We will consider most things to be too insignificant to merit God’s attention, so we won’t pray about them. Consequently, we will miss out on a multitude of opportunities for God to strengthen our faith by showing his faithfulness through his compassion and care.

            We know God cares about the “big” problems in our lives. We know he cares when we are diagnosed with a devastating disease, or when we receive that eviction notice – but does he still care when we’ve lost our car keys for the third time in a week and we have to get to an appointment? Should we think that we have an invitation to pray even about that, or should we feel like it would be an interruption?

            I’ve certainly had my ups and downs with battling this prayer disease, but I can tell you that when I have chosen to pray to God about the “little” things, he has so often delighted my heart by showing me that he cares. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed that we could find a child’s blanky at bedtime! And you know what? We still have their blankies!

            I remember a time a few summers ago when I was briefly working for Matthew over at United Suppliers. I was driving a delivery truck, and I usually had to leave pretty early in the morning to make my deliveries. On one particular morning I arrived at the warehouse and for some reason, my key simply would not unlock the door! It was like someone had changed the lock; I just couldn’t get in.

            Because it was so early, I didn’t want to call Matthew and bother him, so I said a prayer something like this: “Lord, I really don’t want to have to bother Matthew right now, but our customers need this delivery. Would you please help me get into the building?” I don’t know if an angel came and straightened out my key or something, but I put it back in the lock, and that knob turned as if it had just been freshly oiled!

            When we fail to pray about the little things, we miss out on so many opportunities for God to show his concern and to build our faith. God cares about you, and he even cares about the little details of life. You don’t have to convince him to care, so go to him with all of your concerns.

Now that we have dismissed these diseased attitudes about prayer, we might be left asking ourselves…

What is Prayer All About?

            If prayer is not a way to make God work for me, what is it all about? If it’s not a method to convince God to care about me (since he already does!), then what is its purpose? If it’s not even a tool to inform God about my needs (since he already knows them), then what is it really for? By remembering that prayer is part of a cycle of communication, I think we can readily see one purpose.

1. It is a way to express my love to God

            Even if you know that someone loves you deeply, it’s still good to hear it again, isn’t it? And even if I’ve expressed it to my loved ones a thousand times, it’s still good for me to say it again – “I love you!” Expressing your love has an interesting way of expanding your love. When you express your love to God, it reinforces that love and builds it.

            When you pause to pray, that choice communicates that you value your relationship with God. Even if you don’t speak the words “I love you,” your actions demonstrate it. Expressing love is a healthy and vital part of any relationship, and prayer is one of the ways that you can express your love to God.

And when we think about what God wants to build in our lives, I think we can see another purpose for prayer.

2. It is a way to express and cultivate humility in my heart

            Whenever you pray to God to thank him for something or ask him for something, that act is a tacit admission that you cannot live this life on your own. Praying to God reveals that you understand your need for him; praying to him even about the little things in life demonstrates that you know you need his power and intervention every moment of the day.

            Perhaps more than anything, a lack of prayer should be seen as a symptom not of busyness or forgetfulness, but of pride. When I do not pray frequently, my actions express that I believe I can make it through most of life just fine on my own. In those moments, I am treating God more like a safety net than a shepherd, as if he is simply something for me to fall on when I’m in trouble rather than a kind master whom I have to trust for every need in my life.

            I’m starting to think that the main reason that God answers prayer is this – because prayer expresses humility, and God has promised to give grace to the humble. James and the Apostle Peter both remind us that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Because God is good, he delights to respond with kindness and grace toward those who humbly approach him.

            Why would we ever hesitate to pray to a God like that? Why should we ever doubt whether he cares about the things that concern us? He has given us this wonderful way to express our love and our humility to him. May we not be negligent to use it!

Baptism--A Public Step of Obedience: Matthew 3:13-17

            When we study the life of Jesus, we run across some events that we certainly can’t repeat and can hardly even imitate. For example, we read about Jesus telling people precisely what they we’re thinking in their own minds. Despite what our children may think from time to time, we all know that we can’t read other people’s thoughts! We also read about an event like the Transfiguration, when the glory of Jesus’ divine nature began to shine through him and make his body glow. We certainly have no way of imitating Jesus in that.

