Our text for today is Matthew
7, verses 6 through 11. We're continuing our study on
the Sermon on the Mount. And the title of today's message
is Ask, Seek, and Knock. And as you'll see, that's taken
from verses 7 and 8 of our passage. So just for introduction's sakes,
let's go ahead and look at these two verses first. There in verse
7, our Lord, He asserts this. He says, Ask, and it shall be
given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth.
And to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Now that's quite
a declaration if you think about it by our Lord. And if you were
to take these two verses out of context, and we shouldn't
do that of course, but You can see that in these very words
that if considered by themselves that he's saying without any
qualification that everyone that asks receives. That seeks finds
and that knocks shall have it open. Well, do you get everything
you ask for? Do you get everything that you
seek after? And is every door that you knock
upon open? Well, it's not for me either.
We have to conclude right away that there's only one of two
possibilities. One is that Christ, the Lord
of glory, is misleading his hearers and lying to them. And of course,
we know that's not the case. So therefore, we're left with
this conclusion that we have to see that he's speaking of
asking and seeking after something that's very specific. He's not
referring to just anything and everything that anyone might
imagine to ask for or seek after. So to understand the verses,
obviously, we've got to look at them in the context of this
sermon, this Sermon on the Mount. And today we're going to see
that he's referring to something that's of eternal significance.
So as we examine these words in the context of the sermon
here and even in the broader context of the sermon, really
of the whole scriptures, this message of Christ that we find
here in the Bible, we're going to consider three things. One
is who? Whom are we to ask? And for what are we to ask? And
secondly, what are we to seek after? And thirdly, where are
we to knock? Now, I said today our primary
focus is going to be on these verses 6 through 11. But I believe
this passage in particular, it was helpful for me. I wanted
to see the whole flow of it. And the context here seems to
be particularly important to a proper understanding. I'm going
to take you all bear with me, I'm going to take a few minutes
to refresh your memory concerning the verses that lead up to our
text for today, beginning in verse one of chapter seven. If
you remember in verses one through five, we studied the issue of
the judgment, judging by God's standards. that passage which
begins, judge not that you be not judged. And we saw here that
Christ isn't dealing with whether we should make judgments or not,
you remember, as is so often misinterpreted, but rather he's
addressing the standard by which we should judge. And we saw that
he's referring to making judgments there that are of eternal significance. Adopting God's standard as our
own, as he commanded, we looked at, remember, John 7, 24, that
we're not to judge by outward appearance, but we are to judge
righteous judgment. As we saw in Acts 17, that standard,
see, is none other than the very righteousness that Christ himself
accomplished in his perfect satisfaction to God's justice, perfect obedience,
see, even unto death, satisfying both the law's precepts keeping
the law, obeying it sinlessly, and paying the penalty for imputed
sins. That is, the sins of all those
for whom he died, the sins that were laid upon him, that were
imputed to him. And we examine these metaphors,
if you remember, in verses 1 through 5 here, we talked about the mote
and the beam in the eye, the eye representing our understanding,
the mote being like a small splinter, and representing the sins that
are common to all, that hinder our vision, the eye of our understanding,
and then the beam being a large timber, representing something
that would completely obstruct how we see things. And then in
verse 5, we saw that Christ labeled those who remain so deceived
as hypocrites. And he states that they're unqualified
to even be trying to get the moats, so to speak, out of the
eyes of others. That is, trying to relate to
others the remedy for their sin problem while they're totally
oblivious to their own problem. They consider it not, as the
words say there. That problem, see, is measured
against God's holy standard of judgment. And we discussed how
this was characteristic of most of religion, as deceived preachers
promote taking care of the sin problem, see, of others with
an imagined remedy that's very telling. It involves him making
judgments based on the outward appearance, contrary to God's
Christ command in John 7, 24. He's seat because their doctrine
imagines that salvation is conditioned, at least in some way and into
some degree on the center. OK, and so therefore they measure
thereby based on outward appearance on the center rather than on
Christ alone. imagining it to be conditioned
there. So he ends verse 5 saying, this being would need to be removed
if you're to be qualified to address the sin problem of others,
to relate how that can be addressed. And then as he moves into verse
6, it's as if he's saying, but you who are qualified, to whom
God's remedy has been revealed. This beam that has been cast
out of your eye, who can see clearly how to speak to men about
God's remedy for their sin problem. He cautions them in verse 6,
and this begins our text for today. He says, give not that
which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again
and rend you. We're going to come back and
look at this verse in more detail, but remember now I'm just wanting
to capture the flow of this passage in its context. Christ is saying,
don't take that most precious of gifts, like I'm here to pearls,
that which has been revealed unto you, and push it upon those
who show no interest whatsoever, who want nothing to do with what
you are promoting, who will take, see, that which is most precious
to you. What the scripture says is the
savor of life unto life to some. and they'll trample upon it.
