Life With Others Pt 5

Take their Bibles and turn back
once again to Romans Chapter 12. Romans Chapter 12 and what Paul
is doing here, we have been studying for the last several weeks. What
Paul is essentially trying to help us understand is how to
deal with others, how to deal with other people. We would be
great Christians if it just weren’t for other people. If it weren’t
for Henri, provocative, difficult people. We would really be excellent
Christians, the best the world’s ever seen. But we have to interact
with others. We can’t go out of the world. We have considered that even
in the church, people can be difficult. And that’s even why
Paul starts with dealing with the Saints, how to deal with
fellow believers there in verses 9 through 13. But he goes on
from there and deals with a number of other cases, if you will,
types of individuals across whose path God will surely lead us. If you would take it in its entirety,
verses 9 through 21, as we look at a variety of types of people that God is
going to bring into our lives. First of all, consider by way
of reminder what God calls us to with regards to fellow believers. Paul says, let love be without
hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good, be devoted
to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another
in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation,
devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing
hospitality. And it isn’t that Paul is completely
done with believers, many of the things that he’ll address
in the not only the verses, but the chapters to come deal directly
with our fellow believers in Christ. But he pauses for a moment
and deals with several other. Types of people across whose
path we will come. First of all, he brings us face
to face with those who are antagonistic in verse 14, bless those who
persecute you and bless and curse not a verse which will consider
fully today. He deals with the downtrodden
in verse 15 and 16. Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one
another. Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the
lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Verses 17 through 21, which verses
will take up in weeks to come, he deals with those who are contrary.
where he says, never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect
what is right in the sight of all men, if possible, so far
as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your
own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for
it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.
But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty,
give him a drink. For in so doing, you will keep
burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good. Well. We’ll visit that particular
passage in weeks to come, but today we probably have one of
the more difficult commands in all of Scripture, don’t we? And
so when I was asked whether we would have communion at the end
of the service or After the sermon or before the sermon, as we often
do immediately, I knew that there will be many hearts that need
to deal with the fallout of this passage prior to the Lord’s table. This is indeed a difficult command.
One of the hardest things we ever do is to face not just a
friend. It’s easy to bless a friend.
It’s easy to not curse a friend. But it is. especially in our humanness,
almost impossible. To bless and not curse an enemy. Somebody who has done us an unkindness,
somebody who has hurt us. It’s almost impossible on a human
level. Paul includes this portion of Scripture in dealing with
other people. And he points out that dealing
with this hard task, of returning kindness for evil is part and
parcel of what it means to be a Christian. Go, if you would,
to verse 14. It’s a simple statement. Bless
those who persecute you. Bless and curse not. Paul is
dealing with those who are positively antagonistic towards us. The word is an interesting one,
this word persecution. Translated here, persecution.
