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JANUARY 9
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be measured back to you. And why do you 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the
look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do gate and broad is the way that leads to
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not consider the plank in your own eye? Or destruction, and there are many who go in by
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it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way which leads to life, and there are few
who find it.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to
7:1 Judge not. As the context reveals, this you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
does not prohibit all types of judging (v. 16). ravenous wolves. You will know them by
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There is a righteous kind of judgment we are
supposed to exercise with careful discern- their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn-
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ment (John 7:24). Censorious, hypocritical, bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every
self-righteous, or other kinds of unfair judg- good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
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ments are forbidden; but in order to fulfill the bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad
commandments that follow, it is necessary to fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
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discern dogs and swine (v. 6) from one’s own Every tree that does not bear good fruit is
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brethren (vv. 3–5). cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore
by their fruits you will know them.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,
how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,
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remove the plank from your own eye, and have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out
then you will see clearly to remove the speck demons in Your name, and done many won-
from your brother’s eye. ders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to
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“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you
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cast your pearls before swine, lest they tram- who practice lawlessness!’
ple them under their feet, and turn and tear 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings
you in pieces. of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and wise man who built his house on the rock:
you will find; knock, and it will be opened to 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and
you. For everyone who asks receives, and he the winds blew and beat on that house; and it
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who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
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be opened. Or what man is there among you 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of
who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a Mine, and does not do them, will be like a fool-
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give ish man who built his house on the sand: and
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him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know the rain descended, the floods came, and the
how to give good gifts to your children, how winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.
much more will your Father who is in heaven And great was its fall.”
give good things to those who ask Him! 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to sayings, that the people were astonished at His
you, do also to them, for this is the Law and teaching, for He taught them as one having
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the Prophets. authority, and not as the scribes.
DAY 9:What did Jesus specify about the way to salvation?
In the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:13–29), Jesus gave a clear gospel
application. Here are two gates, two ways, two destinations, and two groups of people (vv. 13,14);
two kinds of trees and two kinds of fruit (vv. 17–20); two groups at the judgment (vv. 21–23); and
two kinds of builders,building on two kinds of foundations (vv.24–28).Christ is drawing the line as
clearly as possible between the way that leads to destruction and the way which leads to life.
Both the narrow gate and the wide gate (vv. 13,14) are assumed to provide the entrance to
God’s kingdom. Two ways are offered to people. The narrow gate is by faith, only through Christ,
constricted and precise. It represents true salvation in God’s way that leads to life eternal.The wide
gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness, with no single way (see Acts 4:12), but
leads to hell, not heaven.
Christ continually emphasized the difficulty of following Him (10:38; 16:24,25; John 15:18,19;
16:1–3;see Acts 14:22).Salvation is by grace alone,but is not easy.It calls for knowledge of the truth,
repentance, submission to Christ as Lord, and a willingness to obey His will and Word.
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