Books of the Bible
The Golden Rule           

Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31

Ed
And from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Both
Amen

Ed
Today is a dialogue sermon. What is a dialogue sermon? Pastor O’Neal and I study the Biblical text for the sermon.  After each one of us has studied the text, we then get together for conversation. We talk the Biblical text through. We share our feelings, observations, what this text originally meant, what it means today, how it applies to our lives. In other words, we gradually figure out a sermon. We try to recreate the best parts of our dialogue for the Sunday morning sermon. 

John
Christians, that’s you and me, are disciple of Jesus Christ.   Do you remember what our 4th purpose is?  You know, in “The Purpose Driven Life” we studied together.   It’s discipleship – you were created to become like Christ!  A congregation is a discipleship training lab where we study the teachings of Jesus and practice them.  As a Purpose Driver Church: Bethlehem LC in Minneapolis says they are a: Center for Discipleship and Mission for Jesus Christ.   One of our purposes in life is to become true disciples of Jesus, that is, we learn from Him and put into practice what we learn.  As a result, we grow to be more like Him every day.  That’s what discipleship is.

Ed
On that topic, William Barclay, a famous author and teacher of the Bible, tells the story about an old gruff college professor. One time, someone came up to this college professor and said, “I know one of your students by the name of John Doe.” The college professor replied in a gravelly voice, “He attends my classes but he is not one of my students.”  You see, the old college professor made a clear distinction between a person who merely sat in on lectures of the teacher and a person who really learned what the professor was saying. For the old college professor, there was an enormous difference in being an attender of a class and a disciple and true learner. Similarly, as Christians, we are disciples of Christ. We are not merely attenders of worship; we don’t merely sit in on classes. Rather, we are students of Christ. We immerse ourselves in the words and wisdom of Jesus. We become followers of Christ, and we  follow his teachings. 

John
Today we are taking a look at one of the fundamental, foundational teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount.  Over the years it’s been referred to as the Golden Rule. Many of you know the Golden Rule.   Most people whether they go to church or not know the Golden Rule.  Please complete the following sentence….Do onto others as ………..you would have them do onto you. Let’s repeat the Golden Rule. Do onto others as…  It’s a part of our American culture.  Many people have no idea that it came from Jesus teaching or that it’s religious in origin but just about everyone knows the Golden Rule.  Following it, however, is another story.

Ed
John, why is this teaching called the Golden Rule? What is golden about it? Why not silver or bronze? Why gold?

John
Well, I think it is a very fitting and appropriate name for this particular
rule!”  Gold is one of the most valuable metals in the world and has been for centuries.   It has incredible value for a variety of reason.  Not only is it beautiful to look and so is used for jewelry of all different kinds but it has properties that make it very useful for other things as well.  From my background in electronics, I know that Gold is one of the finest conductors of electricity.  It’s great for electronic contacts because of that and because it doesn’t tarnish and is very durable.  If you want the best connectors you want gold or at least gold plated.  If you go to buy cables for your DVD player and you want the best, you get the ones that have the gold plated connectors.   Even on my cell phone the connectors where it connects to the charger are gold plated.  There are other metals used in electronics such as copper and silver.  These are great conductors of electricity but they will tarnish and corrode whereas Gold will not.  So, what this name, The Golden Rule, says to me is that this rule is beautiful and durable, is very useful and practical, and it will stand the test of time.

Ed
Gold has been the most valuable metal during human history. This is true for all societies, all cultures, and all civilizations.  Humans have pursed gold from the dawn of human civilization. Think of the ancient Egyptians and King Tututkamen’s gold mask. Remember that all the Egyptian kings were buried with their gold trinkets and gold ornaments and gold jewelry. Think of the Spanish conquistadors sailing the Atlantic in search of this precious gold. Think of the ancient Inca civilizations here in America and their hordes of gold. Think of the gold rush in California in 1849. Think of Fort Knox and the gold bars. Think of the gold standard and financial trade throughout the world today. Throughout all human history and human civilization, gold has been the most desired and valuable metal. There is not metal as precious as gold.

