The Golden Rule Embodies All Of God's Law For Mankind
This is "The Golden Rule." If you memorize this one rule and apply it in all things, you have followed all the law which God requires of humans here on earth.
"TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED."
The Golden Rule is expressed twice in the Bible, and these are its most authoritative forms, in the words of Jesus, translated.
"So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for
this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 RSV)
"And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
(Luke 6:31 RSV)
And here are some of the other expressions of The Golden Rule in modern English.
1. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
2. "Treat other people the way you would like them to treat you."
3. "Treat others as you want to be treated."
4. "Treat other people the way you would like to be treated."
5. "Treat other people the way you want to be treated."
6. "Whatever you want people to do to you, do that to them."
The Golden Rule is not just one of many rules which God requires mankind to follow, but it is the entire law, all by itself. This is what Jesus means when He says, "this is the law and the prophets."
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"So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for
this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 RSV)
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Note that He says, "for this IS the law and the prophets," not "for this is required by the law and the prophets."
The easiest way to follow The Golden Rule is to love all other people the same as you love yourself. When you love others as you love yourself, you will naturally do to them the same as you would like them to do to you. Thus you will be following The Golden Rule, which embodies all of God's law for mankind.
The Golden Rule implements The Law Of Love, which is "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
"Love For Others Fulfills The Law"
Galatians 5:14 (RSV)
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:8 (RSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves
his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:9 (RSV)
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not
kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other
commandment, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your
neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:10 (RSV)
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law.
James 2:8 (RSV)
If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.
Proverbs 10:12 (RSV)
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
1 Peter 4:8 (RSV)
Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love
covers a multitude of sins.
And who is your neighbor? Everyone is your neighbor. This is shown in the Parable Of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37, shown in the appendix below).
But what about love for God? Doesn't that come first? Yes, but God counts our love for others as if it were love for Himself. So when we love others, we are loving Him at the same time. This is shown in the Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats (Matthew 25:31-46, in the Appendix below). And we cannot claim to love God until we first love our fellow man.
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If any one says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a
liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20 RSV)
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But what about The Ten Commandments? Aren't we supposed to obey them? Yes, but The Ten Commandments are only an approximation of what God wants from us. The Pharisees obeyed all of the Ten Commandments, yet God was very displeased with them because they did not have love. The exact thing God wants from us is that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Everything else depends on this. If we love our neighbor as we love ourself, we will naturally and automatically be following The Golden Rule.
But what about holiness? Aren't we supposed to avoid improper sex, etc. and be pure and chaste? Aren't we supposed to deny our physical selves in order to strengthen our spiritual selves? Yes, perhaps. But our feeble attempts at being holy do not even come close to God's high standards. To Him, they are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). But if we have love for others, God will overlook a multitude of our sins (1 Peter 4:8). And if we forgive others of their offenses against us, He will forgive us of our offenses against Him (Matthew 5:14-15). Love makes everything holy, since God is love (1 John 4:8, 4:16).
So all of God's requirements for mankind boil down to this one command: "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." If you truly do this one thing only, it is enough. And when you love others as you love yourself, you will naturally be following The Golden Rule, which embodies all of God's law for mankind.
But what about Jesus? Where does Jesus Christ fit into this picture? If love for neighbor is sufficient, then why do we need to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour?
Jesus Christ doesn't "fit into the picture." Jesus Christ IS the picture, the perfect embodiment of Love.
By our own flawed human nature, it is almost impossible to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Maybe some few people can do it, but most people cannot even come close. But when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, His Holy Spirit enters us and dwells within us, transforming our flawed nature into a more perfect nature, more like His own. Only then are we able to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
May the Lord bless this presentation of His holy Word.
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APPENDIX: Parable Of The Good Samaritan, which shows that all people
are our neighbor and Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats, which shows
that God counts our love for others as if it were love for Himself.
LUKE 10:25-37 (RSV)
The Good Samaritan
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25
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test,
saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life?"
26
He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you
read?"
27
And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as
yourself."
28
And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and
you will live."
29
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor?"
30
Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and
beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when
he saw him he passed by on the other side.
32
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw
him, passed by on the other side.
33
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was;
and when he saw him, he had compassion,
34
and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him
to an inn, and took care of him.
35
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to
the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever
more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
36
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the
man who fell among the robbers?"
37
He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said
to him, "Go and do likewise."
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MATTHEW 25:31-46 (RSV)
The Sheep And The Goats
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31
"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will
separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats,
33
and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the
goats at the left.
34
Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come,
O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world;
35
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and
you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36
I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited
me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
37
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see
thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38
And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or
naked and clothe thee?
39
And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit
thee?'
40
And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as
you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you
did it to me.'
41
Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from
me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels;
42
for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty
and you gave me no drink,
43
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you
did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not
visit me.'
44
Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not minister to thee?'
45
Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did
it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to
me.'
46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life."
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Blessings to you in Jesus Christ our Lord,
Rev. Bill McGinnis
http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/pearl-goldenruleembodies.html