All right, Matthew chapter 7.
The title of the lesson this morning is Dogs and Swine. I
have spent a great deal of time looking at this one verse that's
in our text this morning. Chapter 7 of Matthew, verse 6. Give not that which is holy unto
dogs. Neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again
and wring you. I remember our lesson last week
began in verse one, judge not that you be not judged. And I
told you how the master is teaching us here to not be harshly judgmental
about the things that that people do. He's not telling us we can't
make a judgment about right and wrong. What we do is right and
wrong. What someone else does is right
or wrong. He's not telling us we can't make a judgment about
those things. He's telling us don't be harshly judgmental about
those things. Don't be critical and condemning.
One of the reasons I know that he's saying, you know, he's not
teaching, you can't make a judgment about things is immediately after
he says, judge not that you be not judged. The Lord tells us
to make a determination about who's a dog and who is a swine
and how we are to deal with those people. Now, dogs, dogs were
unclean animals and the law forbid if you had a dog. I don't, I
can't tell how many people actually own dogs at that time. I think
that time, mostly dogs were just kind of wild, but you couldn't
sell a dog and then bring the proceeds of it, give the proceeds
of it to the temple. That was forbidden. You were
forbidden to feed a dog, a clean thing. Dogs can only be fed unclean
things. So dogs represent the unclean. They represent those who've been
rejected by God. Now look over at Philippians
chapter three, who, who is a dog? We know that that's what a canine
was, how the law handled a canine, a dog. But this is not speaking
about canines. This is speaking about people.
Well, who is a dog? Well, dogs are legalists. Dogs
are the self-righteous who try to earn a righteousness by keeping
the law. Philippians chapter 3, verse
2, beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware
of the concision. Dogs are people who say you have
to keep part of the law in order to be saved. The example Paul
is using here is circumcision. At that time there were many
people who claimed to believe the gospels who also said you
also have to be circumcised. You have to believe Christ and
be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul calls those people
dogs. That's who a dog is. Commanding
people that they have to keep part of the law. That makes you
a dog. And that is not a good thing.
You know, telling people, oh, you have to keep the law. You're
not making better people by doing that. Paul calls them evil workers. Evil. Telling somebody to keep
the law in order to be a better person is an evil worker. That's an unclean dog. And when
someone insists, they insist on using the law as a way to
earn a righteousness after they've heard the gospel. And they reject
that. They insist. are not trusting Christ alone,
are not resting in God's grace alone, but they insist on using
the law as a way to earn a righteousness, something better than Christ
alone. God's word says, you leave them alone. Now that flies in
the wisdom of today's world says you got to love everybody, no
matter what God's word says, leave them alone, leave them
alone. And that kind of judgment, takes wisdom. This is one of
the reasons I spent so much time looking at this one verse this
week. This is serious business now. And this takes wisdom, God-given
wisdom, because this commandment can't be automatically applied
to everybody who's in false religion. You know, the Lord might save
them. So this can't be automatically applied to everybody in false
religion. It only applies to those who hear the gospel of
God's free and sovereign grace, and they willfully reject it.
Now look at Matthew chapter 15. The word dog that was used here
in our text made me think of this story, Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15, you know
the story here of the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was grievously
vexed with the devil. Verse 25, Then came she and worshiped
him, saying, well, go back up verse 24. What made her come
and worship him? Well, it's what he said in verse 24. He answered
and said, I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. Then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But
he answered and said, it's not me. It's not right to take the
children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, truth,
Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and
said to her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even
as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
that very hour. So what about this woman? The
Lord called her a dog and she admitted she was a dog. So what
about this woman? The Lord had mercy on her, didn't
he? Well, I look this up. The word dog here used in this
verse is a different Greek word than the word dog used back in
our text in Matthew chapter 7. This word dog that the Lord used,
this woman says she was a dog, means puppy. And the only time
that Greek word is ever used in the word of God refers to
this woman. It's the only time. Every other
time the word dog is used in the New Testament, it means a
hound, an unclean dog. So this is who a dog is, a legalist,
self-righteous person, not somebody who's unclean by nature, not
somebody who needs mercy, but someone who is a legalist, a
self-righteous person who refuses the gospel of God's grace. That's
who a dog is. All right, look at 2 Peter 2.
