Pearls Before Swine: Am I A Swine?

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: AM I A SWINE?

Mt. 7:6

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: “The dumbest kid in the world"

1. A young boy entered a barber shop and the barber whispered to his customer, “This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”

2. The barber put a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then called the boy over and asked, “Which do you want, son?” The boy took the quarters and left.

3. “What did I tell you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!” Later, when the customer left, he saw the same boy coming out of the ice cream store.

4. “Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?” The boy licked his cone and replied, “Because the day I take the dollar, the game is over! (he’ll quit giving me money).” So who was the dumber?

B. TEXT

“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” Mt. 7:6.

C. THESIS

1. I was recently reading through the Sermon on the Mount. When I read Mt. 7:6, the Lord goaded me with a new thought: “Could it be possible that I could be a swine?” What did Jesus mean by this term?

2. When Jesus said to His disciples, “One of you shall betray Me” the disciples all asked, “Is it ME (I)?” Maybe WE should ask ourselves that question, instead of just passing over this reference.

3. So today we’re going to look at what Jesus meant by this phrase, how it was carried out in the New Testament, what are some examples of “swine” in the Bible, and how we should apply this teaching to our lives.

4. The title of this message is “Pearls Before Swine: Am I A Swine?”

I. WHAT DID JESUS MEAN BY THIS?

A. MEANING OF JESUS’ WORDS

1. These metaphors might seem like a put-down of people, but they are really a call for discernment. The “swine” – spiritually – are those who don’t value or act on the truths that have been revealed to them.

2. This is a reminder of the priceless VALUE of GOD’S TRUTH (pearls) and His plan. God’s Word tells us that we must highly value the gospel/ the truth of God.

3. The THINGS OF GOD ARE HOLY, and we should treasure them and TREAT them WITH RESPECT, honor and appreciation.

4. You could throw money, jewels, or gold to a pig and it would have no appreciation for them, but trample them. It’s the same way with spiritual valuables – they mean nothing to many people; but to the servants of God, they mean everything!

B. THIS PRINCIPLE USED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. PARABLES. They asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Jesus replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them” Mt. 13:10-12. Some people’s minds or hearts are open to the truth and other people are closed to God’s truth. People who depreciate or denigrate the truths of God make themselves unworthy of them.

2. UNDER JESUS’ MINISTRY; “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” Matt. 10:14. Don’t give it to those not open to it.

3. BOOK OF ACTS

a. ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA; “Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles’” Acts 13:45-46.

b. CORINTH; “Paul devoted himself...to...testifying to the Jews....But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Acts 18:5-6.

II. SWINE-LIKE PEOPLE IN SCRIPTURE

A. ESAU

1. “See to it that no one misses the grace of God....that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. [Heb. 12:15-16, NIV, 1984]

2. This man Esau sold out his relationship with God for a bowl of chili! A can of Wolf brand chili costs about $5.87. That means he sold his right to go to heaven for $6!

3. The RSV says Esau “failed to obtain” the grace of God; Mounce says, “forfeited” the grace of God; NIV and others say he “missed” the grace of God. This means HE DIDN’T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN!