LIVE BY THE GOLDEN RULE

Proclamation:

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke to His disciples and to the crowd near the end of His Sermon on The Mountain as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  These words are also recorded in the gospel according to Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. (Luke 6:31)  According to noted Bible scholar John MacArthur, the negatively stated version of the golden rule existed before Christ in the rabbinic writings, in Hinduism, and in Buddhism.  They stated it as a negative command which was "what is hateful to yourself, do not to someone else."  Jesus stated this as a positive command, enriched its meaning, and underscored that this one imperative aptly summarizes the whole gist of ethical principles contained in the Law and the Prophets.  The Law refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Prophets refers to the remaining books of the Old Testament which were written by the prophets.

Application:

This is "the golden rule": do unto others as you would have them to do unto you. Stated another way it is: “Treat people as you would like to be treated.”  Many people can recite "the golden rule", even if they do not always practice it.  However, rarely, if ever, do the people that say it, tell you that it is a paraphrased Bible verse quotation.  According to The Bible we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39 and Mark 12:31)  We are to treat others as we would like to be treated.  This is contrary to the worldly way of thinking which is to treat others as they treat you.  Christian behavior is beyond and a step or two above worldly behavior.  So, let us live by this higher Biblical standard.