Matthew 7:7-20
A Righteous Life
Read…
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Pray
Intro
√ Key verse
You’ll remember that when we began studying the Sermon on the Mount we identified the key verse to understanding the subject and application of the Lord’s sermon as Matthew 5:20…
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
His statement gets to the core questions in the heart of every person…
“How is a person made righteous?”
“How does a person gain entrance into the
The truth that Jesus reveals in the following chapters is that the righteousness offered by the Pharisees could not save anyone because….
What they said, chapter 5, missed the heart of God in their interpretation of the Law.
What they did, chapter 6, missed the heart of God in their practice of the Law.
In contrast to the religion of the Pharisees Jesus tells us that True Righteousness is…
…not found in the keeping of rules and regulations that can be measured by external conduct.
Rather, true righteousness is a matter of the heart, a matter of character that will be manifest in our conduct and more importantly…
…by our attitude in life toward God and people.
In this closing section of chapter 7 Jesus turns His attention from the Pharisees to His disciples…
…and applies all that He’s been teaching to our lives and shows us how to live a truly righteous life.
He does so by presenting us with contrasting examples (i.e. right way, wrong way)…
Vs. 7-11 ~ Two Fathers
Vs. 12 ~ Two Interpretations
Vs. 13-14 ~ Two Paths
Vs. 15-20 ~ Two Trees
Vs. 21-23 ~ Two Lives
Vs. 24-27 ~ Two Houses
Vs. 28-29 ~ Two Teachers
We’ll cover half this week and half next week.
Ap. Note the personal application
Very important that we don’t miss the Lord’s emphasis here, that is, the personal application.
He’s no longer addressing the Pharisees…
…He’s speaking to those seated on the hillside, and us!
If we’re to benefit from Jesus’ words then we must hear what He is saying and apply them in our own life.
Two Fathers (Vs. 7-11)
Matt. 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matt. 7:8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Matt. 7:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
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Matt. 7:11 If 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!
√ Two Fathers
Jesus begins the personal application of His teaching by telling us how to approach God. He says…
“Ask, seek, and Knock!
In response Jesus promises that we will…
“Receive, find, and enter”
How can we be sure? Because Jesus tells us that God is our Heavenly Father!
By way of example He compares two fathers…
He tells us that since a human father (who is “evil” by comparison to God) wouldn’t deny his child the necessities of life…
…how much more then should we be sure that our Heavenly Father (who is good) will respond when we ask Him to provide for our needs.
What needs? Certainly our daily needs (i.e. fish and bread ~ the needs mentioned here).
But our greatest need is for the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps that’s why Luke’s Gospel adds this promise…
Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
The main point is that all of our needs (material and spiritual) are available simply for the asking!
That is, asking God directly!
Not by means of a priest, or by the practice of ritual, or a religious system.
Rather, Jesus tells us that all our needs are met through a personal relationship with God the Father.
That is a radical idea to the Jewish mind!
It is also contrary to everything the Pharisees taught!
By the way, had the Pharisees bothered to look at the scripture they would have found that what Jesus declared was consistent with sacred history.
Ex. Abraham
Gen. 15:5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Gen. 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Abraham, the Father of Faith, looked to and admired by Jews, Christians and Muslims…
…was declared righteous by God not for keeping the Law, rather, for simply believing in the Lord!
Ap. A righteous life
So, a righteous life is a life discovered in a personal relationship with God our Heavenly Father.
May I suggest that we do as Jesus instructs us and come directly to our Heavenly Father with all our needs!
Jesus promised that God will respond in love to those who ask, seek, and knock!
Two Interpretations (Vs. 12)
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√ The Letter and the Spirit
Remember that all through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount that He has demonstrated that there are two interpretations of the Law…
The Pharisees interpretation…
“You’ve heard that it was said”
His interpretation…
“But I say unto you”
The distinction is that the Pharisees focus was upon the Letter of the Law…
…while Jesus’ focus was on the Spirit of the Law.
In verse 12 He sums up the whole Law as it relates to human relationships by saying it’s as simple as just treating people the way you want them to treat you.
That’s the Spirit of the Law!
Ex. A
debt of forgiveness ~ Matt.
The Law provided a lender the means to recover a debt, but if you want people to be forgiving of you…
…then you better be forgiving of others rather than enforcing the letter of the Law!
Ap. Divorce
Christians have been given the “right” to divorce their Christian spouse for the cause of sexual immorality.
The question though, is that God’s will?
One certainly has the Letter of the Law, per Jesus’ commentary in Matthew 19.
However, one doesn’t have to enforce the Letter of the Law.
