Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25 ESV)

This strikes me as one of the most profound things I’ve ever read. In context, putting away all falsehood is a result, or a part, of “putting on” the new self after rejecting the old. I think the latter, on reflection, as what Paul implies here is not merely the eschewing of blatant falsehood but the surrender of illusions.

I’ll let that sink in for a sec.

So what does it mean to surrender our illusions? Well, we all have them, firstly. There is not a man, woman or child living that doesn’t tell themselves comforting stories about their environment to “civilize” their situations, their surroundings and their relationships with others. We ignore things we’re uncomfortable with and replace the truth with conveniently painted lies to make life less painful, make each breath a little easier. We “accentuate the positive” by simply focusing our attention there more firmly. How many people do you know whose lives echo the drama they see on television or in the movies, who are constantly weaving great epics around themselves? I know plenty, and I’m sure you do too.

But what Paul is calling us to here is in stark contrast with this common behavior. He’s calling us to place our faith in the truth, to embrace it and not color over its rougher parts nor paint the brighter bits in neon. We’re called to put away falsehood, let go of our illusions about ourselves and our standing before God and man, BUT WHY?

In this verse (and its context), I see an if-then relationship. Before we can speak the truth to each other and have it be of any use, be believable in any way, we MUST rid ourselves of illusion and live on the solid rock that is that truth. If we don’t live the truth, how can we expect people to believe the truth?

In case anyone is thinking that letting go of illusions is easy, ask yourself this: what have I loved this week more than God, and how was I hiding from that truth? What sins have I committed this week and rationalized behind convenient ideas of relative morality, so abhorrent to God, but useful when I’m the perpetrator?

This scripture pierces me to the core, and I don’t like what it tells me about myself… but I submit to it and the Truth to which it points.

This week the full force of my geekiness has been turned towards the Bible as I’ve discovered and started to practice the Bible study technique that John Piper uses, called “Arcing.” It’s something that feels a little bit like forcing yourself to breathe, because we do this naturally whenever we read anything, discerning meaning from language. The catch is that this technique forces you into the author’s mind to discern not just any meaning but THEIR meaning for using this or that particular word or phrase. It’s not unlike sentence diagramming, but on a larger scale and much more fruitful in terms of the information you can glean from doing so.

John Piper here talks about this technique and basically says all the things I just said, but better… because he’s John Piper, and I’m Evan Weeks, and we can’t be compared in the same sentence while drinking unless you like beverage squirting out your eyes.

He has a site set up where you can basically learn how to create your own arcs hands-on, using a tool they’ve built into the site. If you pay a minimum $10 fee, you get a year’s access to actually store and share your arcs with others. I’ve done it. Yeah. I’ve got an arc up there on Romans 8:5-8, because we’re there in Sunday School right now, and because that section seemed the most logically straightforward to cut my teeth on this method. I was actually surprised how much more the passage spoke to me the more I cut it apart and reassembled it noting the logical relationships between the propositions. I do feel like I need a pocket protector with a cross on it now, though.

In all seriousness, I can already see that this technique is going to open windows on the will of God in ways I had never imagined. I encourage all of my friends and fellow disciples to take a look and maybe even do some learning. There’s a video series on the site detailing how to get started, as well as beginner and intermediate examples. Get to know this technique and use it! I’m going to!

Take me past the outer courts
Into the Holy Place
Past the brazen altar
Lord I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
And the Priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
But it’s only found in one place

[Chorus:]
Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am

I don’t know about you guys, but we have the instrumentation and the ability to do this one, and I really feel strongly about it.

I first heard this song back in the 80′s when I was a kid, as performed by Petra on Petra Praise: The Rock Cries Out. This is a much harder version, but I feel like it captures the prayerful, emotional point of the song a little more ably than Petra was able to.

The lyrics will require that we stop and explain them before we play. First of all, I volunteer to preach if we play this song. Secondly, it’s important that we examine any song we play and understand what we’re saying, at every level of understanding our audience may be listening. So, bear with me here. If you don’t have time to read this now, just bookmark it or print it and come back to it when you do.

