EPIC: High-Impact Truths in the New Testament – Part 3

All right, as I said, we are continuing our series. It's called Epic, and it's all about the high-impact truths in the New Testament. And wow, are we going to have fun with this series. It will go on for quite some time as the New Testament is packed with powerful passages, and we get to see some of the biggest highlights in the New Testament over the next number of weeks. I'm excited. I hope you're excited, and today we're going to jump right into Matthew 7. We looked at Matthew 5 and 6. It was pretty obvious what Jesus was doing, right? Raising the bar. He was taking the standard of the law and raising the bar. Moses 2.0, the beta trial version, good luck with that. You'll never make it, and that's the whole point. Remember, remember where we've been. Cut off your hand, pluck out your eye, be perfect, and wow, let people beat you up. Give to whomever asks of you without question. If they want to borrow from you, give them a loan. If they want you to just gift it to them, go ahead and fork it over. And we call ourselves red-letter Christians today. I don't think so. I don't think anybody is a true red-letter Christian. Do you? So, Matthew 5 and 6 has essentially buried us. Every single one of us, it's nails in the coffin of anybody who thinks they can live under the law and succeed at it, and that's the whole point. Remember, we use the analogy of Mount Sinai, but imagine it 3 and 10 and 30 times higher, and your job is to scale it, to hike to the top of it, to climb it to the very peak, and yet there you are at base camp. You're nowhere near the top.

You're nowhere near the peak of law-based living, and Jesus comes along. You and your buddies, your fellow Pharisees are patting each other on the back, and Jesus says, uh-uh, ain't gonna happen. Look up there. There's the peak. There's the summit. It's nowhere near what you thought, and so now, with Matthew 5 and 6 behind us, Jesus has raised the bar, and He will continue. Let me be clear. He will continue to do that today here in Matthew 7, but there's a catch. He's also beginning to talk to them in an evangelistic way. Really, it's all evangelism, right? You think you can keep the law? You can't. You can't. Let me show you a better way, and so today, He's gonna tell us to ask and seek and knock, and that the door will be opened. There's gonna be an evangelistic tone at times because, remember, that Jesus is the bridge, right? Jesus is the bridge between the old and the new. Jesus is the bridge between law and grace. He is born under the law, and then He's seeking to redeem those who are under the law, so what do you do? Do you pat people on the back and tell them they're doing a great job with Moses? No way. It's tough love. It's in your face, and the whole point is you can't do it, so that's evangelistic, but then, in this seventh chapter of Matthew, you watch. You wait for it. He's gonna be very directly evangelistic about this new way of grace that happens when we

receive Him, we get all the benefits. All right, let's dive in. I'm excited. I hope you are, too. Here we go. Matthew chapter 7, and in verse 1, it says this, Do not judge so that you will not be judged, for in the way that you judge, what? You will be judged, and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. So you see it? I mean, in a minute, He's gonna say you're pointing out flaws in other people, but you're not seeing the flaws in yourself. He's saying what goes around comes around. When you're pointing that finger at somebody, there's a few fingers pointed right back at you. You've heard that expression. This is exactly what Jesus is saying. If you think you can judge others, then you've adopted a standard, and watch out, because if you've adopted a standard, that was the first sin in the garden. Remember? They adopted a standard, and immediately they said, I'm naked, and then they determined that is not okay. I am naked and ashamed and afraid. and I will now go hide from God because I have measured myself and determined that I'm not okay with him." So Jesus is talking about this standard of measure and of course he's talking about the law by which they are evaluating themselves and determining their performance and their worth and their value and whether or not they are allowed to feel close to God. If they do enough they give themselves permission to feel clean and close and if they don't do enough well there you have it they're not allowed to have that nice warm Italian feeling inside. So as we continue we see he says, So let me help you, let me be your spiritual guide. Does this remind you of something? Think about

