Loving Your Enemies as God Does

to wrap up this long long year of very special unique messages there is one more that i i need to discharge before the lord from my heart to yours and it is drawn out of a text that i want you to turn to now it's matthew chapter 5 verses 43 to 48 matthew 5 43 to 48. i'm going to read these words to you and then introduce the direction of this text for us and then we'll dig into it our lord speaks and says you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but i say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven for he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good that sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous for if you love those who love you what reward do you have do not even the tax collectors do the same if you greet only your brothers what more are you doing than others do not even the gentiles do the same therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect pretty direct point if you want to be like god love your enemies i suppose in my lifetime and yours we have not had as many aggressive enemies as we do today at all levels the kingdom of darkness has become more hostile than ever hostile to the light hostile to the gospel hostile to christ hostile to the church hostile to the truth and that hostility is being ramped up at a level we have never seen in our society being played out perhaps in its most dramatic form up in alberta as seminary master seminary graduate james coats languishes in prison for another couple of months because the judge would not grant him bail because he would go out and preach the gospel while at the same time releasing a child molester causing the police department to send out a bullet and they knew he would do it again this is like a microcosm illustration of where this culture is release the child molester and keep the preacher in prison we rightly resent the wickedness of that we rightly resent the legalizing of the murder of infants we rightly resent sexual perversion in all its form we we hate the fact that the role of men the role of women the place of children the family are being systematically destroyed we are deeply saddened at racial destruction going on by identity politics in our country we are disturbed by the breakdown of the social order where we are no longer feeling like we are a nation ruled by law we are concerned about escalating socialism which empowers the elite even more and takes away freedom socialism and freedom are mutually exclusive by definition the combination of all this dominant wickedness growing at such a rapid rate and while we have been able to communicate the truth in the midst of this we feel like we are slowly being canceled so that we're not going to have the opportunity to say what we say to proclaim the truth in the forms of media that have been available to us in the past it's hard to um to get your heart in the right place because these things are hostile to us and they are reproaches that primarily are directed at god and as the psalmist said the reproaches that fall on you fall on me when god is dishonored i feel the pain what god hates i hate what makes god angry makes me angry but that's not to be our attitude here we just saw it in this clear text we are to be like god in that we love our enemies we have talked so much about the hostility that's around it's escalating we've talked about coming persecution we've talked about the criminalization of righteousness and the legalization of unrighteousness we've talked about a world being flipped on its head we need to hear the message of this text now this is from the sermon on the mount and there are six contrasts starting in verse 21. jesus is talking to the jews and he is acknowledging that they have been taught by their scribes and pharisees and rabbis certain things but they are inconsistent with what god wants them to know and so you have six times this little couplet starting in verse 21 you have heard verse 22 but i say verse 27 you have heard what i say verse 31 it was said but i say verse 33 you have heard verse 34 but i say verse 38 you have heard but i say and then finally down to verse 43 you have heard what i say the lord is making a stark contrast between what he commands and what exists in the apostate traditional form of judaism our lord is attacking corrupt judaism you will notice in your bible very likely that each time jesus says you have heard there is a statement in uppercase letters which means it's drawn from the old testament it wasn't that they ignored the old testament each of those has a reference to an old testament text they had built their system on an old testament text our lord's issue with them was that it was too superficial it was all on the outside when god commanded not to murder he also bound up in that command not to hate when god commanded not to commit adultery bound up in that command is not even to look on a woman to lust after her or you've committed adultery in your heart when god said don't divorce he meant don't divorce for any reason other than immorality they had come up with many many justifications for divorce when god said don't make false vows don't lie god didn't mean unless you swear by heaven and that somehow covers your lie when god said an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth he wasn't turning over vengeance to you vengeance belongs to him it wasn't that they didn't have bible verses to go with their system they did but they misrepresented them and never is there a more clear misrepresentation than in verse 43 where he says you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but i say to you love your enemies the religion of judaism had flattened god's commands to one external dimension to justify hate to justify lust to justify divorce to justify lies to justify vengeance [Music] to justify anger but holiness is much deeper than that but this is a classic look at superficial pharisaic externalism there are certain things they don't do but below the surface they're full of dead men's bones they're marked by anger lust divorce lies vengeance and hate consequently they are living in violation of god's commands and god's will it's the heart issue that concerns the lord always the heart issue and that's the issue that he addresses in the text before us i want you to look at the final matter then verses 43 and following which i read to you this matter of loving your neighbor and also loving your enemy second great commandment love your neighbor as yourself right and the jews wreaked havoc with that by