Bible Questions Answered:
“What is meant by straining at a
gnat...?”
William/ Kingston, Ontario Canada
Bible Answer:
Bible Text”
Matthew 23:23-26 KJV
23 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which
strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and
of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse
first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of
them may be clean also.
Our Lord was
addressing...
Matthew 23:13
KJV
'But woe unto you, Scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites," and
He had many things to tell them.
Gnats are small
flies, and of course they can get into drinking water. “strain
at a gnat,” would
have been better translated, “strain
out a gnat.”
That our KJV Bibles say “at,” a gnat and not “out,” a gnat,
is thought by most to have been a Bible printers error.
Matthew
23:23-26 NLT
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.
24
Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t
accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!
25
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of
the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and
self-indulgence!
26
You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,
and then the outside will become clean, too.
In
the 23rd
chapter of Matthew, our Lord criticized religious leaders of the day,
the Scribes and Pharisees, for
their worthless religious pretense.
(Be sure to read all of Matthew 23.)
In
Matthew 7:21-23
KJV,
our Lord said....
21
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of
My Father which is in heaven.
22
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?
23
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me,
ye that work iniquity.
They
were Religious Workers Of Iniquity
because, in their worthless religious pretense,
they were leading countless other souls to perdition!
Matthew
6:1-8;16-18 KJV
1
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:
otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before
thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward.
3
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right
hand doeth:
4
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in
secret Himself shall reward thee openly.
5
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of
the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what
things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.
16
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad
countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear
unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
17
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
18
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is
in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly.
Salvation
Not By Works:
John
1:12,13 KJV
12
But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on H 85is name:
13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
Ephesians
2:8,9 KJV
8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves:
it is The Gift Of
God:
9
Not of works (All
religious works included!),
lest any man should boast.
Philippians
3:3,9 NLT
3
For we who worship by The Spirit Of God are the ones who are truly
circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has
done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
9
and become one with Him. I no longer count on my
own righteousness
through obeying the law; rather,
I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making
us right with Himself depends on faith.
Titus
3:5 KJV
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done,
but according to His
mercy He saved us,
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of The Holy Ghost;
NO
ONE SINNLESS:
Psalm
51:5 KJV
Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Ecclesiastes
7:20 NLT
Not
a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
Isaiah
64:6 KJV
But
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like
the wind, have taken us away.
Romans
3:10,23,24 KJV
10
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus:
I
John 1:8-10 KJV
8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and The Truth is
not in us.
9
If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word
is not in us.
Dear
friend, do not “strain
at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”
Man cannot save himself! Religious works did not bleed and die on Calvary's cross!
Mankind's pardon for sin, has been bought and paid for by The Blood
Of Jesus Christ.
And one may receive that pardon, if one and only when one, confesses
and repents of his sin, and takes Jesus Christ as his (one and only)
Savior.
