Title: Golden Rule
Contents
♡♥♡ Golden Rule / Matthew 7:7-12
*** Introduction
In the old days of poverty, there was a time when schools distributed corn flour, milk powder, and biscuits. The children were always hungry, and they wished they could eat everything at least once. One evening, a few children made a mockery and secretly opened the door to the school lunchroom and entered. Each of the children stuffed biscuits into their pockets and ate them with milk powder.
I had a dry cough because my throat was stuffy when I drank “Kol-Lok Kol-Lok” milk powder. However, I was discovered by the teacher Sukjik, who was passing by the warehouse just then. The children were taken to the school office with a firm resolution, ‘Now they are dead.’ But the teacher
“Boys, what if I get a sore throat while drinking formula… Now, drink water first.”
The teacher's voice was kind. The children with wrinkled noses made a vow like this. “Next time, I have to become a teacher like you.”
The teacher taught the children with a glass of water instead of a stick. Children will never forget it for the rest of their lives. And when you come of age and experience a similar experience, you will practice the teachings of generous love, just as your teacher did.
In Matthew 5:7, the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Happy are those who show kindness and mercy. God will have mercy on them. (The Modern Language Bible)” and in James 2:13, “Those who do not show mercy will have judgments without mercy, and mercy triumphs over judgment.” In addition, Luke 6:37 says, “Do not criticize. Then you will not be judged. do not condemn Then you will not be condemned. Forgive me. Then you will be forgiven.”
This means that if we want to receive grace from God, or forgiveness, or mercy, we must first do so. The same is true of the main content of the main text of this time. The very famous verse in the text teaches about the attitude of a person who prays to God. That is, it is about “with what kind of mindset should we pray to God?”
However, this verse, especially verse 12, contains the core content that applies to all throughout the entire Bible. That's why this phrase is called the 'Golden Rule'. In this time, through the text, we are not going to think about prayer, but the fundamental attitude of the saints toward God.
1. First, let's think about what became the golden rule.
There is such a story in the oral tradition of Israel. A stranger came to visit the rabbi. he is,
“From now on, I want to convert and become a Jew.”
expressed his will. A rabbi taught a Gentile who wanted to be a Jew what to keep and what to do. After the Gentile had kept it all, he came back to visit the rabbi. He said, 'How can I become a full Israelite? Teach me the law.’ Then the rabbi,
“Don’t let others do what you hate to yourself. This is the whole of the law. And the rest is the interpretation of that law.”
taught
This story, “Do not ask others to do what I do not want to do,” is a passive way to practice the law. However, you can see that it is very similar to the text of the text. Jesus suggested a more positive way to put God's Word into practice.
Let's look at Matthew 22:37-40. “Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. The second is like this: Love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments are all the law and the prophets.”
This verse is a summary of the Old Testament. That is, it is a summary expression of the 613 laws. However, the words of verse 12 are not only a summary of the Old Testament, but also the summary of all the thoughts of the New Testament. Not only that, but it is a concrete way to practice the commandment of love. Let's read verse 12. “Therefore, in whatever way you would like others to do to you, do also to them. This is the law and the prophets.”
Isn't that surprising? It is simply surprising that 66 books of the Bible can be summarized in this one verse. The strict and difficult laws are summarized in love for God and love for neighbor. And the concrete way to realize this love is to “treat others as you would like them to treat you.” This is to make it easy for anyone to understand and put into practice the Word of God. That is why these words became the “golden rule” that guides all people to the noble truth.
2. Consider the teachings of the golden rule.
First, let's talk briefly about prayer as intended in the text.
Verses 7-11 of the text speak about “persevering prayer”. The act of asking, seeking, and knocking is premised on “until you get it, until you find it, until it is opened”. And he guaranteed an answer to this 'persevering prayer'. Even that proves the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father and guarantees answers.
