Love Your Enemies
Principles of the Christian Life • Sermon • Submitted
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43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Introduction
Introduction
Our text is taken from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. And our verses begin with a phrase Jesus used no less than five times in this section of His sermon:
“Ye have heard … but I say unto you.”
Each time Jesus used this phrase, He contrasted what His listeners had heard taught by the scribes and Pharisees with what God actually wanted them to do.
What the people had heard were distortions of the Old Testament Law.
Let me give you an example, the Old Testament Law taught that the greatest commandment is to love God wholly and the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
The religious leaders of the day, however, had twisted the second great commandment to say, “Yes, you should love your neighbor, but it’s okay to hate your enemies.”
In fact, this teaching of hating one’s enemies had become a custom among the Jews. In His sermon, Jesus refutes the misinterpretation and practice of the day with His command, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies.”
His words not only went against what His listeners had learned and thought, but also went against our human nature.
When it comes to loving people, there are three categories we might consider:
• Those who are easy to love—These people are nice and have a good disposition. They are willing to help you and are generally easy to get along with.
• Those who are difficult to love—These people are selfish and oblivious to the needs of others. They tend to be more one-sided in their relationship with you. No matter how much you invest in them, they’re always taking without reciprocating your kindness. And they will happily use you for something they want.
• Those who seem impossible to love—These are the people who hate you. They are jealous of you. Their personality clashes with your personality. Possibly, they are even out to get you. You might call them your enemies.
If Christ called us to love the first and even the second group of people, that would be pretty easy. But He calls us to love all people—including our enemies.
The evangelist D. L. Moody once told a story of a little boy in Chicago who attended a Sunday school class regularly. When his parents moved to another part of the city, the boy continued attending the same Sunday school despite having to take a long, tiresome walk to get there.
The boy’s friend asked him why he went so far, given that there were Sunday school classes in other churches nearer his new home.
“They may be as good for others, but not for me,” he answered.
“Why not?” his friend questioned.
“Because they love a fellow over there.”
Moody went on to say, “If only we could make the world believe that we loved them, there would be fewer empty churches and a smaller proportion of our population who never darken a church door. Let love replace duty in our church relations, and the world will soon be evangelized.”
We will never love our enemies if we are only looking for this love in our own hearts…Thankfully, because God has commanded us to love our enemies, He will enable us to do it!
Let’s take a look at three ways we learn to love our enemies...
I-Appreciate The Sacrifice of Love
I-Appreciate The Sacrifice of Love
It’s easy to think that God’s love extends to good people who generally lead a principled and morally upright life, but His love is not for one group of people.
God’s love is infinite…It extends to everyone from an innocent child to a cold-blooded murderer!
God’s love is limitless...
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God’s love is immeasurable...
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
God’s love is inseparable...
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Before we even knew Him, Christ loved us. Despite being enemies with God because of our sin, He came to us. He loved us at our most unlovable state.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
True love comes with a cost.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
He who knew no sin, became sin for us.
You want to know what love is? Look to the cross! The ultimate demonstration of love was when Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place. He paid our penalty for sin.
When we remember the sacrifice of Christ’s love for us, it changes how we see His command to love others.
II-Understand The Specifics of Love
II-Understand The Specifics of Love
Before we can show love to others, we need to understand what it is…
We hear and use the word love so often that we dilute its true definition. We often think of it as a romantic feeling or affection for someone or something, but true love goes much further than a sentimental feeling...
Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 13...
The word charity in these verses come from the Greek word meaning “sacrificial love” - so keep that in mind as we take a look:
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Love, or charity, has to be the driving force in all that we speak, think, and do.
• Speaking right without charity profits nothing.
• Thinking right without charity profits nothing.
• Doing right without charity profits nothing.
Love is not reserved only for the people we favor or those who treat us well. Love is the channel God wants to use in our lives to reach our enemies.
Most of us think we’re doing okay in the area of love. After all, we love our family and friends and are probably even kind to the people we don’t care for as much. But in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, God gives us a way to test our love.
Let’s take a look:
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1. Suffereth long—Love puts up with inconveniences and is slow to lose patience. Love does not demonstrate irritations or have a quick temper. It fully accepts others.
2. Kind—Love looks for ways to be constructive and helpful to others.
3. Envieth not—Love lifts up others rather than self. It is not possessive or controlling of others.
4. Vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up—Love is not proud or stuck up. It does not flaunt itself.
5. Doth not behave itself unseemly—Love is appropriate. It has good manners and respect for others.
6. Seeketh not her own—Love looks for ways to help others. It does not pursue selfish advantages.
7. Is not easily provoked—Love responds properly and is not hyper sensitive or easily hurt. It does not take things personally.
8. Thinketh no evil—Love does not keep an account of evil or a record of the past wrongs of others. It doesn’t assume the worst of another.
9. Rejoiceth not in iniquity—Love does not enjoy what is wrong. It does not gloat or find happiness in the wickedness of others. And it does not use the wrongs of others to justify personal weaknesses.
10. Rejoiceth in the truth—Love is excited about what is right. It is glad when truth prevails.
11. Beareth all things—Love carries the load. It has the ability to live with the inconsistencies or burdens of others.
12. Believeth all things—Love gives another the benefit of the doubt. It believes in the person’s worth without question.
13. Hopeth all things—Love always hopes for the best in another, and where there is sin or failure, love hopes for future growth.
14. Endureth all things—Love keeps on keeping on no matter what. It is able to outlast obstacles and even unreturned love.
God’s definition of love is higher and purer than ours, isn’t it?
This is the kind of love that God wants to produce in each of us.
Guess what? We can’t conjure up this love in our own strength! We are incapable!
This brings us to:
III-Yield To The Spirit of Love
III-Yield To The Spirit of Love
Because loving our enemies goes against our nature, we need to rely completely on the Lord. He is the only one who can make His love flow through us into the lives of other people.
How do we yield to the spirit of love?
Love God...
Love God...
If we do not love God wholly, we will never be able to love others biblically.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
When we consider all that God has done for us, especially in His great work of salvation, our love toward God would not be merely out of duty, but out of delight. And when we love God with all our being, what is important to Him becomes important to us too.
Love Others...
Love Others...
A moment ago we saw the “first and great commandment” is to love God. But that commandment is followed by the command to love our neighbor.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The standard for loving our neighbors is to love them as ourselves.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The world should be able to see a difference in our compassion for others. This includes a love for the saved as well for the lost.
Think about what we read earlier in 1 Corinthians…Now look at this:
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Instead of following our flesh, God calls us to relinquish control and surrender to the leading of the Spirit. When we empty ourselves and allow the Spirit to fill us, we will be able to love our enemies as God commands us to.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Christ’s example becomes ours to emulate. When we choose to love everyone, including our enemies, we identify ourselves with Christ. And when we yield to the Holy Spirit, He produces in us His love for others.
You and I have been the recipients of God’s love. Now it is our opportunity to yield to the Spirit and be channels of His love.