HOW TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY
INTRODUCTION
Last week I taught Bible Doctrine at the Songa Bible School in Songa, Burundi (click here for a map). In this class, the students and I engaged in amazing discussions about the fundamentals of the faith. But because I believe theology should be practical, we talked about how to apply them to our congregations.
In one short discussion about forgiveness, we looked at Luke 6:27-36. Burundi endured a civil war from 1993-2005. Some pastors spoke about being forced to fight. Others shared how they were forced to flee across borders to safety. These men and women of God carry deep wounds; their scars impact how they see the world and the church. I can honestly say, they have a much better outlook than I would have after living through conflict.
That brings us to our text for consideration this week. Go ahead and read it – take your time. Let the full weight of these words rest on your mind and spirit.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Lk 6:27-36)
Does Jesus really expect us to love our enemy? Does He really expect us to do good to those who hate us? To answer these questions, let’s define who the enemy is.
WHO IS MY ENEMY
Who is the enemy Jesus talks about throughout this whole passage?
Well, when the people listening to Jesus heard Him say, “love your enemies,” they probably thought about the Romans. Like most things, identifying the enemy is complicated and contextual.
We know there is one enemy of all that is good: the devil. But Jesus’s teaching does not have the devil in mind. I believe in this context Jesus is referring to two kinds of enemies we must love: 1) national and 2) personal. Let’s unpack that a little.
National: when Jesus taught his lesson, Israel lived under the rule of Rome. They were lorded over by Gentiles who cared little about their well-being. They did not worship Yahweh. They did not follow the customs and traditions of the Jews. The result is tension and sometimes religious persecution. But it was a strange sort of arrangement. There were times when the leaders of Israel held Rome in friendship. Most of the time, however, Rome was an enemy of Israel. Much of this relationship depended on what one could get from the other.
The other kind of enemy is…
Personal: this kind of enemy is hostile to God and His servants. They consistently and daily resist those who try to live their lives in obedience to God.
When Jesus says, “love your enemy” I can imagine the shock waves that passed through the crowd. Jesus’s teaching. Rabbinical teachers supported the idea that anyone or any nation opposing God must be hated. They became an enemy of God. That teaching became a reason to reject, despise, ostracize, and generally mistreat any person considered an enemy.
Jesus says, “I know you have been told to love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Mt 5:43). He begins by pointing out this false teaching and then brings correction. Those living in covenant with God must love their neighbor and enemy! This brings us back to our question, “Who is the enemy I am supposed to love?”
For Christ’s followers, the enemy love is anyone hostile to the gospel of Christ. Believers love those who mistreat us, hate us, and take advantage of our kindness. We love them just like God loves them.
That truth leads us to a deeper question, “Why does God want us to love our enemies?” I think this is an important question to consider.
WHY? – WE WERE ONCE ENEMIES
New Testament teaching is clear that you and I were ENEMIES OF GOD. We don’t talk about that much in church today. Nevertheless, it is Scriptural truth. It is the bad news that leads us to the good news. Paul wrote to the Colossians,
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior (Col 1:21 emphasis mine).
He told the Ephesians…
[…] remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:11-12 emphasis mine).
Do you hear those words: separate, excluded, without hope, and without God? In other words, before repenting and putting our faith in Christ we were on the outside. We were hostile to God in our fallen and broken minds. We were enemies.
I am so glad Paul did not stop writing Ephesians 2:12. Look at Ephesians 2:13:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13 emphasis mine)
I am also glad Paul did not stop writing in Colossians 1:21. Look at Colossians 1:22:
But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col 1:22 emphasis mine).
This is what God does for His enemies!
We were far off. He brought us near to Himself.
We were ruined by sin. He restored us.
We were separated from God. He sent His Son to make reconciliation possible.
Now, because of faith in Christ, we are presented to God as holy and without accusation. Why? Because God loves His enemies! And so can we…
If we believe God can do anything, then we must believe God can help us love our enemies. Not just say we love them, then ignore them. But love them deeply and with compassion.
