The Disowned
(No. 2808)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, DECEMBER 7, 1902.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, APRIL
22, 1877.
"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of
Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say
to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? And
in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful
works? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you: depart from
Me, you that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23.
ONE of the best tests by which we may try many things is to ask, "How
will they appear at the Day of Judgment?" Our Lord here says, "Many
will say to Me in that day." He used no other words to describe that
memorable period because that terse, brief expression suggests so
much–"in that day"–that terrible day–that Last Great Day–that day
for which all other days were made–that day by which all other days
must be measured and judged. I pray, dear Friends, that we may, each
one of us, begin to set in the light of "that day" the things that we
most prize. The riches upon which you have set your heart–how will
their value be reckoned "in that day"–and how much of comfort will
they then afford you? As for the way in which you have been spending
your wealth–will that be such as you will remember "in that day" with
satisfaction and comfort? Value your broad acres and your noble
mansions, or your more moderate possessions according to this gauge of
their real worth–how will they be valued "in that day"? And as to the
pursuits which you so eagerly follow and which now appear so important
to you that they engross the whole of your thoughts and arouse all your
faculties and energies–are they worthy of all this effort? Will they
seem to be so "in that day"?
What is the chief objective of your life? Will you think as much of it
"in that day" as you do now? Will you then count yourself wise to have
so earnestly pursued it? You fancy that you can defend it, now, but
will you be able to defend it then–when all things of earth and time
will have melted into nothingness? You value the esteem in which you
are held among men and you do rightly, for, "a good name is better than
precious ointment." But are you really worthy of the good name that has
been given to you? Is that favorable judgment of your fellow creatures
the verdict of the Infallible Truth of God? Will you be as highly
honored "in that day" as you are now? Will as much credit be given to
you for honesty and virtue, then, as is given to you now? Is there no
tinsel, no veneer, no deception, no counterfeit coin about you? O my
Brothers and Sisters, who among us can submit his position and his
fellow men to such a test as this without the most solemn questioning
and searching of heart?
You young men are, perhaps, rejoicing in your youth and letting your
heart take full liberty in the enjoyment of earthly pleasure. God
forbid that I should deprive you of any real pleasure, but let me ask,
concerning those enjoyments, how will they appear "in that day"? Will
they bear serious reflection even now? Then, how are they likely to
endure the more sober judgment that will be exercised then? "In that
day," when the glare of this world's lamps shall have died out and the
glitter of its pomp shall forever have passed into the eternal
darkness, how will your pleasures look then? Especially if you have
sold yourself for those pleasures–if you have bartered your peace of
mind for them–if you have disobeyed your God in order that you might
enjoy them! How will they then appear when, at the end of the feast,
the cost of it has to be met and you have to give in your last account?
It is truly wise for a man to be familiar with his last hours. It is
well for him to often rehearse that grand act when he must gather up
his feet in the bed and die–and meet his father's God.
But it is still wiser for him to leap over the chasm which divides him
from the realities of eternity and, by the force of faith rather than
by imagination, picture himself standing in that mighty throng of the
risen dead from every part of land and sea–the innumerable population
of this great globe–every eye turned in one direction, all looking to
Him who shall sit upon the Great White Throne, that Christ who was once
crucified in weakness, but who shall come in power and great Glory,
appointed Judge of all mankind! I know that I am inviting you to think
of something that you do not wish to have brought to your mind. The
world plucks you by the sleeve and says, "Come away," but I would
gladly detain you for a little while as the ancient mariner held the
wedding guest–yet not to tell you a quaint story of far-off seas and
strange adventures, but to solemnly talk to you about your immortal
soul–and to stir you up to see to its future destiny, lest Christ
should come and you should be as unprepared for His coming as the men
in the days of Noah were for the flood which swept them all away!
Well, then, as everything is to be regarded as it will appear "in that
day," we will try to judge our profession of religion by that test, for
it will mainly be to those who think themselves Christ's people that I
shall speak. And I pray that a strong North wind may blow through us
and if there is any chaff in this great heap, may it be speedily
discovered and be driven out from amidst the wheat!
