Matthew 7:6-12

As you read Matthew 7:6-12 you will instantly realize that these are some of the most difficult passages to understand in the Sermon on the Mount. Why do I say this? Because Jesus made a statement in verse 6 that almost seemed to contradict what He had just taught them concerning judgmentalism in Matthew 7:1-5. Jesus made it absolutely clear that His disciples were not to judge or condemn others. However, as you read this entire chapter you will see that it is completely given over to one form of judgment or another. Jesus first warned the disciples not to make condemning judgments (Vs. 1-5). But then taught them to make essential discerning judgments (Vs. 6). He further encouraged them to make a personal judgment concerning their own spiritual life (Vs. 13-14). Last, He taught them about God’s judgment that will be made when we all stand before Him (Vs 21-23). In the verses we are about to study, Jesus turned to His disciples and taught them to make an essential discerning judgment in verse 6. This discerning judgment will have to be made throughout your discipleship. Remember, Jesus had taught them in John 7:24, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” So, remember, there is a correct way to judge, and there is an incorrect way to judge. You are commanded not to judge unjustly, which would be a self-righteous judgment, or to judge others by just the outward appearance, without seeking the facts and eye-witness testimony about them. Righteous judgement will always be based on the fruit of words and actions. What then did Jesus mean when He taught His disciples, “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” (Matt. 7:6). When Jesus gave this command, it probably made the disciples stop and wonder, Wow! Why would Jesus say such a thing? This sounds so harsh. But, is it harsh? Or, is this instruction an essential discernment that had to be made to protect them, and the truth of God from being mocked and manipulated? 

How should you take this command of Jesus? Vs. 6

First, put verse 6 into the context of this chapter. In verse 5, Jesus commanded the disciples to remove the plank from their own eye, so they might see clearly to remove the speck from their brother’s eye. In other words, Jesus wanted His disciple to first do some serious self-evaluation and consider their own faults honestly and sincerely. Only then would they have the humility to remove the speck in their brother’s eye. Humility is the key to having the ability to help others, because it keeps you from self-righteous judgment. Humility will enable you to, “Speak the truth in love,” to those who oppose the gospel, or those who seek to pervert the truth (Eph. 4:15). Once you have done this self-introspection and have a humble heart, then you can make correct discernments of who Jesus referred to as dogs, hogs, and wolves in this chapter (Vs. 6; 15).

But, how do you know when you should attempt to remove a speck from someone’s eye, or when you should leave them alone and count them as dogs or wolves? Jesus made it clear that we are not to give holy things to dogs, hogs, and wolves in sheep’s clothing. This is why Jesus said, “Do not throw what is holy to dogs.” The words, “Do not,” are a very clear command. The way that you know when you should seek to help one person, and not another is revealed later in this chapter. Jesus said, you would be enabled to make this discerning judgment by their fruits. Jesus taught, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:15-16). All you have to do is listen to the fruit of their words, and watch the fruit of their behavior. These are the ultimate ways to discern between those who should hear the truth of holy things, and those who should not. Remember that even Jesus refused to even say one word to King Herod when he sought to get Jesus to do a miracle for him during His trial (Luke 23:8-9). Jesus was demonstrating by His actions this principle of not throwing what is holy to dogs.

What do these powerful metaphors mean?

Dogs, hogs, and wolves are three powerful metaphors describing the types of people that the disciples would surely encounter in their ministries. These metaphors should also be a warning to all who read these words. You are going to encounter people like this, so you need to heed Christ’s warning. This means that you are going to need true biblical discernment for making the correct judgment when you meet a dog, a hog, or a wolf. But, do you know what those terms mean, and the types of people they describe? When Jesus spoke of dogs, He was not referring to your nice cuddly house pet, but to a scavenging street dog, that you would definitely not want in your house, or your church. A hog described an unclean animal that would wallow in their own filth and corruption, and would love to get their filth on you. Wolves are vicious predators that have no concern for you, but only what they could get from you. A wolf in sheep’s clothing was to describe the extreme deceptiveness of these predators. They seem very kind on the outside, but inwardly they want to tear you to pieces, and destroy your faith.