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings–external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

The Blood of Christ

11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Heb 9:1-15 (NIV)

The Jewish faith at the time of Christ was, and remains, unique in the world in that there is only one temple, one place of worship, one place you could offer sacrifices and ritually cleanse yourself. That temple resided in Jerusalem. It has been built, destroyed and rebuilt at least four times that I can recall reading, and though two Islamic mosques stand there today, the Temple Mount remains one of the most holy (and hotly contested) sites in the Jewish faith.

The Temple of Jerusalem was, at that time, split into four major sections. The two outer sections were a “court of the Gentiles” outside the walls, and inside a “court of the Israelites.” In the court of the Israelites the Sanhedrin (the high priests of the Jewish people) sponsored a vibrant market in the court of the Israelites dealing in sacrificial animals (which had to be ritually “clean,” themselves) and other religious artifacts such as the tzitziyot (tasseled undergarment) or yarmulke. These outer sections were of course filled with people on the sabbath and probably very confusing, like a day in Disney’s Magic Kingdom on a summer weekend, if you’ve ever experienced that. It’s crowded, smelly, people are pushing their way around, shouting and haggling. In the best of moments, it’s distracting from the purpose of worshipping God. These areas were also crowded with those who were teaching, including, in Acts, James and Peter.

Past these outer courts was a room with a brazier and altar for sacrificing animals known as the court of the Priests. This was where priests would conduct sacrifices for the penitents waiting and watching from the open doors to the north, east and south.

Behind the altar there was a small room (the Holy Place), with a floor-to-ceiling curtain, or veil, behind which history tells us were the most holy objects of the Judaic faith, the Ark of the Covenant and inside the broken pieces of the stone into which the Ten Commandments were chiseled, Aaron’s staff, and a golden jar of manna. The high priest was allowed into the Holy Place only once a year, and then only with a blood sacrifice to beg forgiveness for the sins of his people. The area behind the veil was known as the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place.

The moment Jesus died, the veil in the Holy Place was torn, from top to bottom, and thrown apart. (Matthew 27:51)

What does this mean?

Symbolically, we can easily draw the conclusion that Christ’s death fulfilled/destroyed the old covenant with the Hebrews and forged a New Covenant with all of mankind. We no longer are separated from God by sin, but conducted directly into the His presence by the cleansing blood of Christ’s sacrifice. When we pray in Jesus’ name, therefore, we should be humble and repenting, but bold to speak our hearts to God, because through His sacrifice of His son our repentance is made effective, and we are justified. We see in Hebrews 10:19,

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Heb 10:19-25 (NIV)

Wow. Powerful, appropriate words from the anonymous author of Hebrews in the late 1st century to the hearts of believers today. May God bless the study and acceptance of His word. Amen.

I ended up with a lot of stuff poured out here, so I figured it might be worth posting. A lot of this little soapbox session was inspired by a sermon by Mark Driscoll called, “Ministry Idolatry.”

Preface here, if I’m getting too preachy, know that I’m not accusing or condemning. I consider this preaching to the choir.

Idolatry of the Bible is a particularly sneaky one that a lot of southern churches tend to fall into, and I would even include myself in that, occasionally. The grist of it is that they begin to view the Bible as a functional mediator between them and God (the Bible itself teaches us that there is only one mediator: Jesus), and a large portion of reformed Christians today will also go a step further and draw their identity from their theology. If you ever hear the words in a theological argument, “well that’s just not biblical,” what you’re seeing is evidence of idolatry of Bible and particularly of a single theological tradition stemming from it. It introduces the sin of pride into one’s life, and pride can be used by the Enemy to accomplish just about everything he wants, which is you redirecting your worship away from Jesus and away from God to a created thing, the Bible.

