Jesus Said_Red Letter Summer_Love your Enemies
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Jesus' call to love our enemies went against the grain of his culture and our culture, but it is the culture of heaven. It requires supernatural grace to love our enemies while they are actively abusing us, yet Jesus calls us to lay hold of His grace and do just that. This sermon will look primarily at Mt. 5:43-48, but also at Jesus' Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6.
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Jesus Said_Red Letter Summer_Love your Enemies
- 1. Allowing Jesus to speak clearly to the concerns of today
- 2. “Love Your Enemies” Matthew 5:43-48
- 3. 1. The What in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5:43-44
- 4. A Lowered Standard for Love Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor… Leviticus 19:18 …you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
- 5. Hate Your Enemies “A man’s virtue consists in outdoing his friends in kindness and his enemies in mischief.” Xenophon’s Memoirs 2.6.35
- 6. Hate Your Enemies “To friends be kind, against enemies retaliate”. Delphic Maxims 28 and 29
- 7. Psalm 139 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.
- 8. A Broadened Standard for Love 44 But I say to you (pl.), Love (pl.) your (pl.) enemies and pray (pl.) for those who persecute you (pl.). Matthew 5
- 9. 2. The Why in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5:45-47
- 10. The Unique Why 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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.
- 11. Upping the Ante For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20
- 12. 3. The How in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5:48
- 13. The How Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Luke 6:36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
- 14. 3 Practical Steps 1. Submit to Jesus! It’s not normal to love your enemies. It takes supernatural grace.
- 15. 3 Practical Steps 2. Reflect deeply on God’s goodness to you as a former enemy of God.
- 16. 3 Practical Steps 3. Write down a name or two or more and pray about what steps you should take in rebuilding a broken relationship.
- 17. Allowing Jesus to speak clearly to the concerns of today
Editor's Notes
- Greeting
- Greeting Here’s a joke: A pastor was giving a homily based on Jesus’s command to love your enemies. Addressing his congregation, he said, “Now, I’ll bet that many of us feel as if we have enemies in our lives, so raise your hands, if you have many enemies.” Quite a few people raised their hands. “Now raise your hands if you have only a few enemies.” And about half as many people raised their hands. “Now raise your hands if you have only one or two enemies.” And even fewer people raised their hands. “See,” said the pastor, “most of us feel like we have enemies.” “Now raise your hands if you have no enemies at all.” And the pastor looked all around, and finally, way in the back, a very, very old man raised his hand. He stood up and said, “I have no enemies whatsoever!” Delighted, the pastor invited the man to the front of the church. “What a blessing!”, the pastor said. “How old are you? “I’m 98-years-old, and I have no enemies.” The priest said, “What a wonderful Christian life you lead! And tell us all how it is that you have no enemies.” He replied, “All the dang bums have died!” That story reminds us of the challenge of loving our enemies. Jesus calls us to more than outliving our enemies. He wants us to repair broken relationships and turn enemies into friends. 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 and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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 do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- The What in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5:
- A Lowered Standard for Love Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor… Leviticus 19:18 …you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
- Hate Your Enemies “A man’s virtue consists in outdoing his friends in kindness and his enemies in mischief.” Xenophon’s Memoirs 2.6.35
- “To friends be kind, against enemies retaliate”. Delphic Maxims 28 and 29
- Psalm 139 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.
- A Broadened Standard for Love 44 But I say to you (pl.), Love (pl.) your (pl.) enemies and pray (pl.) for those who persecute you (pl.). Matthew 5
- 2. The Why in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5: 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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 do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
- There is no article with evil or good; it is not “the bad” and “the good” viewed as classes, but people generally seen as characterized by evil or goodness. God’s provision extends to the whole race and is not limited by the moral standards people accept. (Leon Morris)
- Upping the Ante For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20
- 3. The How in Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5:48 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- Compare Matthew 5:48 and Luke 6:36
- 3 Practical Steps 1. Submit to Jesus! It’s not normal to love your enemies. It takes supernatural grace.
- 2. Reflect deeply on God’s goodness to you as a former enemy of God.
- 3. Lower your expectations of others and raise your view of God’s standard for you.