Matthew 7:12 begins with the word “therefore” and refers back to the first 11 verses of the chapter: “Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” This verse is usually referred to as the Golden Rule.
Many religions have some type of “golden rule,” although most of them are stated negatively, and none of them have the authority of Scripture. For example, the Jewish rabbi Hillel said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow creatures. That is the whole law. All else is explanation.” Confucius taught, “Do not to others what you would not wish done to yourself.” There are many other examples of a golden rule stated negatively.
This teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7:12 is a powerful statement that fulfills the Law and Prophets, especially the second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It differs from other so-called golden rule statements because it is positive. Robert Mounce said, “In its negative form, the Golden Rule could be satisfied by doing nothing. The positive form moves us to action on behalf of others.”
James Montgomery Boice made the argument that the Golden Rule plays a crucial role in Christian ethics. The results of truly loving our neighbor can produce peace and goodwill among people.
The Golden Rule is not about getting something but about doing what is right and pleasing in the sight of God. The only way it is possible to genuinely obey this verse is through the grace of God and power of His Spirit. If we try to obey it on our own, we will fail because, as Boice points out, we take ourselves as the starting point. He writes, “It has always been possible for men to keep the negative side of this saying. In its negative form the rule is a legal principle, and the law always has self as the center. The Sermon on the Mount was preached so we could live it, and we cannot live it without His power and righteousness.”
John Stott, noting that our basic problem is preoccupation with self, said, “The dynamic for living this supreme ethic must come from outside our fallen nature. It can only come from the indwelling Holy Spirit, whose first fruit is love (Galatians 5:22).” John MacArthur stated, “The perfect love of the heavenly father is most reflected in His children when they treat others as they themselves want to be treated.”
The motivation for obeying the Golden Rule is primarily God’s own glory. Others are helped when we do it — but God, who empowers us to live it, is the supreme reason for why we do it. Truly loving others is anchored in God’s love in us; therefore, He is the reason we are able to love at all. The Golden Rule is about loving our neighbor. D.A. Carson sums it up: “The second (loving our neighbor) will never be obeyed without the first (loving God).” What we do for His glory will result in the highest good for ourselves and others.
The Golden Rule — loving our neighbor — is important. How can we live it? J. Vernon McGee says Matthew 7:12 takes us back “to that which precedes it. It postulates it back to prayer. Only as we ask, seek, and knock are we able to live in the light of the golden rule.”
We are to treat others as we want to be treated. They may or may not treat us the way we want them to. Our responsibility is to obey God and leave the results with Him.