defining neighbors so narrowly that it came back down to only the people that they chose to love essentially only the people in their group they went so far as to say the general population was cursed and they had legitimized their disdain for the general population if not their hate they loved their neighbor all right if you let them define their neighbor so let's look at that we'll begin with the tradition of the jews then we'll look at the teaching of the old testament and then the truth from christ so let's look at verse 43 you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy this is the superficial rabbinic form of low level theology in defective judaism you have heard that it was said the familiar phrase that introduces the teaching of the rabbis you have been taught you shall love your neighbor that's a good start leviticus 19 17-18 commands that you love your neighbor matthew 22 jesus said this is the second great commandment love your neighbor by the way they left out as yourself purposely because that's uh that's too much to ask there is by the way no command in the bible to love yourself that's just part of your fallen corrupt nature you do that by default the bible doesn't command you to love yourself the bible commands you to love your neighbor as yourself and how do you love yourself well you ought to be familiar with it it's what you do all the time our love to ourselves is unfeigned fervent habitual permanent it respects all our needs all our wants all our interests all our desires all of our hopes all of our ambitions it prompts us to do everything possible to secure our own happiness well-being satisfaction welfare comfort interests it seeks our own pleasure and fulfillment knows no limit in the effort and secures all this and protection from any harm and oh by the way our love for ourselves is very forgiving have you noticed it's a rare person who loves his neighbor that way so immediately we are faced with the reality that we don't love the lord god with all our hearts all mind and strength which is the first commandment so we fall short there and we certainly don't love our neighbor as ourselves so we fall short there and consequently we are all under divine punishment you can take the law in its several parts or you can reduce it down to ten commandments or you can reduce it down to two commandments and whatever way you look at it we fall short the jews justified the fact that they hated their enemies by adding you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy now that's after they had already narrowly defined neighbor neighbor was another jew another jew in their group not tax collectors not the rabble as i mentioned john 7 47-49 says they cursed the rabble the jewish population in general their narrow definition of neighbor was somebody in their group and everybody else outside that highly defined group they had a right to hate they conveniently ignored while they're looking at leviticus 19 17-18 which says love your neighbor as yourself they conveniently ignored verse 34 which says the stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you and you shall love him as yourself oh that's pretty selective they took verses 17 and 18 ignored verse 34 which says you're to love the stranger as yourself and they ignored exodus 12 49 there shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you you don't have the right to pick and choose but this hate of anybody outside the group had developed in some very sophisticated ways there was one of the uh familiar sects of judaism called the essenes they were kind of a monastic set they lived out by the dead sea that's where the dead sea scrolls originated and the essenes say things like this and this is from their teaching love all that god has chosen and hate all that he has rejected love all the sons of light each according to his lot in god's community and hate all the sons of darkness the levites curse all the sons of belial and who are the sons of belial non-essenes so if you're not in our group you're cursed and this was viewed as a level of righteousness that proved that they really knew the mind and the heart of god at least to them so in tradition in what had developed in judaism the command to love your neighbors became a license to hate one of the maxims of the pharisees i'll quote if a jew sees a gentile fallen into the sea let him by no means lift him out fence for it is written thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor but this man is not thy neighbor end quote if you see a gentile drowning let him drown you have a right to be indifferent it is a small wonder then that the romans charged the jews with hatred of humankind so they were very selective in picking old testament texts to avoid what god actually said was to love everyone as you love yourself what does the old testament actually teach that's their tradition but let's let's look at the old testament the jews entered canaan you know the story of course and they were commanded to exterminate the canaanites they were told deuteronomy 23 that the ammonites the moabites the midianites were not to be treated with kindness as a people you got that they were not to be treated with kindness as a people in fact they were to be executed and you would say reading the imprecatory psalms it seems as though god's hatred toward people is severe why is it wrong for us for example in psalm 69 verse 22 this this the psalmist prays may their table speaking of his enemies their table before them become a snare and when they're in peace may it become a trap may their eyes grow dim so they cannot see and their loins shake continually pour out your indignation on them and may your burning anger overtake them may their camp be desolate may none dwell in their tents for they have persecuted him whom you yourself have smitten and they tell of the pain of those whom you have wounded iniquity adding iniquity to iniquity and may they not come into your righteousness may they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous wow pretty severe what is that that is the psalmist affirming the divine design of god to war against the nations that threatened israel the wars of israel were the only holy wars in history the only holy wars in history authorized by god as acts of judgment god doesn't withhold judgment he drowned the entire world didn't he in the day of noah the old testament is filled with many many judgments the wars of israel were not acts of personal vengeance by the jewish people they were commands by god for judgment to fall on those nations