Matthew 7
7
1 "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.
2 For with whatever judgment you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.
3 And how can you see the splinter in your brother's eye, and not see the board in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the splinter from your eye,' while, behold, a board is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite, first remove the board from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.
6 Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they may trample them under their feet, and then, turning, they may tear you apart.
7 Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives; and whoever seeks, finds; and to anyone who knocks, it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you, who, if his son were to ask him for bread, would offer him a stone;
10 or if he were to ask him for a fish, would offer him a snake?
11 Therefore, if you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your sons, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?
12 Therefore, all things whatsoever that you wish that men would do to you, do so also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leads to perdition, and many there are who enter through it.
14 How narrow is the gate, and how straight is the way, which leads to life, and few there are who find it!
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You shall know them by their fruits. Can grapes be gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 So then, every good tree produces good fruit, and the evil tree produces evil fruit.
18 A good tree is not able to produce evil fruit, and an evil tree is not able to produce good fruit.
19 Every tree which does not produce good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.
20 Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
21 Not all who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many powerful deeds in your name?'
23 And then will I disclose to them: 'I have never known you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.'
24 Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them shall be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
25 And the rains descended, and the floods rose up, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them shall be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27 And the rains descended, and the floods rose up, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, and it did fall, and great was its ruin."
28 And it happened, when Jesus had completed these words, that the crowds were astonished at his doctrine.
29 For he was teaching them as one who has authority, and not like their scribes and Pharisees.
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Matthew 7: CPDV
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Matthew 7
7
A Simple Guide for Behavior
1-5“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
6“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.
7-11“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
12“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.
Being and Doing
13-14“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.
15-20“Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
21-23“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our super-spiritual projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’
24-25“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26-27“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
28-29When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.