John
The Golden Rule is the fundamental moral principle for all human beings stated in the positive.   It’s not just about refraining from hurting others or treating them poorly.  It’s about doing something positive.  Jesus says:  “Do onto others…  It’s about positive action!

Ed
Other religions of the world and their religious philosophers have taught this rule but in a negative form. Do not.  Do not harm. Do not cause pain. Let’s briefly hear the negative form in other world religions. The HINDU religion taught: “This is the sum of duty:  do nothing to others which if done to you would cause you pain.”  Do not do anything to cause pain to another. Don’t do the negative. But Jesus stated his moral principle positively. Do onto others.

John
The BUDDHIST religion taught. Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.

Ed
The JEWISH traditions and the Talmud taught: “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.  That is the entire Law; all the rest is comment.” Again, do not do the negative.

John
Islam teaches: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

Ed
The BAHA'I faith and the Book of Certitude teaches: “He should not wish for others that which he does not wish for himself, nor promise that which he does not fulfill.” Again, do not do the negative.

John
Other great philosophers:   “Do not do unto others what angers you if done to you by others. A fable: "Tzu-kung asked, 'Is there a single word which can be a guide to conduct throughout one's life?' The Master said, 'It is perhaps the word "shu".  Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire'"

Ed
These religious teachers have taught a similar philosophy to Jesus but always in the negative. That is why their moral precepts are called the “silver rules.” Those silver rules are good but not as good as gold. Their teaching was in the negative form (do not) but Jesus taught the same truth in a positive form (do).  That is why Jesus’ teaching is called the golden rule.

John
Not doing something bad to a person is not the same as doing something positive for them. It’s somewhat easy and expected for emotionally healthy human beings to avoid doing something bad toward another person.  In most civilized cultures this is pretty much expected; but it is something quite different to do something positive for that person.   Do you see the difference?  Not doing harm vs. doing something good?  It’s very different.  Doing good takes more effort and energy than refraining from evil.

Ed
Yes, there is a huge difference between not causing someone harm and doing something positive for that person. To help us understand this difference, the British scholar Barclay uses the simple analogy of driving a car. That is,  I can drive my car in such as way that I do not harm people with my driving. I simply drive on the right side of the road and stop for all stop signs. But it is quite another thing to drive my car and pick up someone to take them to the doctor or drive my neighbor to a food bank.  It is one set of attitudes and behaviors that avoids hurting people with my car; it is another set of attitudes and actions that actually go out of the way to help people with my car.

John
Martin Luther took the same approach in his explanations of the Ten Commandments in his Small Catechism.   The Commandments are phrased in the negative  - Thou shall not…Luther in his explanations always stated part of the meaning in the positive.  He taught what we are not to do, but then taught us what we are to do. The only exception is the first commandment where he stated the meaning in the positive only.

Ed
John, you are teaching the Ten Commandments and their meanings to the sixth graders  during the Wednesdays of  Lent. Let’s apply Luther’s explanations to three of the Ten Commandments. What you are not to do. What you are to do.  The second commandment is: “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.”

John
Here Luther begins his usual pattern where he states the meaning in the negative – what we are not to do – but then always follows that up with what we are to do.

So for the second Commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  Luther follows the question, What does this mean: by saying:  We are to fear and love God so that we do not use His name superstitiously, or use it to curse, swear, lie, or deceive, (that’s what we are not to do – negative) but call upon Him in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.(that’s what we are to do).

Ed
The third commandment: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

John
Third Commandment:  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep is holy.  What does this mean?  We are to fear and love God so that we do not neglect His Word and the preaching of it, (don’t do) but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.(do)

Ed
The fifth commandment: You shall not kill.

John
Fifth Commandment:  You shall not kill.  What does this mean?  We are to fear and love God so that we do not hurt our neighbor in any way, but help him in all his physical needs.  This is the one that really parallels the Golden rule.  Not just don’t hurt others but help them.  It’s a positive action!

Luther really understood that there is a difference between refraining from doing wrong and doing the right thing.   And he understood the commandments in this way.  We are to do good not just refrain from doing harm.

