Enemies and Kingdom Citizens

Introduction: Jesus wants to have a Word with us about our Enemies. More particularly about loving your enemies. Wow! Loving our enemies. Now, that goes against everything the world teaches today.

Do you think America is a good example of people loving their enemies? I don’t think so. What is missing in our culture today is a proper understanding of the value of a human soul.

Where does the idea of loving our neighbor come from? It is taken from Leviticus 19:18

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Who shared those words? God (The LORD, Jehovah) gave them to Moses. And Moses wrote them down for the children of Israel.

So, how can we learn to love our enemies? Let’s dive into our text and discover the how in loving our enemies.

I. Understand the Scripture – 5:43

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

During the time of Christ many believed that it was to hate those who are their enemies. In Leviticus 19:18, the passage that Jesus is quoting from states that we are to love our neighbors. It says nothing about hating our enemies. It is believed that the second half of what Jesus spoke was added by rabbinical tradition. And we all know far too well that many people love tradition (above Scripture) – “and they hate their enemies.”

In the discovery of the Qumran Manual of Discipline 1QS 1:4 the following words were written, “hate all that he has rejected.” (Liberty Bible Commentary). There are a lot of people who live by those words.

In Winchester, Idaho Debbie and I had a neighbor (lived right next door) who told me in no uncertain terms that he hated the Japanese for what they did to America at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When he spoke to me, he called the Japanese, “dirty Japs”. He told me that he would never ever like the “dirty Japs”. He saw them as his enemies.

The Jews believed that they didn’t have to love their enemies either. You see, they assumed that if you loved your neighbor that the opposite was to hate your enemies. Again, this is what they learned through tradition. Anyone outside of their community were not their neighbors, and they believed that it was all right for them hate all outsiders.

One author penned, “Nowhere does the Old Testament advocate hating one’s enemies. However, this seemed to many of the Jewish religious teachers to be the natural opposite of loving one’s neighbor. After all, had not God commanded the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites and the Amalekites, and to not treat the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites kindly? Do the imprecatory psalms not call down God’s wrath on the psalmist’s enemies? Did not Jesus Himself pronounce woes on the Pharisees and scribes (Matthew 23)?”

Well, as we come to this section of Jesus’ sermon, He turns this thinking on its head. Look with me at what Jesus taught.

II. Grasp what Jesus taught – 5:44

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Underline the words, “But I say to you,” What Jesus is going to do here is correct our misunderstanding of what we thought we understood about Leviticus 19:18. Jesus is going to instruct Kingdom Citizens how not to just love our neighbors, but how to love our enemies. Jesus’ truth here is truly a LOVE REVOLUTION!

Is it possible to love our enemies? Jesus is going to provide us the How To…

Four Spiritual Ways to Respond to Your Enemies

1. Love your enemies.

The first thing Jesus says is, “love your enemies,”

The Greek word for “love” here is “agape”. It is a supernatural love that only flows from God. We can only love our enemies when it has been given to us by God. This is not a love that we somehow self-create or stir up from within. It is Holy Spirit infused love. It is not based on feelings, but on action (requires our obedience to Jesus’ teachings). We love because we know it is the right thing to do. It is the God thing to do.

Who are our enemies? It would be anyone who would not have our well-being in mind. As the text says, it would include those who curse us, hate us, and spitefully use us, and even persecute us. Do you have any enemies? Does the Church have any enemies? Does Jesus Christ have any enemies?

The answer is: Yes, we all have enemies. People who are antagonistic towards us. Those who despise what we stand for as Christians.

How does Jesus change up the prevailing ideology of the time? That it was okay to hate your enemies. Well, He tells His Kingdom Citizens how to rightfully respond to their enemies. In verse 44, we discover practical steps towards loving one’s enemies. Can I remind us that “love” is a verb which requires action. Jesus tells us how to “act” towards those who do not have our best interest in mind. Jesus taught,

2. Bless those who curse you.

The word “bless” means “to speak well of.” In other words, we are to speak well of those who do not speak well of us. This is an opposite that is a spiritual choice. It is a matter of the will. We make the decision to either do what Jesus taught here, or not to.

Hear me – Sometimes it is better to say nothing about an enemy than to say something evil about them. It may just be best to keep our mouths closed.

3. Do good to those who hate you.

How can we do good to those who hate us? First, do not respond in kind. Second, speak words of life. Third, we initiate responses which demonstrate “good” which is a part of the character of God.

· Kindness

· Kind words

· Kind actions

Our enemies will shake their heads when we choose to “do good” to them when they are only doing evil to us.

4. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

One author wrote, “Prayer for someone’s welfare is one specific manifestation of love for that person.” He continued, “The surest way of killing bitterness is to pray for the man we are tempted to hate.”

The Greek word for “prayer” here means to “supplicate” or “make prayer” for. We must add our enemies to our daily prayer list.

Which of these things have you put into practice with someone you found hard to love? Which of these steps do you think Jesus would want us to put into practice? All of them. Love – Bless – do good – and pray for our enemies.

Our enemies may turn to Jesus Christ when we truly respond in a God-like way. We must seek to win over the haters.

Example of the Enemies around Us

Just off the Clagstone Road, East of the Spirit Lake Cut Off Road one Christian family had a neighbor who shot their dog in their backyard. And he did so while their children were out playing in the backyard. What a nut, right?

How do you love an enemy like that?

