Loving Those Who Are Hard To Love
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· 23 viewsBelievers are commanded to love those who are hard to love.
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43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.
47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
INTRODUCTION:
When we think of Valentine’s Day, we think of love. Generally, we think of an exchanging of love. It is a day when we celebrate loving those in our lives who are deserving of our love. We give cards and gifts to those we love and whom we desire to love us in return.
What about those individuals who are hard to love? How are we instructed to relate to them?
TS: Notice two principles that we are to remember in our interaction with those who are hard to love:
I- DISCIPLES OF CHRIST ARE CHALLENGED TO LOVE THOSE WHO ARE HARD TO LOVE. (Matthew 5:43-44)
I- DISCIPLES OF CHRIST ARE CHALLENGED TO LOVE THOSE WHO ARE HARD TO LOVE. (Matthew 5:43-44)
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
A- The ways of the world and the ways of Christ are often contradictory. (Matthew 5:43)
A- The ways of the world and the ways of Christ are often contradictory. (Matthew 5:43)
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
1- There are many adages and “common-sense” bits of human wisdom that fly in the face of biblical teaching.
a. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to evaluate our beliefs in light of scripture.
b. If biblical teaching contradicts the ideas we hold, we must reject those ideas and rebuild that line of thinking in light of scripture!
2- Jesus confronted one of the common ideas of people in his culture and ours.
a. “You have heard it said...” Jesus was pointing to what would have amounted to the common sense of His day.
b. “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy” seems to make sense.
“Love your neighbor” (Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου) -
The Pharisees had taken the Old Testament command to love their neighbor and had added the “and hate your enemy” (καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου) extension.
enemy included any non-jewish person (gentile)
This saying was common in their day and provided the exclusivist ideology practiced by Jews.
In essence, “love those who are easy to love and hate those who are hard to love.
This fits the idea in our culture that anyone who disagrees with you is an enemy, and is to be hated and treated with contempt.
Prejudices and party loyalties play into this mindset.
In this instance, what make sense is not the right way to go!
Jesus attacks this line of thinking … “You have heard it said” (Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη) makes it clear that Jesus condemns this ideology.
B- The ways of Christ call the disciple to a higher standard in motive and practice. (Matthew 5:44)
B- The ways of Christ call the disciple to a higher standard in motive and practice. (Matthew 5:44)
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
1- The disciple is called to a higher standard of motivation in dealing with perceived enemies.
a. “But I say...” (ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν) Jesus’ words contradicts human wisdom!
b. “Love your enemies!” (ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν)
Love (ἀγαπᾶτε)
Love is a choice. It chooses to care about and take an interest in the well-being of another person. - even at personal cost!
your enemies (ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν)
An enemy is someone with whom there is hostility. Someone who has intentionally tried to harm you.
2- The disciple is called to action on behalf of perceived enemies.
a. We are to pray for those who are especially difficult to get along with.
“Pray for” (καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ) means to pray on behalf of.
(Romans 12:14)
“those who persecute you.” (τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς)
Like Stephen did for those who stoned him to death. (Acts 7:60)
60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
Like Jesus did those who were responsible for crucifying him. (Luke 23:34)
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
II- DISCIPLES OF CHRIST ARE COMMANDED TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF THE LORD IN DEMONSTRATING LOVE. (Matthew 5: 45-48)
II- DISCIPLES OF CHRIST ARE COMMANDED TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF THE LORD IN DEMONSTRATING LOVE. (Matthew 5: 45-48)
A- The disciple of Christ is to choose to behave differently than the world. (Matthew 5:46-47)
A- The disciple of Christ is to choose to behave differently than the world. (Matthew 5:46-47)
46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.
47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
1- The disciple of Christ is not to behave like the rest of the world does.
(Romans 12:2)
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
2- Jesus is clear that utilizing the world’s standards for “love” will lead to no reward for the child of God.
a. God has called us to live out a higher standard than the rest of the world.
3. “Loving” only those who agree with us will not open doors for evangelism.
a. Demonstrating the love of Christ toward unlovable people (especially enemies) gets the attention of the lost. They don’t understand this type of response and sometimes will open their hearts to the Gospel when we behave this way!
B- The disciple of Christ is to seek to imitate the Lord (Matthew 5:45, 48)
B- The disciple of Christ is to seek to imitate the Lord (Matthew 5:45, 48)
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
1- The real standard for the child of God is the Lord, himself.
(Matthew 5:48)
48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(1 Peter 2:21-24)
21 For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
22 He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.
23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
2- God provides for the needs of believers and nonbelievers.
(Matthew 5:45)
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
3- Jesus died for the ungodly…we must seek to treat the ungodly and the unlovable with love. (Romans 5:8)
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
4- The Lord has called us to do good even to those who do evil to us.
(Exodus 23:4,5)
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner.
5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
(1 Peter 3:9)
9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.
CONCLUSION:
Love Your Enemies
A story is told of Peter Miller, a plain Baptist preacher living in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in the days of the Revolutionary War. Near his church lived a man who maligned the pastor to the last degree. The man became involved in treason and was arrested and sentenced to be hanged. The preacher started out on foot and walked the all seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for the man’s life. Washington heard his plea, but he said, “No, your plea for your friend cannot be granted.” “My friend!” said the preacher. “He is the worst enemy I have.” “What!” said Washington, “you have walked nearly seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon.”