Not an Enemy to Be Found
Notes
Transcript
The Most Difficult Task: Love Everyone You Know ()
The Most Difficult Task: Love Everyone You Know ()
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Love Your Neighbor
Love Your Neighbor
Have I heard that? Where have I heard that? Why is this important? Is this a difficult task?
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus states his relationship to the Old Testament Law and Prophets
Matt 5:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Some have considered to be Christ’s statement that the law is no longer relevant. “Yes! Finally we can stop worrying about obeying God’s commands! Now we just have to follow this guy around!”
However, before this section, Jesus makes it clear that he is taking all of the core Old Testament laws and extending them a step farther.
Illustration: I’ve always wanted to do well in school and get A’s. In high school, a 90 was the lowest A. In college, 93 was the lowest A. In Grad school, a 95 is the lowest. In holiness, a 100 is the lowest A.
And in school if you drop below an A, you just get a B. In holiness, if you drop below 100, anything less than a perfect score you fail. This is not a bell curve, graded scale. It is pass or fail. ().
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
The scriptures say “love your neighbor.”
The pharisees taught “hate your enemy.” It is nowhere found in scripture that God commands us to hate our enemy. This is the faulty thinking, that must have been taught by the scribes and pharisees, or Jesus would not have had to mention it.
Now… to love your neighbor is still a difficult endeavor. Were it not, then scripture would not have discussed it so much.
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matt 22:34-40
Again… the golden rule of christian living.
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matt 7:12
Loving your neighbors can be difficult. Who are my neighbors? Someone asked this very question in scripture.
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
Prov 25:21
Loving your neighbor is difficult.
Our neighbors may be of significantly greater social stature than us. Houses much larger, opportunities much greater.
Morning and Evening Morning, March 12
God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.
On the other hand, maybe our neighbors are far less fortunate than are we. Poor.
Morning and Evening Morning, March 12
The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for “God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth.” It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.
Maybe you are endeavoring to show love to your neighbors and these
Morning and Evening Morning, March 12
But, perhaps, you say, “I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.” So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.
QUESTION: Do you know the names of all your neighbors? Do you know if they are Christians? Do they know that YOU are a christian?
Jesus left the first phrase alone. “Love your neighbors.” But he changed the second phrase “hate your enemy.” Sometimes we end up jumping to conclusions that the scriptures never teach. At times we end up making assumptions that the Bible never makes. Sometimes even we teach things that Jesus never taught.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22 for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Question: Who is your enemy? Do you have any? Are you an enemy to someone else?
The answer to “who is my neighbor?” is also the answer to “who is my enemy?” Whoever is one, everyone else is the other. All non-neighbors, by necessity are enemies, yet Christ says to love them both. To love all people. Everyone, regardless of what they have done to and for, and against you.
No one is therefore to be our enemy. Enemies are only those neighbors to whom we have yet to show mercy and forgiveness. Both of which God calls us to give. Thus, we are to love everyone and to hate no one.
THE EXAMPLE: The Father
Never has a more fair and unconditionally loving example been given as God the Father.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Whoever applies to all my neighbors and all my “enemies.”
Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (f) Love (5:43–47)
Undiscriminating love will mark disciples out as sons of your Father, for the son shares the father’s character, and it is the character of God to dispense his natural blessings on all alike.
FINAL COMMAND: BE PERFECT
Matt
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Perfect is elsewhere translated as mature. This word emphasizes completeness or wholeness in our matching Christ’s call and the Father’s example. In the same way that lev 19 called the Jews so long ago to love thy neighbor, a similar phrase from the same chapter is used.
Lev 19
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
CONCLUSION
The Final Push was for us to grow in maturity. Towards the perfection of righteousness in Jesus Christ. For it to be true of us what Jesus said to his disciples in .
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Who are my enemies?
It is unrealistic to say there are not people we feel should be enemies.
Enemies may have hurt me, hurt my loved ones, hurt innocent people.
Enemies cause me to feel shock, anger, fear, resentment, bitterness, anxiety, vengeance, injustice,
Pray for my enemies.
Intercession (praying on behalf of someone) makes it increasingly difficult to hate them, or resent them.
Mayer Hawkins prayed for ISIS every night.
All of our sentiments toward others should be reflective of God’s sentiments towards them. And scripture that it is God’s desire that none should perish.
CONCLUDING STATEMENT:
It will lead us to the place where we can look truthfully and honestly around and say, I have no enemies to be found.
PRAYER: