You Want Me to Love Who?

Luke 6:27-38

          You have often heard me say that Christianity is not for wimps. In today’s passage we will see that Christianity is also not for the proud. These eleven verses have been called the most humbling verses in the bible and they follow the beatitudes and woes in the Sermon on the Plain.

          Jesus now tells His listeners what kind of life they must live in order to prove that they have taken the warnings of the woes to heart, and that by grace; they have a right to claim the blessings for themselves. 

           Luke 6:27-38 "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

          This passage contains the most fundamental teachings of Christian ethics with ethics being defined as how we ought to live our lives in light of biblical teachings. Something most Christians don’t do. This statement may seem harsh but as we look at Christ’s teachings and compare ourselves to Him, I’m afraid we often fall far short of His will for our lives.

          Without a comprehensive understanding of a Biblical Christian Worldview, we will continue to be held captive by the lies of the world rather than live in the freedom of God’s grace.

          Throughout this passage are a number of directives given by Christ. Let’s look at them to get an overall picture of this lesson.

·        Love your enemies

·        Do good to those who hate you

·        Bless those who curse you

·        Pray for those who abuse you

·        Offer the other cheek

·        Do not withhold

·        Do onto others as you would have them do unto you

·        Love your enemies

·        Do good

·        Lend, expecting nothing in return

·        Be merciful

·        Judge not

·        Condemn not

·        Forgive

·        Give 

          Here are fourteen direct commands that, if followed, are proof of our being born again. Let me go back to my opening comments, Jesus has just given His listeners a list of blessings and woes or curses if you will. He is now telling them how they should live if they are going to receive these blessings, and what will happen if they don’t.

          One is not saved by living these principles; but living these principles is proof of one being saved.

          Let’s look at three of the fourteen that kind of summarize the lot, starting with the first commandment, “Love your enemies.” That was not a popular teaching at that time because it went against what the scribes had worked so hard to establish. In Matt. 5:43 Jesus told us what the scribes were teaching, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”

           It is hard to believe that they established that teaching by misinterpreting scripture. That never happens, does it?

          Leviticus 19:18 reads “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.” That sounds consistent with what Jesus taught so what’s the problem? The problem is emphasizing one point at the expense of another. “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself…..”

            If you cannot take vengeance against the sons of your own people that must mean that you must be able to take vengeance against those who are not sons of your own people. Makes sense! “While we’re at it we might as well label them our enemy.”

          This wall of separation was not only put up between Jews and Gentiles, but between “good Jews” and “bad Jews”. In other words, separation had been established between the Scribes and Pharisees and “those who did not know the law.” John 7:49 “Love my enemy? Never!

          Even though Christ’s teaching was new, it did not contradict the law. On the contrary, it brought the law to fruition. The Old Testament not only forbade revenge, but insisted that one should render assistance to his enemy whenever necessary. For example, Exodus 23:4-5 states that; "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”

          Jesus was taking the people from the Old Testament teaching of “assist your enemy” to the New Testament teaching of “Love your enemy”. This brings us to the question, how do I love my enemy? The answer is found in Romans 12: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

          Jesus put it this way, “Do good to those who hate you, Bless those who curse you, Pray for those who abuse you,  Be merciful.”

          Jesus is not asking us to condone evil, but is telling us not to condemn evil doers. That is his job, not ours.

          This leads us to the next summary statement, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” You should recognize this as the “Golden Rule.” Variations of the “Golden Rule” had been around for centuries but once again Jesus introduced a new ethic into the world, raising the bar even higher.

           Let me share some examples with you; a great Jewish Rabbis by the name of Hillel summarized the law this way, “What is hateful to thee, do not to another. That is the whole law and all else is explanation.” Philo once said, “What you hate to suffer, do not do to anyone else.” The Greek lecturer Isocrates said, “What things make you angry when you suffer them at the hands of others, do not you do to any other.” One of the basic rules of the Stoics was, “What you do not wish to be done to yourself, do not you do to one another.” And when asked if there was one word that could serve as a rule of practice for ones life, Confucius answered, “Is not reciprocity such a word. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”

          Did you pick out the common thread running through all these quotes? Every one of them is spoken in negative terms. In fact, there is not one known form of this universal rule in all antiquity that was not spoken or written in negative terms. Not doing something to someone is one thing, and it is not that difficult to accomplish, but that is not what Jesus is asking. He is not asking us not to do, He is telling us to do. “As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

          Loving our friends and family, treating them with respect and giving them a helping hand is a no brainer. We do it naturally with no expectation of repayment. Christians do not have a monopoly on these acts of compassion, for Heathens do the same. The difference should be that we are to extend the same hospitality and compassion to those we may consider to be our enemies. This teaching will undoubtedly bring the followers of Christ to a crisis of belief. Do you trust Jesus enough to imitate His life and follow His teachings? Unfortunately, many do not.

          Bp. Ryle wrote; “How little of the style of charity which our Lord recommends is to be seen, either in the world or in the church. How common is an angry, passionate spirit, a morbid sensitiveness about what is called honour, and a readiness to quarrel on the least occasion! How seldom we see men and women who love their enemies, and do good hoping for nothing again, and bless those that curse them, and are kind to the unthankful and evil!”

          In His “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus added this warning to the golden rule; “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:12-14.

          Do not take this warning lightly, for it wasn’t given lightly.    

          The last commandment we are going to look at is one we are familiar with because it is echoed in the Lords prayer which we recite each week, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

           Nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus teach that the forgiveness we are commanded to give is conditional. He never says, “forgive unless….” or “forgive if….”  He said,”Forgive, and you will be forgiven;” The opposite of condemning someone is forgiving someone and this teaching was never clearer than in the parable of the unforgiving servant.

          You may recall how Peter came to Jesus and asked how many times he should forgive his brother that sinned against him; “As many as seven times?” Peter asked. “No” Jesus said, “But seventy times seven.” In the parable the unforgiving servant was eventually thrown into prison because of his attitude and Jesus said, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

          When we forgive those who trespass against us, we are displaying the character of God in our lives. For us to receive divine pardon, it is essential that we have within us, by God’s grace, the ability to forgive others. That ability must be put into action if we are going to receive the ultimate gift, eternal life in Christ.

          It goes against our fallen nature to do the things that Jesus is commanding us to do. But he would not ask us to do them if he didn’t give us the ability to carry them out. We are to:

·        Love our enemies

·        Do good to them

·        Bless them

·        Pray for them

·        Show them a spirit of love

·        Be generous

·        Expect nothing in return

·        Be merciful to them

·        Not judge them

·        Not condemn them

·        and Forgive them

         Why? Because that is exactly what God has done for us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 God is not asking us to do anything more than He has already done for us. We are simply reflecting the grace He has given us, into a lost and dying world. 

          Christians are not called to be as good as their neighbors; they are called to be better than their neighbors. We are not supposed to compare ourselves with our neighbors; we are supposed to compare ourselves with Christ. Then and only then, will we be able to look at our enemies with love and compassion, just like Jesus looks at us.