LOVE YOUR ENEMIES - "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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. 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? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Similar to His teaching on retaliation, Jesus expounds upon man's fleshly inclination to self-protect by charging him to step outside his comfort zone and do the unthinkable: Love thy enemy. In truth, we live predominately within a defined set of boundaries, strategically placed and positioned in our lives to guard and protect us. We extend grace and mercy as far as we're comfortable and see fit (which brings personal judgment into play), but our heavenly Father does not limit or cap the amount of grace He willingly extends us on a daily basis. In fact, the Lord declares in His Word, "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25). Those who testify to the saving work of Jesus Christ for their personal salvation are covered by the promise of this everlasting covenant. No matter how guilty we feel about our sin, how far we run from the Spirit's conviction, or how regretful we are for the consequences of our sins, the Lord promises to graciously forgive and cleanse us if we humbly repent of our sins and turn from our wicked ways. There is no maximum quota we can exceed on the grace He freely offers, because the same Word that condemns our sin extends an unfathomable lifeline, which allows us to rest in His presence. "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20-21).
What Jesus clarifies in Matthew 5:43-48 is not an "either/or" ultimatum. The Old Testament law He references is absolute truth we are called to live by, just as it was for the nation of Israel. "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 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" (Leviticus 19:17-18). Loving our neighbor is not an instruction to be applied in lieu of loving our enemies, and that is the basis for Jesus' amplification of His Gospel message. When we love as Jesus loves, we are pulled from the safety and security of our self-protecting bubble into a world of uncertainty and risk. If we're being honest, many of us shudder at the mere thought, and get nervous, anxious and stressed over how we should respond to an ever-changing world spiraling deeper into depravity. What we must recognize is that when we strip away the facade of pride and insecurity we cling to in those moments, we begin to see with clarity as Paul did on the Damascus road that we have been led astray by our own volition. Temptation preyed upon our weak propensities, and we chose the security of idleness and comfort over the immeasurable risk and reward of living for Christ. It is no different than how Proverbs describes a man who does not resist the adulteress' temptation, but suffers the consequences of submitting to an idol of his own making. "With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life" (Proverbs 7:21-23).
Keep in mind, the instruction to "love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy" is not a directive made in Scripture, but a misrepresentation of who God is and His will for our lives. David affirms, "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man" (Psalm 5:4-6). It is sin and wickedness that kindles the Lord's anger toward those who vehemently oppose His sovereign authority and holiness; however, the righteous are spared not due to perfection, but the blood of Jesus. Nonetheless, "The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence" (Psalm 11:5). God provides opportunities to test the spiritual maturity of His children in order to sift our hearts and determine where our true allegiance lies. For it is easy to say we are Christians, but to what extent are we willing to obey the Bible's teachings? Are we theoretically in agreement with Matthew 5:43-48, but secretly harboring unrighteous anger and hate toward those who oppose our theology and beliefs? Scripture affirms the sun will rise and rain fall on BOTH the believer and unbeliever, so what difference does it make whether we choose to love or hate? Truth be told as Jesus conveys, even unbelievers are extended common grace in order to compel their hearts toward repentance, for "the LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made" (Psalm 145:8-9).
Identity is the key to unlocking our ability to embrace love and cast off hatred. Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:9-12). Love is the great equalizer and differentiates Christianity from all other religions. The Bible states, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and that is what inspired God to sacrifice His own Son on our behalf, despite the fact we were once His enemies. Let us not forget that God first demonstrated what it means to "love thy enemy" by choosing to love us despite our persistent wickedness. "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" (Romans 5:9-10). The Lord does not ask anything of us that He has not already modeled by His Word. Therefore, we are without excuse as we wrestle with the truth of Matthew 5:43-48 in our own hearts, and how we might emulate the example provided for us. How then does love compel us to action? By remembering who we once were apart from Christ, and how we are made new IN Christ.
We love our enemies by looking back into our past and recognizing how hostile we once were toward the throne of grace. For if God chose to save sinners by willingly offering grace through faith, how can we continue to live hardhearted toward our enemies? In essence, are we not requiring a price be paid for the grace we extend others, all the while receiving grace for ourselves free of charge from the Lord? May it never be! We must remember where we came from, for that is the only way we allow God to perfect our character and countenance as we live out the Gospel by loving our enemies. "And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he (Jesus) has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven" (Colossians 1:21-23a). Keep in mind, not every enemy of ours will come to recognize the love of our Savior when we extend love, grace, mercy and forgiveness toward them, but that is not the point. We are called to "be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving (our)selves" (James 1:22), for that is what differentiates a false believer from one who has been humbled by the enormity of his/her sin and need of a Savior.
Therefore, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). Bottom-line: Loving our enemies is not a suggestion Scripture alludes to, but a command. There is no fine-print escape clause that makes obedience to Scripture non-binding, because the blood of Jesus shed on our behalf to fulfill what God's divine law demands, bought our salvation. "For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men" (1 Corinthians 7:22-23). When we accept the free gift of salvation paid in full by Jesus Himself, we are no longer slaves to our flesh or the world, but bond-servants to Christ. What this means is we are set free from the crushing weight of our sin, and released from the prison of our self-imposed, self-sufficiency; indebted to Christ for the price He paid for our ransom, to bring glory to His name by submitting to, obeying and applying what the Bible teaches. Therefore, we cannot continue to be consumed by hatred for our enemies, but compelled to lay down our pride and extend love by faith, so that our obedience to the Great Commission might win souls for Christ. "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends" (1 Corinthians 13:7-8a).
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