ETERNAL TREASURE - WHO CONTROLS YOUR LIFE?

 

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets”.
—Matthew 7:12

MATTHEW 7:12 is known as the “Golden Rule.” It is a summary of all the commandments in the Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament. Just consider for a moment what would happen if everyone obeyed the “Golden Rule.” There would be no killing, stealing, physical and mental abuse, war, prisons or jails; and there would be no need for weapons, armies, or law enforcement. We would be living in the kingdom of heaven. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). While everyone will not obey the “Golden Rule,” it does not stop you and me from obeying it and experiencing its benefits.

Obeying the “Golden Rule” delivers us from the judgment of what has been called the “Universal Moral Law” (Obadiah 15): “For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.” 

  The prophecy of Obadiah was judgment upon Edom for their treatment of Judah in the day of their calamity. As they had treated Judah, they would be treated. “And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau” (Obadiah 18). When we study the “Universal Moral Law” of Obadiah 15, we can better understand the importance of obeying the “Golden Rule.”

In his letter to the Romans, Paul gave some commandments from the “Law of Christ” which are obeying the “Golden Rule” and avoiding the judgment of the “Universal Moral Law.” “Bless them which persecute you: bless and curse not. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14-21).

The Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46) is a combination of the “Golden Rule” and the “Universal Moral Law.” The righteous obeyed the “Golden Rule.” They fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, took in the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and those in prison, but the cursed didn’t. Each experienced the judgment of the “Universal Moral Law.” The cursed shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal (vs.46).

We fail to obey the “Golden Rule” when our behavior is controlled by the behavior of others. We do to others as they have done to us, rather than doing to others as we would have them do to us. Consequently, we receive the judgment of the “Universal Moral Law.” Jesus Christ is not Lord; the other person’s behavior is lord, and we are controlled by it.

Jesus lived the “Golden Rule.” His behavior was not controlled by the behavior of others. He set the standard for His followers. When we believe on Jesus Christ, He sets us free from the control of the behavior of others that we may obey the “Golden Rule.” By obeying the “Golden Rule,” we avoid the judgment of the “Universal Moral Law.”

Obeying the “Golden Rule” is the key to experiencing the freedom Jesus purchased for us on the cross. But how easily we can disobey the “Golden Rule,” experience the judgment of the “Universal Moral Law,” and not know why.  

Excerpted from Faith Sings God's Song by Robert P. Holland