The Golden Rule

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. But why are human beings valuable? Why should we not kill people? Why should we treat people well?

Because every person is made in the image of God. Genesis 127 says, So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him male and female he created them. And yet the powers that be want to propagate this lie that human beings evolved from a primate, that human beings evolved from monkeys.

Well, if that were true, then human beings don't really have any dignity. You're just a glorified animal. So, why are we surprised when people treat others like animals? Actually, in our culture it's not shocking to see because we've all become used to it when people treat animals.

Some people treat animals better than other people. So, what's the title of the message? Keeping Right Relationships. Here's a good principle. The way you treat people, in a sense, is how you treat God.

That's probably not something we think of. How do you treat God? Well, what do you mean? God's not here. How would I even treat God well or poorly? God isn't here. Jesus isn't here. Yeah, he is. Jesus is present on this earth in the sense that his body is present.

You realize when you treat another Christian poorly, that's like treating Christ poorly. Cursing out another believer is sort of like cursing out Christ because they are not only made in his image, which all people are, but they are Christ representative.

The great commandment Jesus gave, John 13, 34, he said, A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. So, we should not kill people. Amen?

Who agrees with that? We should not kill people, okay? Should we speak to people respectfully? Should we treat them well, just the way we behave and talk to them? Yeah, of course. Now, that doesn't mean, on the other hand, that doesn't mean that people get a free pass.

That because they are made in the image of God or they claim the name of Christ, they get a free pass to do whatever they want. Because relationships are a two-way street, right? But we should always be willing to show grace.

The point being that the commandment goes deeper. It's not just about killing. Jesus will say in chapter 7, verse 12, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

In other words, the Old Testament teaches what we know as the golden rule. So, the golden rule, that's one way we can look at it. You treat people the way you want to be treated. How you treat fellow Christians certainly is a reflection of how you view Christ in a real way.

So, Jesus is going deeper than just the surface level of those four words, Thou shalt not kill. Do you see that? Okay, let's just go through this passage a little more closely. Matthew 5, 21, you have heard that it was said to those of old.

And just a way to understand this, remember Jesus is not correcting the Old Testament. That's not what's happening here. So, when he says you have heard that it was said to those of old. That is to say, this was the report of the law given by your teachers.

This is what you've heard in the synagogues, essentially. That you shall not murder. And whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. The fact that those exact words are not found in the Old Testament really confirms the view that Jesus is not correcting Moses.

Rather, he is addressing what people have said about the law and have said about Moses. What's Jesus doing? He's correcting their false understanding, their false interpretations. So, the Jews, again, had the idea that the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill, it only dealt with murder.

So, as long as you don't murder, you're keeping the commandments. Jesus says otherwise. And since Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, you realize Jesus, in a sense, Jesus is the one who gave the Ten Commandments.

He's the Lord who gave the Ten Commandments.

The Lord.

Jesus is the second person of the Godhead. In that way, he is the author of the law. So, Jesus would know the correct interpretation of the law that he authored. But the rabbis, they disagree, just as pastors today, some of the churches today, they disagree.

And one problem why people kind of distort God's Word, maybe it's not even intentional, where people take an overly literal interpretation. Now, if you've attended this church for any length of time, you know how we feel about the Bible.

It's all true. Take it at face value. When it says, hey, this is my view, when it says that God created the heavens and the earth in six days. Well, I think six days actually means six billion years. Well, you know, that's just not what it says.

So, I believe in taking the Bible literally. But you don't want to take an overly literal view of things. I think that's what the Jews did sometime. Remember Nicodemus when Jesus told him that you must be born again?

What does that mean? We need to enter into our mother's womb a second time and be born? Now, that's an overly literal way of understanding it, right? Same thing with this. Thou shalt not kill. Well, only addressed as murder.

That would be an overly literal interpretation. It only deals, that's what it says, it only deals with that. Jesus is saying otherwise. It actually deals with how you treat people. With our relationships, one to another.

Violating a person's dignity and self-worth is actually a Sixth Commandment violation. Just like the Next Commandment. Look at verse 27. You know, the Next Commandment is the Seventh Commandment against adultery.

Well, as long as I don't actually do the act, then I'm being faithful. Well, there's plenty of ways you can be unfaithful without actually going to that extreme. Look at verse 27. We'll just deal with this now.

Jesus said, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

That's where it begins. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Again, Jesus mentions this because he's making a point.

This is for emphasis. And again, we don't want to take an overly literal view of this. If you have a hard time stealing, just cut your hands off. Problem solved. You know, they do that in some parts of the world.

