PLEASE MEASURE YOUR FAITH BY THE ACCOUNTS IN MATTHEW CHAPTERS 5, 6 AND 7.

Do you consider yourself a follower of Christ? Do you believe in Him? Do you wish to do exactly what He has taught us? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then I respectfully invite you to measure your faith by Matthew Chapters 5, 6 and 7. The main words of these chapters were ascribed to Jesus. We will now consider some passages from these Chapters and relate them with what obtains today amongst believers.

1. Matthew Chapter 5 

1.      1. If you have accepted the teaching that once you are born again, you are no longer subject to the law then your faith runs counter to verses 17 and 18 which says:

 

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

 

2.      If you have also accepted the teaching that you have to engage in hate prayers such as asking that your enemies should die or be consumed by fire, then you have accepted a teaching that is contrary to verses 43-45:

 

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

2. Matthew Chapter 6.

 

 

There are learning points in Chapter 6 as well.

 

1. Have you been taught to pray with many words or repetitive words? In that case please check whether what you are doing is in keeping with verses 7 and 8:

 

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 

2. If your prayers are mainly about how to make billions of dollars and pounds all for your sweet comfort and to make others envy you, then I implore you to be advised by the words of verse 24.

 

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 

3. If you cling to the attainment of your earthly goals only and you forget to also have a goal of keeping your thoughts pure and doing only what is good or seeking to obey the Almighty’s Commandments, then pause and ask yourself: how many times have I pleaded for God’s Will to be done in my life? Have I ever prayed earnestly to be led to the way of righteousness which leads to the Lord’s Kingdom? Remember now the words of verses 31-33 which says:

 

³¹ …do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

3. Matthew Chapter 7.

 

1.              If you assume that because you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour then you will simply walk straight into heaven, then realise today that there is a lot more to be done after your acceptance of Christ. Calling Him Lord, Lord, obeying denominational dogmas and creeds, giving tithes, making large or tiny donations or even prophesying or performing miracles in the Name of Jesus have their relevance quite alright but are really not enough! Are you surprised?  We have to do the Will of the Father in addition!

Hear the words in verses 21-23:

 

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

 

2.              If you are of the school of thought that salvation and redemption “is by faith alone” then please read verses 24-27 which enjoins us to put the teachings of Christ into practice. We are to embrace His teachings and actually build on it through our activities including what we think, say and do in our everyday lives. We should not be under any delusion that we give our Lord any service by the few hours of piousness performed when we are dressed in our Sunday attire! Matthew 7:24-27 says: 

    

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

Going by a consideration of the passages we lifted from Matthew 5, 6 and 7, one cannot but conclude that what many believers believe today and what they do is not the same as is clearly stated in the sacred scriptures we cited. And these are scriptural words from the well-known Sermon on the Mountain which can be regarded as a source for the key teachings of Jesus available in the Bible.

 

The Message of Jesus the Son of God has thus been interpreted wrongly in many respects and the signposts are misplaced by religious leaders who put their human understanding above the Wisdom of God. By their actions they lead many astray. For this reason, another Message from the Kingdom of Heaven has now been given. This Message puts the misplaced signposts back into their proper places, so that the right road may be recognised by all serious seekers. It brings to our remembrance the true teachings of our Lord Jesus.