We shall, first of all, notice that the persons mentioned in our text,
whom Christ "never knew" in a saving sense, went a long way in
religion. Secondly, they kept it up a long while. Thirdly, they were
fatally mistaken and, fourthly, they found it out in a very terrible
way.
I. First, then, there are some to whom Christ will say, at the last, "I
never knew you," yet who WENT A LONG WAY IN RELIGION. Who were they and
what did they do?
Well, first, they were persons who made an open profession. Jesus said,
"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of
Heaven." They called Christ, "Lord," so they virtually declared that
they were His disciples. They said this plainly, as though they were
not at all ashamed of it and were, indeed, even proud of it. They said
it twice over, zealously, frequently, "Lord, Lord." They said it as if
the saying of it were so sweet to them that they could not say it often
enough. They said it in all sorts of company. They sometimes said it
when wiser men would not have said it. We know many persons who have
never made any profession of being Christ's followers. They that are
outside of Christ, God judges. But let those who are within, those who
have come into the fellowship of the Church and have said, "Lord,
Lord," judge themselves lest they should be deceived into a false
security! It is not everyone who has been called by the name of Christ
whom He will acknowledge "in that day." There has been many a loud
profession that will count for nothing in that heart-searching time. O
my Brothers and Sisters, I am speaking to myself as I speak to every
member of this Church and every member of any other Christian Church–I
beseech you to see to it that you have something more than a mere
profession, for these condemned ones had made an open profession of
religion, yet Christ will say to them– "I never knew you."
Note, next, that they had undertaken religious service, and that of a
high class, for Christ says of them, "Many will say to Me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?" They had not served
in any mean capacity, for they had prophesied or preached in the name
of Christ! This is one of the things to which false professors are very
prone–they love to take the chief places in the synagogue. There is
many a true servant of Christ who prefers to be a doorkeeper in the
house of the Lord, while many a hypocrite, who would not keep the door
on any account, would very cheerfully occupy the Prophet's chair and
prophesy in Christ's name! Ah, my Brothers, this thought comes home to
those of us who hold any office in the Church, and especially to those
of us who are preachers of the Gospel! If preaching could save a man,
Judas would not have been damned! If prophesying could save a man,
Balaam would not have been a castaway. We may preach with the tongues
of men and of angels, yet, if we have not love, it profits us nothing.
We may be even leaders of the Church in the noblest and highest
enterprises and yet, for all that, Christ may say to us, at the last,
"I never knew you." "But, Lord, the world blazed with my fame!" "I
never knew you." "I gathered thousands round about me." "I never knew
you." "Wherever I went, they flocked to listen to my words." "I never
knew you." Some of you may say, "Lord, I was a deacon of the Church,"
or, "I was an elder. I was accustomed to visit the sick and to speak to
enquirers. Everybody in the Church knew me and I was held in high
repute." Yet He may say, "I never knew you. I am an utter stranger to
you. Your name was never familiar to Me. I never knew you. Depart from
Me." This Truth of God comes close to home and it ought to, to everyone
of us who has ever professed to be engaged in Christ's service!
These people, too, had obtained remarkable success, for they went on to
say, "Have we not, in Your name, cast out devils?" It is grand success
to cast out devils and they might well rejoice in it. But, dear
Friends, if you and I should be able to cast devils out of others, yet
the devil would not be cast out of ourselves and we will be in a woeful
plight at the last! If you knew a man who had the power to cast out a
devil, you would probably say to yourself, "I wish I were as sure of
salvation as he is. Did I not see Satan, as lightning, fall from Heaven
while he spoke in the name of the Lord?" Suppose that did happen–it
would not prove that his name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Rejoice in your success, my dear Friend, as I may rejoice in mine, but
let us both rejoice with trembling, for, although we may have brought
ten thousand souls to Christ, yet, after all, we may never have come to
Him, ourselves! And if so, He will say to us, at the last, "I never
knew you."
And, once more, these people were not merely professors, and doers of
great works, and very successful, but they were exceedingly zealous and
were noted for their practical energy, for they said, "Have we not, in
Your name, done many wonderful works?" They had done many works in
Christ's name. They were busy night and day–they had a great many
irons in the fire. They seemed as if they could never do too much and
what they did was really very wonderful! In fact, they did not like to
do anything unless it was wonderful. A great part of the charm of it,
to them, was that people wondered at them, and it kept them diligently
at their work because they were so much wondered at. Yet is it possible
that a wonderful life should, after all, be a lost life–that a doer of
many wonderful works should, at the last, be found wanting? Can it be?
Yes, for so the Lord Jesus puts it in our text and, therefore, I invite
each professed Believer here, however highly favored he may have been
in his Master's service, to put away from him everything that might
tend to false security and to ask himself, "Shall I, in that Last Great
Day of account be proved to be right?"
I can imagine what some of you have been saying to yourselves while I
have been speaking. You have said, "Well, I am not a professor of
religion. I am not a prophesier. I never thought of attempting to cast
out devils! I never did any wonderful works." And you have comforted
yourselves with the thought that my message did not concern you. But
immediately after my text there is something that relates to
you–"Whoever hears these sayings of Mine." Now, you are, at least, all
hearers–and if the Gospel that you hear shall be so perfectly pure
that it may be truly called the sayings of Christ, yet remember that
there are multitudes of hearers who, through not being doers of the
Word, will find at last that Christ never knew them, either! "But,
Lord, I always sat in my seat. I was never absent from the services–I
used to be there whenever the doors were opened. I was there as
regularly as the minister, himself." Yes, that may all be true, yet the
Lord Jesus will not know you unless your heart has truly known Him!
If you remain without repentance and without faith, you may go to the
House of Prayer till you totter on your staff and you may never once
have been an inattentive hearer–but, unless faith comes to you by the
hearing of the Word– and that faith makes you a doer of it, verily,
verily, I say unto you, when the winds shall blow, the floods shall
rise and the rain shall descend, your house shall be proved to have
been founded on the sand and shall be swept away forever! So take our
text with that which goes before it–and that which follows after
it–and you will find that there is something here for each of you!
These people went a long way in religion, but they did not go far
enough. II. Now, secondly, THEY KEPT IT UP A LONG WHILE.
Have you ever noticed how long some people will manage to keep a
business going even after the capital has been spent for years? The
whole concern is thoroughly rotten, but, somehow or other, in divers
ways they succeed in keeping up the appearance of prosperity. There
gets to be, at last, a little suspicion abroad that things are not
quite as they seem, yet the clever people avoid the crash that appears
to be inevitable. I expect there is many a firm in the city that is
just like tinder, yet, for all that, it does not catch on fire for a
time. There are certain artful ways by which men can prop up a thing
which, otherwise, would soon tumble down. It is so with religion. You
can very easily patch up a profession when a nasty, ugly hole comes in
it–you can daub it over and if a sudden temptation comes like the
blast of a tempest and takes off a piece of the roof, there are plenty
of roofers to be had who will soon put on a few new slates and make the
broken place look neat and sound. And even when the old hovel is only
fit to be taken down and burned, you can still get some ivy and a few
flowers to grow over it and make quite a picturesque thing of it. And
there are people who do just that with their old rickety religion. It
never was worth having, yet they managed to keep it up for a very long
while!
It was so with the people mentioned in our text, for, first, they were
not silenced by men. They prophesied in Christ's name, yet nobody said
to them, "You shall not prophesy again, for you are living such
inconsistent lives that we will not
listen to you." This does not appear to have happened with any of these
people. The man who went about casting out devils was not stopped and
he kept on doing so and he even declared to Christ that he had done it,
and done it continually. Ah, my Brothers and Sisters, some of us have
seen ministers whose characters have been ruined so that they will
never be likely to preach again! We have known some church members
whose hypocrisy has been found out, so that they will never come to the
Communion Table again unless the Lord shall, in His Grace, grant them
repentance. Yet, what may be the difference between them and some of us
except that they have been found out and we have not? Or it may be that
had we been exposed to the temptations to which they yielded, or had we
been tested as they were, we would have fallen with as great a crash as
they did, for it is quite possible that we are no more sound at heart
than they were! May the Lord give us the Grace to lay this matter to
heart, for, if a man is conscious of being right, it will not hurt him
to search himself– and there is not one among us to whom it will be an
injury to have it suggested that we should try and test ourselves in
the sight of God.
