"Your calling," said Meister Eckhart to the clergy of his day, "cannot make you holy; but you can make it holy." No matter how humble that calling may be, a holy man can make it a holy calling. A call to the ministry is not a call to be holy, as if the fact of his being a minister would sanctify a man; rather, the ministry is a calling for a holy man who has been made holy some other way than by the work he does. The true order is: God makes a man holy by blood and fire and sharp discipline. Then he calls the man to some special work, and the man being holy makes that work holy in turn. The anonymous author of the Cloud of Unknowing sets this truth sternly before his readers: "Beware, thou wretch . . . and hold thee never the holier nor the better for the worthiness of thy calling . . . but the more wretched and cursed, unless thou do that in thee is goodly, by grace and by counsel, to live after thy calling." Our whole point here is that while good deeds cannot make a man good, it is likewise true that everything a good man does is good because he is a good man. Holy deeds are holy not because they are one kind of deed instead of another, but because a holy man performs them. "Every good tree bears good fruit . . . a good tree cannot bear bad fruit" (Matthew 7:18). Every person should see to it that he is fully cleansed from all sin, entirely surrendered to the whole will of God and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then he will not be known as what he does, but as what he is. He will be a man of God first and anything else second: a man of God who paints or mines coal or farms or preaches or runs a business, but always a man of God. That and not the kind of work he does will determine the quality of his deeds.

A.W. Tozer's materials are a mainstay in Evangelical churches in our day and he is one of the most quoted authors. He was a prophet in his day and his writings are even more influential in our day. One of his books: The Pursuit of God, has had over 1 million copies sold world-wide.

