Matthew's Gospel, chapter 7,
verse 6. The message is titled, Judgment
Regarding Pearls and Holy Things. Jesus said, Do not give what
is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine, lest
they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in
pieces. This text follows the introductory
text in verse one, where Jesus said, judge not that you be not
judged. He then explained the manner
in which we should judge people, which means that this prohibition,
do not judge, is not absolute. Judgments must be rendered. But
just remember this, People are going to judge you the same way
you judge them. So be kind in your judgment. For with what judgment you judge,
you will be judged. And Jesus here in this text is
telling us to do these three things. First, esteem the things
of God is precious. And second, discern what sorts
of people are incorrigible, and three, withhold God's things
from incorrigible people, the swine and the dogs. Now consider
that we are to consider the things of God as precious. They're holy,
and they are pearls. Holy denotes things that were
devoted to the service of the tabernacle. There was a holy
altar, holy bread, Holy table, holy sacrifices. Everything in
that tabernacle was devoted to God, consecrated from the world,
or separated from the world and consecrated unto God. And everything
we have should be holy. These come from God. They are
holy. They do not belong to the world.
They are holy. And these are our pearls. These
are the, well, these are the only really precious things we
have. The things of God's word. They're
holy things and they are our pearls. And we should discern
what sorts of people are incorrigible. There are two sorts. There are
dogs and swine. They are unclean. What does that
mean? Well, according to God's holy
law, In order for an animal to be holy, it has to meet two qualifications. It has to chew the cud and have
cloven hooves. Its hooves had to be split. It
had to chew the cud. What is it to chew the cud? To
chew the cud is to graze on grass and it goes to one stomach and
then the cow or the clean animal sits in the shade and brings
it back up and then chews on it. That's chewing the cud. That's
what clean animals do. That's what we who are clean
people do. We graze upon the things of God. You should be grazing upon the
things of God right now as you hear this message. Then later
tonight, bring it back and chew the cud and ruminate on these
things. Consider them. Do not hear them
and just let them go. Live on them. Then, cloven hooves means a holy walk. Cloven hooves belonged to holy
animals, clean animals. They held a holy walk. And we
should have a holy walk. Those are people who are clean
in God's sight. If you see someone who does not
chew the cud, ruminate on holy things, whose walk is unholy,
God says, keep my holy things and my pearls away from that
person. Do not give it to them. Do not
give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast my pearls before swine. Now, interestingly, swine have
cloven hooves. They profess a holy walk, but
they do not chew the cud. They, oh, they just, You can't
put the food in front of them fast enough. It goes in and it
comes out, and it is never considered worthy of chewing on the cud.
So we need to ascertain that certain people are incorrigible
and don't give them our holy things and our pearls. I tell
you, if you want my pearls and my holy things, I got a bunch
of them tonight. and I'm going to let you have
them. Now, if you don't want them, I'll go give them to somebody
else. Now, I'm sure you want them,
but I'm just letting you know, we do not give that which is
holy to the dogs. We do not cast our pearls before
swine. Withhold it from them. So how do we apply this? How do we How do we know what
it is to give not that which is holy to dogs, nor cast your
pearls before swine? Let me illustrate. I am a seeker of these holy things
known as pearls. I go diving for them every day,
looking for them and collecting them in order to give them to
others. One day I was at the Sea of Romans. Now the Sea of Romans is divided
into 16 sections. I found myself at the eighth
section of the Sea of Romans and I swam out 28 yards and dove
down looking for pearls. And there on the seabed at Romans
8, 28, I found this memorial plaque and it read, And we know
that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to his purpose. I considered that and I thought,
you know, that's true, that's true. I thought about it, and
yep, I believe that. All things work together for
good, but only to those who love God, and they who love God are
the called according to his purpose. So I decided to swim a little
further. And when I swam a little further
down on the sea floor, I found this exquisite pearl, and I picked
it up, and put it in my bag, swam back to the shore. Wanted
