Matthew Chapter 7, Matthew chapter 7, 1 verse verse 12.
It's pretty there in your bulletin.
If you have your Bibles, you can turn there as well.
We're looking at just the single verse this morning and I think
you will recognize it it. What is known as the Golden
Rule, The Golden Rule. So that will be our application
this morning here in El, the word of the Lord.
So whatever you wish that others would do to you do also to them
for, this is the law. And the prophets.
The word of the Lord, you may be seated.
We're very familiar with this. The golden rule.
In fact you can find people all over the place that will tell
you. That's their standard for
living. How do you how do you conduct
your life? What, how do you behave?
Oh, I follow the Golden Rule and the golden rule is wonderful.
It's loaded with meaning, when the Lord adds to the phrase,
this is the law and the prophets, because the first part
of the phrase, both stated positively as it.
Here as you wish others would do to you do to them, it's also
stated negatively by others. You won't be surprised to know
that they found the Golden Rule and Aristotle in the apocryphal
Book of Tobit in the ancient days.
Rabbi Hillel taught, the Golden Rule Philo of Alexandria, the
famous Greek. Scholar in influencer, who life
came very close to the years that Jesus lived on earth Philo,
had to Golden Rule and another almost contemporaneous teacher,
Seneca of Rome wrote in the Latin wrote many wonderful,
things principles of living. He had a golden rule all stated
very similar to what Jesus says here.
And this has led some Skeptics and scoffers to say.
Aha Jesus is not original. He gave this teaching, but he
just stole it from others rather negative way to look at it.
The ancient world was full of philosophical systems,
especially the Greek World filled with philosophical
systems. Sophia wisdom had been part of
the Greek tradition for at least 400 500 years.
Going back to the Athenian. Philosophers.
My goodness. Hebrew wisdom, predated that by
a good Century or more. and the Book of Proverbs was probably,
900 to 1,000 years old when it was composed.
And it was composed of sayings that had probably gone all the
way back to the wisdom of the earliest people on Earth,
following God's creation. So what we have in Christ is not
original sounding and it's not beyond measure in profundity.
But Jesus said something a little different, he ties in the
whole old. Estimate Revelation.
The 39 books of the Hebrew Bible.
Into this particular principle. The law and the prophets. if you
follow this Rule, and keep this Rule and live, according to this
rule, you will essentially have Obeyed and kept the law and done
that, which was admonished and preached and proclaimed and
insisted upon by the Hebrew prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and
Amos Hosea, all of those men. So even though it's just one
little verse, we've got a lot to look at.
Don't we? Let me make it easy for us.
It's a lot of things we can say by way of application about this
simple beautiful little precept. Sometimes some people have
called it the Golden Nugget as well as the Golden Rule.
The Golden Nugget Luther called it just a little bit of a bundle
how it's all been packaged together.
It settles a thousand different points.
There's no necessity to have 100 laws If you can have one General
principle that essentially fulfills and meets the
expectation of all of the little rules, it may be one rule.
It may be just one little nugget one precept.
But it contains in it for the Christian many applications and
this morning, I wanted to just sort of briefly sketch through
one. And that is when the apostles
talked about, Our relationship to one another because this has
to do with others. One another each other, and our
relationship horizontally, as opposed to vertically our
relationship to God. But that sets, an affects our
relationship to one another. And that one another phrase is
pulled out by just a single little keyword and you wouldn't
believe how often that's used in the New Testament in the
exhortations to how we are to live.
The apostles following Christ, just simply took the idea of
one, another each other, others taking care of others, and just
brought it right in two. The Christian ethic.
So I'm going to sketch through the New Testament, Apostles, and
pull out a few things that each one said about our treatment to
one. Another, in fact, Paul calls it
in First Corinthians chapter 12, he calls it.
The care we have for one another, the care, the concern
that we have for one another. So first, let's take Paul in
Galatians. Paul said, bear.
One another's burdens. And so fulfill the law of
Christ. And, as I mentioned each of
these, I want you to just check your own heart, make your own
application. How am I doing in that area?
