The Golden Rule and Prayer

Jesus spoke the words that have come to be known as the Golden Rule in the Sermon on the Mount.

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

Have you ever considered the context for this saying? We should consider it, since the saying starts off with the adverb therefore. The laws of grammar make us know that the Golden Rule is thus a logical conclusion of the words that precede it.

The saying immediately preceding the Golden Rule is this:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7

The next four verses in Matthew are an elaboration on this saying, but do not change the subject. The Lord had been teaching about asking and receiving our requests from God. The Golden Rule follows this, and by context is a necessary contingent for asking and receiving from God. In other words, our ability to ask and receive is related to our willingness to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

This shouldn't surprise us if we are students of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the same sermon in which Christ taught that our ability to be forgiven is related to our ability to forgive.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 

If we cannot be forgiven without extending forgiveness to those who have wronged us, why should be expect to receive good things from God's hand if our own hands do not extend in blessing and generosity to those around us?

The scriptures are abundant with wonderful blessings that many people like to call "promises." I don't like the term "promise", because it is misleading--it implies that there is no responsibility on our own part. A promises is unilateral, only depending on the person who made the promise. If I promise to give you a piece of property, then as a man of honor, I must give that piece of property to you even if I find out you stole some property from another man.

The privileges we are given in Christ are not like this. They are not unilateral promises. They always involve responsibility on our part. Our own forgiveness is contingent on us forgiving those who have wronged us. The hope of answered prayer is contingent on us being generous and open-handed to others.

It occurs to me then that true, biblical christianity is entirely relevant and beneficial to the human condition. It is not possible, in truth, to become too spiritual for any earthly good. Again and again, Christ connects our relationship with heavenly treasure to our relationship with our fellow man. Christian believers are not to be disengaged from humanity, but engaged in the sense that we reciprocate God's forgiveness and grace toward us back to the world around us.

O Ye of Little Faith

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall ye not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Matthew 6:30

I believe there is a misunderstanding regarding Jesus' use of the term O ye of little faith. The phrase is found four times in the gospel of Matthew. The first reference is Matthew 6:30, quoted at the top. Here are the additional references:

And he said unto them, Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. Mat. 8:26

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Mat. 14:31

Which, when Jesus had perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason you among yourselves, because you have brought no bread? Mat. 16:8

It is easy to imagine that the Lord used this term as a gentle rebuke, intending to point out his disciples' lack of faith. We commonly use the phrase today in that context. In fact, when I google "O ye of little faith", the top search return takes me to this definition:

This is the rebuke leveled at the disciples of Christ, when seeming to doubt his divinity. The phrase is also more widely used to describe any Christian doubter.                      (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/262250.html)

But I don't believe this was the intention of the Lord at all when he used this phrase. Matthew 6:30, the first instance of this phrase, falls under the context of the Sermon on the Mount where there were no circumstances which would have provoked such a rebuke from the Lord. The Matthew 14:31 reference occurs after Peter has stepped out of the boat and briefly walked on the water toward the Lord Jesus. Surely Jesus wasn't so calloused that he would rebuke Peter, who briefly faltered after taking such a huge step of faith.

I believe that rather than pointing out his disciples' lack of faith, Christ's use of the term O Ye of Little Faith is an endearment, and points out the disciples' status as followers of Christ.

You see, the Greek text that is translated O ye of little faith is actually from a single word, oligopistos. This in turn is a Greek word that is created from the combination of oligo (meaning few, or little), and pistos (meaning faith or belief). That the two terms were forged together to create a new word indicates that the Lord was using this as a name, not an indictment. He was calling his followers Little Believers. There is not so much rebuke in this, as there is affection, as in when I call my four year old son "little man, or as in when Master Po called young Caine "grasshopper."

Consider also the following:

Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Mark 10:15

We all become oligopistos followers of Christ when we begin our faith journey. The term emphasizes the fact that biblical faith is not simply a positive attitude, or mental assent, but it is rather a progressive journey of obedience to the one we have put our faith in. "Faith children" grow into mature sons of God over time as they hear and obey the Master's voice.

This is counter intuitive if we primarily think of faith as an emotion. It may be true that we will never feel so much faith as we do when we initially come to Christ. But biblical faith is not a feeling. Neither is it simply learning a set of doctrines. The faith of Jesus Christ is a discipline that we enter and grow in, as he remakes us in his own image.

Faith children are students in the school of Jesus Christ, just like the crowd of disciples that sat on the hillside when Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount. We are little believers who aspire to grow to the fulness of Christ's own stature (see Eph. 4:13).

What Does Jesus Want?

Our town has billboards in various locations that contain messages from God. Perhaps you have seen them. One of my favorites, in light of today's scourge of distracted drivers, is the sign that says

On the cell phone again? Why not try talking to me instead? It's cheaper and safer.

I'm sure that my memory of the wording is not exact, but that is the gist of it. Other signs speak of forgiveness and mercy. I always appreciate seeing the billboards because they give a good message, but are never condescending or arrogant.
There is one billboard that I especially like. I always want to say Yes! when I see the sign. It says

Not sure what I want? Try reading Matthew 5-7.

I heartily agree that Matthew 5-7 is the place to start if you want to know what Christ wants from us. Many of you will perhaps recognize that Matthew 5-7 contains the Sermon on the Mount, whose famous opening lines contain the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth...

