The Strand Study Bible

MATTHEW

MATTHEW

1501

not his behavior (his works). John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:8-9:

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father…”

Our “fruit” deals with what we say , not what we do (Mt 12:33,37 and Lk 6:44-45). 7:21 You’ve heard the saying: ‘The family that prays together stays together.’ It’s not true, not according to Jesus. He said you can pray and pray (Lord, Lord) until you’re blue in the face, but until you start obeying ( but he that doeth ), you’re prayers aren’t going to keep anything together. It’s not: ‘The family that prays together stays together’ but ‘the family that obeys together stays together.’ If everyone in your family is obeying God but one, your family won’t stay together. What keeps a family together is not prayer; its obedience ( but he that doeth ). Jesus said so. NOTE – This word ( saith ) is the Greek word λεγων ( legon ). It’s a participle here (a verbal) in the present tense (not a verb), and it should be rendered “ is continually saying .” Thus it should read: Not everyone who is saying (continually) to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven… Meaning: The person Jesus is speaking about here in verse 21 is someone who continues to pray over and over again to the Lord, with no results. Why? Because there is no obedience . Note the second half of the verse: Not everyone who is saying (continually) to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Edwin Louis Cole, founder of the Christian’s Men Network, said it best when he said: A ton of prayer will not produce what an ounce of obedience will. 1 Question: When doing our personal devotions, what does God want from us first? Does He want to hear from us or does He want us to hear from Him before He hears from us? James 1:19 says: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear , slow to speak… According to James, we were given two ears and one mouth so we could listen twice as much as we talk. Our Heavenly Father isn’t interested in hearing from us (prayer) until we’ve first heard from Him (His Word). Obedience is always a prerequisite to prayer (Isa 1:11-17). Always (Mic 3:1-4, Psa 5:1-5 & 18:41 & 34:15 & 66:18, Prov 15:29 & 28:9 and Jms 4:3)! God told the people of God in Isaiah’s day, “I don’t want you giving to me (Isa 1:11-14, Mt 5:23-24 and Prov 15:8); I don’t want you praying to me (Isa 1:15, Mt 6:14-15 and Job 35:13); not until you start obeying me (Isa 1:16-19).” Hearing from God (that is, His Word) and obeying what you hear is a prerequisite to God hearing from you. It’s not the family that prays together that stays together, but the family that obeys together that stays together. Question: Which of you within your family is hindering the rest of the family from being a family? Again, what keeps a family together is not prayer, but obedience . Jesus said so. 7:22 This word ( devils ) is the Greek word δ DL µ ο νια ( daimonia ). In each case this word is translated (incorrectly) as “devil” in the King James Version. There are many demons ( devils ) in the world (Mk 5:1-9-13 and Lk 11:24-26), and even though some of them are imprisoned at the moment in a place called tartarosas ( II Pet 2:4 ), the majority of them, acting under Satan’s authority (Rev 16:13-14), seek to possess human bodies (Mk 1:32-34 & 5:1-5 and Lk 8:27-29), seek to afflict the human body with diseases (Lk 13:10-16), seek to tempt the human mind with unclean thoughts (I Chro 21:1-2, Mt 16:21-23 and Rev 16:13), seek to promote their own teachings (I Tim 4:1), and seek to fight against the will of God (Eph 6:12). 7:24 a It is impossible to serve God without obeying His Word ( and doeth them ). The man whose life collapses under the weight of circumstances is at fault not because he fails to labor, but because he fails to labor according to the Word. 7:24b CHRIST is our foundation ( ROCK ) for salvation (Acts 4:10-12, I Cor 3:10-11 & 10:4, II Tim 2:19 and Lk 6:47-48). 8:2 If you don’t ask ( Lord ), it’s not yours… no matter how free it is. Healing, whether spiritual (salvation – Lk 23:39-43 and Rom 10:13) or physical, cannot be attained without asking and then receiving what you asked for. In other words, the gift of healing, whether it be a spiritual or physical, isn’t a gift until you take it (Jn 1:12). 8:10a This word ( marveled ) comes from the Greek word θαυµ D ( thauma ), and means “ to gaze in wonder .” Want to amaze the Almighty? Want to “marvel” the Master? Then: 1. Give God’s Word the “authority” it deserves (vs 9 and Lk 7:8) 2. Give God’s Word the “respect” it deserves for keeping its promises (Mk 6:1-6) 8:10b Faith can be summed up in one word –obedience. If a less important officer such as this Roman centurion can give orders and they be obeyed, certainly Jesus, who possesses all authority, can give the word and it shall be done. When God commands us to do something and we decide to obey, God calls it faith (Rom 10:17 and Heb 11). 8:11 According to Jesus there will be many people outside of the nation of Israel who will get saved and become a part of the family of God ( and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob ).

1 Edwin Louis Cole quote