            But when we look at the Lord’s baptism, we discover that we can imitate him in this through our own baptisms – not in all the details of course, but certainly in the spirit of why Jesus was baptized. So today, we’re going to take a look at the baptism of Jesus to see how we might be able to follow his example.

Setting the Stage

            To understand part of the significance of Jesus’ baptism, we have to place it in the overall story of his life. As you all know, Jesus was born into this world with tremendous fanfare and a number of supernatural events. The angels were working overtime, we remember, as angelic visitors came to speak with Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah, and then a whole choir of them appeared in the sky to announce the Lord’s birth to the shepherds. A supernatural light led some Wise Men from the East to the place where Jesus was, and they referred to him as the King of the Jews!

            And after all of those incredible events, we read about – well, we read about not much of anything until Jesus was around 30 years old! Apart from one story of Jesus demonstrating his knowledge in the Temple when he was 12 years old, the Bible doesn’t record any details about Jesus’ childhood. Apparently, he just lived a quiet and normal life for all those years!

            I have to think that the fact that Jesus lived such an ordinary life for so long must’ve been very confusing and frustrating for all of the people who knew about his incredible birth. Surely for so many years they were on pins and needles, just waiting for amazing things to happen through him, yet here he was, growing up just like a normal Jewish boy.

            Jesus’ baptism was the event that began to change all of that. From that day forward, Jesus’ life was anything but ordinary. It was extraordinary in every way, so the Lord’s baptism marked a major turning point in his life.

            This moment began to take shape when Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, began to baptize some of their fellow Jewish countrymen in the Jordan River. John likely earned his nickname “the Baptist” because what he was doing was so unusual to the Jewish people. You see, the Jews did not use the ritual of baptism for themselves – they used it exclusively for Gentiles who wanted to convert to their religion.

            The Jews thought of the Gentiles as needing a fresh start – a whole new beginning, which is part of what baptism symbolizes. They didn’t see themselves in the same light, however. Sure – they were aware that they committed sins now and then, but they believed their connection to Abraham put them on good terms with God from the moment they were born.

            But John came along and warned the Jewish people that that was not true. If they wanted to be on good terms with God, they needed a fresh start, too – just the same as the Gentiles did. They had to realize that your family tree does not make you right with God – your faith does, so they needed to repent of their sins and express their faith in God.

            So John’s call for the Jewish people to undergo baptism was very unusual. His ministry drew a lot of attention, and the fact that the public was focused on John seems to have been at least part of the reason why Jesus came to him to be baptized as well. Jesus’ baptism served as his coming-out party. This was his big entrance onto the public stage, and with the supernatural events that took place, it made for quite an entrance!

            Baptism is supposed to serve a similar role for us. It serves as our entrance onto the public stage as followers of Christ. When you place your faith in Jesus, that decision begins to transform you, but nevertheless, other people will not know that you have made that decision unless you tell them. Your baptism is meant to serve as your formal declaration that you are a follower of Jesus and that you want to be identified with him.

Matthew 3:13-17

            Let’s take a closer look at what happened when Jesus came to be baptized by John [READ vv. 13-14]. Notice how John initially resisted Jesus’ request to be baptized. After all, John’s baptism was designed for people to express repentance, and he knew full well that Jesus had nothing to repent of!