surrounding israel which proved to be a deadly threat god is the only one who can command that because the vengeance belongs to the lord i will repay only by divine command can an imprecatory psalm be prayed on the head of an enemy of israel by the way there's no such imprecation in prayer in the new testament this was tied to god's protection and preservation of his people in the old testament so that they would be sustained to the arrival of messiah in the imprecatory psalms the psalmists don't speak with personal hatred personal animosity they speak as a representative of god they speak as a representative of god's people and he regards the idolatrous wicked as the enemies of god psalm 69 9 as you heard so that that is the only set of divinely authorized holy wars in history the issues were judicial on the part of god he was bringing judgment just and righteous judgment at the time he deemed it needed to be done it was never personal but the pharisees and the scribes and the rabbis had personalized all of that and used scriptures like that to justify their personal hatred they took essentially prerogatives that belonged only to god and operated them in their personal relationships even in the new testament jesus shows a different attitude than god took in dealing with the nations to protect israel jesus looked at jerusalem and what did he do he wept he wept jesus the judge to whom all judgment is committed wept over the rejecters there is a kind of perfect hatred i will admit that because it's in psalm 139 and it's expressed clearly listen to verses 19 and following oh that you would slay the wicked o god depart from me therefore men of bloodshed for they speak against you wickedly and your enemies take your name in vain do not i hate those who hate you o lord and do i not loathe those who rise up against you i hate them with the utmost hatred they have become my enemies that that is a perfect hatred that is a righteous hatred that is the attitude of the martyrs in revelation six in the fifth seal who are under the altar praying that the lord will put an end to the persecution of the time of the tribulation it is right to hate what god hates and love what god loves in the broad sense it is right to feel the pain when god is dishonored the reproaches that fall on you fall on me i remember the story of henry martin missionary to india and when he arrived there he went into a hindu temple where there were all kinds of atrocities forms of idolatry and he watched what was going on and in his own writing scene he wrote this as as he left i cannot endure existence if jesus is to be so dishonored i feel that pain and so do you don't you you feel that pain the reproaches that fall on your lord fall on you and you feel the pain and you hate that you hate that god is dishonored you hate that christ is dishonored you hate that the name of jesus christ is used as a swear word you hate when jesus is demeaned and blasphemed you hate that and you have every reason to hate that that's a holy hatred that's a righteous indignation that's the spirit of god in you showing you what to love and what to hate but clearly that doesn't give you justification to hate individual sinners listen to exodus 23 verses 4 and 5.

if you meet your enemies ox or his donkey wandering away not much chance of that now but you get the point you shall surely return it to him if you find somebody's donkey or ox straying away take it back to him if you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load you shall refrain from leaving it you shall surely release it if you find somebody's donkey on the ground because the load is too great even if it's your enemy you relieve the donkey of its burden you express kindness not only towards your neighbor or your enemy but toward your enemy's animal i think there's a couple of really graphic illustrations of this you remember the story in first samuel 24 when david went into the cave same cape saul was in and saul was trying to find a way to kill david and david was hiding in the very same cave that saul was in and saul was in the cave the bible says relieving himself and david could have killed him he was in a compromised position but david went up and cut a little piece off his garment and david refused to take his life and it says in first samuel 24 10 because david pitied him he pitied him he had a sense of of compassion toward his most severe and deadly enemy and would not take his life there was shimmy in second samuel 16 who started cursing david people said tell him to stop tell him to stop and david said no no let him curse there's a purpose in this that's goodness to evil enemies in job 31 29-30 job defending his godly virtue said these words have i rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy or rejoiced when evil befell him no i have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life in a curse there are some enemies pretty seriously doing damage to job right i didn't ask for his life in a curse proverbs 25 21 if your enemy is hungry give him food to eat if he's thirsty give him water to drink and the lord will reward you so there's plenty of information in the old testament to separate personal attitude toward enemies from judicial actions on the part of god against nations who are a threat to his redemptive purpose so that's a little bit about tradition and old testament teaching but let's look at the most important point the truth from jesus in the text before us our lord is going to correct their misrepresentation of god's will with three sequential principles that correct this faulty understanding they are sequential and they are ascending love your enemies pray for your persecutors manifest your sonship so let's look at verse 44. love your enemies but i say to you love your enemies no one has a problem loving friends that's what defines a friend somebody you love jesus goes to the real issue this is what the divine law is speaking about when it says love your neighbor as yourself is the second great commandment it must embrace your enemy it's anybody in your life anybody in your world anyone who comes into your space the beautiful and familiar story in luke 10 and verse 25 a lawyer stood up and put jesus to the test and said teacher what shall i do to inherit eternal life and he said what's written in the law how does it read to you and he said you shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself and he said to him you've answered correctly do this and you will live which of course is impossible and that's the point he was making wishing