We are called to love our enemies. The Bible says we ought to bless and not curse. We should never curse our abusers. We should never hate our enemies by God’s help. Love is the key. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We should never hate. We should only hate sin and wrongdoing. Wrongdoing may plague our lives. Evil may assault us on every side. However, we have something the world does not have. We have Jesus our great Savior and Lord. In His example, we find a rich treasure of compassion, mercy and love. We know that God took the initiative to save us while were still rebellious sinners. We ought to forgive the vilest offenses against us. We have a light in us that is incomprehensible to the world. We have holy, righteous and just grace while the world has sin, misery and destruction.
We proclaim the Gospel of Glad Tidings to the most undeserving people. To love is not an invitation to commit more wrongdoing. However, there is a cost to love the most wretched. We do this to magnify Christ. Surely if we love our enemies our names are written in heaven. We ought to honor Him in His command to make disciples in the Great Commission. If we forgive our worst enemies, it may be a way God works to save them. If we forgive, it may give them a taste of God’s forgiveness. It is never to late to come to Christ as we breath the air He has given us. The love of Christ is through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit regenerates us. He comes with the Gospel to apply Christ to us. He gives use a new heart. When we first come to Him we come to Him as criminals and fugitives. We have offended His law. We have broken His heart. There was no good reason why we failed to keep His law. We have sinned against the light of His Word.
We ought to look at our neighbor with spiritual concern. Do they know Christ? Have they put their trust in Him? We ought to present the Gospel to the greatest sinners. No one is beyond the Gospel. No one is out of reach. The Gospel is the power of God. It is meant for that sinner who feels they are beyond the grace of God and one reach away from the gates of hell. It is a lie to say that the worst offenders should hear the Gospel. I am sure our enemies are on the road to hell. A Christian is not our enemy, because he or she knows Christ. Everyone who knows Christ is apart of the family of God. But have we shared the Gospel of Grace by word and by how we live out our lives? We ought not to cast a stone because Jesus is. However, righteous indignation is not casting a stone. We are to speak to our enemies with gentleness and reverence. Let us love because we are loved. Let us forgive because we are forgiven. Let us approach our neighbor with unconditional love.
There is a great deal in the Gospel for sinners; however God has gotten a foul deal because we nailed His Son to a Cross. God accepts His children only by virtue of His Son. God has gotten a raw deal from us. In a similar way, we have to pay the cost to forgiving our enemies seven times seventy. We come to Him with cosmic offenses against His own dear heart when God has never wronged anyone! He gave us His own dear Son but does praise come from our ungrateful hearts? We ought to praise Him for who He is because He is holy. We are not holy. We sin against each other. The Spirit of God makes us holy in sanctification. The greatest pursuit of the Christian is holiness. Do you present this to our enemies? It does not matter if they reject the Gospel again and again because we are called to love them. We should continue to present the Gospel to them no matter what. We can ask ourselves, do we seek their greatest good? I leave these questions to your own heart. May God shine His light upon you this day! Amen.
If your enemy denies the deity of Christ or justification by faith alone, do you have the love to share the truth of the Gospel with him or her? Many people deny the deity of Christ and justification by Christ alone. We ought to know the enemies of Christ. It may even put us in danger. There is a cost! There are many kinds of enemies. We ought to know compassion on them and have the lovingkindnesses of Christ to a dying soul. Nothing is more precious then the love of Christ from the heart of a believer. If you have the love of Christ in your heart, share the good news to a lost world. We ought to especially share the Gospel with those who hate us.
If someone has wronged us, what is everyone’s response? Do you respond with wrath? Do you respond with hatred? We cannot love our enemies with an unregenerate nature. It is better to love then to hate. It is better to pray then to harbor resentment toward our enemies. We should not curse them. Think of someone who has wronged you very badly and pray for an hour for their spiritual redemption. God will surely shine His blessings upon you. Amen.
