A renowned preacher, greatly used by God, was exceptionally skilled at uncovering the sins of others and correcting them in a way that led to wonderful change. His congregation and even his own family would immediately and joyfully listen to him, with no one becoming angry or rebellious. When asked where he got this skill, he replied, “I got this skill by dealing with my own heart. I deal ruthlessly and brutally with my own sins every day, and that gives me the ability to change others.”
This wonderful example perfectly explains the passage in Matthew 7:1-5. The best way to change others is by killing our own sins and living a holy, spiritual life. Only then can God truly use us to change others. Our problem is that we often try to change others without first dealing with ourselves.
The Dangers of Extremes and a Self-Righteous Spirit
All of us, by nature, tend to go to extremes, either to the right or to the left, rather than walking the straight path of God’s Word. This is clearly seen in our approach to judging. We either fully criticize or we refuse to do so at all. This has led to the verse being greatly abused. Some people, including children, say, “Don’t correct me; you will be judged.” But this is a wrong use of the verse. It is a parent’s duty to correct a child, just as it is a pastor’s duty to correct their congregation. The Lord is not condemning necessary judgment against sin, but a Pharisaical, hypercritical, and faultfinding attitude. It is a spirit that sees nothing good in others, like a jaundiced eye that sees everything in yellow.
This attitude stems from a spiritual problem: having a wrong view of God, a wrong view of yourself, and a wrong view of others. These verses forbid hypercritical judgment and provide three reasons why we should not do it:
- We bring judgment on ourselves. This is one of the most frightening things in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus uses the image of the judgment seat to warn us.
- We set the standard for our own judgment. As verse 2 says, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If you judge others with an unmerciful and strict standard, that same standard will be applied to you. We all want God to show us mercy and compassion on Judgment Day, to consider our circumstances and the times we failed, and to put the best possible construction on our worst actions. God says, “If you want that on that day, you had better show it to others today.” Only God has the right to show judgment without mercy, and He will do so for those who have not shown mercy to others.
- We are totally unfit to help others. With our wrong perspective, we are like a doctor with an electric pole in his eye trying to perform a delicate eye operation. Taking something out of someone’s eye is a sensitive task that requires a qualified person with a steady, sympathetic hand and a deep love for the other person.
When we are faultfinding, our motive is not to genuinely help others. If we were truly concerned about righteousness, we would first deal with the plank in our own eye. We would be too busy killing the sins in our own lives to go around looking for specks in others. If we truly loved others, we would want to be in the best spiritual state possible to serve them, not to find fault with them.
Jesus calls the one who finds fault while having a “beam” in his eye a “hypocrite” because their motive is a deceived spirit of self-righteousness. They are not fit to correct others. But this doesn’t mean we should never correct anyone. On the contrary, verse 5 says, “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” We have an obligation to help our brothers, but we must first deal with our own sin.
This is why people are more likely to accept a sensitive rebuke from someone they know is brutally killing his own sins. This painful process of dealing with our own sins—be it lust, anger, impatience, or worldly love—gives us the sympathy and tenderness needed to help others. This is what Paul meant in Galatians 6:1: “You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”
This principle applies to all relationships. Wives will listen to their husbands if the husband is not selfish and loves his wife like Christ. Children will listen to their parents if the parents are not telling them to be what they themselves are not. Preachers must deal with their own sins before they can preach to the congregation.
The Caution of Discerning Spirit
Following this discussion, Jesus presents a new point in verse 6: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”
Some argue this verse is disconnected from the previous one, but it is not. While Jesus just condemned a hypercritical spirit, He now cautions against the opposite: an undiscerning spirit that gives the precious truth of God to those who have no regard for it. This may seem strange coming from a loving Jesus, but it was a powerful statement to His Jewish audience.
In those days, “dogs” and “swine” were considered unclean and unholy animals. They were not pets but scavengers who lived in garbage heaps. They were seen as vile creatures. The Bible often used them to represent those who are contemptible, ungodly, and hostile to God’s truth. Holy things and pearls were not to be thrown to them.
This verse serves as a final, balancing note. While we must not be judgmental, we must also be discerning. There are people who are so corrupt that they will trample God’s truth underfoot and turn on you for sharing it. We will explore the meaning and application of this verse in more detail.
What are holy things? In the Old Testament, when a sacrifice was made at the temple, a portion was set aside for the Lord and consumed on the altar as a holy offering. Moses declared that the food for the priestly family was “most holy” (Leviticus 10:12-15). This was so sacred that a priest would never throw even the bones of that offering to the dogs, as that would be a horrible desecration by an unclean, filthy animal.
The sons of Aaron were commanded to “put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean” (Leviticus 10:10). They were also required to exclude pagans from participating in any of the religious privileges of God’s people (Deuteronomy 23:3). In the days of Israel’s decline, God complained that “her priests have violated My Law and have profaned My holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 22:26). He had commanded His priests to “teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23).
The true Aaron, who came to fulfill the law, also teaches us to do this. He discriminates between the clean and the unclean and places a fence between the holy and the unholy. Therefore, He commands us, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6).
The Connection to Earlier Truths
This truth connects nicely with the previous section. If we have to correct someone, we must first remove the “beam” from our own eye, have a steady hand and clear vision, and at the same time, realize that even when we are spiritual and have removed our beam, we can only help those who are willing to submit their eye to correction, no matter how painful. We must also realize that we can never change some people. Not only will they not change, but they will also resent your well-meant efforts and revile you for them, trampling your advice underfoot and venting their fury upon you.
Proverbs 23:9 warns, “Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.” Thus, having shown how to admonish, the Savior now makes known who are not to be admonished. To reprove a worthless person is a waste of breath (1 Samuel 25:17).
Therefore, after prohibiting wrong judgment, He balances this by telling us that we should discriminate between some people. Proverbs 9:8 says, “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee.” Not every person is a fit subject for reproof or correction. Sometimes, people are like dogs and swine, controlled by emotions and worldly lusts. To share God’s precious, life-transforming truths with them will only harden them and incite them to blasphemy. This is like casting pearls before swine.
This is a balancing truth about correction and reformation. Christ gave His truths to His sheep, who gently hear and change. But there are also the world’s “dogs” and “swine,” who will be offended and never change. We need to discern and not give the truth to them.
This applies to unregenerate, worldly-minded people who do not recognize the value of holy things. When an openly worldly person with no signs of regeneration, or an obviously carnal person, applies for church membership, it would be wrong to silence God-fearing objectors with “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” We should not allow the unclean to enjoy those privileges reserved for those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb. The Lord’s Supper is a most holy ordinance. That is why we do not give it to just anyone who comes and takes it. People get angry and ask, “How can you judge another person?” It is by failing at this very point, through a false “charity” and a refusal to heed this command of Christ, that the greatest of evils have been tolerated in the House of God, until the mystical Babylon becomes “a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
Jesus says, “Anybody knows you don’t throw the holy part of a sacrifice to a bunch of wild dogs.” In other words, the Lord is saying, “You’d better be discriminating in your ministry. There are some people who will hear your precious, valuable truths, abuse them, find fault, and never change. Don’t waste the precious truths on those who, because of their character, will not realize the value of that truth. Don’t waste your time with them.”
Then He gives a second illustration. “You don’t throw pearls to swine either, because they’ll trample them under their feet, and they’ll get so angry, thinking you’ve given them something to eat when all they want is food. Not knowing the value of pearls, they’ll turn and tear you up.”
The pigs in those days weren’t as domesticated as today. If a bunch of wild hogs gets mad at you, you could be in real trouble. Hogs were the chosen refuge of demons in Matthew 8. They were contemptible and filthy in Jewish eyes. The prodigal son, to eat pig slop and live with the hogs, had reached the lowest point of Jewish culture. They were considered unclean, and in Isaiah, the eating of hogs’ flesh is an abomination to God.
Who would throw a pearl to a pig? Pearls were very, very precious. A man would have to liquidate his entire fortune to get just one pearl from the Persian Sea or the Indian Ocean. They were priceless things. The hog can’t appreciate a pearl. A hog will think it’s a big piece of barley, and when it isn’t, it’s going to get angry. Hogs don’t appreciate pearls. Don’t waste things on those who don’t appreciate them. Therefore, you are going to have to discern and discriminate.
This is a tremendous truth. We have to learn to be discriminating in our ministry. You don’t say everything to everybody. We must have discrimination, so we have to evaluate. Now, who are the hogs and the dogs?
Dogs and Hogs: Those Who Do Not Value God’s Truth
- Unregenerate worldly people. They are full of the world and do not realize the value of God’s eternal truth. They have no capacity to appreciate the rare value of the truth. Not realizing the value, they are ready to sell the truth for money, as described in 2 Peter 2 for false prophets called dogs. These people are involved in false religious systems and are adamant, greedy, lustful, evil, and vile. They may have a head knowledge of the Lord Jesus but have turned away from it. Then, as the proverb says, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22). You could take one of those street dogs, try to change his diet, but he’ll go right back to his vomit. You can take a hog into the house, clean it up, and if you leave the door open, it will go right back to the slop. Hogs and dogs are those who have known the truth but have followed the way of false teachers, false prophets, liars, deceivers, and worldly men. Philippians 3:2 warns, “Beware of dogs.” And Revelation 22:15 says, “For without are dogs”—excluded from the Holy City.