Paul had just used this word In a very positive way pursuing. Look back at verse 13. In verse
13 he said that we are to be contributing to the needs of
the saints practicing or pursuing hospitality. Remember I said
it’s not enough that we just answer our door when the doorbell
rings and we welcome in those who are in need. OK and we take
care of their needs. Paul says that we should be practicing
hospitality. We should be looking for opportunities
to show kindness practical kindness to those who are in need. In
that sense we are to be pursuing that and the word can be translated
either mildly by the English word pursue or in its more complete
sense persecuting. And the Scriptures translate
both. Paul said to the Corinthians in 14.1, pursue love. Paul goes on to say that we are
to pursue righteousness. We are to pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. He says in 1
Timothy 6.11. He goes on to say that we are
to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. In Second Synod
the 222. No wonder the writer of Hebrews. Perhaps even picked up on that
pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which
no one will see the Lord. There are things that we are
supposed to be after. There are things that we’re supposed
to be pursuing actively and eagerly. In a sense you could say that
we’re supposed to be persecuting them persecuting being maintained
in the positive in those verses. We are supposed to be after those
things. But you know full well the word
is also translated more often than not in the New Testament
as persecuted in a negative sense. First time it appears in the
Gospels is in Matthew chapter 5 verse 10 which versus we just
read a few weeks ago. Blessed are those who have been
persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. We’ll talk about what persecution is and what it isn’t
in a moment. Jesus was persecuted, John 516,
John 1520. He says that as a result, we
too will be persecuted. The Old Testament prophets were
persecuted at 752. Paul says that his life history
was one of persecution. First Corinthians 412. That verse
that is so common to the work of the ministry will look at
more in just a moment that We are persecuted but not forsaken. The fullest meaning of the word
in the New Testament has to do with persecution. That’s how
it more often than not is translated and what it refers to is hateful
treatment of someone simply because of what he or she believes or
what he or she doesn’t believe. As one characterizes it, it is
affliction suffered for the sake of Christ. It is because of our
belief in Christ, it’s because of our pursuit of righteousness,
it’s because we are in the world, but not of the world, it’s because
we are aliens and strangers that we will be persecuted. It can refer. As we’ve already
seen, this idea of just kind of scaring someone away, driving
someone off. But it may even be used in such
a positive sense, as I just pointed out, of really pursuing a virtue,
love or something that is inherently good. But so often. And what Paul is
talking about here is not the pursuit of something that’s good,
but the fact that we are pursued for evil purposes. That after
doing well, doing good by God’s grace, we are punished and we
suffer for it. One Puritan said it this way,
if you suffer unjustly, whether it is because of the true profession
of the gospel or in the exercise of righteousness, being followers
of that which is good and walking in the practice of spiritual
duties, that’s persecution. You see, a lot of what we experience
in this world we call persecution isn’t really persecution. If you break the laws of the
land and you reap the consequences of that, that is not persecution. If you do what God tells you
to do, regardless of what the government says, and we look
forward with great anticipation to our study of Romans 13, if
you break the laws of the land, But those laws contradict that
which God has commanded you to do or they forbid what God has
commanded you to do. Then that is whatever you reap
from that is not just punishment. That is persecution. But if you
just capriciously break whatever law you choose to break. And you reap some kind of a consequence
that is persecution that is not rather persecution. Persecution,
one defined as unjust and malicious treatment provoked not by ill
doing on our part but by our well doing. You see us in the
society being upstanding, doing what is right, praying for our
government, being kind to our neighbors, giving abundantly
to all who have need. It is in that capacity that we
suffer persecution. The bottom line for the reason
that stands behind persecution is that the mind of the flesh
is set at enmity against God. And if we are for God, if we
are seeking to uphold what God stands for, what God loves, then
we too, like Christ, will be persecuted. The Apostle Peter
straightforwardly clarified What is and what isn’t persecution?
Would you turn to 1 Peter 3 just briefly? Keep your finger in
Romans 12. We won’t be long. 1 Peter chapter 3. And there are a number of other passages
that we could consider here in 1 Peter, but this one details
what is and what is not persecution. And I think it’s important that
we pause and look at it. First Peter three look at verse
13. Where Peter writes and who is there to harm you if you prove
zealous for what is good. You know when you look in your
rear view mirror and there are red and blue lights flashing
behind you. It’s probably not the state patrol
preparing to pull you over to give you some kind of an award
for your driving right. Who is there to harm you if you
prove zealous for what is good if you’re doing what you’re supposed
to do. If you’re seeking what is good and right, if you’re
trying to live a righteous, godly and upstanding life, who’s there
to harm you? But even if you should suffer
for the sake of righteousness, you’re blessed. And here he begins
to point out the effects of persecution. Even if you suffer for the sake
of righteousness, you’re blessed. Do not fear their intimidation.
Do not be troubled. But sanctify Christ as Lord in
your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone
who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.
Yet with gentleness and reverence, we don’t want to be obnoxious.
