Fruit Inspector
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are 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!
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:1–29 ESV)
If a non-Christian knows any Bible, they know Jesus’ teaching about judging and they throw it back at Christians. However, this teaching must be understood in two contexts. One is the larger context of the New Testament, where both Jesus and Paul give healthy ways of judging people, in terms of helping people stay on the straight and narrow and stopping the spread of error. This must also be interpreted in its immediate context, where it is obvious that Jesus is speaking against a hypocritical judgmentalism.
What does the teaching against throwing pearls to swine mean? Does that mean Christian truth should be kept to only those who already believe? Not at all. But if you have ever tried to share your faith, you will find that some people are open and some people are hostile. Sometimes the hostile people can take up our time and we can get caught up in the challenge. We have to make some choices and focus on those who are open. Hopefully those who are hostile now will be open later.
The teaching of the narrow gate speaks against popular ideas of a wide if not universal salvation. There is something within us that hopes all will make it to heaven. Jesus is clear at numerous points to stress that there is a narrow way that not everyone will take.
We are also warned about watching those who are among us. We should not be paranoid heretic hunters looking for a heresy between every word. But we should realize that there are people even inside the church who have false teachings. We must watch for them and seek to protect others from them.
Connected to this is the reminder that there are many people who think that they know Jesus but who Jesus does not know. Christians, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons all say we believe in Jesus. But what Jesus?
What is the solid foundation on which we should build our life? It is not just knowledge of sound doctrine. It is knowing the teachings of Jesus and putting them into practice. There is no place for what Bonhoeffer calls “cheap grace.”