Yes, the Bible is incredibly important. It is, we believe, a perfect glimpse into the mind of God, a manual for living according to His will, and a living document capable of speaking directly to the heart of those who read it. It is not, however, capable of mediating between me and God. It doesn’t grant me righteousness, the one thing I lack in order to stand in God’s presence and have my prayers heard. The Bible is not capable of curing the sickness of sin in my life and my soul. It can and does illuminate the way to that salvation, which is its purpose, but it is not the source thereof.

The source of my salvation is not a 2000-year-old document, nor even an entertaining story about a humble, marginalized Galilean peasant (phrase stolen from Mark Driscoll) who claimed Godhood and on occasion performed miracles. My salvation stems from the earthly incarnation of God, who paid the just rewards for my sin (”The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:23), rose from that death and ascended, alive, to His exaltation at the right hand of God the Father, to continue serving as the incarnation of His will until such time as the Father sees fit to return his Son to the world to judge the dead and those still alive. In a perfect world, I would be able to know my Savior by examining the lives changed by Him around me. Of course, we live in a world tainted by sin, and so God inspired kings and peasants, sinners great and small to write His mind for those of us who follow after. For millenia the 66 books of our Bible were being shaped by His Providence, so that we would have a way to connect with and accept the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. That is its overriding purpose. The Bible reveals Jesus as the source of salvation from sin, and the only path to communion with God. (Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6) There are other truths to learn in the Bible, precisely because it is a glimpse into the mind of God (and He is Truth), but as I’ve heard it said, “Jesus is its great subject, our good is its design, and the glory of God is its end.” In the end, the Bible is still a created thing, though indeed holy. So were Mosaic law, the ark of the covenant, and the great temple built by Solomon. Created things, all incapable of providing salvation, incapable of making us holy, and thus incapable of mediating between us and God.

That’s what I meant by Bible Idolatry. Jesus, and the transformative salvation He offers, is either the center of your ministry, or you’re not preaching Christianity. You’re preaching something else. And as I said in Sunday school last week, again paraphrasing Mark Driscoll, we rarely idolize bad things. Mostly what we put on pedestals are GOOD things. But when they become god-things, and we start ascribing to them capabilities and attributes they do not possess, we turn them into bad things in our lives. The Bible is definitely a good thing, and is even as close to a god-thing in truth as any created thing could be, I think. But when the Bible becomes the source of your salvation, identity, and closeness with God, you’ve moved away from a real relationship with the REAL Jesus and traded it for an abstract one in the story you read in those pages.

The cure of course is to push worship of idols out of our lives by focusing our worship on the only one worthy of our worship: God, and His Son, Jesus.

As far as the Bible study groups, part of what I get at above is a need to focus not on advancing any theological discourse over another, but study whose goal is to illuminate God’s will and examine Jesus, not just as that humble, marginalized, Galilean peasant, but as the exalted Lord of all creation, from cover to cover. Sure, I’d love to hit egalitarianism vs. complimentarianism (gender roles in the church), various kinds of eschatology (the study of the end times), calvinism vs armenianism (the study of the functionality of salvation), cessationism vs continuationism (gifts of the Holy Spirit) and on and on we could go, but the point… the great Truth that every story, every poem and every prophecy in the Bible points to, is Jesus. As such, He has to be the center of any honest study of the Bible.

Again, I would love to get a serious, deep-dive Bible study going, and am even willing to coordinate and lead one. I just want to make sure it’s known that I am (unfortunately?) prone to checking all prior “knowledge” at the door when I open the Bible. The way I study the word, I try to do so with as open and empty a cup as possible, and that can and does tend to lead me to some very startling revelations, especially so to ears not ready to hear those truths. Ask the pastor about my reeling after reading John 1… that one shattered quite a few preconceptions. My only fear is having someone attend a study session and have their faith shattered by some deep truth that, superficially or otherwise, flies in the face of conventional, accepted doctrine.

