How We Should Resemble Our Heavenly Father

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 1, 2013

(Revised January 29, 2021)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 5:43. When we got to vs. 43-48 last week, we spent our time focused on the last verse where Jesus said, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

*Remember that the original word for "perfect" here does not necessarily mean sinless perfection, even though our Heavenly Father is perfectly sinless. Ray Scott explained that this word for "perfect" can also mean "full-grown, mature, complete, working well, fully instructed, and reaching your goal." (1)

*In fact, this same original word is translated as "those who are of full age" in Hebrews 5:14, and in 1 Corinthians 14:20 it is translated as "men," "mature," or "adult."

*God wants all of us to be growing into mature followers of Jesus Christ. He wants us to become more like our Heavenly Father every day. But we will never get there in our own strength. We must have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He is the only person who has ever lived up to the perfect standards of God.

*Michael Luke described it this way: "Jesus was arrested, roughed up, insulted by the police. The authorities spat on Him, blindfolded Him, and slapped Him in the face. Then the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus by crowning Him with thorns, putting a purple robe on Him, and putting a reed in His hand as a make-believe scepter. They jeered at Him, 'Hail King of the Jews!' Then they scourged Him.

*Jesus had the power to strike them blind, paralyze their hands, choke them on their own spit, and condemn them to hell. But with divine dignity, the Lord held His peace. And when they nailed Him to a cross, Jesus prayed, "Father forgive them." He did not return evil for evil, but turned the other cheek. (2)

*Then Jesus died on the cross for us, so that our sins could be washed away by His blood, and we could be righteous in His sight. Jesus died so that we could live forever in perfection as part of the family of God.

*All of this and much more happens when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So, the bottom line last week was this: Make sure you belong to the Father's family by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

*Tonight, we will see how being in God's family should affect the way we live. Please think about this as we read Matthew 5:43-48.

INTRODUCTION:

*It's funny how people in families resemble one another. My brother was taller than me, and he looked more like my dad. But our voices were so much alike that even our mother couldn't tell which son she was talking to on the phone.

*There will always be some kinds of resemblance in families, and I'm not just talking about our physical appearance. I'm talking about the way we talk, our mannerisms, our quirks, our habits and our attitudes.

*What's true about our earthly families is also true about God's Heavenly family: THERE WILL BE A FAMILY RESEMBLANCE. That's because saved people are born again into God's family by the Holy Spirit.

*The Lord explained this to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6:

3. Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''

4. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?''

5. Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

*"You must be born again," Jesus said. The reason why is because physical birth can only give physical life. Horses produce horses. Dogs produce dogs. And mortal people produce mortal people. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."

*But "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In other words, "That which is given birth by God's Holy Spirit is spirit. The Holy Spirit produces a new kind of person by a new kind of birth: Spiritual birth that gives us God's eternal life.

*When we are born again, we get a brand new nature, so we can and we should begin to resemble our Heavenly Father. Jesus shows us how.

1. AND FIRST: IT'S BY LOVING OUR ENEMIES.

*In vs. 43-44 Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies . . ."

*Going in, it's important for us to know that the scribes and Pharisees had twisted God's Word. The LORD did not tell us to hate our enemies. The command in Leviticus 19:18 was "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."

*Unfortunately, the scribes and Pharisees had twisted God's Word in two ways. First, they left something out. They should have said, "Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF." Then they added the teaching to "hate your enemy." Those religious leaders had twisted the Scripture the same ways cults do today, by adding to and taking away from the Word of God.

*Mark Adams explained that "The people listening to Jesus' sermon that day had heard it said that they should hate their enemies. But they didn't hear that from God. He had told them to love their neighbors, but the Pharisees had added the last part. And Jesus responded to this common teaching by saying, 'No, -- if you want to be like God, you must act in love toward all people, even those who persecute you.'

*But please note that Jesus did not say, 'Love the way your enemies live. Love the things they do. Defend their evil practices.' No. Jesus was talking about us loving spiritually blind people who know nothing about God's power and love." He was talking about us loving our enemies with God's kind of undeserved, agape love. (3)

*Melvin Newland described this God-kind of love and said: "It is not the kind of romantic love seen on TV and movie screens today. Rather, it is the desire to do that which is the very best for the object of our love. We may not personally like the person we are told to love, but we still seek the very best for that person." (4)

*William Barclay explained agape love this way: "If we regard a person with agape love, it means that no matter what that person does to us, no matter how he treats us, no matter if he insults us or injures us or grieves us, we will never allow any bitterness against him to invade our hearts. Instead, we will regard him with unconquerable compassion and goodwill which will seek nothing but his highest good." (5)

*Christians: Our godly love is inspired by God's abundant love for us, because we recognize that without Jesus Christ, we also were enemies of God. Paul explained this truth perfectly in Romans 5:6-10, and there he said:

6. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

*Our agape love is inspired by God's agape love for us, and it is abundantly supplied to us by God's Holy Spirit. In Romans 5:5 Paul tells us that God's "hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

*God has already inspired us and supplied with an overflow of His agape love. All we have to do is let His love flow through us by keeping our eyes on our Savior Jesus Christ.