Do I have a care and concern? And do I bear the burdens of
others? So often we think of the golden
rule is, in terms of Harm's, that is you don't hurt me, and I
won't hurt you. If you treat me, nice, I'll
treat you nice. But if you treat me mean, I'm
going to be meaner back to you. And that was kind of the ethos
of Jesus day. That was certainly the ethos of
the Roman Empire, but that's not what the apostolic, urging is
bear one. Another's burdens Paul says in.
So fulfill the law of Christ, interesting phrase, the law of
Christ. We talk about the law of Moses,
but all of a sudden now that law of Moses has been so understood.
And so, so saturated into the teachings of Christ in the
gospel that now it is called the law of Christ.
And Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments.
So now it is it has melded into that.
But let me not get bogged down here because there's quite a few
of these. The whole law is fulfilled.
In one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. but if you
bite and devour one, another be careful that thou art not
consumed by one another If you bite and devour one another if
you bite, someone starts you and it's not a very long till you've
consumed them, where they you? an admonition, Paul continues in
Galatians, let us not become conceited provoking one another
Provoking one. Another envying one, another
Paul doesn't let up in Ephesians walk with all humility
gentleness patience bearing with one another in love.
Listen to these treatments of our fellow man and certainly
those that are of the household of faith.
Humility gentleness patience. Bearing with one another in love
and flag that term love because you're going to hear it in the
apostles Doctrine. You know, the early church
continued to the apostles Doctrine.
And those of us that are kind of worried, it's just over their
ticket, to teaching the doctor, to God, and sin, and man in
Salvation, And all these true shirts really were but they're
also teaching the doctrine. The truth of love the importance
of loving one another here Paul continued let all bitterness and
wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you
with all malice be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving
one another as God for Christ's sake, has forgiven Given you.
There's your gospel right there. The Lord loved us and gave
himself for us. We are forgiven of all of our
sins. We are cleansed.
We are exonerated. We are justified in the eyes of
God. Everything that condemns us has
been removed. All debts and penalties and
obligations have been paid. It is finished.
But it moves on. We've been given that treatment
by God. How are we?
To treat others but to treat them kind tender-hearted
forgiving one. Another Later on.
Paul says, having put away falsehood, Let each of you speak
the truth with his neighbor flag that word.
Truth speak the truth with his neighbor for.
We are all members of one another.
One of the great teachings of the New Testament and Apostolic
Doctrine is that we are all in a body and that body is the body
of Christ. And we remember several members
of that body, individual members of that body.
But there's a sense in which we are one and to do to one is to
do to ourselves and do to another and the Lord puts us
together in that corporate entity, the body of Christ that
we may treat each other, right? And we met as I'm seeing them.
Called could goes on in Colossians.
He says do not lie. Remember the emphasis on the
truth do not lie to one another bearing with one another
forgiving one another as the Lord has forgiven you.
So you must also forgive And then here's some beautiful one,
another passage flag in that little word all the time.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and
admonishing one. Another with all wisdom and
singing, Psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs.
Boy, I'd love to lecture on that, right about now, That's
tells us something about our worship.
We admonish one another with the word of God and we do it through
our singing of three types of pieces, Psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs, or our Psalms. How many of those do each thing
to start with hymns? Where we put our hymn books and
spiritual songs. The word of God must dwell
richly in all three of those. So that we are built up in our
wisdom and our understanding and we don't have that unless we do
it with one another, with congregational singing and with
and with the teaching of the word in the enjoyment of these,
great things that God has given us for the fellows will Paul
doesn't stop there so we can go on.
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love toward one
another increase and abound in love.
No matter how much love we have for each other.
There's room for more increase, and abound in love for one
another. You have been taught by God to
love one another. Paul's.
Now, in first Thessalonians therefore encourage one another
and build one another up. Did you know?
It's the job of each other to edify and build up each other in
the faith. It's not just the preachers job
for, you know, half an hour on Sunday morning to do all the
teaching and all the building up.