            But Jesus persuaded him with this reply [READ v. 15]. Jesus knew that it was God the Father’s will for him to be baptized, and this statement is just one of many that highlight the care and concern that Jesus had at all times to carry out His Father’s will. In John 4:33, Jesus described obedience as the very food that sustained his soul: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

            In his eagerness to do the Father’s will, Jesus has given us precisely the example that we should follow. We must also have a careful concern to obey God’s will in everything. Before the Lord Jesus returned to Heaven, he spoke these words to his disciples in Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit (here is another reason why we baptize – because Jesus commanded it for his followers), teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

            It’s almost as if Jesus could have said, “Teach them to follow my example. Just as I obeyed the Father in everything, teach my disciples to obey all that I have commanded you.” For us, choosing to be baptized is an expression of our commitment to do all that Jesus has commanded us. And with such a public expression should come a new level of accountability with your brothers and sisters in Christ. We should celebrate with this young lady today and affirm the decision that she has made to follow Jesus. We should renew and recommit to our efforts to encourage her and help her learn as a child of God.

            Jesus was very careful to carry out the Father’s will, and on this occasion of his baptism, the Father wanted to make his opinion of Jesus publicly known so that everyone who witnessed this event might begin to understand exactly who Jesus was. Notice what took place after Jesus came up from the water [READ vv. 16-17].

            The Jewish people in this crowd who witnessed these things and who knew the Old Testament well may have had their thoughts turn toward Isaiah 42:1-2, which says, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

            For everyone who witnessed Jesus’ baptism that day, the man that they saw go down into the water may have just seemed like a young man from Galilee. But when he came up from the water, they had unmistakable signs that this man was unique and special. From this moment on, Jesus’ life would never be quiet or private ever again. These people had heard from heaven that Jesus is the Son of God, and if they followed his life, they would start to learn exactly what that meant.

            God the Father’s declaration from heaven is filled with such love and compassion. It would be a terrible oversight for me not to remind you today that when you accept Christ as your Savior, you enjoy what we might call the “spillover effect” of the pleasure that God the Father has in God the Son. When you are born again, on the spiritual level your life becomes hidden in Christ, so that the deep pleasure that God the Father has in Jesus spills over onto you as well.

            Just because of your new status as a child of God, He takes great delight in you as well. This fact that we are joined together with Christ is also part of what we symbolize through baptism. The act of going under the water and coming back out again symbolizes that we have been joined together with Jesus in his death, his burial, and his resurrection so that now our destiny is tied up in his destiny. Because of what he has accomplished, we are a new creation – dead to ourselves and our old passions and desires and alive to God as his own children.

            May we rejoice today in all that Jesus has accomplished for us, and in how the act of baptism reminds us of that and symbolizes it for us. May we rejoice and celebrate with this young girl who is taking such a great step of obedience and setting a great example for us all!

           

Great Faith in the Love of a Mother--Matthew 15:21-28 (Mother's Day Sermon)

            On this Mother’s Day, I would like to look with you at the story of one of the greatest women of faith in the whole Bible. Now, each of you probably has your own idea about which woman I may be thinking of. Some of you are likely thinking, “We’re about to look at the book of Ruth!” That’s a good guess, but that’s not where were headed today. Now that you’ve heard that, you’re probably thinking, “Oh – we’re going to study the story of Esther.” Another good guess, but wrong again.

            I would tell you the name of the woman whose story we’re going to read today, but the truth is the Bible doesn’t tell us her name! In fact, she was a woman who was not even supposed to be alive. Let’s find out about her, shall we? Turn with me to Matthew 15:21-28.

            This passage is in the Gospels, so of course it is recording an incident from the life of Christ. Verse 21 begins by telling us, “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.” Before we continue, let me explain a bit about why Jesus was headed to that area.

            The district of Tyre and Sidon was north of Israel and was actually a different country. If you think of Israel as the United States, it would be as if Jesus had traveled into Canada at this point. The Gospel of Mark makes it a bit more clear that Jesus had crossed the border at this point in time seeking some rest and relaxation for himself and the 12 disciples. They had been engaged in ministry continuously for some time, and they were beginning to wear out.

            Here’s what Mark 6:30-33 says about that stretch of time: “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.”

            So they were trying to get a bit of rest, but it was proving to be impossible to get away from the crowds. The same thing happened again just a few verses later in Mark 6:53-55: “When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was.”

