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THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• A significant event occurred in our history in the west in 1848. James Wilson Marshall made a discovery at Sutter’s Mill in California that would make a profound effect on the people in our country and in California itself. As a result of his find, San Francisco grew from a small town to a city of 25,000 in one year’s time. Prices for food and lodging soared. Men and women across the country suffered hardship, disease, hunger, and even death making the trek to California. However, some of those who were able to survive made as much as $5,000 in three days. As a result of the massive flood of people to this area, California was admitted to the Union as a state in 1850. The discovery was gold and the event was the California Gold Rush of 1849.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• The news of gold and the possibility of making it rich was just too tempting for people. Ever since gold was discovered, humans have indulged in it, treasured it, hoarded it, fought for it, and even died for it. The Egyptians went so far as to identify gold with the “gods,” because it reminded them of the sun. So, to merely say that humans are fascinated by gold is an understatement.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• I wish everyone would desire the Word of God as much as they do gold and other priceless treasures. Think about how our world would be if everyone one was willing to, indulge in, fight for, and even die for the Word of God. After all, is not the Word of God a “golden treasure”? To be more specific, there is a teaching of Christ that we have linked the word “gold”

Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.• This saying of Jesus has been

appropriately labeled “The Golden Rule” But why is it called this? First of all, consider its beauty. This message is so brilliant that surpasses the brilliance of gold. This principle of this message is easy for everyone to understand and apply to their lives. This simply saying demands: fairness, justice, equality, and empathy.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• The simple teaching even had influence

and power over the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. History teaches us that he greatly admired this rule and had it written on the walls of his closet. He quoted it when he giving judgment, and honored Christ and favored Christians for the sake of it.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• Not only was the Golden Rule taught by

Christianity, its principle has been found in just about every corrupt religion. For instance:

Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

• Taoism: (Collection of Chinese philosophy and tradition) Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.

• Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.

• Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful

Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

• Taoism: (Collection of Chinese philosophy and tradition) Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.

• Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.

• Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• I want you to think about this, if everyone in the world decided to follow the Golden Rule it would completely change our world. There would be no more crime, no more prison cells, no gas chambers, and no electric chairs. Discrimination, prejudice, and all other forms of racial hatred and bigotry would cease. The nightly news would not be able to report on terrorist attacks, the hijacking of planes, kidnappings, bombings, or other forms of violence. Instead, all of these things would simply be reminders of our past and we could see how we had overcome our wickedness by following the golden rule.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• The Golden rule is great summary of

how we should treat our fellow man. Now I want take a closer look at the Golden rule. The first point I want to make is that,

The conduct of the world is in contrast to Christ’s teaching..

• It has been said that there are four rules by which we live:

• (1) the iron rule,

• (2) the brass rule,

• (3) the silver rule, and

• (4) the golden rule. Although we are primarily concerned about the golden rule I want to briefly discuss these other rules.

1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

THE IRON RULETHE IRON RULE

• This rule is based on the brutal and satanic principle of “might makes it right.” Cain was the first to practice the iron rule when he stained his hands with the innocent blood of his brother Abel. Every murder from then until now and every war that has ever been fought have been a direct result of the iron rule principle. Adolf Hitler loved this philosophy. He attempted to build a superior human race and he wanted to weed out those he considered to be weak. So, he enforced the iron rule and started murdering all those who did not fit his concept.

THE IRON RULETHE IRON RULE

• The iron rule also states, “What is yours is mine if I can take it by force.”

• The Old Testament kings Ahab and David are two prime examples of iron-rule followers:

• Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard and obtained it by force (1 Kings 21) and

• David took another man’s wife in much the same way (2 Sam. 11).

THE IRON RULETHE IRON RULE

FBI statistic from 1998 reveals there were 1,370,978 violent crimes. Of that number, 12,008 were murders, 65,574 were rapes, 318,994 were robberies, and 974,402 were aggravated assaults

1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

• So, if you hate your brothers or sister in Christ you live by the iron rule.