We don’t want to call down blows just for the way that we present
the gospel. We don’t want to be rude. We
don’t want to be harsh to others. We want to tell them straightway
that what they’re engaged in is sin and that there’s hope
for sinners and that God is provided for that in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s not rude or harsh. That’s the truth. Then Peter goes on and says,
and keep a good conscience. There’s just something there’s
just something good and right about someone that bears the
message of the gospel and it has a life behind it that upholds
that gospel. Keep a good conscience so that
in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your
good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. The longer they
look at you, the more they begin to scratch their heads and the
more they begin to realize that their slander against you is
false. It’s just plain wrong. Then Peter sums up in verse 17
for it’s better if God should will it so that you suffer for
doing what is right. Persecution in that sense is
a good thing. Suffer for doing what is right
rather than for doing what is wrong. There’s plenty of suffering
in life. There are plenty of difficulty
we’re going to we’re going to reap plenty of consequences for
our foolishness, don’t we? Paul says it’s far better to
do what’s right. And if God wills, suffer for
it, far better. Paul. Paul was one, unfortunately,
who had been on the other side of persecution, hadn’t he? Known
as Saul. Paul gives a testimony about
his background that led him to persecute the Church of Christ. In Acts chapter 22, Paul said,
I am a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this
city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law
of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are today. See, Paul. Paul wanted precision. Paul aimed for precision. Paul aimed to be explicitly right
on every point. And part of being right was being
zealous He goes on to tell on another
occasion his testimony in Acts chapter 26. He calls all Jews
to give testimony to this fact. He says, all Jews know in my
manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning
was spent among my own nation and at Jerusalem. Since they
have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to
testify that I lived as a Pharisee, according to the strictest sect
of our religion, you see, Paul lays the groundwork here. This
is the reason behind the persecution that will come. Paul was strict,
Paul was zealous. And the mindset that it produced,
he deals with just a few verses later in Acts chapter 26. What
were the what was the mindset that would ultimately propel
his actions? He said, so then I thought to
myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth. That’s how the world thinks.
They actually think they’re doing God a favor. They think that
we’re the radicals. And not to mention heathens who
hate God. Paul’s specifics, the specifics
of his hateful conduct toward the church, he details almost
immediately upon his conversion. We look at that in Acts chapter
22, where he tells that he persecuted this way, that is Christianity,
to the death. Well, that whole thing is detailed
for us in Acts chapter 9. Saul, still breathing threats
and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in
Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, both
men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Paul is fully zealous here. Paul thinks that he’s doing the
will of God. Paul is willing to pull out all
the stops to go and do anything that it takes to stop this sect. He calls it of Christianity.
He details that in Romans or in Acts chapter 26 as well. He
says, this is what I did in Jerusalem. Not only did I lock up many of
the saints in prisons. Having received authority from
the chief priest, but also when they were being put to death,
I cast my vote against them. You hear what he says? He’s on
the death panel. He’s on the panel that basically
decides life, imprisonment or death, and he voted for death. I cast my vote against them,
and as I punish them often in all the synagogues, I tried to
force them to blaspheme. and being furiously enraged at
them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.” Paul knew
persecution firsthand because he knew what it was like to be
on the other side. He knew what it was like to be
the pursuer. He knew what it was like to be
the zealous one standing, as it were, or so he thought, for
God in the place of pursuing error. I want you to consider his testimony
after the fact. After his salvation, if you would,
take your Bibles and turn to Philippians 3. Philippians 3
gives a detailed account of his mindset and his activity leading
up to Christ. Philippians chapter 3, beginning
in verse 2. where he says, beware of the
dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision,
beware of those that are piling on all these other things onto
the pure faith of Jesus Christ. For we are the true circumcision
who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus
and put no confidence in the flesh. And here’s his argument
against That activity, why shouldn’t you put confidence in the flesh?