Now, if you think about it, here's Christ is, you remember in the
very beginning in Matthew 5, it says he was speaking, his
disciples were with him, and a multitude of folks were there.
And at the end of the sermon, the end of chapter 7, we see
that they were astonished, it says, at his doctrine. So don't you imagine all these
different types of folks there as they heard these words of
Christ that some may have wondered, and it's a good question for
any reading this today to wonder, is there a beam in my eye that
I'm not considering, that I don't perceive? And then they hear
him here in verse 6 turn around and say unto those who have seen
Christ in his way of salvation, to whom it has been revealed,
for whom this beam is being cast out, he says, but don't take
that valuable truth and cast it before the swine, before those
who want nothing to do with it. So I can imagine some may have
wondered, could I be among those he's referring to as dogs and
swine here? And, you know, and that's certainly
reasonable. When you consider the scriptures,
tell us that's how we all essentially start out. That is, as it says,
none, they all have gone out of the way, none righteous. We're like the children of wrath
by nature. We're born in darkness. So we're
at enmity with God, the scripture says. So that's a good question,
a good line of reasoning. But then as we move into verse
seven, Christ is graciously here telling his hearers, including
some who may have been thinking, but wait a minute, what if I'm
interested in this? These pearls of wisdom, what
if I want to be able to judge a rite? And in the context, Christ
is telling them, it would appear to these, if you desire these
pearls, verse seven, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek,
and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth. And he that
seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
And then he backs that up as we go forward in verses 9. There
he says, What man is there among you whom, if his son ask bread,
will he give him a stone? He's asking for sustenance. And
he's saying, Would you not give your son what he asked for? These
are rhetorical questions here. He says, Or if he ask a fish,
will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your heavenly Father, or your Father, excuse me, which is in
heaven, give good things to them that ask him? Now, we're going
to come back and look at this passage here in more detail,
too. But notice how he's supporting his declaration that if you seek,
you're going to find. And he does that in verses 9
through 11 here by reasoning from the lesser to the greater,
from the sinner to God. He's really putting the character
of God as a loving father on the line here in asserting that
if you sinners, now being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall the heavenly father give
good things to them that ask him. So what we see is there's
no waffling in this assertion, ask and receive, seek and find.
knocking it shall be open." And there's no ambiguity here. He
states that everyone who asks for that which he is speaking,
they will receive. Who seeks that which they're
commanded to seek, they will find. Who knocks at the right
door shall have it opened. Now that That explicit declaration
from our Lord, it ought to grab our attention. I mean, these
are these are God's words. And there's no like I say, there's
no fuzziness about just a description of a characteristic and an accompanying
outcome that is associated with that description. We will we're
going to wait until next week to look at verses 12 through
14 in any detail, but I do want to read on down through there,
because I want you to see not only the verses previous to our
text for today, but I want you to see what comes after it. He
begins there, so look with me in verse 12, where he says, Therefore,
all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do
you even so to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
Now, we're going to spend more time next week addressing this
verse, a verse that's often called the golden rule. and see how
it fits in this context. But for today's purposes, I just
want to direct you on down to verses 13 and 14, where Christ
commands, enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in there at, because straight is a gate, and
narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it. Now, I think seeing these words that immediately
follow our text today, it makes it even clearer that Christ has
stayed right on subject all along. He's sticking with the theme
of his sermon, the gospel of the kingdom. This dominion or
reign, rule of grace, as we heard about in the 10 o'clock hour,
grace reigning through righteousness, Romans 5, 21. And he's talking,
see, about the vital issues of the kingdom of heaven, of entrance
into heaven. And I believe he was doing so
back in verses 1 through 5 when he spoke of the standard of judgment,
of our need, see, to adopt the standard by which we, by which
he, God, makes judgments pertaining to what? Our eternal destiny. I believe he was on the same
subject when he spoke in verse 6 of casting your pearls before
swine, of refraining from sharing the gospel of the kingdom with
those who want no part of that treasure of eternal value. And
I believe this was still his subject when he spoke of those
who could be assured, see, of finding his way. He described
them as those who ask of him, who seek his kingdom and his
righteousness, and who knock at the door, the straight gate,
the narrow way, Christ himself. Now, I hope just looking at these
verses all together helps you get the flow of this. It was
real helpful to me to see how this all kind of ties together.
