part
10 the golden rule
For the past nine weeks we have been discussing
relationships. This morning we bring to
a close our series entitled radical relationships. Hopefully this series has been beneficial
to you. At times we can get very technical
in our teachings but this series was intended to be extremely practical.
We have been building practical precept upon practical
precept and this morning, we will lay the cornerstone. This morning I am going to set before you the
precept of all precepts, the most glorious and profound of them all. It comes directly from the mouth of Jesus
himself. Jesus says in Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do
to you.
Let’s pray…
What more can I add to these words? Anything I add to these words of our master
might dismantle them. I run the risk
ruining the force of his teaching. I
fear that by expounding upon this in any way I might take something away. In fact, this is such a magnificent precept,
such wonderful words that in all reality, I could stand up and simply say In everything, do to
others what you would have them do to you. That’s it.
And I could do that every week and if we were to do this one simple
thing we would indeed have radical relationships.
This morning I’d like to point out three things that
make this precept so supreme. It is:
·
universally acceptable
·
universally applicable
·
universally advantageous.
UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTABLE
This precept is supreme in the sense that it is
universally acceptable. As Christians,
we are often seen as being exclusive, intolerant, dogmatic or rigid. We do, after all, adhere to certain claims
like “Jesus is the way the truth and life, no one comes
to the father accept through him” (John 14:6) and that “there is only one name given to men by which we must be
saved” (Acts4:12) and that “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus
Christ” (1 Tim 2:5). Words like
that don’t go over well with everybody.
Such claims can be highly offensive to some people. If we wanted to make everybody happy and
offend none, we would have to say things like, “Jesus is one of many ways to
eternal life and all are equally valid.
The Bible is just one of many equally true religious writings.” Not everybody is going to accept our
seemingly rigid and exclusive claims and they will certainly offend many. However, when it comes to the words of this
Jesus in Matt 7:12 Do to others what you would have them do to you, it seems that
nobody is offended. It seems that as
Biblical as this is, as CHRISTIAN as this is, people who don’t like the Bible,
who don’t like Christians, people who don’t even like Jesus not only accept
this precept, but they LOVE this precept.
How can you not? It’s
brilliant!!!
In fact, this precept has been called the golden
rule. This precept is universally
accepted. It is accepted by believers
and non believers alike. At the
beginning of this series I mentioned that while we would be drawing some
precepts from the Bible, much of what we discussed would be very universal,
acceptable and applicable to all, believers and non-believers alike. This morning’s message is no exception. This precept is universally accepted.
Ironically, this is the one message that rests entirely
upon the Scriptures. In other messages I
laid before you precepts that I have drawn from books and articles I have read
on the topic, things I have learned in seminary classes, some of my own
opinions and insights I learned along the way in life, things that I learned
from my mentor. But this morning, the
precept is straight out of the Bible, straight from the red letters in the
text, right from the mouth of Jesus himself.
The same Jesus who said “I am the way…no one comes to the father except
through me.” Yet, this is the most
universally acceptable precept. It is
indeed, the golden rule.
UNIVERSALLY APPLICABLE
Not only is it the most universally acceptable precept,
it is also a universally applicable precept. Notice how the verse begins: “So in everything…”
In everything.
Not in some things. Not in
certain circumstances. In
everything. It has universal
application.
There are precepts we find all throughout the
Scriptures. But many of them seem to be
circumstantial or situational. But this
one is all encompassing. This one is for
all circumstances, all situations.
Jesus’ teachings are filled with the term “when you.”
·
When you enter a house say “peace to this
house.”
·
When you are persecuted in one place flee
to the next.
·
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by
armies.
·
When you pray
·
When you fast
·
When you give.
These are all situational; they apply to specific
circumstances. But our golden rule is
not situational, it’s universal: in everything.
In giving and in receiving, in fasting and feasting. IN EVERYTHING.
Paul’s writings are no different. In 1 Cor 11:17ff Paul gives direction to the
Corinthians about taking the Lord’s Supper.
His words are “when you come together.” This is situational. It pertains to the particular situation of
when the saints observed the ordinance of communion. But our golden rule isn’t specific to “when
you come together” it’s in everything.
