In our last blog, we covered what Jesus said about judging hypocritically, as well as a few other ways in which it is wrong to judge. However, we also stated that sometimes we must judge. The truth is, every time we preach the gospel to someone, we are making a judgment about the spiritual condition of the one to whom we are preaching. Interestingly, Jesus now tells us that even when we are preaching to others, we must do so discerningly.

Matthew 7:6 (ESV)
⁶ “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

In these proverbial statements, Jesus is telling us not to give the precious message of God’s Word to those who prove themselves to be evil, immoral, and persistently vicious in nature. He is telling us not to waste valuable time in trying to convert those who count themselves unworthy of eternal life by their consistent carnal mentality and lack of interest in anything spiritual. Now, Jesus is not saying that we are to pass final judgment, not even upon the dogs and the swine of this world. Final judgment is reserved for God. Remember, His Word can convert even the worse sinners among us. However, as long as the “natural man” is in his hostile frame of mind, the gospel will be wasted on him.

Jesus was not being cynical in this passage; He was just teaching His disciples to be prudent with the gospel. He knew that time is something we do not have in abundance. Life is short. James said that life is like a vapor that appears just for a little time (James 4:14). Jesus understood that we do not have time to waste preaching the precious gospel to those who have no inclination to listen to it. Instead, we should strive to find those who demonstrate that they are convertible. If you want to see some examples of this principle applied, read the following passages: Matthew 10:1-15; Acts 13:44-46; 18:5-6; Titus 3:10.

Clearly, there are some who just are not going to appreciate the gospel of Christ. However, as we use our judgment along these lines, let us remember that everyone deserves to hear the gospel at least once. After all, Jesus said to go and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). There have been many people who do not look like prospects from an outward perspective, but who have obeyed the gospel because they heard the Word at just the right time.

At times Paul discerned that a person was not a good prospect, but he never judged according to appearance. For example, he did not give up on all Jews just because the majority of them rejected the gospel. An alcoholic can be converted by the power of the gospel. A murderer can be converted too. A drug-addicted, immoral-behaving, worldly-minded man, or woman, can be converted by the gospel of Christ. The saints at Corinth are a testament of this fact (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). However, once the gospel has been preached to a person, if that person shows himself to be unreceptive of it; if that person proves to be unreasonable and not willing to accept the plain truth of God’s Word, we must, as Jesus said, shake the dust off our feet and move on to another prospect.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.