Ed
Let’s go in a different direction. This Golden Rule by Jesus is found in the earliest strata of NT, Q. Q are the 200 Bible verses common to Matthew and Luke and they were written before the gospels and before the letters of the Apostle Paul. These words were written in about 40 CE. Q is the earliest teaching document which records the words of Jesus. This golden rule is the earliest moral teaching of Jesus that summarizes the whole Old Testament. There are 39 books in the Old Testament, and Jesus summarized all 39 books of the Old Testament with the Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you. This fulfills the Law and the Prophets.” … Do you realize that before Jesus, nobody had ever spoken the words of the golden rule? Nobody. Jesus was the first person to speak those profound and simple words which we live by. We sometimes forget that Jesus was the fountainhead, the originator, the creator of these profound moral teachings.

John
The Golden Rule is closely connected to other golden rules –the only commandment Jesus ever gave us is: love one another as I have loved you.  Or, Love your neighbor as you love yourself.   The problem here is how we, in our modern culture, understand the word “love.”  For us, the word “love” is too rapped up in feelings, emotions, and attitudes.  These are great things but love according to the Bible is active.  It is a verb.  It has to do with what we do.  Feelings, attitudes, and emotions are great but if they don’t lead to any positive action on our part, is that how Jesus intended us to understand it?

Ed
No. Not at all. Christians, followers of Christ, DO for others. In Q and in the Sermon on the Mount, here in Matthew 7, we hear Jesus use the word, “do” eleven times. Eleven times in one chapter: DO!’ “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” Or.  “No every one who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my Father.” Or. “He who hears these words of mine and does them is like a man who build himself a house on the rock.” Eleven times in one chapter: be doers of the word.

John
I always ask, what does this mean for my life?  For Your life?  The Golden Rule. Do onto others as you would have them do to you. Ed what does that mean for you?

Ed
Jesus is giving me a clear moral principle by which to live my life as his disciple. What do I want other people to do onto me? How do I want them to treat me? Love, respect, kindness, forgiveness for my sins and imperfections, patience, honesty. Also, I need them to help me out when I am in a jam and I can’t solve a problem myself. That is what I want from other people. This is the way that God asks me to treat all people. Doing for others means for me to be pro-actively positive to people around me. What does this moral teaching of Jesus mean for you, John?

John
Well, it’s pretty much the same for me.  I want people to treat me with respect, and love, and simple kindness.  And when I’m in a jam, I would hope that someone would help me out.  I remember when I loved in Anacortes and was trying to start up a business.  There really wasn’t enough money for me to take a salary in the beginning so I only took what I barely needed to pay the rent.  I wasn’t eating very well.  Someone from my church knew that and would occasionally and anonymously leave a bag of groceries on my doorstep for me.  Boy did I appreciate that!  Therefore, I need to do things like that for others.  And we have lots of examples of that kind of goodness and kindness right here at Grace!

Ed
We see so many stories of “doing for others.” I think of Otto Wieland in our church and how he has cared for so many people, taking care of Lee Llanes when she died, being a sponsor through the AA program, making breakfast for the men. I think of Karen Frenk in Kid Reach and how I see her tutoring her child in the alcove across from my office, in the summer time.  The stories are endless. All the grandparents raising and taking care of their grandchildren. These are all positive actions. 

John
Or I think of John Santo driving John Cawsey all the way to Mount Vernon for his cancer treatments every week for 6 weeks.  Or stories of people preparing meals for people who are going through difficult times, or friend to friend where people visit others.

Ed
John, Dick Lehman emailed us a joke the other day and I think it works well here.

John
That was a good one. Can I tell it?

“A driver did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk even though he
could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman behind him went ballistic, pounding on her horn and
screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to drive through the
intersection with him.

Still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the
face of a very serious police officer The officer ordered her to exit her
car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was
searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the
door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer
was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm awfully sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind
your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of
you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life'
license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the Follow
Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish
emblem on the trunk."

"Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

(pause, laughter, people like the joke)

Ed
Yes, Christians are invited to be disciples of Christ, to follow Christ and his example of love and doing positively for others. It is easy to slap a bumper sticker about love on the back of one’s car. It is another matter to “do for others and you would have them do for you.”

John
I think that is the Golden Rule.

Ed
It is made of pure gold.

Both
Amen.

 
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