When you come together as a body of believers and when you’re
apart. In everything do to others what you would have
them do to you. This precept
has universal application; it’s not specific to certain situations, but all
situations.
Here at NCF we desire to be good students of the Bible
and we seek to rightly divide the word of truth, so we don’t want to just simply
grab verses out of context and apply them to our lives. We want to ensure that the context of our
situation resembles the context of the Biblical text from which we draw the
precept. However, there is no such concern
with this precept. It’s in
everything. In any situation, in every
context, we can apply this verse, we can apply this precept. We never have to think twice about it. Never will we find ourselves saying, “does Matt 7:12
truly apply in this situation?”
The answer is always “YES.” Matt 7:12 applies
in everything. It is universally
applicable.
Notice how Jesus ends the verse: For this sums up the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets is a phrase that
essentially means the OT Scriptures.
Remember that Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience whose fundamental
presupposition is that the OT Scriptures define moral conduct for God’s
people. There were 600+ laws in the law
of Moses that were to regulate life in the covenant community – many laws which
governed the way they were to treat one another – how they were to conduct
themselves in relationships. Add to
those laws the books of wisdom and poetry which included many proverbs and
psalms that were also instructive in many ways – more insight on how to conduct
relationships. By the time Christ came
many prophets had come on behalf of God to reinforce the laws and to shed
further light on the heart of the law and how they were to conduct relationships.
Jesus could have said “Gang, you have the Scriptures. If you want to know how to live, if you want
to know how to treat one another, if you want radical relationships, the answer
is simple: “in everything, do that which is contained in the Law and the
Prophets.” He could have said
that. And that would have been
sufficient. He could have said, “If you want
to know how to treat others, there are a multitude of relational precepts
contained in the Scriptures. Do not
murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal.
Do not mistreat an alien living among you, for you yourselves were
aliens in Egypt.” But he
didn’t. He said “In
everything do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up
the Law and the prophets.” This
one precept encapsulates the moral fabric of the Law of God. Would you want others to murder you? No, that’s the ultimate wrong. You don’t want to be wronged. You want others to do good to you; do good to
others. Do not murder. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Would you want your spouse to commit
adultery? No, you want fidelity. Be faithful.
Do not commit adultery. Do to others what
you would have them do to you.
As a person in a foreign land, as an alien, would you want the residents
of that land to enslave you, mistreat you, enforce strict labor upon you and
beat you? No. You would want them to show you kindness as
aliens. Do not mistreat the alien in
your land. Do to others what you would have them do to
you.
This one precept sums up the Law and the Prophets. Every relational precept contained in the Law
and the Prophets can be summed up in this one simple precept. So this precept is universally applicable in
the sense that it is the overarching precept that covers every other specific
Biblical precept.
Wouldn’t that have been overwhelming if Jesus had come
and said: “As it has been throughout the present age, so shall it be in the age to
come, do everything in the Law and Prophets???” But he didn’t and I am glad.
In the same way that this one thing sums up the law and
the prophets, it also sums up our entire series over the past nine weeks.
In week one, I shared with you that In a broad
sense, relationships are generally more important than tasks, things, and
goals. We should strive to (whenever
possible) prioritize people over projects, possessions, and positions. Generally speaking, don’t we want people to prioritize
us over projects, possessions, and positions?
Let’s do to others what we would want them to do to us and prioritize
them over tasks and things.
In
that message I stated that when we are in the midst of a task and somebody
interacts with us, we have that inner conflict of wanting to finish our task,
so we often see people as interruptions rather than invitations. But, in light of our golden rule, when we
seek to interact with another, wouldn’t we want them to see our relational
interaction as an invitation rather than an interruption? Let’s do that to others.
We
then began to look at some of the precepts that are essential to radical
relationships, the first being unconditional love. When we consider how we want others to love
us, I think we would all agree that our desire is that others would love us
unconditionally. We wouldn’t really want
others to love us as long as we are meeting certain criteria. We don’t want them to love us less based on
certain conditions. Since we want others
to love us unconditionally, we should love others unconditionally.
We then discussed grace and noted its essence in
radical relationships. We would rather
people treat us with grace than with legalism.
We would rather them forgive than hold a grudge. Let’s do to others what we would have them do
to us. Since we want to be shown grace,
let’s show grace.