These are the types of people that you should not try to counsel, share the gospel with, or try to remove the speck from their eye. Notice in verse 6, that there are two very clear indicators that Jesus gave for how to determine who was a dog, a hog, or a wolf. He first said that they would take the holy things of God, and “trample them under their feet.” In other words, they would take the pearls of God’s truth that you share with them, and scoff at them. The word trample means to figuratively reject with disdain, and mockingly ridicule the truth that you proclaim. People can do this verbally, or by their actions. Also, Jesus taught that you should consider the fruit of their response toward you. Jesus said that these types of people would, “turn and tear you in pieces.” In other words, they will criticize you, mock and curse you, or do anything they can to draw you down into the mud of their sow’s pen. Jesus taught these truths so that you would not have to experience this kind of abuse.

I’m sure that most of you have had this experience. If you share your faith and are verbally outspoken about your love for Jesus, you have encountered these types of individuals. I have many times. Once I attempted to share the gospel with a man on the street, and realized that I had encountered a dog. As I began to talk with him about my faith in Christ, he turned to me, and with venomous hatred in his voice said, “Jesus is a queer.” I knew immediately that this man was one of the people Jesus was describing in this text. My response was, “Have a nice day,” and I walked on. Why did I do this? Because sharing the gospel with someone that was mocking God like this, is going to be fruitless. As I stated earlier, this is why Jesus refused to even attempt to share the gospel with King Herod.

Direct commands on this topic in Scripture

It is also important that you see in Scripture how God dealt with this topic of people who are mockingly unreceptive to the truth. First, note the direct commands that you have in Scripture. In Proverbs 23:9, Solomon declared, “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.” But, how does Solomon define what a fool is in the book of Proverbs? In Proverbs 9:8 he taught, “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” Therefore, a fool and a scoffer are the same type of person. Notice also that Solomon addressed the response of a scoffer that he will hate you. This is similar to Christ’s declaration that dogs would tear you in pieces. Note that the command is also the same. “Do not correct a scoffer” and, “Do not throw what is holy to dogs.” These commands communicate to me that some people in this world will actually try to do you harm, when you are trying to do them good. There are some individuals that literally want to tear you in pieces, and destroy you. This is what the dogs and fools of Jesus day actually did to Him. So, as Jesus said, beware, and be wise as Solomon warned.

In the New Testament Paul also warned Timothy about people who wanted to do him harm. In 2 Timothy 4:14-15, Paul declared, “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.” Alexander was obviously someone who wanted to tear Paul in pieces, because he was an evil man and a scoffer.

In Philippians 3:2, Paul was speaking about the false teachers that continually plagued him and his ministry. He warned the people, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers.” Notice that Paul used the same metaphor of a dog. These men were nipping at his heels, continually attempting to destroy everything that he was trying to accomplish for the kingdom of God.

Peter also described the false teachers in the same way. He declared, “But there are also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber” (2 Peter 2:1-3). In other words, destruction and judgment were coming to these individuals. No one would want to be in their shoes. But, notice how Peter ended this second chapter. He explained, “But it has happened to them according to the true proverb; ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, ‘A sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire’” (2 Peter 2:22). So, again Peter used the same metaphors that Jesus used in Matthew 7:6 of a dog and a hog.

Furthermore, King David also used this same metaphor of a dog when writing about the wicked that pursued him. In Psalm 22:16 it says, “For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.” David was talking about the people who relentlessly pursued him, trying to destroy him and tear him in pieces. He called them dogs, and wicked men. This passage was also a Messianic psalm prophetically describing those who crucified the Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, the point of Christ’s command to not throw what is holy to dogs, is so you will make a determination of who is a scoffer that could care less about the truth of the gospel, and someone who is receptive. Follow Christ’s example with someone like Herod, or Paul’s example with Alexander the coppersmith. When someone is perverting the truth of the gospel, and is not open to listening to reason concerning the truth, this command will motivate you to move on to someone who is receptive. Don’t let people trample on the holy things of God. You must learn to be discerning about who you are talking to concerning the gospel. The interpretation I have just explained concerning this passage is in complete harmony with the context of learning how to be discerning of your own heart, and of others.

