A Godly Reading of The Golden Rule | Matthew 7:12

Scripture

• Matthew 7:12

About this sermon

If I asked you to give me a top 5 list of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible, I know we would get a very accurate sampling of verses. But I think I’m probably right to think that our verse this morning is usually not at the forefront of our minds when we think about that question. How do you get this one wrong? Isn’t this as straightforward as it gets? Isn’t this one of the simplest verses in all the Bible to understand? How could someone possibly misunderstand and misapply a verse that gives us what we commonly refer to as “The Golden Rule?” Well, as strange as it might seem, I would contend that this is a regularly misunderstood verse of Scripture. What Matthew 7:1 is to people who want to justify their sin, Matthew 7:12 is to people who want to justify themselves. This verse is, to unbelievers, the great common ground upon which all human beings should be able to agree and unite. “Can we not all agree at least on this — that we should all treat other people in the way that we want to be treated?” Even unbelievers are quick to agree, “This is a great piece of common wisdom.” “I don’t believe, as you do that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, that He was God incarnate, that He is the only Savior of the World, but I will agree that He was a wise man, and this is one of His wise sayings.” Others would say, “Can’t we see that this is a kind of wisdom common to men? After all, we can find similar statements in ancient literature. Yes, it is true that those statements are in the negative, telling us that we must not do to someone else what we would not want done to us. The statement of Jesus differs in that it is put in the positive. But they are really saying the same thing, are they not?” And I would be prepared to agree with them, that if this was the only difference between a statement made by some worldly philosopher, and the statement that our Lord makes here, it really wouldn’t amount to any great difference. Whether you are stating in negatively or positively, it would really amount to the same thing. BUT I WANT TO CONTEND TODAY, THAT JESUS IS ACTUALLY SAYING SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE PHILOSOPHERS. I want to contend that this is a highly misunderstood verse of Scripture, and that the common understanding of it would only produce a kind of life that wouldn’t please God at all. The way this verse is often read would only amount to yet another kind of moralism. Another empty and failing attempt at self-righteousness — another attempt to be “good people.” This morning I want to offer, from our text, three questions we should ask to make sure we read the golden rule properly. Three questions by which we may make sure that we have a godly reading of the golden rule. • THE GOLDEN RULE AND THE WORD OF GOD (BY WHAT STANDARD?) The first question that we must ask is, “By what standard is the golden rule to be practiced?” Someone says, “Well, isn’t it obvious? If I am to do unto others what I would desire done to me, then the standard of practice is the standard of my own desires. Isn’t that what the verse indicates? Well, in a sense, yes. But in a VERY CLEAR sense, the answer to that is no. This statement must be taken in its context if it is to be rightly understood. The “so” to begin verse 12 links it with the previous instruction. The closing words of verse 12 understand the rule as a SUMMARY of the entire revelation of God — THE BIBLE. That is, the Bible as it had been given up to that day. This is not a standard that operates in a way divorced from God’s revelation. This is not life lived by the standard of self-contained desires, ideas, aims and ambitions. This is not a standard represented BY AN UNBELIEVER’S LIFE. This verse is bracketed by two indicators that make plain that the standard is, in fact, GOD’S STANDARD. This is a summary of the sermon on the mount. So, the way to live out THIS SERMON, is to do unto others what you would have them do unto you. This is a summary of the law and the prophets. So, the way to live our WHAT SCRIPTURE TEACHES is to do unto others what you would have them do unto you. It is not, therefore, by a PERSONAL standard that the rule is to be understood. Rather, it is a personal standard that is informed by the knowledge of God’s standard.