Examples in Scripture
We see this principle applied in the ministry of our Lord and His apostles. When the disciples were sent out in Matthew, chapter 10, He said, “If you come to a place and they don’t hear your message, you leave that place, and you shake the dust off your feet.” He never kept preaching everything to everyone. He spoke many things to the multitudes in parables, yet the interpretation was reserved for God’s elect (Matthew 13:8, 9, 11, 36). Our Lord was not transfigured before the crowd but only in the sight of a favored few.
Read the many recorded cases where the Pharisees antagonized Him. Is there a single instance where He threw precious truths to them? The same goes for the Sadducees and lawyers who tried to ensnare Him. He closed their mouths but never opened His heart to them or gave that which was holy to dogs. Of the Pharisees, Christ said, “Let them alone” (Matthew 15:14). When Jesus was sent to Herod, a worldly man driven by adultery and power, Herod asked Him to do some magic, but Jesus didn’t say a single thing to him because Herod had a hard heart. Jesus didn’t waste His pearls. To the world, it says, “And He hid these things from them and revealed them to babes.” Jesus didn’t say everything to everybody. When Jesus rose from the dead, He never appeared to an unbeliever even once.
The apostle Paul, in Acts 18, went and preached to the Jews. When they blasphemed, mocked, and rejected his message, he said, “Your blood be on you. From now on, I go to the Gentiles.” He turned his back and walked out. Even to believers, Paul said to the Corinthians, “I could not speak unto you certain things because you were carnal. I wouldn’t waste them on your misunderstandings. I wouldn’t waste them on your sinfulness.” This is discrimination.
When addressing the people of God, you should make it very clear that the unregenerate have “no part or lot in the matter.” When preaching from the divine promises, it is necessary to describe the spiritual marks of those to whom such divine delicacies truly belong—to those who are not conformed to this world, who deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ. The line of demarcation must be drawn so plainly that each hearer knows to which side of the line he belongs.
The Practical Instruction of the “Pearls”
In conclusion, let’s note the practical instruction hinted at by the figure of the “pearls.”
- First, it tells us what our true riches are: the contents of God’s Word, for they are the Christian’s precious treasure. It teaches us that discrimination is to be exercised when dispensing the Word of God.
- Second, it tells us where we should find contentment in the calamities and trials of this life. We may lose our health, wealth, friends, and fame, yet this treasure remains. Here is a lamp for the darkest night (Psalm 119:105), comfort in the sorest affliction (Psalm 119:50), and songs for our pilgrimage (Psalm 119:54).
- Third, it tells us how we are to use the Word. A person with valuable pearls takes great pains to secure them. How much more so should we be with this Pearl of pearls, storing it in our memories and locking it in our hearts: “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience” (1 Timothy 3:9). This was David’s practice (Psalm 119:11) and Mary’s (Luke 2:51); may it be ours too.
Do we realize the value of the truth? How much do you realize it? This is a very sobering warning. Beware, because your indifference to the Word can lead you to become like a dog or a swine. This is the most sobering part. Young and old people, listen to me: if you do not realize its value and keep living in the world and filling your mind with it, the world will turn you into a dog or a swine. It will take you to a point where you will not realize the value of truth. How sad! The world becomes very attractive, and you develop a resentment toward the truth of God and holiness. Worldly things become important, and a subtle hatred for the things of Christ grows. Unless you change that hatred, it will grow and change you into a dog or a swine. God will not give His pearls to you. You will die in the world in utter darkness. Nothing will be precious to you. God will take the pearls from you.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank You that You have been so gracious as to forgive us our many judgments and criticisms. You have been ever more merciful with us than we are with each other, ever more forgiving than we are with those who fail us. Thank You that You are a far more merciful God than we are merciful men and women.
Lord, help us to follow Your instruction and Your lead, to be tenderhearted and kind and forgiving. Help us not to set ourselves up as judges, all the while maintaining discrimination and discernment, having our senses exercised to know the difference between good and evil, not compromising, standing for the truth, and marking those who cause division and offenses. But may we never do this for a selfish motive, never because of self-righteousness or self-seeking, because we think we’re better. May we always pursue the truth.
And even when we find those who err, may we restore them in love and meekness, knowing we, too, could be in the same situation. And may we be forgiving and merciful.
Lord, we pray that our fellowship here, this church, might be known as one that loves. We know that all human relationships could be amazingly adjusted if we just stopped being critical and had good words for one another, except in those times where rebuke, reproof, and restoration are needed, and then we seek Your counsel. And in those times when we must confront the evil, Christ-rejecting, God-hating, Scripture-denying person who would trample the pearl. Help us, Lord, to know how to keep that balance, and we will thank You. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 