One could chose to extend forgiveness (the Spirit of the Law) even as Jesus did to the woman caught in adultery (ref. John 8).
So, there are two ways to interpret the Law…
The wrong way, like the Pharisee
The right way, like Jesus
Jesus reminds us that a righteous life is not the one that enforces the Letter of the Law, rather, it is the person who practices the Spirit of the Law.
Two Paths (Vs. 13-14)
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√ Two Paths
The two paths represent the two directions a person can chose in life…
The Broad path
The Narrow path
The two paths illustrate the beginning of our spiritual journey.
One leads to destruction, the other to life.
In a general sense the broad path is any path other than following Jesus.
More specifically the broad path is the way of false religion.
The self-righteous religion of the Pharisee or any other man-made religion.
The narrow path is that of following Jesus by living a life modeled after His and trusting in Him for one’s righteousness.
√ The difficult path
Note that Jesus also tells us something about these two paths, one is easy, the other is not.
The broad path is easy
The narrow path is difficult
If the narrow path is that of following Jesus some might wonder how it could be difficult since pastors and evangelists are always saying how easy it is to be saved!?
Let me assure you that the means by which we obtain salvation is easy! We’re saved by Grace alone.
But the process of following Jesus after we’re saved can be a difficult path!
Note vs. 14 once more…
“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The understanding is that the gate to eternal life is narrow…
Jesus is the only Way to Heaven and all we have to do to find it is chose Him.
The reason that many struggle to “find” the gate is that they reject the simplicity of the Gospel message.
Ex. Paul’s teaching
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The path following Jesus is difficult because…
It runs contrary to the broad path that most people are on.
That is, to follow Jesus is to put yourself at odds with the world system and her people.
Ex. Think of exiting a football game at the U of A
You’re going move along fine unless half way down the stairs you realize that you forgot you don’t have your wallet and you turn around and try to get back to your seat to look for it!
Ex. The World Counsel of Churches
Christians don’t fit in because we’re not willing to compromise our position regarding Jesus.
All the other religions are happy to water down the definition of God, eternal life, and salvation to something palatable to all.
Except the Christian who says that there’s only One Name given under heaven by which people can be saved!
Not a popular position to hold, especially in these last days in which the spirit of the Antichrist has such a hold on Men’s hearts.
Yet, if we’re to be faithful to Jesus then we must stay true to Him and follow Him even if it means going against the flow.
It’s a difficult path.
So, there are two paths in life. We all have to pick one to follow…
One leads to destruction
One leads to life
The righteous path is the found by following Jesus.
Two Trees (Vs. 15-20)
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√ Two trees
If the two paths illustrate the beginning of one’s spiritual journey…
…then the two trees illustrate the growth and results that each path produces.
Narrow path = produce good tree & good fruit
Broad path = produce bad tree & bad fruit
The false prophet is the one who chooses the broad path.
Jesus tells us that we can recognize such a person by the fruit in their lives.
That is, the conduct and character of their life will reveal the reality of the path they’re walking on.
Bad fruit, like the hypocrisy of the Pharisees that Jesus revealed in the previous chapters, reveals to us that they’re on the wrong path and we don’t want to follow them!
While they may claim loudly that they are righteous and that they hold the keys of life…
…the bad fruit in their lives warns us that they’re going the wrong way.
Ex. Importance of discernment
Just like the people who were listening to Jesus, we all
have a innate desire to know God and to please Him (Ecc.
The question is, who can show us the way to God?
The Pharisees claimed that they could, and in fact often accurately quoted God’s Word, which seemed to indicate that they were qualified leaders.
But, the reality of their spiritual condition was revealed by the fruit (conduct and character) in their lives.
That is, they were on the wrong path as made evident by the bad fruit in their lives.
Jesus’ warning to the crowds gathered on that hilltop 2,000 years ago still apply today as many people claim to be on the road to Heaven.
Ex. David Koresh claimed to be a Messiah
One of his right hand men had previously taught comparative religious studies at the college level!
How was he deceived into following a nut like David Koresh to his death?
In part because he didn’t discern the bad fruit in David’s life.
Remember that Jesus loves people and that includes you! He gives us this warning and the tools to discern false prophets to protect us!
So, remember there are only two paths in life…
One leads to destruction
One leads to life
You can tell which path a person is on by looking at the fruit that their life produces…
Bad fruit grows on bad trees
Good fruit grows on good trees
Stick with the good trees and you’ll reap a good harvest!
Close
√ A righteous life
A person is made righteous, and gains entrance into the
The person who desires to live righteously will choose to heed the teachings of Jesus…
Approaching God as a Father
Following Jesus on the path of life
Discerning spiritual fruit
You’ll be blessed if you do these things!