In Matthew 7:6, many people understand Jesus to be saying something like: you don’t need to share the gospel with hostile, unworthy people. However, I agree with the minority who understand Jesus to be saying: don’t be the kind of fool who throws away what is beautiful and precious.
Welcome to the family! Really you can start anywhere and pick any book of the Bible to begin learning. In addition to finding a good local church and small group, here’s one suggested path to start learning.
The log in your own eye versus the speck in your neighbor’s eye is a powerful image of willfully living a lie. Jesus warns that if you condemn other people for their sins, you are ignoring a fundamental truth about yourself in a way that is almost impossible to imagine.
Do I choose God or does God choose me? Once a believer, always a believer? You may never have thought these questions through. Or you may be inconsistent in living like they are true (or false). Either way, how you answer some basic theological questions makes a world of difference in daily life.
At first reading, Matthew 6:25-34 seems simple and straightforward: Don’t be anxious. God knows what you need and He will take care of you. The tricky part of this passage is figuring out exactly what we should not do and what we can expect God to do.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek word for worry, merimano
Do I choose God or does God choose me? Once a believer, always a believer? You may never have thought these questions through. Or you may be inconsistent in living like they are true (or false). Either way, how you answer some basic theological questions makes a world of difference in daily life.
Why is the kingdom of heaven so incredibly valuable? In this passage, Jesus gives one of many important reasons: We cannot keep the treasures of this earth, and we cannot lose the treasures in heaven.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek verb to judge, krino.
We have some really interesting passages left in the Sermon on on the Mount: store up treasures in heaven; do not be anxious about your life; don’t throw pearls to the pigs; seek and you will find; the golden rule and not everyone who says “Lord Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. We’ll cover those in January-February and then I’m taking a break before starting the next series.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek word for peace, eiréné
Krisan Marotta is a Bible teacher and host of Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.