You who preach do not steal. Do you steal? You who say do not lie, do you lie? In other words you hypocrite. You take the standard, you become the preacher of all the vow shouts, all the behavior improvement, all of the rule keeping, you lord it over other people and then lo and behold you're nowhere near keeping those same things. So Jesus right in line with Romans, you know those early chapters of Romans where Paul concludes, well guess what? News flash, the Jews aren't keeping the law. Hello, you should know that by now. The Jews aren't keeping it and well the Gentiles aren't either. So we're all on an equal playing field, Romans 1, 2, and 3. Then you see ah that's why it's got to be grace through faith. Well Jesus is doing the same thing here. He's saying you guys are calling people to the carpet and yet you're nowhere near being obedient yourselves. Give me a break, it's a joke. Now Jesus continues this fiery sermon and he lays it right out there. He says 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. So you need to have the come to Jesus moment he's saying and in this case it's come to Jesus and he'll introduce you to Moses. So this is your come to Moses moment and it's Moses 2.0. It's unbelievable, off the charts, an impossible standard, 613 laws but even then you haven't gone far enough because it's the spirit of the law. It's the heart of the law, the intention of the law. Even if you look with lust, you've committed adultery, you slept with her if you looked at her with lust and if you if you get angry, you know frustrated and angry, call somebody a fool and you're upset at them. It's the same as killing them, it's the same as murder. So this standard is incredible, off the charts, impossible and that is the whole point. He continues, he says do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine or they will trample them under feet and turn and tear you to pieces. They're gonna trample them under their feet, they're gonna tear you to pieces. Why? Because you've taken the most beautiful precious gospel message and you've wasted it. You've wasted it on people who don't want it, who reject it openly, who want nothing to do with it. So this in the Sermon on the Mount, a bit of advice maybe primarily to the disciples but also to their followers, to people that will be trained up by them and Jesus is giving some advice. I told you that in chapter 7 we're going to see a bit of a transition where he starts talking about the gospel because you don't leave people dead with Moses, you take them to life in Christ. So he doesn't leave us in Matthew 5, he doesn't leave us in Matthew 6 with the Lord's prayer and hoping to be forgiven more than we forgive others and all of that. He doesn't leave us in Matthew 5 and 6. He takes us to this place

of evangelism. And here's just a nugget, a tidbit for those disciples. Now, I guess I would ask you today, have you ever tried to share the gospel with somebody who just doesn't care? Have you ever tried to share the good news of Jesus with somebody who's not interested in the good news or Jesus? They couldn't care less. Well, Jesus is kind of saving us the trip here. We get all tied up in knots. We get all worried about being convincing enough. We worry about being effective. People give us five steps and three ways to be a better witness. And then when we don't get the reaction that we'd hoped for, suddenly we think it's our fault. We could have done better if I had just said it differently. I wish I were more like an attorney, like a lawyer. I wish I could convince. Maybe I need to read the habits of highly effective people. Maybe I need to read five books on communication. So we begin to think it's our fault. And what Jesus is doing here, he's saving us the trip. He's saying, get this, some people just hate him. Some people hate the message. They don't want anything to do with it. And so it's not your fault, but you dust your feet and you move on and you don't cast your pearls before swine. Yeah, he's calling them swine.

Remember, this is not your friendly neighborhood Jesus all the time. Sometimes he doesn't mince words. It's the Lord with a sword. Now watch this evangelism in verse seven. He says, 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 he who seeks finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. What does this tell you? He's starting to talk about the gospel. He's starting to talk about his life in you. What door? Well, the door of your life, the door of your heart. And so what he's saying is, whoever wants me, gets me. Now, is that what we hear? Well, not everywhere. Some places we hear if you want him, you still might not get him because you're not chosen. You're not picked. You're not one of the ones. So you could want him, but not get him. Is that what Jesus says? No, whoever, whoever seeks will find. Whoever knocks, the door will be opened. So it sounds like this is for anybody and everybody sound familiar? Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So the floodgates go wide open.

When the son of man is lifted up, he will draw all people unto himself. How beautiful is this gospel? You'll also notice it answers an important question. What about the people who've never heard? What about the people in that remote country? What about this situation and that situation? What about whoever seeks him will find him? We don't have to understand all the mechanics of it, but God is big. In fact, Paul even says that nature testifies to the Lord. At some point, you kinda go, well, wait a minute, that totem pole there in my village, I actually know where that came from. It was the tree in my backyard, and my neighbor cut it down and started carving into it. And that's the totem pole. So why am I worshiping a totem pole that came out of my own backyard that my neighbor is carving? This is man-made stuff. But then I look at all the trees and I look at the mountains and the rivers and the ocean and the stars. I look at astronomy and physics. I look at the nature of the human eye and the human hand. I look at everything in creation, and suddenly it testifies to me that this isn't an accident. There must be a God. And when I say, I want to know this God,

Jesus says, seek me and you'll find me. That's reassuring, and it explains a lot. Now we continue in verse nine. He says, or what man is there among you who when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? What is Jesus trying to say? God is good. Taste and see that the Lord is good. And when you ask him for something good, you're never, never gonna get something bad. So isn't it interesting? though, it seems like the gospel that we hear often today is only semi-good. You know, it's maybe semi-good news, but it's not great news. Have you ever noticed that? Well, you're saved, but you might be unsaved on Tuesday. Well, you're forgiven, but it's not a total forgiveness, it's a partial forgiveness, a partial reprieve that could vanish if you're not careful. Now, you're new, you're a new creation, but you're only half new, you're actually two people, yin-yang, you know, good and bad, a little evil in the good, a little good in the evil, you're half and half. You're in and out when it comes to fellowship, when it comes to God's will, you're back and forth, in and out, okay and not okay. Do you see that this gospel that is so popular today, I'm talking about that religious message, it's only partially good news. And what Jesus is saying is, God is good, you can trust him, he's not going to give you a snake, if you ask for bread, he's not going to give you a rock. What he gives you is good every single time, and you can trust his goodness. All right, this is amazing, this sermon is so powerful. Jesus continues, he says, if you then, being evil, because remember he's talking before the cross, before the resurrection, before they're born again, he says, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your kids, how much more will your Father, who is in heaven,