Anyway, I’m on a soapbox here, and preaching to the choir. *grins*

In Christ,

Evan

PS: Here’s the sermon I referenced above (about an hour and 5 minutes long)

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

And:

4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:4-5

Two examples from a sea thereof, that God knows, loves and has anointed our lives for His work long before we are formed in the womb. In the Psalm, David is suffering from what amounts to an insecure moment, and over the course of the poem illuminates four very important insecurities and God’s answer for them. This excerpt is from the section of the Psalm where David tackles the issue of his individuality and worth. Lets tackle it bit by bit before we delve into the meaning of God’s words to Jeremiah.

David says, “you created my innermost being,” referring of course to our eternal souls, then goes on to say that God, “knit me together in my mother’s womb.” I believe the juxtaposition of these two statements is no accident, as it gives hint to the reason David used the word he does in the following verse: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Now, why fearfully? It is in our nature as humans to fear that which we don’t understand, and the core miracle of human birth is the attachment of the soul to this mass of flesh and bone. It is something science cannot explain and philosophers have never adequately understood, and thus it is to be feared (read: respected) as an act of God. The adjective “wonderfully” is explained in the next verse, when David notes, “your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Next we see David go on to illustrate the omnipotence of God, continuing a theme from earlier in the Psalm. Not only does God “see” the unborn child, but all the days of that child’s life are foreordained before a single breath is taken. Now, on to Jeremiah.

David’s statement that the days of his life were ordained before the first of them came to be is echoed by God himself as he speaks to Jeremiah, selecting him as His herald to His people. God says to Jeremiah, “before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah had been selected and appointed a prophet long before he drew breath, by God’s own words.

So, there is overwhelming evidence available in the bible to assert the humanity of the unborn, at any stage of development, from the moment of conception (and before, but we’re only concerned about the physical here). It is therefore impossible for me to comprehend how any Christian individual or organization could support either the act of abortion or those who advance the culture of death that is the “right to choose” worldwide. That some could reduce this premeditated act of murder to a form of birth control or family planning shows an astounding lack of honesty.

Before we dive in, let me just say that if anyone thinks they might be uncomfortable with this topic, please stop reading, hit the “back” button and go get a cup of coffee and move on. This subject is neither easy nor painless. I’m going to drill home some ideas that may be difficult for some to cope with.

That being said, lets dive in, shall we? If you don’t have your bible available, I will be linking the passages on BibleGateway as well as quoting them.

First, we have to look at Matthew 7. Jesus is in the middle of His sermon on the mount, probably the most powerful sermon ever given in history. In this sermon, He lays out with frightening clarity the path His faithful should follow, and gives focus and perspective to the laws of Moses, which He says He came to fulfill, not to destroy.

Judging Others

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

First, lets examine the initial admonition here. Jesus used a word here, (Strong’s 2919, transliterated “krino”) that means by implication to try, condemn, and punish. This implication comes from the historical and cultural context and Jesus’ use of the word. The leaders of the Jewish faith at the time, the Pharisees and scribes, had developed since Moses’ time elaborate laws concerning the cleanliness of a person’s soul. They had tied this cleanliness to the idea of being sinless before God and thus were passing judgement on the eternal souls of their brethren. Jesus here is making a point to condemn the practice of judging the state of another’s soul, pointing to the sinful nature of all humanity as an outward indicator of our lack of authority.

He does make two very interesting and seemingly contradictory points here, though, that bear some examination. At the end of the second idea here, He mentions that it is possible to remove (even temporarily) the sin from our own lives and thus gain the clarity necessary to help pull others out of their sinful lives. In order to do this, it would of course be necessary to exercise judgement, correct? Then in verse 6 He mentions that we should exercise judgement in those with whom we associate, saying that if we give our best to those who cannot appreciate or understand it, they will, in fits of ignorant rage, trample the gems of truth and love we’ve given them and then tear us to pieces. Now, in order to determine with whom we should and should not associate, it is important to judge, is it not? Lets move on in this chapter and see if Jesus makes another point that might clarify.

