Today, Pastor Ted Wilson tackles the last part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, entitled "Not Judging But Doing."
"Judge not that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1, ESV). Here, Jesus warns us not to judge others by our own standards, "for with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged" (verse 2, KJV).
Indeed, how we treat others will come back to us for good or evil. What we sow, we reap.
Furthermore, Jesus points out the hypocrisy of those who are quick to find fault in others while not considering their own. As He said in verse 3 of the same chapter (NIV), "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Commenting on that, Ellen White says, "No one has ever been reclaimed from a wrong position by censure and reproach; but many have thus been driven from Christ and led to seal their hearts against conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment, may save the erring and hide a multitude of sins" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page 128).
In verse 6 of Matthew 7 (ESV), Jesus said, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
Christ never forces anyone to follow Him. He only seeks to draw them through love. However, some "have no desire to escape from the slavery of sin." For this, "the servants of Christ should not allow themselves to be hindered by those who would make the gospel only a matter of contention and ridicule" (Ellen White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page 129).
Jesus invites us to come to Him and believe that He is able to do all things. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7, ESV). "The Lord specifies no conditions except that you hunger for His mercy, desire His counsel, and long for His love" (Ellen White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page 130).
Turning to our relationship with others, Jesus gives us the Golden Rule: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12, NIV). "In your association with others, put yourself in their place. Enter into their feelings, their difficulties, their disappointments, their joys, and their sorrows" (Ellen White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page 134).
Nearing the end of His sermon, Jesus reminds His followers to "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV).
While it is easy to follow the crowd—doing what is acceptable to the majority—Christ urges us to take up our cross and follow Him. He knows every trial we face and promises to be with us all the way.
Finally, Jesus ends His sermon with a powerful illustration comparing two houses, one built on the rock and the other on the sand.
In the case of the wise man, when "the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock" (verse 25 of the same chapter, NIV). But in the case of the foolish man, "it fell with a great crash" (verse 27, NIV).
This reminds us "a storm is coming, relentless in its fury" (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, volume 8, page 315).
Are we ready for the storm?
By God's grace, we can be ready for this as we build our faith upon the rock of His Word.
To learn more about this topic, read Ellen White's book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing and download its digital copy at https://egwwritings.org/.