give what is good to those who ask him. So, can you see how some might twist this passage, oh we are so, so evil, Lord, we are evil. Well, if you've hung out with us for a week, a month, a year, you've probably figured out, we're not teaching you that nonsense, we're not going to teach you that you're evil, not if you're in Christ. Now, if you're not in Christ, if you are dead in your sins, then yes, you're bad, you're a bad tree, you need life, you need the goodness of Christ, absolutely, 100%. But, if you claim to be born again, then I would ask you, what did the Spirit of God give birth to? Are you evil? Are you wicked? Are you sinful and rotten at the core, as so many people say? Well, Jesus is using this word, he says, if you, being evil, but he's talking to a certain group, 2,000 years ago, before the cross, before the resurrection, he's talking to unregenerate Jews who have not experienced Pentecost, they have not been born from above, the tongues of fire have not landed on their heads in the book of Acts, they haven't experienced rebirth. And so, of course, Jesus is rightly pointing out their spiritual death, and he's saying, come on, if you have a family love for your kids, and you give them good things, then how much more does God give his children good gifts, too? So, when God gave you Jesus, he didn't give you half of Jesus. When God gave you the Spirit, he didn't give you some of the Spirit. When God gave you forgiveness, he didn't make you partly forgiven, he didn't forget one or leave one out. When God made you new, he didn't make you kind of new. When he brought you close and made you clean, you're not halfway clean and close. When God does something, he does it perfectly. And I hope you hear my heart, because everything we communicate is about God having been, having done a perfect job. And that's the bottom line of the whole message. God made you free. How free? Perfectly free. God made you forgiven. How forgiven? Perfectly forgiven. When God does it, it's perfect. Folks, that is just logical. It shouldn't even be controversial. How is it that God initiates all of this salvation and forgiveness and righteousness, and we come along and say, well, kind of. That makes no sense. If he's God, he's perfect, and he does it perfect the first time. No repeat needed. In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you. For

this is what? The law and the prophets. Once again, identifying that some of his purpose here is to sum up the law in what we call the golden rule. Now, you know, I did some research, and you can find about eight or ten different examples of this golden rule. in religions across the world. Do you hear that? Confucianism has a golden rule. Buddhism has the golden rule. Hinduism has the golden rule. And I mean Islam has the golden rule. This concept is not foreign. Judaism has the golden rule. The golden rule is not Christianity. The golden rule is the Sermon on the Mount along with chop off body parts and be perfect and treat others like you want to be treated. Is that really a good motivation? Well gee I want them to treat me well so because I want some nice circumstances I guess I'll treat them well so that they turn around and reciprocate. I mean that's a motivation and certainly religions of the world have picked up on it. Some of those religions older, older than 2,000 years old. So if we just want some principle some rule we can have it. But what I'm saying is Christianity is not about rules. It's about letting Jesus Christ rule and I don't love others so they'll love me back. I don't treat others good so they'll treat me good. I love others and treat them well because I'm in Christ and I've got a new heart and a new spirit and God's Spirit living in me. And the new covenant comes in and it's a better motivation than the law. It's a better motivation than being in the Old Testament as a Jewish person under Moses. It's a better motivation because it springs forth from the core of your being. You're not giving to get. You're giving because God made you a giver. He changed the very center of your being. Verse 13 he says, enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it. The narrow gate what is it? Is it well superhuman effort? Is it amazing times where you dedicate and commit and try harder? Every religion in the world offers you that. That's a pretty wide gate. The wide gate of effort. The wide gate of achievement. The wide gate of commitment. The wide gate of

religious effort. That's the widest gate on the planet. Every religion in the world has some sort of system. Many of them a system of rules and principles. Some of them have a book to go along with it. A founder or two or three to emphasize those principles and if you achieve it then you get the bait that was on the hook. You get the trophy. You get the reward. You get the crown because of what you did in human effort. Now how is Christianity different? Well it's the narrow gate. It's the way that nobody's trying. It's the way that's not very popular and it's because it's well it's so good it's almost too good to be true and so we have difficulty believing God's gonna front-load the gospel. He's gonna give me everything for free. It's gonna cost me nothing because it cost him everything. So I'm gonna get perfect intimacy with Christ at no cost. It's not about my feelings, my efforts. It's just a fact like he just showers me with his presence and I'm one with him all day long when I'm working at my job or studying at school or hanging out with my kids or in heavy traffic in Dallas or freaking out with bad health issues or failing miserably. He's my life and he's with me and in me and his presence is free. Yeah and that's why it's the narrow gate because hardly anybody is talking about it. Hardly anybody is saying that's the case and in fact I would argue that some people are saying it's the case to get saved but not after you're saved and maybe that's why our entire ministry and church exists to say you know what the narrow gate doesn't get wider. Narrow at the beginning, it's the narrow gate of grace. And then as you grow, you grow by grace, and you learn by grace, and you're clean and close every day by grace. The narrow gate of grace continues the rest of your life. You can either try to achieve it, maintain it, sustain it, keep it, or you can recognize he's keeping it. And everything is unbelievably free. That is the message of grace. And yeah, it's narrow.