We know who a dog is. Well, who is a swine? Well, swine
were unclean animals. And someone is a swine, you know,
the Lord's not talking here about a pig, a hog, When he speaks
of swine, he's speaking of a person. Someone is a swine who hears
the gospel, hears the gospel of Christ, and they reject it.
They refuse to believe it because they desire salvation by their
works. They despise salvation by grace
alone. They want their works to enter
into it somehow. And they may hear the gospel
for a while, but ultimately they reject it and they go back to
their works religion. 2 Peter 2 verse 20. For if, after
they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge,
through a head knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end
is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them
not to have known the way of righteousness, then after that
they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered
unto them. But it has happened unto them according to the true
proverb, the dog has turned to his own vomit again and the sow
that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Now this swine,
the sow that Peter writes of here is a person who's heard
the gospel, but they rejected it. They apparently kind of stayed
under the sound of the gospel for a while, but ultimately they
rejected it and they went back to their false works religion. And their religion is not good
in any way, in any way. It's better for them to never
being heard any religion at all. Scripture calls their works religion
vomit and mire. It's not good in any way. Now
that's a swine. Here's something else about swine.
Swine are fitting places for demons to live. You know the
story of the Gadarene demoniac. The Lord, that legion that was
in that demoniac, commanded them to leave and they asked permission
to go into that herd of swine. And the Lord gave them permission.
They went into that herd of swine and the demons entered that swine,
that herd of swine and destroyed every last one of them. Ran them
into the sea and drowned them, choked them to death. So we know
who dogs and swine are. Now what is this holy thing? and the pearls that the Lord
talks about. He said, don't cast that which is holy and don't
give your pearls to dogs and swan. Well, what is that which
is holy that the Lord's talking about? Well, the word holy that
the Lord uses means just what you think it means. It means
pure and blameless. Well, that can only be talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior. So giving that which
is holy is preaching Christ. is preaching Christ our holiness.
Christ is our only hope, our only way to be made holy. Giving
that which is holy is preaching Christ our righteousness, telling
people of Christ, the only one who ever obeyed God's law. And
the only way we can be made righteous is through his obedience, not
ours. That's giving that which is holy to people. Giving that
which is holy is preaching that sinners are made righteous in
Christ, our representative, through what he did as the representative
of his people. Just like all sons and daughters
of Adam are made sinners by what Adam, our representative, did
through his disobedience. That's how we all became sinners.
In the exact same way, God's people become holy through what
Christ, our representative, did for his people. When he obeyed
the law, we did too. That's the only way we can be
made holy. Now that preaching that is giving that which is
holy to people. All right, what are the pearls
that the Lord is talking about? Well, he can only be talking
about Christ, the pearl of great price. Now casting our pearls
is preaching the value of Christ, preaching how much we need Christ. Casting our pearls is preaching
that Christ is sufficient. He's all sufficient. He is all
you need. All it takes to save a sinner
is the Lord Jesus Christ, because He's the pearl of great price.
Casting our pearls is preaching that Christ, His blood, His person
is so valuable, so precious. Unto you therefore which believe,
He is precious. He is His precious pearl. He
is so precious, He's sufficient to pay all my sin debt. All I
need to pay that debt is Christ and Christ alone. The suffering
and the death of Christ is sufficient to put away all of my sin, all
of the sin of all of his people because of who suffered and died.
The Holy One suffered and died. That makes his death precious,
able to pay for the sin of his people. So he is the pearl. Christ
is our holiness, the only holy thing we have. He is our holiness
and Christ is our pearl. He's the only thing of any value
that we have. All right, this is what took
my breath as I began to study this passage this week. The Lord
says, don't give that which is holy. Don't cast your pearls
before dogs and swans. Don't give it to them. I looked at that and I thought,
well, I know what the Lord's not saying here. I know that
the Lord is not saying we should not preach, that we should never
preach the gospel to swine and pigs. I'm glad somebody preached
the gospel to this dog. You know, I'm glad for that.