Further, it does not appear that Christ Himself openly disowned these
people during their lifetime. He held His tongue concerning them until
"that day." There they were, preaching, teaching a Sunday school class,
distributing the bread and wine at the Communion Table, going about
among their fellow members, actively engaged in Christian service and
everybody saying of them, "What good people they are! "Yet the Lord
Jesus Christ knew that they were not! Why, then, did He not, in His
righteous wrath, at once expose them? He did not, for such is His
gentleness that He will bear long–even with a Judas–so He let these
hypocrites alone throughout their whole lives. And they died "in the
odor of sanctity," and somebody preached a funeral sermon upon them and
wrote their memoirs and it was only at the Last Great Day that the lie
was discovered and then, for the first time, Christ said publicly to
them, "I never knew you. I had nothing to do with you. How came you to
be professedly in My Church? What right had you to preach in My name?
What authority had you to speak to devils in My name? I never knew you.
You were always an impostor from the first day until now." He knew all
about them all the while, yet He did not expose them until the last.
And note, once more, that they clung to their false hopes right to the
end. They did not really know of the deception themselves. "What?" you
ask, "did they never think that they were deceived?" Perhaps they did,
now and then, but they always said to themselves. "We must not get into
a doubting frame of mind. This looking within and searching our hearts
will not do–it will only disturb and distress us." So they went on
daubing themselves with untempered mortar. They were as wrong as wrong
could be, yet everybody treated them as though they were right, so they
thought at last that they wereright. For a man may, in time, make
himself believe what he knows to be a lie. I have heard persons tell
stories about themselves which had not any foundation in fact, but they
have told them so often that I am sure they believe that they are
really speaking the truth, though if they would only think seriously,
they would perceive that their tale is all invention. A man may go in
and out among Christians, join in their prayers, and praises,
communions and even preach their Gospel or hear it, till, at last,
without any reason for his belief, he may persuade himself that it is
all right. He may even pass through the portals of death undeceived!
The righteous are often troubled when they come to die, but it is with
these self-deceived people as the Psalmist said, "There are no bands in
their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as
other men; neither are they plagued like other men." Take heed, I
beseech you, of self-deception. I say it first to myself and next to
you, lest, not until "that day" should we hear the Lord Jesus say to
us, "I never knew you," and lest, even "in that day," we should say to
Him, "Lord, Lord," and begin to argue that we were all right–but
Christ should put an end to it all by saying, "Depart from Me, you that
work iniquity."
III. I must be brief upon my third division. These people went a long
way in religion and they kept it up a long while, but THEY WERE FATALLY
MISTAKEN.
They were mistaken, first, because their tongues belied their hands.
They said, "Lord, Lord," but they did not do the will of the Lord. They
were very glib of tongue when they took to prophesying, but the message
never came out of their hearts. They never did the things they told
others to do–they were earnest to exhort, but not diligent to set a
good example to their hearers. They cast out devils, but, at the same
time, they did not, themselves, escape from the power of the devil by
giving up sin and following after righteousness. They failed in the
matter of practical holiness. They had not the Grace of God in their
souls, displaying itself in their ordinary, everyday actions. They
could talk. They could sing. They could prophesy, but they were not
obedient to the Divine commands and they did not walk in the ways of
God.
Then, next, they used the name which is dear to the disciples of
Christ, but they did not possess the nature of disciples. They used
Christ's name, for they said to Him, "Have we not prophesied in Your
name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many
wonderful works?" They knew Christ's name, but they had not His Nature!
They quoted His name, but they never copied His example. They had never
come to Him and trusted and loved Him. They knew His name, but they did
not know Him. And, alas, He knew their names, but He did not know them.
There was no communion–no intimacy between them.
Next, they prophesied, but they did not pray. Prayer is a vital
evidence of Christianity, but prophecy is not. A thousand sermons would
not prove a man to be a Christian, but one genuine prayer would. It is
easy enough to speak to men, but quite another thing, from our inmost
soul, to speak to God. They failed in that point and, therefore, their
failure was fatal.
