The Golden Rule | The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached | Episode 168

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:11][music] >> Welcome back to the Bible study podcast.

[00:00:20]I'm William Cain. I'm joined by my good buddies Ben Crane, Webb Simpson. What's up, boys?

[00:00:26]>> It is good to be with you boys this morning. Always a treat.

[00:00:30]>> You guys record in the same house, huh?

[00:00:33]>> Buddy.

[00:00:33]>> Yeah. William has got a couple pictures behind him.

[00:00:36]>> [laughter] >> I do.

[00:00:38]I do. There's uh >> Crane's wins, yep. I'm in the upstairs studio.

[00:00:42]>> Is it You smell any sourdough in the oven?

[00:00:45]>> You know, about We started this at 9:00 a.m. 8:55 Ben brought me a piece of sourdough with butter and honey on it.

[00:00:52]So, I'm doing pretty good.

[00:00:53]>> This hits every time. Heather and I, you know, try to keep fresh sourdough in the house every day.

[00:00:58]>> Yeah. Man Man does not Man does not live on bread alone, but he does live on bread. And so, I'm grateful [laughter] for it.

[00:01:06]>> I told Dad the other day, I said, "You know a food or drink is good when you have it so often, and every time you have it, it's like the first time you've ever had it."

[00:01:15]>> Yeah.

[00:01:15]>> There's only a few things like that, but bread, little butter, salt, and honey is up there, Ben.

[00:01:20]>> Mhm. Maldon salt, kind of flaky, and just kind of, you know, crunch it through your fingers, and just sprinkle it across the bread.

[00:01:27]It works.

[00:01:28]>> If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, just one, doesn't it have to be sourdough bread? Is there anything that competes with that?

[00:01:36]>> It's a really good sourdough. Yeah. I mean >> Ground beef is up there for me, but I I think I'll get tired of it quicker.

[00:01:44]>> Filet mignon, I mean, you know, it's pretty pretty decent, but yeah.

[00:01:48]>> Yeah. But then you'll turn into that like red meat guy on social media, you >> [laughter] >> And if you got bit bit by the red meat tick, then you really got trouble.

[00:01:56]>> Yeah, I think I think you got to go sourdough.

[00:01:59]>> [laughter] >> Um >> All right, let's go to some listener questions for you boys. We got a handful of them today.

[00:02:04]One listener named Jason asked this, "Can y'all explain bounce and grind on wedges? I've always used low bounce since I live in the south with very hard dirt and tight lies.

[00:02:16]Should a 8 to 15 handicapper have multiple wedges of the same loft but different bounce grind?"

[00:02:24]>> Well, I would say, okay, so this is this is actually a little bit of a confusing topic for from company to company, I don't think it's even defined the same way. But, I would say bounce is like a skid plate.

[00:02:36]So, if you set your club down the way it's, you know, with with a certain amount of shaft lean, let's call it, you know, 4° of shaft lean forward, which is mostly how wedges are built. You have a skid plate that sits below your leading edge.

[00:02:52]And the angle from the leading edge down to that skid plate can be defined as bounce. And then how far that the stiffness of that angle and then also how wide that skid skid plate is is also defined as bounce. Now, a lot of people will do grinds to shave off, you know, have a bigger flange but then have the relief in the toe or relief in the heel.

[00:03:16]So, you could do There's infinite varieties.

[00:03:19]For me, I like an M grind and I like to have toe relief so that when I put the the 60° on the toe, I can swing basically without bounce or very little bounce so that on hard turf I can still hit a some sort of a lob shot.

[00:03:36]But, when turf is soft, you generally want more bounce because you don't want the club to continue to dig through the dirt. So, high bounce would probably be considered between 10 and 14, low bounce probably between 4 and 8. And I would say players who are ball first a little steeper angle attack can generally get away with less bounce.

[00:03:59]People who are a little shallower definitely want more bounce, but you know, when you have less bounce and it's into the grain, you can develop a situation where it's the club is definitely going into the ground and going to stick there. So, it's not really defined one company to another, but I think I don't think amateurs need multiple clubs. I would think your 60 would be in that 10 to 12 bounce range.

[00:04:26]And then I would think that your your 55° ish would be more in that 14 bounce range. So, if you do need bounce and you're in a soft situation, you can just open up the 54 55° and have a little more cushion.

[00:04:41]That's my thought.

[00:04:42]I love that.

[00:04:43]>> Um all right, let's go to Tom from Rhode Island. He He just He writes in and he just makes a statement aimed at you, Webb. He says, "Webb, I use a reverse interlock grip on my irons. I thought I got the idea from you in a Golf Digest article."

[00:04:58]>> [laughter] >> So, Tom, I'm sorry to say this, either I forgot [snorts] about that article or I don't think I was the person I've never heard of or used a reverse interlock grip. I've always been traditional interlock my whole life. So, I'm sorry I can't help you.

[00:05:15]Um but yeah, most guys now use interlocks, still some overlap guys, but not many.

[00:05:20]So, sorry, Tom. I wish I had more for you.

[00:05:24]>> Tom, I'm you know, I don't know everything about golf. I certainly don't, but I'm around it quite a bit and I got on chat GPT this morning and I asked, "What is a reverse interlock?" I was trying [laughter] to figure it out.

[00:05:36]>> Tom, Tom, the only thing I'll say playing with so many ams and pro ams all the years, the the number one problem I see with amateurs grips is their both hands are too weak, especially the left.

[00:05:49]So, I think amateurs can always uh have room to grow and strengthen in their left hand or both.

[00:05:55]>> Yep.

[00:05:56]It's a good rule of thumb. Uh speaking of strength, we got a question from Dan for Ben. Dan writes to Ben, "How jacked is Bryan Gay in real life?"

[00:06:05]>> [laughter] >> I mean, the guy looks like he's been in the gym for 6 hours a day bodybuilding, getting a tan. The guy looks great. I mean, he looks super super strong. This is a different Bryan Gay than we used to than we used to know.

[00:06:19]>> A lot of people are asking that question.

[00:06:21]>> [laughter] >> Um okay, we got a uh more serious one from a junior golfer, Jensen. He says, "I'm a junior golfer and desire to play college golf. I was wondering how you guys worship your way around the golf course and keep God the main thing when chasing after a dream." What a good question, Jensen. Love that you're asking that right now.

[00:06:43]>> Mhm. Yeah, I think that's that's such a good question and it's a it's a right question because we want to work hard and diligently what we're doing as though we're working for the Lord.

[00:06:52]>> Mhm.

[00:06:52]>> And so, I think you're asking the right question. I think one of the practical ways that William and I do that is to just keep scripture right in front of us.

[00:06:59]Um putting scripture in our yardage book.

[00:07:02]And really just praying and asking the Lord to help us do that.

[00:07:05]>> Mhm.

[00:07:06]Yeah, so good. Yeah, Ben, I feel like you've had a lot of cool experiences lately of writing stuff down whether it's scripture or thoughts or >> prayers and and really tracking them and following them. And and and all you're doing, you have a it's a God-centered focus. You know, it's not a Ben Crane focus. You focus on the Lord. Yes, you take care of what you need to take care of, but it's fun to kind of marry uh personal excellence and also worship at the same time as you plot along the golf course.

[00:07:35]>> And so much of what William and I talk about, we talk before almost every round and is just that >> [snorts and clears throat] >> really when we're rightly seeking the Lord and enjoying the Lord, we can actually it really does Philippians 4:7 provide a peace that surpasses understanding. Like surpasses understanding. You can't even totally understand how great that peace is. And that really allows you to perform at a higher level than you've probably ever performed because you're performing from a place of peace and joy, which is a supernatural thing.

[00:08:07]>> Mhm.

[00:08:08]>> Yeah. And I think Jensen, just to add to what these guys are saying, if you redefine your win, that can really help you do this. You know, if your win going into the day, your primary win is to glorify the Lord, now whether you play really good golf or really bad golf, you're able to do that if it's right in front of you. You can do that in the way that you approach your warm-up or approach your pre-shot or react to a bad break or talk to a playing partner. If you're thinking like, "Lord, I want to honor you at every step today." Um you really can worship your way around the golf course. And what we've talked about a lot is when that becomes your primary goal, interestingly, it oftentimes gives you the best opportunity to play the kind of golf you want to play because you're freer, you're gladder, you're more at rest. So, >> Mhm.

[00:08:54]>> make the main thing the main thing.

[00:08:57]Um all right, Luke from Ohio, a great question moving more toward the uh spiritual side now.

[00:09:03]Um Luke says, "My question is about perseverance. Seeing pastors fall publicly can be really discouraging and honestly a bit scary. I'm 22 years old, so Lord willing I have a lot of life left. I'm aware of my own heart and its struggles, Jeremiah 17. So, I'd love to hear from your own lives. What practices, habits, or guardrails have helped you stay faithful over the long haul and remain grounded in the truth?"

[00:09:30]>> Mhm.

[00:09:31]>> Um and then a second question is, "How do you personally deal with the fear that comes with persevering?" So, big questions there. What comes to mind?

[00:09:38]>> Yeah.

[00:09:39]What comes to mind is making a a habit of being in the word each day and prayer and for the listener, you know, before we start this podcast, the three of us talk, maybe confess sin and pray and we always admit our massive dependence upon the Lord.

[00:10:01]>> Mhm.

[00:10:02]>> And as we were doing it this morning, I felt and almost every single time I feel like a like a physical rest of literally giving it to the Lord. Like, I cannot solve my biggest problem, sin, but Jesus Christ has.

[00:10:22]And so that like, you know, dependence is one of the greatest gifts we can learn in life is our dependence really fully on the Lord.

[00:10:31]And so, Luke, I feel like that dependence through time in the word and prayer and then having some accountability partners in confession of sin really accomplish so much of what you're talking about here of um really abiding in Christ in a way that's genuine, real and where Christ really does become the the joy of your heart and life.

[00:10:55]>> Mhm.

[00:10:56]That's good.