And with that overview then, let's go back and look at these
in a little more detail, beginning with verse six. Starting there,
Christ says, give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither
cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under
their feet and turn again and rend you. He says, Don't give
that which is holy." Now, his hearers here, they most likely
would have understood this to allude to the meat from the sacrificial
offerings. It was considered holy. And one
reason we know that is the law forbade them from giving any
of that meat of the sacrifice, from feeding it to the dogs.
Under the Mosaic law, dogs and swine, they were considered unholy
and unclean animals. The Israelites were prohibited
from using them for food or for sacrifices. In fact, if they
sold a dog, they couldn't take the proceeds. According to the
law of Moses, they couldn't take the proceeds from the sale of
a dog and contribute that to the house of God. So his hearers
would have would have certainly understood it that way. But I
believe having also heard the entire sermon up to this point,
they likely understood the analogy Christ was setting forth when
he speaks of these pearls. These pearls of great value.
It's clear that he's referring to the very word of God, the
very gospel wherein the righteousness of the kingdom sea is revealed.
He was telling those who know or who would come to know and
adopt his standard of judgment, those who would trust solely
in the finished work of Christ in that righteousness. He's telling
them there to withhold delivering or communicating the precious
truth of this gospel. to those they know would turn
on them and treat their most prized possession with disdain. Those who show no regard for
or interest in the just satisfaction of God that is only found in
the person and work of Christ, and not only who don't show interest,
as we all begin this walk, but who show animosity toward it.
Proverbs 23, 9 says, speak not in the ears of a fool. And I
think that's speaking of a spirit, a spiritual fool, as we all are,
as we start out in this world. He says, for he will despise
the wisdom of thy words. And consider what Christ said
in Matthew 15, 14 of the Pharisees. He said, let them alone. They
be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both shall fall in the ditch. Let them alone, he said. The
picture here, see, is that the unregenerate, that is, those
to whom God has not yet given spiritual life, they have no
more capacity to value and appreciate the gospel message, the gospel
message of his kingdom, of salvation condition on Christ alone than
swine have to rate pearls at their true value. Think about
that figure of speech of the pearls. First thing, it conveys
to us that That this is how we should regard this precious truth
and gospel as valuables, as riches. We're talking about the contents
of God's word, the gospel itself, because it sets forth the Christian's
precious treasure. You may be reminded, as I was,
of the parable in Matthew 13. It's just a couple of verses,
so no need to turn there. But Christ said this in verse
45. He said, again, the kingdom of
heaven is likened to a merchant man. seeking goodly pearls, who,
when he had found one pearl of great price, he went and sold
all that he had and bought it. The pearls here refer to the
goods of this kingdom and that which is revealed in God's word
concerning how sinners are saved, the righteousness of this kingdom.
And when that beam in the eye, that blindness is lifted in the
life-giving work of God the Holy Spirit, we behold the riches
that are in Christ. We're blessed to have been given
eyes that look to Him alone, based upon that which He accomplished
in His life and death. You see, one with God-given faith,
he rejoices in the truth, looking to Christ, nowhere else, to His
person and His finished work as their most precious treasure.