Further, they attended to marvels, but not to essentials. They
neglected the important things which should have been done in secret.
They did much that could be seen in public, but they failed in the
plainer, simpler things that nobody saw. Let me just say to you,
Brothers and Sisters, that herein lies a great part of our danger–the
risk of getting a religious character without having a renewed
heart–doing religious actions without really being
born-again–learning the brogue of the New Jerusalem without having
been born as a citizen of the heavenly city–becoming fluent talkers
and earnest workers, but not having confessed sin, or repented of it,
or laid hold on Jesus Christ by living faith. I beseech you, young
professors, to covet most of all secret holiness–the holiness that
does not wish to be seen–plain, honest dealing with God in
private–much secret prayer and meditation upon the Word–in brief, a
life of true consecration to God. You may prophesy if God calls you to
do so. Perhaps you will cast out devils, I hope you may and, in
Christ's name you may do many wonderful works, but, first of all, "you
must be born-again." You must become as little children to sit at the
feet of Jesus and to learn of Him. You must be obedient to His commands
and yield yourselves up to Him, or else you will be fatally mistaken,
whatever profession you may make.
IV. Now, last of all, I want to remind you that THESE PEOPLE FOUND OUT
THEIR MISTAKE IN A MOST TERRIBLE WAY.
Oh, if they could only have found it out before! Possibly, they
attended a ministry that was very soothing. Or, if they heard a sermon
that seemed to plow them up, they said, "The preacher is very rough, he
has not enough love"–as if it were not the truest love to bid men
search, test and try themselves, lest they should be mistaken and so be
lost! There are some whose preaching is all sweetness–it would do very
well for catching flies–but it is no use in winning souls. It would be
more than my soul is worth for me to come here and cajole you into a
lying confidence and, as long as these lips can speak, there shall be
no man self-deceived here for lack of warning and earnest exhortation
to lay himself before God and ask God to search him and try him, and
see if there are any wicked ways in him–and lead him in the way
everlasting! It is not sufficient to feel quite sure of Heaven, and to
begin singing–
"Happy day!Happy day!"
Suppose that, after all, you are not saved? "Ah," says one, "I cannot
endure that supposition." No, dear Friend, but perhaps it may be true.
And if it is true, what a mercy it would be for you to find it out now,
when, in a moment, you may look away to Jesus and find eternal life!
Whereas, if you do not find it out till the time when the unhappy men
and women, mentioned in our text, found it out, that is to say, "in
that day," you will then find it out too late! Once become a bankrupt
in the great business of life and you are bankrupts forever! Once lose
the battle of life and your defeat is eternal! Imagine not–dream
not–conjure not up to yourselves any false notion of a larger hope
lest you sink at last into a still deeper disappointment. "The Holy
Spirit says, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts."
But He tells none of us to hold out to you any hope but that which
hangs upon the winged moment in which you are now existing! "Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." "He that believes and
is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned."
This is part of the great commission that Christ gave to all His
disciples and he that dares to fall short of it, or to go beyond it, is
a traitor to his Lord and a murderer of the souls of men! And this we
pray that we may never be.
Notice how these people found out their fatal mistake. They found it
out from what Christ said. He said to them, "I never knew you." Not
passionately, or angrily, but in stern, sad, solemn tones He said, "I
never knew you." "But we used Your name, good Lord." "I know you did,
but I never knew you, and you never truly knew Me." I can almost
imagine
someone turning around, "in that day," and saying to some Christians
who used to sit in the same pew, "You knew me." "Yes," they will reply,
"we knew you, but that is of no use, for the Master did not know you."
I can picture some of you crying out to your minister, "Pastor, did you
not know us? Surely you recollect what we used to do." What can he
reply? "Ah, yes, sorrowfully do I acknowledge that I know you, but I
cannot help you. It is only Christ's knowing you that can be of any use
to you."
Note, also, the terror that is implied in what Christ did not say. He
says, "Depart from Me, you that work iniquity." But who can tell all
that those words mean? What happened to these people after that
sentence was pronounced upon them by Christ? It was that "nameless woe"
of which we sang a little while ago. There is no name that can ever
fully describe your state of woe if Christ does not know you–and says
that He never did know you. If you have no acquaintance with the
Redeemer–if in His loving heart there is no recognition of you–if He
says, "I never knew you," ah, then, woe! Woe! Woe a thousand times! Woe
without hope for you, for, to be unknown of Him is to be devoid of hope
forever and forever!