to find out, what is this pearl? So I went to the shop of a jeweler
and I showed him this pearl and I said, can you tell me what
this pearl is? He says, oh yeah, you have the
pearl of presence. What is presence? Well, you spell
it P-R-E, science. Science means knowledge, and
presence means knowledge of things before they occur, knowledge
of people before they exist. This pearl means that God, before
the foundation of the world, He looked down and he saw you,
the holder of this pearl. He saw you responding to the
gospel and he says, I'm going to choose that one to salvation. God had prescience of you, prescience
of you. Hogwash, someone said. What? Hogwash. What do you mean? He said, come over here. Give
me that pearl. What's your name? My name is
Theophilus. It means lover of God. His name
is Hereticus and rightly named he is because a heretic he is. This is not the pearl of presence. This is the pearl of foreknowledge. Well, okay, but what is this
foreknowledge? Well, I'll tell you about this
foreknowledge. This foreknowledge, you found it just a little bit
beyond Romans 8, 28, did you not? Well, yeah. gone to the
eighth section, 28 yards out, swam down, found the plaque,
and then swam a little further, and there was this pearl. Oh
yeah, you found this pearl in Romans 8, 29. And this pearl
is saying to you, the holder of this pearl, that God not merely
foresaw you, he foreknew you. You were His if you hold this
pearl. If you are the holder of this
pearl, God foreknew you, not merely foresaw you, He foreknew
you. You belonged to Him. He not only
foresaw what happened to you, He foreknew everything that would
happen to you as well. God had this foreknowledge of
you. This foreknowledge is associated
with this determined purpose in Acts 2 verse 23. If you have this pearl, you are
assured that you are elect according to the foreknowledge of God. If God foreknew you, if you were
his before time began, he chose you in Jesus Christ, his only
begotten son. You were elect according to the
foreknowledge of God in sanctification by the spirit unto the obedience
and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. If God foreknew
you, you were his. The Holy Spirit has sanctified
you. Jesus Christ has shed his blood
for you and you will believe. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. Well, I like this pearl. I like this pearl. I'm gonna
keep it. but I wonder if there are any
more. So I went back to the Sea of Romans, section eight, swam
out 28 yards, dove down, looking for pearls. I found the memorial
plaque on the sea floor, swam a little further, and then I
saw where I had found the pearl of foreknowledge, and I swam
a little further, and lo and behold, another pearl. Just as
exquisite. So I picked it up, put it in
my bag, and swam back to the shore. This time, I just completely
skipped the shop of Hereticus. He knows a whole lot about costume
jewelry, but he does not know much about pearls. I went straight
to the shop of Theophilus, and I said, Theophilus, oh lover
of God, I have found another exquisite pearl. Can you tell
me about this pearl? And he looked at it and he says,
oh yeah. You have the pearl of predestination. What do you mean? So he pulled
the registry of pearls down from the shelf and opened it up and
he showed me and sure enough, I was holding in my hand the
pearl of predestination. He says, you found this one also
down there next to Romans 8, 29, did you not? Yes, I did,
that's how it was. Well, the holder of this pearl
is assured that whom God foreknew, he also predestined. Not only did God foreknow you,
God determined beforehand your salvation. through divine predestination. Whom God foreknew, He also predestined. Foreknowledge has to do with
whom God knows. Predestination has to do with
what He has determined for them before the foundation of the
world. He predestined us into adoption as sons by Jesus Christ
himself. He predestined us to be conformed
unto the image of Jesus Christ. According to this doctrine of
predestination, God thanked so highly of his only begotten son
that God predestined that all his adopted sons would look just
like him, be just like him. Heaven's gonna be full of a people
that look like Jesus Christ. That was God's predestination,
to be conformed unto the image of Jesus Christ, to be like Jesus
Christ. They were foreordained to be
like him, and they will. And bit by bit in this life,
that is what God is doing through predestination. He predestined
us to be his adopted sons and daughters, and he predestined
us to be just like Jesus Christ. The holder of this pearl is assured
of this. And I am the holder of this pearl. I love this pearl. Maybe there's
another pearl. So I go back to the Sea of Romans,
section eight, swam out 28 yards, dove down and looking for more
pearls again. I found the memorial plaque.
