“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.” (Matthew 7:6, ESV)
On a couple occasions I have had contact with people who came to me for spiritual advice under false pretenses. Once a fellow called me on the phone and asked me to explain the doctrine of the Trinity, in particular how Jesus was God, the second person of the Trinity. He sounded very sincere and I began my explanation. I did not get out more than one or two sentences when he interrupted me and began arguing with me against this key doctrine of the faith. In fact, he never gave me an opportunity to get in another cohesive thought. It was like some of the political debates I hear where people shout over others without even listening to the point the other side would make.
In this case, I had to make a judgment. It is profitable to continue trying to discuss this with him or not. He obviously was not interested in listening and evaluating what the Bible stated on the doctrine. His aim was to, for what ever reason, win an argument. At that point I politely ended the conversation.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated, “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” (Matthew 7:6, ESV). This verse is in the context of the previous verse regarding the thought that we are not to judge. Yet, as mentioned in the previous devotion I mentioned that there are many times when we are to make judgments. We are to judge our own actions. We are to judge actions of others, especially in the church, so we can lovingly help them in the areas in which they struggle. Moreover, we are to judge in situations like the one I had with the fellow on the phone.
The word of God is altogether holy. It is a precious “pearl.” It is a “pearl” given to us and that we are to proclaim. It is “holy,” meaning that it is sacred or set apart for the purposes of God. When we work to help others with biblical truth, we are casting our “pearls” before others. Jesus’ warning here is to avoid giving “dogs what is holy, and casting “pearls before pigs.” This refers to a situation where people like a wild dog or pig, would take the teacher’s “pearl” and turn on the teacher, trampling the precious teaching under foot. This is the person referred to by the writer of Hebrews.
“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29, ESV)
While we are to preach to everyone, we must discern who is in obstinate and hostile opposition to the gospel. In this case, we should not spend excessive resources and time with those who are in opposition to Christ and reject the message. There are times when we must shake the dust off our feet and move on.
Yet, there are other similar situations. This happens anytime we proclaim the truth of God and people are obstinately opposed to the truth. This can happen when we are trying to help people understand biblical doctrine as in the phone call that I had with the man previously mentioned. Another area is in biblical counselling when one rejects the truth and opts to continue in unbiblical behavior.
Renewing the Heart 