*And loving our enemies matters because 260 million Christians live in the top 50 countries where believers face dangerous levels of persecution. I'm talking about places like North Korea, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan.

*This month, "Open Doors" reported that the number of Christians killed in 2020 went up 60% over the year before. They also reported that anti-Christian governments around the world have used COVID-19 restrictions to persecute God's Church. That's no surprise because we have also seen it here in the United States. (6)

*People around the world are suffering for Christ, and someday someone may mistreat you for your faith in Jesus. But God wants us to respond with His kind of agape love. And we can do it because He has inspired us and supplied us with His love.

*A man called Lamak is a great example for us. Our International Mission Board reported his story in 2004. Lamak is a former Muslim from South Asia who suffered terribly for the Lord. They changed his name to Lamak for security reasons. He was born into a wealthy and powerful Muslim family, but while he was working in Singapore, Lamak turned his life over to Jesus Christ.

*When he went home four years later, Lamak took the risk of sharing Jesus with his family. His father-in-law was so enraged that he had Lamak strapped to a chair, then used live electric wires to try to force Lamak to renounce the Lord. But this young man refused to deny Christ.

*Today Lamak has scars on his arms from the torture. But he uses these scars to share his testimony with other people. They ask Lamak about his scars, and he tells them about Jesus!

*Lamak has also worked with our short-term mission workers. At the time of the story, he had helped plant 32 churches and had baptized 500 Muslim background believers. Lamak would have never done any of those wonderful things if he didn't love his enemies. But he does love his enemies! And that's what the Lord wants us to do. (7)

*How should we resemble our Heavenly Father? -- By loving our enemies.

2. AND BY BLESSING THOSE WHO CURSE US.

*As Jesus also said in vs. 44: "Bless those who curse you."

*Well, to "bless" in that verse means to "speak well of" or "praise" someone. The original word is where we get our word "eulogy." To "curse" someone is to "to declare them to be evil or detestable; denounce them, doom them or call down harm upon them." And there are certainly people who curse us that way today. They say all kinds of vile things about us, simply because we are Bible-believing Christians.

*Many years ago, I heard a Christ-rejecting commentator on National Public Radio mock the fact that we believe in the soon coming rapture of God's Church. But he closed by saying it would be a good thing if all Christians suddenly disappeared from the planet. Over the last 20 years, that sentiment has grown exponentially more hateful. Countless news reports and comments on social media prove how bad it has gotten in the United States.

*No doubt, some of those people hate Christians enough to kill us if they could. But remember that in John 15:18-19, Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

*How can we bless people like that when they curse us? John Gill helped by explaining that "blessing here, does not mean praising them, for that would be sinful." Rather, this blessing means to "give good words, use kind language, mild and soft expressions, such as may either win them, or put them to shame and silence." As 1 Peter 3:9 says, "Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." (8)

*How should we resemble our Heavenly Father? -- By blessing those who curse us.

3. AND BY DOING GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE US.

*In vs. 44, Jesus also said: "Do good to those who hate you." Paul expanded on this command in Romans 12:17-21, and said:

17. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

18. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

19. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,'' says the Lord.

20. Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.''

21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

*John Gill explained that these "coals of fire" had nothing to do with heaping flaming punishment on our enemies. Instead, the idea is that when we show kindness to the people who hate us, they might become ashamed of their cruel ways, respond to godly love, and put their trust in Jesus Christ. (9)

*When we do good to those who hate us, wonderful things can happen. Our kindness can demonstrate the kindness of our Savior, and sometimes our kindness will melt a heart as hard as stone.

*Michael Luke told about a tough drill sergeant whose life once overflowed with many kinds of sin. The sergeant was arrogant and cruel to his men. But he became a Christian and God turned his life around.

*Someone asked what made the difference, and the sergeant spoke of a private in his platoon who was a courageous Christian in his outlook and behavior. This private was frequently harassed by others but was faithful to Jesus Christ.

*One night the private came into the barracks quite late. It was a very rainy night. Before getting into his bunk, he knelt, as usual to pray. The sergeant was in a foul mood that night, and he picked up one of his boots, heavy with wet mud. Then he threw it across the room, hitting the private in the side of the head. The private said nothing. He wiped the mud from his face and crawled into bed.

