This verse, and the many versions of it, have been called – “The Golden Rule.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I’ve heard it expressed in different ways, for example, “Don’t do anything that you don’t want done to you.” Or, ”do it to them, before they do it to you.” Somehow that doesn’t sound very golden.
It is only in the margin of some of our Bibles that we read the title “The Golden Rule.” There is actually a more Biblical term for what our Lord is saying here – “The Royal Law.” Listen to Luke 6 beginning with verse 27 – “I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. Now let’s add James 2:8 – “If ye fulfil THE ROYAL LAW according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.”
This idea that we should “do unto others as we would have them do unto us” makes very good sense. It has been expressed in a great many civilized societies. It has been said that the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus, so appreciated Jesus’ thought that he had these words inscribed on the walls of his palace. This idea makes sense, but as Voltaire once said, “common sense isn’t very common.” The depravity of the human heart tends to make all of us think more about ourselves than our neighbors. And in truth, this is one of the heretical applications of this “Golden Rule.”
For a few minutes this evening, I’d like to point out some of the proper and improper applications of this verse.
First, what does this have to do with OUR SALVATION from sin?
Despite what is commonly stated and believed by millions of ignorant people, this verse has absolutely nothing to do with salvation. There are millions of people who think that entrance into Heaven is based on their good deeds outweighing their bad deeds. They think that when their earthly lives have end, if there is one more kind act than evil acts in their lives then they will be forgiven of all their evil, and they will be ferried into eternal bliss. If that is the case, then verses like Matthew 7:12 could be quite important. They interpret this verse to say, “All things whatsoever ye would that GOD should do to you, do ye even so to your neighbors.” And then they will add, “for this is the law and the prophets” because to them it is through some sort of reasonable obedience to the law that people are delivered from their sins.
Absolutely not! There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves from the punishment which our sins deserve. We may be the most generous people on earth – kind, hospitable, sympathetic, empathetic or just pathetic, but our good works cannot erase, undo, cover or atone for our innumerable sins.
There is only one means to salvation and deliverance from Jehovah’s wrath for our sins – God’s grace. The Lamb of God was sacrificed upon the divinely appointed altar of Calvary, and His blood was then sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Glory. That salvation was applied by God’s sovereign grace to the accounts of countless millions of worthless souls. Some of those saved people were generous, hospitable people, while some were wretched misers. But it was not the character of the sinner which induced God to be gracious towards any of them. “If you from sin are longing to be free – look to the Lamb of God.” If you are burdened about your soul – then you need to repent before God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Until you get to that point – forget all about “The Golden Rule” or the “Royal Law.” This verse has nothing to do with the lost man. If that is you, then you need to repent and trust Christ and His shed blood.
This verse has nothing to do with salvation. But even if we they get that point right, some people have problems with misapplication – selfish applications.
What does this verse have to do with ME PERSONALLY?
Please notice that the Lord Jesus doesn’t make this into any kind of promise. He doesn’t specifically say, “if you do kind things to others, they will do kind things to you – guaranteed.” That is a possible inference, but that is not a divine promise. “All things whatsoever ye would (hope) that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” Would you like your neighbors to be friendly towards you? Certainly. Then be friendly toward them. But if you are treating them with kindness only for your own personal reward, then I don’t think that the Lord is going to bless.
Now correct me if I’m wrong in this, but somewhere close to the heart of all sin is self and selfishness. For example, how far can pride be moved away from selfishness? Isn’t it true that if we weren’t concerned about ourselves, we wouldn’t be proud – or jealous – or covetous. Close to the heart of every sin is self.
And even good things can become corrupt when they are tainted with selfishness. I’m going to be friendly towards my neighbor, so that he’ll let me use his fishing boat from time to time. I’m going to be the best employee this company has ever had, so that I will be recognized, rewarded and enriched. I am going to be especially generous towards that wealthy client, in the hopes that he will be even more generous towards me. I’m going to be kind to that person, because he has influence over others, and I don’t want him to be unkind toward me some day. There is nothing wrong with being friendly, efficient, generous and kind – in fact these are very good. But if we are employing them with the purpose of being rewarded, then we will receive rewards which we never desired. “God is not mocked, whatsoever (and howsoever) a man soweth that shall he also receive.”