[00:10:58]Yeah, Luke, I think what's been uh really helpful, healthy, uh practical thing that me and my wife do is um I heard a friend get asked in a board meeting one time, you know, where are you most vulnerable? If Satan wanted to take you out and destroy your ministry or your family, where would he come and attack? And I think that really hit home to me because I think I know my sin tendencies. Some people have just different sin tendencies or temptations. And so, for my wife to I I tell her where my heart seems to gravitate towards sin and then inviting her to ask questions every week, every month, whatever you want to set up for accountability just like Ben saying. So I think understanding your own heart to the point of knowing where you're tempted. But as William says often every one look at sin take 10 looks at Christ.

[00:11:52]We don't want to be so introspective that we are self-focused all the time but we want to know ourselves well enough to know where Satan could you know try to have his way with us so that we can be on guard against sin.

[00:12:06]I think I was on 90:12 when I read this question teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. So I think often going back to the Lord's given us a short life and a mission here now. So what what can we do day in day out to maximize our time while we're here. So >> Mhm.

[00:12:23]>> my two thoughts.

[00:12:24]>> Yeah, totally agree. I I know that probably doesn't sound uh you know like special advice Luke but that's right. The word, prayer, and real fellowship. Everybody who walks in those things on a daily basis it's going to be it's it's going to be tough to fall. I mean not that we're to not proud in any way but those things are normal means that God's given us to protect us and if we will utilize them to their full degree God God promises to keep us. And then as far as the fear that comes with persevering Dude, I'd memorize some some Bible verses about the Lord keeping us. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.

[00:13:08]Um or John 10:28-29 no one will snatch you out of the Lord's hand. The Father is greater than him and no one is able to snatch you out of the Father's hand. Or Psalm 121 I will keep you. He who neither slumbers nor sleeps will keep you. So put those things on repeat in your heart if lack of assurance is a struggle for you.

[00:13:29]Memorize them, think about them, and then make sure word, prayer, fellowship are functioning day-to-day.

[00:13:35]Well, thanks for sending in your questions. If you have questions for the guys, you can email them at [email protected]. We love hearing from you. Um and now we're continuing our study on the Sermon on the Mount.

[00:13:45]Jesus Christ, promised Messiah, son of the living God, preached this message to show his followers what it looks like to be a disciple in his invisible kingdom as we go through our everyday lives in the real world. And today we finish up our third major section in the sermon that deals with the practices of a disciple. Right? And as y'all know, we've seen that disciples should give, pray, fast. We should store up treasure in heaven, not on earth. We're not to be anxious, and we're not to judge. When we're in need, we're to ask and seek and then knock. And like children, we're to expect our Father to answer. And today we close out this section with one little verse, the golden rule.

[00:14:20]Um and our goal today is simple.

[00:14:23]We want this little verse that we're all almost all familiar with to move past the layer of familiarity deep into our minds and down into our hearts so that it begins to transform the way that we live. So, that's what we're after today. Webber, if you just say a short prayer for our time in the word, and then you can read for us.

[00:14:41]>> Lord, thank you for this podcast. Thank you for the listeners taking time to hear from us, Lord. Hopefully, they just hear from you cuz we are proclaiming your word. Lord, we love your word. We love what you tell us. We love what you encourage us with.

[00:14:55]Lord, help us to buy in 100% with our hearts, our minds, our souls to taking you at your word, to believing this, to applying it. Lord, I need this so much in my life today. I need to change today. I am a sinful man in need of a savior today. So, help us, Lord. Pray this word would get into us as we get into it right now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:15:20]>> Mhm.

[00:15:21]Matthew 7:12. So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.

[00:15:28]For this is the law of the prophets law and the prophets.

[00:15:31]>> Yeah.

[00:15:32]>> [snorts] >> Okay, so here is the golden rule. This is This is the golden rule. You know the world's golden rule?

[00:15:41]>> Nope.

[00:15:42]>> He who has the gold makes the rules. The [laughter] one who has the gold makes the rules. That's That's the world's golden rule, but this is the golden rule of the kingdom of God. This little verse is the law of the kingdom in summary. Listen to how Spurgeon describes it.

[00:15:57]In this place, in this verse, our king gives us his golden rule. This is a right royal rule, a precept always at hand, always applicable, always right.

[00:16:07]Oh, that men acted on it. There would be no slavery, no war, no lying, no robbing, but all would be justice and love.

[00:16:18]What a kingdom this is that has such a law. We adore the king out of whose mouth and heart such a law could flow.

[00:16:28]It It really is an amazing thing when you think about what the Lord is commanding us to do. Okay, so let's just take the first phrase there of the golden rule. What's the Lord inviting us to consider in each situation?

[00:16:40]>> Mhm.

[00:16:41]So, whatever you wish that others would do to you.

[00:16:44]>> All right, so generally speaking, in order to have wishes about what you would want people to do to you in a certain situation, what what do you first need to do?

[00:16:53]>> Mhm.

[00:16:54]You got to You got to put yourself in the other person's situation, get in their shoes, and consider things from their perspective.