How can you discern these deceivers, and yet at the same time not condemn others? Vs. 7-11

This is an important question. How do you gain the ability to discern who is a dog, a hog, or a wolf? Notice what comes next in this context of verse 6. If you don’t see the context here, you will miss the whole point that Jesus was making. What enables you to be discerning? 

1. Discernment comes by prayer.  Notice what Jesus taught, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Remember, Jesus had already instructed His disciples about prayer back in Matthew 6. He now comes back to the subject of prayer, because He knew how important this aspect of prayer would be for our Christian lives. James taught that we simply don’t have the things we need, because we don’t ask for them (James 4:2). Here in verse 7, Jesus commanded His disciples to, “Ask and it will be given to you.” It is interesting that the word ask is in the present tense, which means that we should all be continually asking Him for our needs. Therefore, prayer is where you are going to get the discernment you need to make correct judgments. You need to pray and ask for God’s wisdom. So, when you begin to talk with someone about Christ and His truths, you should be silently praying within your heart for God’s discernment. I usually pray something like this. “Lord, help me to speak to this person lovingly, and with the truth of your Word. Help me to have your discernment right now concerning their need.”

Why should you pray like this? Because God wants to give you His wisdom for whatever situation you are in the midst of today! The Apostle James promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).  Note, “It will be given to him.” What a promise! Believe His promise, and ask! Paul also prayed for believers to experience God’s wisdom in Ephesians 1:17. He asked, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” We all need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This is what enables you to be an effective witness for Jesus. When you pray in this manner in agreement with Paul, this is exactly what you will receive. As you counsel a friend or share your faith, God will give you thoughts and wisdom for how to speak, or how to respond to them. Verses of Scripture are going to come into your mind that you have not read or thought about in weeks or months. That is the Holy Spirit’s revelation to you at that moment! God does this for you so that you might be able to communicate with others effectively, boldly, and clearly. Please, ask today for this enabling, and give Him the praise when He answers your prayer.

Three assurances that should encourage you to pray.

Jesus then gave three assurances to His disciples that He absolutely would answer their prayers. These are three powerful assurances that you should have a firm grasp upon in your mind. These assurances will greatly aid you in your faith. Let me explain. 

Don’t give up in your prayers. In verse 7, Jesus commanded us to, ask, seek, and knock. These are His requirements to receive His wisdom when we pray. You must take these three simple steps. Why? If you don’t ask, seek, and knock, then you won’t receive! It is important to understand that all three of these verbs (ask, seek, knock) are in the present tense. Therefore, Jesus was essentially teaching, it’s not a one-time action or request that you make, but a continuous pursuit of Him. He was actually saying, ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Don’t give up your pursuit! Jesus made it absolutely clear that you cannot get this wisdom unless you are persistent in prayer. If you come with a halfhearted request, it’s not going to happen. The present tense reveals that your praying must be a continuous, willful, and purposeful decision and choice that you make. Pursue God. He wants you showing your continual dependence upon Him by your continuance in prayer. 

So, if you don’t have an actual prayer life on a daily basis, if you are not praying throughout the day, asking the Lord to help you know what you should do, or how you should respond to someone, or how you should personally live out your faith, then you are disobeying this direct command of Jesus. If this is the case, then I can assure you that you will not find what you are looking for in your relationship with Jesus. Yet, people say to me, “I’ve been praying for this one thing for a whole year, and nothing has happened.” But, let me explain, I’ve been praying for people in my family for more than 50 years. Should that discourage me? No! Why? Because I know they have a free will, and God will not force them to believe. Am I ever going to stop praying for them? Never! I know the story of their lives is not over yet. One of the best examples of this fact is my own mother. I saw her come to faith in Christ in the last months of her life when she came to live with me. So, I encourage you, don’t give up! He is speaking to the hearts of your loved ones every day, so keep praying!

