The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:7-12
We have been studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and ended with Matthew 7:6: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Those who scorn and reject the Gospel of God’s Grace and those who teach false gospels are symbolized as “dogs” and “pigs” and Jesus is warning His followers about their relationships with them. In essence He said: Do not be hyper-critical of others in judgment, but patient and humble, yet ALSO be critical and discerning of false teachers and avoid their scornful reaction and rejection to the Gospel of God’s Grace. Do not continue to throw the pearls and treasure of God’s Grace in Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven to those who continually reject HIS Holy Gospel.
Jesus has given an astonishing description of what is required of a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, and people surely must have wondered to themselves, how can we possibly have such drastic changes in our lives? The Apostle Paul posed the same question in 2 Corinthians 15-16: “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?”
The point that Paul makes, as well as Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, is this: "You and I are totally unqualified to be citizens of God’s Kingdom in and of ourselves." To become a citizen of God’s Kingdom, and then to be able to exist in this world in the exact opposite way that people of the world exist takes a miracle, a supernatural act of God! How can it possibly be? (Later Jesus says in Matt. 18:3: Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.)
Jesus gives us part of the answer to Kingdom of God Citizenship in Matthew 7:7-8: "Ask, and it will be given to you (not earned); seek, and you will find (not earned); knock, and it will be opened to you. (you will not open it) 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
ASK
Ask? Could it possibly be that easy? To unsaved sinners, having a NEW Kingdom HEART is far more difficult than it even seems possible, especially if you cannot recognize the “plank or log in your own eye”. (Matt. 7:1-5). Now, people do not literally have a “log or plank” in their eye; People so often say they only interpret the Bible “literally”: Do they interpret that verse “literally”? We read it literally, but often God is teaching spiritual truths only seen by the power of God’s Spirit.
Jesus was talking spiritually, and He is talking here about a SPIRITUAL HEART NECESSITY in order to enter the Kingdom of God; it is in the framework of Matthew 6:33: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Jesus is not talking about asking for the physical things but about our extreme spiritual need and our inability to supply that need by ourselves.
“ASKING” is really about a spiritual heart-posture in prayer when approaching God. Prayer is asking God in humility and at the same time, realizing your great and tremendous spiritual need. (Matt 5: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, and the meek…for they belong to the Kingdom of God.)
Jesus told a parable in Luke 18:10: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11"The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ’God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 ’I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ’God, be merciful to me, the sinner !’
The tax collector, who was NOT a person who was accepted or appreciated by man (tax collectors still aren’t!), approaches God realizing his own total inadequacy before God, not relying on his works, but on God’s mercy. He was begging or pleading to God for the thing he needed most: God’s mercy as a sinner. Someone who realizes their own sin, does not come boldly or proudly into the presence of a HOLY God, but HUMBLY. The word for “ask” could be translated “Beg” or “plead”.
When confronted with the HOLINESS of the MIGHTY and SINLESS God and OUR total sinFULL INABILITY, you plead with God for MERCY because you realize that YOUR WORKS could not possibly satisfy God’s requirements for entry into His Kingdom. “Ask” is a command of God and IF you ask, it SHALL BE GIVEN. This is a future passive tense of the verb: You DO NOT EARN what God GIVES. He GIVES because HE IS GRACIOUS.
SEEK
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find. “SEEKING” is a command by God which says that you CANNOT STAY in your sinful and worldly state if you have ASKED God to help and save you. Seeking involves moving and actively striving, in actuality it is repentance and turning.
This is not to be misunderstood as a “works oriented” Gospel. God forbid; to SEEK GOD IS God’s command time and time again corresponding “to repent and to believe.” The COMMAND to seek God’s righteousness and to turn FROM YOUR OWN WORKS is as old as God’s Word!
2 Chronicles 15:2 in the Old Testament says: “The LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you will SEEK Him, HE WILL let you find Him; BUT if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
Jeremiah 29:13 says: “You will SEEK Me and find Me WHEN you SEARCH for Me with all your heart.” That is a heart that is undivided; not mixing your works with God’s MERCY to SAVE, but trusting Him alone to forgive and save, not trying to serve the world (“mammon”) and God at the same time.
The word “Seek” is explained in Luke 12: 29 "And do not SEEK what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly SEEK; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 "But SEEK His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”
What an extraordinary verse (32) of Promise. The Kingdom of God is GIVEN to those whom God has chosen GLADLY. The Greek word for “Gladly” means “WHICH SEEMED GOOD TO HIM (God). The people or flock weren’t good, but the Father’s choice was GOOD! He gladly gives the Kingdom to those who seek and follow Him, because HE is the GOOD Shepherd. He is the GOOD Father and will lead His children into His Kingdom.
As a follower of Jesus and a citizen of His Kingdom, you must NOT be persistent in judging others or in constantly trying to change someone else’s heart, but you must ALWAYS be persistent in humble prayer to God, ASKING and SEEKING, and seeking not only seek through prayer, but also through Scripture, in worship, in Christian community, and living in harmony with God’s will: These are not works which are required but they are certainly avenues and tools which God uses mightily in His Kingdom citizens.
This coincides with what Jesus had said in Matthew 6:32-33: “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (the physical things of life) 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, (You must seek God on HIS TERMS, His righteousness, and with the exclusion of everything else.) and (THEN) all these things will be added to you.” Your physical needs are EASILY met by the God who created everything, so why won’t He be able to supply your greatest spiritual needs too, when you ask and seek Him.
