KEYS TO LIVING THE GOLDEN RULE – MATTHEW 7:1-12

Charles Billingsley

Matthew 22:35-40

35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Our mission is to change our world by developing Christ followers who Love God and Love People  

Specks and Logs 

Matthew 7:1-2

1 “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you us.”

1. Don’t Judge

    A. Don’t judge unfairly

    B. Don’t judge superficially 

John 7:24 NLT

24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.

We MUST also be very careful to never ascribe a moral value to our own personal preference.  

    C. Don’t judge hypocritically

Romans 2:1

Therefore, every one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.

The hypocritical are often the most hypercritical! – Adam Dooley

Matthew 7:3-5

3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.

Fix yourself first! Get rid of the logs!

Dogs and Hogs

2. Learn to discern

Matthew 7:6

6 Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

Discern righteously. Don’t hang with the hogs.

3. Instead of pointing, start praying

Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:8-11

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

4. Be active, not passive

Matthew 7:12
Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.\

5. Always ere on the side of Grace

A Simple Guide for Behavior

Matthew 7:1-12 – The Message

1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

6 “Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege. 7-11 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

12 “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.

Keys to the golden rule poem:

Get rid of the logs
Don’t hang with the hogs
Use prayer as your tool
Then follow the rule.
If your motive is pure
Then it’s golden for sure
It works for me as well as for you
As long as we’re grounded in grace and in truth.