I know that that's not what the Lord's saying because he commanded
us go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,
to everyone, everywhere that the Lord gives us the opportunity.
Everyone needs to hear of Christ the Savior. He is the need, the
great need of every person on this planet. And we're to go
preach the gospel to them. Every time the Lord gives us
the opportunity. Everyone is a sinner who needs
Christ. He is their only hope. And we're
to preach him to them. We're to preach the gospel to
the lost. We're to welcome the lost here. We're to welcome lost visitors
here, no matter what their background is. So I know the Lord is not
teaching us that we're to bar dogs and swine from entering
into the worship service. As long as they're not a disruption,
not causing disruption, as long as they're not sowing discord,
you know, among the congregation, we're to welcome them. And we're
to preach these precious truths of the gospel to them. We're
to preach the vital necessity of Christ our holiness. We're
to preach to them the preciousness of Christ. These are the precious
truths of the gospel. Well, what does the Lord mean
when he says don't give that which is holy to dogs? Don't
cast your pearls before swine. I believe he means several things.
Let me give you about four things that kind of came to mind on
this. Number one is this. The Lord
means after they've rejected the gospel. Don't hound them
and hound them and hound them after they've rejected the gospel.
Let them go. Titus chapter three. No, we're
not. Someone comes in and here's the
gospel and they stay here for a while and then they leave the
gospel. Well, that doesn't mean we're
to ignore them. You know, the first time that, uh, that they
do it, we're not to ignore them. Um, we'd be wise to, you know,
kind of contact them and see them and find out what's the
matter. The first time that they do that. No, we're not to ignore
them. That's not what the Lord means here. Titus here in Titus
chapter three, verse 10, I believe Paul tells us what the Lord is
speaking of here. A man that is an heretic after
the first and second admonition reject, knowing that he that
is such is subverted and sinneth being condemned of himself. Now someone, you know, comes
and leaves the gospel and then they, or hears the gospel and
they leave it and they deny it. But we're to talk to someone
who's in that kind of error. You know, especially if we thought,
well, they've been here a while, we thought they were a brother
and then they left. We're to talk to them about their error,
point out to them their error once, even twice. But Paul says
after the second admonition, and they will not repent, they
will not turn. We are to reject them. To have
no company with them, to not have any fellowship with them,
to not keep hounding them about this matter. They're condemned
of themselves. Leave them alone. That's what
the word of God says. And if you look back at Matthew chapter
10, this was the Lord's commandment to his disciples. As he sent
them out, he told them, you're going to go everywhere preaching.
You're going to go into this town and preach and in this town and
preach. Some people will hear you. Some
people won't. Well, Matthew 10 verse 14, he gives the instruction
here about those that will not hear the gospel. Matthew 10 verse
14. And whosoever shall not receive
you or hear your words, when you depart out of that house
or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto
you, it should be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for that city. So we're not to keep
hounding them about their error. Just leave them alone. Because
listen, if the spirit of God does not show Christ to them
through the preaching of the gospel, If the Spirit of God
does not give them heart-faith in Christ through the preaching
of the gospel, I promise you are nagging them. Scripture never
tells us that Christ is revealed through nagging. It doesn't. It says through preaching. Now,
we are to faithfully preach the gospel. Faithfully. But if someone
rejects it, we're not to hound them about it. Just leave them
in the Lord's hand to deal with as He sees fit. So don't keep
hounding them about it. That's the first thing he means.