[00:17:00]>> That's right. If we're ever going to apply this, we first got to put ourselves in another person's shoes. Um and then, once we've put ourselves in another person's shoes, in their situation or circumstance, what should we ask ourself?

[00:17:14]>> Mhm.

[00:17:15]If the roles were reversed, what would I desire? How would I like this to go?

[00:17:19]>> Exactly. And when we do that, when we put ourselves in their shoes, and we ask, "Man, if I was them, what would I wish?"

[00:17:28]You think about that, and then when we go to the next phrase, what do we do with that?

[00:17:33]>> Do also to them.

[00:17:35]>> Yeah, you do that. That's what you do.

[00:17:37]Okay, this is the golden rule.

[00:17:39]Um in whatever situation you find yourself in, whatever circumstances you're in, take a moment to consider how you'd wish to be treated if the roles were reversed, and then do that.

[00:17:52]>> I'm already getting convicted here, by the way. I'm thinking of scenarios where I'm like, "Nope, didn't apply it there, didn't apply it there."

[00:17:59]>> Dude, this is this is money, okay? And it's so money, it is so comprehensive, that Jesus says what about it? Next phrase.

[00:18:08]>> For this is the law and the prophets.

[00:18:11]>> This, right here. Treat others like you want to be treated. This is the law and the prophets.

[00:18:19]>> What does that mean? Tell us what that means.

[00:18:20]>> Okay, it means that if Jesus in one short, powerful, potent statement was going to say, "If I had to summarize all 613 Old Testament commands and all the instruction of the prophets put together, here's what I would say. Treat others like you would wish to be treated."

[00:18:40]That's what he's saying. The And this is perfect instruction for dudes, isn't it?

[00:18:43]>> [clears throat] >> So so so is this Is he saying obviously this is the Old Testament, this is the word, but when he says prophets, this is the law and the prophets, is he saying this is all that the prophets were basically teaching?

[00:18:56]>> Yeah, you know, the prophets they did a couple things. They were they were uh you know, in some situations they prophesied about what was to come, but in most most situations the prophets just instructed the people of God, right? They represented God to the people with the preached word. And so, Jesus is saying, "If you had to summarize their teaching and you had to summarize the teaching of the law, here is the emphasis."

[00:19:23]>> Got it.

[00:19:24]>> "Whatever you wish people would do to you, do that to them." Right? And it's just a simple two-step process. Step one, put yourself in their shoes, think about what you'd want.

[00:19:35]Step two, do that.

[00:19:37]>> Wow.

[00:19:38]>> That That is the big E on the eye chart for the golden rule, okay?

[00:19:42]>> Right.

[00:19:42]>> Now, what I want to do is just go a little bit deeper with this concept um so that our podcast is not over immediately. Um can you think of another passage where we see this law and prophet kind of language pop up, where Jesus makes a big summary statement? Anything else come to mind?

[00:20:02]>> Love your neighbor as yourself.

[00:20:06]>> Mhm.

[00:20:06]>> That's right. Exactly.

[00:20:07]>> When it When he Jesus is asked in Matthew 22, "What's the greatest commandment of the law?" Then that's exactly it. Jesus says, "Well, you love Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and you love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

[00:20:22]>> Mhm.

[00:20:23]>> This is it. Love God and love people.

[00:20:25]Now, when you think about the 10 Commandments, which is like the epicenter of the Old Testament law, it's break it broken into two parts, >> Right?

[00:20:33]>> The fir- first four commandments deal with what?

[00:20:36]>> Vertical relationship with God.

[00:20:38]>> Vertical relationship with God. That's right. And the last six deal with what?

[00:20:42]>> Horizontal relationships.

[00:20:44]>> With others.

[00:20:44]>> To one another. Exactly right. So, Jesus, as he reflects on all of this, he says he Let's just summarize it, guys. Here's what it's all about. Love God with all that you are and love everybody like you love yourself.

[00:20:57]>> Mhm.

[00:20:58]>> This is This is the big E on the eye chart, right? And And really, the second of those two commandments, loving your neighbor as yourself, is essentially what he's saying in the golden rule. Cuz in any and every situation, what do we ultimately want?

[00:21:13]>> We want to be loved.

[00:21:14]>> We want to be loved.

[00:21:15]>> Yeah.

[00:21:16]>> That's what That's what we're wanting.

[00:21:17]And so, um another way that we might restate the golden rule then is this: What does love look like in this situation?

[00:21:25]>> Mhm. God. Hey, well, I got to pause there.

[00:21:29]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:29]>> [laughter] >> That one hurt a little bit.

[00:21:32]>> Yeah.

[00:21:33]>> Cuz I realized I'm not as good at it as I want to be.

[00:21:37]Lord, help me.

[00:21:38]>> Yeah. Yeah. It But think about how You know how in golf, a simple swing thought is so helpful, you know? Like y'all are really, really good. You play with like one simple swing thought. Most guys like me, we have like 13 swing thoughts. You know, like hinge the wrist, get the club deeper, you know, left pelvis back, yeah, hold off the face. I I literally am thinking those four things every time I hit a golf shot, and I don't hit very many good shots. But the best players have the simplest thoughts.