Look at verse four. Although I myself might have
confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else had a mind to
put confidence in the flesh, I far more. How does he justify
that statement? He says, basically, if anyone
on Earth had a reason to boast in who he was and what he had
accomplished, I’m it. What would make him say such
an outlandish thing? Circumcised the eighth day. Exactly
as was prescribed. Of the nation of Israel. Exactly
who he needed to be. Of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew
of Hebrews. If people looked at him, they
said, there goes a model Jew. Of the law of Pharisee. The strictest
act. the precisionists. And get this, as to zeal, a persecutor
of the church. He’s telling them that at one
point he really believed that what he was doing was right and
for God. As to righteousness which is
in the law, found blameless. But whatever things were gained
to me, those things I have counted as lost for the sake of Christ.
There was a time where God showed Him Himself. And he showed him
his sinfulness and he showed him his desperate need of a savior.
And all of those things suddenly. Were worth absolutely nothing
to Paul. As to zeal, a persecutor of the
church, you see, Paul. Paul had a firm confidence in
his flesh at one point, and he thought that even persecuting
the church was only adding to his virtuousness. He had a zeal
for God and he realizes that in point in time, coming face
to face with Christ, that this hope and ritual that he had,
this firm faith in his nationalism, this pride that he had in a lineage
that could be directly traced. This heritage that he possessed,
this conservatism that he maintained, his enthusiasm, all of it. was
worth absolutely nothing. But let’s consider for a moment
the zeal. He said it was a zeal that led him to persecute the
church. Zeal was held in high honor among the Jews. Psalm 69. Zeal for your house has consumed
me was known as a messianic testimony. And so zeal by anyone that what
you were doing was supposed to be zealously prosecuted. Not half-heartedly. And in that
sense, there’s nobility in what Paul was doing. He was only doing
what he thought was right. Ravaging the church. Entering
house after house. Dragging off men and women. See,
Jews viewed zeal as the supreme religious virtue. There wasn’t
anything higher. They considered zeal as being
one part of a of a coin. They were supposed to be love. They were supposed to be love
and hate on that coin. And to be zealous in their love
to God, but be hateful in those who did not pursue God in the
same passion. Paul, a number of times, testifies
of that zeal, zeal for his ancestral traditions. Zeal in his persecution of the
church. See, the Apostle Paul, when he
begins to speak of persecution, he knows persecution inside out. Because before there ever was
faith in Christ, there was a zealous persecution of the church. But
suddenly. Upon Paul’s conversion. Paul
realizes that the tables have been turned, doesn’t he? The
roles have been reversed that now, instead of being the one
pursuing and persecuting, it is him that is being persecuted. If you would turn to another
passage of Scripture, one that I alluded to a moment ago that
really talks about the rich experience of ministry. Second Corinthians
chapter four. Second Corinthians chapter four
will give Paul’s perspective on persecution from another angle.
That of being the receiver. Paul says. In this incredible
passage that we’ve had occasion to consider in times past, we
have this treasure and he’s talking about the gospel. We have this
treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness
of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. He says,
you know what? Look, we are as so many cracked pots, but God
has chosen to use us. He’s given us the stewardship
of the gospel. He set us in motion, but we are
frail. We are weak. We suffer many different
kinds of troubles. Look what he says, there’s going
to be stress in ministry, per se, we are afflicted in every
way, but not crushed. Somehow we think at times we
can’t take it anymore, this pressure, this affliction. But we’re not
crushed. We wake up the next morning and
we’re still there, right? Not only the illustration of
stress in ministry, but frustration in ministry. Perplexed, but not
despairing. There are times where we just
are, we can’t even figure out what’s going on. Absolutely baffled. But we know God. We know that
God is there. We know that God will not forsake
us. And so we do not despair. But
Paul also knew persecution. And there’s harassment in ministry.