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer

On Being Men and Women of God

Matthew 7:13-29"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."There are two gates - one narrow and one wide - and two ways corresponding thereto. The easy way is not the right way. This is true in a very wide sense. It is true in the life of a child. There is a broad way of indulgence and indolence - but we know where it leads. There is a way of patient obedience in duty - and the end of this is worthy life and noble character. It is true in young manhood and womanhood. There is a way of pleasure, of ease - which leads to unworthy character. There is a way of self-denial, of discipline, of hard work - and this leads to honor. Then there is a broad way of selfishness and sin - which never reaches heaven's gates. And there is a way of penitence, of devotion to Christ, of spending and being spent in His service - which end is a seat beside the King on His throne!It is a reason for great thankfulness, that there is a gate into the spiritual and heavenly life - and into heaven at the end. The glorious things are not beyond our reach. They are high, on dazzling summits - but there is a path that leads to them. We must note, however, that the gate is narrow.Some people say that it is very easy to be a Christian. But really, it is not easy. It was not easy for the Son of God to prepare the way for us. It was necessary for Him to come from heaven in condescending love, and give His own life in opening the way. Jesus said also that any who would reach the glory of His kingdom, must go by the same way of the cross by which He had gone. He said that the one who will save his life - that is, withhold it from self-denial and sacrifice, shall lose it; and that he alone who loses his life - that is, gives it out in devotion to God and to duty - shall really save it (see 16:24, 25). In one of His parables, too, Jesus speaks of salvation as a treasure hid in a field, and the man who learns of the treasure and its hiding-place has to sell all that he has in order to buy the field (see 13:44). In another parable the same truth is presented under the figure of a merchant seeking goodly pearls, who had to sell all his stock of pearls - that he might buy the one peerless pearl (13:45).The truth of the difficulty of entrance into the kingdom, is put in another way in this Sermon on the Mount. There are two roads through this world and two gates into the eternal world. One of these roads is broad and easy, with a descending grade, leading to a wide gate. It requires no exertion, no struggle, and no sacrifice to go this way. The other road is narrow and difficult - and leads to a narrow gate. To go this way one has to leave the crowd and walk almost alone - leave the broad, plain, easy road - and go on a hard, rugged road that often gets difficult and steep, entering by a gate too small to admit any bundles of worldliness or self-righteousness, or any of the trappings of the old life. If we get to heaven, we must make up our minds that it can be only by this narrow way of self - denial. There is a gate - but it is narrow and hard to pass through.Jesus forewarned His friends against false prophets who would come to them in sheep's clothing - but who inwardly would be ravening wolves! There is something fearful in the eagerness of Satan to destroy men's lives! He resorts to every possible device. He sends his agents and messengers in forms and garbs intended to deceive the simple-minded and unwary. He even steals the dress of God's own servants, in order to gain the confidence of believers and then destroy their faith and lead them away to death. There always are such false teachers and guides. They try to pass for sheep - but the sheep's covering is only worn outside, while inside is the heart of a hungry, blood-thirsty wolf!Many young people in these times fall under the influence of people who have caught smatterings of skeptical talk which they drop in the form of sneers or mocking queries into the ears of their confiding listeners. They laugh at the simple old cradle beliefs which these young Christians hold, calling them "superstitions." Then they go on to cast doubt upon, or at least to start questions about, this or that teaching in the Bible, or to caricature some Christian doctrine and hold it up in such a light as to make it look absurd. Thus these "false prophets" poison the minds of earnest young believers, and often destroy their childhood faith and fill them with doubt and perplexity!Jesus makes it very plain in His teaching, that not profession but obedience is the test of Christian life. "Not everyone that says unto Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father." It is not enough to believe in Christ, intellectually, even to be altogether orthodox in one's creed. It is not enough to seem to honor Christ before men, praying to Him and ascribing power to Him. Jesus tells us that some at last who thus seem to be His friends, publicly confessing Him - shall fail to enter the heavenly kingdom!Why are these confessors of Christ, kept out of the heavenly kingdom? What are the conditions of entrance into this kingdom? The answer is given very plainly. Those alone enter the kingdom, who do the will of the Father who is in heaven. No profession, therefore, is true which is not attested and verified by a life of obedience and holiness. "Simply to Your cross I cling" is not all of the gospel - it is only half of it. No one is really clinging to the cross - who is not at the same time faithfully following Christ and doing whatever He commands. To enter into the kingdom of heaven, is to have in one's heart the heavenly spirit. We must do God's will. We cannot have Christ for our Savior, until we have Him also as our Master. We pray, "May Your will be done by me on earth, as it is done in heaven." If the prayer is sincere, it must draw our whole life with it in loving obedience and acquiescence to the Divine will.The illustration at the close of the Sermon on the Mount, makes the teaching very plain. "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock." Everything turns on the doing or not doing of God's Word. Both the men here described hear the words - but only one of them obeys, and thus builds on the impregnable foundation. These two houses probably looked very much alike when they were finished. Indeed, the house on the sand may have been more attractive and more showy - than the house built farther up on the hillside. The difference, however, lay in the foundations .There were two kinds of ground. There was a wide valley, which was dry and pleasant in the summer days, when these men were looking for building sites. Then way above this valley - were high, rocky bluffs. One man decided to build in the valley. It would cost much less. It was easy digging, and the excavations would be less expensive, for the ground was soft. Then it was more convenient also, for the bluffs were not easy of access. The other man looked farther ahead, however, and decided to build on the high ground. It would cost a great deal more - but it would be safer in the end.So the two homes went up simultaneously, only the one in the valley was finished long before the other was, because it required much less labor. At last the two families moved into their respective residences, and both seemed very happy. But one night there was a great storm. The rains poured down in torrents until a flood, like a wild river, swept through the valley. The house that was built on the low ground - was carried away with its dwellers. The house on the bluff, however, was unharmed.These two pictures explain themselves. He who built in the valley is the man who has only profession - but who has never really given his life to Christ, nor built on Him as the foundation. The other man who build on the rock - is he who has a true faith in Christ, confirmed by loving obedience. The storms that burst, are earth's trials which test every life - the tempests of death and of judgment. The mere professor of religion is swept away in these storms, for he has only sand under him. He who builds on Christ is secure, for no storm can reach him in Christ's bosom!

