The Golden Summery of Christian Living

Introduction

It may seem strange to us that right after Jesus encourages us to pray fervently and faithfully for good things from a good Heavenly Father that he should start this statement therefore and then talk about how we should treat other people. As we know, therefore is a word used to summarize or continue the previous thought. Although Jesus is likely referring to the entire content of the body of his sermon, he puts this statement here for a reason, but that reason is perhaps not obvious so much so that John Calvin in his commentary would not translate the word, saying the two subjects are not at all related.

However, there is a link to these two ideas. We ask God for good things, and he gives them to us. Like children, though we are evil and under condemnation, God willingly gives good gifts to those who ask him in faith, above all the gift of his Son and the salvation that is accomplished for those with this faith. The therefore then turns the attention to ourselves and implicitly asks, if you receive such undeserved mercy from God through these good gifts, how then should you treat others? If God is so open and generous with me, how should I be towards other people? The answer is simple yet profound: do to others what you would have them do to you. The Golden Rule which we encounter here is tied to the good gifts we receive from God. If I expect God to mercifully give me what I don’t deserve, I must treat others with the same mercy which I expect to be treated with. As God treats you, so you must treat others. In doing this, we are truly able to fulfill not only this command, but all the commands of Scripture.

Understanding the Golden Rule

In the last few hundred years, the saying in this verse has been called ‘The Golden Rule’ and not without reason. Jesus uses this statement both to summarize the first eleven verses, but also to summarize everything he has been teaching in the body of this sermon. The sermon started with 8 qualities of the Blessed Ones, known as the Beatitudes. They described the kind of person who is able to receive the teachings of this sermon. In other words, this isn’t a sermon for the world, for unbelievers, or for passive church-goers. This is a sermon for true, born-again, Spirit-revived Christians who have a persistent and sincere desire to serve God, are humbled by their sin and possess a meek attitude, have a heart of mercy for others, and are not afraid of being persecuted by others for their pure-hearted desire to follow Christ.

Jesus then moved to the body of his sermon, giving commands that applied to the hearts of his people and grow in fruition into good works, works that are not to be carried out in front of other people to be seen by them, but works that are performed as if before God alone. He taught their hearts to be motivated by riches and rewards in another world, a heavenly realm in eternity where those rewards will never grow old. He then instructed them in their relationships to others, both to other Christians and to those who hate the truth, and how good gifts should be asked for from the Father. Here he closes with this statement that the law and the prophets, that is the entirety of the OT Scriptures, are summarized in the simple statement, “whatever you would desire that others should do to you, do also to them.”

The History and Purpose of this Rule

Now it is important to recognize that this proverbial saying is not new to the teachings of Jesus. In fact, the original listeners would probably immediately recognize it as a positive form of a saying by the Rabbi Hillel who said, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary thereof; go and learn it.”

It is also found in other religions, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Zoroastrianism. However, in all contexts before Christ this was always put in the negative form. That is, the saying was always, “don’t do what you don’t want done to you,” rather than “do what you want done to you.” Jesus’ reversal of the rule from a negative “don’t do” to a possessive “do” is what probably would have struck the original listeners.

So it is important that we note Jesus is referencing a universally recognized proverb; it’s not new. However, what is new is what Jesus is saying through this proverb. Although the saying is not new, the teaching which Jesus applies it to is uniquely the teaching of Christ.

It is unique in its positive form. All one needs to do to follow the Golden Rule of Rabbi Hillel and other religious thinkers is to simply refrain from doing mean things to others.

In its negative form, the Golden Rule could be satisfied by doing nothing. The positive form moves us to action on behalf of others.

Craig Blomberg

But Jesus’ command implies a responsibility, not only to refrain from doing evil to others, but to actively do good to others. It makes me my brother’s keeper and the interests of my neighbour become my own interests. It is simply another way of saying “love your neighbour as yourself.” I don’t have to love someone to refrain from being evil towards them, but if I am to actively do to others what I would have them do to me, Jesus is connecting my self-interest with the interests of others, and so self love is extended to love for other people. That is why the command is “love your neighbour as yourself.” This is not a command for self-love, as some have wrongly interposed in the text, but a recognition that everyone loves themselves. You feed yourself, clothe yourself, maximize pleasure and minimize pain for yourself, you set goals for yourself and work towards achieving them. If you didn’t already love yourself, you would just leave yourself alone and eventually you would die of starvation. To live is to exercise self-love. What God expects of his people in that command is to extend that love to others. Make sure your neighbour is fed, clothed, healthy, as far as it depends on you and as far as you have the resources to do so. This saying is just another way of wording this command, which means my neighbour’s wellbeing is, to a certain extent my responsibility.