IN Luke 13:23, it says: And someone said to Him, "Lord, are there just a few who are being saved ?" And He said to them, 24 "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will SEEK to enter and will not be able. 25 "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and KNOCK on the door, saying, ’Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ’I do not know where you are from.’ 26 "Then you will begin to say, ’We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets ’; 27 and He will say, ’I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’
KNOCK
The people who are “KNOCKING” in Luke 13, are doing so when it is too late. They had always THOUGHT they were going to be INSIDE, but found themselves OUTSIDE because they had NOT been striving through the NARROW DOOR of the Lord Jesus. (WE ALL KNOW THAT THE NARROW DOOR IS JESUS HIMSELF- “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life ; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6)
In Matthew 7:7: Jesus says: “Knock, and it will be opened to you.” The verbs “ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK” are all primary present active imperative verbs. They are commands by GOD to be persistent in DOING THESE THINGS NOW and expect GODLY RESULTS. If you keep asking and seeking with a penitent and humble heart, and keep KNOCKING on the kingdom-palace door until the KING, who is at the same time THE FATHER, will open the door and supply whatever is needed to enter His Kingdom. Knocking is persistently “banging hard” in prayer, NOT breaking down the door, but being persistent in asking and seeking God to open the door of His Kingdom for you.
Jesus poses a parable of sorts to expound on the threefold command to be PRAYERFULLY ASKING, SEEKING, and KNOCKING in Matthew 7:9-11: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Earthly fathers provide what is necessary for their children. As a father, if your son is hungry, you wouldn’t give him a stone or a snake. That is common, moral, logical good sense. If you ask your Heavenly Father for what you NEED in order to LIVE, not only now, but FOREVER, won’t He give you the GOOD, PURE, wholesome and HOLY THINGS that you NEED? As you persistently and humbly come to God with your spiritual need, Your Heavenly Father will CERTAINLY give you what will FILL you and satisfy you, NOT what would KILL you, and He most definitely would not deceive you. He knows that you NEED the bread of LIFE to feed you, not stones of stumbling and CERTAINLY not snakes of evil. The snakes will bite you and poison you just like the wild dogs, and your Father would NEVER give THOSE things to you if you humbly and persistently ask Him for the GOOD and Godly things that He will provide, not only for physical life, but FOR ETERNAL LIFE.
Knocking is ASKING plus ACTING plus persevering, but there is a great level of anticipation and expectation because it is the Everlasting (Jehovah) Almighty God, the Lord of Hosts through our Lord Jesus, who IS the giver (ask and it shall be given) and as you seek Him you will be found BY Him, because He opens the way for you.
Loving Others
If you ASK the God who Gives, Seek Him and His Kingdom, and KNOCK persistently on the Kingdom door of God, Jesus gives the Godly result in Matt. 7:12 “So in everything (therefore), do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus says that the Law and the prophets are summed up in this one rule: The negatives of the law (you shall not steal, kill, or covet) are fulfilled in obedience to the positive command to “Love others as you love yourself”.
Almost every “religion” on earth has adopted this Golden Rule in one way or another, however, the big difference is that the Bible teaches that we have NO ability to obey this rule OUTSIDE OF CHRIST and the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-5 says: “Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is BRON AGAIN he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (a physical birth) AND the Spirit (a spiritual birth from God) he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
2 Timothy 3:2-5 describes the fallen state of people who have not been born of the Spirit: 2 “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a FORM of godliness, although they have denied its power (the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit); Avoid such men as these.”
Titus 3:3-8: “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy statement.”
Rom 7:24-25: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord !”
Romans 8:3-8: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God ; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh CANNOT PLEASE God.”
To be able TO LOVE OTHERS as Christ loves you is a supernatural act of God; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 says: “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God HAS CHOSEN YOU FROM THE BEGINNING for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
Love for Man and Love for God cannot be separated. In order to love others, to love God, and be able to obey Him as a Child of God, you have to first be born into God’s Kingdom. Children sometimes disobey parents, but God’s grace in Christ covers ALL OF OUR SIN, including the times we fail and repent. We will later look at the context of Matthew 22:39, where Jesus explains: ’YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (also an Old Testament command.)
Lastly, You are able to Love others out of gratitude for the FATHER’S Great Love in Christ for you. Jesus said earlier in His message in Matthew 5:43-45: "You have heard that it was said, ’YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven ; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Out of gratitude for God’s great love in Christ to us, we are able to pray for those who persecute us, and in that we, we KNOW that we have been called Sons and daughters of our Father who is in Heaven.
OUTLINE:
The point Jesus is making so far: "You are totally unqualified to be in God’s kingdom."
I. Persistent in Prayer
A. Asking in humility, with a knowledge of your need.
1. “Asking” like the publican is Begging or Pleading.
2. You do not EARN but God gives.
B. Seeking God does not allow you to stay in your sinful state.(REPENTANCE)
1. You must NOT be persistent in judging others or in constantly trying to change someone else’s heart, but you must ALWAYS be persistent in humble prayer to God, ASKING and SEEKING.
2. You must seek God on HIS TERMS with the exclusion of everything else.
C. Knocking is persistently “banging hard” in prayer.
1. Your Heavenly Father will CERTAINLY give you what will FILL you, NOT what would KILL you.
2. Knocking is ASKING plus ACTING plus persevering, WITH great anticipation and expectation.
II. The Golden Rule (or the rule of measure)
A. The negatives of the law are fulfilled in obedience to the positive. (Matt. 5:21, 19:19, 22:39, Rom 13:9)
B. We have NO ability to obey the rule OUTSIDE OF CHRIST and the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-5, 2 Tim. 3:2-5, Titus 3:3-8, Rom 7:24-25. 8:3-8, Phil 2:12, 2 Thess 2:13
C. Love for Man and Love for God cannot be separated.
1. You must be born into God’s Family: a true Child of God.
2. You are then able to be an obedient and Child.
D. You are only able to Love others out of gratitude for the FATHER’S Great Love in Christ for you. (Matt. 5:45, 1 John 1-3)
