Love your Enemies is different from Loving One Another.
Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment to love each other.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35).Love One Another is Jesus standard for those who choose to follow him. The One Another Stuff is to be worked out in a body of disciples who live in the same neighbourhood and are committed to loving and serving Jesus. This standard is demanding, but it is only expected of those who have had their minds renewed and been filled with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who makes it possible for people to live this way. See One Another Stuff for more on what Jesus requires.
Jesus also said that his followers should love their enemies.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27).
Loving an enemy is quite different from loving people who love us, although that is not easy either.
Our enemy is anyone who does not belong to Jesus. The noun Jesus used is derived from a verb meaning hate. It refers to anyone who might hate us. Enemies is a broad category. It includes those of different races and religions.
Jesus is realistic. He understands that those who follow him will often have enemies. We will often be hated by those who have rejected the gospel. Sometimes they will persecute us and try to destroy us. This is what Paul experienced from his enemies, but he mostly responded with love for them. This is not easy, but the gift of the Holy Spirit makes it possible.
Some of our enemies will be actively fighting against us. Other may be passively ignoring us. The command to love our enemies applies to both groups. The focus of love should be those living around us, and those we encounter as we go about life, but that does not mean we can avoid loving by hiding away from them.
(I guess a problem arises, because for many Christians, their main enemies are other Christians. That suggests that there is something seriously wrong in the body of Christ.)
The following are guidelines for followers of Jesus who choose to love their enemies.
The basic standard for the treatment of enemies is the so-called golden rule.
Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:33).
We do not treat people the way they treat us. As followers of Jesus, we should do better than that. We should treat all people the way that we would like them to treat us.We must pray for our enemies.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven (Matt 5:44-45).
Our prayers should not be limited to those who treat us well. We should pray for those who harm us. This shows us that we are children of God, worthy of his blessing.We must be careful about how we speak about our enemies.
Bless those who curse you (Luke 6:28).
When we see people that are different, we should bless them. We should avoid put-downs of people we disagree with. We should bless those who curse us. We must not curse people because they are different. If we do that we give the spiritual powers of evil permission to attack them. The will usually make them worse.We should greet our enemies in a friendly way.
And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that (Matt 5:47)?
We must not approach people in a hostile way. We must greet pagans in a friendly way. Being friendly to those who are our own people is not sufficient for followers of Jesus.Followers of Jesus should do good to their enemies.
And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that... But love your enemies, do good to them,and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great (Luke 6:33,35).
We should do good to those who are different from us, even if they do harm to us. We should not expect anything back, but should count on the generous blessing of God.If people hurt us, we must not lash out at them., but should continue to show grace towards them.
If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also (Luke 6:29; Matt 5:39).
This is demanding, but Jesus does not want his people to retaliate against those who harm them.We are to lend to everyone who is poor.
Love your enemies... and lend to them without expecting to get anything back (Luke 6:35).
If the poor person is a different race or religion, we must still lend to them when they are in trouble, not expecting any return. This is a good way to assist the poor. Even if they have stolen from us in the past, we must still be willing to lend to them again, if the Holy Spirit prompts us.If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them (Luke 6:29).
Followers of Jesus must be generous to their enemies when they ask them for help.
Followers of Jesus must be careful about how they speak about their enemies.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37).
When we speak out enemies, we must be careful not to condemn them. If we do that we give the spiritual powers of evil permission to attack them. We want our enemies to come to faith in Jesus, so we should not say anything that would give the spiritual powers of evil authority to attack them further. We must not engage in slander (2 Cor 12:20). When we do that, we give an opportunity to the powers of evil.Followers of Jesus must care for everyone they encounter who is hurt or suffering. The Good Samaritan did this. The injured mand was his enemy. He could have rejoiced that his enemy had got what he deserved, but he did not. He cared for the injured man in a dangerous situation (Luke 10:30-36). He paid for his care, and committed himself to paying any future costs.
The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have’ (Luke 10:35).
The Good Samaritan went beyond an initial act of kindness. He committed to paying for his enemy’s care.People who are our enemies must be treated fairly by the law.
The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you (Ex 12:49).
The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you (Num 15:16).
There should not be different laws for people of different races and religions. Judges must treat everyone fairly.Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike (Deut 1:16-17).
Employers must treat people of different races and religions fairly.
Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns (Deut 24:14).
Paul’s instruction that those who do not work should not eat is for believers, not for unbelievers. Unfortunately, many Christians prefer to apply them to people who do not belong to the body of Christ.
If possible, followers of Jesus should attempt to live at peace with everyone, not just people they like, or those that are the same.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Rom 12:18).
Followers of Jesus should not seek revenge against those that harm them.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil... Do not take revenge (Rom 12:17,19).
If we trust God to deal with those who harm us, we do not need to seek revenge. We can bless those who harm us.Violence can never overcome evil.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21).
In the end, love will overcome evil.Followers of Jesus must keep good attitudes to people of other races and religions. We must not slip into of rage, anger or malice (Col 3:8). Some malice might be directed to other believers, must most will be directed at people of other religions and races.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... Get rid of all rage and anger, along with every form of malice (Eph 4:30-31)
Anger and malice grieve the Holy Spirit. We must be careful to avoid them when dealing with people who are different from us. The fruit of the spirit include patience, gentleness and kindness (Gal 5:22). They will flow if we are full of the Holy Spirit.
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back (Luke 6:30).