[00:22:10]And here is the simple swing thought for our relationships. Right here, right now, what does love look like?

[00:22:17]>> Mhm.

[00:22:18]>> If I was in that person's shoes, how would I like to be loved in this circumstance? This is the law and the prophets. This is If you want to follow Christian teaching, this is the big E on the eye chart.

[00:22:30]>> Let me just give a quick example, guys, of what this looks like in real time in your relationship, because both these guys do it so well. When I come to them and I say something is difficult or hard or sad or idiotic that I've done, whatever it is, the first thing they do is they say, "I'm sorry."

[00:22:51]>> Mhm.

[00:22:52]>> That's what love looks like. Is they literally have empathy and get into my shoes and like, "Man, that must really hurt. I'm sorry that you're going through that.

[00:23:03]>> Mhm.

[00:23:05]It's good word.

[00:23:06]>> Y'all did that for me this morning while I was confessing my sin of flipping out on somebody in the airport when and my daughter was in the wheelchair.

[00:23:13]>> [laughter] >> We're a bunch of fools, y'all, that are telling you this, but the the Bible is so true and >> Amen.

[00:23:21]>> and it's so helpful and it's how we want to be and it's who we want to become.

[00:23:25]And Jesus keeps hammering this concept home. So, we've got the golden rule passage, we've got the great commandment passage. Y'all will also remember the night before Jesus dies, he is just hammering in this nail about love being the main thing. And what does he say to his disciples in John 13:34 and 35?

[00:23:45]>> He says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another."

[00:23:59]>> Okay, listen to D.A. Carson on this. He says, "The new command is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate and profound enough that the most mature believers are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they have comprehended it and put it into practice."

[00:24:15]>> Wow.

[00:24:16]>> Isn't that true?

[00:24:17]>> Yeah.

[00:24:18]>> Come on, D.A.

[00:24:19]>> It's so true for me. Um all right, so let's just ask. All right, this command is to love. What is love?

[00:24:27]Everybody's got all kinds of thoughts about what love is.

[00:24:30]Um thoughts on How do you define love?

[00:24:35]>> I mean, we've talked about how what's the best that we could do for that?

[00:24:41]>> Yeah.

[00:24:41]>> Yeah.

[00:24:42]>> Yeah.

[00:24:42]>> You know.

[00:24:42]>> Yeah, man, I love that because in progressive Christianity, they hijack this idea of love and they make it to something that it isn't and they negate the fact that Jesus says, "If If love me, you will obey my commands. Jesus is love, yes, but he's also just and right and true.

[00:25:03]And so I love that Ben cuz so often when we love people, and I'm in the middle of this with five kids, and you guys are too.

[00:25:10]Our kids don't feel like I'm giving them my best. But in the moment, the highest love I have for them might be something that they wouldn't agree with, but that's my my aim is my best for them in that moment.

[00:25:25]>> And you think about you know, some liberal ways of that, you know, live your truth and that kind of stuff, whatever, but but love is honest.

[00:25:34]>> Yep.

[00:25:34]>> Yes. Love Love is true.

[00:25:36]>> Yep.

[00:25:36]>> Yep.

[00:25:37]>> Speak the Speak Love is protecting.

[00:25:39]>> Yep. Speak the truth in love, you know.

[00:25:42]Ephesians 4:15.

[00:25:43]>> Um So, here's a couple definitions. Ken Boa says, "Love is the steady intention of the will to another's highest good."

[00:25:51]>> Uh That's what I was going >> John Tillotson, which is where Ben got his definition from. He says, "With sincere affection, to love someone is to do the best for him we can."

[00:26:01]>> Mhm.

[00:26:02]>> Um great definitions, but you know how I think Jesus would define love?

[00:26:06]>> Mhm.

[00:26:08]He just defined it.

[00:26:10]>> Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. Okay? That's what we're to do. Okay?

[00:26:16]>> Yep.

[00:26:16]>> Well, what I've done to you, do to others. I mean >> Yeah.

[00:26:20]That exactly. And that's actually where he goes here in John 13:44. He tells us how we're to love people. And he says, "Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

[00:26:32]>> Mhm.

[00:26:33]>> So, what's the next right question then?

[00:26:35]How has Jesus Christ loved us?

[00:26:38]>> All right, friend. Friend, listen. This is why you have to read the Bible slowly.

[00:26:42]>> So slow.

[00:26:43]>> So, and you have to stop and you have to think. When you get to a sentence like this, you do not keep reading. It is disobedient to keep reading.

[00:26:50]>> Okay? [laughter] You stop right here and you ask the question if I'm to love others just as he has loved me. I need to reflect on I need to meditate on I need to chew on that question. How has Jesus loved me? No, no, no, man, you can't.

[00:27:05]>> And also, also, I'm dealing with this with someone I know.

[00:27:10]You need to and I need to I'm speaking to myself first. We all need to as Christians repent of trying to figure out what we think. We When we're answering this question, we don't it's not what we think.