Ask, Seek, Knock

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matt 7:7-12 (NIV)

I’m not skipping anything here, because every word of this chapter is incredibly important, and it is vital to keep this in its biblical context. The first two verses here see Jesus explaining the Grace of His mission here on Earth. It is an invitation open to all, but that will be granted only to those who earnestly seek it. This concept is so fundamental to the Plan of Salvation as to be its very cornerstone. The Grace of Christ’s sacrifice is an invitation, open to all, but requiring effort on our part to seek it out and recognize it.

Next, Jesus points to the natural distinction between goodness and evil. His example here points to more than the well-known Golden Rule, but a greater mystery which is a foundational principle of creation. It has been called Natural Law, God’s Law and many others, but what Jesus is very eloquently illuminating here is the integral, self-evident nature of right and wrong in creation. Because all of creation was realized and set in motion by God, and God is the standard for all perfection, it follows that He could not create anything but perfection. This is the simplest, most basic definition of “good” that can be found. When His creation, through the gift of free will He granted us, chooses other than this perfection, it is “evil,” in the most fundamental sense. Jesus uses examples here that are meant to make the reader go, “Well duh, yeah, everyone knows that!” Why? How? How is it that these examples Jesus uses are so universal? The laser-specific point here is that good and evil are clearly defined because they are fundamental concepts of creation. These concepts are defined exactly the same for every living thing on Earth, precisely because they are not relative to us, but relative to God. Moral relativism is the willing ignorance of this fundamental, self-evident order. It might be best to pause, take a deep breath and perhaps get a soda here. This isn’t the half of it.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matt 7:13-14 (NIV)

Jesus here reiterates that it will take constant effort to walk the path that leads to the kingdom of heaven. He uses the imagery of a wide path for the lost and very narrow path for the faithful, then ends by saying that very few will actually make their way to the kingdom, in the end. This piece is really neat, because Jesus is referring both to the old and the new here. Prior to His sacrifice at the Cross, the way to salvation was incredibly difficult, and I cannot imagine many actually made it to the end of life in such a condition as to be acceptable before God. The laws and strictures of Judaism are nothing if not exacting in that they cover virtually every iniquity we human beings could imagine. Now, after the Cross, we have a new path that involves confessing our sins and laying them on his Grace. Jesus is saying here that neither path is “easy.” In order to confess, we have to first acknowledge and accept responsibility for our sins, and by doing so take up a cross right beside Him. This in and of itself is painful. At that moment, the weight of your sins will seem to want to all but crush the life from you as you realize your utter and complete unworthiness of His love and acceptance. But something truly miraculous happens next: Jesus reaches out His hand and accepts your burden, takes the cross and gives His life on it for you. Time and time again He will do this, and it is the gift that merely needs to be accepted. The catch here is that acceptance comes with some attendant pain as well. The Joy afterwards at the true spiritual freedom is incomparable to anything you will ever otherwise experience.

Also, don’t make the mistake of accepting this grace just once and then going about your sinful way, going through the motions of faith. Faith too often in today’s Church gets boiled down to its simplest, least troublesome meaning: belief. Is mere belief all it takes to secure the grace of God through His Son? Lets look at one of the most popular passages of the Bible and see if we can make heads or tails of it. (Yes, we’ll be returning to Matthew 7)

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NIV)

The Greek word used for “believe” here, transliterated as “pisteuwn” (Strong’s 4100), has a number of meanings, the first being its literal translation “belief,” or to think something is true. It has secondary meanings, however, in that it also means to entrust with one’s well-being and commit to in a sense of fidelity. So hang on, we’ve heard all our lives, being protestants, that man cannot be saved by works, only through the cleansing power of Christ’s sacrifice. How is it that confession, which is an action only we can take, would be a necessary component of salvation? Jesus in the passage above and surrounding scripture hands us a responsibility, ladies and gentlemen. In order to receive the grace of God, we are called to “believe” in all the forms and meanings of that word. So what about all this confession stuff?

