life

The Golden Rule: The Gospel and Relationships

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

Matthew 7:12, commonly known to as “The Golden Rule,” is one of the most famous verses in all of Scripture, and is often used by Christians and non-Christians alike.  It’s easily found on coffee mugs and posters, plastered across the American landscape.  But what does it actually mean?  What was Jesus getting at when He said it?

In case you’ve forgotten the Golden Rule and so shamed your parents and elementary school teachers, here it is:

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

When was the last time you actually treated someone as you would want to be treated?  This morning, in traffic, did you treat the guy who cut you off like you’d want to be treated?  When your kids didn’t listen to you, and refused to obey you, did you treat them the way you’d like to be treated?  When your coworker didn’t exactly keep their promise to help out with that project that was due a week ago, did you treat them like you’d want to be treated?

We all fail to treat others as we want to be treated, because there’s a fundamental disconnect in what we think we deserve, and what we think others deserve.  Our pride would have us believe we are worthy of grace, while others are only worthy of law.  Our pride clouds our eyes from seeing our sin, but amazingly, we can see the sin of people we don’t even know!  We have good excuses, but “they” have a problem.

None of us want to be treated with the law, that is, with true justice.  We all wish for grace.  But when it comes for us to give grace, we don’t treat others the way we want to be treated.

Let’s say, for example, you cut someone off in traffic because you’re in a hurry.  We can all relate to this, and if you can’t, I’m going to assume you’re either under the age of 16, or you’re just abnormally nice behind the wheel of a car.  But, if you’re like 99% of us, you can relate to this.

When you cut someone off, and they honk their horn, is your first thought, “Oh man, that was sort of mean…I probably shouldn’t have done that.  I’ll be sure to slow down and apologize to them?”  Probably not.  Our first reaction is more along the lines of, “How dare they!  I’m late to work! I’ve got to get to (wherever you happen to be going).  They ought to drive faster!”  We want them to identify with us, to treat us with grace, or unmerited favor, when we offend them.

But if they cut us off, all you-know-what breaks loose.  “That psycho cut me off!”  “They ought to be arrested!”  When we see them pulled over half a mile later, we smile and whisper, “Justice,” even though, were we the ones to get pulled over, we’d be full of excuses, hoping, wishing, desiring that the police officer would let us off the hook, “just this once.”

Do you see the hypocrisy here?  We desire to be treated with grace.  But we don’t at all desire to treat others with grace.  Again, children are a perfect example here.  Anyone who’s ever worked with kids knows they want grace, not law.  “Please, I won’t do it again!”  “I’ll be better, I promise!”  But when their older brother twists their arm, or their sister steals their toy: “Mom/Dad…make them stop!  Ground them/put them in timeout/spank them!”  While children may grow up in a lot of ways, they’ll never grow out of their innate, sinful tendency to want to receive grace while desiring to dispense law.  At least not by their own strength.  And neither will we.

Jesus commands that we treat people with grace if that’s how we want to be treated.  We’ve established that grace is how we want to be treated, but we find it impossible to treat others with grace.  So how do we obey what Jesus says?  We have to look at what Jesus has done.  We have to see the gospel.  We have to believe the gospel.  And we have to be changed by it.

While we treat others with law, Jesus treats us with grace.  When we had sinned against Him and earned nothing but eternal hell, He left His heavenly throne to come rescue us.  When we despised Him and went after false gods, He drew us back to Himself and gave us the eyes to see and despise our sin.  When we lived for ourselves, He lived for us.  When we went after death, He died for us.  When we ran away from Him, He gave us the repentance and faith needed to come back to Him.  When we were condemned by the law, He freed us from that condemnation with His grace, at the cost of His life.

So, when we see we have no shot at saving ourselves, and we trust in Christ to be our Lord and lead us, and trust in Him as our Savior, and we receive His righteousness, and we trust and rest in His forgiveness, we are empowered, by the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit, to show this same grace to others.

When we’re tempted to treat others the way we don’t want to be treated (law), we remember that it is by grace God has drawn us to trust in Him as our God.  We remember that God has declared us righteous, not by our law-keeping, but by Christ’s law-keeping.  We remember that it is by the blood of Christ that we are declared forgiven, and are, through faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, adopted as children of God.  We remember the grace we’ve received, and we show it to others to be more like Christ and to glorify Him.

So if you’re struggling to show grace, you need more grace.  You need more of what Jesus has done for you.  You need to rest in that, and trust in Him to help you be who you are.  And in those moments when you’re tempted to respond with law in your relationships with others, you can remember grace.  And you can be like Jesus.