We are to edify to strengthen and to encourage that means we
must be an incendiary Fellowship.
We've got to be like, coals in a fire.
We've got a huddle together and keep each other going and this
is the admonition of what we are to do with one another well to
the book of Hebrews. Whoever the apostle was that
wrote Hebrews I've got a good idea but technically we don't
really know for sure but listen to what he says, exhort one
another every day that none of you may be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin. Verse prior, he spoke of an evil
and unbelieving heart. Don't let that kind of heart
getting you. How do you prevent that?
Is because every day not just once a week on Sunday, every
day, you are being admonished, rebuked, loved cared for
corrected by each other. One another, in the faith.
Do we have that operating in our lives where we are?
We are keeping each other on the track and holding each other
accountable and giving each other.
The The pathways that we need to to love more and to and to
forgive more and to be more tender hearted and so forth.
That's the what, the exhortation of Hebrews is the Apostle James
in chapter 4, do not speak evil against one another.
There is a admonition for our behavior that is negative.
He has another one to do not Grumble against one another.
James listen to John. This is my commandment that you
love one. Another as I have loved you and
Jesus talks about laying down his life.
Now John is quoting Jesus here and this is that new
commandment, that new law that law, that fulfills the law of
Moses and law. That covers a thousand smaller
rules and regulations. The law of love, the law of
Christ, Paul's calls it. First John, John continues.
We have fellowship with one another that is, we walk in the
light and we walk along together in the light and we have the
fellowship in our fellowship is with Christ centrally but then
it's with one another by extension.
We should love one another. We should love one another.
We know that we have passed from Death to life because we love
the brethren. John continues in first John
that we love one. Another as he has commanded us.
Beloved, let us love one. Another love is from God,
whoever loves is born of God and knows God in fulfilling that
Royal law of Love. We Are Knowing god, we are
showing that we have been born of God that we have been born of
that, love that conceived. All love leads to conception and
eternal Everlasting, Love leads to everlasting life.
And we've been born of the spirit of God and brought forth
in as a new creature in Christ. If God.
So loved us, we ought to love one another if we We love one
another, God abides in us. That's interesting, this is
getting pretty serious. This idea of the one another has
to do with our own spiritual Vitality.
This is how we know we actually are born from above that.
We actually are the children of God.
This is how we know that we have passed from Death To Life.
This, this is getting to the vitals of our actual conversion,
our actual citizenship in the kingdom of God, and our
membership in the body of Christ, the John continues in
second John that we love one another and this is love that we
walk according to his Commandments.
Will you see how John just sort of?
Bores in on it. By the way, if you studied
John's writings the gospel and the Epistles that Saint John
Road. And then of course, the Book of
Revelation the Apocalypse, You'll see this two things,
many, many things he covers because it's very theological,
those discourses, and that and those letters, but love and
truth. And Paul even speaks of
speaking, the truth in love. That's the way we're obey God
and keep his Commandments. That's the way we fulfil that
Royal law. Let's go to Peter Love one.
Another earnestly from a pure heart above all, keep learning
loving one another and he uses that same word.
Again earnestly, this is not a cool thing or a shallow thing or
a perfunctory thing. This is this is dynamic and
vital. This love that we are to have
for one another show. Hospitality to one another
Hospitality. Is that Spirit of welcome that
open arms that saying in extending the call of Christ
coming to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will
give you rest. The hospitality is the is the
physical taking care? The being the true neighbor,
it's the point of Jesus. Parable of the Samaritan, the
Good. Samaritan, that found the man
along the Wayside wounded, and bleeding and half dead, and he
was hospitable to him. Serve one another as good
stewards of God's grace. Clothed yourselves, all of you
with humility toward one another.
And now before I wrap up more Paul, I just couldn't get away
from Paul. I thought I had him covered but
the more I began to look up terms more.
I found out, I hadn't really scratched the surface, when Paul
gets to the end in chapter 12 and following chapter 13, 14 and
15, as he begins to wrap up the book of Romans, he's filled with
admonitions. And here, they are love one.
