1“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6“Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
7“Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
13“Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. 14How narrow is the gate and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it.
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. 16By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. 19Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ 23Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
24“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great.”
28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, 29for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
Focus on the 99%
Focus on the 99%
Orchard of Fruitful Apple Trees
Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.
Christians often spend a whole lot of time disputing doubtful things. I think this is part of the enemy’s strategy to distract us from what we should be focused on and to draw our attention to things that shouldn’t dominate our thinking. Yes, it’s sometimes hard to know whether something is significant and whether it needs to be discussed and settled. As pastor of a small country church, I often choose to pass on a debate if I can’t see how it can help my congregation. As I consider discussing it, I ask myself: Will this help a struggling couple hold their marriage together? Will this knowledge help one of my congregants who is wrestling with a terminal disease diagnosis? Will this help me love and serve my spouse better? Will knowing a solid answer to this question help any unsaved person in the church to put their faith in Jesus? How will this build up this community of believers that I have been called to lead?
Paul explicitly tells us not to get wrapped up in whether or not we should be vegetarians or meat eaters. Those can be seen as examples of non-salvific matters. He’s telling us to be careful about choosing positions we would die for that have nothing to do with the gospel message. The Bible is clear in teaching us how to be saved and how to live a holy life. Let us focus on that. It is foolish and distracting to waste precious time disputing over doubtful things. The older I get, the more amazed I become at what many believers choose to argue about. Or even if they are not arguing over them, they are wasting precious time trying to sort out things that may just be unclear and part of what we call the mystery. Meanwhile, as they contemplate some finer point of Calvinism, Arminianism, or some interpretation of eschatology, some of their own family members, friends, and neighbors are bound for hell. Let's focus more on the things we agree on and present those to a lost world in love. This doesn't preclude discussions of the finer points of the faith's doctrines, but it does tell us how to prioritize them.
Let's focus on the 99% of Scripture we can understand clearly. Don’t argue with fellow believers if they choose to “eat vegetables” and you think we all should “eat meat”. I'm using that as a place holder, and you can substitute the dispute du jour. Some things just really don’t matter. Don't confuse this to mean they are not important. Paul says that some, in their weakness, believe things to be way more important than they really are (like being a vegetarian). Don’t let disagreements over disputable things be a stumbling block to you achieving the work that God has for you today! He intends for you to be fruitful in the lives of others and in the Kingdom. Stop arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, and get busy doing the work that God has prepared for you to do today! (Eph 2:10) Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruit." (Matthew 7:20) Reader, what kind of fruit are you producing in your ministry to others? Jesus says that you and I will be known by our fruit or the lack thereof.