to justify himself he said to jesus who's my neighbor give me a definition of neighbor jesus replied and told the story of the good samaritan didn't he a man going down from jerusalem to jericho fell among robbers they stripped him beat him went away leaving him dead a priest came by passed on the other side levite came by passed on the other side a samaritan a half-breed outcast hated by the jews saw him and felt compassion found up his wounds poured oil and wine put him in his own beast brought him to an end took care of him gave money to the innkeeper take care of him whatever more you spend i'll give you back when i return which of the three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into robbers hands he said the one who showed mercy toward him who is your neighbor anybody who needs your mercy it doesn't matter if that neighbor is one who hates you as the jews hated the samaritans the rabbi and the priest didn't want to touch the man because their theology said he's in the problem he's in because he's sinful they went around the other side of the road the despised and hated and rejected samaritan had compassion on the man who was socially an enemy love your enemies ekthron sue tanektron sue means your personal enemy not talking about some collective it's your personal enemy agapate from agapao the highest noblest form of love and in the present tense be constantly loving your enemies this is the love of the will this is not the love of emotion this is the love of the will it is not related to any personal gain or personal fulfillment it is the love of unconquerable benevolence it is the love of invincible good will just the loving heart that wants to free the enemy from any thought of hate wants to rescue the enemy from sin wants to see his soul saved it's the highest love one writer says i cannot like a false lying slanderous fellow who perhaps has vilified me again and again i cannot like him but i can by the grace of jesus christ love him see what is wrong with him desire to work to do him only good and most of all to free him from his vicious ways in luke 6 jesus said do good to those who hate you so loving your neighbor means seeking the highest good that's the noblest kind of love and loving your enemies means the same thing seek the highest good now how does that play out second point pray for your persecutors it shows up then in prayer verse 44 pray for those who persecute you those would be your severest enemies you have a lot of enemies who don't personally persecute you so let's just take the most extreme situation people who persecute you those are the ones you pray for go back in chapter 5 to verse 10 in the beatitudes blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven so this assumes you're going to have persecutors blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me if they're doing that to you you're blessed isn't that wonderful doesn't that turn it on its head i think about that a lot not only are you blessed but verse 12 rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great what they're doing is adding to your eternal reward come on bring it on for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you you're in good company i wonder if these persecutors of faithful people understand that their efforts are being reversed by god and out of their persecution comes blessing and out of their persecution comes joy and gladness and out of their persecution comes eternal reward that's very important folks very important that is a very important thing to realize because it causes you to see persecution in a completely different way if you see persecution doing damage to you you will change your message if you see persecution adding to your eternal reward you don't change anything right i mean this is the upside down reality you preach the word of god faithfully you proclaim the gospel faithfully and you get hostility and animosity and maybe you cower and you try to make some adjustments so you can stop offending people [Music] and if you're a preacher you take the offenses out of the message and consequently you miss the blessing the gladness the joy and the eternal reward that comes with faithfulness that faces persecution but it but it's not just a passive hope for eternal reward that is the correct response there's a third point here you not only pray for those who persecute you you go further than that in first timothy it's not a vague kind of prayer listen to this first timothy 2 i urge that in treaties and prayers petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men for kings and all who are in authority now we've elevated to the people who have the most power to persecute and we're praying for them so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth so what are we praying for their salvation we pray for god to show them their sinfulness it would be a sin not to pray we have wicked president vice president people in power and leadership locally statewide are we supposed to sit and smolder in anger no we're supposed to pray for what their salvation get them at the top of your prayer list jesus said on the cross father what forgive them they know not what they do that prayer was answered in a thief and a soldier and people in the crowd stephen prayed lay not this sin to their charge and that was answered in an apostle named paul this is an opportunity for you to take on evangelistic praying it was dietrich bonhoeffer who wrote this is the supreme command through the medium of prayer we go to our persecutors stand by their side and plead to god for them dr wilmer in 1880 wrote this it's good enough to read this commandment that we should love our enemies and forego revenge will grow even more urgent in the holy struggle which lies before us the christians will be hounded from place to place subjected to physical assault maltreatment and death of every kind we are approaching he wrote in 1880 an age of widespread persecution soon the time will come when we shall pray it will be a prayer of earnest love for these very sons of perdition who stand around and gaze at us with eyes aflame with hatred and who have perhaps already raised their hands to kill us yes the church which is really waiting for its lord and which discerns the signs of the times must fling itself with its utmost power and with the armor of its holy life into this prayer of love loving your enemies means praying for your persecutors and then there's a third element loving your enemies means manifest your sonship manifest your sonship we'll pick it up in verse 45.