Love Until it Hurts: How Kingdom Citizens Relate to Their Enemies

Hopson Boutot

Poquoson Baptist Church

Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Matthew 5:43–48

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Your Mercy

WELCOME

Good morning family!

If we’re honest, we’re sometimes tempted to feel entitled to the salvation that we just sang about. “Of course God saved me, that’s His job!”

You will never feel the wonder of your salvation until you know what you truly deserved.

Listen to God’s Word...

Romans 5:6-10—“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 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.”

We gather, not as entitled trust-fund children, but as former enemies now adopted into the family of God.

When we truly grasp that, we sing, pray, and hear God’s Word with eager joy.

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon from Matthew 5:43-48. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 3 quick announcements:

1) A word about PBC. We are Worshipers.

Gospel-shaped liturgy

2) Prayer Meeting tonight at 5:30 PM

"I’m not good at praying”

That’s exactly why attending would be good for you!

3) PBC Work Day—March 19 from 9-12

Need plumbers, carpenters, cleaners, movers, organizers, and more!

Now look in your Bibles at Matthew 5:43 as Chloe Figgers comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Matthew 5:43-48)

Prayer of Praise (God is gracious)

Sovereign Over Us

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Prayer of Confession (Anger), Josh Winchell

Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near

PBC CATECHISM #10

PBC catechism is a series of questions and answers adapted from our church statement of faith and covenant

When we recite this together, we’re reminding ourselves of what we believe as a church

Most members will likely believe more than our statement of faith, but you cannot believe less

What is the significance of being made in God’s image?

Because we are made in God’s image, every human life is sacred from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Thanksgiving—the atonement

“[we] were dead in the trespasses and sins in which [we] once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But [You], being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which [You] loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace [we] have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1-5)

Thank you that you made us alive through the atoning work of Jesus

Jesus, you lived a sinless life so that your righteousness could be credited to our account

And you died a sinner’s death so that our sin could be credited to you

“[Jesus, You were] despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces [You were] despised, and we esteemed [You] not. Surely [You have] borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed [You] stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But [You were] pierced for our transgressions; [You were] crushed for our iniquities; upon [You] was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with [Your] wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on [You] the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6)

Thank you

Prayer for PBC—love our enemies

Perhaps for some of us the problem is we don’t have any enemies

So isolated in our holy huddles that we’re not around anyone that disagrees with us

So assimilated when we are around the world that they don’t see or hear any difference in us

Help us to remember that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12)

If and when we are mistreated by those who hate us, help us to love them in return

Not simply to do good to them, not simply to treat them kindly, help us to want them to truly prosper

“[Help us to] Bless those who persecute [us];. . . [Help us to] Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on [us], [help us to] live peaceably with all. [Help us to] never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”” ( Romans 12:14-19)

Help us to treat our enemies this way because we really believe the Gospel, that Jesus loved us and died for us when we were enemies of God.

Prayer for sister church—Joey & Calli, StoryRunners

StoryRunners work translating Bible stories in the thousands of languages that have no Scripture.

Praise you for another baby on the way in August!

Healthy pregnancy for Calli

Team in East Africa training baby Christians to share the Gospel with their friends and neighbors

Prayer for US—Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Wisdom to respond rightly to global challenges...

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

The Chinese oppression of their people in general and the Uyghurs in particular

A madman in North Korea

War in Ukraine

Help us to care about all the image-bearers of God across the world caught in the cross-hairs of power-hungry leaders

Prayer for the world—Russia

We pray that the hostile takeover of Ukraine would fail

We pray for our brothers and sisters across Russia

We pray against the autocratic leadership of Vladimir Putin

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in [Your] hand... [You] turn it wherever [You] will.” (Proverbs 21:1)

You turned the heart of Pharaoh to promote Joseph

You hardened the heart of another Pharaoh to show your glory in the exodus

You humbled the heart of Nebuchadnezzar

You softened the heart of Cyrus to fund the rebuilding of the temple

You directed the heart of Pilate to crucify Jesus, knowing that you would get glory through the free, sinful choices of powerful kings

Changing the heart of Putin is no harder for you than any of these acts of sovereign power in ages past. Change his heart, we pray!

