Love Your Enemy

There was this man who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water.
He decided to save it by stretching out his finger, but the scorpion
stung him. The man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water,
but the scorpion stung him again.

A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him.

But the man said: "It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my
nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it
is the nature of the scorpion to sting?"

Don't give up loving.
Don't give up your goodness.
Even if people around you sting.

"LOVE YOUR ENEMIES"


INTRODUCTION

1. One of the more challenging commands given by Jesus is to love your enemies...
a. Given in His sermon on the mount - Mt 5:43-4443 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you!


2. Yet when taken to heart and applied properly, loving your enemies can..
a. Bless and transform your own life
b. Truly make this world a better place

[Let's examine Jesus' command to love your enemies more closely by first asking...]

I. WHO IS YOUR ENEMY?

A. ANYONE WHO CURSES YOU...
1. Who speaks ill about you or to you - Lk 6:28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.


B. ANYONE WHO HATES YOU...
1. Who for some reason despises you -; Lk 6:2727 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.
2. For either racial, political, religious, or personal reasons
- e.g., Jn 15:18-1918 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

C. ANYONE WHO SPITEFULLY USES YOU...
1. Who abuses, treats despitefully, falsely accuses you

2. To mistreat you in any way, like they did Jesus - Mt 27:27-30
27 Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters[a] and called out the entire regiment. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29 They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.

D. ANYONE WHO PERSECUTES YOU...
1. Who prosecutes and pursues with repeated acts of enmity

2. Like Saul of Tarsus (Paul) did the Christians -


[Our enemy can be a family member, neighbor, co-worker, fellow-citizen,or government representative (local or foreign).

In other words, just about anyone who does not like us. Now let's ask...]

II. WHY LOVE YOUR ENEMY?

A. TO BE LIKE GOD...
1. To be sons of our Father in heaven - Mt 5:4545 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

2. Who is kind to evil and unthankful men - Lk 6:35-3635 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.;

B. TO BE UNLIKE SINNERS...
1. Who love those who love them -; Lk 6:32-3332 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

2. Which is human nature, but we are to be partakers of divine nature - cf. 2Pe 1:44 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

C. TO OVERCOME EVIL...
1. Not letting evil overcome you - Ro 12:20-2120
Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

a. "I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate him." - George Washington Carver
b. "Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them - and then you destroy yourself." - Richard Nixon
2. Overcoming evil by doing good - Ro 12:20-21
a. "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" - Abraham Lincoln
b."Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemyinto friend." - Martin L. King, Jr.

[The ultimate goal should be to transform our enemies into brethren
Ro 10:1) 1 Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved..

Is that not what God did with us? So let us now ask...]

III. HOW TO LOVE YOUR ENEMY?

A. BY BLESSING THEM...
1. As commanded by Jesus, Paul, and Peter - Mt 5:44; 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Ro 12:1414 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.; 1Pe 3:9Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.

2. The word "bless" here means to "speak well of" or "speak well to" -

B. BY DOING GOOD TO THEM...
1. As taught in both Covenants - Exo 23:4-54 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.;;
Ga 6:1010 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

2. Which has the potential of transforming our enemies –

Pro 25:21-2221 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
22 You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
and the LORD will reward you.;

C. BY PRAYING FOR THEM...
1. As Jesus taught -; Lk 6:2828 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.


D. WITH ACTIVE GOOD WILL...
1. Which is the meaning of the word "love" (Gr., agape)
2. Beautifully defined by Paul - 1Co 13:4-84 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[a] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
(Imagine treating enemies like this!)

CONCLUSION

1. We are not commanded to love our enemies with affection in our hearts...
a. Experienced in families (Gr., storge)
b. Expressed among friends (Gr., phileo)
c. Especially with brethren (Gr., philadelphia)

2. We are commanded to love our enemies with an act of the will...
a. Displaying active good will toward them (Gr., agape)
b. Blessing them, doing to good them, praying for them

However, where agape love is consistently shown it is not unusual for phileo love to gradually develop. Even if not, we still have the duty and privilege to be "sons of the Most High"...

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His
grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life. - Tit 3:3-7