Last week when I was at St. Patrick Center for my men’s class, one of the guys asked me if the “golden rule” was a direct quote from the Bible or if it was “just a social nicety”. At first I thought that was an odd question, and quite frankly wasn’t sure about it being a direct quote. But whether it is or not seemed irrelevant because “treating others as we would like to be treated” is the essence of all Biblical teaching. For this session the “golden rule” became the topic for the class discussion, and as usual, the discussion was lively.
At the outset most of the men felt the idea of “treating others as you would like to be treated” was a “good idea”, however they were quick to add, “but in reality…how many of us do that?” The next question, as expected, was directed to me. “Do you do that?” they asked. Humm…seemed to me the door was just opened for a teaching opportunity.
When Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, “which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses”, he replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” This, in essence, is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
Under the Old Covenant, people tried to earn God’s acceptance by working hard to “meet” (or achieve”) the demands of the commandments. Under the New Covenant, our acceptance by God is not based on our behavior or our works, but on our new identity in Christ. After we accepted God’s Gift of Grace, when He looks at us he sees us covered with the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 8:12 tells us: “And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins.”
But as another man in class was quick to point out, “How does that help me love the people I find downright un-loveable?” I pointed out that God’s Gift of Grace is perfect and that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are immediately grafted into God’s family. Therefore we are heir to forgiveness of sin, eternal life AND the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I then explained what that means.
The night before his crucifixion, Jesus looked at the twelve men in front of him and he knew they were a weak lot. But none-the-less, these are the same men that he would have to depend on to carry the message into the world of who he was, why he came, and what it means to mankind. The Gospel of John 14:15-18, relates these words to his disciples. “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No! I will not abandon you as orphans…”
Jesus knew that whatever strength, courage, wisdom, inspiration they had, they drew it from him, as clearly indicated by the last two sentences above, “he lives with you now and later will be in you. No! I will not abandon you as orphans…” Jesus repeated this same promise when the disciples received the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20: “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Throughout the New Testament we are constantly reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the part of God’s salvation package that enables us as Christ-followers to live up to His standard. And remember, God’s standard under the New Covenant is the same as the Old Covenant. The only difference now is “how” we meet His standard.
Under the Old Covenant it was about our work and effort. But unfortunately that work and effort did not erase our sin; it only covered it until the next Day of Atonement. Hebrews 10:1,10,14 clearly explains the contrast and the answer: “The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. And what God wants is for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. For by that one offering he perfected forever all those whom he is making holy.” And who are the ones being made holy? Those of us who are in Christ! And how long are we perfected? Forever!
Notice the tense of the word “making” in the last sentence of the scripture. Making indicates there is a process involved in “becoming” more Christ-like. And so it is for Christ-followers. It all begins with an effort…a conscious effort on our part to be different. Ephesians 2:10 describes clearly the maturation required for moving from a “new Christ-follower” to becoming His “masterpiece”. And it’s not about our effort any longer, but about asking the Holy Spirit to empower us to achieve God’s purpose.
So back to the original subject of loving those who we, for one reason or another, find un-loveable…Jesus was certainly well aware that this was a fallen world! And he also knew that future disciples (those of us in Christ) would face the same challenges that the original twelve faced when it came to carrying His teaching into the world. That’s why he said he would not leave us as orphans. That’s why we still have Jesus’ spirit (the Holy Spirit) inside of us to empower us with wisdom, courage, strength, perseverance, patience, whatever it is we need, to “cast that mountain into the sea”. The Holy Spirit empowers us to handle challenging situations in a way that brings honor and glory to God.
Under the New Covenant, as Jesus pointed out, when our concern is about loving God and loving our fellow man, we automatically live the other eight commandments. For instance, if our concern is loving God and bringing honor and glory to him, we don’t take his name in vain; we don’t participate in idolatry by putting any other false god(s) in front of him; and we spend time in relationship with him. If we are concerned about loving our fellow man, we don’t bear false witness against him; steal from him; or become involved in an adulterous relationship with his spouse.
Let us not forget that the term “love” that is referenced in the Bible is agape love, which is quite different from the meaning of the term “love” that has become part of our culture’s lexicon. For instance we love chocolate; we love Fridays; we love classical music, or pop-art paintings. I mean, on some days we even love the Rams, right? (but make no mistake, that is an example of conditional love!)
Apostle Paul clearly defines agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever…” Now add to this that God’s love is unending, unfailing and nothing can separate us from His love. Now my friends, we get a glimpse of God’s love and what is expected of us in return. Is that impossible? Absolutely! Of our own volition it is impossible. But when we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to become the person God created us to be, we are already victorious!
1 John 4:4 sums up who we are today: “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit that is in this world.” (satan)
And that, my Friends, is the only way we can live up to God’s standard in this fallen world. But when we stand on the truth of 1John 4:4, we are in the process of becoming His masterpiece!
So my question to you is….do you rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you to be all that God wants you to be? Can you give some examples??
Feel free to respond to this posting, and feel free to share this with your social media friends.
May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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