Have you noticed it's not the most popular, but it's either right or wrong. Why would the system change? You get saved one way, and then you grow another way? Does that make sense to you? The gate is narrow at salvation, and the message that grows us up is also narrow, and few find it. Wow. All right, let's keep going. We're gonna finish up. He says, beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? All right, so false messengers, pharisaical people, I mean, Paul encountered them later, right? That's why he has to say, having begun by the spirit, are you now being duped? Are you now being tricked? Are you now being suckered by the sales pitch of self-improvement? Are you really gonna listen to these slick talkers? After I, Paul, came in and preached to you that everything is free, are you now gonna put a cost on it, a charge? Are you now gonna only give yourself permission to feel okay with God when you've done enough?

Are you so foolish? Jesus is saying, you'll know them, you'll know them. And I hate to say it, but even today, right? I'm not naming any names, but I mean, throughout centuries, we have seen people that are whitewashed tombs. And so they look real good on the outside, but many are false teachers. And you discover that on the inside, ravenous wolves seeking whom they may devour. So every good tree, verse 17, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Okay, what's going on here? What's he talking about? We got trees, we got fruit, we got good, we got bad. Well, first, I'll have you notice that Jesus does admit, he actually proclaims that there are good trees. So I would ask you today, this morning, what kind of tree are you? When you woke up this morning, what kind of tree did you believe yourself to be? Because today, you've already lived a good portion of the day. What you believe about yourself determines how you think and act. If you're a dirty, rotten sinner, you'll act like a dirty, rotten sinner. If you think you're a good tree, you'll bear good fruit.

And that's what Jesus wants us to know. First, good trees exist. We got a lot of people saying you got a wicked heart, that you're evil, that you're half good, half bad, old self, new self. Jesus is saying, no, two kinds of trees, never the two shall meet, good and bad. And in fact, the good tree has a whole new tendency, a whole new way of thinking and acting, and it's already started in you. You're growing up. You started as a little oak sapling. You're not getting any oakier, but you are learning and growing. Now, a bad tree produces bad fruit. And so, it's just like what we saw in 1 John, right? You got believers and deceivers. You got the righteous and the sinful. You got those born of God and those born of the evil one. You got night and day. There is no gray area. There is no middle ground. He wants you to see that you're righteous and holy and good. So, that message is for us today. But for them back then, I mean, they didn't have it yet, but he warns them. And we'll finish with this. He says, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

That's an unbeliever. He's warning of the punishment. And he says, so then you will know. them by their fruits wow so we got a lot to think about in this passage Matthew 7 coming upon the heels of Matthew 5 and 6 we got this incredible powerful impossible sermon and it is indeed impossible and that's why he finishes his thought here with not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom because why well because they're focused on themselves he's trying to get the focus off of them they say look what we did for you and he says well look what I did for you and they say well no no you don't understand we did a bunch of great stuff for you and he says you got the gospel backwards the gospel is not what you do for me it's what I do for you therefore depart from me because I never knew you you hear that these aren't Christians he never knew them these are the false teachers the deceivers not the believers Wow so we see it Matthew 5 cut off body parts amputation ward cut off your hand pluck out your I be perfect and then Matthew chapter 6 forgive others in order for God to forgive you if you forgive them God will if you don't forgive them God won't forgive you and then finally after everybody's dead and buried and gone and there's no hope for righteousness he slips in a new invitation seek and you'll find knock and the door will be opened Wow he had to exert some tough love to show them the impossible standard of Moses so they would see their need for Jesus let's pray together father we thank you for this powerful sermon it's not easy to digest the sermon on the mount staring us in the face Moses 2.0 we have no training wheels no help no no way forward except to give up and throw up our hands and say I can't do it and then you say exactly exactly so we admit it we thank you that it's about you that it's about your perfect performance on Calvary your performance in rising out of that tomb your performance in being seated at the right hand of the Father Jesus we are so grateful for your finished work that we get to be clean and close because we entered the narrow gate through the narrow gate we entered into life and grace and wholeness and purpose and meaning and stability and security and it's all free because you paid for it we thank you in Jesus name amen