[00:27:23]It's what Jesus thinks. It's what he did. It's what he said. Then our views, our feelings will get on the bus in the back and they'll get in line with what he thinks and what he said and we will start to believe him. We cannot bring our philosophy to the Bible. The Bible has to dictate our philosophy.

[00:27:42]Otherwise, chaos will ensue.

[00:27:44]>> We sit under Jesus' teaching and we let it inform us.

[00:27:48]>> That's right.

[00:27:49]>> 100%.

[00:27:50]>> Yeah. And and you think about okay, the way in which Jesus has loved you. Okay, so friend, think about this. Just go back. Just go back to the beginning of your life and you think about okay, he brought you forth into this world. You were his idea. All your intricate parts.

[00:28:06]And then what what has he done? He's loved you with a stubborn unending, never giving up passing over your sin to keep on loving you and show you grace and truth and peace and his commandments and his words and friendships and family.

[00:28:26]What What have you experienced in all the good that's not from the Lord? Jesus Christ has loved you with this crazy love.

[00:28:37]>> Yeah. And then he's saying now go love others like this. Like Lord, help me.

[00:28:44]>> Yeah.

[00:28:45]>> Come on, buddy.

[00:28:46]>> And and right in the middle of it is is this. And just listen to these three or four fast verses, friend.

[00:28:55]John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

[00:29:01]>> Mhm.

[00:29:02]>> "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us."

[00:29:06]>> Mhm.

[00:29:06]>> "The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me."

[00:29:11]>> Mhm.

[00:29:11]>> "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

[00:29:19]>> Mhm.

[00:29:19]>> This is This is just the littlest tip of the iceberg of how he has loved us.

[00:29:23]It All that been said, so Trace, he's also chosen us in love, he's forgiven us in love, he sent his spirit in love, he's secured our adoption in love.

[00:29:31]He's comforted us, he's provided for us.

[00:29:33]On and on and on we could go.

[00:29:35]And and quickly, guys, what was our condition when he loved us this way?

[00:29:39]>> True.

[00:29:39]>> What do we read in Romans 5:6?

[00:29:43]>> "While we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly." We were running away from God in our wickedness, having and wanting nothing to do with him, and that is when he died for us.

[00:29:57]>> Yeah, or like Ephesians says, like children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

[00:30:02]>> Mhm.

[00:30:02]>> Following the passions and desires of this world. And then And then but God demonstrates his great love for the in us in this, Romans 5:8. That while we were sinners, >> Mhm.

[00:30:13]>> in our filth, Christ came and died for us.

[00:30:18]>> Mhm.

[00:30:18]>> Yeah.

[00:30:19]>> Like we have to slow down so much on that.

[00:30:21]>> Oh, yeah. I mean, dude, Romans 5:6, Romans 5:8, Romans 5:10. Listen to these phrases. "While we were still weak, while we were still sinners." Romans 5:10, "if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son." That was our condition, weak, sinful enemies, dead in our trespasses and sins. And Jesus says, "Hey, friend, just as I have loved you, you also love one another.

[00:30:46]>> Mhm.

[00:30:46]>> And And here's the correlation that we've got to see, friend. Our ability to love others and our desire to love others, our ability and desire to treat others the way we wish to be treated, it will be in direct correlation to how well we understand how the Lord has treated us in love.

[00:31:03]>> That's >> Even when we didn't deserve it.

[00:31:05]>> That's the price full price of admission that one thing right there, William. Say it one more time.

[00:31:10]>> Okay. There will be a Yeah. We're To go back to the golden rule, our ability and our desire to love others, our ability and our desire to treat others the way we wish to be treated will be in direct correlation to how well we understand how the Lord has treated us even when we didn't deserve it.

[00:31:28]>> And here's the deal. There's not only an amazing vertical [snorts] implication of this here with our relationship with God, which is first and foremost, but it will totally change and transform your marriages, it'll transform your relationships, your friendships. Because in marriage, when there's a conflict, we're tempted to think, "Gosh, how could I [snorts] be treated this way?" Or our kids treat us How could they treat a parent this way? Well, we got to first start with what you're saying, William.

[00:31:57]No, Lord, this is how I treated you, and you have met me with grace and forgiveness and mercy and love over and over and over. Like, that's the fuel to our relationships here on Earth, which is amazing.

[00:32:10]>> Yeah. And then we go in Ephesians 5:2, "Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." We go imitate him, right? And everybody wins. And that's what I want to show you kind of as we start to land the plane here.

[00:32:21]There are all kinds of glorious benefits that come with this command to love one another by treating them the way we wish to be treated. So, let's let's start to close it out here in John 15:8-12.

[00:32:31]>> William, you you read that for us. Love this verse.

[00:32:33]>> Yep. Uh Jesus says, "By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I've kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."

[00:32:51]"These things I've spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." Okay, so lots can be said here, but we're just going to stay connected to our topic. Uh when it comes to our relationship with God, um what effect does our love for one another have on our relationship with God? Verse 8.

[00:33:15]>> We will have joy inside of us.

[00:33:18]His joy, Jesus' joy.

[00:33:20]>> Yeah, I love that part, Weber.

[00:33:22]>> Yeah.