Another with brotherly affection, and it was, it isn't
just a performance. That's a, it is an emotional.
Motion. There's any motive force with
our love. It's beyond just treating each
other, right? Because that's the right thing
to do. Those of us that are lawkeepers
that be about all. We'd worry about them don't know
but it goes beyond that it has to come out of a heart of true
love and affection to one another This is an interesting
phrase, outdo one, another in showing honor.
So we though many are one body in Christ and individually
members of One Another live in harmony.
With one another. That's interesting Phrase live
in harmony it's a musical term. It means that the Vibes have all
got to have the right count. When you get the right count on
the tones, they harmonize it's either Concord or Discord and if
it's disharmony its restless and it stirs up and it's its
discontent. Don't go with Harmony, there's
peace, there's contentment, there's resolved, there's rest
and besides that, there's beautiful music and that's what
I think the Lord wants us to do with one another's to be have a
harmonious relationship. Oh, no, man.
Anything except to love one another.
Here it is. Again, the one who loves another
has fulfilled, the law Think of all those wonderful
Commandments, God didn't get rid of them.
He just gave us a way to keep them.
Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer that's
interesting. Ball knows we've been doing that
and so he tells us to cut it out, he didn't say, you know, if
you've ever done he knows we have, we've done that.
Passing judgment on one another. Don't do it any longer.
Stop it. Let today be your last day to
ever do that. Therefore, welcome one.
Another has Christ as welcome to you.
There's the Open Arms of the welcome.
That's the, the welcome of the Lord is something we need to
have in our souls for everyone. In terms may vary whether it's a
dear brother in Christ or whether it's a total stranger or
whether it's an enemy, but we still have those.
Welcome arms open and it's for the glory of God.
You see the Lord welcomed us when we were really not very
becoming. Christ died for the ungodly.
Did you know that if you come under the conviction of the Lord
that they're sitting in your life, then that's your trigger
right there to tell you. That's Christ died for you.
That's why Don't ever get the idea that I don't live up to all
this Commandments. I am not worthy to be saved.
Christ didn't come to heal the righteous.
He came to call, Sinners to repentance.
So the day you recognize your sinfulness is today, the gospel
is going to mean something to you.
It's the day, you're going to flee to Christ for forgiveness.
It's the day you're going to call upon him for salvation.
It's the day, you're going to feel the, the refreshing wash.
Thinking of the blood of Christ cleansing, you of every sin and
making you right with God in his sight.
Live in harmony with one another in a cord with Christ.
Jesus, interesting, little phrase member in the Bible when
the people were in the upper room.
Tarrying waiting on the next move of God.
It says they were in one Accord, one Accord and being in one
Accord, in an upper room, privately huddled in prayer and
fellowship before each other, will eventuate in, not too many
days. Since a great Still meeting
where the spirit of God descends upon All Flesh, men and women,
boys, and girls and they all call upon the name of the Lord
for salvation, and that's being in one.
Accord filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another
able to instruct one another There's that idea that comes up
again, shouldn't we be able to admonish teach Comfort one?
Another should we know enough about the Lord and his word and
about the Christian Life to be able to answer questions, to be
able to sympathize and empathize.
That's where becomes gives this. Is this one, another is this
Mutual treatment of one another but it's also Mutual Ministry
and that's really who the Ministers of pc pc are used to
be in the bullet. And you may still be, I don't
know, I haven't noticed it. Who are the, who are the
pastor's? Well, they named them, you know,
who the elders they named them, who are the musicians that
played this morning, they'll name them.
And then they say, who are the ministers?
Every single member of pc. Pc is a minister in that sense.
Well, we're out of time. That was that 42?
I found forty to one another's in the New Testament and I
didn't really search that hard so who knows how many there are
altogether. But That's the way I think, will
fulfill and enjoy every minute of it.
Fulfilling the law of the prophets is through this Golden
Rule that Jesus has given us. That's the way I think, will
fulfill and enjoy every minute of it.
Fulfilling the law of the prophets is through this Golden
Rule that Jesus has given us.