Matthew 7

Matthew 7....

Judging others.....well here we are told that the way we judge people is how we will be judged as well. We need to look at our own sin and deal with it before telling others about their sin.when we have our own sin out of the way by confessing it to our God...we can then help hold other Christians accountable when we se them in sin. We need to help each other get back on track with God in a loving way.....being harsh with someone isn't how we need to go about it. We all have our hang ups and we just need to love and encourage one another to stay on track. The christian life was never meant to be a solo adventure. We can't do it alone....we need others to help us.

 It's telling us that we aren't to judge hypocritically....however we do need to use discernment. We need to see people's character and look for the fruit they produce if they profess to be Christians. If character doesn't line up with their profession of faith as a Christian we need to reevaluate them. 

Ask,seek,knock..... We are to ask our God for our needs not our wants. 

Verse 12....is the Golden Rule. 

Verse 13-14....the wide gate is the way of the world. If we love the world and things of this world, this gate will lead to distruction (hell). The narrow gate is the one we find when we have the heart conversion to follow Jesus. This gate is small and only a few find that gate that leads to Him. Makes me wonder how many people really think they are Ok with their christian walk the way it is? That makes me wonder if there are professing Christians who never really have been converted to Christ? According to these verses only a few find it. Salvation is by grace alone, but the christian life is not an easy one. We need knowledge, truth, repentance, submission to Christ, and be willing to obey His word.

The fruits are listed in Galatians 5:22-23.....once we accept Jesus these traits are produced in Us by the Holy Spirit. By this list we can discern if people are walking the walk or just talking thr talk.

A tree and its fruit.....watch here for false teachers and people who claim to love Jesus but only want
to destroy. In Jesus day the religious leaders thought that just because of their status they would enter heaven. Here we see it's not the case. Being devoted to Jesus is a total surrender and a heart issue. He looks at and judges all we do by our heart. 

Verse 24-28.... It's not enough for us to hear Gods words we must put them into practice. Living by His word is like building a house on rock. It's firm and will withstand the storms that come at it. 

Hearing his word And not using them in our life is like building a house on sand. When the storms come we get blown out and washed away. 

Verse 29.....Jesus followers were amazed at him because of his teaching as he taught with authority! Of course he had authority.....he was God in the flesh. So awesome!!