13. "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." Matthew 7:13-14
Most people today have misunderstood
Jesus’ warning about making judgments (Matthew 7:1ff) to the point they
are quite surprised to find out that Bible has a lot to say about us making
sound judgments. They are even more surprised to find that the Bible
actually spends a lot of time teaching us how to judge appropriately…
Then, Jesus (and the rest of the Bible) aggressively admonishes
us to judge!
Today’s email will consist of two
articles sent together. You might wish to separate your consideration of
them into two parts. The first, as the title indicates, is some teaching
on the manner in which to guide our snap judgments. The second (part 2)
is a study sheet on the 7 letters dictated by Jesus Christ describing how to
judge churches from the inside!
We all make judgments based on
names. We all realize that the Baptist, Methodist, or even the Lutheran
churches are not the same church. Folks spend a lot of time wringing
their hands and hiding from the obvious. Many will drive right past one
church to attend the church of “their choice,” yet swear
one church is as good as another.
Let’s consider the very famous
passage reproduced above. (Matthew 7:13-14). Have you ever considered the
fact that, directly from the mouth of Jesus Christ, you have
your first clue on how to judge a church and you don’t’ even need to
leave the car?
The sizes of the churches do in fact vary
by the overall attitudes of a local community. Suppose you have two
churches, in the same community…. Right down the road from each other,
with the same name. Which would be your first choice? Let’s
say one is a large church, and one is small. If this situation
exists (as it does in our community) one would almost certainly be much larger
than the other.
Which would you choose to look at first
and why? Aren’t we all prone to go with the larger, nicer one
church? Wouldn’t we all assume that they had more going on? i.e.
That they have it “together?” In fairness, I think that is
the natural inclination of all of us. Now consider the words of
Jesus. “"Enter through the narrow gate.”
As the leader of my family, should I
direct them towards the very multitudes that Jesus warned us to avoid?
Didn’t the Lord Jesus in fact leave us with a principle that (all other
things being equal)…. We are to go the opposite direction of the
crowds?
As a rule, size is an inverse indication of faithfulness. (According to Jesus)
The Apostle John echoed the teaching of
the Master. I John 4:5-6
“They are from the world; therefore
they speak {as} from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God
listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know
the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
What did Jesus say?
“The way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find
it.” So, can you now judge from the car, which church is the
most likely to be teaching the truth? By way of contrast, which is the
most likely to have things going on inside that shouldn’t be there?
Which church is more likely to honor man, then override
the teaching of God . . . The big church or the little church?
Have you ever noticed that Jesus went out
of His way to “reduce” and scatter the church in Jerusalem? In Acts
2, when the church started 3000 souls were added to it Acts 2:41. In a very
short time, it was up to 5000 Acts 4:4. But! In Acts 8, through
persecution, the church was scattered.
If we trust in Jesus, we are left with a
brutal reality. In effect, when you see the multitudes… Run!
"Many will say to Me on
that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast
out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will
declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE
LAWLESSNESS.'" Matthew 7:22-23
Click HERE to view part 2 of this post!
Hi I am glad you stopped by our blog. These articles are from an emailing that we did several years ago. Today most of our work is on facebook
You can follow my personal page on Facebook by clicking on this link ...
You can follow the postings on the congregation's page by clicking on this link....
If you wish to worship with us....
Las Vegas church of Christ
709 Dora Celeste
Las Vegas, NM 87701
Our meeting times are
10am Sunday morning for Bible study.
11am Sunday morning for the worship service.
6pm Wednesday evening for Midweek Bible study.
If you wish to contact me...
yakipreacher@gmail.com
Be well
Jerry Blount
" Many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23