            After all this, Jesus decided that they truly needed to get away from it all, so the beginning of this same story in Mark 7:24 says this: “And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.” It’s important for us to realize, then, that Jesus had not come into this area to do ministry, either through teaching or healing. Remember that detail, because it will help us understand what is to follow in this story.

            Back in Matthew 15 now, verse 22 begins with, “And behold.” Don’t rush over that like it some throwaway word! It’s like Matthew is saying, “You’re not going to believe what happened next!” And what did happen next? “A Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.’”

            Two facts in this verse make this whole situation highly ironic. The first is the fact that this woman was a Canaanite. The Canaanites were ancient enemies of the people of Israel. They were the people who lived in the land of Palestine during the time of Joshua and the Conquest, the people whom the children of Israel were supposed to wipe out completely through battle. Now please understand that when God gave that command, he was not being mean-spirited or bloodthirsty or prejudicial. That command was a judicial act on the part of God, who is the rightful judge over all the earth. He was passing a judgment on the Canaanites because they were exceedingly wicked people. Yet the Israelites did not fully obey that command, and so the Canaanites continued to live in various parts of the Promised Land, which allowed this woman to be alive at that time and in that place in order to cry out to Jesus.

            The second fact is that this woman called Jesus the Son of David. If you do a search for that phrase in the Gospel of Matthew, you’ll discover that the religious leaders were outraged when anyone suggested that Jesus was the Son of David because that title connected him to all of the prophecies about the Messiah from the Old Testament. To call Jesus the Son of David was at least the beginning of faith in him, and in the Gospel of Matthew that affirmation was only made by the unlikeliest of people, such as blind beggars on the side of the road and this Canaanite woman.

            But Jesus responds to her in a way that seems a bit surprising [READ v. 23]. Now the sense seems to be that the disciples were saying, “Lord, just give her what she wants and get her out of here! It’s embarrassing having this woman carrying on like this!” What tremendous compassion from the disciples! A lot of concern for the woman, right? Their request basically amounted to, “Lord, use your power to get this nuisance away from us!”

            But Jesus reminded them of something in verse 24 when he answered them, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” That statement might sound a bit cruel or even bigoted to us, but we need to see it from a different perspective. Jesus had not been sent into the world to heal every person on earth at that time who was sick or demon-possessed. Please do remember that, because if that had been Jesus’ mission, then unfortunately we would have to say that he failed, because he never made it any further out of Israel than this.

            His first purpose in coming to earth was to offer to the Jewish people the kingdom that had been promised to them in the Old Testament. That’s why his earliest recorded sermons said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was not his highest mission to heal everyone he encountered, but to offer salvation first of all to the Jews, then the through them to the rest of the world.

            Also, with this response, I have to think that Jesus was setting the disciples up to see something they really needed to see – an example of great faith. Jesus told them several times in the Gospel of Matthew that they had “little faith,” so they needed to see great faith in action. Undoubtedly then, part of Jesus’ intention in verse 24 was to set up what came next.

            Let’s see what did happen next [READ vv. 25-26]. That statement almost sounds a bit rude, doesn’t it? But since it comes from the lips of Jesus, we have to conclude that he did not mean to be rude or prejudicial or hateful.

            I think Jesus was perhaps making that statement as kind of a proverb or a cliché, just like we sometimes say things that wouldn’t be very kind if you took them literally. For example, imagine that you were about to leave your house to run an errand and your spouse said, “Could you run this by so-and-so’s house?” You might possibly say something like, “Sure! If I’m going to go into town, I might as well kill two birds with one stone.”

            Now, you’re not really comparing that other person to a bird, and you’re certainly not talking about killing them! You’re simply using a proverb or a cliché, and I think that may have been the attitude with which Jesus made this statement. The statement itself was really a reminder that the woman did not have a right to ask this question. That didn’t necessarily make the question entirely inappropriate, but she could not lay any particular claim upon Jesus and expect him to oblige her request. In other words, Jesus was stating that she was not entitled to receive a blessing like this, not even in the way that the Jewish people could have made a case for receiving God’s blessings based on his promises to them.

