June 8, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Good Trees and Narrow Gates

Good Trees and Narrow Gates

Jeremiah 23:13-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
    and led my people Israel astray.
¹⁴ And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:
    They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
    and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶ This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
    not from the mouth of the Lord.
¹⁷ They keep saying to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
¹⁸ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹ See, the storm of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰ The anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹ I did not send these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
²² But if they had stood in my council,
    they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.

What “repulsive thing” did Jeremiah see in the prophets of Samaria (verse 13)?

Who committed adultery and lived a lie while strengthening “the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness” (verse 14)?

What is the source of the ungodliness that “spread throughout the land” (verse 15)?

Where do the visions that the prophets speak come from (verse 16)?

What do the prophets say to “all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts” (verse 17)?

What will “burst out in wrath” (verse 19)?

When will “the anger of the Lord” turn back (verse 20)?

What have the prophets that the Lord did not send “run with” (verse 21)?

What would the prophets have proclaimed if “they had stood in my council” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

Matthew 7:13-23 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What is the gate that “many enter through” like (verse 13)?

How many find the gate and road that “leads to life” (verse 14)?

What are false prophets on the outside (verse 15)?

How can we recognize false prophets (verse 16)?

What kind of fruit will a bad tree bear (verse 17)?

What kind of fruit can’t a bad tree bear (verse 18)?

What happens to trees that do not bear good fruit (verse 19)?

Who will enter the “kingdom of heaven” (verse 21)?

What will Jesus tell many of the people who say “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” (verses 22 and 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, how do the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 validate Jesus’s instructions about recognizing false prophets in Matthew 7:13-23?

1 John 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Why should Christians “test the spirits” (verse 1)?

How can we “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?

Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

How have Christians overcome the false prophets (verse 4)?

Who does the world listen to (verse 5)?

Who listens to John (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, what test does 1 John 4:1-6 reveal to help determine false prophets that the people who heard the false prophets of Jeremiah 23:13-22 did not have?

In your opinion, what is the difference between those in Matthew 7:13-23 who say “Lord, Lord” and those in 1 John 4:1-6 who declare “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”?

James 1:19-27 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Who “should be quick to listen” (verse 19)?

What does human anger not produce (verse 20)?

How should we “accept the word planted” in us (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how can merely listening “to the word” deceive us (verse 22)?

What is someone who “listens to the word but does not do what it says” like (verses 23 & 24)?

Who is “blessed in what they do” (verse 25)?

Whose “religion is worthless” (verse 26)?

What religion does God accept “as pure and faultless” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what challenge to following God is exhibited in this passage?

In your opinion, how do the actions of the prophets in Jeremiah 23:13-22 compare to the people who only listen to “the word” in James 1:19-27?

In your opinion, how does James 1:19-27 help us better understand the small gate and narrow road of Matthew 7:13-23?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:1-6 help us understand that James 1:19-27’s instruction to look “intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” is more than works based salvation?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Jeremiah, Matthew, 1 John, and James teach us about how to identify and overcome the external and internal challenges of being a Christian?

In your opinion, how can we each be a “good tree” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 21, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – A Circumcised Heart

A Circumcised Heart

Isaiah 52:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Awake, awake, Zion,
    clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
    Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
    will not enter you again.
² Shake off your dust;
    rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
    Daughter Zion, now a captive.

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

Who will not enter Jerusalem again (verse 1)?

What is “Daughter Zion” to free herself of (verse 2)?

What was “Daughter Zion” sold for (verse 3)?

How much money will it take to redeem “Daughter Zion” (verse 3)?

Who oppresses God’s people lately (verse 4)?

What is happening to God’s name “all day long” (verse 5)?

What will God’s people know (verse 6)?

When will they know it (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being people who don’t blaspheme God?

Matthew 7:13-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Where should Christians enter (verse 13)?

What is the road to destruction like (verse 13)?

Where does the small gate and narrow road lead (verse 14)?

How do false prophets come to Christians (verse 15)?

How can we recognize false prophets (verse 16)?

What do good trees bear (verse 17)?

What can a bad tree not bear (verse 18)?

How many of the trees that do not bear good fruit are thrown into the fire (verse 19)?

How can Christians identify the false prophets (verse 20)?

Which of the people who say “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven (verse 21)?

What will many say “on that day” (verse 22)?

What will God tell them (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being people who don’t blaspheme God?

In your opinion, who, in Matthew 7:13-23, would be like those in Isaiah 52:1-6 who caused God’s name to be “constantly blasphemed”?

Romans 2:17-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; ¹⁸ if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹ if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵ Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.  ²⁶ So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? ²⁷ The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

List the components of those who Paul asks “do you not teach yourself” in verse 21:

            Call yourself a ____________ (verse 17)?

            Rely on __________________ (verse 17)?

            Approve what is superior because you are instructed by _____________ (verse 18)?

            Convinced you are a guide for ______________________ (verse 19)?

            Instructor of _________________________ (verse 20)?

            Have in the law the embodiment of ____________________________________________________ (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why is Paul asking “do you not teach yourself” (verse 21)?

What does Paul ask those “who abhor idols” (verse 22)?

What does Paul ask the one who boasts “in the law” (verse 23)?

Why is God’s name “blasphemed among the Gentiles” (verse 24)?

What is the circumcised person who breaks the law like (verse 25)?

How will those who are not circumcised but “keep the law’s requirements” be regarded (verse 26)?

Who will condemn the one who has “the written code and circumcision” but is a lawbreaker (verse 27)?

What is not “merely outward and physical” (verse 28)?

How is the heart circumcised (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being people who don’t blaspheme God?

In your opinion, what does Romans 2:17-29 help us understand about the uncircumcised that Isaiah 52:1-6 says will not enter Jerusalem again?

In your opinion, what does Romans 2:17-29 help us understand about those who will take the broad road and those who will take the narrow road in Matthew 7:13-23? 

2 Peter 2:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

What will false teachers “secretly introduce” (verse 1)?

Who will they deny (verse 1)?

What will they bring “on themselves” (verse 1)?

What will the false teachers and those who follow them do to “the way of truth” (verse 2)?

Why will these teachers “exploit you with fabricated stories” (verse 3)?

What happened to “angels when they sinned” (verse 4)?

What did God bring on the “ungodly people” of the ancient world (verse 5)?

What did God make the “cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes” (verse 6)?

What distressed Lot (verse 7)?

How was Lot tormented (verse 8)?

What does the Lord know “how to rescue the godly” from (verse 9)?

What is the Lord holding the unrighteous for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being people who don’t blaspheme God?

In your opinion, how does the blasphemy in Isaiah 52:1-6 appear today according to 2 Peter 2:1-10?

In your opinion, why might it be reasonable to say that those who take the narrow road in Matthew 7:13-23 are like Lot, who 2 Peter 2:1-10 says God rescued from torment?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Paul in Romans 2:17-29 and Peter in 2 Peter 2:1-10 both warn of people who appear to be one thing when they are something else?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Romans, and 2 Peter teach us about the subtle pervasiveness of blasphemy?

In your opinion, how should we, people with circumcised hearts, live in a world full of blasphemy?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)