You see, Luke 6:27-36 is about giving without the expectation of return. God’s people give love without the expectation of it being returned. We do not love to gain something from someone. We love our enemies because our lives were changed by the power of God’s love that came to us through faith in Christ Jesus. Remember the words of the Apostle John: We love because he first loved us (1 Jn 4:19).
Now, instead of being an enemy of God, Christ has made us friends of God. He has done good for us. He has blessed us. Now Christ stands before the Father continually making intercession (praying) for us. And guess what, that is exactly what Christ wants us to do for our enemies.
Love is not merely about a feeling or emotion. Love is about DOING! Love is about action. So, how does God want us to “love our enemies?” Glad you asked. Listen to how the words of Jesus answer this question.
HOW DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMY?
We love our enemy by “doing good to those who hate you….” (v. 27)
What does it mean to “do good?” Put simply, it means to speak well of our enemies! Now, let me ask you something. What is your first response when someone declares their hatred for you, schemes to do you harm or talks bad about you to other people? It’s not usually a compliment! Our first response is often to retaliate with words and/or deeds.
We try to defend ourselves against their hate-filled attacks. If we are not careful, we will return hate for hate. Our thoughts and feelings about that person turn rancid and sour.
Let me ask you another question, “If we respond that way doesn’t it only cause deeper hurt and damage our integrity?” The answer is, yes.
Here is my word of advice to you (and to me). If you cannot speak well of your enemy, then don’t speak about them at all.
We “bless those who curse you…” (v. 28a)
Now, wait a minute, Danny! You expect me to speak well of my enemy and bless them. Well, no, I don’t necessarily expect that of you: BUT JESUS DOES!
What does it mean to “bless” someone? Here’s a fun fact. The Greek word eulogeō is translated bless. It is the word where we get the English eulogy. So, in one sense it also means to “speak well” of someone, but it goes a bit further.
To bless someone means refusing to repay their evil by doing evil to them. I think blessing goes beyond just the words we speak, but to the actions, we take arising from the motives of our hearts. We can hold our tongue about someone but carry hatred or animosity toward that person. We may never say something bad about them, but inside we curse them.
How can we find the strength to “do good” and “bless” our enemies?
We “pray for those who mistreat you…” (v. 28b)
So, instead of talking about them to others or secretly hoping God will strike them with lightning – we pray for God’s goodness to surround them and bring them to repentance (Rom 2:4). That doesn’t mean we cannot pour out our hurt and pain to God.
I have learned that lifting this person up to God changes my perception of them. We begin to see them through God’s lens of love. Our hearts begin to change and so do our motives. Instead of seeing that person with contempt and hatred, we are reminded, in prayer, that God has taken us from His enemy to His friend. Therefore, we are encouraged to believe in God for the healing and restoration of relationships.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
You see folks, God has called Christians to live differently in this world. Jesus continues teaching in Luke 6:32-35. He says that sinners can love those who love them. They can even do good to those who do good to them. Miraculously, sinners can even lend to others without the expectation of repayment.
Jesus says, “what credit is that to you?” Anyone can love when love is returned. Loving others. Speaking well of others. Not repaying evil for evil and praying for those who hate, curse, and mistreat us is a completely different matter altogether.
This is something only those who’ve been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit can do this. Only those who’ve been radically made into a new creation with a new mind can accomplish this level of love. Christians love differently because the Holy Spirit empowers us to choose to love even when someone doesn’t deserve it. To love someone who may never love us in return is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t get me wrong. Love doesn’t mean we necessarily agree with our enemy. It doesn’t imply we must like the same things our enemy likes. Love, for the Christ-follower, is not about emotional attachment. It is about doing what is right even when the other person is doing wrong.
The Holy Spirit promises to give us the strength to live out the commandments of God. Ask Him to help you today.
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