            The woman’s reply revealed her trust in Jesus because she made it clear that she was not coming to him with an entitlement mindset at all [READ v. 27]. Notice how she agreed with what Jesus had said before she humbly made her request again. If I could paraphrase her statement, I think I would say this: “You’re right, Lord! You are not obligated to do this for me, and I can’t claim any right to receive this blessing, but I just know that with you, there are plenty of blessings to go around!”

            In other words, she was asking Jesus to help her not out of any obligation, but out of his mercy and grace. That’s an illustration of saving faith right there! When we ask God to forgive us of our sins, we are not asking for that because we feel we’re entitled to it. Rather, we are appealing to God on the basis of his mercy and grace, which is precisely what this woman was doing here.

            Jesus saw that clearly of course, so he complemented her and granted her request [READ v. 28]. This woman was a great example of faith because she appealed to Jesus on the basis of mercy and grace, not from any attitude of entitlement or obligation. That’s what set this woman apart from about everyone else in the Gospel of Matthew. The Jewish people had come to feel entitled to God’s blessings despite the fact that they were failing to obey him in many ways. But this woman understood the attitude that God delights to honor – an attitude of simple trust in him, through which we simply cast ourselves upon his mercy and grace.

            Finally today, notice how this woman exemplifies so many of the qualities that we appreciate about our mothers. She was persistent in seeking help for her child. She was not going to give up until her child’s needs were met! She was also very humble, and how many times have we seen great humility from our own mothers! They have frequently embraced thankless tasks simply out of their love for us. And many of us have seen in our own mothers examples of great faith in God. Make sure to thank your mothers for these things, and may we all learn from the great example of faith that we have seen in this Canaanite woman.

Stepping Down From the Bench--Sermon on the Mount Series

            During my senior year of high school, I worked at a Mr. Goodcents restaurant for several months, and one day I had an experience that helped me learn a good lesson. I was standing at the counter waiting on some customers, and I had one of those moments when I just knew I was about to be robbed (if you’ve ever worked at a place with a cash register, you know what I’m talking about).

            I looked out in the parking lot, and a man was coming in to the store, and he was huge! He had tattoos all over his arms and several piercings, and I was sure he was going to rob the store. After he came in, he placed his order and I started making his sandwich, and at that time I used to wear a gold cross on a necklace. When I started making his sandwich, he said to me, “Hey, I like your cross.” I was thinking, “Here! You can have it—just don’t kill me!”

            But after he said that, he turned and walked down to the other end of the counter, and on the back of his shirt was Matthew 7:1—“Judge not, that you be not judged.” He started talking to one of my co-workers who was a Christian and I found out that this guy was a new Christian and actually attended my co-worker’s church!

            Now, I am quite certain that every person in this room knows Matthew 7:1—even if you didn’t know it was Matthew 7:1, you’ve heard the verse, “judge not, that you be not judged.” Surveys have shown that in our country this verse is the most widely-known verse of the entire Bible. However, I don’t think its any exaggeration to say that this verse is also the most widely misunderstood verse of the entire Bible.

            Today, we’re going to learn what Jesus actually meant when He said, “judge not, that you be not judged.” It turns out that if we simply read the verses that come after Matthew 7:1, we get a great commentary on what Jesus is trying to tell us (imagine that—if we keep a statement in context, it helps us make sense of it!). The points of my outline are going to serve as a paraphrase or commentary on these words, so hopefully these points themselves will give you a better idea of what Jesus is telling us. Let’s first read the whole section for today so we can get a sense of where we are going [READ Matt 7:1-6].

I. There is a Judge, and you are not Him. (v. 1)

            Verse one contains the famous statement, “judge not, that you be not judged.” When most people in our country today hear those words, they hear them in light of the popular idea that standards of what is right and what is wrong are simply matters of opinion. I may have very strong opinions about right and wrong, but according to this popular idea, they are nothing more than just my opinion—they are not standards that other people are obligated to live by.

            So with that idea in the background, when people in our country today hear these words from Jesus, they interpret Him to be saying, “Don’t evaluate the behavior of others, and certainly don’t ever tell them that they are wrong.” If there is one universal standard of right and wrong that our society buys in to, it is “don’t ever tell others that they are wrong.” Of course, no one ever stops to think about how that could always be wrong if there are no such things as universal standards of right and wrong!

            Jesus certainly did not buy in to this idea that statements about right and wrong are simply matters of opinion. Somehow, it escapes people’s notice that Jesus is giving us a command with these words—in other words, He is presuming to tell us what is right and what is wrong. In Jesus’ worldview, standards of right and wrong come from God. His commands show us the dividing line between right and wrong.

            With that idea in mind, we’re “getting warmer” in our search for what Jesus is talking about. God is the final judge of right and wrong, and ultimately, the only perfect judge of right and wrong. That is His position, His role, so Jesus is telling us not to take upon ourselves a role that rightfully belongs to God. We see this same thought expressed in commands that tell us not to take revenge.

            For example, Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” When I take revenge against someone else, I am trying to administer justice, but that is not my role. That is not the proper part for me to play in this world—that role belongs to God.

            That thought also helps us clarify what Jesus means when He says, “do not judge.” It is very important to realize that Jesus is not saying, “do not evaluate someone else’s behavior.” If that were the case, there would be many other biblical commands that we couldn’t possibly carry out—including the command of v. 6, as we’ll see in a moment.

            I think the illustration of a trial-by-jury is very helpful for us in clarifying what Jesus is saying here. In a trial-by-jury, the jury’s role is to consider all the evidence presented in a case and then determine if the defendant broke the law. It is the judge’s role, then, to administer justice—to determine the appropriate sentence and see that it is carried out.

            In our lives, the Bible does call us to play the role of the jury. We can observe behavior, look at the evidence of God’s word, and determine whether the behavior violates the standards of God’s Word. What Jesus does not leave open to us is trying to play the role of the judge—in others words, acting like we know what someone else deserves and trying to make sure that they get it. We are to have a different response, as we’ll see in a moment.

The Lord then goes on in v. 2 to mention a strong deterrent against judging others.

II. If you try to be the Judge, He will use your own standards against you. (v. 2)

            Let’s read v. 2 again [READ v. 2]. It seems that God’s attitude toward us is, “Okay, if you think you are fit to be a judge, then let’s see how you measure up to your own standards.” I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we really don’t want God to deal with us in the same way that we often deal with other people.

            When we try to act like we know what other people deserve, we do so with such a pitifully small amount of information. We may not know how hard someone fought against a temptation, or what the circumstances were that made a temptation look so appealing. It is far better for us to extend mercy to other people than attempt to take justice into our own hands. As Jesus had already stated that day, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy (Matt 5:7).” And after giving us His model prayer, the Lord said, “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt 6:14-15).”

            So this is the third time that Jesus has mentioned this same idea in this sermon—and He’s not bluffing about this. When we stand before Jesus to answer for our lives, He will adopt the same posture toward us that we adopted toward others. If that’s the case, my friends, then I don’t know about you, but I want to be very merciful and forgiving rather than judgmental.

Jesus then goes on to criticize the hypocrisy that feeds a critical, judgmental spirit.

III. Focus on and deal with your own sins first, then help your brother (vv. 3-5)

            We really get a glimpse of Jesus’ sense-of-humor in these next verses [READ vv. 3-5]. Let’s allow the full weight of this comparison to sink in. Think about how invasive you have to be to find a speck of dust or a tiny splinter in someone else’s eye. You really have to invade their personal space! The point is that you really have to put out effort to see a speck in someone else’s eye; you have to be looking for it.

            I hate to say it, but we’ve all known people like that—people who are always on the lookout to find fault with others. Their life verse is Luke 17:3—“if your brother sins, rebuke him!” They’re the self-appointed fruit inspectors who are always looking for tiny bruises on everyone else’s spiritual fruit.

