“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls\u00a0before swine, lest they\u00a0trample them under their\u00a0feet, and turn again and\u00a0rend you<\/em>” (Matthew 7:6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It makes sense. Only a few times have I encountered non-believers who were belligerent or blasphemous about my Lord. One man told me; “Ray, you know what you can do with that Bible???? … you can “&%#!(&(&SS”! Another man, a school teacher proudly said that Jesus Christ was a fake. O.K. that’s about it. Most people simply tell you that they are this or that and “thank you, good-bye.” A few allow you to speak to them and that is how people are converted.<\/p>\n Now<\/strong>, back to the proverb. Matthew 7:6 is probably a paraphrase from Proverbs 9:7-8. The wise man tells us that sometimes it is better to leave some people alone, otherwise, you will get spotted — in other words, dirty! Had I known the truth of this proverb, I would have avoided several encounters with brethren that have sooted my name.<\/p>\n These are words from the mouths of brethren — baptized members of a church of Christ. I’ve had brethren call me out to fight … “if you’re man enough” and they made it look like I started it all. I’ve had brethren tell me: “they are all a bunch of hypocrites over at that church” and then they tum it around and tell others: “well Ray said that you are all a bunch of hypocrites”! Yes, brethren, the proverb is for our dealings with our own also.<\/p>\n How many of you have had the experience of being maligned by brethren after you tried to help them come back to the Lord? How many times have you been accused of being a warmonger after you tried to make peace between brethren? Have you ever been accused of being abusive, because you informed members that the church was going to withdraw from them unless they repented?<\/p>\n My advice in some cases is simply to follow the Lord’s advice: “Don’t throw that which is holy to the dogs.<\/em>” Consider the individual. Is he a scorner? Does he or she already have a track record of being a troublemaker? If he or she does, consider Matthew 7:6. Recall what happened to the last person who tried to win them back to the Lord. Consider the love that was trampled upon. The love that was cast to the dogs! Sometimes it’s just better to leave them alone. “What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh<\/em>” (Zechariah 11:9).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Raymond Gonzalez Sentry Magazine, March 2001 “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls\u00a0before swine, lest they\u00a0trample them under their\u00a0feet, and turn again and\u00a0rend you” (Matthew 7:6). Not in my wildest dreams as a babe in Christ, did I think to apply this proverb to brethren. The wording…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[536,451],"class_list":["post-33516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-preaching","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87335,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-am-with-you-always\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":0},"title":"I am with You Always","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Perhaps no promise is more empowering than the assurance that we can handle anything because God promises to be with us. When the apostles, a rag-tag looking bunch of common men, were told to preach to all the world and start at Jerusalem, it had to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":609,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-term-brother-indicate-saul-was-saved-prior-to-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":1},"title":"Does the term “brother” indicate Saul was saved prior to baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Since Ananias calls Saul \"Brother\" prior to Saul's baptism, doesn't this prove that Saul was saved before he was baptized? Answer: The verse in\u00a0question is\u00a0Acts 22:13\u00a0which reads, \"and he\u00a0[Ananias]\u00a0stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.\" As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-all-who-call-on-the-lord-be-saved-when-jesus-said-that-not-all-who-call-his-name-will-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":2},"title":"How can all who call on the Lord be saved when Jesus said that not all who call his name will be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently someone said they found a contradiction in the New Testament. They said Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 say that all who call in the name of the Lord will be saved. Then Matthew 7:21 says that not all who call upon him will be saved. Then in Acts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88199,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-believe-the-lord-but\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":3},"title":"I Believe the Lord, But …","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Marvin L. Weir Spiritual matters take priority over worldly matters. Many people who profess to be Christians would angrily protest if they were told they did not believe the Lord. A failure to believe Christ is not a new problem. During His earthly ministry, Jesus said to the Jews,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44090,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-bible-reading-a-part-of-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":4},"title":"Is Bible reading a part of worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I salute you, brother, in our Lord Jesus Christ. Is scripture reading also an act of worship along with prayer, songs, preaching, the Lord's supper, and giving? Is there any biblical order to be done in worship? Answer: \"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-jews-accuse-jesus-of-being-born-of-fornication\/","url_meta":{"origin":33516,"position":5},"title":"Did the Jews accuse Jesus of being born of fornication?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In John 8.41, did the Jews accuse the Lord of being \"born of fornication?\" Answer: You are reading more into the exchange than was stated. They said to Him, \"We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God\" \" (John 8:37-41). Jesus stated that he knew they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33516\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/dog-300x252.jpg\")
Not in my wildest dreams as a babe in Christ, did I think to apply this proverb to brethren. The wording is too rough … too crude. But in my 23 years as a follower of the Lord Jesus, I now realize that Jesus was speaking to Jews about their relationship with other Jews. The Lord was not talking about Jew and Gentile dealings. He was speaking to his disciples about considering their efforts with their own brethren!<\/p>\n\n