When I say “The Golden Rule” how many of you know exactly what I’m talking about? Jesus, as the big “A” author of God’s Word, can go into great detail about what His character means in our everyday relationships and actions, but He can also sum it up in just a few short words.
The Golden rule is deceptively simple however and in considering it we can miss the fact that we are hopeless and helpless to actually do what it says.
12
The “So” here in verse 12 is also translated “therefore” and means that Jesus is summing up all that He has said so far. The statement “for this is the Law and the Prophets” can also mean it “fulfills” the Law and the Prophets. The other way Jesus summed up His character is with a teacher of the law: love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37).
It’s a wonderful principal, only possible with the Holy Spirit living inside us through the salvation of Jesus Christ. Our default position is probably more like “Do unto others before they do it unto you.” Even for us who are apprentices of Jesus Christ we have a really hard time doing this. We want others to treat us well but we don’t think about how we treat them. Love on a human level is reciprocal. You do good to me and I’ll do good to you. Do bad to me and watch out! But God’s love is non-reciprocal. Rom 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”
Basically you can start here and work back deeply into the character of God—a character that He is in the process of making in us who belong to Him. It takes a lot of attention and a lot of submission and humility and transparency before the Lord. Perhaps that one of the reasons He makes this next statement, which leads to the main part of this message:
Here’s how I want us to think about this today: Who you listen to determines what path you take, which determines who you are, which determines your citizenship which determines your final destination.
13 – 14 What path are you on?
There are some interesting views on these verses. Some suggest that since the Sermon on the Mount was given to disciples that it involves only our efforts at discipleship. I think there is merit. Paul said:
Phil 2:12-13 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
“Work out” means to accomplish fully, to finish, and comes from a word that means “labor” or “occupation.” As followers of Jesus, it should be our occupation to give God full access to our lives, like opening up the firewall of our hearts and letting Him have full access to probe, discipline, cleanse, and change. We need to cooperate with this work fully, even though it is not actually us who do it.
But though discipleship is in view, I think that Jesus is also warning his people that there are simply no other alternatives but to submit to Jesus. In the next 13 verses we get contrasts that clearly suggest that your eternal destiny depends on who you follow and what that makes you—if not Jesus, then your life and your eternal destiny will wash away like a house built on sand during a flood.
Is this paragraph then the gospel or a call to hard discipleship? I think it’s both really. I think about the parable of the seed that Jesus will tell in chapter 13. The seed represents the Word of the gospel. It only bears fruit where it goes deep into a heart. Living a life where you paint Jesus on the outside but He doesn’t live on the inside is like taking the easy road—He doesn’t have access and ownership of your heart. In the end, this way leads away from Him.
Living in Jesus is not easy but it is the best and only way if we want life. Sometimes we just settle for getting our fire insurance policy and don’t worry about really getting to know Jesus personally. Would we all be ones who would go over the boulders and difficult passages of life’s trials to know Jesus and have Him know us.
Phil 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. NIV
In the end it really is an either/or proposition. Jesus said “John 14:6
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. NKJV.”
In reality there are many many voices out there claiming to bring life. In fact, our post modern culture bristles against such narrow mindedness that says there is only one way. It doesn’t matter what we think, however, only what is true. It starts with who are you listening to. So in listening to the correct voice, that of Jesus Christ, we enter a narrow gate to a treacherous path of discipleship that culminates in citizenship in the king of heaven. The way is not easy, as anyone who has suffered in their walk along that path can testify. But is it worth it? Oh yes.
15 – 20 What voices do you listen to?
“Beware,” Jesus says as you decide which way to go in life, because there are those who claim to be speaking for God, so their words sound good, but they are not who they appear to be and their motivation is to hurt, not help you. You can’t always tell a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so don’t just listen to the words but discern by the fruits of the words. Do they result in more slavery to legalism or bondage to sin, or do they declare the utter inability for man to save himself and proclaim the Rescuer Jesus who did it all for us? No other religious or philosophical system provides an answer to sin that doesn’t involve us doing it or us being exalted.
One such voice is the Mormon church. On the outside they hold to conservative family values. They seem like very nice people. But if you listen to their gospel it declares that you can become a god. If you know your Bible, those words echo someone else:
Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
These words were spoken by Lucifer. His end will be in fire, as will all those who belong to him. Who you listen to matters. What is the efficacy of what they say? A false prophet was also to be known as such if they went against the prior revelation of the Lord. Deuteronomy 13 talks about prophets that encourage going after other gods. Paul the Apostle said in Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
This leads to the next concept, that of belonging to a kingdom—of being a citizen.
21 – 23 Who do you belong to?
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus describes a coming time upon His return to the earth to set up his kingdom. There will be a short period of time at the beginning when the people of the earth are separated depending on who they belong to, not what they’ve done. This is but one of separations (the Rapture, the Great White Throne are two others).
What Jesus is saying (notice this is a thinly veiled revelation of Him as the Messiah, and God) is that just calling Jesus “Lord” is not enough. You must belong to Him. To do God’s will requires a relationship where you can communicate with Him, know and perform His will. This can only happen with a redeemed person because Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear. NKJV
How does this all start? John 6:29 "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." NKJV
You can’t just call yourself a Christian and be one. You can even perform miracles and not be a part of God’s kingdom (the Antichrist will). You can even assent to the truthfulness of the Bible and not go to heaven: James 2:19 Even the demons believe—and shudder!
The key to it all is whether Jesus knows you. You MUST have a relationship with Jesus in order to get into His kingdom. How do you get that? We’ll go over that in a minute. But first, the consequences of what happens to a life that is not changed, that doesn’t know Jesus and is known.
24 – 27 What is your life built upon?
As I said, it is not enough to acknowledge the truth, it must be acted upon. I can acknowledge a coming flood but unless I get out of the way I’m going to be swept along with it. The idea of building on the rock and on the sand has many spiritual connotations, but the overall idea is that a flood is coming—a time when God moves back in to His creation and cleans house. He is in the process of creation, fall, redemption, and renovation. When He returns, anything that is not like Him will not be able to exist.
If we think that Jesus offers a shelter from the coming storm when a holy God returns to an unholy earth, then we must act on that knowledge. If you think you can build up your own life by your own efforts and have it withstand that event then you are seriously mistaken.
Jesus offers real help, the real answer, real life that lasts and can withstand anything!
28 – 29
The crowds were essentially left speechless. The scribes were law specialists, mainly concerned with the many rules that had been concocted to create a superficial righteousness. No one had come with such insight, such answers, such authority.
Conclusions
Why the hard road? We should enter it and continue on it with eyes open!
Like the song says: Life is hard, but God is good. God is good in every bad situation. God disciplines every person He receives. We will suffer for knowing Him. So why bother? Isn’t there enough suffering as it is? But God’s suffering leads to life and peace and the character of God. #1 Isaiah 53:4 “He … carried our sorrows.”
Isa 65:17-18 17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create.” Rev 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear.”
How do you respond to Jesus’ words?
There are various reactions. You might not care, you might not think it applies to you, it might make you angry, it might make you sad, or it might make you think. His words should astound us. They run counter to everything our culture and our human default settings tell us—that we are okay and can build a lasting life by our own efforts.
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