And Paul knew it. Look at verse 9. Persecuted,
but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. These enemies of Paul. They chased
him and pursued him day in and day out. They pursued him every
city he came to. Almost. And it wasn’t because Paul was
breaking the laws of the land. It was because Paul had found
a God to love. He found a God who loved him
and had given him a Savior. And Paul’s only crime was, according
to these men, the preaching of this Savior. Paul knew Paul knew
the agony of being hated by others. Paul knew the fear of being chased
and pursued like a hunted creature. Paul
knew that God was behind him. Paul knew that God was supporting
him. As one pastor said, pursued from
place to place, followed with menaces, curses, reproaches,
laid hold on, prescribed, imprisoned, threatened with the severest
tortures, death itself. God never leaves us or forsakes
us. Though we are followed close
by evil men, left by our friends, we are not forsaken of God. In Acts chapter 14, they pursued
Paul, to the point where he had to flee. Acts chapter 14 verse
19. They stoned Paul and dragged
him out of the city. Acts chapter 20. After three
months, there was a plot formed against him. Acts chapter 23. When it was day, the Jews formed
a conspiracy and vowed that until he was dead, they would not stop.
Paul knew persecution. And you say, well. That’s fine,
this is a great background story on the Apostle Paul. Why are
you telling us all this? Because for Paul to say, bless
those who persecute you. Paul knows what he’s talking
about. There are many of us that could say, you know what, Paul,
you have no idea what I’m going. You have no idea what he did
to me. You have no idea what I endure at work. You have no
idea what my family members put me through, Paul. Oh, yes, he
does. And for Paul to say, bless those
who persecute you. Paul knew what he was talking
about. Paul knew firsthand as a persecutor, he knew what he
was doing was wrong. Now, now that he was in Christ,
he knew that that is venomous hatred for no good cause. And
he had experienced it. He had experienced it for years
upon years. And you say that. The Apostle
Paul is writing to the church in Rome, and at this moment they
are enjoying almost a vacation relative ease, there really is
no trouble in Rome now, especially to be a Christian there. It’s
not like they were in Jerusalem. Syncretism had taken hold of
Rome. You could be whatever you wanted
to be in Rome, including a Christian. Roman Church right now isn’t
under trouble, but it’s coming. And Paul wants to lay the groundwork
that if you think that what you’re experiencing now is persecution. More and greater episodes are
coming worse than. Worse than the world’s ever seen
to that point. It is said of the apostle of
right, pardon me, the Emperor Nero. whose persecutions would
break out on the church beginning at Rome. Some of the worst persecutions
the church has ever faced. One characterized him it was
this cruel tyrant who put to death the apostles Peter and
Paul was he who began the first general persecution of the Christians.
In order to get money to complete his palaces, accusations were
brought against many rich men of Rome who were put to death
and their property was taken. He would just bring Trump up
all kinds of false charges against Christians. And then he would
confiscate their property. He ordered that the city of Rome
would be set on fire. He had his servants go literally
set the city on fire. It said that thousands perished
in the flames. The deadful conflagration continued
for nine days. The people were panic stricken,
believed that the fire had been started by the emperor for the
mere pleasure of seeing it burn. And when the political winds
started to blow against Nero, that Nero simply turned and blamed
the Christians for the fire. Persecution was coming to Rome
and Paul wanted the Roman Christians to be where and to be ready for
that persecution, regardless of what persecution they were
already facing. And just because we’re not facing
the worst persecution imaginable as only Nero. And men like him
can deal. We do face persecution, it is
real. Those High roles that you get
from believers in the office as you bow to pray. Those fellow
family members that mock your Christianity and mock everything
that you love and stand for. That’s real persecution. And Paul says, really, there
are only two responses. He doesn’t leave us any out.
And just because we don’t do the one, doesn’t mean that we’ve
done what God has asked us to do. If we fail or neglect to
curse, if we haven’t blessed, we haven’t obeyed God in this
passage. There’s only two responses to
persecution, this harsh treatment that we receive for the sake
of Christ, cursing or blessing. Cursing is an interesting one. And isn’t it common for us to
respond in kind if somebody says something harsh to us? We reply
in kind, or at least we think it in our mind, don’t we? The Greek word here really points
to the coarsest kinds of insults. These are the kinds, unfortunately,
that we mull over in our mind. I wish I would have said this.