Another reason you should not give up praying for those you love is found in Christ’s assurance in Luke 18:7-8. Jesus taught His disciples this principle of faith when he declared, “And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” How did Jesus view a prayer of faith? Was it prayer once in a while, or crying out to Him day and night? In other words, real faith cries out to Him day and night. Why did Jesus say that He wanted us to pray like this though He bears long sometimes? I believe that bearing long means that some of your prayers will not be answered immediately, because He is working out other things that we have no idea are needed. Now, for those of you who are parents reading this, let me ask you a question. Do you say yes to your children every time they want something? I would probably say that you don’t. If you always did say yes, then you would not be a good parent. When your children ask for ice cream before dinner, you probably say, “No!” When a twelve-year-old wants to drive your car, you know this would not be a good idea. When a two-year-old wants to jump in the pool, but they don’t know how to swim, you probably say, “No.” Why? Because you know they can’t handle this right now at their age. Only after they learn how to swim, would you say yes. Likewise, God does not give to us many of the things we ask for, because He knows we cannot handle them at this time.

In addition, have you ever gotten angry with God when He didn’t answer quickly some prayer of yours? You complain, “God, I don’t understand this. Why have You kept this from me?” Let me ask you a question. Can you handle the word, no? I hope so! Because God does answer some prayers with a no. If you can’t handle God saying no to you, then you don’t understand your relationship with Him. He is Lord of all things, and He is not your personal magician. You also have to handle the words, not now, or not at this time. Sometimes your request is His will, but it is not His will right now for you. Sometimes it’s not His timing to fulfill that specific request in His plan for your life. If He did, He knows that this would only complicate or stumble you. My point is to realize that you have to keep on praying, and keep on crying out to Him, and asking for wisdom and discernment for His plan for you. But remember, other times God is going to respond, “speedily.” Some things He does speedily, and in other things He will want you to wait on Him. Jesus ends this instruction with, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Jesus was declaring that at the end of days there would be some difficult circumstances that will come upon the earth. These circumstances will cause people to question if He is really there. However, Jesus was questioning, will there be any one that will trust Me, crying out day and night before I come again? True biblical faith needs an understanding that He is sovereign and supreme over all things, all mankind, and over every prayer that is prayed. The Father knows what He is doing!

I will not harm you. The second assurance that Jesus gave to His disciples is in verses 9 and 10. There He essentially declared that if they prayed, He would not respond by harming them. Jesus was assuring them of His commitment, that if they prayed and asked for bread, He was not going to turn around and give them a stone. That is a very important assurance that believers need to understand. Why? Because many times Christians have asked me, “If I just say, ‘Lord, I surrender all.’ Is He going to immediately make me do something that I hate?” No! He wants to give you His best! He will ask you to do things that are difficult, that you will need His strength to accomplish, but He will not do things that are vindictive toward you. If the Lord directs you to take an action, it will be the best thing that you could possibly do, and the best thing for your life. So be assured, He does not want to do you harm. In Luke 12:32, Jesus assured the disciples, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He wants to give to you the blessings of His kingdom! He wants to give to you more than you even want to receive from Him. Therefore, come to Him and seek Him in prayer, and know that what you will receive will be from the Father’s good pleasure. 

I am a gracious giver. The third assurance Jesus gave in these verses is found in verse 11. I believe this assurance is the foundation for all assurances. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” What an assurance! How much more does He want to give to you of His good things? Your heavenly Father is so gracious to you, that He sent His Son to try to convince you to believe His love and grace toward you. So, what are the good things that we should be asking Him for, and then receiving from His hand? In the context of this sermon, He wanted you to make wise decisions. He wanted you to know how, and to whom you should minister the truth. He wanted you to have a humble heart as you saw the grace He had bestowed on you and your sins. These are just a couple of the good things that He wants to give to you. The rest of His good things are the end result of all His great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:3-4). Jesus made a very simple comparison in these words that you should not miss. He compared God’s Fatherly care with our care for our children. Now, notice that Jesus called the disciples evil, which referred to their sinful natures. Can you handle that? Jesus declared that is who we are. The only thing that comes out of me that’s any good, comes from the new nature that He gives me, and the power of the Holy Spirit that enables me to put His truth into practice. But, if we are evil, and we still want to give good things to our children, how much more is His love and goodness toward us? What a great comparison! No parent sits down and thinks, “Let me see, how can I destroy my children’s lives?” Isn’t that the furthest thing from your mind? Knowing our own sin and evil within, yet still desiring to bless our children, only magnifies and reveals His goodness all the more.