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

Matthew 7:13-29

False and True Discipleship

For Reading and Meditation:      John 14:1-14We make the claim once again - Christianity is unique. It is unique in the sense that it is the divinely appointed way to enter into a relationship with the one true and living God. There is only one way, only one Name, only one God, only one Lord, only one Mediator. Our claim that Christianity is unique comes not from arrogance but from simple empirical fact. W. A. Visser't Hooft, in his book No Other Name, says: "There is no universality if there is no unique event." Uniqueness and universality go together. It is because God has exalted Jesus to the highest place in the universe, "far above all rule and authority," and given Him the unique Name of "Lord," that He towers over every other name. That, too, is the reason why every knee must bow to Him. And it is precisely because Jesus Christ is the only Savior that we are under an obligation to proclaim Him to as many as we possibly can. In whatever culture we live, we must endeavor to make Jesus known. We must set our face against the faction in today's church that aims to modernize the gospel and says: "Let us recognize all religions as being authentic before God and seek not to convert people from their religion but encourage them to be better adherents of it." Have these people no regard for the honor of Jesus Christ? Do they not care when Christ is seen as just one among many Saviors rather than, as God declares, the only Savior. No true Christian can ever worship Christ without minding that others do not.Father, help me understand that it is not enough to know about the faith into which You have brought me by Your grace: I must seek also to share it. Help me grasp every opportunity that comes to make the way clear to others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Matthew 7:15-21</li><li>Acts 20:25-31</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Jesus warn about?</li><li>What was Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"No one comes to the Father except through me." (v. 6)

For Reading and Meditation:      Matthew 7:13-29If the men and women of this world took an unbiased look at Jesus as presented to us in the four Gospels, they would see, as Bishop Stephen Neill put it, that "Jesus Christ is not in the least like anyone else who has ever lived." The way He taught, for example, is not the same as that of any other religious teacher. When He concluded the Sermon on the Mount, which some believe to be idealism, the people "were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His teaching, for He was teaching as [One] Who had [and was] authority . . ." (Amp. Bible)." What was this "authority"? An authority imposed from without? No, it was the authority of the facts. Jesus was divulging the meaning of life. He was uncovering reality. It was the authority of God; when He spoke, God spoke. It was the authority of truth, deed, and love. A good many people make the mistake of thinking that Jesus came to impose upon humanity a moral code. But Jesus was not a moralist in that sense at all. He was a revealer of the nature of reality. He revealed first the nature of God, and that the nature of God is the ground of God's conduct and ours. He then lifted up the laws written into the universe, written in the warp and woof of our being, and showed us that the only way to live is God's way. Instead of being an imposed idealism, it was exposed realism - Reality itself was speaking. No wonder it was authoritative. Here was the indicative become the imperative. Lord Jesus Christ, revealer of all that is hidden, thank You above everything that You have revealed God to me. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All of Your ways become the way - for everybody, everywhere. Now I am on the way. Hallelujah!<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Mark 1:1-27</li><li>Matthew 28:18</li><li>John 5:27</li><li>Matthew 8:27</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What amazed the people?</li><li>What amazed the disciples?</li></ul></div></div>

"... he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." (v. 29) 

For Reading and Meditation:      Matthew 7:13-20Today we look at the special understanding the psalmist received when he came into the sanctuary of God: "Then I understood their final destiny" (Psalm 73:17). As soon as he considered the final destiny of the ungodly, everything dropped into focus for him. He had looked at the prosperity of the ungodly but he had not looked at their end - he had not taken in all the facts. What are the facts concerning the end of the ungodly? The passage we read today tells us: the broad road which the ungodly travel leads to destruction; the narrow road which the godly travel leads to life. It is as simple as that. Though this passage was not available to the psalmist, the truth underlying it was most certainly known to him. Listen to this from Psalm 37: "The transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off" (v. 38, NKJ). The writer of that psalm, King David, described the wicked spreading themselves like a green tree, but when the end came they vanished off the face of the earth and no one could find them. The trouble with us is that so often we dwell too much on the present and fail to consider the future. Do you look at the ungodly, many of whom seem to be having a marvellous time ignoring moral restrictions, and feel envious of them? Well consider their end. Give some thought to the ultimate outcome. The Bible describes it as "destruction". We ought never to forget that it is not how things are at present that is important; it's how they end that matters. Father, whenever I am next tempted to compare my life and its circumstances with that of others who do not know You, help me to remind myself of the fact that it is the end that matters, not the beginning. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Luke 12:15-21</li><li>Proverbs 12:15-16</li><li>Proverbs 28:6</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Jesus call the man in his parable?</li><li>What word keeps occurring in the parable?</li></ul></div></div>

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction " (v. 13) 

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Matthew 7:18

 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants. Its flowing language and prose rhythm has had a profound influence on the literature of the past 400 years. The King James Version present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States.