Lord, may we remember that we are saved by grace.  May we treat others with that same grace.  May the gospel change us from the inside out.

God bless,

Neal E.

Note: Treating others with grace does not mean that you have to endure abuse, or that you don’t have the obligation to report a crime.  Grace destroys sin, it never enables sin.  It is not ungracious for you to separate from someone who is hurting you.  It is ungracious to not pray for that person or to desire their eternal condemnation.  It is not ungracious for you to report a crime, such as sexual assault.  It is ungracious for you to not care about innocent people who are being hurt when you can do something to stop it.  I didn’t include this in the main text, as it would take away from the main thrust of the message, but we must not think that showing grace means enabling sin.  Grace means doing what needs to be done to restore that person, and sometimes that means separating from them, or calling the police, or a private conversation that gets to the heart of the issue.  Pray to God for the eyes to see how we can show grace to everyone, even to those who hurt us.

Treasuring God and Destroying Anxiety: Matt. 6:19-34

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

When you go to bed at night, what gives you comfort?  What gives you peace as your head hits the pillow?  Your job?  Your family?  Your possessions?  Your good looks, or high IQ?  What is it that you treasure?

Today, we finish up Matthew 6, as we continue to look at Jesus’ words to His followers in the Sermon on the Mount.  This passage (v. 19-34), detail Jesus’ words concerning treasure and anxiety, two things that, according to Jesus, are closely related.

We often hear words like “materialism,” and assume that it’s a much bigger issue now than it was in Jesus’ time, since they “didn’t have as much back then.”  But every culture and every time period has struggled with idolizing worldly treasures, whether it’s a strong ox or camel in the 1st century, or the latest iPhone in the 21st century.  Idolatry has been and always will be a problem, so long as there is sin in this world.  Thankfully, Jesus is the answer to our idolatry.  Let’s hear what He has to say:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

According to Forbes.com, Bill Gates’ net worth sits at just under $80 billion, making him the wealthiest man in the world.  Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has solidified his place as one of the most successful businessmen in world history.  He is, without a doubt, rich.  The man could literally swim in piles of money.

Gates is 59 years old.  In fifty years, Gates will most likely be dead.  His money will go to his surviving family.  His money will not go with him into eternity.  At the end of his life, Bill Gates’ net worth will do nothing to save him from the wrath of God.  It will do nothing for him in the next life.  When all is said and done, money is simply a piece of paper that means nothing.

Tom Brady has four Super Bowl rings, two MVPs, and 10 Pro Bowl selections.  He will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, quarterbacks to ever play professional football.  He has fancy cars, fancy houses, and is married to a supermodel.  By worldly standards, Tom Brady’s doing pretty well.

When Brady dies, his Super Bowl rings won’t keep him from death.  His nice cars and celebrity lifestyle won’t last forever.  His NFL records will collect dust in a history book, remembered by fans, perhaps for a short while, until the next great quarterback comes along.

Death truly is the great equalizer.  I’m certainly not speculating on the nature of these people’s relationship with the Lord, as I have no clue what they believe about Jesus, but their lives serve as an example to all of us of the fleeting nature of material possessions.

The problem with earthly treasure is that it is temporary.  You can’t take it with you into heaven.  As Jesus says, “moth and rust” destroy these “treasures.”  They are eternally worthless.  You made $100 billion in your lifetime?  Great!  How much is that worth on your death bed?  You lived in the nicest house in the nicest neighborhood, your kids went to the nicest schools…great!  What does that mean when you’re staring death in the face?

Jesus calls His followers to pursue that which is eternal, that which will last forever–heavenly treasure.  But what is heavenly treasure?  What does that mean?

The Bible tells us that there is a reward for those who follow Jesus.  For those who turn against their sin, trust in Jesus to come rule and reign in their hearts as Lord and trust in Him for salvation, there is: eternal life, adoption by the Father, fellowship with God and the church forever, and rewards for obeying Jesus in this life.  A life lived to the glory of God with faith in Jesus Christ yields all the treasure, all the reward, of union with Christ and obedience to Him.

Why chase after money when I can hear the Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant?”  Why chase after the false god of sex when I have fellowship with God?  There is more pleasure in one second of fellowship with God than there is in a lifetime of sex (yes, even the gift of sex God gives in marriage).

