Text: Matthew 7:6 (CSB) – Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.”
We are continuing our study of the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew. Now we are looking at the topic of the Kingdom and Jesus’ Exhortations. An exhortation is an utterance, discourse, or address conveying urgent advice or recommendation. It is a speech or written passage intended to persuade, inspire, or encourage.
Jesus is in this passage is giving us 5 responsibilities that we have and is seeking to persuade and encourage us to live in this fashion. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount continually brings us back to our motives over our actions. We must understand that in the Kingdom, God looks at the heart, not the outward designs. He looks at the motives more than the actions.,
So far we have focused on our responsibility to the SAVED and to OURSELVES. Today, let us muse over our Responsibility to THE UNGODLY.
We are not to harshly judge believers and to harshly judge ourselves. Now, Jesus turns our thoughts to those who have not accepted the Gospel message. This can be a little confusing, but let me provide an interpretation to this statement.
At first, I thought it was referring to sharing the Gospel with those around me. Yet, I also knew that the entirety of the Bible calls us to proclaim the Good News – both the Old Testament and the New. So, would Jesus be contradicting His own message (Matt. 28:18-20). The obvious answer would be a resounding NO! Then what is He saying?
Consider this –
Our task to Unbelievers (some would call them Pagans, Heathen, Sinners, etc.) is first and foremost to share the message of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of our Lord. You see, they can have all knowledge about what the Bible teaches, but knowledge does not gain us entrance to Heaven. The only key to the door into God’s Presence is the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, none of this makes sense. None of this is value to them.
He tells us here that we are not to give holy things to depraved men. The word Holy in the Greek means to be separated, sanctified. It means to be set apart. It is what separates us from the world, the flesh, and the Devil. It is the truths of God and His Kingdom that only applies to those who are Citizens of Heaven. They may hear or read, but they will not truly accept and understand that which they have read.
Jesus calls the dogs. He was not talking about our lovable family pets. He was talking of the wild, vicious dogs that roamed throughout Palestine. Packs of animals that were not domesticated. These were men of impure and unclean minds. He also calls them pigs. Those listening to Him understood that these were unclean animals according to God’s law. These animals were to the Jews unclean and impure.
What does Jesus say would happen if we spend our time trying to get the Ungodly to know and understand the truths of God? He said that they would trample these things under their feet and discard and tear you up.
So, do we ignore the Ungodly? As Paul would say (Heaven’s NO!). But, instead of trying to get the people around us to live like Kingdom citizens, we must focus on helping them to become Citizens – and then they will willingly learn and understand the Kingdom Principles of Life.
Today, who is one person you can think of that you can focus on helping them find the Kingdom?
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