[00:33:22]>> That my joy may be in you. And when William was reading that, I'm like, Jesus is where the joy's at.

[00:33:29]>> Yeah.

[00:33:30]>> He's got the joy.

[00:33:31]>> Yeah.

[00:33:31]>> And his joy's going to come into us as we do it.

[00:33:35]>> Dude, whenever my daughters are being snappy at each other, I ask them like, "Hey, do y'all like each other right now? And do you like yourself right now?" And every time they're like, "No."

[00:33:44]You know? But when we love one another, when we treat one another the way we want to be treated, it actually is the happiest life, right? So, treating others this way glorifies God, treating others this way brings us joy. When we treat others this way, how do they feel?

[00:34:00]>> It makes them happy.

[00:34:02]>> [laughter] >> It makes them very happy. Okay, so so far everybody's winning. And then if we go back to that John 13:35, what effect will loving others like this have on the world?

[00:34:13]>> I mean, other people will know that you're a disciple of Jesus.

[00:34:18]>> Yes, if you have love for one another.

[00:34:20]Um just think about how rigged this whole thing is. When we treat one another the way we wish to be treated, God's glorified, others are happy, we're happy, the world starts to see the validity of our faith. Right? Schaeffer says it this way.

[00:34:37]Just money quote.

[00:34:39]The church is to judge whether a man is a Christian on the basis of his doctrine. But we cannot expect the world to judge that way because the world knows nothing about doctrine.

[00:34:48]But Jesus did give the mark that will arrest the attention of the world, even the attention of the modern man who says he's just a machine. Because every man is made in the image of God and has therefore aspirations for love. There is something that can be in every geograph- geographical climate in every point of time, which can fail to arrest his attention. What is it? The love that true Christians show for each other.

[00:35:14]May and then one more guy, F. T. Bruner, says the mutually lived out heart love of Christians for one another will be the single greatest missionary force in the world.

[00:35:25]>> They will know we are Christians by our love, boys.

[00:35:28]>> Yes. That's right.

[00:35:30]>> And what is love? Well, it's putting yourself in the other person's shoes.

[00:35:33]Asking yourself, what would I wish if I were them?

[00:35:37]And then doing that. It's super simple.

[00:35:41]So, friend >> thinking of others better than yourself, right?

[00:35:45]>> Yeah. That's where it starts, you know?

[00:35:47][snorts] And then we just take that thought to the next level. You know, if I were Ben, what I what would I want William to do to me right now? You know?

[00:35:55]>> [clears throat] >> Um >> So, William William is in my house and we're doing the podcast together, just timing and stuff, whatever. He's in another room.

[00:36:05]And I literally had that thought. I'm not trying to brag, I'm just saying like I literally had the thought like, what would if I was William, what would I want right now? And I literally just made some sourdough and just put the, you know, and I brought it up to him.

[00:36:15]And then he loves chips. I'm like, he loves he loves sourdough and he loves a chip.

[00:36:20]>> [laughter] >> That's a good combo.

[00:36:22]>> Yeah. Yeah. And and listen, who won in that equation? We we all won.

[00:36:28]>> Yeah. Right.

[00:36:29]>> Ben Ben took on the cost of doing something for me. It led to great joy for me. When I experienced that joy, Ben got joy, too, and off we go.

[00:36:37]>> And it glorified God.

[00:36:38]>> And it glorified God, right? Um so, we could do this. We could put ourselves in a million different scenarios. Um you know, but friend, here's here's probably the way we'd like for you to think about this.

[00:36:52]>> Mhm.

[00:36:52]>> Think about which relationships you're in most constantly. With your wife.

[00:36:57]If you were your wife, how would you want to be treated by you?

[00:37:01]>> Mhm.

[00:37:02]>> If you were your kids, how would you want to be treated by you?

[00:37:06]>> Mhm.

[00:37:07]>> If you were your co-workers, how would you want to be treated by you? If you were your God, this is an interesting one.

[00:37:13]How would you want to be treated by you?

[00:37:15]Almost every interestingly, almost every one another command in the whole New Testament fleshes out how we do this in different situations.

[00:37:24]>> Mhm. Wow.

[00:37:25]>> When I'm burdened, what do I want? Well, I want somebody to bear my burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. When I'm discouraged, I want I need somebody to encourage me for the glory of God. When I'm new at a place, I want somebody to welcome me as Christ has welcomed me for the glory of God. You can do this with everything. And so, um we've got a hard stop coming up on time, but before we go to swing thought, let me just ask you a few questions, friend, to apply this.

[00:37:51]What one situation are you in right now where you can apply this golden rule?

[00:37:57]>> Mhm.

[00:37:58]>> Who is one person in particular that you want to love today?

[00:38:02]>> Mhm.

[00:38:04]>> What's one way in particular you want to love that person?

[00:38:08]And and specifically, if you're facing difficulty in any relationship right now, if you were in the other person's shoes, what would you wish?

[00:38:16]>> Mhm.

[00:38:17]>> Do that.

[00:38:18]>> Mhm. [clears throat] >> All right. Uh Ben, you got a hard stop based on the lesson.