We then looked at empowerment. Wouldn’t we like others to build us up with
their words rather than to tear us down?
Wouldn’t we like others to help us to become all that we can be rather
than to make us feel like less than nothing.
Let us, then, empower others.
Intimacy.
Wouldn’t we like others to share themselves with us and take off the
masks and let down the guards and trust us and be vulnerable with us that we
might truly know the real them? Let’s be
real and share ourselves, take off our masks, put our guard down and be
intimate with others. As we desire
intimacy from others, let us share ourselves with them.
On Mother’s Day we considered the power of the
influence of a mother on her children. A
mother can apply the golden rule. What
kind of an influence would we appreciate from our own mothers? How did we want our mother to treat us? Mothers can do to others what they would
want. Mothers can be that kind of a
mother to their children and have that kind of influence.
We then discussed effective communication. In light of that wouldn’t we like others to
say what they mean and mean what they say rather than being passive
aggressive? We can do to others what we
would like them to do. We would
appreciate it if others were to monitor non-verbals. Want others to listen attentively. We appreciate when others do not interrupt
us. Considering how we would like others
to communicate to us, we can communicate that way with them.
Last week we discussed conflict management, defining
conflict as difference of opinions or wants.
We want people to honor our wants, desires, thoughts, opinions. We want others to work towards a
win/win. We want others to see us as
teammates, not enemies. We want others
to take the time and energy to discuss an issue to find the real issue and work
toward a mutually beneficial resolution.
Let’s do that to others.
This simple golden rule is universal. This encapsulates the Bible’s teachings on
right relationships, it encapsulates everything in this sermon series on
radical relationships, it encapsulates everything. This is the litmus test for all of our
relational activities. In everything we do
we can ask how would I want others to treat me?
And do that.
If we simply put ourselves in the shoes of others. We know all about what we want, what is wrong
to us and how we want others to treat us.
Let’s use that expertise to teach ourselves how to treat others. Treat them as we would want to be treated.
UNIVERSALLY ADVANTAGEOUS
This precept is universally advantageous. It is beneficial to everyone. It is far-reaching. Consider how far the blessing of this precept
stretches. This goes beyond the walls of
our home, beyond our spouse, beyond our friendships, our church, it touches the
lives of strangers.
When we arrive at the park and sit down at a picnic
table, it sure would be nice if the table was clean and the previous people
didn’t leave a mess for us to clean up.
Let’s leave the table clean for others and pick up after ourselves. This blesses the stranger who sits down after
us. We would want to find it clean,
let’s do that very thing for others.
When we’re driving, it sure is nice when people use
their turn signals so that we know their intentions if they are about to turn
or change lanes. Since we would like
others to use that courtesy when driving, let’s use the same courtesy and use
our turn signals. We would rather people
not cut us off. We want people to drive
courteously, let’s drive courteously.
When it’s 2:00 am we would prefer not to be awakened by
the booming bass of a stereo at full blast.
We would prefer that others be courteous to us and our desire to
sleep. We should do the same to others.
This precept is universally advantageous and far
reaching, even blessing the lives of strangers.
PERVERSION?
It’s universally advantageous even in the face of
perversion. Some people may actually try to twist this precept for their own
benefit and with a hardened heart attempt to pervert the precept.
For example, an individual may be getting a fountain
drink at a fast food joint. In the
process some ice cubes drop on the ground.
One might make the point that leaving ice cubes on the ground is a
safety hazard and that they should be picked up so that nobody slips and
falls. Perhaps the ice-dropper
refuses. So the ice-dropper is
questioned: “Would you like it if someone dropped ice and didn’t pick it up and you
slipped on it?” The ice-dropper may
reason, “I
wouldn’t care if someone dropped ice and left it. If I slip on it, it’s my fault; I should pay
attention. So if I drop ice and someone
else slips, it’s their fault for not paying attention.” So I’m doing
to others what I would have them do to me. I wouldn’t care if they leave ice on the
floor, so I’m leaving ice on the floor.
Such an approach is certainly a perversion of the precept.
Do you hear the lack of concern for others embedded in
that type of reasoning? This skirts the
heart of the matter. At the heart of the
golden rule is doing good to others.