Perhaps the worst thing of all was, the solemn truth of what Christ did
say. He never tells a lie, so, if He ever says to a man, "I never knew
you," His words are true. Just think a minute about that short
sentence. I wonder whether it is true concerning any of you here?
Christ knows all who have ever sought His face with repentance and
faith–but these people, though they had prophesied in His name, cast
out devils and done many wonderful works, had never repented, or
believed in Jesus. You remember those verses by John Newton–
"Do you ask me who I am?
Ah, my Lord, You know My name!
Yet the question gives a plea
To support my suit with Thee.
Once a sinner near despair
Sought Your Mercy Seat by prayer–
Mercy heard and set him free–
Lord, that mercy came to me!" If that is true of any of you, you can
say to the Lord, "You know me, Lord, for I came to You and said, God be
merciful to me a sinner." But, "in that day," these pretenders will
have to recollect that they never did that! David said to the Lord,
"You have known my soul in adversities." Beloved, some of you know what
it is to go to God with every trouble that ever comes upon you, but
these pretenders did not–and they had to remember, "in that day," that
they had never resorted to God–never had fellowship with
Christ–never, indeed, became acquainted with Him. "No," says Christ,
"I never saw you come as a beggar to My door. I never saw you sit as a
disciple at My feet. I never saw you as a humble follower treading in
My footsteps. I never saw you as a sheep that knew My voice and
followed Me. I never knew you. You were a stranger to Me–you and I
never exchanged a word with one another. We were not friends. You never
leaned your head on My bosom. You had nothing to do with Me and now I
have nothing to do with you."
If Christ ever thus shakes you off and says to you, "I never knew you,"
you will, indeed, be shaken off! It may be that my words upon this
solemn theme distress you, but how much more will His words distress
you when His own dear lips shall say, "I never knew you!" O Christ of
God, never say those words to any of us! O blessed Lamb of God, You who
are all our salvation, and all our desire, we know that You can never
say such words as those to some of us, for you have known us even from
eternity and we have long known You! You know whom You have chosen–You
know whom You have redeemed with Your precious blood–you know whom You
have called by Your Grace. You know whom You have quickened, preserved
and kept even to this day, but, oh, never let us be among the
self-deceived who shall, "in that day," hear You say, "I never knew
you!"
There is more thunder in those four words than you ever heard in the
most terrible tempest that has rolled over your heads! There is no
stamp of the foot or fire-glance of the eye to accompany them–they are
spoken calmly and deliberately, yet they are terrible and overwhelming!
"I never knew you."
Judge, dear Friends, whether you know Christ or not, and whether Christ
knows you and, as you judge yourselves, whatever your verdict may be,
take this last word of advice–whether He knows you or not, come to
Him! Trust Him! Rest in Him! I felt, as I was thinking over this
subject, "Well, perhaps my Lord does not know Me" So I made sure that
He should, for I sought Him, then and there, and I exhort you to do the
same. If you fear whether you know Him, trust
Him this very moment! Then if you have made a mistake up to now, and
have not really known Him, you will begin to know Him, now. And if you
have known Him, you will blessedly renew your acquaintance with Him and
the question that has troubled you will disappear! And you will say,
"Yes, Lord, blessed be Your name, I do know You, by Your Grace, and You
know me, and You will know me forever and ever." May the Lord give each
one of us this blessing, for Jesus' sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: MATTHEW 7.
Verses 1. 2. Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment
you judge, you shall be judged: and with the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you. Some people are of a censorious disposition.
They see nothing in others to praise, but everything to blame–and such
people generally find that they are condemned according to their own
wicked rule. Other people begin to judge those who are so fond
ofjudging. If they are so wise and so discriminating, others expect
more from them and, not finding it, they are not slow to condemn them.
It is an old proverb that chickens come home to roost, and so they do.
If you judge ill of others, that judgment will, sooner or later, come
home to yourself.
