Matthew | Part 22 | Do Unto Others

Scripture

Matthew 7:12–14 (ESV): 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Introduction

Today, we begin with verse 12 (Do unto others as you would have them to unto you), which deserves to be the focus of an entire sermon, because it summarizes the truths of the Kingdom that Jesus has been teaching. This verse has become affectionally known as “The Golden Rule.”

Many other religions and philosophies hold to a similar injunction, the closest of which comes from the Chinese Philosopher Confucius: He is famous for saying “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”

Though Confucius’ words sound close to Jesus’ Golden Rule, there is a fundamental difference: His saying forbids malevolence towards another human being (which is good), but it allows for a certain passiveness. The Christian standard, however, does not allow us to just “leave people alone,” but instead requires us to actively do good towards others.

Because of our Western Individualism, we have this proclivity to live in a bubble, while being hyper-focused only on the needs of our immediate families. This mentality is not a Kingdom Ethic. We, as Kingdom People, are to actively do good towards other.

Where We Are Going

So, I will unpack this text, showing (1) How this Golden Rule specifically summarizes the values of the Kingdom and then (2) we will consider the difficulty of the Golden Rule, and finally (3), I will give some practical application as to how we can put this ethic into practice.

I. How the Golden Rule Summarizes the Law

Matthew 5:20 is a key verse that sets up this entire section of the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:20 (ESV): 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

A) Righteousness:

Has to do with right relationships: That is what the Kingdom of God is about: a right relationship with God and right relationships with others.

Because of the Fall— described in Genesis 3— our relationship with God and our relationships with others have been broken.

In the story of Adam and Eve, we see their relationship with God immediately collapsed after their disobedience.

They go from fellowship with God in peace, to hiding from God in shame.

We also see their relationship with one another immediately strained: Adam blames Eve for giving Him the fruit, and Eve puts the blame on the serpent.

The severity of brokenness that sin caused, is seen with even more clarity in Genesis chapter 4, in the story of Cain and Abel, where Cain murders his brother.

So, sin has destroyed the way we relate to God and other humans. But, God has invited His people—through Jesus—to be in a restored relationship with Him, and that restored relationship should overflow into right relationships with others. That is what righteousness is about.

And Jesus says, that— as Kingdom people, our “righteousness” must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.” This would have been shocking to Jesus’ original audience.

B) Scribes and Pharisees:

Remember, the Scribes and Pharisees were the religious elites of the first century; they looked—on the outside—like spiritual superstars. The consensus was, that if anyone was righteous, it must be them.

But Jesus reveals, over and over, that—though they look good on the outside—their hearts are actually far from God.

And he exposed, not only their spiritual poverty, but also their lack of love towards others. They gave to others, not out of compassion, but only as a means of bolstering their own egos and self righteousness.

In Isaiah 58, God revealed that His people—the people of Israel— looked like a righteous community, but He exposed their false spirituality.

Isaiah 58:1–14 (ESV): 58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;

lift up your voice like a trumpet;

declare to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.

2 Yet they seek me daily

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

they delight to draw near to God.

3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,

and oppress all your workers.

4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

will not make your voice to be heard on high...

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

This is the same issue that Jesus addresses with the Scribes and Pharisees: They seemed to have hearts for God, because they kept a lot of rules and they were practicing a lot of spiritual disciplines, BUT: their hearts are not for what God cares truly cares about, which means they did not possess true righteousness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed that:

The Kingdom of God is NOT merely about external rules, but it is about the transformation of the heart.

And Jesus, through this entire section, unpacked what true righteousness looks like. For example:

It is not enough to refrain from murder; God’s Law demands that we do not hate others.

It is not enough to refrain from the physical act of adultery; God’s Law demands that we do lust…

So on and so forth.

Kingdom Righteousness involves the heart and loving God demands loving and caring for others.

How does ‘The Golden Rule,’ then, summarize this righteousness?

Well, let’s just quickly apply the Golden Rule to some of Jesus’ teachings thus far in the Sermon on the Mount:

When I sin, I want God (and others) to show me mercy. Matthew 5:5 says that I am to be merciful.

I do not want to be hated by others, thus, I should not hate others (Matthew 5:21-26, 43-48).