You can picture this, a little boy goes into his mom's jewelry
box and he's rambles around in there finds a string of her favorite
pearls and he takes them he walks outside and there on the family
farm he goes and he throws them in the pig pen they have there
knowing just for kicks knowing all along that that pig's gonna
root it around and drag it through the mud and tear it into pieces
and the mom does she when she discovers this what will she
do she'll probably punish him she'll teach him that we don't
intentionally treat valuables to that kind of treatment She'll
explain that these things were expensive. They came at a great
cost. Well, back to our analogy, think of what it cost our Lord
to acquire the salvation of his people, no less than his own
precious blood. And I think that's what Christ
is communicating here. He said, look, I came here to
die for this. So do not knowingly subject this
precious gospel, wherein the righteousness that Christ would
work out. is revealed, don't subject it
to that kind of treatment. We also see in this verse, this
commands really for our own good, the eternally blessed are going
to suffer some persecution. We learned that from the Sermon
on the Mount itself. He said, blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake. But we don't have to seek it.
We don't have a persecution complex. It will come over the gospel,
over what the Bible calls the offense of the cross. So, If
and when we see there is no interest, we wait. We see there's animosity,
we wait. As Christ said of the Pharisees,
at that point, we leave them alone. And when I began this,
this kind of goes against my own natural grain a little bit
to share this. I'm one that likes to think,
what else can we do to call someone like I can call someone? to believe
this gospel. And the first verse that came
to my mind was a passage, you may be thinking of it as well,
in 1 Peter 3, verse 15 there. It tells us we're to be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. And, you know,
we always emphasize it just that way. We're to be ready always,
stand ready always. to give an answer to every man,
but it says to him that asketh. And see, those who ask, they're
not, that wouldn't be descriptive of the pigs and swine of verse
six. And those who ask compatible with seeking God on his terms,
as we see in verses seven and eight, they shall receive and
they shall find. And what a privilege it is for
us to just play even some small role in just communicating, being
a mouthpiece of sorts, of that message. But even then, we're
warned there in 1 Peter 3, aren't we? We're to share that which
God has revealed to us with meekness and fear. We see a reverential
regard for the honor of God's character, knowing who made us
to differ. It's not our eloquence or our
wisdom that makes the difference. We see that salvation is truly
of the Lord. And if Christ, you know, and
what he accomplished, his righteousness, if it's that valuable to you,
if it's your only hope for eternal life, you really shouldn't need
any priding. I don't know why I should fear
relating verse 6 to you. But if it's someone you care
about, because if you value the gospel, it's like Paul wrote
in 2 Corinthians 5.11. Knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. We are ready to give an answer
to them that ask it. We know what's at stake. And
Christ is telling us to see that this desire to let our light
shine before men, as he said earlier in his sermon, that it's
to be tempered with wisdom. We're not to take this valuable
gospel and try to force it on those who want nothing to do
with it. But what about the poor sinner that is interested? Look
at the next verse, verse 7, to him he says, ask and it shall
be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened
unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened. As I've already pointed out,
it's obvious this can't be referring to everything and anything that
anyone might imagine to ask for, seek after, or any door they
might decide to knock upon. And I know to many of you that's
very, very obvious who have sat under this gospel. But I make
mention of it because, you know, there's so much in this religious
world. It's so prevalent that you have
folks who have treated these verses like it's a blank check
and you can just fill in anything you would like. And then there's
a multitude of preachers in pulpits feeding that imagination and
telling them that the reality of the fact that they don't get
everything they're asked for is based on their faith not being
quite strong enough or whatever. They make very little mention
of the object of that faith, but just if they had greater
faith, then they could claim this promise. And that's not
what Christ is saying here. James 4.3 says this, ye ask and
receive not." Now Christ said in Matthew 7, ask and you shall
receive. James 4, 3 says, ye ask and receive not because ye
ask amiss. Now to ask amiss, amiss, that
word means badly or in evil, sinfully. And to ask amiss would
be acting in concert with what Christ had described earlier
when he said, don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth
where moth and rust corrupt and so forth. but rather in heaven. You see, it's to seek the blessings
of this world first. I think that's included in asking
amiss, not seeking first, as he said, just a few verses back
from before our text in Matthew 6, 33, seeking first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness. But see, to ask amiss and receive
not would also describe those who desire, who desire heaven. So they may be applying an eternal
significance to this, but they seek salvation sinfully. In other words, they ask sinfully
because they're seeking it in a way of their own devising condition
on themselves. See, based on something other
than or in addition to his righteousness, which he had commanded. Seek
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. John 14, 13,
and 14, Christ told his disciples this. He said, whatsoever you
shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in
my name, I will do it. Now, that's a bold assertion
there as well. You see, to ask in his name is
to ask of him as he is identified. As Jeremiah identified him, the
Lord our righteousness. Asking, see, for that which is
consistent with his way of salvation. Not the way that seemeth right
unto men, but the end is destruction, but God's way. Asking, it's to
submit to the very perfect will of God. Thy will be done, and
it shall be done. God's purposes shall take place. He does not promise to give us
all we ask for, but rather all we ask for in His name, in accordance
with who He is, in accordance with His will and His purpose
and His way. Now, why does He promise that?
