The Golden Rule

SERMON: 2008-05-25--sm0852--the-golden-rule SOURCE DURATION: 00:30:06.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 2 CONFIDENCE: 0.90 APPROVED: false REASON: All candidates provided are segments of music (hymn/singing), indicating that the sermon has already concluded before the start of this material. Since no preceding sermon content is available in the candidate list, I am selecting the final token shown ([candidate 15]) while noting that it is non-sermon material. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the start and end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:00:00.000-00:00:07.920, 00:26:31.560-00:26:36.580, 00:27:21.200-00:30:05.200 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: start, end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:00:00.000; remove through 00:00:07.920] [CUT] # Was ever in the highest # # Glory, glory [CUT]... # [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:00:07.920; resume after this marked segment] So, in everything due to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. And this morning, as we take a few moments to look at that verse together, there are three things about that verse that I want to point out that I think are pertinent for each of our lives. So, number one, the verse appears to be out of context in the flow of the passage. Let me walk you through that a little bit. Matthew chapter 7 begins with the subject of not judging others, lest you be judged yourself. So, it has to do with interpersonal relationships. And Jesus talks about removing the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly. And then he talks about not casting a pearl before swine and giving dogs what is holy, all of that we've looked at together in the past. And then he launches into this piece about prayer. "Ask, and it will be given you; "seek, and you will find; "knock, and the door will be opened to you." And that is because that kind of discernment can only be given by our relationship with God, only as we understand who God is can we exercise that kind of discernment. And so, you would think, verse 12, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," logically ought to be placed earlier in the passage. Verse 12 really should come after verse 6. "Do not give dogs what is sacred; "do not throw your pearls to pigs. "If you do, they may trample them under their feet, "and then turn and tear you to pieces. "So in everything do to others "what you would have them do to you, "for this sums up the law and the prophets." Instead, Jesus goes into this whole prayer thing, and then he talks about your Father who is in heaven gives good gifts to those who ask him. And the reason, the reason is that you cannot live the golden rule unless you first have a relationship with God the Father who in Jesus Christ has become the source of all good. You see, you can't extend forgiveness to other people unless you have received forgiveness from God yourself. You cannot have enough grace to pour into the lives of other people unless you first have received that grace from God. And so Jesus adds verse 12 very deliberately at the end of that teaching about the Father heart of God to anchor us in the reality of the importance of our relationship with him. And the key indicator for that is that little verse so, so in everything do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. Now that word so is the Greek word un, and it literally means then or therefore, and it denotes the sequence of one clause upon another. And whenever in the New Testament Paul begins a new series of thoughts with the words therefore, he is always building on a previous argument. And so when he says in Romans 12, therefore by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, that is the conclusion that is based on everything that has gone on before. And so when Jesus here says so in everything do to others what you would have them do to you, he is really saying so then or in light of everything that I have just told you about God being your father and generously looking after all of your needs in light of that, I want you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Now, why is that important? It's important because almost every religion in the world has one version or another of the golden rule. In fact, you will often hear people talk about the fact that all religions are really similar because they all teach that you're supposed to love your neighbor. Well, loving your neighbor is only half of the commandment. The first commandment is what? You love God. And in the Bible, those two, as we'll see a little bit later on this morning, those two are always linked because you cannot love your neighbor in the way Jesus says you ought to love your neighbor unless you know that God loves you. John in his epistle later on puts it this way. We love why? Because he first loved us. And so to grow in grace, to grow in an ability to love your neighbor is never just a process of trying to make up your mind to do better. No, it flows immediately out of our relationship with God because when you know that you're valued by God and that God is there to meet all of your needs, that he loves you, that he will provide for you and that he'll take care of you, then you've got the ability, the grace, the motivation to step out and give of yourself unstintingly because you know that you could never outgive God. So does it appear to be out of context? Yes. Is it? No. Because Jesus very deliberately ties it together and he says only when you know God as a generous father, can you