Luke 6:27-30
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for joining us today, we're glad you're here. I personally want to express my deep gratitude to each and every one of you for your constant dedication steadfast prayers for this ministry, my family, and myself. Your love and support are invaluable to me, I am truly blessed by your loving kindness.
And, as always, I am grateful for your unwavering commitment in sharing the Word of God with your friends and families, your efforts do not go unnoticed. You are a valuable part of this ministry, I couldn't do what I do with your love and support.
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If you would like to make a financial gift to support our ministry to help us cover the increasing costs day-to-day operating expenses, allowing us to expand our outreach to advance the Gospel throughout the world who are in desperate need of Bibles and much needed ministry resources, we humbly and sincerely express our gratitude for your consideration in advance.
Love and forgiveness are essential to the Christian life, we could say that we are never more like God, than we show love and grant forgiveness to others, love and forgiveness embody the essence of the heart of God. It was God's initial love for humanity that lead Him to send Christ into the world to bring mankind into fellowship and relationship with Himself.
Incidentally, post-modernists have actually perverted the biblical concept of love and dangerously corrupted Scripture's call for Christians to demonstrate love to others, even to their enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you; Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also, twisting it to imply that by loving others you must somehow tolerate every belief, every ungodly behavior and if we refuse to condone such heinous behavior, we are disobeying God's command to love, which makes this an important issue in the church, because we have all been guilty of offending people by saying or have crossed the line of discretion into indiscretion in the way we treat others.
Interestingly enough, tolerance is never described as a virtue in the Bible, except in Ephesians 4, in the sense of walking in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. However, this modern age of tolerance and acceptance has had a disastrous effect on our society, every kind of alternative lifestyle perverse practice and behavior that was once widely considered to be inappropriate, immoral and indecent, is now being promoted, celebrated and normalized, even championed by many church denominations, public school systems, and endorsed by large corporations as well as local and federal governments, turning the culture on it's head.
I believe it's safe to say that even on our best day, we have all experienced failure at some point when the conflicting beliefs of sinners clash with the Word of God and the church, which frankly represents a death blow to the corrupt cultural worldview. And, if we're being completely honest, in our greatest moments of weakness and vulnerability, there are even times we clash with each other or are guilty of offending one another, even among our fellow believers within the body of Christ on the very sensitive issues same sex marriage, transgenderism and abortion. That’s part of living life in a fallen world. In Luke 17, Jesus reminds us that it is inevitable that offenses will come, however, I submit to you, it isn’t necessarily the offense, but our response to those offenses is what damages those relationships, and the unwillingness to forgive, that ultimately destroys them. When we love others as Christ Himself loves us, we become embodiment of His Truth, His grace and forgiveness in a world that so desperately needs it. I believe that Christians should be known for two things, how we love others and how we hate sin, especially our own. God's people do not need to be sympathetic about perversion, we do need to love people enough to tell them the Truth about sin and eternal judgment. It doesn't matter what the world says about sin, it matters what God says, I understand that this may not be what people want to hear, but the Truth of God is always what they need to hear.
Let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word, as Your beloved children, we long to be imitators of You, to be as merciful, gracious and eager to lovingly forgive others as You are to us, not just superficially, on the surface, but from far beneath the surface, to the depths of our soul. Lord, I pray that You would work in the hearts of everyone of us, so that our homes, our families, and our churches might be transformed,
becoming a place where love, Truth, compassion and forgiveness flow. May we be a people known for preaching the Gospel of grace with love and courage, in truth and boldness, so that You may be glorified in Your church, and Christ be exalted in the world. Even so, come Lord Jesus, come quickly! In Your name we ask and pray.
Amen
Today's Message: The Uncommon Call to Love
Open your Bibles with me, if you would and turn them to the Gospel of Luke chapter 6. Luke 6:27-30. I invite you to follow along with me as I read, to set the text in our minds, while we open up our hearts and listen for what the Spirit of God has to say to each of us today.
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back."
It's no secret that we are living in a world marked by sin, every imaginable sin is not only being tolerated it's being accepted and normalized, and even promoted. Even more egregious, is the same corruption, abuse and sexually immoral perversion the Roman Catholic Church once fought to conceal is now being celebrated and even encouraged by many Protestant congregations. The number of pastors today that are going out of their way to embrace the debauchery of a immoral corrupt culture, affirming impenitent sinners, whether it's the LGBTQ community, adulterers or fornication, or the mutilation of innocent children is shocking. Far worse still, they’re proud of it. Sin is no longer being confronted and condemned in the church, it is faithfully practiced to the point professing Christians bear no discernable difference from unredeemed sinners. It has become common practice today for people to outwardly identify with Christ but fail to live in the reality of inward transformation, lacking any evidence of the new birth and submission to the Word of God.