Then why do we have to pray so persistently? The reason is shown in the golden rule. Note that the opening word in verse 12 is “therefore”. Because it says that the conclusion of the teaching on prayer in verses 7-11 is verse 12. Let's change it and express it. It says, “Pray to God as you wish to receive answers to your prayers from God.” If you absolutely must receive an answer, you must pray until you receive it. If you stop praying once or twice, you are showing your unfaithfulness and unbelief, and it is only an act of contempt for God who is preparing answers.
It should also be noted that seeking, seeking, and tapping are in the present progressive tense. In other words, it is not meant to be done once or twice, but to be continued. Therefore, prayer must be continuous.
Then why do we keep praying the same prayer? The Lord has made it clear that our Heavenly Father knows our needs before we ask. But why do we have to constantly seek, seek, and knock? The reason is that He wants us to draw closer to God. For as long as we ask and seek and knock, we will ponder and seek God. That is why the Lord gives us hardships and difficulties when we are far from God. To ask, seek, and knock more earnestly. This earnest and persistent prayer becomes the bond that unites us with the Lord.
Now, let's consider what the golden rule means.
The golden rule calls for a life of true love and positive and active faith. And the golden rule calls for a clear purpose in life.
Until now, many believers have mostly formal and theoretical beliefs. I memorize the Bible, attend public worship services, pray for an appropriate amount of time, and make various donations. He also serves as a choir, teacher, or executive officer of each institution. If you do this, I think your faith is good.
However, in real life, faith cannot be expressed. That is, at work, at work, meeting friends or neighbors, at school, etc. In the field of life, it is not distinguished from the people of the world. At the church, we sang about the salvation of Jesus, and we worshiped well with a heart of joy and reverence for God. When I hear the word of God, I think that it is true and make new resolutions. However, once they return to the field of life, those things are far away like a dream.
Why? This is because their true purpose has not been established. Even if they lead a religious life, they do not have a sense of purpose to always think of the Lord in their daily life. Let's say you run a business. You will then look at the incoming and outgoing products every day, and compare your income and expenses. If you can, you will try to sell a lot for more income. If you sell shoes, you will always look for people's shoes, and if you sell electronics, you will show interest in the electronics you see wherever you go.
Once upon a time, at a church, I had a dedication service for the Southern Evangelical Church. The deacon, the president, led the worship service. In the hymn order, they said, ‘I will sing 350 hymns,’ and then sang along with the accompaniment, but the hymn did not work properly because the members covered their mouths with their hands and held back their laughter. I soon became an apprentice and sang, but later I found out that the deacon who took the lead said, ‘I will sing a hymn for 350 won.’ The phrase ‘how much is a few won’, which counts money as a butler in business, was cut off in his mouth.
As such, believers must have a heart to think of the Lord in their daily lives. That is why Jesus taught the Golden Rule so that believers can demonstrate positive and active faith, that is, practical faith in their daily lives.
The practical faith of the golden rule should be divided into two parts and applied. First, I must treat God as I would like to receive from God. If I want God to care for me, to care for me, and to help me, I have to pay attention to him and dedicate myself to him. If I want to know what I need to do, I want to know the way I need to go, and if I want to open the way for me, I need to pray to God for that.
Second, I should treat others the way I would like to be treated by others. If I want to be exalted, I must also exalt him. If I want to be understood, I must understand him too. If I want to be loved, I must love him too. If I despise and despise him, he will despise and despise me.
If even today's Christians fully practice the golden rule, the world will be brighter and more enjoyable. Now this role is given to us. Let our Daebok Church start this work. This number is enough now to start working on this. Then the Lord will be glorified, and the Holy Spirit will move people's hearts to come to Him. This is Matthew 5:16. “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Now, let's take this golden rule deeply into our hearts. And let's decide to put it into practice. When the people of Israel decided to obey God's will, God spoke through the prophet Haggai. “From today onwards, remember the past. Remember it from the twenty-fourth day of September, the day the house of the LORD was built. Is the grain seed rather in the warehouse? There was no fruit on the vine, on the fig tree, on the pomegranate tree, or on the olive tree. But from this day on, I will bless you” (Haggai 2:18-19).
I pray that this declaration will be God's declaration for us today.