            To them and us all Jesus says, “Why do you look so closely for a tiny fault in someone else and look right past the log that’s in your own eye? And what makes you think you’re qualified to help someone else with their minor problem when you have a major problem that you’re not paying any attention to?” That’s the irony of a judgmental spirit—it puts our attention on everyone’s business but our own. We also end up applying standards to everyone else that we do not apply to ourselves. That’s why Jesus calls this attitude hypocrisy.

            We’re supposed to attend to our own business first. We should root out our own faults and be on the lookout for our own failures. Notice the situation that results if we will do that: “then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Remember—Jesus is not telling us that its wrong to assess the behavior of others. If I notice a fault in someone else, after I have assessed myself, then I will be in a position to help them. Notice that Jesus is talking about help, not condemnation.

            This is where we find an unusual twist on the trial-by-jury illustration that I used earlier. We can play the part of the jury, but after we’ve determined guilt or innocence, we’re supposed to step out of the jury box and offer help to the defendant. We’re like a brother or sister helping a sibling fix something before Mom and Dad get home.

As v. 6 tells us however, we do have to use wisdom when we seek to help others.

IV. Use wisdom when deciding how to interact with others (v. 6)

            Let’s read v. 6 again [READ v. 6]. Let’s get a few things straight as we think about this verse. First of all, Jesus wasn’t hurling insults at anyone—he wasn’t calling a particular person or group of people “dogs” and “pigs.” He was simply using those animals as an illustration to teach a lesson.

            Second, when you hear the word “dog,” don’t think of a cute, cuddly house pet. Dogs were not common house pets in Israel at that time—they were wild animals. When Jesus said, “do not give dogs what is holy,” he was probably making a reference to the meat that the Jewish people received from their sacrifices in the Temple. With certain sacrifices, the person who offered it would receive some of the meat and take it home to eat it. This was very special meat; it wasn’t something you would just give to a wild dog roaming around the streets—it wasn’t appropriate for them.

            Likewise, no one would think about tossing pearls out to pigs (this is probably another example of humor from Jesus). Pearls are not appropriate for pigs, and they might be angry that you tossed them something they couldn’t eat.

            When we consider this statement in its context, its clear that Jesus is telling us that we have to use some wisdom when we consider how to help others. He has just told us that after we remove the log from our own eye, then we are in a position to help others—but even then we must not rush into a situation without using wisdom. I love what one commentator had to say about this verse: “Since we’ve just been told to love our enemies and not to judge, we might fail to consider the subtleties of the argument and become undiscerning simpletons. This verse guards against such a possibility.”¹

            Many verses of Scripture tell us about the need to exercise wisdom as we seek to help others. For example, Proverbs 9:7-8 says, “He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” Before we approach someone with the intent to help them, we have to consider if they are likely to receive it graciously. We might be wasting our efforts and inviting trouble for ourselves if the person has given a clear indication that they don’t want to hear what we have to say.

            In the New Testament, we find verses like 1 Thessalonians 5:14—“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” Before we can carry out those commands, we have to determine which of those categories a person falls in. Are they idle—are they not doing someone they can do and know they should do? Are they fainthearted—are they capable of overcoming something, but just wearied by the struggle? Are they weak—are they incapable at the moment of bearing some burden by themselves? You can see that this requires wisdom; otherwise we might help someone who is just being idle or we might admonish someone who truly is weak.

            As Jesus once told His disciples before He sent them along to minister without Him, we must be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).” Our passage today has taught the same lesson in reverse order. Verses 1-5 tell us to be innocent as doves. We must not take upon ourselves a role that rightfully belongs to God. When it comes to obeying God, our attention must be given to rooting out the sins from our own lives. Then, if we happen to notice an opportunity to help a brother, we can pursue that opportunity.

            Verse 6 then tells us to be wise as serpents. Jesus is not calling us to be naïve or careless about our interactions with other people. Instead, they should be properly motivated and properly thought out—then we will be prepared to act with wisdom and innocence.

Notes:

1. Paraphrase from a statement by D. A. Carson in Matthew, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 185.