STRAINING OUT GNATS AND SWALLOWING CAMELS?
Sunday – May 11, 2025
Video link: https://youtu.be/rGa5jPSEdwE
Greeting children of God and welcome to Awake, Arise, and Triumph Ministries. You may be wondering about the picture today. It is my parents flanked by Patti and me on their 25th Wedding Anniversary. My parents had the same birthday but were two years apart in age. My dad would be 101 today and mom 99. They are both rejoicing in Heaven today and I rejoice with them. Now, to our Bible Study. Today I am continuing our in-depth study of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This was the major theme of Jesus’ Ministry. Jesus either taught how the Kingdom worked or demonstrated how the Kingdom worked and how it didn’t work. Really if you give it some thought the whole of Scripture has to do with explaining the laws of the Kingdom and the consequences of obedience and disobedience. Yep, there are does and don’ts in the Kingdom of God like every other kingdom.
Recall that we are in the midst of a very lengthy teaching by our Lord concerning the teaching of “religious law” which are the traditions of men and doctrines of demons. This is all around us. It keeps teacher and student alike out of the fulness of salvation. I will continue in the Matthew chapter 23 text resuming with the 18th verse.
Matthew 23:18-24 (NLT)
18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding.
19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it.
21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it.
22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.
Writers Note: Could we summarize what Jesus is saying with the comment that these teachers of religious laws were splitting hairs, seeing only part, not the whole. As we see starting off the next verse Jesus tells them that great sorrow awaits them, teacher and student alike. Why? When they pass from this life they will either find they were not saved at all or that they had wasted a lifetime never entering into the fulness of salvation, the fulness of the Kingdom.
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Writers Note: We see here an opportunity for Jesus to say that tithing was passed away or passing away, but He did not. He said we should tithe. Notice there are laws we are to pay very close attention to including justice, mercy, and faith. These and all laws of Scripture are regulated by the law of sowing and reaping. You tithe and reap the benefits of Malachi chapter three; you practice justice, and you receive justice. Now let me point out that all of these must be done with a willing heart.
24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
It is amazing the extent some will go to follow “religious law” all the while rejecting the Truth. As the Scripture says, straining a gnat but swallowing camels. Sometimes we hear the term legalism or being legalistic, that is not an accurate term when referring to the True Laws of the Kingdom for there is no such thing as being too obedient. Now, cramming your obedience down another’s throat is something else like bullying. Let the fruit of your obedience speak for itself.
TAKE HOME:
- Let us be careful not to teach or receive a false “gospel”. I put gospel in quotation marks for it is not good news for it will keep you in bondage out of the full salvation package Jesus died to give each one of us.
- Tithing is a law of the Kingdom of God. Not tithing is robbing God.
- Don’t be concerned about swallowing a gnat (inconsequential phrasing of the Word) while choking down camels (traditions of men and lies of Satan).
Lord willing, I will resume right here next Saturday. Remember, we love you, the Lord loves you, and there is nothing you can do about either one.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
REMINDERS
Please take a moment before we continue with our study to share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you for sharing.
If you find that this Ministry is helpful with your spiritual growth, give prayerful consideration to becoming a partner with this ministry.
CONTACT INFORMATION
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://threeminuteword.wordpress.com
YOUTUBE: https://tinyurl.com/588t7343
RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/David-Wood/100012265415677
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-r-wood-d-o-5ab7ba81/recent-activity/all/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
WEBSITE: https://www.awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
MY BOOKS: https://www.amazon.com/books (search – Dr. David R. Wood) or https://t.ly/TcFpQ
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/awakeariseandtriumphministries/
