Love Your Enemies
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
1/21/2018 PM
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Text:
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Matthew 5:43-48
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Psalters: |
292, 392, 305, 271 |
- God’s law and Jesus’ command.
- The Jewish rabbis restricted “neighbor” to those of the same nation and especially to those of their religious party.
- In verse 38 Jesus began a treatment of how we must conduct ourselves toward others.
- In our text Jesus shows that they were they were wrong to think that they were commanded to hate their personal enemies.
- God’s law identified the “neighbor” as anyone God puts in our path.
- God identified Egyptians as neighbors (Ex. 11:2) and commands them not to vex the stranger in the land (Lev. 19:33,34).
- Our “neighbor” is all-embracing, and includes especially personal enemies.
- Jesus calls us to love those who hate us, and He does not give us the right to hate them.
- This love is vastly superior to the natural affection of human compassion the publicans (ungodly) have (46,47).
- This love has to be an holy and spiritual affection which expresses itself in good and kind acts.
- The reason for such high conduct.
- The righteousness of the citizens of Christ’s kingdom exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (20).
- Our love is to be superior to the natural love which the ungodly have for their brothers (46,47).
- What God and Jesus requires and commands is so much greater than the natural.
- And especially the attitude of God’s children must resemble that of their heavenly Father (48).
- The activity of God’s providence is to be our example.
- We must strive toward God’s perfection, even if we never realize it in this life (as Phil. 3:12).
- The motivation for our loving conduct toward our personal enemies is God’s love for us.