Spiritual Discretion - Dogs and Swine
Matthew 7:6 – “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
Discretion is Required in Carrying Gospel - We are called to carry forth the Gospel Commission to the whole world (Elijah Message – Malachi 4:1-4; Everlasting Gospel – Torah)… But we aren’t to give it to “dogs” or “swine”… So obviously, we must discern these heart conditions clearly, when they are present… When present it’s a prayer matter, not a time for dumping the whole Truth.
To have discretion we must have eyes to see what is – beyond what we want to see, beyond the blindness of self-projection…
Yahshua is our Example in everything – and even He
didn’t try to teach everyone in every circumstance:
· Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and He was
afflicted, yet He opened not His Mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His
Mouth.”
·
Psalms 22:16-18
“For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they
pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and
stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my
vesture.”
· John 19:9-10 “And went again into the
judgment hall, and saith unto Yahshua, Whence art thou? But Yahshua gave him no
answer. Then saith Pilate unto Him, Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest
Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?”
Identifying
Dogs/Wolves come in two categories: The Fool; the one who does not worship
Yahweh (atheism, science, satanist, buddhist, muslim…)
What does
the Bible say about the Fool (or the foolish heart condition)- manifests as
either “dogs” or “swine”:
·
It is foolish to say Yahweh doesn’t
exist – Atheism, Agnosticism, Nihilism…
o
Psalm 53:1 – “…A fool says in his
heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity, there is
none who does good.”
·
Being Opinionated (to the point of
not desiring understanding, but rather only liking to push one’s own ideas on
others
o
Proverbs 18:2 – “A fool takes no
pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinions”
o
Proverbs 17:28
·
Lacking or low self-control
o
Proverbs 29:11 – “A fool gives vent
to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back”
·
A fool does not fear Yahweh
o
Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear is of
Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom – a fool despises wisdom and instruction”
·
Foolishness can manifest in picking
fights and being contentious
o
Proverbs 18:6 – “A fool’s lips walk
into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating”
o
Proverbs 29:9 – “If a wise man has
an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs. There is no quiet.”
·
Foolishness often believes of itself
to possess great knowledge… Their knowledge is deception/deceptive/leading to
being deceived…
o
Proverbs 14:7-9
·
Foolishness is to mock or downplay
Yahshua’s Sacrifice (the Guilt offering)
o
Proverbs 14:7-9
·
Foolishness is reckless, and
careless and doesn’t turn from evil
o
Proverbs 14:16
Yahshua told us not to give our meat to the dogs or
cast our pearls before swine:
Titus 3:3 – gives a good short list of the character
qualities of foolishness:
·
Disobedience – Torah-breaking
·
Led astray – a fool is deceived
·
Slaves to various passions and
pleasures – lacking self-control, pleasure/entertainment seeking
·
Being caught up in malice, envy,
hate, and bitterness
Wisdom and Discretion manifest with the following
characteristics:
· Kindness and care for others in need
is wisdom
o
Psalm
112:5 - “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs
with discretion.”
· Sharing of Truth with those who don’t
understand
o
Proverbs
1:4 - “To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion.”
· Wisdom and discretion are a
Salvational Issue
o
Proverbs
2:11 – “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:”
o
Proverbs
3:21 – “My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and
discretion:”
· Proverbs 5:2 - “That thou mayest
regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.”
· Proverbs 11:22 - “As a
jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair (beautiful) woman which
is without discretion.”
· Proverbs 19:11 “The discretion
of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a
transgression.”
· Isaiah 28:26 - “For his God doth
instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.”
· Jeremiah 10:12 “He hath made the
earth by His power, He hath established the world by His Wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heavens by His discretion.”
Proverbs
9:6-10 -
“Forsake the foolish, and live (don’t give your meat to the dogs, or they will
turn and rend you); and go in the way of understanding. He that reproveth
(chastens and instructs) a scorner (another word for a fool) getteth to himself
shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot (smear
to your character). Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a
wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man,
and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in
learning. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom: and the
knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
Discretion
in Sharing Truth:
Yahshua
Himself didn’t tell everyone everything!
·
Matthew 13:10-13 “And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto
them in parables? He answered
and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of
the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given,
and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because
they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”
o
Yahshua
gave parables (milk) to those who were spiritually blind and unable to
hear… they had the carnal heart.
o
To
you (those who are the followers of Yahshua) are given the mysteries of the
Kingdom (meat)
· John 16:12 “I have yet many things to say unto
you, but ye cannot bear them now.”
Why we
need discretion:
· If we give meat to dogs, we’ll bring
down persecution upon ourselves, unnecessarily (they will turn and rend you).
· If we give too much to a true
believer – they won’t be able to bear it – we may break the growing Christian
plant.
· If we give pearls to swine, they will
lose the pearl in the muck… Truth is
harmed.
No comments:
Post a Comment