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The continuation of lesson 15 of the Discipleship Making process, where I left you last time with these two questions, “What criteria do you use to discern between good and evil?” . . . and . . . “How did Jesus make His judgments?”
In summary of the last lesson, we learned that as Jesus’ disciples we are expected to discern spiritual truths and make decisions between good and evil. In addition, we learned that through training and practice, maturity in discernment comes. And finally, to accurately discern between good and evil, three factors need to be considered before an opinion is formed, with all three being in agreement: 1. The individual’s actions, 2. The individual’s words, and 3. The Word of God.
Read: Matthew 7:6
In the first part of His teaching on discernment Jesus issues a pair of commands to His disciples that require discerning good and evil and then taking the appropriate action. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” These commands test the disciple’s ability to understand the Scriptures and accurately apply them.
In the natural world, children begin using their five senses immediately, but it takes several years to develop them fully. Part of this natural maturing process requires learning words to communicate the senses. And children must also learn to associate concepts and ideas to make mature decisions. The same principle holds true for disciples as well. Once a person has been born again into the kingdom of God he begins to develop his spiritual senses, learns words to communicate them and uses Scripture to develop God’s ideas and concepts.
The first command deals with giving something holy to dogs. Through this Scripture we discover a dog is likened to a fool. And a fool according to Scripture is more than a silly or unwise person; he is one who does not believe in God (Psalms 14:1). The point concerning dogs is “don’t give anything that belongs to God to one who has rejected God already” (Proverbs 9:7-8).
The second command involves casting pearls before swine. From Scripture we learn that pearls are associated with wisdom or precious truths (Job 28:18). Swine are referred to in Proverbs 11:22, as a woman who lacks discretion is one who lacks: taste, perception, reason, intelligence, advice, behavior, judgment, or understanding. She entices people to sin (Proverbs 9:13-18). The point concerning swine is “don’t give wisdom to one who can’t perceive or understand it.” (Remember, the fear/reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.)
Many sincere Christians want to give godly things they possess to everyone around them; however Jesus commands His disciples to be mature and discerning in giving these things to others. They include such things as the gospel, communion, wisdom, instruction and spiritual gifts. He recognized that some people will not only reject what the disciple is trying to give them but will actual despise it and turn on the disciple as well. Jesus sets boundaries for His disciples to live within because He loves them and wants to protect them. So each of us should heed His warning and obey His commands.
The point of the lesson is that as Jesus’ disciples we are expected to discern spiritual truths and make decisions between good and evil.
With that, allow me to leave you with this question to consider, along with a little homework assignment until my next posting:
What clues does a person leave when they are lost?
. . . and the homework assignment . . .
Read: Mark 7:24-30 and answer the following questions:
(Also: John 5:30, Matthew 12:34-37, Proverbs 17:28; and Romans 2:1-6, 14:4, 14:10-12, James 4:11-12, 5:9, Hebrews 10:30-31)
Until next time . . . Godspeed!
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