[00:38:24]What's your swing thought?

[00:38:26]>> I mean, literally just put myself in their shoes. Before I start the interaction, before I see them, just think about, "Lord, what's the best that I could do for them?

[00:38:40]Mhm. What What does [clears throat] love look like?

[00:38:43]So, whatever you I wish that others would do to me, Lord, help me do that.

[00:38:48]>> Mhm.

[00:38:49]>> [clears throat] >> Just literally take Matthew 7:12. Just take our scripture and my ask is, "Lord, help me do it."

[00:38:55]>> Mhm.

[00:38:57]>> What about you, Weber?

[00:38:58]>> Yeah, mine's similar. I think I've already thought of a couple situations that I wish I could go back and and I wish we did this podcast like 4 days ago. But, uh >> [laughter] >> Um, yeah, I think it's just great. It's like so simple and it's so profound at the same time. Like you read a couple of those quotes, especially D. A. Carson, that um it's like I can do it today. Like God will give me strength to actually do it.

[00:39:24]And I want in those moments to believe that it's better for me, it's better for them, it glorifies God if I love them like they want to be loved.

[00:39:34]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:39:35]>> All right. William My My Can you Can you be vulnerable and and share a little about what happened in the airport and if you had obeyed this commandment, what would you done?

[00:39:44]>> Uh, yeah. So, I was getting my daughter home from New Jersey a couple days ago and she's in a wheelchair. She's in bad shape. Um blood pressure issues and yeah, complex back surgery. So, she's in vulnerable shape. And uh this young guy gets assigned to take her to from the A terminal to the C terminal.

[00:40:04]And he was bothered that he had just come from the C terminal. So, he communicated his displeasure and he rolls the wheelchair over to her and he says, "Let's go."

[00:40:13]And I flipped out on him. And I just said, "We got to have another guy on this job, raised my voice, told him you don't talk to somebody who's just had surgery that way, much less a teenage girl. And I was I was not acting like a Christian at all.

[00:40:29]And so I felt guilty as crud about it.

[00:40:31]And I'm on the plane. I'm like, "Lord, I pray that you would save that guy so I can apologize to him in heaven. I don't know how I'm going to track him down, but I I need to say I'm sorry to this guy." But yeah, if I could go back >> Mhm.

[00:40:42]>> and do that again, I think I would say to him something like, "Hey, dude, I I I totally understand how you'd be so frustrated if you just come back from the C terminal and you had to take another person there.

[00:40:58]That would bother me, too, if I was in your shoes.

[00:41:00]Um Hey, I I do want to let you know my daughter's in a super fragile place. So if you don't want to do it, maybe we could get you subbed out with somebody else. You know, I'm happy to step in and ask for that if that would be better for you.

[00:41:13]You know, I I think if I was in his shoes, I'd want something like that. But I I swung and missed and then I accidentally hit him with a bat. That's what actually happened. [laughter] >> Uh well, buddy, there's there's grace.

[00:41:27]There's forgiveness.

[00:41:28]>> It's like who who was it on the course who just got upset and was it Rahm and the divot hit the person in the face or someone breaks the club and it goes shooting into the crowd? You're like, "Oh my gosh."

[00:41:38]>> Yeah.

[00:41:39]>> When your stupidity just runs over.

[00:41:41]>> Yeah. That was so bad.

[00:41:43]>> You know what? I love what Rahm did.

[00:41:45]>> He he owned it. He knew he messed up, put his arm around the guy. You know, you could tell he felt bad. And and and that's it, right? Is just acknowledging when we mess up.

[00:41:53]>> And then you put the $100 in the glove and you sign it off and you you hit the guy with the glove and you hit him.

[00:41:57]>> [laughter] >> All of a sudden you turn into a hero.

[00:42:01]>> Yeah.

[00:42:02]>> Yeah, I think swing thought for me is it's probably a little golf cheesy, but the same way that you guys have a pre-shot routine. I I I I want to have like a pre-tense relationship routine.

[00:42:13]Where before I speak, I just say, "What would I wish if I were them?"

[00:42:17]>> Yeah.

[00:42:17]>> And and just think about that. Lord, help me to do that. And if I can do that instead of rushing into the interaction, I think it's going to help me. So.

[00:42:26]Um and praise God, we got a savior who died for our sin. Um >> Amen.

[00:42:30]>> Well, thanks for listening to the Bible Caddy podcast. If you have questions about Jesus or you have a golf question for the guys, email us at [email protected]. If you're interested in starting a Bible Caddy feature group, come on. Email us at [email protected].

[00:42:43]You can follow us on all the socials on the handle @biblecaddy. We're back next week in the Sermon on the Mount. Until then, let's get in the word and let the word get into us.

[00:42:51]>> Oh.

[00:42:53]Oh.

[00:42:58]Oh.

[00:43:00]Oh.

[00:43:01]Oh.

[00:43:02]Oh.

[00:43:02]>> [music] >> Oh.

[00:43:04]Oh.

[00:43:06]Oh.

[00:43:07]Oh.