The point that Jesus was attempting to make in this sermon was the fact of the Father’s care for you! Why is believing His care for you so important when you come to pray? God’s love is the bottom line for all assurance toward God in your prayers. You believe He hears you, because He loves you. You believe that He will answer you, because you trust His love for you. This is what the Apostle John taught. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us” (1 John 4:16). Notice the phrase, “We have known and believed.” It is one thing to know about the love of God in your head, and it’s another thing to believe the love of God for you personally. You must believe that He loves you! Isn’t this assurance that He loves you, what enables you to rest in the Lord when He says “no” to your request, or when He says “wait?” You won’t begin to think, “God, why did You let this happen to me? Why didn’t You do what I asked? Do you even care?” When you begin to question His love for you, let me assure you that you are in trouble. At that moment, all your prayers will be hindered. So, if you are struggling in your prayer life, or in your Christian life in general, this is the first issue you should consider. Do you believe He loves you? Do you really believe He personally loves you? That is the key to your prayer life. If you believe He loves you, then you will come to Him. If you don’t trust His love, you do not trust Him. That is the bottom line. When you are struggling in your faith, you are essentially struggling with trusting His love, because those two issues always go together. Remember that the Apostle John went on to say in this same epistle, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). Therefore, your confidence in His love for you, will bring great assurance that you have the petitions that you have desired of Him.

2. Discernment comes from walking in love toward others. Vs. 12

It is absolutely essential to understand why Jesus spoke these words, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). When you read the context of these words, it would seem that they are completely random in their placement, but nothing could be further from the truth! This teaching of Jesus is commonly called the Golden Rule. Note that He began this verse with the word therefore, which meant that Jesus intended these words to be directly connected to what He had just taught about prayer, and discerning who were dogs, hogs, and wolves. Jesus was teaching the disciples one of the most important principles for how to make correct discerning judgments? You need to first pray, but then you need to do something. What did He want them to do? To walk in love toward others. But you may be thinking, How does taking the action of love toward others have anything to do with gaining discernment, and making correct judgments?

First, think about it this way; if you are not willing to actually walk with Jesus, and do what He taught, then you will never personally know the truth. This truth was what Jesus modeled for us. What Jesus wanted from the disciples; He first modeled before their eyes. He taught them that they must deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Him. So, that is exactly what He first demonstrated before them. This was the principle. Whatever He wanted from His disciples, He first gave. This is the Golden Rule. These are not just nice hopeful words to proclaim; He actually did what He taught. Think about it, this is the only way we know what the word love even means. It was by watching Him!

The same is true for you and me. If you want to know how to respond to someone, you have to put the truth of God’s Word into practice. How would you want to be treated by someone? This is exactly how you should treat them. That is the only way that you will find, what I call, a self-confirmation of the truth, which also gives you discernment that others are walking in the truth. You have to walk in the truth to have this personal conformation of what is the truth. You have to do what He commands, and then you know in yourself, this is the truth. Jesus said it another way in John 7:17, “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” Note that Jesus didn’t say, talk about His will. No! He said do His will. Jesus was saying that the only way you will know whether I’m telling you the truth, is to do what I have said. You must put the truth into practice. Then, and only then, will you know that it is the truth.

But, how does obeying His commandment to love others give you this discernment that you need? Note the connection Paul made in Philippians 1:9-10. He declared, “And this I pray, that your love may still abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment.” Notice that Paul believed that walking in sincere love would naturally lead them into true knowledge, and all discernment. He was writing these truths to them, because of some difficult people in the church who were causing a lot of dissension. This church was going to need real discernment for exactly how to deal with these people. Personally, walking in love would give them the discernment they would need. You see, true love in their lives would prove that they were not being hypocritical like the Pharisees, and would make it clear who among the dissenters were also truly walking in love. Those who feigned love would be obvious to those who had real love.