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 John 1:8-10 (NIV)

It is my belief and practice, based in part on this scripture and on common sense, that just because I publically gave my life to Christ and was baptized by immersion, that does not mean I am not eternally clean. I am human. I sin. I transgress the natural law of God on a daily basis and require the cleansing, burden-lifting hand of Christ constantly. My soul has not transformed somehow into a stain-resistant super-textile fabric, and I am no more incapable of sin than I was prior to my conversion. I do now, however, have a loving Savior who will pick me up and take the cross from my shoulders, if only I confess to Him.

There is more to this than I have delved into here and much, much more scripture supporting it, but the point is made. Let’s move on to the next section of Matthew 7.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matt 7:15-23 (NIV)

So earlier Christ admonished us not to judge, but now He’s saying we should discern false prophets. In this case, He gives us a method and in doing so gives the example that should guide all Christian discernment. We are to judge others by the fruits of their lives, the results, their words and actions. Twice here He says, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” The word used in the greek here, transliterated as “epignwsesqe” (don’t ask me to pronounce it) means to know based on a mark of some sort, and implies becoming fully acquainted, to perceive well. So Christ is saying here that if someone’s life bears rotten, hateful, unhealthy fruit, we can conclude that they are riddled with sin and that we should avoid giving our trust to them, calling them wolves in sheep’s clothing. This is a reference back to the admonition before not to give our best to dogs or cast our pearls before swine, since we’ll just end up with trampled pearls and injuries. Nowhere here does He say not to associate with sinners or that we should condemn and punish them. In fact, two chapters later He calls Matthew into His service and dines with tax collectors and other sinners. The Pharisees see this and ask His disciples why he dines with sinners:

The Calling of Matthew

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matt 9:9-13 (NIV)

Jesus’ response here is one I can imagine as being both literal and slyly sarcastic. As we examined earlier, the Grace of the cross is contingent on our willingness to surrender our sinless self-image, acknowledge and confess our sins and accept His grace, placing the burden of those sins on His shoulders. Jesus seems to be saying that He did not come to save those who would not surrender and be humbled before Him, but those that would honestly confess and come to Him in a spirit of need. This leads us to the last part of the quote above.

Jesus says that not everyone who claims him will enter the kingdom of heaven. This verse flies right into the face of the traditional interpretation of the word “believe” throughout John chapter 3 and the (in my opinion, false) doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” Jesus is plainly, inescapably saying here that some will do great works in His name, driving out demons, prophesying and performing great miracles, but will not have been able to face the taint of sin in themselves, thus denying themselves the Grace at the Cross. This is an incredibly difficult fact to accept and is against a great deal of popular doctrine in today’s politically and emotionally correct Church. Jesus has, in the space of a few sentences, acknowledged that the path is narrow and difficult and now is saying that even those who lead people to the path may not find the gate at its end themselves.

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Matt 7:24-29 (NIV)

But take heart! Those who hear Jesus and can accept the gift He’s given them, putting into practice the life of confessory humility before God gains a stability and permanence that can not otherwise be found, both in this life and the hereafter. Without the weight of sins, acknowledged or otherwise, on your soul, the word “freedom” gains new wings. A sort of strength of spirit and sharpening of the mind occurs, simultaneously with a thirst for the Word of the Lord. The imagery used in this passage also features natural disasters “judging” the quality of each man’s structure. In todays parlance we’d call these things “acts of God,” again driving home the idea that it is not up to us to judge the eternal soul, the spiritual house a man has built. It is God’s authority alone.

The last two verses here give witness to this authority, as the people listening sit in wonder that Jesus’ authority flows from a source other than tradition, as with their scribes and Pharisees. Jesus’ authority comes from God the Father Himself, as the author of creation itself. Perhaps a topic for another time will be the inviolable, perfect sovereignty of God.

-Evan Weeks