Such a misuse of the precept displays a hard heart and a wrong
attitude. Yet, in the context, Jesus is
displaying the spirit of the law that should be written on the heart of God’s
new covenant people. This golden rule
lies in the sermon on the mount in which Jesus says, You’ve heard don’t murder. He explains that it’s not about outward
obedience to the letter of the law written on stone, but the spirit of the law
that is written in the hearts of God’s people. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter: doing
good to others: Avoid being angry with your brother and seek to reconcile
relationship quickly. You’ve heard do not
commit adultery. Again, Jesus
explains, it’s not about outward obedience to the letter of the law written on
stone but on the spirit of the law written on the hearts of God’s people. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter: Don’t
even look upon a woman lustfully.
The heart of the matter is the matter of the
heart. A right heart rightly applies the
golden rule as it was designed to point people toward doing good to others, not
giving one the excuse to be self-centered.
This hypothetical self-centered individual might say, I
don’t care if people leave ice on the floor.
I don’t care if someone leaves trash at the park, it’s not their job to
pick it up. I don’t care if people use
turn signals. I don’t care if people
blast music at 2:00, I’m still up anyway.
If we were to press this person, we would likely find
that there is something one could do to offend him, something that he would
care about, some line that if crossed, he would be cross. Wherever that line is, the bottom line is
that there is something that he would prefer others do or not do to him; he has
an opinion or a preference that lies somewhere that he would want others to
consider. So ultimately, he would be
forced to agree that since he would want others to consider his feelings and
preference, he should also consider the feelings and preferences of others –
others who may prefer that people remove safety hazards like ice cubes, others
who may prefer that people signal their intent when driving, others who may
prefer that picnic tables be left clean after use, others who may prefer that
music not be played at a high volume at 2:00 am.
So even in the face of misuse and perversion, this
precept is advantageous.
No matter which way you turn it, it’s
advantageous. Even for the individual
that lacks concern for others, walking in self-centeredness, for the person
that is all about himself and wants everyone to yield to his desires and his
wishes and consider his feelings and opinions, consider how this precept would
affect his actions. If he were to treat others the way
he wants to be treated, then he will yield to their desires and
wishes, and consider their feelings and opinions.
This precept is altogether lovely, it’s magnificent. It’s brilliant. No wonder it’s called the golden rule.
This morning’s teaching is not some brand new insight
that you never heard before. Whether
you’re like Dustin, Cody and Josh and have the SOM memorized or you grew up in
a secular society as I did you probably heard the golden rule before today. This is nothing new to you. In no way do I share this simple precept so
as to insult your intelligence. In fact,
at times, in my preparation, I find myself shying away from such simplicities
because you are all intelligent, you’re all brilliant, you are a lovely group
of people and I am so proud of you. This
isn’t something you don’t know, but something you already know. But both Peter and Paul in their writings
write to people like you, who already know the truths contained in their
writings, but do you know what they say?
I write
this to remind you. Yes, you
know this stuff. Resist the temptation
to say “I
know, I know. I want something new and
fresh and exciting.” Though we
know this, we need to be reminded of this simple, yet profound precept of doing
to others as we would have them do to us.
If indeed, life is 97% relationships, if life itself revolves around
relationships, then it is necessary that we camp out on this fundamental
precept that you and I both know so well.
At times, familiarity can rob us of fruitfulness. We can take things less seriously and lose
the awe and wonder that we should have or once had. I hope this morning that you will gaze upon
this golden rule with me with fresh eyes, with a sense of childlike wonder as
we consider the words of our lord and say, “Yes, amen, Lord. Let it be so.
We will do as you say. You have
given us the key to unlock radical relationships. In everything we will do to others as we
would have them do to us.”
For this is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and
the end of radical relationships.
www.ncfgeorgetown.com
Church in Georgetown, Texas. Reformed church Georgetown, Texas Preterist
church Georgetown Texas. Pastor David Boone. Sermon audio mp3 sermon download
Full Preterism. Covenant Eschatology. New Covenant Fellowship Georgetown. Page
House 10:00 am Loving God. Loving Others. Realized eschatology fulfilled
eschatology Preterist church Austin
Texas. Bible church Austin Texas Second
coming of Jesus Christ churches in Austin area. Non denominational Churches in
Georgetown TX
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