Does He promise to give us that because we ask it? No, it's because
it's His will, and His will shall be done. God's counsel shall
stand. He's God. That's why. Listen,
if you believe in a sovereign God who determines, the scripture
says, the end from the beginning, then you know that His will shall
be done. Ask in His will and whatever you ask shall be done.
It's that simple. Be turning to Luke chapter 11.
I want to share a parallel passage, I think, that supports that this
is the sense of these verses. He's not talking about... He's
talking about the way of salvation, the way of entrance into heaven.
He's staying on subject is what I'm trying to communicate here
in this sermon. He's speaking of the way into
his kingdom and that's what he's referring to in this verse 9
that we were just looking at in Matthew 7. If you would though
look there in verse 9 of Luke 11. where Christ is repeating
these same words. It says, And I say unto you,
Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. And if you continue down, you'll
see it's essentially the very same words we were reading in
Matthew 7. But skip down to verse 13. There we read, If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
same language, How much more shall your heavenly Father give
good things? No, he doesn't say that here,
does he? How much shall he give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask him? That's why I'm convinced, see,
that this deliverance from our blindness, this beam in the eye,
this coming to see our need for God's mercy in Christ, that's
what Christ is commanding us to seek to ask for, to seek,
and knock after, because that's what the Holy Spirit reveals.
That's what the testimony of Scripture says about the Holy
Spirit's work. Christ said, when I send the
comforter, He said, He's going to speak of me. He's going to
direct us to Christ and nowhere else. The Holy Spirit, that's
His work. He causes sinners to ask, seek,
and knock at the door of Christ, based upon His righteousness
alone. So, it says ask. Whom do we ask? Back when we
studied the manner of prayer, asking is prayer. And when we
petitioned before God, and when we were studying the manner of
prayer back earlier in chapter six, we saw that we're to pray,
our father, which art in heaven. We're asking God because he's
the source and the originator of our salvation. You'll recall
from our study there in that passage, which most folks call
the Lord's prayer, that we covered how that's what prayer is. It's
an acknowledgement that everything comes from God. Christ has already
told us that he knows our needs before we ask. We do not pray
so as to inform God of anything, yet we make our requests known
unto God. And in doing so, what we're doing
is we're submitting to his sovereignty in all things. We're acknowledging
that if God is pleased to grant us our desires, our wishes, whatever
we express, we're acknowledging that it will be according to
his purpose. But this praying, see, it's an acknowledgment and
a submission to that sovereignty of God in everything. But this
praying here in Matthew 7, 8, when he says, ask and you shall
receive, I believe it is an acknowledgment. It, too, is an acknowledgment
and a submission to the sovereignty of God, but specifically to the
sovereignty of God in salvation. God's going to save whom he will,
that he must give it. And as long, see, as we continue
to imagine that our salvation is conditioned, even in part
by something that's done by me, through me, that I think God
has enabled me to do, Then that asking is not asking the sovereign
God of the Bible as he's identified. We're just trying in that sense
to cut a deal with a God of our imagination. It's like it's almost
like we've imagined that he's entered into a contract with
us and said, OK, ask if you want to get into heaven, you can. That's almost the way that verse
is so often read. And so what has happened is in
that perception of things, we imagine, OK, It's now in my hands. God dispenses with His justice
the satisfaction that must be made to the law and justice of
God, this very righteousness which Christ came to establish.
