DOGS AND PIGS

Matthew 7:6 HCSB says “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” Did Jesus just refer to some people as, dogs and pigs? The Lord is telling us that the sinful nature of every human being is like the dog and swine. The Lord is saying, that we must learn to discern the dogs and pigs who despise the Word of God and treat it disrespectfully. But we’re to do it from the position of love, not hypocrisy and unrighteous judgment.

In our effort to understand this teaching, we face a strong cultural attitude that could hinder us. In a pluralistic society, we’ve been taught that any act of discrimination is evil and that all people should be treated equally; that all should have equal opportunities whether they deserve it or not! The idea of purposefully refusing to reach out to someone is hard for contemporary Christians to accept. But the quality of discrimination was considered a praiseworthy quality many years ago. Christians are in great danger when they refuse to be discerning; when they’re unwilling to make proper judgments.

Jesus isn’t saying not to share the gospel with unbelievers; that would be contrary to Scripture. We’re supposed to tell the world, even "dogs and pigs," about Christ. We can’t say there are only dogs and pigs out there in order to justify why we don’t share our faith with others. But Jesus is telling us that there are some people who shouldn’t receive our investment of ministry.

“Do not give what is holy to dogs.” This is an illusion to the offerings and sacrifices of the Old Testament. The sacrificial meat offerings that were sacrificed to God in the Temple could be eaten by Aaron and his sons, and the Levite priests. No unclean or unholy person could eat the holy sacrifices. The priests either burned the left-over meat or buried it. Can you imagine the Old Testament priests sacrificing the meat on the altar to God, and then throwing the meat to the dogs? No way! It was holy! What we need to realize is dogs wouldn’t appreciate the difference between something that’s holy and something that’s not holy. Dogs can’t understand sacred things.

The words ‘holy’ stands in parallel to ‘pearls’. A pearl illustrates what a holy thing is. Pearls were an image for wisdom in the Old Testament. The holy things that you’re not to give to dogs and the pearls you’re not to waste on swine are the spiritual insights and truth’s you’ve learned from God’s Word. You should never underestimate the tremendous value God places on the experience and wisdom you’ve gained. These are holy things. The riches of God’s truth that He’s given to you are not for dog’s; they’re not for swine.

Churches that baptize unbelievers or who give the bread and the wine to unbelievers at the Lord's Supper, those who give church membership to the unconverted and allow them to become deacons, elders, and ministers of a God they’ve never confessed faith in, pastors who support and fellowship with apostate teachers and preachers rather than rebuke and expose their doctrines of demons are throwing pearls before pigs and giving holy things to dogs! They are wasting the valuable things of God on people who will not appreciate them.

It’s a waste of time to bathe a pig on a daily basis knowing that at any given time, it’s just going to throw itself back into the mud at the first opportunity. What use is it to wash your car if you’re going to be driving down a muddy road, knowing full well that it’ll get dirty again?

Now the point here is that pigs value nothing they can’t eat, so if you were to give a pig pearls to eat they would just sniff them, and when it realized it wasn’t food, it would simply trample them down into the filth and mud of the pig pen. These people who are analogous to the dog and pig have no appreciation for the beauty or value of pearls; they don’t value holiness, they don’t appreciate what God’s Word says; they don’t appreciate the wisdom of God. The mark of a sheep is that when you rebuke it, it follows you. The mark of a hog and a dog is when you rebuke it, it turns to bite you.

Jesus is saying we must be discerning and make proper judgments about who’s a dog and who’s a pig when we share the gospel with people. In order to avoid offering something of value to a dog or pig, you’re first going to have to be able to identify and discern when you’re standing in front of one. So, how do we discover the identity of dogs and swine? Jesus told us we would know them by their fruits. (Matt. 7:20).

When people don’t really want to listen and begin to ridicule, insult, argue or mock sound biblical truths, they’re revealing themselves to be dogs and pigs. God’s word clearly tells us NOT to give the pearls of God’s Word to these people. That means don’t. Our job is not to put pressure on people or cram the gospel down their throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. When it becomes apparent that the precious pearls we have to offer aren’t appreciated, we’re to back off. We’re responsible to share our faith, but it’s the responsibility of those who hear the message what they do with it – they have the choice to either accept it or reject it.

Jesus gave instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection as well as a stern warning for those who didn’t receive the apostles that He sent. He said, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” [Matt.10:14] Jesus is saying if those who you share the gospel with rejects what you tell them, simply go elsewhere. Don’t give your spiritual pearls to those who don’t receive you in a friendly manner, and have no appreciation for spiritual things. Don’t waste your words or spend time shouting at deaf ears. There’s a time when you have to move on and reach out to others who are more receptive.

This teaching of Jesus makes it clear that at times we are going to need to make judgements and turn away from someone who’s treating the precious truths of the Gospel as a swine would treat valuable pearls. If they don’t demonstrate a sincere desire to learn, to receive from you, and to soak up the rich wisdom you’re trying to impart into their lives, it’s time for you to stop trying to make them receive what they need and turn your attention elsewhere. You can pray for them, love them, and wait for a time when their hearts are softer and their ears are more open. However, there’s a time to let a person be and let God deal with them alone. Be led by the Spirit of the Lord and share them only with those He wants us to share them with. Let the Lord lead you to those who are seeking and crying out for Him to send someone like you to them.