even come close to living the golden rule. That's the first observation I wanna make on this passage. Second observation I wanna make then is that in this passage, Jesus not only establishes the high standard of loving your neighbor as you love yourself, but he also sets the terms for that standard. Listen again to how he puts it. In everything due to others, what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. How do I know what loving my neighbor really looks like? How can I really practice love in a way that honors God? Well, Jesus says it's really not that complicated. All you have to do is look at yourself, put yourself in a similar situation and ask yourself the question, how would I want to be treated in that situation? And Jesus says that's how you in turn ought to treat others. Not infrequently around here, somebody will make a comment about sermons that they have listened to in a service. And sometimes people say, it's like you were listening in on my conversation this past week or on my way to church. Or sometimes people say, did somebody tattle on me? We've had newcomers come here, dragged here by their friends and the Lord uses the message to really speak to them. And it's so close to home and so close to their situation that sometimes they look at the people who brought them and they say, did you tell on me? And of course the answer is no, because the Holy Spirit searches the heart. The Holy Spirit knows who we are and the Holy Spirit knows what we need when we need it. The word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword. At the same time, the Holy Spirit doesn't operate in a vacuum. The Holy Spirit realizes that we're all human. And sometimes in teaching and preaching, all I have to do is look at my own life, ask the question, how do I feel in this situation? How do I respond in that situation? How have I experienced God here? And by extrapolation, I also know that's true for a lot of other people. That doesn't remove the mystery of the Holy Spirit because the timing of it is always the power of the Holy Spirit. The best way to answer the question, how do I treat other people, is to ask myself the question, how do I want to be treated? How do you want to be treated? Let's look a little bit more closely. Because positively, we all want to be what? Treated with respect. We want to be treated fairly and justly. Our opinions need to matter. We want to feel that we've been heard if we need correction. We want that done with tact and gentleness. We want people to be truly interested in our welfare. And if we have a struggle, we want people to come alongside us without condemnation or prejudgments. We all, when we find ourselves in a pickle, would love for people to understand the situation that we find ourselves in and generously give of themselves without asking anything back. This past Tuesday, we had a meeting of classes in Whidbey and classes in the Christian Reformed Church as a neighboring group of churches. We meet together three times a year for business and encouragement. And at the classes meeting on Tuesday morning, we had a retired pastor by the name of Dirk Evans who did a workshop on enfolding newcomers and making sure that people feel at home in church. And one of the stories that he told was the story of an elderly gentleman that he knows from Brampton who had gone, I think, if I remember correctly, to New Orleans to be part of the rebuilding program over there, part of Christian Reformed World Relief Disaster Response Team. And he and his other team members had taken on this lady's house and rebuilt it. And towards the end, as the house was just about complete, the woman comes to them, tears streaming down her face. She is so grateful that her house has been rebuilt. And she tells the story of how for two years she had prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for God to send somebody to help her get her house back in order and nobody had come until all of a sudden this team of Green Church, as they were called, showed up. And they fulfilled her longing and her dream. Dirk Evans, as he was telling the story on Tuesday morning, said the man himself who told him that story had tears streaming down his face as he recollected how meaningful that help was to that woman. I'll never forget back in 1979 when our family was traveling from Alberta to Nova Scotia to take up a charge there. We had detoured to visit my family on Prince Edward Island. It was a March evening, I think around 7.30 at night. It was drizzling, it was pretty well dark. We came off the boat and hit the mother of all potholes. I thought the whole car was gonna go into that hole. The hubcap went flying, my tire not only got shredded, but so did my rim. And so here we stand by the side of the road, it's raining. The trunk is far fuller than what a trunk deserves to be, which of course contributed to my problem. When a car with two guys pulls up behind us, two good Samaritans, one of them goes running for my hubcap before somebody else drives over it. And the other guy gets out his jack, jacks up my car, digs through my trunk, we get the wheel changed and off we go. And I have never been so grateful for help in all of my life. And a lot of us can identify with that. We easily drive past people on the road that are in trouble, but man alive, if you've ever been in that spot, you know how grateful you are for a good Samaritan. Jesus says, "Do to others what you want them to do to you." That's the positive side. Negatively, there are some things we don't want people to do to us. We don't want them to misjudge us. We