Help us to trust that whatever You do, Your purposes are wise and good.

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

The story is told of a mother who was driving to school one day, and her young son, Johnny, was standing in the seat beside her.

These must’ve been the good old days before parents wrapped their kids in 1-inch thick bubble wrap before putting them in the car.

Anyways, the mom noticed little Johnny standing up in the car and she said, "Sit down, dear, I may have to stop suddenly and you'll be thrown against the windshield."

"No!" Johnny refused.

"Please sit down, dear, I don't want you to get hurt," the mother insisted.

"No!" came Johnny’s stubborn reply.

"Please!!!" came the mom’s final appeal.

"No!"

Finally, the frustrated mom reached over and pulled Johnny down. He sat there sullenly for a moment, then said, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside."

I think that story helpfully demonstrates the difference between outward conformity and inward change.

The mom got what she wanted. The little boy’s body was sitting down. And, let’s hope, buckled up in a 16-point harness with his safety helmet on. Either way, he was outwardly conformed to his mother’s will.

But even though he was changed on the outside, nothing changed on the inside. Johnny’s heart remained unmoved, rebellious, and disobedient. He was inwardly unchanged.

How often do you and I do the same thing?

It’s one thing to behave differently on the outside. If we feel like we must, we’ll outwardly conform.

With the right motivation, we might even turn the other cheek when we’re insulted. We might give a cloak to the one who’s suing us for our tunic. We might go two miles instead of the one that’s required of us. We might give to those who ask something from us.

But as important as those things are, Jesus requires more. Jesus requires inward change.

Last week we learned how Jesus requires us to respond when we’re personally mistreated.

With a little help and a lot of hard work, some people may be able to outwardly conform to Jesus’ teaching.

But this week, Jesus ratchets up His teaching even further.

This week, Jesus demands not merely outward conformity but inward change.

It is not enough to show outward kindness towards those who mistreat you. You must inwardly love them, even if they’re your enemies.

Turn to Matthew 5:43

Jesus is preaching a sermon to His disciples about how to live rightly as citizens of the kingdom of heaven

He’s contrasting kingdom righteousness with the righteousness of the religious teachers

6x, “You have heard that, but I say to you this”

True righteousness doesn’t merely avoid things like murder, adultery, and manipulative oaths. True righteousness wages war against hate, lust, and dishonesty of any kind.

In the final contrast, Jesus looks beyond the law’s teaching about loving your neighbor to God’s desire that we love even our enemies

Hearts that Jesus changes don’t stop at kindness towards those who mistreat us. We will love them, even if it’s an enemy.

Four Truths that, with the Spirit’s help, can prepare a renewed heart to love even an enemy...

1) A Harsh Reality

5:43—“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

Once again, Jesus is dealing with a perversion of the OT law...

The command to love your neighbor is in the OT...

Leviticus 19:18—“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.”

When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22 which commandment was the greatest, He mentions this as the second greatest commandment

But the Jewish people interpreted the command to love one’s neighbor as a command to love fellow Israelites. They didn’t have to love anybody else.

Jesus famously corrected this misunderstanding in the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Because they believed they only had to love their fellow countrymen, they thought they were justified in hating their enemies. But the OT law has no such command.

Today most Christians don’t struggle hating their enemies. We’ve been so influenced by Christian teaching about love that we understand we’re at least supposed to love everybody.

But there’s a HARSH REALITY I think many of us need to face. Many of us don’t have any enemies.

We're like Sherlock Holmes in the BBC television show. In one episode the great detective warns his friend, Dr. John Watson, to watch out for a certain individual because he was an archenemy. Watson responds, "People don't have archenemies.... There are no archenemies in real life."

Why don’t we have any enemies? Why don’t I have any enemies?

A few weeks ago, the elders met with our missionary Justin Ham over Zoom to check in on him and pray for him, his family, and his ministry. He told us that ministry in Belgium is very hard and dark, and they’re very rarely well received by the world around them. He said their church is in their community doing ministry “all the time” and they’re regularly called idiots or worse for following Jesus.