No, you don’t. James speaks of this kind of
epithet in James 3 9, he says, with our mouth, we bless our
Lord and Father, and with it we curse men. And it’s wrong. The bar is very low on what it
means to curse men and really almost amounts to anything other
than a blessing, even to just return a mild rebuke. To wish certainly to pray for
evil to come upon them. That’s what cursing is. And it’s really the most natural
thing in the world, isn’t it? That’s the first thing that comes
to our hearts and minds and we’ve got to fight against it. The apostles struggled with this
themselves, didn’t they? Luke chapter nine. The days were
approaching for his ascension. He was determined to go to Jerusalem.
He sent messengers on ahead of him. They went. They entered
a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements. All they wanted
was some groceries. Right. Place to stay. Place to eat. But they did not
receive him. Because he was traveling toward
Jerusalem. The Samaritans said no way. We’re
not going to support you. You don’t like us and we don’t
like you. When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they
said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from
heaven and consume them? Shall we curse them? And see, now we begin to see
that we do this a lot more often than we think. We may not ask
for fire to come down and consume our office mate, maybe. But we sure don’t think well
of them. We sure don’t bow in prayer and ask God to bless them. There’s only two options. This word blessing. This word
blessing has a number of different meanings. If you say that you
bless God, you’re basically ascribing praise and honor and glory to
him as is his due. That’s what it is to bless God.
When God blesses us, you know what it is. He bestows blessings
upon us. The air that we breathe, the
beauty that’s around us, brothers and sisters in Christ. But when
we bless others. We’re essentially invoking God’s
goodness upon them. We’re asking God to bestow upon
them things that we would almost only ask for ourselves. And that’s what Paul says that
we’re called to do. Not only said one refraining
from that harm should come to those that are persecuting us,
but to desire good for them and to show that this desire is no
mere pretense. You know, it’s one thing. OK,
I wish I hope they have a good day. That’s not what Paul’s talking
about. He says that we are to engage
actively in praying for God’s blessing upon them. Oh God, to
go before God and to plead with God on their behalf that God
would bestow good, not the least of which is His mercy upon those
who have treated us terribly. It’s loving them. It’s forgiving
them. And it is difficult, isn’t it? It is difficult in our human
nature, in our corrupt fallenness. One Puritan said it this way,
I have said that this is more difficult than to let go revenge
when anyone is injured. In other words, he says, you
know what, look, even just letting off revenge, that’s not far enough.
For those some restrain their hands that are not led away by
the passion of doing harm, they yet wish that some calamity or
loss would in some way happen to their enemies. And even when
they are so pacified that they wish no evil, there is hardly
one in 100 who wishes well to him for whom he has received
an injury. He says how rare it is that a
Christian would bow his head and ask God to bless his enemy. But God, by his word, not only
restrains our hands from doing evil, but also subdues the bitter
feelings within. And not only so, but he would
have us to be prayerful For the well-being of those who unjustly
trouble us and seek our destruction. See, the statement, the statement
is an echo of something that Jesus said when Paul says, bless
those who persecute you, bless and curse not. He’s just really
echoing what Jesus had already taught. Think of Matthew, Chapter five,
you’ve heard it said, You should love your neighbor and hate your
enemy. You know, that was actually what the Jews had begun to believe.
When it says that we’re supposed to love our neighbor, they said,
well, easy, I’ll love my neighbor. The rest of you are going to
have to fend for yourselves. Not only do I not have to like
you, I’m given essentially wide berth to hate you. The Jews regarded
the obligation to love their neighbor As binding, that was
the law. But they got to define who was
their neighbor. And remember, that’s exactly
what happened in Luke 10. We looked at this passage several
months ago, a certain lawyer, right, stood up and thought he
was going to put Jesus to the test saying, teacher, what should
I do to inherit eternal life? That’s the law’s mindset, right?
What do I have to do? He said to him, what is written
in the law, how does it read to you? He answered, you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your strength, with all your mind and your neighbor
as yourself. And he smugly thought that he
had it nailed. And Jesus, out of his abundant
mercy, says to him, you’ve answered correctly. That’s exactly right.
It’s exactly what the law says. Do this and you will live. That’s
all you have to do. Go out and love God perfectly
and go out and love your neighbor perfectly. But wishing to justify himself,
and this is where the Jews strayed, wishing to justify himself, he
said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? There’s a quite a deal
of confusion on this. We know that we’re supposed to
love our neighbor. Can you help me define that? Can you help
me limit down this fear? of those expectations for me.
And it’s out of that that Jesus tells the parable of the Good
Samaritan, which we unfortunately live in a day where this thing
has been so besmirched that we think that all Jesus did was
tell us to go out and do good deeds. What he was telling them
is the precision of the law, the law expected perfection. Essentially, the law, if you’re
going to try and get saved by living according to the law,
is to live perfectly in every area of your life. Go love every
person you ever come across. See, the Jews have raised this
question. They didn’t want to expand the circle. They wanted
to know all of who were their neighbors. We want we want the
smallest pool possible. Who do I have to love? Because
then that allowed who can I hate? Jesus tells this parable. Not
to extol the virtue of helping those in need across whose path
we are providentially led. That’s there’s a lesson there. That’s not the main lesson. Rather,
Jesus details what the law had always maintained, that we are
called to love every person we ever meet perfectly. And we know
that we can’t do that, then that’s what points us to Christ. No wonder back in chapter five
of Matthew. You’ve heard it said you shall
love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Jesus was well aware of this
mindset. Love your neighbor, hate your
enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies. He basically undergirds
what the law had already said, love your enemies, pray for those
who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who
is in heaven. That is an amazing statement.
Prove yourselves to be what you claim to be. If you call yourself
a Christian, go love your neighbor. And your enemy. Because that’s exactly what God
does. See, verse 45 says, for he causes
the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on
the righteous and the unrighteous. And he says, essentially, who
are you to begin to discriminate? Enemy. Friend. Neighbor. The Lord’s own example. As we draw near to the Lord’s
table. The Lord’s own example is Jesus. Forgive them for they
know not what they are doing. Peter seized upon that, probably
even witnessing that event. Peter said in Chapter 2, verse
21 of his first epistle, you have been called for this purpose
since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to
follow in his footsteps who committed no sin nor was any deceit found
in his mouth. And while being reviled, he did
not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no
threats, but he kept on entrusting himself to Him who judges righteously.”
See, God sends the rain on the just and the unjust. Paul said
it this way, God demonstrates His own love toward us in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How then can we
begin to enter into this reformulation of how we behave and treat others
to say that we can somehow justify love towards one and justify
hatred towards another when God himself doesn’t make such a distinction? Paul said it this way, when we
are reviled, we bless. Peter said it this way. that
we are not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but
giving a blessing instead. And what greater blessing. What
greater blessing. To bestow upon our enemies those
who hate Christ and hate us because of it. Then to pray that God
in his mercy. Would so reach down and touch
their hearts and open them to the need of Christ It’s the Gospel. What greater blessing could we
give an enemy than the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Would
you examine your hearts with me before him? Our merciful King,
we humble ourselves in your presence. And Lord, this humanly impossible
thing that we’ve been called to do, to bless those who persecute
us and not curse, We pray for your help. We pray for your grace. And we pray that even as we vow
to partake of the Lord’s table. That you would show us of an
enemy or enemies. That we have not responded correctly. Perhaps we have not cursed them.
But neither have we blessed them. Grant us the grace to examine
our hearts. and to change what we do and
how we respond to an enemy. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray,
Amen.