don't want them to jump to conclusions. We don't want our failures constantly thrown in our faces or our past to haunt us forever. We don't want to be discriminated against. We don't want to be the butt of jokes or the subject of malicious and vicious gossip. We don't want to be treated unfairly, ignored, rejected or blind. And while most of us have learned to steal ourselves in life against those kinds of comments, fact of the matter is that periodically they get through and we just get more and more determined then to close off our hearts and make sure that we don't get hurt in that fashion again. And I don't know if you've ever noticed it, but people are a lot better at dishing it out than taking it back in. A lot of people are very good at criticism, but criticize them and you think the whole world had come to an end. A lot of people are good at making fun of other people, playing practical jokes, sometimes innocently, other times maliciously. You try to turn the tables on them and you think there was never a greater injustice that had been perpetrated in humanity. Jesus says, "Do unto others as you would have them "do unto you." If you don't want to be treated in that fashion, don't treat them in that fashion. And conversely, if you want to see what it is that other people need from you, look at your life and ask yourself the question, what am I looking for in that situation? And then learn to practice it. "So at everything," says Jesus, "do to others "what you would have them do to you, "for this sums up the law and the prophets." And that's the third thing I want us to notice. Not only does that verse appear to be out of context initially, not only in that verse does Jesus describe for us the conditions, the terms by which we define what loving your neighbor looks like, but he says this is the fulfillment, this is the thrust of the law and the prophets. Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. Now the law, as undoubtedly you know, is that whole body of commandments that God gives to Israel in the Old Testament through Moses. Laws that reflect God's character and God's nature and God's desire for his people. The prophets are the spokespersons that God raises up in subsequent generations to call the people of Israel back to the law of God. Because God constantly says to his people, if you're gonna be my people and I'm gonna be your God, and you are a reflection of who I am, then here is how I want you to live. And we know from the New Testament, then, that when a teacher of the law comes to Jesus later on in Matthew, Matthew chapter 22, and he asks him, and it's a trick question, he's trying to box him into a corner, as they're always trying to do, but Jesus is too smart for them. He asks him the question, what is the greatest commandment? Jesus then summarizes all the commandments with two commandments, and you know what they are. The first, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. And so here we have Jesus bringing us full circle back to where we started here in Matthew chapter seven. You cannot love your neighbor unless you first love God. And loving God ought to produce in you a desire to love your neighbor. And Jesus comes along then to his disciples, and he says, what I'm teaching you here about how to relate to your neighbor, this is not something that is newfangled and different. This is not anything unusual. This is the summary. This is the thrust of everything that you have ever been taught in terms of loving God above all, and then loving your neighbor as yourself. And so already throughout the Old Testament, there is this emphasis, this emphasis on what love for a neighbor looked like. Remember now, this is in the context of the Pharisees who are twisting things around. Pharisees who say, if you keep the letter of the law, that's all that matters, forget about the spirit of the law. Well, already in the Old Testament, we're told do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. There you have that connection again. I'm the Lord, you're my people, this is my character. You're gonna reflect my character, live the way that I want you to live. How do I want you to live? Well, you don't seek revenge, you don't bear a grudge against one of your people, but you love them, even as you love yourself. Exodus 23, four, if you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. Now in the natural, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna have a good session of Shem Desfredo? You're gonna have some joy over the fact that your enemy's fence got broken down, and here's the donkey. And you say to yourself, if I was his donkey, I wouldn't wanna go back to him either. But Jesus says you resist the temptation. You take his donkey back to him, not because he's your friend, even when he's your enemy, why? Because if you were in a similar situation and your donkey was wanting to wander the road, you'd want that man to bring him back to you, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If there's a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving to you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother, rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. How easily we close our hearts. How easily we say what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine too, if I can get it. How easily we say, well, I worked for this and if you were as hardworking as I am and as smart as I am, then you wouldn't be in this kind of situation. And so we may help, but we do it grudgingly and stingily and think that's the norm of living. And God says, don't be that