And we say, OK, now I can save myself. And you see, by just
doing my part, I may give credit to God for most of it, but if
I'll just believe, if I'll just say a sinner's prayer, whatever
that thing is, or combination of things, You will say you imagine
people imagine as I once did that God in his mercy Handed
it over to me Well, you no longer asking this God. That's that's
a God of our imagination Recalling our study in the manner of prayer
how Christ instructed them to pray. He said pray thy kingdom
come and Thy will be done in the earth as it is in heaven."
That's the same subject he's talking about asking about here
in Matthew 7. It's a recognition, see. He's talking about that
kingdom that he would have established in his perfect will being done
in the earth by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a recognition I
have to have from God, see, the imputation of what he accomplished
as my substitute in perfect compliance to the Father's will in the earth.
in the life and death sea of our Lord to establish righteousness."
That's the good things which the Holy Spirit reveals to God's
people in time in each successive generation. And it says, seek. We're to seek after what? Well,
essentially, we're to seek after that which we ask God to reveal
unto us, that which is good for us, the very sustenance we need
from God. We asked that he'd grant a spiritual
life based on one thing, the righteousness of his son, the
righteousness of this kingdom. And he says he's going to grant
the gift of the Holy Spirit to remove the beam from the eye
of our understanding for all those who are seeking this, seeking
his kingdom and righteousness. Hasn't he already told us that?
It's real clear what we're to seek after. Just a few verses
prior, in Matthew 6, 33, he said, seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. Proverbs 21, 21 reads, he that
followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness,
and honor. I like that. He that followeth
after righteousness and mercy. There's only one righteousness.
There's only one perfect satisfaction to the law and justice of God.
But in that men imagine that salvation is based on our meeting
some, at least some requirement, playing some part, he says, follow
us after righteousness and mercy. So, lest you be deceived, I love
it when it's put like that. He's saying it's mercy. You follow after righteousness
and mercy, that would exclude any righteousness of your own.
You're following after righteousness, that one perfect righteousness
and mercy, meaning the unmerited favor of God based on satisfaction
having been made, based on that very righteousness he's saying
to follow after. And he says, he findeth life,
righteousness, and honor. There's no ambiguity in that
declaration either, is there? And I think that's what this
is all about. It is to seek this, his righteousness. And look, we cannot isolate the
seeking from that which is being sought, his righteousness. So
then any who so seek after his righteousness, they realize that
this search automatically in and of itself, by definition,
excludes the asking, the seeking, and the knocking as having any
causal role in the receiving or the finding. You see, because
the righteousness that's being sought is the perfection before
God that is merited by Christ alone. Nothing can be added to
contribute additional merit to it. And think of the audacity
that we all start out on a religious road doing just that. thinking
we can add something to the very righteousness of Christ. You
see, his work at Calvary really did finish the job. When he said
it was finished, all the merit that a sinner needs was established
right there. He merited all of salvation,
including the gift of faith and repentance for all those for
whom he established that righteousness. And that faith, see, it's given
not to acquire Christ in his righteousness, as if that's another
condition to be met, but it's simply to behold it, to make
it known, to reveal it unto us that we can worship him in spirit
and in truth. He's shown in chapters 5 and
6 the futility of thinking that we could contribute one iota
toward that merit that only Christ can and did produce. You remember
that's what he said in Matthew 5 when he said, Think not, I
come to destroy the law and the prophets. I didn't come to destroy.
I came to fulfill every jot and tittle. Remember, we talked about
how that jot was the Hebrew word, jot, the smallest letter in the
Hebrew language, as is iota in the Greek language. You see,
there's not one iota left to be done because that's what he
said he came to do. Every iota. Finally, we're to not. But where? We normally knock at a door,
an entryway, and that door is Christ. In John 10, 7, Christ
said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. And then in verse 9, he continues
saying, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall
be saved. He's the door. John 14, 6, Jesus
said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And no man cometh
unto the Father, But by me, there's no other way. Back in the Sermon
on the Mount, we just read down in verses 13 and 14, and there
we see another description of that entryway upon which sinners
are to knock. Christ describes it as the straight
gate. Straight, S-T-R-A-I-T. That is a narrow gate. And you
see, there's no room in that passageway for anything other
than that which He accomplished. God's not going to share His
glory. Christ is going to have all of the preeminence. To see
the certainty of salvation condition on his person and his accomplished
work alone, in satisfaction to God's justice, has to knock at
this door. That's what it is to enter at
this gate. And if you've been blessed, see, with eyes to see
and value that, no other door will do. You're not interested
in what's behind door number two and three and four. There's
only one door that will do for you. And we're going to look
at those verses 13 and 14 some more next week. And also next
week, I want to share some scriptural examples that make me believe
that this knocking here is indicative of one who's so convinced of
this one way of salvation. It's like a beggar who's knocking
at the door. And he knows this is where I've
got to get what I need. And he will not be deterred.
