The Golden Rule: What Jesus Really Wants From You

In Jesus' economy there is what is known as the "Golden Rule" (Matt. 7:12). It is the epitome of rules, the "gold standard" of ways to live and relate to others. People have wrestled with it for centuries. Philosophers and students of ethics have torn it apart, dismantled it and tried to put it back together in a more pragmatic, easier, less demanding form. But Jesus standard is perfect.

In the Olympics they give gold, silver and bronze medals. Everyone remembers who won gold, not silver or bronze. They are inferior prizes, relatively speaking. With regard to the Golden Rule, some say they live by it but what they really live by is an inferior version. There's the Silver Rule that says "Do not do to others what you do not want done to you", which is easy to follow, just do nothing. Or the Bronze Rule which says, "Do to others before they do to you". There's also the Rusty Metal Rule, "do anything you want to others with no regard for anyone, then run fast!".

Matt. 7:12 has been misused and twisted by many; my prayer is that true followers of Christ would know and live it's true meaning.

The 1st step in understanding Matt. 7:12 is to figure out what "therefore" relates to. Could be 7:7-11; because God gives good gifts Jesus’ disciples should live by this rule out of gratitude. Or 7:1-6; instead of judging others, we should treat them as we want to be treated. Most likely it refers to everything so far in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus is saying, "therefore, in light of everything I have said about the true direction God's Word points, obey the Golden Rule". It gives a short summary of the Kingdom righteousness Jesus requires and brings about in His people.

This verse, in context, shows what God expects of Christians. If you claim to be a "follower of Jesus" you cannot escape several things that God expects of you with regard to Matt. 7:12.

1. God wants you to know Him and His love. Seeing 7:12 as just one moral option among many will lead you away from Jesus; to think you are able to live without God. Mankind either tries to be God or deny Him. Ps. 14:1 says "the fool has said in his heart there is no God". 7:12 assumes a higher authority than self: God Himself. There is no golden rule without God. He wants you to know His love for you, which is immeasurable and incomprehensible, knowable only through Jesus Christ. (John 17:3; 1 John 5:11-12).

2. God wants you to choose wisely for His glory and other's good. Jesus calls us to action. Jesus' words in 7:12 require active obedience and active engagement for the good of others. Do unto others. As Gal. 6:10 says "Do good to all, especially those of the household of faith". With no guarantee of similar treatment. That's tough. Think about how you have been sinned against: the hurt, the anger, the pain. You want justice don’t you? Now think about how you have sinned. You want mercy don’t you? Let your desire for mercy give you perspective; the other person is just like you: guilty before a holy God; wanting mercy. You could have done the same or worse.

3. God wants you to share His love for the sake of the Gospel. Active engagement for the glory of God and good of others holds far more possibility of the lost becoming found, and the wayward getting on track than any man-made substitute ever could. Matt. 7:12 encapsulates the Gospel: that our holy God took upon Himself human flesh and became one of us to do unto us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves. The Gospel standard is that we acknowledge God, and His right to rule in our lives, and then act accordingly. God has done everything for us; we ought to do everything for others. Jesus died for those who killed Him. He has treated us infinitely better than our sins deserved. Treat people the same way.

Praise God that for the humble and repentant there is full forgiveness and freedom from the power and penalty of sin. There is life where death reigned; joy where despair settled in; love where hate attacked. Praise God mercy flows because Christ's blood was spilled. The blood of Christ cleanses.