way. That's not how I am. God says, I'm generous. I make the rain to fall on the just and on the unjust, the sun to shine on the good and on the evil. You then be children of your father who is in heaven, be open-handed and freely lend whatever he needs. Proverbs 3417, do not gloat when your enemy falls. When he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice. I'll tell you something. You know what the test of forgiveness is? The test of forgiveness is not how religiously pious you feel when you say, well, I forgive you and let bygones be bygones and let life go on. The real test of forgiveness is number one, how you respond when that person falls in trouble and there isn't an ounce of joy, of shundes frode in you because he's got his comeuppance, you grieve with him, even if he is your enemy. And not only that, but when things go well with him, you rejoice and are glad. I think that through and I try to apply that to my life and to my relationships and I know that I need Jesus a whole lot because frankly, that don't come natural to the human heart. You know, maybe you're a lot better than I am, but I'm just telling you the way that it is in here. I need Jesus to live that way, but only the Old Testament. You know, it's not that the New Testament is some newfangled standard that isn't present in the Old Testament. No, no, Jesus says that's always been the way God intended it. And then of course, for the mother of all Proverbs, Proverbs 25, 21, if your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That's the test of our spiritual maturity. This way of life is an impossible short of our relationship with God through faith in Jesus, where we are so confident that God will give us everything that we need, that we can afford to walk in obedience before his face and pour out our lives in this fashion for other people. The tendency, of course, is to become like the Pharisees. The tendency is to say, well, I'll observe the letter of the law, but forget the spirit. As long as I don't actually kill you, then I have not broken the commandment. If I don't sleep with my neighbor's wife, I haven't committed adultery. And Jesus goes back full circle to the pharisaical misinterpretations of the commandments and he says, listen, it's not about the letter of the law. It's not about hiding yourself behind, just trying to do it right and feeling righteous about it. No, it's the spirit that counts. And the spirit is always summed up. Number one, do you love God above all? And number two, do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Let me end this morning with a story that you've heard me share before, but it's a powerful example of what this looks like in the real world. It's a story of two brothers who lived on adjoining farms. They fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery and trading labors and goods as needed without a hitch. Then one day the long collaboration fell apart. It grew to a major difference and finally exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. I'm looking for a few days work, he said. Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you? Yes, said John, in fact, I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river Levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go hit one better. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence, an eight foot fence. So I won't need to see his place anymore. That should cool him down. The carpenter said, I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails in the post hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you. Now John, the older brother, had to go to town for supplies so we helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day, measuring, sawing, nailing, and about sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. In fact, it was a bridge, [PROPOSED CUT 2 START at 00:26:31.560; remove through 00:30:06.000] a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the [CUT] other. ♪ The King of Kings ♪ ♪ Lord we lift our ♪ Looked up and the neighbor, his younger brother was coming across the bridge, his hand outstretched. He said, you're quite the fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done. And the two brothers stood at each end of the bridge and then they met in the middle taking each other's hand. And they turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. No, wait, stay a few days. I've got other projects for you, said John. I'd love to stay, said the carpenter, but I have many more bridges to build. In everything you do to others, like you would have them do for you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. (soft piano music) ♪ Brother let me be your servant ♪ ♪ Let me be as Christ to you ♪ ♪ With my heart I have the grace to ♪ ♪ Let you be my servant too ♪ ♪ We are pilgrims on a journey ♪ ♪ We are brothers on the road ♪ ♪ We are here to help each other ♪ ♪ Walk the mile and the air alone ♪ ♪ I will hold the Christ light for you ♪ ♪ In the night I love for years ♪ ♪ I will hold my hand out to you ♪ ♪ Speak the peace you love to you ♪ ♪ I will weep when you are weeping ♪ ♪ When you laugh I'll laugh with you ♪ ♪ I will share your joy and sorrow ♪ ♪ Till we've seen this journey through ♪ ♪ When we sing to God in heaven ♪ ♪ We shall find such harmony ♪ ♪ Born of all we've known together ♪ ♪ Of Christ love and agony ♪ ♪ Sister let me be your servant ♪ ♪ Let me be as Christ to you ♪ ♪ Pray that on my path the grace to ♪ ♪ Let you be my servant too ♪ [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 2 END at 00:30:06.000; resume after this marked segment]