• Also if a person has the Diotrephes complex of 3 Jn. 1:9- 10 and you try to be the supreme ruler again the iron-rule is what you are living by.

• Now let look at the,

The brass rule is the “get even” philosophy. It says, “Do unto others as they do unto you. I will treat you as you treat me—good for good, evil for evil.”

This idea is both defended and practiced by many in the world, as well as by some in the church. The Scriptures clearly denounce such an attitude:

The brass rule is the “get even” philosophy. It says, “Do unto others as they do unto you. I will treat you as you treat me—good for good, evil for evil.”

This idea is both defended and practiced by many in the world, as well as by some in the church. The Scriptures clearly denounce such an attitude:

THE BRASS RULETHE BRASS RULE

Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not…Recompense to no man evil for evil…Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Rom. 12:14; Rom. 12:17; Rom. 12:19).

•And then we have -

• The silver rule is the rule of Confucius, which says, “Do nothing unto others that you would not have them do unto you.”

• Hillel, a noted Jewish rabbi, is reported to have taught the same concept.

• This is a negative rule that requires no good acts of mankind.

• This law forbids a person from murdering his neighbor, but it does not require them to help their neighbor.

THE SILVER RULETHE SILVER RULE• There are many who call themselves Christians

that follow the silver-rule.

They stay out of mischief, but they don’t do any good. Some are like the rich young ruler of Matthew 19: they do not murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, etc., but, on the other hand, they do not do any good acts to help others.

They lift no load; they bear no burden. They are like the priest and Levite in the story of the good Samaritan they will simply pass by on the other side instead helping those who are in need of their help

THE SILVER RULETHE SILVER RULE

• There is obviously no place in the life of Christian for the iron, silver, or brass rules.

• As Christians, we should lives our lives by the golden rule and consistently practice it.

• So we must learn to deal with others as we would like others to deal with us.

• Now let’s consider,

The context in which the golden rule is found

• When Jesus was baptized by John and he began his ministry, He enlisted men who would become His apostles.

• For the apostles’ work to be effective, they would have to be instructed by Jesus so they would know how to live their lives and be able to teach others how to live according to God’s Word.

• One the greatest lessons they received was when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5 – 7. This is was not a long sermon. In fact, it only takes about 15 minutes to read it out loud. But the message was and is more powerful than anyone would ever imagine.

On November 19, 1863, two men came to Pennsylvania to dedicate a Union cemetery: one was Edward Everett and the other was Abraham Lincoln.

Everett spoke first, and spoke for one hour and fifteen minutes.

However, Lincoln only spoke for a grand total of only two minutes!

History does not remember much of Everett’s speech, but it will never forget Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

On November 19, 1863, two men came to Pennsylvania to dedicate a Union cemetery: one was Edward Everett and the other was Abraham Lincoln.

Everett spoke first, and spoke for one hour and fifteen minutes.

However, Lincoln only spoke for a grand total of only two minutes!

History does not remember much of Everett’s speech, but it will never forget Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The same can be said for the Sermon on the Mount. There have certainly been longer sermons given, but the world will never forget the Sermon on the Mount.

Neither should we! It’s short, simple, sincere, and to the point. The lessons it teaches us are superb.

It is filled with beauty, imagery, and has a powerful conclusion.

The same can be said for the Sermon on the Mount. There have certainly been longer sermons given, but the world will never forget the Sermon on the Mount.

Neither should we! It’s short, simple, sincere, and to the point. The lessons it teaches us are superb.

It is filled with beauty, imagery, and has a powerful conclusion.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULEThis sermon tells us what it means to be truly

righteous.

It teaches that one cannot substitute hypocrisy with the truth as the scribes and Pharisees had done.

The key to this grand sermon is found in Matthew 6:8, which basically says, “Do not be like them!” Of course the sermon on the mount includes our Golden text in,

Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

While others say “Don’t,” Jesus says “Do.”

