Loving What Is Right
Jas. 1:25.

A. In trying to quote the Golden Rule, some people say, “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”
But, we need to understand that the Golden Rule of Jesus in Matt. 7:12, is phrased positively. It contains a crucial element that is absent when stated negatively.
a. The difference between negatively refraining from doing well and positively acting to
do good is illustrated by the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
(A) The Priest and Levite were Good Moral People. They abhorred the disgusting
immorality of the thugs who beat up and robbed the man by the roadside. They would
never think of doing that themselves. They were honest, upright, moral people.
(1) They and their friends were clean, decent, upstanding people, who basically, were on the side of what is right.”
What are the characteristics of the “good moral person” as we usually think of him?
Do we not tend to define morality in terms of not murdering, not stealing, not committing adultery, not lying, etc.?
Do we not perhaps even secretly congratulate ourselves for being above average morally. After all, we would not stoop to engage in the despicable things we see others doing?
(2) Is the strength of our morality measured by the intensity of the negative feelings we have about im-morality?
Are we “good” because we have a long list of practices we are against?
If this is our “morality,” we are no better than the Pharisees — for they were people who scrupulously avoided un-righteousness.
(B) Pharisaical “self-righteousness” is well illustrated in Luke 18:9-14.
(1) What the Pharisees possessed, was not sanctification, but sanctimoniousness (hypocritical high-mindedness).
Our righteousness must exceed this type, not merely in quantity but in quality, Matt. 5:20, Jesus said, “For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What’s the point Jesus is making? There is more to being “Moral” than looking down on Immorality.
“Loving what is right is all together different from hating what is wrong and feeling right about it.”
(2) There are obviously many things in the world that we ought to feel a genuine
revulsion for. But do not confuse these feelings of revultion with a true love for
what is good.
We do not truly qualify as being on the side of truth and goodness if all we do is criticize sin with our lips. Jesus stated an important principle in Matt. 15:8, “These people draw near to Me with their mouths, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”
God is concerned with what We DO about WHAT we know TO DO.
b. What’s the problem? We tend to judge others by their actual performance, while
we judge ourselves by our ideals.

(1) We think of ourselves as being fairly “good” because we know our goals are good, we know that we are capable of doing good, we know what we intend to do.
(1) But the person who truly loves what is right is not merely the person with high ideals and positive potential. He is an actual Doer of good.
(1) “Can do and have done, don’t even live in the same neighborhood!”
(2) The Book of James has some clear teaching regarding the difference between “knowing” and “doing.”
(2) Turn to the Book of James and read about this Divine principle.
(1) Jas. 1:21-27; 2:14-26; 4:17, Now, add to that 1 John 3:16?20,
(2) Remember Edmund Burke’s statement, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”
(3) Are people really “good” when they passively sit by and let evil triumph, while disapproving of it?
(2) Talk is cheap! Loving what is good requires Doing good.
(1) When it comes to standing “on the side of right,” are we actually guilty of standing “on the other side?”
(1) Here’s how Jesus described the fool in Matt. 7:26-27.
(2) There is happiness and blessing in doing the right thing when we know to do it.
(2) Jno. 13:17.
(a) Jas. 1:25.
(b) Acts 20:32.

Spur - 6/3 /2001 pm