Matthew 7:12: The Golden Rule – treat others as you would have them treat you, is a universal, trans-dispensational principle found in the Mosaic Law as well as in Paul's writings. Moses wrote in Leviticus 19:18, in the law...love your neighbor as you love yourself. Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-22, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink. You will heap coals of fire on his head. Paul merely quotes Solomon in Proverbs 25:21-22. Who we are in Christ is always under the microscope to those who are outside of Christ!
Matthew 7:13-14: The Strait Gate and the Narrow Way We began to unpack this often used term concerning salvation that much of Christianity directly applies to the dispensation of the grace of God without consideration of what Jesus was saying. Entering the strait gate and the narrow way leads to life. When you compare this with Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus tells the rich young ruler that obeying the commandments will lead you into life. This, of course is before the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. After the resurrection of Christ, the Law that promised eternal life to those who obeyed it, became the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2-4: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
What brought life before the cross, brought death after the cross. We, the this dispensation of the grace of God are commanded to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation!
Titus 3:4-7: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It takes the exercising of faith – believing what God says, and acting on it, as revealed in Hebrews 11. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We know that we cannot please God without exercising faith. We are given multiple examples of people who moved in obedience to God through faith in Hebrews 11.
We began to compare Matthew 8:11-12 with Luke 13:22-30, and how Jesus used the literal, physical kingdom of heaven in the Jewish gospel of Matthew, but Luke used the term kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom when speaking of sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This teaches us that in the millennial kingdom the physical kingdom of heaven for the Jews, and the spiritual kingdom of God for the Gentiles, will be working in concert with one another. The 12 apostles will be sitting on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, and we of the kingdom that is not physical (meat and drink), but internal – righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, will be ruling and reigning with Christ spiritually, based upon the rewards we receive at the judgment seat of Christ.
We will continue our study of the strait and narrow way next week, and look at how things changed in such a dramatic way for Jew and Gentile alike.