Let's think about the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew recorded the sermon as if it occured early in the ministry of Christ, but did you know that Jesus actually preached the message somewhere closer to the middle of his three and a half year ministry? The gospel of Matthew is famously out of chronological order when compared to the gospel histories of Mark and Luke. This was not because Matthew, the former tax collector, was incompetent with numbers and dates. It is rather because Matthew, guided by the Holy Spirit, wanted to show the Sermon on the Mount in a particular light.
Matthew wrote that Jesus began his preaching ministry with the message Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mat. 4:17). Immediately following this, Matthew chose to devote a full three chapters to the Sermon on the Mount (chps 5-7). This is the longest recorded sermon of Christ in the bible, and Matthew inserted it in close proximity to the statement that Jesus preached about repentance and the kingdom of heaven. It is easily seen that the Sermon on the Mount is the Lord's exposition on what true, biblical repentance and the kingdom of God look like.
The sermon begins with the aforementioned Beatitudes, which describe the character of those that God blesses. Notice that it is primarily the heart condition which is described. Blessed are the meek; Blessed are the merciful; Blessed are the pure in heart,... Those that have repented are characterized by being meek, merciful, pure in heart,..etc. The remainder of the sermon then gives various  illustrations of what it means to be meek, merciful,...etc.
For example, consider the saying Blessed are the pure in heart. Jesus went on to say,

You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Mat. 5:27-28

Consider also Blessed are the peacemakers. On this, Jesus said,

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift. Mat. 5:23-24

In these and numerous other examples found in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord emphasized the heart condition of those who would be among the blessed. A person cannot be among the blessed if they harbor a lustful, adulterous spirit, even though they may never be outwardly unfaithful to their spouse. Neither can a person be among the blessed who is hateful and unreconcilable, even though they may have never committed murder.
This teaching is in contrast to the outward only legalism of the Pharisees (and unfortunately some elements of the Christian Church today). The Lord was teaching a deeper experience than that of the legalists, so that he could say,

For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mat. 5:20

The prominence that the Sermon on the Mount occupies in the gospel of Matthew shows us the critical importance of a moral and ethical change in the hearts of those who follow Christ. The message of repentance that Christ preached demands that our hearts be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus' message was for people to repent.
Unfortunately, the message of many today seems to be Just as I am. Now don't get me wrong--Just as I am is a wonderful song that expresses the great mercy and grace of Jesus Christ toward sinners in their fallen condition. I love singing it.  But it is a perversion of Jesus' message to teach that we can be a member of his Church and remain in our fallen, sinful condition. How foreign that is to the preaching of Jesus! Jesus taught repentance and a level of righteousness that requires our hearts to be cleansed from evil. We are to become a new creation in Christ, and this is not just theological mumbo-jumbo. True believers are changed in a way that shows up in how they live. Jesus calls to us just as we are, but loves us too much to leave us in that condition.

Let Your Light So shine

I once was sitting in a church service, where a sharp dressed visiting speaker was delivering the night's message. He was quite the polished showman, and clearly knew every pentecostal cliche ever invented. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess I was bored. At one point I found my conscience accusing me, because my mind had wandered and I realized I had been quietly entertaining myself trying to anticipate his next phrase. I guessed correctly about half the time.

I had seen and heard this presentation many times before, by many different speakers, on dozens of different platforms. It's not that the words of so many sermons were identical--they were not. Different scriptures were used by different speakers, and every speaker gave his message it's own unique, sometimes clever name. But in common to all the others, this man's message was designed to excite and please the congregation he was speaking to. If that was indeed his goal, he was being moderately successful, gauging by the response of the congregation.

Not meaning to sound overly critical, but I couldn't help but think that it was not much different from entertainment. If you had substituted the speaker's suit and tie for spandex and a tank top, his gesturing and prancing around would have been typical of that seen on stage at a rock concert. The speaker skillfully peppered his presentation with funny anecdotes and well timed one liners, keeping the audience's interest as he performed.

Being somewhat detached from the show, I began viewing it through the eyes of an outsider. I wondered how meaningful it would be to my next door neighbor if I presented some ambiguous platitude to him, delivered with just the right amount of growl. "I just beleeeeeve, that Almighty God is going to give someone here a year of breakthrough! Hallelujah!" At some point, it occured to me just how irrelevant most of what was being said would be to the world around us.

Then I wondered what Christ thought about the show? Was this what Christ envisioned when he told us to take the gospel into the whole world? Was this what Christ had in mind when he said:

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  Mat. 5:14-16

A disclaimer is needed at this point. Please do not let the reader form the conclusion that I think we can get by without the local church. Nonsense! The scriptures, as well as the experience of most believers teaches us that we need regular times of meeting together for encouragement and strengthening. And there is nothing inherently wrong with our individual churches having their own religious culture, so that an outsider could recognize the differences between evangelical, liturgical and charismatic services.

Furthermore, let me admit that to communicate effectively, a person needs to be engaging, and sometimes take advantage of devices to keep the audience's attention. Jesus himself used humor in some of his sayings.

But I can't help but believe that the most effective expressions of the Body of Christ occur outside church walls. The Church earns the privilege of its name, not when we meet in our buildings and enjoy our religious culture amongst ourselves, but when we let the teachings of Christ become incarnate in our daily lives. It's when we provide a meal to the family of unbelievers who are suffering from sickness. It's when we donate our time to help in the local homeless shelter. It's when we give of our own lives to help orphans and widows. In these and many other examples, we become the city set on the hill for all to see. This is how we let our light shine so that God is glorified in the end.

This is not a matter of taking a negative stance against our churchhouse traditions. I suspect that Christ is tolerant of the variety of worship forms found throughout believing christendom. This is a matter of us always remembering that our testimony in the world is of more consequence than what we do in a closed group of believers behind the church walls.