I do not want someone to lust after my wife, so I should not lust after another man’s wife (Matthew 5:27-30).

I do not want my spouse to divorce me without Biblical reason, so I should not divorce my spouse (Matthew 5:31-32).

I do not want others to lie to me, so I should not lie to others (Matthew 5:33-37).

I do not want others to retaliate when I have wronged them, so I should not retaliate when they have wronged me (Matthew 5:38-42).

If I am needy, I want others to help me (not to bolster their own egos, but because they truly care); thus, I should compassionately give to others in need (Matthew 6:1-2).

When I sin, I want God to forgive me, so I should forgive others when they sin against me (Matthew 6:12-15).

When others prosper financially, I want them to share their wealth with others, so I should share my wealth with others when God bless me (Matthew 6:19-24).

I want my kids to trust me to care for them, so I should trust God to take care of me (Matthew 6:25-34).

I do not want God or other people to condemn me when I sin, so I should not condemn people when they sin (Matthew 7:1-6).

I want God to be generous towards me, so I should be generous towards others (Matthew 7:7-11).

So, in the Golden Rule, we find the summary of the values of the Kingdom. We should treat others how we want to be treated. If we are practicing that principle, we will be following God’s Law.

II. TheDifficulty of Living Out the Golden Rule

So, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not really. Living by the Golden Rule, living by the values of the Kingdom, is easier said than done. We know this, and Jesus makes this idea explicit.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

A) The Golden Rule is difficult, because of our own sin and selfishness.

Since the Fall, human beings have been wired to look out for three people: me, myself, and I (Do you remember that rap song from the late 80’s?)

When you consider our own propensity towards being hyper-focused on ourselves—and our desire for self-preservation—the Golden rule seems impossible!

Well, I have good news: if you feel that way you are not alone. We all have this propensity towards rebellion, self-preservation, and pride: it is called sin… and we all deal with it.

It is actually not bad to come to terms with how difficult living by the Golden Rule really is for us.

Remember in Matthew 5, Jesus begins the Beatitudes by stating, Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Pharisees thought they could stay on the narrow path— the way of God’s Kingdom— in their own strength. But they failed to come to terms with the darkness of their own hearts and the weakness of their own flesh.

It is only those who recognize their own inability to live in such a way, who are offered to be a part of God’s Kingdom.

So, “doing to others as we would have them do unto us,” goes against our tendency to be selfish.

Secondly...

B) The Golden Rule is difficult because it is countercultural.

13b...For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

We like comfort. We pursue comfort. And the greatest path to comfort in this world, is to go along with the crowd. We all learn this during our childhood years.

How many of you had a mother ask you, “if Billy jumped off a bridge, would you jump as well?” And why did your parents ask you that question? Because you just did something that you knew you shouldn’t do, because of the pressure to conform to what someone else was doing. You didn’t want to be ostracized. You wanted the comfort of going along with the crowd. You didn’t want Billy to dislike you.

Frankly, the wide path is easier, because on the wide path, people will like you. And we like to be liked.

I love what Michael Scott says on one episode of the office: “Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.”

The truth is, the ways of the Kingdom are very countercultural. When you walk by the Golden Rule, which summarizes the values of the Kingdom, you are going to stand out from the crowd. Some will hate you, others will poke fun at you… it is difficult to live in such a way. There is an unspeakable pressure to conform to the culture around us.

The way of the world is the easy way, but let me encourage you: don’t give up what is best for what is comfortable now.

So, living out the Golden Rule— all the values of the Kingdom— is incredibly difficult. So, some Christians have an attitude that like… “well, there is no way that I could live in such a way. I am just going to do my thing and one day in heaven I will live like this then.”

It’s like, “No. Jesus is calling us to live like this NOW.” So, living by the Golden Rule is difficult. How do we do it?

III. How to Live Out the Golden Rule

A) Consider How You Want to Be Treated

We hear the Golden Rule, and we assume that this means we should be nice to people all of the time. I do not think that is the point.

Do you want people to be nice to you all of the time?

Or do you want them to be truthful, when you are making a wreck of your life?

A couple of weeks ago I preached on the proper way to judge other Christians. We learned that we should not be condemning, but— after we have dealt with our own sin— we should love other Christians enough to point out sins in their lives with the hopes that they will repent and stay on the narrow path.

