Love Your Enemies
Thursday, October 06, 2022
Love Your Enemies
Would a follower of JESUS love someone that would do them harm? That's hard to say, but always keep in context what JESUS is teaching.
Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
If your brother repents, you have to forgive him. But we are not talking about repentance, we are talking about your enemies. Your enemies may not have any intention of repenting.
Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. G1752
Notice that the reason they hate you is because you follow GOD, you love JESUS. You speak the TRUTH on account of JESUS. They don't love JESUS, they reject HIM, therefore they are not going to love you either. They will reject you also. They are hating you, ignoring you, counting your name as evil. But these verses are not speaking of someone trying to harm you physically. Your enemy is someone that is against you. They are adversarial to something that you are for. Your adversary is your enemy. Those who teach that you are supposed to let someone do harm to you or your family are lacking in wisdom and don’t know the WORD.
G1752
ἕνεκα, ἕνεκεν, εἵνεκεν
heneka heneken heineken
hen' ek ah, hen' ek en, hi' nek en
Of uncertain affinity; on account of: because, for (cause, sake), (where ) fore, by reason of, that.
Luke 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
In like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. They reject you because you speak GOD'S TRUTH. And if they reject you and hate you, then they are your enemies. But be certain that you notice the reason they are your enemies: It's because you are Christian. Also notice that your rewards are great in Heaven. That is because you are doing work for GOD.
Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Keeping in mind that we are still in context as to why they hate you, then you can see that the reason these people are rich is that they are doing well in the world in which they are not enemies with each other. It's likely in this world that many are rich because of ill gotten gains. There is nothing wrong with being rich by GOD'S Blessings. Their consolation is the comfort they receive from this world (which are the ways of satan).
Luke 6:25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Why are they full and why do they laugh? They are doing well in the world in which they love. But remember Lot's wife? She looked back to the lifestyle that she missed in the city of Sodom. Her heart was on the things of this world (which is satan's world). They may enjoy fitting in and being well off, but when JESUS returns, every part of the lifestyle in this world will be burned up. They will wish they had JESUS and Eternal Life. If they didn’t know the TRUTH in the flesh they will get a chance for eternal life by undergoing the Iron Rod discipline of the Millennium, but that is a long tough road of Iron Rod discipline. They won’t be full and they won’t be laughing. They will be hungering for GOD’S WORD. They will be weeping and gnashing their teeth. That is grief. There is no GRACE in the Millennium. They have to take satan on by themselves at the end of the Millennium when satan is loosed for a short season to test the people. If they don’t overcome satan, they go into the lake of fire. It’s a serious situation and serious Iron Rod discipline.
Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
If those of this world speak well of you, that means you fit in with them. You are one of the group. That means you don't fit in with JESUS and you follow the ways of satan. Notice that they speak well of the false prophets. The key is the 'false' prophets, they are against GOD.
Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Those that hear, means those that understand. They have ears to hear.
The context of these verses are to love your enemy and how to identify your enemy? Your enemy is someone who is against you. It’s your adversary. Therefore it's those that are against GOD that is your enemy. Your enemy does not believe in JESUS, or does not believe in the TRUE JESUS. You do believe in JESUS and they hate you because of HIS Name. They do not believe in what you believe. They don't have ears to hear, so they cannot hear or understand. That is why verse Luke 6:27 is written to you. You understand. You belong to JESUS. You KNOW that JESUS is The SON of GOD because the FATHER called you unto HIM. Now, what enemy are you supposed to love? It's those that don't know the TRUTH. They hate you and are your enemy because of the Name of JESUS. You love them that are GOD'S children also, just as you are a child of GOD. They are your brothers and sisters. But how do you love someone? If your children do something bad, you correct them. You tell them the TRUTH. So, when you love your enemies, you correct them. You tell them the TRUTH. If a seed is planted and they come to GOD, then they are saved from satan. If they don't come to the TRUTH, then you heap hot coals on their head because they are going to go through the FIRE of the Millennium when JESUS returns. So, in conclusion, these verses are not saying to love someone that steals your car or your wife, or someone that would do you physical harm. The whole context is for JESUS Name sake (or on account of JESUS Name). Your enemy is someone that does not accept JESUS and would persecute you for accepting JESUS, so love them and plant the seed of TRUTH. Then you are laying your treasures up in Heaven where your reward is great.
