Do not judge1"Do not judge others, or you will also be judged.2Yes, you will be judged in the same way that you judge others. The way you treat others will be the way you yourselves will be treated.3"Why do you search for the tiny speck of sawdust in your brother's eye, while ignoring the plank of wood in your own eye?4What justification would you have in saying to your brother, 'Allow me to remove the speck from your eye,' when at the same time there is a whole plank in your own eye?5What a hypocrite you would be. First, remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck from your brother's eye!Value what is holy6"Do not give what is holy to those who act like dogs. Do not throw precious pearls of truth to those who live like pigs. If you do they will only treat these holy things with contempt, trampling them underfoot like animals. They could even turn on you to tear you to pieces!Ask, seek and knock7"Continue to ask, and what you pray for will be given you. Go on seeking and you will find what you are looking for. Keep knocking and the door will be opened for you.8"For everyone who continues to ask receives. He who goes on seeking finds. The door will be opened to the one who keeps knocking.9"If your son asks you for some bread, who among you would give him a stone instead?10Or if he was to ask you for a fish, would you give him a snake?11If you, then, who are by no means sinless, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your perfect heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him!12"This is a spiritual principle of both the law and the prophets: In everything do to others what you want them to do to you!13"Enter into life through the narrow gate. There is a wide gate that leads to a wide road, but that leads to destruction and many go that way.14But the gate to the narrow road that leads to life is small, and only a few find it.Good and bad fruit15"Be on the watch for false prophets. They come appearing to be one of My sheep, whereas they are really ferocious wolves.16You will be able to discern who they are by the fruit they produce. Is it possible for people to pick grapes from thorn bushes, or do they gather figs from thistles?17You can see that a good tree will produce good fruit, but a rotten tree will only produce rotten fruit.18A good tree cannot bear rotten fruit; neither can a rotten tree produce good fruit.19If a tree is rotten and cannot bear good fruit, it is cut down and thrown into the fire.20So you can recognise whether a prophet is true or false by the fruit you see in his life.21"Because someone says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' does not mean he or she will necessarily enter the Kingdom of heaven; that is reserved for those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven.22Many will say to Me on the Day of Judgment, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, cast out demons in Your name and perform many miracles?'23But I will tell them bluntly, 'Go away from Me, you evil people. I never knew you!'The wise man24"Therefore, whoever hears what I say and puts My words into practice is like a wise man who decided to build his house on solid rock.25The storm rains fell, the streams rose, the gale winds buffeted it; yet it stood firm because it was built on solid rock.26"But whoever hears what I say and fails to act upon My words is like a foolish man who decided to build his house on shifting sand.27The storm rains fell, the streams rose, the gale winds buffeted the house and it came crashing down!"28-29After Jesus had said these things, the crowd that had gathered was amazed by such teaching because He spoke with great authority, not at all like the teachers of the law they were accustomed to hearing!
Scripture quoted by permission. The passage above is taken from THE TRUTH VERSION. Copyright © 2009 by Colin Urquhart. All rights reserved worldwide. (The Truth New Testament)