Living the Kingdom: Everyday Ordinary Radicals

Sermon Title: Living the Kingdom: Love Like The Radical

Text: Primary: Luke 6:27–36

Supporting: Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:13–14

Thesis:

God's character begins with righteousness. From His holiness flow both justice and mercy. Those who have received Christ's love are set free to respond to injustice—not with retaliation or apathy—but with a witness of love that embodies the justice, mercy, and the holiness of God that brings the Divine Kingdom to earth.

I. The Radical Call of Jesus: Love in the Face of Injustice

(Luke 6:27–36)

Context

Jesus has just pronounced blessings and woes in Luke 6, reminding listeners to posture themselves in dependency on God whether in joy or sorrow, wealth or poverty. The posture of righteousness—being in right relationship with God—grounds all that follows. What do I mean by this? Through the lens of God’s righteousness the outward christian expression manifests in the world. This becomes the frame through which all interpretation, judgement, and action take place. It is a hard teaching. I imagine Jesus’s listeners are already taken aback, he may have lost many of them already. You would think at this point Jesus is gonna shift gears and bring some light and feel good teaching. Only instead of getting easier, Jesus pushes harder, and his audience is likely standing there dumbfounded.

I am reminded of the question that almost immediately presents as a curse with the onset of worse circumstances “How could things get any worse?”

Jesus begins to teach about loving enemies. To us, it may feel like a shift, but it is, in fact, the application of righteousness. Jesus speaks to his disciples and to the crowd who are under Roman oppression, religious corruption, and systemic injustice. These are not people in power. They are victims. And to them, Jesus gives one of His most jarring commands.

“But I say to you who listen, love your enemies…” (v.27)

The Greek word translated "but" is ἀλλά (al-la)—a strong adversative conjunction that draws a sharp contrast with what came before. Jesus is not moving on; He is digging deeper. The phrase “I say to you who listen” uses the verb ἀκούω (akouō)—the same verb behind the Hebrew shema: to hear and obey. Jesus is issuing a command, not a suggestion. To the follower of Jesus— this is non-negotiable.

The commands that follow are all present active imperatives:

ἀγαπᾶτε (agapate) — love your enemies continuously.

ποιεῖτε (poieite) — do good without stopping.

εὐλογεῖτε (eulogeite) — bless those who curse you.

προσεύχεσθε (proseuchesthe) — pray for your abusers.

This is not passive. It is active, subversive love. It is kingdom justice, a justice not rooted in revenge but in redemption.

Key Verse: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (v.36)

And this is going to be really hard to hear. If you're still listening, I'm going to push you further than you thought possible. Jesus doesn’t lower the bar—He raises it. The justice of God, revealed in Jesus, is beyond human comprehension and can only be received and lived out through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. What is impossible for man is possible with God. We cannot on our own live in such a way. Only through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling Spirit of God are we able to live into the Divine Vision of the Upside Down Kingdom.

Point: The call to love is not based on the worthiness of the other, but on the character of God.

We may have been raised to think that only the deserving deserve what they deserve. We cling as protestant Americans to “An eye for an eye”. You did wrong to me or harmed me and now you get what is coming to you. It is the basis for our Criminal Justice System:

In legal theory, justice typically includes:

Distributive justice – fair allocation of resources and rights.

Procedural justice – fair and consistent application of legal procedures.

Retributive justice – fair punishment for wrongdoing.

Restorative justice – repairing harm and restoring relationships after wrongdoing.

But in a punitive based system, where is the Divine Kingdom? We get hung up on that word “Deserve” but forget all too quickly that we deserve something too. Because of our sin and rebellion from God we deserved death. The cost, the penalty of transgression against an all loving, all righteous, all just, all powerful, and eternal being is death. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Illustration: Naaman

Remember the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5? He was an enemy commander who had pillaged Israel, likely destroyed homes, and enslaved a young girl. Naaman suffered from leprosy and likely would die from it. That slave girl had every reason to hope for his death. But instead, she pointed him to the prophet Elisha. Naaman was healed, transformed, and became a worshiper of Yahweh. What made this possible? A love not rooted in worthiness but in God's mercy.

