No Dogs or Pigs Allowed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

NO DOGS OR PIGS ALLOWED

Matt 7:6

6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

NIV

This seems to be one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus to understand fully. What is generally thought by our scholars of old in regarding the meaning of pearls, dogs and swine are as follows: Pearls are the sacred doctrines, specifically the elements of communion. These elements should be withheld from dogs and pigs. Now as to who represents the dogs. There are the people who are always barking or causing chaos in the church. They are the backbiters, the gossips, and slanders, who cannot keep from tearing others down. The pigs are those who always run back to wallow in the mud or continue to live a life of sin, but show up appearing to be a believer. They are living a divided life. We cannot be sure why offering them the elements of communion or other of the sacred doctrines would cause them to tear us to pieces, but we could see how these doctrines are trampled on by false believers, who do not care about this self-examination before taking the elements. We are told that if we take communion in an unworthy manner, we will be sinning against the body and blood of Jesus. The key here is to know what an unworthy manner is. Paul states that it is not recognizing the body of our Lord. This goes back to those who act like dogs or pigs. If someone is a backbiter or gossips or keeps going back to the mud, always going back willfully doing sin while pretending to be a Christian, then it would make sense they would be bringing judgment upon themselves because they do not acknowledge or recognize the body of our Lord. If they did recognize the Lord, then they would not be living in the manner they are. We also need to continually examine ourselves as well, to make sure we have not slipped into wrong thinking. This is assumed by our Lord that we are doing that which is right, that we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior and that we have followed Him in baptism, both of water and of the Spirit, and that we are living in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Therefore, we are being told to not throw that which we hold dear to those who do not hold the Lord as dear as we do because they are living in a manner that pleases them more than what pleases the Lord. They put themselves before Jesus, instead of Jesus before themselves. We must make sure we are putting Jesus first. Again, this does not mean we are sinless, but we hate the sin within us, we despise our failures and look to Jesus for forgiveness and help in overcoming those areas in our lives that so easily entice us. We are always in the mode of self-examination, unlike those who do not recognize their need for the same, the dogs and pigs.