Forgiving our Enemies. Matthew 5:43-48

Good morning church. I hope you are all doing well today. First off, big thank you to our volunteers. With so much craziness and sickness, being able to have people coming in, healthy, and serving the church in a chaotic week is a blessing. Carma and Marcelle. They did amazing, right? Normally, when leading worship, you know at least a week in advance. I texted Marcelle and Carma a few days ago and was like, “Hey, we’re making a change to Sunday. Can you lead? Here are the songs? Go.” And they come out here and lead us in worship. Thankful for that.

Today, we want to honor a family that is moving away. They are here and we want to thank them and pray for them.

There is a card in the lobby to sign.

Let’s pray

*prayer*

Today we’ll be continuing in our series on Forgiveness. Jumping into a powerful passage in Matthew.

Forgiveness is such an important part of the good news of the Bible. It’s a key part of understanding the message of the Bible and what it means for our lives. And that’s why we talk about it a lot. Not just in this sermon series. Rather, forgiveness is something that is seen throughout what we talk about here in church. Because it plays a big role in the theology of the Bible. Theology, meaning our belief about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. What His Word says and how we respond to it.

Because forgiveness plays a big role in Gods story, that means it plays a big role in how we understand that story. That’s why we talk about it a lot. And that’s why theology is so important. It’s what we believe about God and what the Bible says. And to have good and accurate belief, it needs to be shaped by the Bible. not just our feelings, not memes, not politics, not philosophy or cool things you once heard. The Bible must be our primary definer of our beliefs. Theology is important because whether we intend for it to or not, our beliefs plays a profound role in who we are, as well as how we respond to and interact with this world. And thankfully, we have the Bible, Gods Word, to help shape our beliefs. And on an emotional topic like forgiveness where hurt and pain is often involved, good theology is key.

I know for me, there are two main feelings that I get when I hear about or read about forgiveness. Whether it’s through a sermon, a book or Bible study, there tend to be one of two different Brian’s that show up.

First Brian is one that reads through the verse or chapter, listens to the sermon, shakes his head and is like, yup, totally. Forgiveness is important.

The second Brian doesn’t get that far beyond the word forgiveness before my heart and mind are already setting off some alarm bells. Be sitting in church, pastor walks up, says forgiveness and I’m immediately like, “no, uh uh.” “God we talked about how we aren’t going to talk about this right now.” “That person, they just, you know. I mean.” “remember God, I’m hurt, I’m hurt right now”. My main go to though was, “not yet God, it’s not time for them to be forgiven yet.” Anybody else felt that one?

Now, that last one, let’s just take little peak into Brian's past to paint a picture for us. And for context, I was home school for most of my grade school years. Most of 1st grade through 7th grade. And I lived in a little community...

It was my forgiveness to give. And I wasn’t going to give it until I was good and ready.

As cute and fun as that story was, I’m still friends with that guy and it’s probably his favorite story to tell to embarrass me. I think he even mentioned it at a speech in mine and Jessie’s wedding.

But I bring up that story, because, let’s get real, there is something about forgiveness that is tough. There are times where we’re like, “this is my forgiveness to give. To do with what I want” There is something powerful about when someone wrongs you and would need forgiveness. It’s like, we are validated as long as someone needs our forgiveness. We’re in power. This was my friend and I had grounded him and that was silly, but, I felt validated in grounding him. In my life, and probably in yours, there have been actual bad things done to us in life that we have wanted validation for. There were people who should to be knocking at our door saying, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” And too many times, my stance on that has been, “I deserve that, and I’ll give my forgiveness and love when I’m good and ready.”

And even though, they may never come knocking at your door to ask for forgiveness, or they come crawling back giving you the validation you seek, how we feel about the whole thing does not define what is right and wrong in the process of forgiveness.

Yet still, I too often wanted to dictate the terms of forgiveness.

But that’s not Gods way. Our way is not Gods way. We know that God in no way tells us to hold back forgiveness and love. Why? Because we are Gods children, and we are called to be like Him and align with his ways. the Bible says

Colossians 3:13 NIV

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

God forgave us, and we are told to forgive others. Today we’re going to see though that God calls us to even more than just that. He takes this idea of forgiveness further. Today, we are going to investigate what the Bible says about our relationship with those that this might be talking about, and others, and we’re gonna let that shape who we are and how we are towards others.