The context. Jesus gives this command in the context of all that he has just said. This means that Jesus is using the saying in connection with the content of the rest of his sermon. In other words, we could say that this saying is interpreted through the content of the sermon itself. This concluding thought now has more meaning, for Jesus is not, like Rabbi Hillel, describing the actions of the law but the intentions of the heart also. No one likes to receive a gift when they know the person is not giving it with a generous heart. I don’t want a gift someone is obliged to give me.

But it goes deeper than this, the Golden Rule is applied specifically to the Blessed Ones, and these have different desires than others. Their hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit and so how they apply this rule is going to be a little different. Let us look more deeply as what this rule means in context and what it does not mean, which is where we will start.

What it is not

The Passive Sense: “Don’t do what I don’t want done”

First, as previously noted, this rule is not passive, but active. Christ’s teaching are not a list of “don’t do this and that” but rather the instruction of how we are to actively live our lives. Christ doesn’t just call for a heart lacking anger or lust, but a pure heart that is devoted to God and therefore abstains from lust for its devoted purpose. This is what holiness is. Holiness is not merely a state of abstaining from sin, but actively a state of devoting oneself, heart and body, to God for holy service. The Golden Rule is a call to holy living in actively serving God by serving others.

The Selfish Sense: “Do to others whatever my flesh would like done to me”

There are two dangers to taking the Rule in this sense.

Expectation. Many who try to live the Golden Rule do so in expectation that the same will be done to them. This is not only selfishly motivated by also unrealistic. Jesus describes the Blessed Ones as persecuted in Matt 5:10-12. They are persecuted specifically because they are following Jesus’ teaching, and thus because they are following the Golden Rule as Jesus prescribes it.

It makes the focus about us instead of God’s glory. Remember that the Blessed Ones hunger and thirst for righteousness. If I apply the Golden Rule according to fleshly desires, I am missing the point of it. In other words, the Golden Rule is not catering to the fleshly, human desires of other people, but treating them according to how a Blessed One wants to be treated. These are very different ways of applying this rule. For example, in the flesh I may give someone money who needs it because money is what I would like to have. The Blessed Ones give to those who cannot pay them back because their heavenly Father does the same, and they would wish that others would show them kindness, not for their benefit, but for the Glory of God. This was Paul’s attitude in Phil 4:16-17

Philippians 4:16–17 ESV

Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

See what Paul’s desire is? The fruit that increases to their heavenly reward. Paul wants others to show the fruit of the Spirit so that they may be rewarded by God, and that is why he appreciates the gift and also what motivates his own ministry. He does to others the work of the Kingdom of God what he would want other to do to him, that is, treat him in such a way that they will be rewarded in heaven.

The Humanistic Sense: “Do to others whatever they want done or whatever I think they need”

The final way that we may get this Golden Rule wrong is doing it humanistically. If we take this as a purely humanistic statement, give others what they physically need, we again miss the point. Although there certainly is a push in the Rule that will lead to actions that benefit others physically, that should not be the motivation.

In speaking about this, let’s return to the structure of the text we have been observing in the last few weeks from 7:1-12. Here is a section that is opened by the command “do not judge” and closed by its opposite “do to others what you would want them to do to you.”

What it is: Do to others what I ought to want done to me

The implied ought

Refers to the entire preceding sermon.

Is speaking of the desires of the Blessed Ones, who seek righteousness, practice mercy and forgiveness, seek heavenly riches, and have the law written on their hearts.

Comes immediately after the command to pray for good things from the Father.

Paralleled with Matt 22:40

Matthew 22:40 ESV

On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

It should also be noted that the parallel text in Luke 6 is in the context of loving our enemies, making this rule apply to all people, including those that persecute or otherwise are hostile towards us.

A Difficult Command

What is in this command is almost universally applauded and approved, but it is a difficult command to keep. In fact, in the way that Jesus means it, it is impossible to keep.