I think that's the sense we're to take away from this knocking.
that he speaks of. You see, he's revealed this priceless
treasure to them, and they don't like the disciples when he said,
well, you leave me too. And he said, well, where will
we go? We don't have anywhere else to go. As I say, I'm going
to deal with this same passage some more next week, but in closing
today, I want you to consider how are we to deal? What are
we to do with these clear, explicit assertions by Christ? How are
we to take them and apply them as sinners like you and I? We
know that none of his own accord will ask, seek, and knock God's
way unless and until God does work. But you and I, see, we're
not privy to the secret will and purpose of God. We know that
the scriptures teach us that before the world began, God chose
a people. He elected a people from whom
Christ, God the Son, came, lived, and died. And then as Christ
said in John 6, 37, all those that the Father giveth me, the
very election that he was given to Christ, he said, they shall
come to me. They will see, ask, seek, and
not. But he doesn't reveal to us ahead
of time who this election of grace consists of. These, that
Christ says, are given to him by God the Father. A sinner only
learns of his own election by God, see, in hindsight, by its
evidence of God-given faith and repentance. And how do I know
if it's God-given faith and repentance? Because it causes us to look
to Christ alone for all of our salvation, to the exclusion of
all else. But God has graciously provided
for us in his word, his revealed will, for us. He does so in the scriptures
by way of commands, including the commands that we've looked
at this morning. And we are responsible and should follow his commands
and seek him where he may be found in the preaching of the
gospel, wherein his righteousness is revealed. Romans 1, 16 and
17. You know, as we read in Isaiah
55, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. call upon him while
he's near. His righteousness has been brought
near and is brought near anytime this gospel message is preached. He says in the scripture, it
pleases him by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
are lost. So it's been brought near even this day. So what about
those who hear this message? Well, as I've said in the past,
I'm optimistic anytime someone hears this message, if for no
other reason It's such a rare privilege in the world in which
we live. In the midst of all this religious clutter that really
is trumping forth practically from every pulpit on every street
corner, God has providentially placed you under the sound of
His gospel. Now, how do I know it's His?
How do I know it's not theirs? Because Paul said in Romans 1,
16 and 17, it's the power of God unto salvation because therein
is the righteousness of God revealed. You and I, we can't know the
secret things of God, but we can desire to exhibit these evidences
of His blessing. And if, and when we do, what
a glorious thing to see we behold a certain priceless and eternal
treasure. And you know, we're to continue
to ask and seek and knock at that same door as God continues
to reveal more and more of the value of that as we grow in grace
and knowledge. You know, we can lose our health
and our wealth and our friends and our fame, and yet this treasure
remains forever. It's incorruptible, not like
treasures on earth. And it's a wonderful blessing,
if you think about it, to know of the absolute certainty of
salvation based upon the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're talking about God's work, His work. I'm not talking about
the work of any mere mortal human being. We're talking about the
very work of God made mine by God's judicial imputation of
it to me, to my account. So it's certainty. That's how
we know that certainty. That's where our assurance comes
from, because it's conditioned on one that cannot fail. It's
the impeccable, spotless Lamb of God. who cannot and who did
not fail, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord our righteousness. So
if you're not sure that describes you, but God has piqued your
interest even today, hear God's word. Ask. Ask earnestly that
the sovereign God of this universe will reveal Christ and his righteousness
unto you. Recognizing that that is absolutely
necessary because he is sovereign in all things including salvation. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness and do so with diligent determination
to the exclusion of any other way and knock. Knock at the door of Christ who
clearly tells us that he is the way and none can come to the
Father but by him. Look, knock as one who will not
be deterred, convinced that the only way to heaven is through
Christ, having that which Christ accomplished, righteousness,
charged to your account. Ask, and it shall be given you.
Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you.