I went past the place where I found the pearl of foreknowledge and
the pearl of predestination, swam a little further and there
on the seabed, another precious pearl. Look at it, it is exquisite. I picked it up, put it in my
bag, swam back to the shore, and went straight to the shop
of Theophilus. Oh, Theophilus, lover of God,
I have found another pearl. Can you tell me what this pearl
is? And Theophilus says, oh yes,
I can. And he pulled the registry of
pearls down from the shelf, opened it up, and he says, ah! You have
found the pearl of calling. What is this? Well, you found
it just beyond where you found the pearl of foreknowledge and
predestination, right? Yeah, that's what it was, just
beyond it. Well, let me tell you what the
registry of pearls says. The registry of pearls says that
whom God foreknew, he also predestined, and whom he predestined, he also
called. This pearl goes with the previous
two. This is the pearl of calling. Now, what this pearl means is
this, that the holder of this pearl will hear the outward call
of the gospel being given by God's preachers. Like you are
hearing tonight, he may reject that call, But oh, there is another
call from God, the Holy Spirit. And he says, you will obey my
call. And he does. When he calls you,
you come running. When you hear my call, you may
say, I'm not gonna have this. But when you hear the Holy Spirit
calling, here I come, Lord, I come running. You call me and I will
come running to you. We are called. out of darkness
into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2, verse 9. Called of Jesus Christ
and called to be saints. Romans 1, 6. Called into the
fellowship of God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians
1, 9. These ones who are called are
said to be those who love God. and are the called according
to his purpose. The holder of this pearl has
been called of God and will love God because God loves him. Well, I'm keeping this pearl.
but I wonder if there are any more. So I go back to the Sea
of Romans, section eight, swam out 28 yards, dove down, found
the memorial plaque, and we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are the cause according
to his purpose. Swam a little further, beyond
where I found the pearl of foreknowledge. A little further beyond where
I found the pearl of predestination, a little further beyond the place
where I found the pearl of calling, and a little further and Another
pearl, there it is on the sink floor. Another exquisite pearl. I picked up this pearl, I put
it in my bag and I swam back to the shore and went straight
again to the shop of Theophilus, the lover of God. Theophilus,
I have found another pearl. Can you tell me what this pearl
is? Oh, of course I can. And he pulled the registry of
pearls down from the shelf, opened it up, went through looking at
it and he says, ah! You have found a pearl of justification. Justification. What is this pearl
of justification? Well, the holder of this pearl
is assured that whom God called, he also justified. God has declared
this one to be righteous. through the blood of Jesus Christ
and through the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ
unto the one who holds this pearl. This one stands before God as
righteous as Christ is because Christ is his righteousness. He's been justified, declared
righteous before God. The holder of this pearl will
say, I will speak of your righteousness and of yours only. Well, I do,
I do. The holder of this pearl will
say, I forsake all my self-righteousness. Well, I do, I do. This is the
pearl of justification declared to be righteous. I'm keeping this pearl. I want
this pearl. but maybe I can find another
one. So I go back to the Sea of Romans, section eight, swam
out 28 yards, dove down, found the memorial plaque, swam a little
further, further than I had swam before under the water, and there
was another exquisite pearl. picked it up, put it in my bag,
and swam back to the shore, went to the shop of Theophilus. I
said, Theophilus, I found another pearl. Can you tell me what this
pearl is? And he pulled the registry of
pearls down from the shelf, opened it up, and he says, oh yeah,
you have found the pearl of glorification. Well, what does this mean? Oh,
this pearl of glorification. It is a delightful find that
you have found. It means that whom God foreknew,
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Whom God
predestined, he called. Whom God called, He justified. Whom God justified, He glorified. What does that mean? You're going
to be just like Jesus Christ. Going to be glorified together
with Him. You're going to be just like
Jesus Christ. This happens to all that God
glorified. Now, Theophilus said, I have
to tell you something else about this glorification. It happened before the foundation
of the world. He said, listen to me carefully.
