Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated
February 19, 2006
Lighthouse Assembly of God
Pastor Greg Tabor
Introduction
This morning’s text: Matthew 7:12.
“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
What we have just read has been called ‘The Golden Rule.’ I remember memorizing the KJV of this years ago as a child.
In his commentary on Matthew 1-7, John MacArthur, Jr. writes, “Every other form of this basic principle had been given in purely negative terms, and is found in the literature of almost every major religion and philosophical system. The Jewish rabbi Hillel said, “What is hateful to yourself do not to someone else.” The book of Tobit in the Apocrypha teaches, “What thou thyself hatest, to no man do.” The Jewish scholars in Alexandria who translated the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) advised in a certain piece of correspondence, “As you wish that no evil befall you, but to be a partaker of all good things, so you should act on the same principle toward your subjects and offenders.” Confucius taught, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” An ancient Greek king named Nicocles wrote, “Do not do to others the things which make you angry when you experience them at the hands of other people.” The Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “What you avoid suffering yourself, do not afflict on others.” The Stoics promoted the principle, “What you do not want to be done to you, do not do to anyone else.” In every case the emphasis is negative. The principle is an important part of right human relations, but it falls short—far short—of God’s perfect standard.”
There is definitely a difference in Jesus’ statement here. He is not just saying to refrain from doing to others what you wouldn’t want done to you, but He is saying do to others what you would have them do to you. The NASB says, “…treat people the same way you want them to treat you…”
I. How would you like to be treated by others?
Jesus says in Matthew 22:39 NIV, a quote of Leviticus 19:19, to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Perhaps you never thought of loving yourself as good, but it is a reality. When speaking to husbands in Ephesians 5:28 Paul explains to husbands that they should love their wives as they love their own bodies. We do care for ourselves, don’t we? Paul further states in verse 29 that no one ever hated his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it. We do take care of ourselves don’t we? Granted, some of us have ‘hated our body’ in the sense of wishing it looking better or was formed better, but from a quick glance at many of us you’d see we don’t have a problem feeding ourselves (maybe not the best foods) and we try our best to make sure we look good.
Now, you might say, what about the Bible’s negative view towards those who are ‘lovers of themselves’? Well, let’s read The Message Paraphrase’s version of 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
“Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.”
Verse 2 in the NIV refers to ‘lovers of themselves.’ You don’t have to study hard here on this or any of the translations out there to figure out that someone that is a lover of their self is a self-centered, self-absorbed person. They are into pleasure and instant gratification any way they can get it. This kind of person is godless. But this is not describing the normal self-love we all have. For we all care for ourselves and desire ourselves to be treated humanely. In dealing with the Ephesians 5 verses we just talked about, The Life Application Bible Commentary: Ephesians, says, “The fact that no one ever hates his own body refers not to self-centeredness but to self-preservation, the natural self-concern that causes people to feed and care for themselves.”
Now, back to Matthew 22:39 NIV, Jesus has just stated ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Think with me now. How do you want to be treated? You love yourself. You care for yourself. We know that. So how do you want folks to treat you? How do you want folks to talk to you? How do you want folks to be concerned?
II. How do you treat others?
Timothy is a prime example of someone that looked out for others. Philippians 2:20-21 NLT says, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.” Timothy is lauded here as a man who genuinely cares about these people’s welfare. There was a genuine love for what Jesus loves in Timothy. He put others’ welfare as a top priority. His lifestyle was a model for what Paul said in Philippians 2:4 NIV, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Isn’t Timothy’s example an example to us today? Other people’s needs, interests, cares, problems, victories, joys, etc., should be important to us. Other people should be important to us. Other people’s ‘stuff’ should be important to us. Our ‘stuff’ is important to us and we want other people to take an interest, don’t we?
Therefore, we should treat others in the same manner we’d like to be treated. That’s what the Scripture is saying when it says, ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ So how are you accomplishing that? Do you love them this way? You want respect, do you give it? You want fellowship, do you give it? Etc.
III. The summary of the Law and Prophets
Why did Jesus say, “This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets”(NLT)?
Because acting towards others in the manner we’d like to be treated is an act of love on our part. And acting in love fulfills the law. Listen:
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:8-10 NIV
If you don’t hear anything else, then hear this: ‘Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.’ If I love my neighbor I won’t have extramarital sex with them, or even lust after them, will I? If I love my neighbor I won’t murder them, or even hate them, will I? If I love my neighbor I won’t steal from the, will I? If I love my neighbor I won’t covet what they have, will I? Therefore, if we love we are fulfilling God’s laws, are we not? God’s laws dealing with human relationships can be summarized by Leviticus 19:18, which we’ve already heard, which tells us to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ James 2:8 calls this the royal law.
Jesus states in Matthew 22:37-40 NIV, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” This Scripture explains that the summary of all of God’s Law and the Prophets can be boiled down to two commands, loving God and loving your neighbor.
Jesus answered the question of ‘who is my neighbor?’ when He gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. Love reaches out even to enemies. The ‘Golden Rule’ is not limited to people you like, but to all our human relationships. And we know from God’s Word that we cannot genuinely obey the greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength if we do not obey the second greatest commandment, which is to love people. Listen to this:
“If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:20-21 NIV
So our living up to God’s standards, God’s laws, hinges greatly on loving others. For loving others is the fulfillment of the law.
Conclusion
The Sermon on the Mount once again tells us how Christ expects us to be. And we know that Christ came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. We also know that the righteousness of the Pharisees, that hypocritical, self-righteousness based on traditions of man, is not enough to gain right standing with God. Jesus said our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. That means we can’t attain God’s kind of righteousness by our own self-righteous merits. How can we attain it? By grace through faith. That’s the only way.
The only way you and I can love God’s way is to have Christ’s righteousness. This kind of loving is divine. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. The love God demands we have for others is impossible on our own. But it is attainable if we are walking in the Spirit.
Questions:
First of all, let me ask you, ‘Do you now Jesus?’ Without His cleansing of your life and making you a new creation, you can forget ever being able to follow Him. You need Him to save you.
Secondly, let me ask you, ‘How do you want to be treated?’ Let that sink in. And then let me ask you, ‘Do you treat others based on that same standard? Do you really care for others as you would like others to care for you? Would you be willing to yield to God this morning and ask Him to help you show that kind of love?’
Thirdly, ‘Are you harming your neighbor?’ Are you in a bad lustful relationship? Are you at ‘war’ with an enemy? Have you stole from someone? The reality is that ‘love does no harm to its neighbor.’ Would you be willing to come clean about some ways you’ve harmed your neighbor and not shown true love to them?
Fourthly, let me ask you, ‘Who is someone right now that you could go to and bless?’ Perhaps there is someone that you know needs a pick-me-up. Maybe you could right and send a card to them. Maybe they need help on a project. Maybe they need you to speak kindly to them. Maybe they need you to go and forgive them. Who is someone right now that you could actively treat the way you would want to be treated?
