Julie cooked some amazing chili and cornbread. Pretty much everybody had seconds and I even heard rumors of thirds. She is more than happy to cook for us but she does want to make sure everybody knows that they are welcome to do the cooking for any given Tuesday. The same goes for hosting. Just let the group know!
Before delving into Matthew chapter 7, we had a brief discussion on a passage in chapter 5 (vv. 17 - 19) where Jesus seems to say that we are to follow the Law. He says that those breaking even the least of the commandments in the Law will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. We decided that this is something of a sidenote to Jesus' sermon on the mount. He wants to make sure that the crowd understands that what he is saying fulfills the Law, or reinforces the meaning of the Law, so that they don't stop following it altogether. This issue is moot now that we know Jesus is our Lord & Savior and can look to Him (rather than the Law) for an example of how to live righteously.
Something interesting we noticed at the beginning of chapter 7 is how Jesus doesn't tell us not to judge others. Rather, he tells us to expect to be judged in the same way that we judge others. Therefore, we should examine ourselves for the same sin we see in others, especially before confronting them about it. Another neat little statement is that "Do to others what you would have them do to you" sums up the entire Old Testament. Why would Jesus say that? It's something good to meditate on.
Peter had a good comment on verses 7 - 11. Jesus explains "ask and it will be given to you" by saying that a father will not give his child a stone when the child asks for bread. There is a common comment that this obviously isn't always true, because we ask God for things that aren't given to us. Peter pointed out that this isn't so hard to explain if we flip around Jesus' explanation to this: A father will not give his child a stone when the child asks for a stone.
We also spent some time discussing verses 21 - 23. They seem to say that glorifying God is not enough to get into Heaven, but that doing the will of God is the only way. This is a frightening passage for us when we are not confident in our salvation, or our personal relationship with Christ. However, fear of God is healthy and it should motivate us to do His will. Moreover, these verses are part of the closing of Jesus' sermon where He wants to point out that those who have been following the letter of the Law, rather than the meaning of the Law (God's will), will not enter Heaven. Indeed, there are those today who speak scripture intellectually and don't actually have a personal relationship with Christ.
Next week we will discuss Matthew chapter 14 as well as any questions about chapters 8 - 13. Check the calendar to see if we are planning anything else.
God Bless!
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