Now, before we jump into today's passage, I want to add two side notes okay. Forgiveness is a big topic, a tough one. And we are going to look at how forgiveness is more than saying sorry or accepting an apology. We already met those two Brian's, and the one had someone come to mind when they heard the word forgiveness. Someone that had done him wrong that he needed to forgive. For some of us, that person that came to mind when we hear about forgiveness, that person might be unsafe.

I want to say this right now, when God calls us to forgive and love others, He does not say that when we forgive others that we also need to invite the danger that person can bring back into our life. Alright, God calls us to forgive others, but for those of us that are forgiving abusers, forgiving them in no way means we need to subject ourselves to the environments that endanger us. Forgiving someone doesn't mean that we are letting them continue/start again to hurt us or others. Forgiveness is tough, and I’m saying that aligning ourselves with Christ will lead us to forgiving those people, but I need you to hear what I’m saying about your safety as well.

Number two, some of you probably have some real hurts in your life. Real pain and damage that you’re still dealing with. God calling us to forgiveness isn’t downplaying the damage that has been done to you. It’s actually the opposite. God loves you. And as much as He calls you to forgive others in the midst of your pain, He equally desires to comfort and heal you and continues His work in preparing a place for you in heaven where you will feel this pain no more and all those wrongs will be right.

Alright.

Let’s read this passage.

Matthew 5:43–48 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

See, those two Brian's I talked about earlier, they’ve had this passage come before them a lot. Whether in my heart or mind, or just reading through the book of Matthew. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read this and I’m like, “nope. Not praying for them. Not loving them.” This passage is always tough for me when there is someone on my mind, I usually want them to stay in the state of enemy, I like them over there and I like my validation for keeping them in that negative place in my mind, I want it to be where the only way my view of them changes is if they change.

This Passage tells me that’s the wrong view. The instruction here is clear. That person who I feel validated in my disdain for, who needs to change cause they were wrong. This passage in Colossians says I called to forgive them. This passage in Matthew takes it a step further and says I’m also called to love them and pray for them.

See Jesus is taking what have been traditional cultural views on handling those that are the audiences enemies, and persecutors, and he’s challenging the listeners way of thinking about them. He’s saying there is a new way of looking at hostile relationships. The views of the listeners to the sermon on the mount that Jesus is speaking too, they are more similar to those of today's culture than you may realize.

Verses 43-48 that we just read land in the middle of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. In this sermon, there are 5 similarly structured statements that precede this one. This section is the last of 6 antithesis statements. What that means, is that each statements starts with something along the lines of, “so you’ve heard”, cultural view on ___ followed by “but I tell you” and Jesus then gives a new way to view handling the problem. And it’s all Jesus speaking here. Check out a few of these that come before what we’re reading today.

Matthew 5:21–22 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment.

Matthew 5:27–28 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:38–39 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

Jesus is taking Jewish tradition and throwing it on it’s head. And he isn’t just saying you’ve got this wrong and totally missed the point. What he is doing is taking something that in their mind makes sense, and is maybe even good, and He is showing that Gods way is even deeper. He’s getting to the heart of our sin, not just our actions. He’s saying even when you’ve got reason to retaliate, do not. And in our passage, he’s saying that even for those that are loving and kid to so many, those that give you every reason to not love, you need to love them even more.

People might say about these verses, What about the person who does something that infuriates me and I just can’t stand it, it’s not my fault? What about the women who dresses like that, when I see her, it’s not my fault? What about the person who wronged me like that, I didn’t do anything, it’s not my fault? and He is telling us; Don’t harbor anger in your heart. Don’t lust in your heart. Don’t retaliate to people who hurt you.

At no point does Jesus tell us, “yeah, those darn rascals. Let’s get ‘em.” No. He gives response after response to handling those, and each one is one of humility from the believer. He says to settle the dispute leading to anger quickly. That it’s on us to cut out of our own life that which fuels our lustful thoughts. He tells us to turn the other cheek when wronged. And how does he wrap up these antithesis statements? He ends this whole section with love and prayer.

Matthew 5:43–45 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Jesus is speaking here, quoting an Old Testament passage, to Love our Neighbor, and a cultural view of hating your enemy and He’s saying this is not the way of those who follow me.