I hope that you see just how essential walking in love is for having true discernment. Remember, you need to seek God’s discernment by being a man or woman of prayer. You need to also be a person who is putting into practice in your own personal life the truths that you are learning. You must live out in practical terms what you believe to be true. If not, then you end up becoming a hypocrite like the Pharisees, which is exactly what Jesus was warning the disciples about in an earlier part of this sermon. So, are you praying for discernment? Are you asking the Lord to fill you with love? Are you walking in love towards others? Are you putting into practice what you are being taught? Are you treating others the way you want to be treated? This is where your discernment will come from, because you will have real lived experience with Jesus and His truth! However, if you do not walk in the truth, then you will have no true wisdom or discernment. Solomon understood this fact, and is why he declared in Proverbs 28:5, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all.” Haven’t you wondered why so many of our political leaders seem to always be on the wrong side of moral issues, that are so clear to those who believe in the truth of the Word of God? It is because they have lost their moral rudder, and cannot understand true justice and righteousness. They do not pray, and have not sought God for His truth!

Why must we pray for the leaders of our country?

It is one thing when you personally do not have discernment and wisdom in your life, and quite another when our political leaders have no moral compass. If one person has no moral direction in their life, they are only affecting a small number of people around them. But if our political leaders have lost their way, they will lead an entire nation into evil and darkness. I believe our country is in real trouble today, because our leaders have lost their moral rudder, and the ship of our nation is headed toward the rocks. If there is no change, our nation will end up just like all the other republics of history. I believe there is only one hope for our nation, and that is that we must have a spiritual awakening, so our nation and leaders will return to God. If our nation does not return to the Lord, there is sure destruction ahead for us. Jesus has been teaching His disciples about the importance of prayer in this sermon. Paul also taught in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, that the first thing we should do every day is to pray for our leaders. We must pray for our political leaders that they would come to a real repentance before Him, because He desires all men to be saved. Please put the leaders of our country at the top of your prayer list, and cry out to heaven night and day that God will bring them to repentance. Unless there is repentance in their lives, there will be no true justice or righteousness in our land, and we will slide further away from His purposes for our country. The next time you vote, I hope that you will find out where the candidates stand on moral issues. Are they men and women of faith, or not? After you pray for our political leaders, then pray for the pastors and spiritual leaders of our country. There is also a spiritual deadness in a vast majority of our churches today. They too need a spiritual awakening. Now some of you may think, Is this really that important? 

Let me conclude with a quote from one of the founding fathers in our country, George Washington.  Now, most of you have probably heard in your history classes that the founding fathers of our country were a group of deists, agnostics, and atheists. Well, did you know that over half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had seminary training, and several were ordained ministers? The vast majority of these men were devout Christians. So, what you have been taught about these men are lies. I have read the personal prayer journal of George Washington, and it is quite revealing what his beliefs were. No one could ever come to the conclusion that George Washington was a deist after reading how he exalted Jesus Christ as Lord. In addition, listening to his thoughts from his farewell address on September 17, 1796. He warned the nation, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” To understand the word religion, you must realize that this word is in the New Testament (James 1:26-27). Religion simply means, the correct worship of God. So, Washington believed that the correct worship of God would always lead to morality. These are two indispensable supports of our republic. Washington goes on to say, “In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness and peace and these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.” Note that George Washington called into question the patriotism of any individual that would try and subvert the true worship of God or morality. So, if you don’t put your faith into action, and vote for someone who upholds these two pillars, you are not voting in a way that will help your country. Washington continued by saying, “The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish these pillars.” He said, “A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity,” which means happiness, “And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” Washington did not think that you could maintain morality in a nation without faith in Jesus Christ. He continued, “Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on the minds of particular structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” If you want a lesson in the understanding of liberty and freedom, read Washington’s entire farewell address. You can find it easily online. I encourage you to do so. 

So today I ask you to pray for yourself, pray for discernment, pray for your nation, and pray for your leaders. We all need the correct discernment and judgment for what is right, and what is wrong. Evil men will never understand justice until they turn in repentance from their sins. It is your responsibility as a believer to make sure that those individuals in office, are not evil men who believe evil things. Pray! Discern! Vote!