ArchivedWhat are your opinions?2 Timothy 3:1-7
3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. NAS
Tell me Lucky did you check out and analyze Leviticus 18:26? Apparently not since you did not catch the fact that in Leviticus 18:26 God labels all the sexual sins listed in Leviticus 18 an abomination. In fact if you took the time to really study Scripture instead of playing sophomoric games there are a plethora of sins that God labels "abominations". Proverbs 6:16-19
16 There are six things which the LORD hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.
NAS
However, if you want to get technical, in Jesus’ time wood was hewn by hand leaving a lot of chips or splinters (not sawdust) behind, which would have been gathered and used to build fires to prepare meals. Metaphors are just that metaphors so your “analysis” of Matthew 7:1-3 is nothing more than an exercise in arrogance and pride.
Matthew 7:1-12
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Sixth example: judging others. Judge not. The present imperative suggests that it is the habit of judging others that is condemned. Though the word judge is itself neutral as to the verdict, the sense here indicates an unfavorable judgment. Critics of others must stop short of final condemnation, for men cannot judge motives, as God can (cf. James 4:11-12). Believers are not to avoid all judging (cf. Matthew 7:6,16), for Christians need to judge themselves and offending members (1 Corinthians 5:3-5,12-13). That ye be not judged. The aorist subjunctive form is better understood of God's judgment than of human judgment (cf. Matthew 6:14-15). Mote. A speck of straw or chaff, or a splinter of wood. Beam. A log or plank, used of the main beam of a roof or floor; here it represents a censorious spirit. The illustration is intentionally exaggerated to show the ludicrous position of one who sets himself up to judge others. Such a person is termed hypocrite, for he pretends to act as a physician, when he is really ailing himself. This command does not relieve believers from making moral distinctions, however. Those who have heard the Gospel and the invitation of Christ, and by their response have shown their nature to be unalterably vicious (dogs and swine were particularly repulsive to Jesus' audience), must not be allowed to treat these precious things as cheap (cf. 13:11-15)
The following verses on prayer (cf. Luke 11:9-13) answer the believer's problems arising from the instructions on judging. The need of discerning between dogs and swine while avoiding the beam in the eye demands wisdom from above. Hence Jesus encourages his followers to ask, seek, and knock, that their deficiencies may be met from the divine supply. The three imperatives are in climactic order, and their durative forms suggest not only perserverance but frequent prayer for any and all needs. There is a certain rough resemblance between a loaf (small round cake of bread) and a stone, and between a fish and a serpent, but no father would practice such deception upon a hungry child. Being evil. A reference to man's sinfulness (even disciples have this sinful nature). Good things is replaced in Luke 11:13 (another occasion) by the Holy Spirit, the Bestower of all good. Therefore. Verse 12 applies the foregoing instruction. Though evil by nature, we are still acknowledged by God as his children and promised answers to prayer. Hence, rather than judging others, we are to treat them as we would like to be treated. This summary of the OT (the law and the prophets) is restatement of the second table of the Law (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10), and rests upon the first, for man's relation to God is always basic to his relation to his fellows.
e) Concluding Exhortations to Kingdom Citizens. 7:13-27
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
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