And it occurred to me—is that why I don’t have enemies? Is it because I’m not around unbelievers enough?

One of the things I need to do as a Christian is to work to be around those who don’t know Jesus.

Is that something you need to do?

Maybe for you the reason you don’t have enemies is slightly different. You’re around unbelievers regularly. But the reason why they don’t look down on you is that they don’t see any difference in you. They don’t know what you believe.

Is that you? Are you blending in with the lost world around you?

Are you hiding the most controversial things that you believe, things that would cause the world around you to mistreat you?

If yes, what needs to change? Where do you need to start?

Why don’t we have any enemies? Why don’t I have any enemies?

If you find yourself like Dr. Watson, empty of enemies perhaps you need to ask yourself if you’re too isolated or too assimilated.

2 Timothy 3:12—“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”

This command will start to take on the shock value that Jesus intended when we find ourselves being hated and persecuted for what we believe and how we behave.

Before we can love our enemies, we need to reckon with the harsh reality that followers of Jesus will have enemies.

But we also need to consider from Jesus’ teaching...

2) A Supernatural Response

Last week we were told how to respond when we’re mistreated. This week, Jesus ups the ante. It’s not enough to do certain things when someone mistreats you. Your outward response to your enemies must flow from the inward posture of your heart.

It’s not enough to turn the other cheek, give your cloak, go an extra mile, or give to those who ask you. You must love them.

But perhaps the command will be a bit easier to understand if we understand what Jesus means by “enemy”

5:44—“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...”

Now notice there’s two commands in this verse: Love and pray.

And those two commands are directed towards the same group of people, the people Jesus calls “your enemies.”

But notice how they are described at the end of the verse: “those who persecute you”

So an enemy is someone who persecutes you.

Sometimes this might be a hard persecution—things like arrest, imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom

But that’s not the only type of persecution Christians face...

Matthew 5:10-11—“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

We could call this soft persecution, not because it’s easy but because it’s less intense than hard persecution

Either way, whether we’re dealing with the hard persecution of physical injury or the soft persecution of verbal insult, Jesus’ command is the same. LOVE.

Stephen in the book of Acts, prayed for God to forgive those who were stoning him.

A 2nd century pastor named Polycarp, welcoming with joy those who would eventually execute him for refusing to deny Christ.

John Huss, the 15th century church reformer who predated Martin Luther by 100 years prayed for God to show mercy to those who burned him at the stake.

John Paton, the 19th century missionary to cannibals, who spoke kindly to his enemies even as they threatened him with axes, guns, and knives.

Corrie ten Boom, who learned to forgive the Nazi guards who tormented her

Elisabeth Elliot, who returned to the very people who killed her husband and loved them to Christ.

This sort of response is not natural! It’s supernatural!

The example Jesus gives of how we should love our enemies is to pray for them. Now that might not seem like a very big deal, but trust me it is.

John Piper—“Prayer for your enemies is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them. You might do nice things for your enemy without any genuine desire that things go well with them. But prayer for them is in the presence of God who knows your heart, and prayer is interceding with God on their behalf. It may be for their conversion. It may be for their repentance. It may be that they would be awakened to the enmity in their hearts. It may be that they will be stopped in their downward spiral of sin, even if it takes disease or calamity to do it. But the prayer Jesus has in mind here is always for their good. . . . Jesus is calling us not just to do good things for our enemy, like greeting them and helping supply their needs; he is also calling us to WANT their best, and to express those wants in prayers when the enemy is nowhere around.” [1]

You cannot love like this unless you have been born again

Unbeliever: repent and believe!

Christian: examine yourself!

If we’re going to love our enemies, we need to reckon with the the supernatural response that Jesus demands of us—to want the best for our enemies.

But we also need to consider from Jesus’ teaching...

3) A Surprising Reward

5:45a—“...so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”

Some might say, “Aha! There’s a contradiction in the Bible! Paul says we are saved by grace alone through faith alone but here Jesus says that we become children of the Father by loving our enemies!” Is this passage teaching works salvation?