We should be, generally, nice people. But that is NOT the essence of the Golden Rule. Jesus wasn’t always nice. He was pretty tough on the Pharisees. He told the crowds of people that they needed to repent, because they were not living in ways that are pleasing to the Lord.

We rarely think about how we would want others to treat us. So, I want to give you some practical questions to talk through over lunch today:

How do you want your friends to treat you? Treat your friends that way.

If you are a parent, how do you want your parents to treat you? Treat your children in that way.

If you are a child, how would you want your children to treat you? Treat your parents in that way.

If you are a student, imagine you were a teacher or professor. Treat your teachers or professors in that way.

If you are an employer, how would you want your boss to treat you? Treat your employees that same way.

If you are an employee, imagine you were a boss; how would want your employees to treat you.

How do you want other people of the church to treat you? Treat other church members in that same respect.

So, spend some time thinking about how you want to be treated. Treat others in the same way (assuming the way you want to be treated, aligns with the values of the Kingdom of God).

Secondly… if you want to live by the Golden Rule, you must:

B) Learn to Value Who You Are in Christ

In recent weeks, I have spoken about the need for us each to come to terms with our own darkness— our own sin— our own ability to act in malevolence towards other people. It is only then, that we will refrain from looking down our noses at others and condemning them for their particular sins.

Some of you have no issue with thinking in such a way. However, what some of us fail to see, is our own value in Jesus and the new creation He has made us. Consequently, perhaps you have trouble respecting yourself, which means you will have a great deal of trouble treating others well.

In 2014, a study was published The Annals of Internal Medicine, that showed if 100 people are prescribed a medication, that one third of them will not fill the prescription. Of the remaining 67, who do fill their prescription, half of them will not administer the medicine properly.

What’s interesting is that if your dog is ill and you take it to the vet… and the vet prescribes medication—the odds that you will fill and properly administer that medication are overwhelming.

Psychologists believe that this is due, in part, to the fact that we love our pets— even more than ourselves. We see our pets as innocent and deserving of care, but we subconsciously do NOT place the same value on ourselves.

If you are to practice the Golden Rule, you must learn to value and care for yourself… and I don’t mean this in a post modern way, where life is all about you. I mean, you must recognize that your identity is in Jesus Christ; you are of great value to Him, which means you are worth taking care of.

I think Tim Keller’s Summation of the Gospel is helpful here: He says that the Gospel means:

“We are more evil than we ever imagined, but we are more loved in Christ more than than we could ever dream.” - Tim Keller

I believe this is the balance that we all need.

If we fail to recognize our own sin, we will condemn others.

Once psychiatrist writes, “Some people thrive on making others miserable. In general, they are people that are not happy themselves.“

We all know that misery loves company. If you do not realize who you are in Christ, you will never treat others in a Christ-exalting way. Take your medicine.

Thirdly, if you want to live by the Golden Rule, you must:

C.) Receive Jesus Christ

Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

Jesus says we can only enter the Kingdom through the narrow gate. What in the world is that? It is NOT the gate of performance.

The narrow gate is Jesus Christ. He says so explicitly in John 10:

John10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

In (v.3) He refers to Himself as the gate.

When Jesus gives us the demands of the Kingdom, he presents us with an impossible possibility.

The demands of Kingdom living are impossible to live out; that’s true, in our fallen state.

But, when we come to Christ, when we are born again, we become new creations in Him. We are given new hearts. We still face temptations, but our hearts are then bent towards loving God and loving others.

You can’t earn your way into the Kingdom of God by trying to live out the values of the Kingdom. Why? You cannot perfectly live in such a way. Neither can I. To come into God’s Kingdom, again, starts by recognizing your own inability to please God on your own; then, you receive Jesus’s sacrifice at the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and you submit to His Lordship, and in doing so, you receive the Holy Spirit, who will empower you to live by the values of the Kingdom.

Closing

This is one of the reasons that we take communion together each week: it is a reminder that we are saved— not by what we do— but by what Jesus has done. And then, that realization empowers us to live like God has called us to live. Let’s prepare our hearts for the Lord’s Supper with immense gratitude.

If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I encourage you to repent and follow Him today. We are here after service to talk you through those steps of faith.