The Golden Rule Is the Golden Rule Still Golden?

Transcription

1 Sermon The Golden Rule Is the Golden Rule Still Golden? Twin Pastoral Heartaches The Sins of the World o Supreme Court s ruling on same-sex marriage o Caitlyn Jenner introduces herself to the world o Shootings and unrest in Ferguson, MO; Baltimore, MD; McKinney, TX; Columbia, SC; Cleveland, OH; Charleston, SC; San Francisco, CA The Sins of the Church o Specifically, in response to the sins of the world o Acceptance of immorality contrary to God s Word o Angry and hateful responses to Supreme Court s ruling o Condescension and cruelty toward Bruce/ Caitlyn Jenner o Bigotry and prejudice towards Blacks and Hispanics struggling with death and hopelessness in their own communities o Hypocrisy and persecution toward Muslims o Defense of rights over compassion for others These two heartaches kept bringing me back to the Golden Rule Open your Bibles to Matthew 7 The Golden Rule Secular World o General = The one with the gold makes the rules. o Facebook = If you can t say something nice, say it anyway and be sure to use a semicolon and an Uppercase P. o Work = The Golden Rule of Work is that the bosses jokes are always funny! o Marriage = Two Golden Rules to a Happy Marriage: 1. The wife is always right. 2. When you feel she is wrong slap yourself and read rule number 1 again. o Parenting = The Golden Rule of Parenting is to do unto your children as you wish your parents had done unto you! o General = From this point on, I plan to treat people exactly how they treat me. Some will be glad. Others should be scared. 1

2 World Religions o Buddhism Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18 o Confucianism One word which sums up the basis of all good conduct loving kindness. Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. Confucius, Analects o Hinduism This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517 o Islam Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself. The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith o Judaism What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Hillel, Talmud, Shabbat 31a o Zoroastrianism Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself. Shayast-na-Shayast Christianity o Positive Matthew 7:12 {NASB/YLT} 12 In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 12 All things, therefore, whatever ye may will that men may be doing to you, so also do to them, for this is the law and the prophets. o Positive Luke 6:31 {NASB/YLT} 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 31 and as ye wish that men may do to you, do ye also to them in like manner; o In His greatest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus includes this admonition on how we should treat others o Unlike most sayings from other world religions, His admonition is in the positive as you want or wish others would do for you, do for them o Imagine what life would be like if that was practiced by everyone work home... marketplace church o treat people the same way you want them to treat you I believe this to be more general than specific o Specific (work) Give me a raise, General (work) Treat me with respect o Specific (home) Give me a hug/kiss, General (work) Show me compassion 2

3 o I find it strangely absent in our words, attitudes and actions in contact with the World o And while our Christian pulpits and churches need to speak out against the world s sins, we are the gathering of God s people and it is a greater responsibility to speak out against our own sins (consider the examples of the NT epistles) o In what ways has our response, the response of Christians, to the Supreme Court s ruling on same-sex marriage been in line with the Golden Rule? o What about Caitlyn Jenner? o What about racial and economic struggles? o Either the Golden Rule is golden or it isn t? Do we really believe it to be true and something by which we live, all the time, or not? o That s what this series is going to be about accepting the Golden Rule as golden! o If I m going to launch this Golden Rule series by looking at this passage of Scripture (Matthew 7 or Luke 6), then I need to look at another part of the passage for context and to correct wrong approaches to God s truth and our sins o The Golden Rule is in the positive in Matthew 7:12 or Luke 6:31 but it also in the negative in Matthew 7 and Luke 6. Look at Matthew 7:1-5 o Negative Matthew 7:1-5 {NASB} 1 Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 3

4 o Negative Luke 6:37-38 {NASB} 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. o Theses verses, often quoted and misapplied, have nothing to say about the condemnation and judgment of sin o Meaning = they are not a get out of jail free card for people to sin in any way they want or to reclassify sin as something else simply because no one can judge another (making everything a matter of opinion) o These verses, in context and in meaning, are the flip side of the Golden Rule the negative equivalent of the Golden Rule (as found in so many other religious traditions) o If you don t want to be judged, then don t judge other people or at least judge them in the way that you would want to be judged o These verses are not saying that there is no judgment for sin or that sin isn t something to be judged o God is the judge of sin and will judge sin o As the judge of sin, God has, graciously, shared His Word with us that tells us what will bring His judgment o As sinners, we all stand under the condemnation of our sin unless we have accepted Christ as our Savior from our sin and the judgment of our sin o These verses are the negative flip-side of the Golden Rule don t do to others what you don t want them doing to you o Don t approach their sin without a consideration of your own o Don t bring the weight of God s holiness against their sin without bringing it against your own 4

5 o Approach their sin in the same way you would want your sin approached in care, in humility, with a concern for them greater than their sin, with compassion o Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 7, shares the Golden Rule in both a positive and negative way = treat others as you would want to be treated and don t treat others in ways you wouldn t want to be treated o Again, I m concerned that in our concern with issues in our own culture, we, followers of Christ, have lost our grip on these words of Christ and their reality being lived out in our words, our attitudes and our actions o That s why we are going to take the next 7 weeks to really look at the Golden Rule and how it is lived out in the life of Jesus and how it should be lived out in our lives Golden Rule Series Issues of the World o In this series, I plan on addressing issues that concern us in our world (our culture) today o Homosexuality not just same-sex marriage o Transgenderism o Racism immigration, Islam o While I plan on addressing these issues, the issues themselves are not the point or focus of the series our response being the response of Jesus and according to His Word (mainly the Golden Rule) is the point and focus of the series o So while bringing up the issues of the world, I d really like to focus on the issues of the church Issues of the Church o In this series, I plan on addressing issues in the church, that is among Christians, that have escaped our concern o Sin of hypocrisy o Sin of prejudice o Attitude of dignity o Attitude of humility 5

6 o The world will not likely accept the message of Jesus they need until we, the followers of Jesus, accept His message to us Next Week Approach for the Series o While the Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament give many clear and powerful admonitions on how we are to act, for this series I am going to focus on narratives, stories, of Jesus o I don t know about you but I tend to remember stories better than anything else o So we will look at stories of Jesus life where He shared and/or demonstrated the Golden Rule Golden Rule and the Good Samaritan o Luke 10:30-37 = reread it this week Why is the Golden Rule golden? o Luke 10:25-29 (Matthew 22:34-40) = reread it this week Application Call to examination Reread Matthew 7:1-5, 12 or Luke 6:31, every day for the next week Pray and ask God through the Holy Spirit to show you any area (your words, attitudes or actions) of your life that doesn t fit the Golden Rule Call to brokenness If God shows you anything, accept brokenness for your sin If He doesn t, accept brokenness for the sins of others Call to repentance and confession If you are broken over your sin, repent of it and confess it to the Lord for His forgiveness Call to commitment Pray and ask God to speak to you through this series Ask Him to show you how you can better live out the words, character and life of Jesus 6