Another way to interpret Jesus’ words in verse 45 is “so that you may demonstrate that you are sons [and daughters] of your Father who is in heaven”

I think that’s what Jesus means for a few reasons...

Matthew 5:16—“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus doesn’t say, “when you let your light shine God will become your Father.” He is your Father.”

As we’ve said repeatedly, Jesus is talking to His disciples, those who already are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. He’s talking to Christians.

This trend is repeated later in the sermon as well. 12 times in chapter 6 alone, Jesus says “your Father”

But look at verse 16 again. When people see our good works—and in context this would include joy amidst persecution by enemies—they will glorify our Father in heaven.

Now why would someone look at your good works and glorify God? Why wouldn’t they look at your good works and glorify you? Because presumably you’ve told them that it is GOD who empowers you to do the good works in the first place.

What does that have to do with verse 45? Who is the One who empowers us to love our enemies? To pray for those who persecute us? It’s our Father in heaven!

So, Christian, you’re a child of the Father because of grace. Your good works (like loving enemies) aren’t the ROOT of God’s love for you, they’re the FRUIT of God’s love for you. Loving your enemies isn’t the PAYMENT you make to become a child of God, it’s the RESULT that God works in you because you are a child of God!

Now that we’ve got that straight, let’s consider the surprising reward for those who love their enemies.

5:44-45a—“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may [demonstrate that you are] sons of your Father who is in heaven.

The reward for those who love their enemies is a heightened assurance that you belong to God.

Have you ever doubted your salvation? Wondered if you truly belonged to God? Prayed a sinner’s prayer at every youth camp, every revival service, “just in case”?

The person who struggles with doubts about his/her salvation is a person lacking assurance of salvation.

I’ve told you before about a revival preacher I once heard who said, “If you’re not 100% sure you’re 100% lost.” Hogwash. Poppycock.

Doubts are real. In a few chapters (ahem, years), we’ll encounter a John the Baptist, trapped in a prison cell doubting

Christians sometimes doubt. But you don’t have to. You can have the sweet gift we call assurance.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God Born of his Spirit, washed in His blood

One of the ways (not the only way, and not even the most important way) God designed to give you assurance of your salvation is by measuring your obedience. You can know you belong to God is that you look like Him. You’ve got the family resemblance.

And look at how God treats His enemies...

5:45b—“…He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Notice first where rain comes from...

“I know where it comes from. Moisture from the earth turns into water vapor which rises into the sky and forms clouds. And then when the water droplets in clouds get too heavy, we get rain.”

True, but who designed the world to work that way? And who oversees every molecule of vapor that forms a cloud and every drop of rain that falls to the earth? God does.

Also, notice that in this context rain is seen as a good gift...

We view rain as an annoying inconvenience. In an agrarian society, rain is an incredible blessing and a gift. Without it there is no water for the crops, which means there is no food.

The lesson here is that God gives good gifts to everybody, whether they belong to Him or not.

The most ardent atheist still receives thousands of gifts of common grace every single day. He may go to his grave cursing God, blaspheming His name and yet God will bless him with countless undeserved pleasures.

That’s how Jesus treated His enemies when He was on the cross when He prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

If that’s how the Father treats His enemies, and you've been adopted by the Father, shouldn’t you love your enemies too?

“Well I’m nice to some people! I’m kind to people at church! And my Christian friends! Doesn’t that count?”

5:46-47— For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”

If you belong to the Father, you’ll slowly start to look like Him!

Remember: you’ve been adopted into God’s family. And sometimes adoptive families look different.

If you tell me that Zeke looks like his daddy, I know you’re lying!

So you’re not going to love your enemies perfectly. But the longer you’re in the family of God, the more you should look like your heavenly Father.

But even in an adoptive family, the children begin over time to resemble their parents in some ways.

Watch Ezekiel dance or catch a ball and you’ll be like, “Oh yeah, Hopson, I see the resemblance. He is your son!”