About a year ago a lady in the church shared with me about a neighbor that threatened to kill her son (an adult son) if he stepped foot on their property. What a nut, right?

How do you love an enemy like that?

In and of ourselves we can’t. Naturally we want to hate people like that. However, all those who belong to God are not natural, we are spiritual, and we are now to respond in a supernatural way. We have something the world does not possess, and that is the Holy Spirit. He empowers us to live godly in a godless world. We must not act like the world when Jesus Christ dwells in us. His presence ought to make a difference in us.

Here is a secret to loving your enemies. Scripture tells us,

Romans 12:21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Do to your enemies what they would least expect. Send them a box of Crumble cookies.

III. Exemplify your heavenly Father – 5:45

45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Some people wrongful interpret this verse that if we love our enemies that it makes us sons of God – works based salvation. That is not what is being taught here. No, loving our enemies doesn’t make us Christians, but it does prove that we are already Kingdom Citizens. It is the proof in the pudding. The pudding in this case is our Christianity and the proof is our love for our enemies.

Isn’t this what God did? Did He not love us, His enemies (Romans 5:10). It was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross, that put Jesus to death, and yet God forgave us, and welcomed us into His forever family.

Have you heard this statement before: Like Father like Son?

Consider the way God loves all people – saved and unsaved, friends and foes alike. Jesus taught His disciples that God showers His goodness on all people. And He does so in two ways. We read,

· He (God) makes His sun rise on the evil and the good.

· And sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Sunshine and rain are two elements that all people need. We all need light (vitamin D), and we all need rain. We can’t survive without water (ask California). Herein we see that God loves the evil and the good, and the just and the unjust. That’s all people.

Dr. Tony Evans writes, “It’s a reminder that God doesn’t show kindness only to believers. He extends common grace to all, meaning that there are certain blessings that he gives to all people.”

Some people see the sunshine and the rain as good and bad days that come upon all people. You can look at it that way. Surely most people would think that God was unfair and terrible if He only allowed the wicked to face hardship. However, God is not a respecter of persons, and He allows all people to face good days, and bad days.

I personally would rather see this verse in the positive light. It speaks to us about God’s goodness to all people – the evil and the good, and the just and the unjust.

IV. Take love to another level – 5:46-47

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

It’s easy to love those who love you back – children, grandchildren, parents, friends. Jesus said, “what reward have you?” There is no reward for loving those who love you because that’s what all men do.

Kingdom Citizens are to practice what all men do not necessarily do. Most people do not love their enemies.

The Tax Collector

Jesus shares an example in those who collected Jewish taxes. He said, “Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Tax collectors were hated and despised. They were looked upon as traitors to their own people because they collected taxes on behalf of the Roman government, and often stole from the people by collecting more taxes than what were required. And yet, tax collectors loved other tax collectors.

We can also see this same principle in our present age. Today I could say,

· Sinners love other sinners.

And Jesus continued by saying, “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”

I want us to focus on the words, “do more than others.” Kingdom Citizens are called upon to do more than what other people around us do – we are to go beyond what the world displays. I mean, we all know that drug users and prostitutes greet each other. Do we do anything more than what others do? Are we different as Kingdom Citizens? Tax collectors greet one another – those like them. Do we greet people who are so UNLIKE us?

Christian people must stand out from the rest of the crowd. Our love for lost people (including our enemies) is an eternal investment in people.

V. Become fully mature – 5:48

48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Let’s carefully walk through this final verse. This verse is the real key to understanding this entire fifth chapter of Matthew. Look at what Jesus taught,

“Therefore” - This word means, considering everything we have heard from Jesus in Matthew 5, this is how Kingdom Citizens are to live. This is Christ’s summary statement. Don’t miss it. This is extremely powerful, and the key to loving our enemies. What is it? Jesus says,

“you shall be perfect,”- What is you take on the word “perfect”? Would you consider yourself perfect? I know I’m not – just ask my wife. This word is not talking about sinless perfection, but a striving to be Christlike. We should desire to be more and more like Jesus Christ.

The Greek for “perfect” is “teleious”. I like so say that word – teleious! It carries the idea of mental and moral completeness, mature (1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 5:14, 6:1), full of age, “be a” man. The idea is that we must do what God would do when it comes to enemies. What did Jesus do? He actually asked His Father to forgive those who crucified Him. That’s love for one’s enemies.

Leon J. Davis writes, “You are to be complete; says Jesus, “Spiritually mature – in love – in purity – in mercy – in righteousness; in keeping not only the letter of the Law, but the spirit of God’s commandments.” (Bible Knowledge).

“just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” – As Kingdom Citizens we are to strive to be like our Father. He loved us when we were His enemies. We are to love our enemies like God loved us. And I remind us the only way this is possible is by total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: So, what have we learned from Jesus in this section of Matthew 5? Here is what we are to walk away with from our time in God’s word.

1. We are to love our neighbors. It is a given!

2. We are to love our enemies. It’s the godly thing to do. Can you think of any enemies you might have that you need to love?

3. We are to bless, do good, and pray for our enemies. When? Starting today. Do what your enemies wouldn’t expect you to do – love them.

4. We love because He first loved us – it shows our true faith in Christ. We reflect our heavenly Father when we love those who do not have our best interest in mind.

5. We are to take love to the next level – our love is to be different than what we see in the world. The world loves its own, and we are called to love those who may not love us.

6. We are to present a mature (perfect) love – a mature grown-up love. We are to strive to be like our Father.

Remember John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world…”