Cause see, this passage isn’t just about forgiveness, it actually doesn’t even say the word forgiveness at all. It’s about who we are as God’s children and what that looks like for our lives. Jesus is showing us how to align with the ways of God. Remember how forgiveness was talked about in the verse we saw earlier in Colossians.

Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

The instruction of aligning with God is right in the passage.

And it shows that same thing in our passage in Matthew

Matthew 5:44–45 (NIV)

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Jesus is completely changing the way believers see the world and those that oppose and persecute them. He’s telling us HOW God is and pointing at how we are to align ourselves with Him. That’s why the passage ends with Jesus instructing us to be perfect. He’s not saying that because perfection is something we can gain in this life, no. He’s saying that to emphasize that there is a perfect example.

So Jesus is changing our view by doing what? By putting love at the forefront of every single one of our relationships.

Leon Morris puts it well when he says,

To be God’s children means to love. Love and membership in God’s family go together.” - Leon Morris

(PNTC Mt. p. 131)

That’s the lens that Jesus is looking at forgiveness through. One of love.

Let’s go back to that young Brian who grounded his best friend from him cause he didn’t like how he had been treated. He said, I don’t like how this person treated me, so I’m going to take something from him. But Jesus shows us how if we are to be like our Father in Heaven, we are not to hold back any love, blessing or prayer for others. Jesus says in Luke

Luke 6:27–28 (NIV)

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus emphasizes the point by pointing at how God continues to raise the sun and send the rain to the good and the evil.

Today's passage says

Matthew 5:45 (NIV)

that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Check out the love of God in that. He loves our enemies and gives them the same beautiful sunsets to watch, the same rain that nourishes their homeland. The value of rain and rising sun to us may be different than it was to those living in land where lack of rain meant lack of food in their lives, but think about this. Who are we to say, “but they don’t deserve my forgiveness.” of someone when God still offers them the blessings of this world. That very same person that I say, “they hurt me so much that I will hold back my love,” yet the Lord, who has been sinned against by that person much worse than we were, doesn’t hold back from them the same sun and rain and air that blesses them and brings life every day. What natural blessing has God held back from those who you say you can’t forgive or love? So who are we to say that we have reason to hold back our prayers of blessing for them and prayers of forgiveness?

Leon Morris puts it well once again,

The point being emphasized is that God does not limit his blessings to those who serve him faithfully. Even to those who oppose him he gives many good things. - Leon Morris

(PNTC Mt., p. 132).

Guys, we are called differently than the lies that our pride tells us. We are not called to chose who deserves our love and who doesn’t. We are to pray for our enemies. We are called to leave judgement to the Lord for His will on judgement day. In place of judgement of others, we are instructed to the blessing and loving of others, our enemies included.

As members of Gods family, these actions should be a recognizable characteristic about us. And as we see in this passage, it is not enough to love just our brothers and sisters, for it says even the tax collector does that. But to our enemies, our opposers, those who persecute our stances. That looks different for each of us, but we need to be open to the uncomfortable challenge of who this “enemy” might be.

The Christian Standard Bible translates verse 47 as

Matthew 5:47 (CSB)

And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

This love for others, those we are called to pray for, it’s probably not always going to be those you feel most comfortable in doing this for.

It could be people who have hurt you in your life.

Someone that gossiped about you.

Maybe they were mean to you.

A person you once called your friend.

A business partner or competitor that proved dishonest or mischievous.

What about those we oppose. Would you be willing to pray blessings for those who disagree with your political views? Those with differing opinions on wokeness or vaccines, are we ready to show them love? Politicians that stand opposing your moral compass or fight for legislation that promotes sinful acts? Will we love and pray for them?

What about those who have hurt those you love?

I know for me, there are people who it’s hard for me to pray for. People I don’t want to pray, “Lord bless them and their family.” I remember struggling at work with this once. Well many times, but here’s one specific time. There were heads in other departments that were messing with things that were negatively impacting my teams work that I didn’t see as beneficial to the company. I was angry and wanted to prove those guys wrong. The Lord put on my heart that I needed to pray for them. You know how those prayers started, the wrong way. I was praying for them to come to the light, see their mistakes and make the right decision for the company and our customers. I mean, c’mon, that’s what they needed prayer for right....

...