Any religious institution that steps away from the authority of Scripture, surrendering to the influence of Satan's false teachers, propagating false doctrine, can no longer cling to the promises and blessings of God; the assurance of salvation, or the hope of heaven. The only promise that they can cling to with any confidence is that God’s righteous judgment is sure and His perfect wrath will be satisfied. Born again believers must separate from an apostate church. In 2 John 1:10-12, John clearly states, "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."
Any true pastor would be a fool not to warn people of the danger of this. Judas Iscariot walked closely with Jesus Himself for three years and he proved to be a son of perdition. You cannot divorce the evidence of new birth from identifying with Christ and being a Christian, while completely rejecting the teaching of Scripture because it disagrees with the sin in your life. In James chapter 2, he teaches us that it's not enough to just believe the right things, because even demons believe and they shudder. That's why Scripture warns us to guard our hearts and protect our minds.
Let's look at verse 27, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" Jesus begins with the profound statement, "But I say to you who hear," He's making a dramatic contrast between those who have the ability to hear the voice of God and respond and those who do not. This is a very clear distinction between those who profess to be redeemed and those who actually are, unconverted sinners cannot understand the things of God. Jesus repeatedly uses the phrase, "He who has ears, let him hear," to contrast the difference between having ears and having "ears to hear" the voice of God. In today's vernacular, it would be like saying, "Hey, listen up! It's important that you pay close attention to what I'm saying!" It's one thing to hear, it's another to believe and to act on divine truth. Most everyone can hear, but only a true believer will have ears to hear Christ's words with spiritual understanding, in other words, He's narrowing down His audience. There exists a dramatic difference, a stark contrast between someone who professes Christ, merely verbally declaring to have an allegiance to Him, who has never been regenerated and someone who is a true disciple, a genuine possessor of the Holy Spirit.
Then, He says "love your enemies," what in the world is that about? Because that's not indicative to human nature, it's the extreme opposite, people outside the Kingdom of God don’t love their enemies, they hate them, they want revenge, they want to retaliate, get even with those who do them wrong. We see that occurring virtually everyday in our society don't we? We’re living in a time of utter chaos, drowning in a sea of lies, half-truths and deception, people won't believe anything because we have been consistently lied to by politicians, government and health officials and quite frankly, by many religious leaders seeking financial gain. The unredeemed world is under the influence of Satan, is bent on lying, stealing and killing. Loving your enemies is a clear indication that you’re not normal, that you don't belong to this fallen world. The people of God are to be characterized by their love for one another and for others. You can’t say that you love God and then you hate your enemy, that’s not what the Scripture describes in 1 John 4:20, which says "If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen." You can’t get more religious than the scribes and Pharisees were and they hated Jesus and were plotting to kill Him.
Jesus then takes it a step even further, it's not enough to just love your enemies, but "do good to those who hate you." It's one thing to love your enemies, but now He's saying to do good to them, that's just unacceptable! Everything Jesus taught was contrary to the way the world thinks, no unredeemed man could demonstrate such a God honoring act of love, isn't that what Kingdom love is all about? A love that is in direct contrast to the way the world loves. In Matthew 5:46, Jesus said "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" God said He would judge His enemies, that’s not for you and me to do, God commands us to love our neighbor and leaving the judging to Him. I hasten to say we are to judge the act on sin but never the heart of the one who commits the sin. In other words, by showing your enemy the love of God and you’ll heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you. (cf. Proverbs 25:21) To speak judgment on him, would be sin for me to do, at the point you judge another, you are condemning yourself. All I can do is tell someone that if he rejects God, He will condemn you. It's important to remember, when someone rejects the Gospel, they're not rejecting you; they are rejecting God. God clearly rejects certain behaviors and lifestyles, we must be very careful not to tell people otherwise or we are not accurately reflecting God's standards.
The big question then becomes, who is your neighbor? Jesus makes the answer to that question very clear in Luke 10:25-37 in the story of The Good Samaritan, when He said your neighbor is anyone who needs your help, without any distinction; including your enemy! Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and expect nothing in return. That's how we make the Gospel attractive to others that can lead to their eternal salvation. I believe that we as pastors need to evaluate our ministries, so that we make the will of God known so clear, that we obey the will of God even as Christ Himself obeyed, taking every thought captive, you must love your enemy and that has to begin in the pulpit. Leadership by example, right?
