Sermon Tone Analysis

*Luke 6:27-36.

Love *Your *Enemies-Pray *for them & Lead them to the* Truth*

Everton Community Church.

Sunday February 17th 2008.

*The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams* has triggered a *storm of controversy* this week by *suggesting *that *Britain** should adopt some aspects of Islam's tough Shariah law into its legal system*.

He called the establishment of some kind of Islamic Sharia law in Britain *inevitable.

*He sees the arrival of Sharia law as something that *cannot and should not be prevented.

* *In a BBC radio interview* Thursday (Feb.

7), *Williams said the 1.6 million Muslims now living in **Britain* *make that prospect all but "unavoidable"* and that "as a matter of fact, certain conditions of Sharia are already recognized in our society."

He said that *Britain** has to "face up to the fact"* that *thousands of its citizens do not relate to its legal system,* and *what is needed is a "constructive accommodation" with some Muslim practices.

* For instance, *he proposed* a "*plural jurisdiction*" under which *Muslims would be allowed to choose whether some legal disputes could be dealt with* secular or Sharia courts.

*For the past two or three decades*, *Britain* has been engaged in *a radical experiment* in *abandoning its own national identity*.

It has *encouraged* *a huge number of Islamic immigrants to enter the country*.

As a result, *some of the most extreme sects of Islam* have *taken root on British soil.*

Just a few weeks ago, *another senior cleric* warned that *some areas of **Britain**'s cities has become "no go" zones for non-Muslims.*

(Sourcehttp:~/~/www.albertmohler.com~/blog_read.php?id=1096)

\\ The archbishop's remarks brought *furious protests* across the country.

*Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said in a statement* that Sharia law *"*cannot be used as justification for committing breaches of English law." *His culture secretary, Andy Burnham*, described the archbishop's proposals as *"*a recipe for chaos.*"

*

(Source: Religion News Service: http:~/~/www.modernreformation.org~/default.php?page=blog_view&var1=ViewInd&var2=1&var3=256&var4=main)

It wasn’t too long ago (2 years) that *Ontario**’s Liberal government* did the same *until controversy erupted.*

Would *Sharia law* be *leading people to the truth*?

What should be *our reaction* *to those who differ from us*? Should we *forget our differences* and *adopt* what some call *reasonable accommodation?*

Is this accommodation *love?*

* *

*Jesus dramatized his new law of love*—*the call to love one’s enemies.*

There had never been anything like it.

This was exactly what Jesus did in the next few hours when *he hung on the cross* with his arms stretched wide as if to embrace the world, as *he died for the “ungodly*,” for “sinners,” *for his “enemies*,” as we see in:

*Romans 5:6-10*   [6]For while we were still weak, at the right time *Christ died for the ungodly*.

[7]For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- [8]but God shows his love for us in that *while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.*

[9]Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

[10]For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

(ESV)

 

This right now who is *most frustrating* to *you?* Who most *interferes* with your *life* and *work*?

Who *gets under your skin* the most and if you look deep down, do you *wish could just go away*?

In any real consideration, this individual *is your enemy*.

*Jesus calls us to* *pray* for them and *lead them to the truth* through *Christian love.*

* *

Our *study in 1 Peter* *prepared us for persecution* and *life and death matters*.

But how do we deal with *situations* where it is *not our life that is threatened* but *our calm, ego’s *or *comfort.*

As we see in *Luke **6:27**–36*, at *the beginning of his ministry*, with *the newly called twelve standing before him*, *Jesus announced a new law,* *calling his followers to love as he loves*.

*This is an impossible* *call apart from Christ*.

Jesus shows *the Christian’s High calling* in *1) The New Love Ethic Declared* and *2) *The New Love Ethic* Explained*

 

*1) THE NEW LOVE ETHIC DECLARED** Luke 6:27-31*  

 

There were several words for /love/ in the Greek language.

Jesus did *not here command* */storge/*, *natural affection*.

He did *not command* /eros/, *romantic love*.

He did *not command */philia/, *the love of friendship*.

*He demanded* /agape/ love.

Such a love is *not motivated* *by the merit of the one who is loved*.

*The other loves* *come quite naturally.*

(Leon Morris, /Luke/ (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), p. 142.)