Number two, I believe he means this. After someone rejects the
gospel, don't try to make peace with them by compromising the
gospel. Don't try to make peace with
them by finding one or two things, you know, you might agree on
if we disagree on Christ, on his righteousness, being our
only righteousness, on his sacrifice, being our only hope. Don't don't
try to make peace with them by pretending You believe the same
thing when you don't. The word give that our Lord uses
there. Don't give that which is holy
to dogs. The word means to bestow or to offer. Whatever you do,
don't offer Christ's righteousness to everybody in this world. No,
the gospel is not an offer. It's a commandment. And don't
bestow it upon people to whom it does not belong. Don't say
someone is holy. when they've rejected Christ
as their only righteousness. I don't care how nice they are,
I don't care how moral they are, I don't care what a good neighbor
they are. We cannot say they're holy if they've rejected Christ,
our only righteousness. Don't say somebody's clean and
holy when they've rejected the gospel of Christ. If they reject
the sacrifice of Christ, how can they be clean? They've rejected
the only blood that can wash us white as snow. So don't say
something belongs to somebody when it doesn't belong to them.
There's only one gospel that God Almighty uses, just one. And that's not being narrow.
That's just so. And everyone who's religious,
everyone who's a good and kind and decent person is not saved. That's not the definition of
a saved person. The only people are saved are
those who believe this gospel, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I show you that in first Corinthians chapter 16. First Corinthians chapter 16.
Verse 22. If any man loved not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. And those two words,
anathema maranatha means let them be damned when Christ returns. for serious business in it. Paul
says, let everyone who does not believe this gospel, who does
not believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he is
our holiness, that he's our righteousness, that he is our salvation. If
they do not love Christ, the pearl of great price, then let
them be damned of Christ's return. Because there's only one gospel
God uses to save sinners. It's the gospel that declares
the only savior. the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's
just one, one of those gospels. Look at Galatians chapter one. Galatians chapter one. Verse six. I marvel that you're so soon
removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ
unto another gospel, which is not another. See, there's not
another gospel. There's just one which is not another. But
there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ. But though we or an angel from
heaven preach any other gospel, any other message, any other
way of salvation unto you than that which you which we've preached
unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, So say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
you have received, let him be accursed. Now Paul says, let
everyone who rejects this gospel be damned because there's just
one. And he says it twice to be sure
we got it. He said, you got this? If any
man preach any other gospel to you, let him be accursed. Now
listen to me, like I said a minute ago, I know that flies in the
face of the common way we want to do things today to love everybody
no matter what. But this is not a harsh view
of men. And this is not being unloving
to say if somebody believes in their gospel, let them be damned.
They will be. That's not being unloving. That's
love for God. Love God or me. That's love for
God. It's not being harsh. That's being truthful. And we
are to leave those people alone who have rejected this gospel,
and God will judge them in his time. All right, thirdly, I believe
the Lord means this. He's saying, don't coddle swine
and dogs, those who have turned their back and rejected the gospel.
Don't coddle them so that they think what they're doing is okay.
You know, when someone rejects the gospel, they reject the person
and work of Christ. in the redemption of God's people,
God's people are to have no fellowship with them. Now, that doesn't
mean you have to be rude to them when you see them, but we're
not to have fellowship with them. We're not to invite them to eat
with us. We're not to say, oh, how much I love you and act like
nothing's wrong when it is. Because by doing that, this is
what you're doing. You're giving them the impression
what you're doing is okay. It's okay with me that you've
rejected the gospel. It's okay with me that you've
rejected Christ. No, it's not okay with me. It's not okay with me. First
of all, because this is the gospel of my savior. Anybody who hates
it, I got a problem. Don't you? I mean, I got a problem.
And the second thing is I got a problem with seeing somebody
leave the only way of salvation. Cause I know where it's going
to end up for him. I got a problem with that. And I ought not give
the impression it's okay that you projected the gospel of Christ
our Savior. Look at Romans chapter 16. Those
people we are to avoid them. Not to be mean to them. Not so
that we can show how superior we are to them. That's not why.
