Verse 1 of chapter 7 is one of the few verses that many people who know little else about the Bible are familiar with; and it is wrongly used both as self-justification and to rebuke criticism of wrong-doing. The verse denounces compassion-less condemnation and hypocritical judgment of others – not any judgment at all. In fact, verse 6 requires judgment on our part, and if we could not judge at all, how could we ever determine what was right or wrong? The problem also comes into play when people want to put us on the spot, asking if we believe one person or even a group of people will go to heaven. Thank the Lord that such judgment is not our responsibility! It sometimes takes tremendous courage to speak up to someone who is doing wrong. You run the risk of hurting their feelings or more likely, making them angry – and even alienating yourself from people you care about. But if you believe that someone is living in a way in which they risk losing their soul and you say nothing, is that not terribly wrong of you?

In chapter 8, Jesus heals many, calms a storm, and cast out demons. The event with the Centurion is certainly remarkable. Here was a Roman officer, whose servant was sick came to Jesus with the hope of having that servant healed. But he demonstrated his faith by his belief that Jesus could do so without even physically going where his servant was at the time. Jesus said he had not found such faith in anyone in Israel.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Colossians and Luke

Matt 6, Matt 7, Matt 8, Matt 9, Matt 10

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All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.