What Jesus is asking of us in this command goes beyond actions. Lloyd Jones points out that attitude is the key to this command. Jesus is not looking for blind, legalistic obedience. He is looking for a heart that desires the good of another person as much as they desire their own wellbeing.

This attitude applies in these ways

A rejection of the fleshly desire to look out for ourselves first. Above all, sin serves one master: me. Sin is actively placing self on the throne of God, making themselves the judge, ruler, and authority in their life. Thomas Hobbes was right to point this out at the beginning of his work of political philosophy Leviathan. There, he argues that all men are at war with one another, either actively or passively, because we all seek our own benefit above all and are willing to deprive and hurt others if it serves our own interests. Unfortunately, Hobbes does not end up where we will end up in the Gospel. Instead, he looks to build a society where everyone is willing to give up certain self-interests in order to preserve the greater self-interests of safety, liberty, and happiness. This is how worldly societies are always built, and none of them actually solve the problem of human conflict. Calvin also demonstrates this state by speaking on our text,

“We are here informed, that the only reason why so many quarrels exist in the world, and why men inflict so many mutual injuries on each other, is, that they knowingly and willingly trample justice under their feet, while every man rigidly demands that it shall be maintained towards himself.”

In other words, humans will always protect justice towards themselves, but neglect it towards others if it benefits them.

This is why Jesus’ sermon has been so full of heart-focused commands. He’s not interested in someone who merely refrains from adultery, murder, or any other sin. He wants disciples who have a heart that truly treats his fellow man as an equal. Such an individual is just as interested in his neighbour as himself. The law had civil commands such as you should put a fence around your house. In other words, whether you think the fence is necessary for your safety or not, your neighbour may visit you and you are responsible for his safety. If you saw your neighbours ox wandering off, you were to bring it back to him and not just ignore their problem. We can see that these civil commands were pointed in the direction that you were to have an attitude of care towards your neighbour.

We can see that such an attitude is contrary to human nature, which only cares for someone’s own needs. A person may carry these actions out, either for self-gratification or social applause, which is why Jesus has been telling us to do our good deeds in private. Only someone with a true attitude of love towards their neighbour as themselves can do this. With no motive that promotes self-interest, a Blessed One will care for their neighbour as themselves.

This includes enemies. This is where this rule is perhaps most difficult to live out. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he is including them in the category of ‘neighbour’ where it is written to love our neighbour as ourselves. The words you speak and the actions you commit to those you are most likely to get into confrontations or hostilities with, do they reflect this attitude? How you act towards someone you are arguing with or otherwise are upset with, does your heart care about them in that moment as much as it cares about you? What will that look like?

Again, Lloyd Jones points out that there is a connection here between our text today and our text last week on prayer. When we pray to God, God gives us good things, and we want him to. But we are identified as evil in that passage, and so we are in our flesh. If that is the case, that I desire mercy for myself rather than justice, I would be a hypocrite not to desire the same thing for my neighbour and even my enemy. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, why? Because when I hit God, God doesn’t hit me back. When I have abused the name of ‘Christian’ in my sin, God has not immediately given me what I deserve. This enlightens us on exactly what Jesus means about forgiving others or you will not be forgiven yourself. It is not to say that God only forgives me when I have perfectly forgiven others, but that God only forgives those who have this heart for their enemy and rather than desiring justice or payback, they desire mercy for the one that wronged them. What a standard, and who can say they live up to it? Only someone who is poor in spirit, who knows just deeply hateful, immoral, and self-centred they are in their human condition can grasp the weight of how poorly we reflect God’s mercy on others. Oh, that you would look to Christ. That you would see the weight of your sin put on his shoulders on the cross and the mercy he has shown you. Only then can you even begin to live our this command. He who gives good things has given the greatest thing, his son, and we are complicit in that murder. But he desired mercy, not punishment, for his enemies. You, too, must go and do likewise.

The Law and the Prophets

This heart is what God has longed for ever since the fall in us. It is the purpose of the law and the prophets to display our sin, so that the New Covenant would display God’s mercy. The law and prophets spoke of this heart. They were in the civil commands, as we saw earlier, putting a fence to keep your neighbour safe or returning his ox. But again, it wasn’t about doing those things legalistically, but Jesus points to the heart of these commands: a heart of love for our neighbour.