Whom God foreknew, when did he do it? Before the foundation
of the world. He also predestined when? Before the foundation of the
world. He also called, when? Before the foundation of the
world, because these are the call according to his purpose.
You cannot separate purpose and calling. Whom God called, he
justified. When? Before the foundation of
the world, because before time began, they were in Christ, holy
and without blame. sanctified and justified from
all eternity. And before the foundation in
God's decree, they were glorified. In God's decree, they were glorified. It is so certain of happening
that God said, it's done. Before time began, it's done. Oh, these pearls are precious. I'm keeping these pearls. the
pearl of foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. I wonder if there are any more.
Well, the sun is beginning to set. I got time for one more
dive. So I go back to the Sea of Romans,
section eight. Swam out 28 yards, dove down. I found the memorial plaque.
Oh, those words are beginning to be much more precious and
dear to me. I swam past the place where I
found the pearls of foreknowledge and predestination, calling,
justification, glorification. Swam just a little further and
you will not believe what I found. a whole host of these pearls,
all over the seabed, a whole host of them. I filled all the
bags I had with me and struggled to get back to the shore. But
I did make it with all these pearls, the same five pearls,
but all in such great abundance. Well, I do not need them all
for myself. I've got plenty of pearls to
give out tonight if there's anybody who wants them. Would you like
to have my pearls? You think you would? Here, I'm
gonna give you my pearls. Here are my pearls. Now, I'm
not sure that you are going to esteem them just as dearly as
I do because of what these pearls mean to the one who holds them.
Anybody back there want my pearls? How about you, Jason, you want
my pearls? Okay, you're too far for me to walk, I'm gonna cast
them back to you, all right? Here they come, and he's caught
them. And you will highly esteem them
and love them, you see? I'll tell you what, I am feeling
so good. Brother Tommy, I feel so good. It seems like everybody
here wants my pearls. You want them, do you not? Everyone
here wants my pearls. I'm so happy. Here's what I'm
gonna do. I'm going to go down the road and find another church
And I'm going to give them my pearls so I walk into another
church And I say folks I have a bunch of holy things called
pearls. And I was just up the road at
College Grove Grace Church and handed them out and everybody
wanted my pearls. Oh, they loved them. I'm sure
you'll like them too. And so man on the front row says,
let me see those pearls. And so I hand them to him and
he says, what is this? Oh, sir. These are the pearls
of foreknowledge and divine predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. These are God's holy pearls. That dog bit my hand. That dog
bit my hand when I gave to him. my holy pearls. Someone in the
back said, what's all that commotion down yonder? I said, I gave this
man my pearls and that dog bit my hand. What are these pearls? So I cast some of my pearls back
there to the back of the congregation to him. That's why trampled my holy pearls
under his feet and charged to the front in order to get a hold
of me. I tell you, I barely escaped
with my life. I said, Lord, why? Why? And he said, I told you. Do not give that which is holy
to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine. They will trample
them under their feet and tear you in pieces. Well, I will not
do that again. I will not do that again. If
I can only find some people who want these pearls, I'm going
to go diving for them every day and bring them to them when they
come to gather them. There's a congregation up in
Great Falls, Montana. They say they love these pearls.
So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go to Montana. I'm going to move to Montana
and die for pearls because they're found in various places. And
I'm going to give these pearls to all who will have them. Now,
if people other places don't want them, I just won't go there.
I'll just keep them. Now, since you love these pearls,
I'll have to tell you this also. Your pastor is a pearl diver
just like me. Every day he goes diving for
pearls in the various seas of God's word. He goes diving into
the word of God, looking for holy things and pearls. And he
gives them away. Every time the church door is
open, he's giving away pearls. If you want more pearls, and
there are many more beyond the five that I just told you of,
all you have to do is come get them. You'll give them away for
free. They're free. All you have to do is come and
get them. But to the dogs and swine of this
world, Do not get that with just holding the dogs, nor cast your
pearls before swine.