Verse 28, "Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." As followers of Christ, we can expect to be ostracized when we confront the sin of this fallen world that has rejected absolute truth, if for no other reason than we represent the Truth to the diversity of culture today, who has been brainwashed by Satan, openly embracing every degrading passion and lust of the flesh. However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ knows no hindrance. It is ironic, that even in a world literally obsessed with the idea of tolerance, there seems to be no tolerance for absolute Truth, there is the absence of tolerance to protect vulnerable believers who preach an uncompromising message of repentance from the hostility of offended sinners. Still, Jesus commands us to do what is unnatural, overcome evil with good by blessing those who curse us, speaking goodness into their life, and we do that by lovingly proclaiming the Good News, warning them about sin and judgment. Jesus exemplified this kind of profound love for His enemies, continuing to speak blessing into the lives of those who eventually orchestrated His crucifixion, thinking they were serving God, by forewarning them of the impending judgment. We must always speak the Truth in love, that's the first part of the Good News, telling people the Truth about sin, judgment and Hell, whether they choose to receive it or not, isn't our decision, that's a work of the Holy Spirit.
And finally, He commands us to "pray for those who mistreat you." We pray asking God to save that person by revealing Christ to them, convicting them through the Holy Spirit, that's how we change lives, by bringing an end to evil. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul reminds us that "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.." Jesus prayed for His adversaries even while hanging on the cross; "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And, didn't Stephen pray, asking God to "lay not this sin to their charge," that's another way of saying "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." It bears repeating, Christians are commanded to pray for those who mistreat us, even in the midst of being mistreated. That's the way Christians love, as Christ loved us while we were yet enemies of God.
Verse 29, "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either." As long as it remains true that people love darkness rather than light, Christians can expect to be hated, most surprisingly by religious people, who are content on building a monument to their own praise, elevating his lofty position before his God. There is nothing more precious to a religious sinner than the illusion of his self-righteousness. Religious people not only hate the Truth and they hate those who proclaim the truth, labelling him as a sinner headed for Hell. It goes against the grain of everything he has so painstakingly built. Truth is devastating to the religious hypocrite, the only way to shatter their facade is by demonstrating a supernatural life and love, evidence of regeneration, that will inadvertently expose their inability to do the same, they aren’t real Christians. They are only capable of loving those who love them, doing good to those who do good to them, because of their limited capacity. Throughout human history, Christians have been known for loving their persecutors, even as God demonstrated Himself in Christ.
A supernaturally transformed life is the key to the believability of the Gospel. Oddly enough, as strange as it may sound, love is paradoxically linked to hate in the Gospel. We are commanded to love one another and love those outside the Kingdom, yet Christ assures us we will be hated because the world hated Him first. Christ is the incarnate love of God, Who is love. 1 John 4:8, tells us "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
"Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also." Obviously, there are certain self-defense mechanisms that God has given us for the sake of self-preservation. This is not about someone hitting me in the face and me saying, "Here, hit me again!," when you’re in a vulnerable position. He's talking about the physical punishment connected to proclaiming the Gospel. Slapping someone across the face was one of the ways to dishonor someone, along with their clothes being removed from off their backs and being beaten, whipped and flogged in front of anyone who wanted to watch. He's saying when they bring you in front of the congregation and they slap you across the face to humiliate you, offer them them other cheek, meaning accept your humiliation for the sake of Jesus Christ. Don't retaliate in anger, when you’ve been mistreated, continue to demonstrate the love of God to your enemy and be prepared to be hit again. In other words, it doesn't matter how many times they hit you, keep showing them the love of God in your heart. This kind of love doesn't defend itself against rejection and humiliation.
At the end of verse 29, He says "and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either." This is a classic illustration of gladly going the extra mile, showing the love of Christ by giving a person even more than he asks for. Its very similar to Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5, which says "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also." In those days, it was not uncommon for people to only have one outer garment to keep them warm. The outer garment or "himátion," in the Greek was also used as a blanket to sleep on at night, Israel can be very cold in the winter. Exodus 22 says, "If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in?" Christians should go around seeking to defraud anyone in order to keep what we've got, even if it means we’re down to nothing. If someone takes you to court, don't fight him, don’t resent it, give him what you owe him, that's the point.
That brings us to verse 30, "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back." This is an act of self-denial, if someone comes to you with a real need and has no ability to pay you back, if you're able to meet that need, go ahead and give it him. He's not talking about a professional con that's trying to take advantage of your generosity because you’re a Christian, this is someone with a legitimate need they can't meet. Sinners don’t know anything about this kind of love, in fact, they can't even they cannot comprehend it. That's how we convince the world that the life-transforming Gospel is real, by demonstrating the love of Christ to them in its purest form, following the example that He left us.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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