Leviticus 19:18 ESV

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Notice how it doesn’t end at not taking vengeance, but also not to bear a grudge. The original command was a command to the heart of the person. Jesus isn’t throwing out the law and making a new one, he is revealing the purpose of the law. Now that purpose is put into the hearts of his people, the Blessed Ones. In Christ, the law is not longer a written code that we act out, but a hidden resolution in our hearts which binds our will and desires.

2 Corinthians 3:15–16 (ESV)

Yes, to this day whenever Moses (AKA the law) is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

When the veil is removed in Christ, only then is the law written on our hearts so that we may do it. It must be in our hearts, just as God said It is not enough for your to simply do good to your neighbour, it never was, you must love them. This is something that was impossible for Israel under the Old Covenant.

Numbers 15:39 ESV

And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.

Notice that their hearts are not in step with the commandments, but they are inclined to sin that is amounted to adultery in God’s eyes. This changes in the New, the law is fulfilled in that it finally reaches our hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is why, when God uses the Prophet Ezekiel to tell his people to turn from their sin, he says,

Ezekiel 18:31 ESV

Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

So we see how the law is fulfilled in Christ, not to destroy it nor to keep people under an outward standard of works righteousness, but to create a new heart so that they will follow him and become the Blessed Ones.

But the law had one greater command, according to Christ, which was to love God with all that we are. This love is different. While we are to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, we are to love God with all that we ourselves are. There is a devotion to God that leads us to this great command. Without that first command of devotion and holiness to God, the second great command to love your neighbour is impossible.

It is vitally important that Christians realize the relationship between their love for God and their love for others. To love others is not good enough, nor is loving God while ignoring or even hating our neighbours acceptable. The two go hand in hand. The law is fulfilled in no other way. Those with a new heart not only love God but love their neighbour. In many ways, you can know how strong your love for God is by examining how you love the people in your life who are hardest to love.

Conclusion

Are you living with a new heart in you? Do you not only follow and obey this command, but love it and submit your will to it? In this area, do you have the heart of Christ? The heart of Christ was so full of love for his enemies that he died and took the burden of your hell-worthy sin. Jesus didn’t just love his neighbour as himself, he loved his neighbour to a degree of self-abandonment that you or I will never fully understand.

In the New Covenant we have in Christ’s blood, freed from all guilt. So we are given this command: love others at least to the degree that you love yourself. It doesn't matter who, it doesn’t matter what they’ve done, it doesn’t matter if they deserve it, it doesn’t matter if we have to sacrifice something or perhaps everything, this is the kind of love we are called to.

This kind of love, though applauded, is strange to the spiritual orphan, the child of the world and of Satan. What mercy we must have towards them for such were we, and if that is you, what mercy is laid out to you. I hope that our love can show you the love of Christ, but even if it doesn’t, consider the way in which Christ loved and gave himself for sinners like you. If he so loved sinners, will you not take hold of that love? Will you not grasp onto it for life? I watched a recent police interview with four teenagers who were convicted of first degree murder. The despair and hopelessness was evident once they found out just how serious their crimes were and the punishment they were about to receive. 15 year-olds looking at 20 years in prison. They only got life-sentences, but you are in the same place with your soul on the line. You are guilty for eternal crimes against an eternal God. Your court date is coming, eternity in hell is at stake, and Christ offers you mercy. Will you not take that greatest of plea deals? Plead before the judgement throne of God that you trust in Christ and his blood to take away your sins.

And you Christian, you have received this plea deal, but be warned by the parable of the unforgiving servant. Such mercy has been placed on you. Such a price was paid for your freedom and eternal joy. Will you now share it with your neighbour? Your spouse and kids on their worst day? Your fellow church member? Your boss, co-workers, in-laws, or enemies? Or will you bury it, hoard it hatefully to yourself until you are condemned? Ask the Lord to give you the heart of a Blessed One more and more. If is a good gift to be poor in spirit, mournfully repentant, meek, merciful, pure in heart, and persecuted. Seek that heart and you will find it. Ask for that heart, and it will be given. Knock on Christ’s door, and he will let you enter his own heart of love. With that heart there is only one stipulation: go and do to others what has been done for you.