How to Treat Our Enemies

N.T.#519 "How to Treat Our Enemies"

April 1, 2025 

Luke 6-Part 9

LET IT GLOW

Blessings and woes are such a contrast between the kingdom of God and this present world order. 

Are you ready for some hard teaching and difficult-to-apply to relationships things to live by? Starting in verse 27, we read some directions from our Savior as an act of the will, which takes a conscious effort for us to do. 

The word good is used 8 times in verses 27-45. It has various Greek meanings as they use various Greek words. I will show the meanings following their usage.

1. Love your enemies. (verse 27) We are to express God's love to our enemies, especially the kind of love modeled by Christ and He commanded in the upper room. Jesus tells His disciples to give this selfless kind of love to the most unlovable people of all-our enemies. Are we being Christlike love in action?

2. Do good to them which hate you.  (verse 27)

    This good means honestly. Hate means to detest (especially to persecute). 

Now, this is especially difficult, yet Jesus want us to show love and honestly love those who hurt us.

Does anyone come to your mind as you read this? Probably we need to be showing them love.

LET IT GROW

3. Bless them that curse you. (verse 28a)  The word bless refers to speak well; thank; praise. Curse means to execrate, which is to declare to be evil or despised. 

As a follower of Jesus we are to respond with blessings and be generous rather than cursing and retaliation. Even when one speaks evil of us or they despise us. These instructions are getting harder to follow, aren't they? Yet, Jesus endured the Pharisees who treated Him like this. 

4. Pray for them that despitefully use you. (verse 28b) Despitefully and use mean the same, threats; to insult; slander. 

Okay, we are to speak well of these mean people who insult us. Consider it all joy? God is in control. So far we are told to love, bless, do good, and pray for those who do not return it to us. In spite of it all, we are to forgive and love. I think that sums these instructions up.

LET IT GO

Jesus loves me, ain't no doubt. 

I haven't been doing this; forgive me Lord Jesus.

Help us love the unlovely.

We pray for those people, Lord, for they need You.

May we do good to them.