Ultimately, the reward of following Christ, of storing up heavenly treasure, is not the benefits that come from union with Christ, as discussed above.  It’s not the heavenly treasures God gives to His obedient children.  These are certainly part of that great reward, and Jesus most definitely had these things in mind, but the greatest reward of following Jesus is Jesus Himself.  If we could have forgiveness without Jesus (which is impossible), it wouldn’t be worth it.  The point of forgiveness is the restoration of our relationship with God.  If we could have eternal life without God, it wouldn’t be worth it.  To ask the oft-asked question: If you could go to heaven and God not be there, would you still go?

All of us would like to answer that question in the negative, but if we’re honest, sometimes we want the things of God more than God Himself.  The things of God are good, and we ought to thank Him for them, but we must pray that God would help us desire Him more than His gifts.

Jesus makes it clear in verse 21 that whatever it is that we’re chasing after directs our lives: “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  In the Bible, the word “heart” refers not just to our emotions, but to our will, to our minds, and symbolizes that which leads our lives.

So, if we’re treasuring this world, we will not follow God.  We will follow after this world, and forsake God.  But if we treasure God, and all that He is, we will follow Him, be guided by Him, and forsake the world.  Brothers and sisters, let’s do that.  He’s much better.

Jesus also says similar truths about our eyes:

“The eye is the lamp of the body.  So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

In the same way our treasure directs our hearts and the direction of our lives, what we set our eyes on often decides what we chase after.  If my “eyes are on the prize” of that job, or that relationship, that’s what I’m going after.  But if my eyes are on Jesus, on knowing, trusting, loving and obeying Him, I’m going to seek Him.  Again, brothers and sisters, let’s set our eyes on Jesus.

This is an all-or-nothing deal, according to Jesus.  He says, in verse 24: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.”

The word translated “money” here is the word “mammon,” meaning money or possessions.  For many of this, we glance over this passage, because, for us, we don’t idolize money.  Well done!  If I’m being honest, I don’t struggle with the desire to have a lot of money.  Never have.

However, we all have those false gods that tempt us to worship them.  Maybe it’s your job.  The corporate ladder of success is appealing to you.  Maybe it’s your family.  You wake up, burdened to be the best husband/wife, father/mother you can be.  Maybe it’s sports.  You want to play the best, or, if you’re like me and totally unathletic, you immerse yourself in the world of sports, enjoying watching other people play the sports you love, and there’s a temptation to identify yourself by your team affiliation.

Idolatry is common to every person that’s ever lived.  And Jesus makes it clear that if we are to be His disciples, if we are to be saved, we must choose: Will we follow God wholeheartedly?  Or will God be an add-on to my already busy life?

The problem, for those who want the latter, is that God refuses to be an add-on.  Jesus makes it clear that if you’re not willing to give up all else in order to gain Him, you cannot be His disciple (Matt. 16:24-26).  Jesus will either be everything to you, or He will be nothing.  If you are a Christian, your life must be consumed with knowing Jesus, trusting Jesus, being like Jesus, and glorifying Jesus, or you don’t know Jesus.

Thankfully, when we all fail to love Jesus above all, when we all fail to take up our cross and follow Jesus, we’re reminded that He took up His cross and died for us.  And that allows us to repent confidently, to confess where we’ve failed, trusting Jesus to forgive us and restore us.  None of us treasure Jesus perfectly, but, by God’s grace, we turn away from treasuring this world to treasure Him, trusting in His saving and empowering grace to help us in the fight.

When we treasure Jesus, it destroys anxiety.  The root of anxiety is fear.  Fear that if I don’t have this relationship, my life will be ruined.  Fear that if I don’t get that job, I won’t be successful.

When we fear and worry over these things, we exalt them to the place of God, allowing them to direct us and control us.  But when we treasure God, we allow Him to direct us, and we can trust in Him to provide all that we need:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Because God is our God, not money, not food, not clothing, we can trust God to provide those things as we need them.  And we trust in Him to provide, not for our sake, but so we may continue to live our lives for His glory.  We’re called, not to “let go and let God,” but to trust God and get going for His glory.

When God is our God, things like food, jobs, clothing, sex, houses, relationships, etc. become avenues, not for sinful idolatry, but for the enjoyment of the common grace of God, as we glorify Him for His many gifts and use them as we can to advance the gospel.

Seek first the kingdom.  Put your eyes on Jesus.  Treasure Him.  Trust in Him.  Kill anxiety by killing idolatry.

Lord, may you destroy our idols by showing us your goodness.  May we trust in you, treasure you, and rest in you.  May your beauty make the things of this earth grow dim, as we seek our joy in you.

God bless,

Neal E.