Loving our Enemies

Open: Attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The shooter evidently considered Trump to be his enemy and his solution was to try to kill him.

Transition: The attempt highlights the current polarization of our country. Certain members of both parties would have their people demonize and hate members of the other party. While there is certainly room for civil disagreement of political positions, hating the other side is out of bounds, especially for those who are also citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Contrast of Worldviews:

Those who have a naturalistic understanding of how the world operates are called secularist. This simply means they have no concept of God (atheists) or they have an unbiblical and limited understanding of a god who is not involved in life as we know it (Deists). The secularist rejects the supernatural! The secular view has no problem with hating those who hold to a different position than their own. The natural perspective may not call people to hate, but because it emphasizes personal autonomy and seeking one’s best interest, it has no binding principle to call people to restraint. Hate directed towards opponents is understandable and acceptable.

The Christian Worldview has a higher standard. Christians understand that not only did God create everything, He is also directly involved in His creation. World History is moving according to His plan and His purposes, and His followers are bound by His moral law as revealed in His Word. KC’s are prohibited from hating those who oppose them. Instead of hate, KC’s are commanded to love their enemies.

The Pharisees had mangled and twisted this teaching as well as the previous ones, and once again we find Jesus calling them out as false teachers and giving the correct understanding of God’s law.

KC’s have a responsibility for knowing the Word (Matt 5:43)

Satan is a created being and his power is less (way, way less) than that of God. Satan, however, is an ancient being with great cunning. When dealing with religious people, satan is smart enough not to just throw out a complete lie - he gives part of the truth and then twists and corrupts it. This is what is presented in Matt. 5:43. The Pharisees were using a direct quotation from Leviticus 19:18, but they left off two (2) crucial words at the end. And then they added a phrase on their own.

What did they leave off? The words as yourself. When we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, it completely changes how we actually treat other people.

What did they add? They added the phrase “and hate thine enemy.” This is a complete distortion of God’s Word. God never commanded His people to hate others on a personal level. Yes, God did institute a Holy War when He led the Israelites to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan for their gross immorality and wickedness, but God never calls for His children to hate other image-bearers on a personal level.

KC’s have a responsibility to live out the challenge of loving and praying for our enemies (Matt 5:44)

Explanation: In His corrective to the false teaching of the Pharisees, Jesus instructs citizens of His kingdom to the high road of loving and praying for those who oppose them.

The type of love in this text is agape - the same type of unconditional love that Jesus has for us. He did not wait for us to agree with Him or to clean ourselves up before He loved us. Agape-type love is sacrificial and giving, which means we CAN love those who oppose us and hurt us (emotionally, socially, or physically).

This does NOT, however, mean that we are called to agree with the position of our opponents. Jesus steadfastly opposed the religious hypocrites and never compromised His stand against sin. We are not called to cave in to the pressure exerted by those who are opposed to the Christian worldview - we are simply called to love them.

How do we love those who are on the complete opposite side from us, and who are in the process of attacking us (ridicule, mocking, intimidation tactics, physical violence)? We are called to pray for them. Praying for your opponent may or may not change them, but it will certainly change your outlook. When you pray for an enemy, you will discover that God will change your heart.

KC’s are called to be witnesses for the King and His Kingdom (Matt 5:45)

Explanation: Jesus then gives an important result of our loving and praying for our enemies. He tells us that when we do this we display to the world our allegiance to Him as our King. The loving and praying do not qualify us for being in His kingdom; they are evidences that we are already in His kingdom. KC’s live in a manner that is distinct from those with a secular worldview, and it should be apparent to those who are watching. Jesus did command His followers to “let your light shine” (Matt 5:16) and this is a specific thing we can do to fulfill this command. Our obedience in this results in the Father receiving the glory!

KC’s are to rely on the provision of God to fulfill this high level of Kingdom living (Matt 5:46-48)

Explanation: Jesus ends this section with two penetrating questions followed by a command. Before He asks the questions, Jesus comments on what is termed common grace. This is the term theologians use to communicate the reality that ALL people benefit from God’s blessings in the natural world. God does not withhold sunlight and rain on unbelievers. Throughout His creation, unbelievers have experienced health, wealth, enjoyment of natural beauty, and the love of family. God is benevolent and good to the undeserving. This is a good thing because NONE OF US deserve His goodness and His grace!

This comment about common grace gives an extra emphasis to Jesus’ questions. He is basically stating, “if you love them that love you,” so what? Even unbelievers love the people that love them, so if you can only achieve the same level as unbelievers, what kind of witness is that? The second question is along the same lines.

Application: We CAN achieve a higher level of response than unbelievers. Remember that this series of six topics is an illustration of the principle that the righteousness of a Kingdom Citizen is to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees (cf Matt. 5:20). Jesus said that unless our righteousness exceeds theirs, we cannot enter the Kingdom! This is a very serious warning that we do well to heed.

This leads us to the concluded statement of this entire section where Jesus issues a challenging command. He commands us to “be perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Many commentators have tried to soften this command with an understanding that perfection is interpreted as complete, which means that we are called to be people of integrity or wholeness.

While this lowers the expectation and makes it easier to achieve, this interpretation falls short. Jesus IS calling us to live according to a standard of perfection just like the perfection that is found in God. Understood this way the command will bring us to our knees - for we know that we are incapable.

That is the essence of Kingdom Life. The Christian Life is NOT just difficult; it is impossible! We cannot live the Kingdom principles that Jesus sets forth in this sermon. This points us to our need for Him to live it out through us.

Galatians 2:20 KJV 1900

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We are commanded to be perfect just as the Father is perfect; therefore we MUST be surrendered to Christ who is the ONLY one capable of pulling this off!