We're to avoid them. Not give them the impression
that what they've done is okay so that they learn. They learn
not to blaspheme and they repent. That's the goal. Romans 16 verse
16. Salute one another with an holy
kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. Now that's the greeting
for those who follow Christ. Salute one another with a holy
kiss. Now verse 17. Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the
doctrine which you've learned and avoid them. For they that
are such serve, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own belly. And by good words and fair speeches,
good words, words that seem good to the natural mind, words that
seem like fair, good, you know, speeches, they deceive the hearts
of the simple. And we're to, we're to avoid
them, those that reject the gospel. Look at second Corinthians chapter,
I'm sorry, second Thessalonians. Second Thessalonians chapter
three. Verse six. Now we command you
brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw
yourself from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after
the tradition, which you, which he received of us in verse 14. If any man obey not our word
by this epistle, note that man and have no company with him,
that he may be ashamed. Don't try to win a heretic back
by saying how much you love them when they deny the Lord that
loved you enough to give himself to save you. Don't do that. Don't
say, oh, how much you love somebody when they have rejected the gospel
that you need. Dan talked in his prayer about
this is what we need. Don't give them the impression
that that's okay. Don't think that your loving
attitude, loving on them, when they've done something so horrible,
is going to win them back. No, it won't. God's love for sinners won't
win them back. My love won't. No, I won't do
it. The only love that will win them
back is God's love for sinners. And for me to act like, oh, it's
OK that you've done this dishonors God's love for his people. By
dishonoring the Savior, he's sent to redeem them. And then
fourthly, I believe the Lord's saying this. Someone's heard
the gospel, they reject it. They want their self-righteous,
legal religion, salvation by them keeping the law, their swine
that wants to go back to their mire. Don't debate with them. Don't debate with them. Because
if you debate with a heretic, if you debate with a dog, if
you get down in the mire, if you get down in the vomit with
a dog and you get down in the mire with a swine, you're going
to get down to their level and they're going to beat you with
experience. Don't debate with them. Just don't do it. Debating,
you know what that is? That's putting your pearl before
the wicked to mock it and pick it apart as they will and make
fun of your Savior. Don't do it. Don't debate him
with it. God has never one time ever won
one of his people over with debate. Never. It's always with the preaching
of the gospel. If you debate with a heretic,
they will turn and wring you. I want you to listen to two things
Solomon said. Proverbs 9 verse 8, he said,
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee. Now rebuke a wise
man and he'll love thee, but don't waste your time rebuking
a scorner. He'll hate you. He'll turn and
rend you. Proverbs 23 verse nine, speak not in the ears of a fool.
He'll despise the wisdom of thy words. He'll turn and rend you.
Now look at Hebrews chapter 10. This is the passage we'll close
with. Hebrews chapter 10. They'll turn and rend you and
trample upon you. Hebrews 10 verse 28. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath
trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood
of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing,
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Now, when someone
rejects the gospel, this is what the writer of the Hebrews says
that they've done. They've counted the blood of Christ as a common
thing. They've counted the righteousness of Christ as a common and the
word is unholy. They've counted it an unholy
thing. They're saying, I don't need
Christ. I can do that myself. They're
saying what he did is what any old dog and what any old swine
can do. It's an unholy thing. Rejecting
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace is calling the
Lord Jesus Christ an unholy thing, a dog. or a swine. And the word
of God says, let them alone. Let them alone. God will deal
with them in his time. Just leave them alone with God.
By all means, you pray for them, but leave them alone with God.
Because our only hope is that God will work a miracle for them.
And I have to tell you, it's doubtful. It's doubtful. I am not aware of a situation,
in the word of God or in my limited experience time on this earth,
I am not aware of a situation where a heretic has returned
to the gospel again. Not aware of one. If that heretic,
suppose they would come to the service, suppose they would,
they'd happen to come, then by all means, let's preach to them.
By all means, let's preach the gospel to them. faithfully, truthfully
and honestly, holding nothing back and do it in pity, remembering
that they're lost. Now, I know they're lost willfully.
I know they're willfully. I understand that. But they're
lost willfully or otherwise, you know, they're lost. Preach
Christ to them, preach Christ to them. Don't try to rebuke
them for a specific sin. Just preach Christ to them. You
know, picking at them about some specific sins, not going to do
any good because what sin can you quit? Well, that's not going
to do any good. But preaching Christ to them
will do some good for them. It's the only thing that will. So don't
debate with them, but preach Christ to them. I believe that's
what the Lord is teaching us there. I hope that'll be a blessing
to you. you