At least that's what I hear. Is that really going to solve the problem? I mean, I guess it would be hard to steal a car with no hands, maybe. But that doesn't really address the root issue of the heart.

If a person is lusting after someone, if they were blind, they still have thoughts in their mind. It's a heart problem. So we wouldn't take an overly literal view of this either. So what's Jesus getting at?

Get the heart right, and then the behavior will be right. Fix the heart to fix the behavior. This is what the gospel is all about. Where people change, not from the outside in, but from the inside out.

Jesus, when we believe on him, he gives us his Holy Spirit. We change from the inside out. He gives us what? A new heart.

A new spirit.

You know, self-reform, this is what most people try to do. I'm just going to try really hard not to do this. That might work for a little while. It might work to a degree. How many of you work in the garden?

Have worked in a garden? If you want to get rid of weeds, you can just mow it over with a lawnmower. Problem solved. Just cut it off at the base. What's going to happen? It's going to grow right back.

To get rid of the weeds, you actually have to work a little harder and actually pull them up by the roots. If you want to really make a change, you have to address the root. The root issue, which is the heart.

I can change myself. I can do it myself. Again, to a degree. That might work for a little while, but it doesn't address the root problem. So, the Gospel includes repentance, change of mind. It leads to a change of behavior.

How?

Because the Gospel needs to permeate our lives. Being a follower of Christ is not just something I do for an hour on Sunday morning. That's not really going to do it. Sitting in a building for one hour per week is really not going to do you any good at all.

What do we need to do?

We need to learn from Christ. It's a daily thing. Step by step.

Prayer.

Partaking of the ordinances of the church. Corporate worship on Sunday. Being around other believers. Receiving that encouragement and strengthening.

Even a rebuke.

Even an admonishment from someone else. Sometimes does us good. We are busy doing good works. Being faithful in the little things. And then we grow and God will entrust us more in the big things. But it often happens slowly.

It's a process. But the more we grow, the more we understand. So, the more we understand, the more we grow, the more we realize that the commandment is just the headline. We need to read the article. Thou shalt not kill.

Got that.

I'm a righteous person. I've never done this. I've never done that. You don't get it. You need to see the deeper meaning. Just like thou shalt not commit adultery is the headline. All sexual behavior outside the confines of marriage falls under that banner.

These are the deeper implications of the law that Jesus is teaching on. Now, one thing the law does, it brings the knowledge of guilt. It brings the knowledge of guilt. And this is one reason why people don't go to church.

And I understand why they don't go. Because some people, they don't go to church because when they get to church, just sometimes being there makes them feel what?

Guilty.

I heard of someone, they were an Episcopalian and someone asked them, what are the Episcopal churches like? They're like, we're like Roman Catholics without the guilt.

So, it's like, what?

But they recognize that guilt is something we don't like and we don't want it in our church. That's what they said. But admittedly, the law of God, even going through the Sermon on the Mount, it brings the knowledge of guilt.

And if a person does not know Christ as their Savior, this is needed. A person needs to understand their guilt before God. Might not be what they want, but if they're not a Christian, ultimately that's what they need.

Now, for the believer, there might be times where I need to realize that I'm guilty of something so that I can correct my behavior. Of course, I don't want to live in guilt all the time. But you know, when you do things wrong, you feel guilty about it, don't you?

But for the believer, you know, there's another source of guilt. And you know what that is? Satan. Do you realize Satan can take things that you did in your past and constantly throw them in your face?

Do you realize that Satan also wants you to feel guilt? There's a godly form of guilt, but then there's the guilt that comes from the enemy. You know, this is the guilt that Satan brings. And you know, Satan views human beings as trash, by the way.

We talk about Gehenna and the garbage dump and how you talk to people. You realize Satan views human beings like trash. And when you think about yourself that I'm no good, nobody cares about me. I'm trash.

I'm garbage. When you have those thoughts, that does not come from God the Holy Spirit. You understand that. Well, I'm not good enough. I'll never be good enough. Where does that come from? That comes from the enemy.

And the enemy wants us wallowing in our shame and in our guilt. So, all of that so far, talking about the law of God, how it brings guilt. And that's needed for some, but there's another type of guilt.

As Christians, we want to move beyond that. And Jesus is teaching His disciples how to walk with Him and how to live a blessed life. Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 1. So, let's move even beyond that.

Another purpose of the law is to teach and to instruct in a better way. So, when we are overflowing or when we are filled up with guilt, oftentimes we're paralyzed. A person who's weighed down by guilt really is going to be ineffective for the Lord, right?

God wants us to be overflowing with His grace and with His love. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.