*But the next morning, the sergeant woke up to see his muddy boots cleaned and polished by his bed. He said: "It broke my heart." And he received Christ as His Lord and Savior. (2)

*Doing good to someone who hates you can change their life for all eternity. God could use your loving-kindness to point them to Jesus. But even if they never trust in the Lord, we need to do good to them anyway, because that's what our Heavenly Father does! As Jesus said in vs. 45, "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

*How should we resemble our Heavenly Father? -- By doing good to those who hate us.

4. AND BY PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE US AND PERSECUTE US.

*Jesus closed out vs. 44 by saying, "Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

*Geoff Baggett explained that "Jesus was talking about good prayers here. He wasn't talking about asking God to send an earthquake and swallow them into the abyss or something like that. Jesus is talking about genuinely going to God on behalf of the people who persecute you. . .

*And Geoff asked, "Do you see the genius of this command? -- It's hard to hate someone when you are praying for them." And hopefully they will change like that bitter drill sergeant. But Christians: Even if they don't change, WE WILL CHANGE as God pours out more of His agape love in our hearts. So, the first step to loving our enemies and dealing with our personal conflicts is to start praying for those people." (10)

*Again in vs. 43-48 Jesus said:

43. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

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,

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.

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?

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

CONCLUSION:

*How in the world are we going to live up to these godly standards? -- It starts with being born-again by trusting in the only person who ever got it perfectly right, and that is Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead. So, when we believe in Jesus and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, we are born again with a brand new nature, and we start to resemble our Heavenly Father.

*Ray Stedman explained, "When God's life becomes your life, you can expect many changes. It may take a while. There is growth involved. You are like a new baby at first, but watch: you cannot be the same person. You cannot go on the way you were. If you do, you have never been born again. When you get in touch with the life of God, things are going to be different." (11)

*If God is truly our Heavenly Father, then we will begin to think and feel and act the way He does. There will be a family resemblance. But that doesn't mean we will be flawless yet.

*Pastor Watchman Nee told about a new Christian who came to see him in deep distress. That new believer said, "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I'm losing my salvation!"

*Pastor Nee wisely replied, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained. He never makes a mess. He is obedient. He is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess. He throws his food around. He fouls his clothes. He is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? -- Not my dog. My son is my heir." (12)

*And Christians, we are children of God, not through our perfection, but by the Lord's death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. That's why in 1 John 3:2, the Apostle John could say, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

*God is still in the transformation business! -- As Paul prayed in 2 Thessalonians 5:23-24, "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

*Christians: God is still in the transformation business! Trust Him to finish what He’s started in your life.

(1) Sources:

-Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Words of Distinction: Perfect" by Ray Scott - Matthew 5:48

-STRONG'S HEBREW AND GREEK DICTIONARIES - from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D. - Published in 1890; public domain.

-THAYER'S GREEK DEFINITIONS - Published in 1886, 1889; public domain.

-WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - Matthew 5:48

(2) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Love Your Enemies" by Michael Luke - Matthew 5:38-48

(3) Redlandbaptist.org sermon "What Does a Godly Person Look Like?" - Series: The Sermon on the Mount - by Mark Adams - January 7, 2007 - Matthew 5:33-48

(4) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Just like Your Father" by Melvin Newland - Matthew 5:43-48

(5) Adapted from BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "Christian Love" - Matthew 5:43-48 - https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/matthew-5.html

(6) Sources:

-"Persecuted Christians Are Not Given Much Hope In 2020" by Ewelina U. Ochab - Feb 18, 2020 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2020/02/18/persecuted-christians-are-not-given-much-hope-in-2020/?sh=7f74af646889

-"60% rise in Christians killed worldwide in 2020: Open Doors report" by Jackson Elliott, Christian Post Reporter - Thursday, January 14, 2021 - https://www.christianpost.com/news/open-doors-finds-60-rise-in-christians-killed-worldwide-in-2020.html

(7) IMB Lottie Moon illustration - 2004

(10) SermonCentral sermon "SURVIVOR 7: How to Survive Conflict" by Geoff Baggett - Matthew 5:43-48

(11) Online sermon: "Born of the Spirit" by Ray C. Stedman - Series: The Gospel of John - John 3:1-16 - Message No: 8 - Catalog No: 3838 - Date: May 15, 1983 - http://www.pbc.org/system/message_files/4182/3838.html

(12) Sources:

-Sermonillustrations.com - Topic: Security

-SermonCentral sermon "Who's Your Daddy" by Guy Caley - John 8:31-45