But in the end, it finished with prayers for them and their families, and most miraculously, a complete change of my heart and how I was handling the situation. I found myself treating my hardship completely differently and seeing those that were causing me the hardship with love and a desire to see them succeed. They became a blessing to me when they had so recently been seen as an enemy.

The fact that this is hard is no surprise to God. But Jesus knows that prayer will align us with God. Why? Because prayer changes us, prayer is Spiritual, the Holy Spirit meets us in prayer. So if we want to love our enemies like Jesus does, we need to talk and think and feel about our enemies in connection with the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer does that . You want to know how to pray for your enemies? Start praying. The Holy Spirit will show you how to pray. He wants to meet you in the hardest things He calls us to do in prayer. This is hard, meet Him there.

You see, when we love and pray for our enemies and those who persecute us, we are humbly submitting to the commandments of the Lord and opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit and His will to change us. When we love and pray blessings for those who persecute us, we align ourselves with God, and that changes people.

So how far does this whole thing go? I mean, at what point is how others treating us too much? When is someone too bad for me to pray for them?

I know that my heart has some answers there. Especially in the moment. When I’m riled up and things are tough, when someone is doing wrong to me or my family, leaving comments on Facebook that are just terrible, I mean, how could someone think like that, I know when they’ve done too much and I shouldn’t love them anymore. But here’s the problem. If my heart is what I trust, and I follow how it feels and leads me in these situations, I am at risk of not looking like Christ. Actually it's a guarantee that following my heart in this stuff will eventually lead me to not align with Christ. That’s why I need Bible to shape my belief about what Jesus calls me to.

So what about Jesus. Did he ever say, no more, I can’t love them anymore?

You know who the last person that Jesus prayed for on the cross was? He prays for the soldiers, who were gambling for His possessions. While Jesus was being crucified, suffocating to death, the soldiers that hung Him up on the contraption that would He would die on,, were gambling for his belongings. And Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:31)

Guys, God calls us to a love that is foolish by the worlds view. That is crazy. That is hard. That is holy. God calls me to love those who are horrible to me. You want to know why that is… why that makes me feel feelings. Because He loves me that same way. Because I have been someones enemy. Because I have been Gods enemy. Wretched and sinful. And if He calls me to a love for those that are cruel to me, if Jesus loves those soldiers and prays for those soldiers as they gamble away His possessions, my gosh, then God really actually loves me too. If I see His love there, than I know it must be true for me.

When we read those statements earlier about not being angry in our hearts, not lusting in our hearts, not retaliating. Guys, I have done all of those, too many times to count. But Jesus doesn’t put those there to shame us. No. They are there to show us someone else, JESUS. He is showing us who He is, He is saying align yourself with the ways of my Father. Jesus is saying that in you being saved and loved by Him that not only does He want to change your exterior actions, but even more so, He wants to change your interior. And that interior isn’t just anger, lust or retaliation, but it’s also our feelings about our enemies. Jesus is replacing all those things with love. He’s not in Heaven retaliating when we mess up. He isn’t an angry Father just stewing over every little sin you do. He isn’t lusting after someone else. No, guys. God said I want you. I am sending my son. He will die on a cross so that you can spend eternity with me. And now that you are my children, align with me and love your enemies just as I love them. For God knows that His ways are the only ways that are good. And He knows that our interior is who and where we really are. And that’s why this stuff feels so hard. Because it’s real, it’s at the core. God cares about your core.

Guys, this is why good theology is so important. Our hearts get forgiveness and love wrong all the time, but the Bible gets it right. And if I’m real, I have maybe been one of the greatest enemies to myself in my life. And I cannot overcome my own man made perspective of myself and others without God. But when we are saved, when we seek to align ourselves with the ways of God, the Holy Spirit transforms not only who we are, but our understanding of who we are. It changes our understanding of who others are to one that is more like Gods view. And for those of you that maybe struggle with your own self view, that feels like you don’t deserve any of this. God sees you as His son or daughter, whom He loves. Whom He wants to give you the chance to experience His love. Whom He has saved so that He can spend eternity with you. And as we have given our lives to Him through the power of Christ, He has forgiven you of all your sins and sees you as good and as His own.

God calls us to love like He does. And He shows us here that He is going to shape that love in our hearts as we pray for our enemies and align ourselves with Him.