 

* *

* *

*This past Thursday,* when people celebrated *Valentines Day* is was a *celebration of romantic love*.

You can *fall into* /eros/.

But /agape/ love *supersedes natural inclinations* and *often exists in spite of them*.

It is *a deliberate love*, *rooted* *not in the emotions*, but *in the will*—*a love by choice*.

*Quote:** *One author said: *“*Love [/agape/] is a deep, continuous, growing and ever-renewing activity of the will superintended by the Holy Spirit*”* /Agape/ love says, *“*I will love this person because, by God’s grace, I choose to love this person.*”*

(Mike Mason, /The Mystery of Marriage/ (Portland: Multnomah, 1978), p. 99.)

This *High calling* is to *ascend to the unnatural heights* of /agape/ in *loving our enemies.

*Defined by Jesus’ *the passage commands:*

*/ /*

*/Unnatural deeds/*:

*Luke **6:27* [27]"But I say to you who hear, *Love your enemies*, do good to those who hate you, (ESV)

* *Certain Jewish communities* like the one at *Qumran*, (where we get the *dead sea scrolls*), commanded to *“*hate all the sons of darkness*” *(IQS I:10; 9:21f).

* *Love is the center* of Grace that we are to manifest to others as God has manifested it to us.

* *The World* has a tit-for-tat recripical action, *God calls* us to be *gracious* to those *who don’t deserve it.*

* *Imagine someone who hates you*—then *think of doing something nice to him or her*.

* *Jesus in not calling* for us to *like everyone emotionally*, but to *be proactive in showing gracious love* even for those *who we don’t like* and would be *considered our enemies*.

*/Unnatural words/*

*Luke 6:28a*   [28]*bless those who curse you*, pray for those who abuse you.

(ESV)

 

*Romans **12:14*   [14]*Bless *those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

(ESV)

*1 Corinthians **4:12*   [12]and we labor, working with our own hands.

When reviled, we *bless*; when persecuted, we endure; (ESV)

*1 Peter 3:9*   [9]Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, *bless*, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

(ESV)

 

This is as *radical* *today* as it was to *Jesus’ audience*: The *Jewish sect* of the *Essenes,* in fact, were *encouraged to curse those who did not join them* (1 QS 2:2–17) (Joseph Fitzmyer, /The Gospel According to Luke I-IX/ (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), p. 638).



 

*Jesus hear also commands:*

*/Unnatural prayers/*

*Luke 6:28b*   [28] *pray* for those who abuse you.

(ESV)

* Praise God—it is *impossible* to *truly pray for someone* *and hate them at the same time*.

*The command to love our enemies* is *a call to** unnatural deeds*, *unnatural words,* and *unnatural prayer*.

It is a command for */supernatural love/.*

Does this mean that *only God can do it?*

Yes and now.

It can *only be done through God.*

* *

*Quote:* */To do evil for good/*/ *is human corruption*; *to do good for good* *is civil retribution*, but *to do good for evil* is *Christian perfection*./—Rev.

William Secker (William Secker, /The Nonsuch Professor in His Meridian Splendor /(Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1899), 153.)

 

 

*This unnatural love calls for Jesus’ followers* to *exercise an** unconventional love: Luke 6:29a*   [29]To one who strikes you on the cheek, *offer the other* also,

* *

*Before we can understand what is mandated**, we must understand what it is not.*

*Conventional responses* *to such indignities* took *two basic patterns:*

* *The raw pagan response* is to *pay such actions back tenfold*—*“*You *slap* me, I’ll *break your neck*”—“You *take my shirt*, I’ll *chop off your hand*.*”*

* This is *Islamic law* practiced today *in Islamic states.*

o       *The ancient Hebrew response* was *a vast improvement*.

It was */lex talionis/**, the law of retaliation*, *limiting retaliation to an equitable penalty*—

 

*Exodus 21:23-25*   [23]But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, [24]*eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,* [25]burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

(ESV)(; cf.

Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21).

* This is *a civilized principle *that, if followed, would *help restore fairness to our litigious society*.

*Please turn to Romans 12*

 

Bear in mind that that the commands *in Luke 6* are *personal *and *not governmental*.

* Therefore this deals only with *matters of personal retaliation*, *not criminal offenses* or *acts of military aggression*.