Jesus gave us this positive command so that we would do our best to have a positive and meaningful influence on other people.

Ask yourself this - If I were them, how would I like to be treated?

Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

While others say “Don’t,” Jesus says “Do.”

Jesus gave us this positive command so that we would do our best to have a positive and meaningful influence on other people.

Ask yourself this - If I were them, how would I like to be treated?

When we examine the golden rule, we must keep this verse in context. Notice our verse starts out using “Therefore.”

Jesus is summing up what He has taught in previous 11 verses. In these previous verses, Jesus taught about not rendering unjust judgment and the proper attitude that we should have in giving to others.

This is why it’s so important that we let the Golden Rule be our guide in our daily lives.

Some questions to consider-

When we examine the golden rule, we must keep this verse in context. Notice our verse starts out using “Therefore.”

Jesus is summing up what He has taught in previous 11 verses. In these previous verses, Jesus taught about not rendering unjust judgment and the proper attitude that we should have in giving to others.

This is why it’s so important that we let the Golden Rule be our guide in our daily lives.

Some questions to consider-

Are you willing to make the commitment?

Will you be considerate of others?

Will you treat others as you would like to be treated?

Would I like to be treated the way that I am treating other individual?

Do we offer others the same amount of patience?

Will you be consistent in your lifestyle?

Are you willing to make the commitment?

Will you be considerate of others?

Will you treat others as you would like to be treated?

Would I like to be treated the way that I am treating other individual?

Do we offer others the same amount of patience?

Will you be consistent in your lifestyle?

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is very difficult for the self-centered, conceited and proud egotist.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• In order for you to reap the benefits from

the Golden rule you have to be willing to commit yourself to live by it.

•  • The question becomes, are you willing to

make the commitment? Will you be considerate of others? Will you treat others as you would like to be treated?

•  

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• We need to think how others are affected by our speech and actions. We should ask ourselves: “Would I like to be treated the way that I am treating this individual?”

• Far too many are like the little girl who was guilty of tattling on her brothers and sisters. When asked if she would like others to tattle on her, she replied, “No, that would be no fun.” When asked why she constantly tattled, she answered, “Because that is fun!”

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• Although most can see the immaturity of

this little girl, sometimes as Christians we fail to see the immaturity and inconsideration in our own lives. We always want to be given the benefit of the doubt and to be considered innocent until proven guilty, but sometimes we are the very ones who jump to conclusions when it comes to the actions and attitudes of others.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• We want others to be patient with us as we try to overcome faults in our own lives, but do we offer others the same amount of patience?

• It is our desire that others come and speak to us directly if we have wronged them or sinned in some way, rather than spreading it throughout the community, but do we act accordingly toward them?

• Yes, we often expect the best out of everyone else, but do we expect that of ourselves –Do we do that ouselves regarding others?

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• Living by the Golden rule and showing

consideration toward others would put an end to suspicions, evil speaking, gossip, backbiting, abuse, harsh and unjust criticism, and so on.

• We may also discover that the more considerate we are of others, the more considerate they are of us.

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULE• In Conclusion

• Make no mistake, Gold is a valuable ore! It is currently worth several hundred dollars per ounce.

• However, the Golden Rule is a principle that you can’t begin to put a price tag on.

• The 21 words found in the Golden rule teach a principle that no amount of money can every buy:

How pure is the Golden Rule in your life?

Is it solid gold?18 karat gold?10 karat gold?

Is it simply gold overlaid?

Or is it just “fool’s gold”?

THE GOLDEN THE GOLDEN RULERULEMatthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

What Must You Do to be What Must You Do to be SavedSaved

• HEAR the Message of Christ ROMANS 10:17BELIEVE that Message - MARK 16:16

JOHN 8:24REPENT of your Sins - LUKE 13:3 ACTS 2:38CONFESS Christ as Lord ROMANS 10:10 ACTS 8:37-38Be Baptized ACTS 2:38, 22:16

GALATIANS 3:27