THE PECULIARITY OF THE GOLDEN RULE
Matthew 7:12

In our last time together, we observed that, when Jesus stated this command we know as the Golden Rule, He did so in a way that was very much different from similar commands in other religious groups.  The latter were stated in a negative way, commanding us not to do something to someone else that we would not want them to do to us.  Instead, Jesus stated this command in a positive way.  William Barclay would write, This was something that had never been said before.  It was a new teaching, and a new view of life and of life’s obligations.

What were the effects of this Rule?  First, we notice that it condemned human goodness.  I am reminded of what Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20).  J.B. Phillips translates that verse this way:  No man can justify himself before God by a perfect performance of the Law’s demands – indeed it is the straight edge of the Law that shows how crooked we are.  When set against God’s standards, all our efforts come up short.  Listen to how the following verses emphasize the validity of that conclusion:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  (Romans 3:23)

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6)

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12)

Secondly, when stated in a positive way, the Golden Rule calls us into the actions of love.  We are called upon to treat our brother, not as the law allows, but as love demands.  The focus is no longer on me.  It is now on someone else.  Bishop Ryle wrote these words:  This truth settles a hundred different points,…it prevents the necessity of laying down endless little rules for our conduct in specific cases.  Friends, the Golden Rule is really a commandment calling upon us to love others as we love ourselves. 

How can we achieve the reality of the Golden Rule in our lives?  It can only occur through the dynamic of the Holy Spirit.  I can only express this love as I let God love through me.  I love, because He first loved me (1 John 4:19).

Father, Thank You for this great verse that proclaims to us how You desire us to live and to love.  Help us to be more others-centered and less self-centered.  Help us to love others with the love that You have shown to us.  And, as we love in this way, may the world come to know Your love.  In Christ’s name I pray.  Amen.

 

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