3-5. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but
consider not the plank that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to
your brother, Let me pull out the speck in your eye; and, behold, a
plank is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast out the plank in
your eye, and then shall you see clearly to cast out the speck in your
brother's eye. At the bottom of all censoriousness lies hypocrisy. An
honest man would apply to himself the judgment which he exercises upon
others, but it usually happens that those who are so busy spying out
other people's faults have no time to see their own! And what is that
but insincerity and hypocrisy?
6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls
before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again
and tear you in pieces. Zeal should always be tempered by prudence.
There are times when it would be treason to the Truth of God to
introduce it as a topic of conversation–when men are in such a frame
of mind that they will be sure to quibble at it rather than to believe
it. Not only speak well, but speak at the right time, for silence is
sometimes golden. See that you have your measure of golden silence as
well as of silver speech.
7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and
it shall be opened unto you Here is a three-fold encouragement to us to
pray! When we cannot use one style of prayer, let us use another, for
each shall be successful at the right time. O child of God, let nothing
keep you from prayer! It has been well said that a Christian may be
hedged in, but he cannot be roofed in–there is always a passage
upwards to the Throne of the great Father and asking, knocking,
seeking, he shall be sure to be successful with his suit!
8. For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds, and to
him that knocks it shall be opened. Ask the people of God whether it is
not so! Go among them and question them upon this matter. They know the
power of prayer, so let them tell you whether they have been deceived
or not. Well, then, as it has been so with them, let this encourage you
to expect that it shall be the same with you!
9-12. Or what man is there of you whom if his son asks for bread, will
give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give good things to
them that ask Him? Therefore all things whatever you would that men
should do to you, do you even so to them for this is the Law and the
Prophets. Is there a connection between this conduct on our part and
answers to our prayer? Undoubtedly it is so from the position of the
text. If we will never grant the requests of those who need our
help–in cases where we should expect to be ourselves helped, how can
we go to God with any confidence and ask Him to help us? I doubt not
that many a man has received no answer to his prayer because that
prayer has come out of a heart hard and rocky, which would not permit
him to grant the requests of others. O child of God, do you to others
as you would that they should do to you–then can you go to your God in
prayer with the confidence that He will hear and answer you!
13. Enter you in at the strait gate. Do not be ashamed of being called
a Puritan, precise and particular–"Enter you in at the narrow gate."
13. For wide is thee gate, and broad is thee way that leads to
destruction. Do not choose that way.
13-21. And many there are who go in there because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there are that
find it. Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by
their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree
brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that
brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
Therefore by their fruitsyou shallknow them. Not everyone who says unto
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the
will of My Father in Heaven. That still remains as the great test of
the true heir of Heaven–the doing of the Divine will. All the talking,
thinking and posturing in the world will not save a man. There must be
in him such a faith as produces holiness.
22-25. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in
Your name done many wonderful works? And then I will declare to them. I
never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him
unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock: and the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house. Whoever you are, and whatever you build, it will be tried. No
matter how firm is the rock beneath you, the winds will blow and the
rains will pour down upon your building. Whether you are in a palace or
in a hovel, trial and testing must and will come to you! "The floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house."
25. And it fell not. There is the mercy–"it fell not."
25-27. For it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that hears these
sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man
which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house. Even if you
live to the world, or live to Satan, you will not live without trial.
The ungodly, who have their portion in this life, have to eat some
bitter herbs with it and have to dip their morsel in vinegar quite as
much as Believers do. "The floods came, and the winds blew, and beat
upon that house."
27. And it fell Just when the tenant most needed shelter, it fell! He
did not need it so much till the floods came and the winds blew. But
now, when he would gladly have crouched down beneath his roof-tree, and
have been at peace from the howling hurricane, then, "it fell."
27. And great was the fall of it. The fall was so great because he
could never build again.
28, 29. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the
people were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes. Not quoting Rabbi So-and-So,
to show how well He was acquainted with his writings, but speaking as
one who knew what He had to say, and who spoke out of the fullness of
His heart, truth that was evidently Inspired! And His hearers felt the
force of the solemn message which He thus delivered.