Having said that, I do need to back off just a little bit. The Bible says a great deal about “doing good,” and sometimes there are promises attached. For example there is Psalm 34:14-16 – “Depart from evil, and do good: seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. (But) the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” Why can’t we interpret this to say that to do good and to seek peace, delights the Lord? We can. Conversely, to do evil, and not to do good, brings the frown and anger of the Lord. “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” – Psalm 37. “Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.” “To do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” – Hebrews 13:16. “Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great” – Luke 6:35.
To these we can add at least one very negative verse – “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” The people who like to quote and use the “Golden Rule” to their benefit, need to stop and think it through. Every opportunity for a good deed, a kind act, an helpful hand not extended, is a sin against God and against the person who is in need. And it is more likely that for every good deed that we have done, we have skipped over at least a couple more. And every one of those is sin. Furthermore, if we turned Matthew 7:12 inside out, the reverse would be equally true. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should NOT do to you, DO NOT YE even so to them: for this makes common sense.”
Even though, we should not look at this Royal Law as a pathway to an easy life and the blessings of God, the fact is that is exactly what it is.
What is the relationship of this Golden Rule to OTHERS?
As I’ve already said, our obedience to the Lord in this should not be for the purpose of getting something from either God or from these other people. I’m going to be friendly towards my neighbor, so that he’ll let me use his fishing boat from time to time. I’m going to be the best employee this company has ever had, so that I will be promoted. I am going to be generous towards that wealthy client, in the hopes that he will be even more generous towards me. I’m going to be kind to that person, because I don’t want him to be unkind toward me. These good things would be wrong and sinful if stated or carried out in these evil ways.
But would there be anything wrong with another – higher – purpose? What if we tried to practice each of these things just mentioned for the benefit of the other person? What if we listened to those scriptures which tell us to love and serve others for their benefit? Ephesians says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” There could be a number of reasons that the Lord has ordained that we walk in good works. My last point this evening will emphasize the highest of them, but here I’ll mention another. The Lord Jesus was preaching to His disciples – to people somewhat like you and me. This was not a gospel message, and it refers to salvation only incidentally and after the fact. It was to Christians that Christ was preaching. Christ Jesus was speaking to His representatives and ambassadors.
Why are we to do good? Why are we ordained unto “good works?” Because our Lord and Master is good, and we are to be His ambassadors. “Good and upright is the LORD” – “the earth is fully of the goodness of the Lord.” There are a dozen verses similar to these. “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” There it is – we are to be good, as an encouragement to others to taste and see that Lord is good.
This interpretation – this acceptable interpretation – takes this verse and reverses its common application. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Use the criteria that you would like see done to you, and always strive to do it to others. Use your own feelings as the criteria for what you do to others. Use this standard for the quality control of your life. This is not about what we should get out of “doing unto others,” but about how our doing to others might be a blessing to them. Sure, the vast majority of our kind acts, will have only temporary and earthly effect. But who can say when your good deed will be used by the Holy Spirit to bring that neighbor to Christ? Think about this point as you are pillowing your head this evening.
And this brings me to my last and highest point.
How does this verse relate GOD HIMSELF?
Back toward the beginning of His sermon the Lord Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” This is what our kind and positive actions toward others are designed to do – glorify our Heavenly Father. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” You claim to be a disciple of Christ. Your faith is in the Lord Jesus and Him alone, and you abhor most of your sins. You have your doctrines are straight. You are consistent in church attendance. You read your Bible. You pray with the right attitude and intonation. But what kind of fruit are you producing, and with whom do you share it? I Peter 2:11-12 – “Dearly believed, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul: Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” What is the ultimate purpose of the Law of God, and for whom did the prophets primarily minister? Looking at the Decalogue, the last six points of the law deal with man’s relationship to man. But the first four points concern our relationship with Jehovah. And together they work for the glory of the Lawgiver – God. The prophets often tied together the deeds of man or the nations and the blessings or curses of God. And what was the ultimate purpose of it all? God’s glory. The law and the prophets, like you and me, were designed to bring glory to the Lord. “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
This verse was never mentioned by the Lord to tell us how to get to heaven. And its purpose was not to show us the way to earn the blessings of God, even though there are blessings to those who obey what it teaches. Yes, there may be good things given to those around us – those whom we treat kindly and affectionately. But ultimately the purpose of this verse, like every other verse, is to bring glory to the Lord. Only when we look at this verse in this way is there any really positive benefit to this “Golden Rule.”