OT: Masoretic Text, some LXX and Vulgate influence.
NT: Textus Receptus, similar to the Byzantine text-type; some readings derived from the Vulgate.
Apocrypha: Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

King James Version

18 <woj>A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.</woj>

<woj>A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.</woj>

 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

From Wikipedia: 

The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible. The ESV was published in 2001 by Crossway, having been "created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors." The ESV relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Greek texts. Crossway claim that the ESV continues a legacy begun by the Tyndale New Testament of precision and faithfulness in English translation of the original text, followed in the same standard by "the King James Version of 1611 (KJV), the English Revised Version of 1885 (RV), the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV), and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971." Crossway describes the ESV as a translation that "emphasizes 'word-for-word' accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning." Crossway also describes the ESV as a translation that adheres to an "essentially literal" translation philosophy, taking into account "differences in grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages."

The ESV is derived from the 1971 text edition of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). ESV Translation Oversight Committee member Wayne Grudem claims that approximately eight percent (or about 60,000 words) of the 1971 RSV text being used for the ESV was revised as of first publication in 2001. Grudem states that the committee removed "every trace of liberal influence that had caused such criticism from evangelicals when the RSV was first published in 1952." Although, Grudem also states that much of the 1971 RSV text left unchanged by the committee "is simply 'the best of the best' of the KJV tradition."

With regard to gender language, the ESV Translation Oversight Committee state that "the goal of the ESV is to render literally what is in the original."[9] The committee expands on this position in claiming that, although the ESV avoids using gender-neutral language (for the purpose of preserving contextual meaning found in the original text), the translation does utilize gender-neutral language in specific cases. The committee further state that their objective was "transparency to the original text, allowing the reader to understand the original on its own terms rather than in the terms of our present-day Western culture."[9] The ESV Study Bible often details in its commentary why a complementarian interpretation of the original text may have been rendered in translation.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (5th ed., 1997); additional sources in difficult cases
NT: UBS Greek New Testament (5th corrected ed.); Novum Testamentum Graece (28th ed., 2012)

English Standard Version

18 <woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. </woj>

<woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.<cr>1</cr> </woj>

 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

From Wikipedia: 

The American Standard Version (ASV) is rooted in the work that was done with the Revised Version (RV) (a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of 1611). In 1870, an invitation was extended to American religious leaders for scholars to work on the RV project. A year later, Protestant theologian Philip Schaff chose 30 scholars representing the denominations of Baptist, Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, Friends, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, and Unitarian. These scholars began work in 1872.

The RV New Testament was released In 1881; the Old Testament was published in 1885. The ASV was published in 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons. In 1928, the International Council of Religious Education (the body that later merged with the Federal Council of Churches to form the National Council of Churches) acquired the copyright from Nelson and renewed it the following year.

The divine name of the Almighty (the Tetragrammaton) is consistently rendered Jehovah in the ASV Old Testament, rather than LORD as it appears in the King James Bible.

The ASV was the basis of four revisions. They were the Revised Standard Version, 1971, the Amplified Bible, 1965, the New American Standard Bible, 1995, and the Recovery Version, 1999. A fifth revision, known as the World English Bible, was published in 2000 and was placed in the public domain. The ASV was also the basis for Kenneth N. Taylor's Bible paraphrase, The Living Bible, 1971.

This Bible is in the public domain in the United States. We are making it available in the same format in which we acquired it as a public service.

NT: Westcott and Hort 1881 and Tregelles 1857, (Reproduced in a single, continuous, form in Palmer 1881). 
OT: Masoretic Text with some Septuagint influence).

American Standard Version

18 A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.

A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.

From Wikipedia: 

The World English Bible (WEB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 2000. It is an updated revision of the American Standard Version (1901). 

The World English Bible was created by volunteers using the American Standard Version as the base text as part of the ebible.org project through Rainbow Missions, Inc., a Colorado non-profit corporation. 

The World English Bible is one of the few public domain, twenty-first century English translations of the entire Bible, and it is freely distributed to the public using electronic formats.


NT: Byzantine Majority Text by Robinson and Pierpont 1991. 
OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (with some Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls influence).

World English Bible

18 <woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. </woj>

<woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.<cr>1</cr></woj>

 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

New International Version 1984

18 <woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</woj>

<woj>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</woj>

 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

From Wikipedia: The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the original, yet truly updated to enhance its clarity and readability."




Matthew 7:18

Matthew 7:18 KJV

Matthew 7:18 ESV

Matthew 7:18 NIV

Matthew 7:18 ASV

Matthew 7:18 WEB

Matthew 7:18 NIV1984

Matthew 7:18 NKJV

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