The day may come when Ezekiel will doubt his place in our family. But I hope and pray in that day we’ll be able to point him to all the ways he has grown to look like us and his assurance that he belongs will grow.

And that’s exactly what God wants for all His children. He wants you to know that you’re His.

If we’re going to love our enemies, we should be motivated by the surprising reward that Jesus promises us—an increased assurance that we belong to Him.

But we also need to consider from Jesus’ teaching...

4) An Imputed Righteousness

5:48—“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This is the conclusion of this section of Jesus’ sermon.

The section began in Matthew 5:20, where Jesus was also talking about righteousness...

Matthew 5:20—“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

This whole section has been contrasting the empty human righteousness of the Pharisees with the genuine righteousness that belongs to the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven

Six times Jesus has examined this empty righteousness with the righteousness of His people

Real righteousness transforms how we view murder, adultery, divorce, truth-telling, revenge and more!

Along the way, who among us has not felt burdened by Jesus’ standards here? Even though Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament law, He hasn’t lowered the standards has He? If anything He’s ratcheted everything up!

And yet, Jesus says in Matthew 11:29-30—“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

How can these burdens be light? Only if you understand the doctrine of imputation.

In his podcast, Simply Put, Barry Cooper illustrates imputation this way...

Imagine one day you switch on the TV, and you see a news report about a royal family. And your jaw drops. The prince has married a prostitute.

And then you see her.

She’s been living on the streets. She is dealing with a mountain of unpaid debt, so she’s homeless, she’s filthy, she’s emaciated with hunger, and her lips are chapped with thirst. She’s clearly an addict of one kind or another.

And then the cameras cut to an interview with the prince himself. And he says that he’s always loved her. That he loved her from the very beginning, and that nothing will separate them.

And then the cameras cut away to members of the public. And there is an uproar. They think it’s a disgrace to the entire royal family.

And of course, in a sense, they’re right. Because for the prince to marry her, he’s going to have to accept the shame and disgrace connected with her. He has to be willing to be associated with her, pay off the debts she can’t pay. He has to pay a huge price.

Not only that, of course, but she gets to be associated with the royal family. Her legal status changes forever. Whatever else she may have been, she is now queen. Having been irretrievably in debt, she now finds herself enjoying the limitless wealth of her husband. [2]

Christ has taken all the filth that belonged to us and given us all the righteousness that belonged to Him!

When Jesus says our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, we’re able to do that because we have first received His righteousness as a gift!

And because we have received this righteousness as a gift, we will live righteous lives (albeit imperfectly)

And when we see Jesus face-to-face we’ll be transformed into our glorified state where we will be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect

If we’re going to love our enemies, we need to admit that we cannot love them unless we first receive His righteousness imputed to us as a gift.

LORD’S SUPPER

The righteousness we receive as a gift from Christ is what we celebrate every time we take the Lord’s Supper together.

1 Cor 11:23-28—“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

Jesus and you moment as you pray silently, preparing your heart for Communion

Confess sin to God and (if necessary) to others

PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GRACE!!!

Jesus and others moment as you come to a table, one of our pastors prays over you, and you eat the bread in a small group of friends/family

Sit and pray as long as you need. Then when you’re ready, just walk towards the front and gather around a table in groups of 3-5 or so

Jesus and everybody moment as we take the cup together as a church family

After you eat the bread, you’ll walk down the side aisles back to your seat while we wait for everyone to finish then we'll eat the bread together

More important than how we celebrate communion is who:

Christian: This is Jesus' gift to encourage you! Receive it with joy!

Not a Christian: Don’t receive the symbol, receive the reality. If you're ready to receive Him today you can come to one of the tables and talk to one of our pastors. Let us know of your desire to give your life to Jesus and we’ll happily drop everything to talk and pray with you. If you're not ready to do that today just remain in your seat.

Bow your head and prepare your heart while Cliff plays

When you’re ready, come to any of the tables

After everyone has had the bread...

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Let’s sing together

All I Have is Christ

BENEDICTION

Colossians 3:15— “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

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