Sunday School with Pastor Theodis Acklin
“Love Your Enemies”
Loving in the Extreme (Luke 6:27-28). Jesus is speaking to his disciples (v. 20) and to those who would hear (v. 27), teaching them about the new principles of life. The principles spelled out by Jesus are shocking. They go against every grain of society and every fiber of a man’s being. He knew that all would not hear. Even if they were disciples, some just closed their ears if they did not like what they heard. Jesus warned them and encouraged them to guard against shutting their ears. These new principles govern humans relationships. Jesus touched on five specific behaviors. Love your enemies. Believers are to love all men, even enemies. They are to respect and honor all men. Every human being has something commendable, even if it is nothing but the fact that he is a fellow human being with a soul to be reached by God. Do good: “Do good to them which hate you.” Imagine the impact of these words to the world of Jesus’ day. They were enslaved people conquered by the Romans, yet Jesus was saying, “Do good to them.” Doing good goes beyond words; it actually does things for the person who hates. It reaches out to him through his family and friends, employment and business. It searches for ways to do good to him, realizing that he needs to be reached for God.
Christian Love in Action (Luke 6:29-30). “And to him that smiteth thee on one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.” The word for cheek (siagon) really means the jaw or jawbone. It is a strong blow, a punch and not just a slap of contempt. Of course, there is contempt and bitterness, but there is also physical injury. Christ is saying not to strike back, not to retaliate against. When suffering for the gospel’s sake, for his personal testimony for Christ, the believer is to respond to physical abuse just as his Lord did. He is to demonstrate moral strength through a quiet and meek spirit, trusting God to touch the heart of his persecutors.
Reinterpreting the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31). The golden rule is probably the most well known thing Jesus ever said. It is the summit of ethics, of behavior, of righteousness, of godliness. It is a very practical statement of God’s love; that is, God has done to us just as He wants us to do to Him. God has treated us just as He wants us to treat Him (and everyone else). The golden rule reveals the heart of God. It shows us exactly how God’s heart longs for us to live and act. It is a simple one sentence revealing what love really is and what life in heaven (the perfect world) is to be like. It tells believers that as citizens of both heaven and earth they are to live as the golden rule dictates while still on earth.