Love Your Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48......

I read a quote this week or last week, that really hit me in the face.......just see what ya’ll think?

Americanized Christianity has convinced millions of professing Christians that “love your enemies” means “have no enemies”. This has resulted in the church becoming apathetic towards & tolerant of unbridled evil, creating passive Christians stuck in inaction and fear.

I tend to agree with this, because Jesus speaks of the world hating Him and if the world hates Him then most certainly it will hate those who are following Him.

First, lets break down the Scripture.......The first part of verse 43 Jesus quotes from Leviticus 19:18 “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.” ........

The second part of the verse, Jesus stated how the Pharisees and scribes explained and applied the OT command.

Jesus’ application of this was exactly opposite and results in a much higher standard.......to love our enemies.

The OT taught to love your enemies, it was only the Pharisees and the scribes that inserted the hating your enemies.

Proverbs 25:21 “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:”

This higher standard must have been a shock to them, as it is to us!

To love and pray for those that persecute you, is some amazing feat! Ultimately, that love comes from above, being born again or born from above.

That is the only way!

How many times have we said in a heated situation..... “I will pray for you!!!!”

Knowing all along that the prayer is not going to be for good or maybe not with a good heart towards them.

Verse 45 Jesus states that if we love and pray our enemies/persecutors, we will be the children of your Father which is in Heaven........This is telling us that we carry the likeness of our Father.....we will look like His youngins if we do this......

Because God gives, what is referred to by some is common grace, to the good and the evil; just and unjust.

This common grace is the Goodness of God that so expansive, so great, that it pours over into every walk of life! Everyone tastes of God’s goodness and it is most certainly Grace.

It also rains on the same........so good and bad is experienced by all.

One writer wrote that this must be distinguished from the “everlasting love of God”

If you love your brothers only, what reward is that?? That is easy and earthly....God’s standard of love goes far beyond the shallow attempts at it, that we try!

The publicans do that.....Jesus describes the worst people to the Israelites, extortioners who were considered the worst of the worst.......they even love people that love them.

So, how awesome do you think you are when your love is similar to the worst of the worst?

Then Jesus says this in verse 48.......This is an unattainable standard.....This sums up what the law itself demanded........James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Though this standard is impossible to meet, God cannot lower it without compromising His own perfection! He Who is perfect could not set an imperfect standard of righteousness.

The marvellous truth of the Gospel is that Christ has met that standard on our behalf.

Now we live as new creations, created in Christ Jesus!

Romans 12:9-21.......Paul gives the same instruction.....This is a new life in Christ.

Let your love be genuine........but you can still hate what is evil.........we don’t go along just to make friends, we separate but that does not mean our love stops, our prayer for them stops!

Verse 14 Bless them which persecute you......Paul repeats that bless and curse not........

The only way that I believe that Jesus’ way is fully realized is through people of low estate, humbled people!

No way anybody that calls themselves spiritual is going to be high-minded, there is no way! He would never be able to bless those that persecute him.

The next few verses deals directly to us and our enemies.....

Repay no man evil for evil.......bring good to the situation.

Live peaceably among men.....not agreeing with the world but living at peace......

This a great verse for this 1 Peter 2:21-24“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Vengeance is the Lord’s He will repay! He is the only One that can judge righteously!

Enacting punishment on criminals was originally set up by Him, so even in our judicial system we turn that over to the Lord.....we should anyway!

Feed your enemy....you will heap coals of fire on their heads..... “The thought then would be that by doing your enemy kindness you were increasing his guilt and magnifying his punishment. But to most commentators this seems an impossible way of understanding the passage. The context is dominated by thoughts of love, and indeed the whole paragraph (vv. 9–21) is an expression of what Christian love means in practice. For reasons like this most agree that something like Moffatt’s translation gives the sense of it: “for in this way you will make him feel a burning sense of shame”. William Klassen, however, has made a detailed examination of the problem and rejects such solutions. “The interpretation so widely accepted by interpreters that the coals of fire refer to shame, remorse, or punishment lacks all support in the text.” He points to a custom attested in Egyptian literature whereby a penitent person carried coals of fire in a bowl on his head and to contacts between Proverbs and Egyptian writings and says, “In the Egyptian literature and in Proverbs the ‘coals of fire’ is a dynamic symbol of change of mind which takes place as a result of a deed of love.”111 Whether we prefer to go along with Moffatt or with Klassen, there can be no doubt that Paul is referring to the change in the enemy which deeds of love effect.”

Do not be overcome with evil, overcome evil with good......remember we are not in a battle with flesh and blood....it is spiritual battle and satan is looking to sift you like wheat.....so follow Jesus!