Jesus tells the people who brought out the woman caught in the act of adultery that they who are without sin are to cast the first stone. Now, before I lose you, hear me. Jesus tells the crowd to examine themselves before they can execute judgment on another. Jesus does not let the woman off the hook. He holds her accountable and tells her she is not to go and act in sin again. Her penalty was taken by Jesus leaving her free to live a new life: accountable but restored.

II. The Law of Love: The Fulfillment of Righteousness

(Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:13–14)

Paul teaches that love is the fulfillment of the law:

An act of mercy on behalf of another opens the door to a transformed life. Because of of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts we are free to live in a way that changes the world and redeems people. We are a people freed to grace to live the law of love.

This does become an accretion to antinomianism or that we throw out the Criminal Justice System. We are held to a standard and live in a country governed by laws. We know how we are called to live and allow the state to handle its enforcement of laws but we do not act as enforcers ourselves.“Owe no one anything, except to love each other... love does no wrong to a neighbor.” (Romans 13:8,10)

“Through love serve one another… the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13–14)

Love is not license. It is not soft. It is not mere tolerance. Love is liberation for holy living—for fulfilling God's justice, not replacing it.

Point: Love isn’t the absence of justice—it is the fulfillment of true justice when rooted in Christ.

Illustration: The Count of Monte Cristo

In Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, a wrongfully imprisoned man finds justice not by vengeance but through a deeper, almost divine sense of reparation. A priest etches on a cell wall: "God will grant me justice." And so he does. True justice belongs to God and flows from His mercy. Justice is handled by God for us not by us.

Jesus tells the Pharisees: “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Matthew 9:13)

Now for the Great Exchange. I am handing over the whole issue of justice to God. Now we have to offer grace where normally we would want revenge or justice. It doesn’t matter if they wrong us again because God carries those things. God is the best in dispensing justice.

III. A Wesleyan Prescription: Love that Acts Justly

Our tradition teaches that God's grace is not abstract—it is lived. Wesleyan theology gives us a threefold lens:

A. Prevenient Grace: Grace Awakens Us to Injustice

Before we respond, God is already at work. He awakens us to see injustice not as bystanders but as called participants.

B. Justifying Grace: Love Liberates Us to Respond

In Christ, we are no longer bound by fear, vengeance, or apathy. We are forgiven and therefore free to love radically.

C. Sanctifying Grace: Holiness Compels Us to Act

True holiness is not withdrawal, but engagement. It means building the bridge to the criminal, the pedophile, the murderer, the thief, the drug dealer and everyone else that the world tells us you don’t have to love.

Point: Wesley said, “There is no holiness but social holiness.” Our love is not mere sentiment—it is service, advocacy, and witness.

IV. The Witness of Love in a World of Injustice

When we respond to hatred with love, we display the Kingdom of God.

Loving our enemies doesn't deny justice—it reveals the higher justice of the cross. This kind of love disarms evil, exposes injustice, and opens hearts.

Illustration: John Wesley visited prisoners, spoke against slavery, and helped the poor—not by violence, but by gospel-fueled action.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood… but against spiritual forces of evil." Our enemies are not people, but the sin and systems that enslave them.

If you think showing mercy and forgiveness is hard, remember what God endured. He sent His Son, and we killed Him. And yet He chose the cross.

People are not our enemies. They are opportunities to be witnesses.

Conclusion: The King and His Mother

There was once a beloved king who discovered that someone had been stealing from the royal treasury. He declared, "When caught, the thief will receive ten lashes." But the theft continued. He raised the penalty to twenty, then to forty—a death sentence.

Finally, the thief was caught. It was his own mother.

His advisors begged him to revoke the punishment. But the king insisted: justice must be upheld. As the executioner prepared to strike, the king cried, "Stop!"

He walked to his mother, wrapped his arms around her, and ordered, "Proceed."

He bore the punishment himself.

That is justice fulfilled in love. That is the Cross.

Romans 3:26: *"So that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Final Charge

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

The justice of God is not vengeance—it is restorative, redemptive, and rooted in love.

Invitation:

Where do you need to forgive?

Where is God calling you to act?

Where can your witness of love shine in a world of injustice?

Response Options:

A prayer of confession for responding with silence or resentment.

A call to support a justice ministry, seek reconciliation, or take a step of love in action.

May we be a people whose justice flows not from retribution, but from radical, Christlike love.