November 17th 2019
Jesus Said, “I Tell You: Love Your Enemies And Pray For Those Who Persecute You!
Romans 12:18 (NIV)
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
In our world today we see more and more violence. In the nightly news we hear how many people were murdered during the previous day, and then, usually an update on how many have been murdered thus far in this year. The next news item is often reporting another school shooting, or a shooting at some workplace, usually by a disgruntled worker, who was recently fired. Next, we hear about how some terrible storm has destroyed some town or city in the USA. Or maybe a tropical storm has destroyed some island community. Then we can get ready to go to bed and enjoy a restful night’s sleep. I recently heard of a plan in some community of a gun being made available to the residents, and it is stored in a mailbox or some other place, so anyone needing it, can go fetch it and then go shoot someone who has in some way wronged them! This is being done in some communities in the USA, this is not in some foreign country being run by some dictator, this is purportedly being done in the once Christian inspired USA! Paul wrote to the church in Rome, and to us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” If you are a Christian, then the part of this verse most important is “as far as it depends on you!”
Christianity is the only religion in this world where we are told by Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself! Jesus did not limit our love to be only for those who love us, but Jesus also said we must even love those who desire to be our enemies. Matthew reported what Jesus taught about this loving attitude. "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:43-46). If you are truly a Christian you should never choose to consider anyone as your enemy, this I believe is what Jesus was trying to teach us. That is why in the sentence above, I worded it as “Jesus also said we must even love those who desire to be our enemies.” As a Christian we should never hate someone we do not like, or who we cannot agree with over worldly topics. Even those people we may go to war with for self-protection, we are still expected to love such enemies! Jesus said, “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
Paul wrote about this love of everyone as a debt! God’s law requires all who choose to follow Him to love every member of mankind, which Jesus/God created to live on this earth! Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10). Six of the ten commandments deal with loving our neighbors, which are all the people who currently live on this earth. The fourth commandment deals with all of mankind needing to observe a day of rest, and this day should be observed as a day to worship God. Of course, Christians for the most part observe Sunday as that day, and thus, we should try to take time to worship God on that day. It seems to me we should also desire to be the company of other Christians on that day. What do you think?
The first three commandments are directed to learning to love God, and to serve Him through His Son. Paul wrote about this need to love God for the newly formed Christian churches, and of course for us! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). Paul using the term called “who have been called!” Do you feel that you were called to be a follower of Jesus as an active Christian. Next Paul wrote about how he was saved even though he was a sinner by what Jesus did for him, and of course this applies to us too. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:24-25). Here Paul writes about the pull by our inborn sinful nature toward continuing to commit sins. Then he writes about how we as sinners are saved by what Jesus did for us. Then Paul tells how this salvation should compel us to claim to belong to Jesus in this life, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Paul wrote about how Jesus death on that cross saved us from our sins. Paul wrote about how Jesus saved us from the, as he puts it, the curse of the law. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (Galatians 3:13). As Paul knew his life was in eminent danger, as he thought he would soon be executed. Paul then wrote, Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11). Paul was assuring us that God will be with us and therefore, we should be able to be peaceful. Jesus also echoed this idea of being able to lead a peaceful life if we hold God in awe and follow Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus is telling us that we can be yoked with Him so that our lives can be conducted in a peaceful mood, by His sharing in our problems and adversities.
So, we continue to wonder when Jesus will come back to this earth to totally free us from this sinful lifetime. Jesus warned us to not be deceived by mankind’s greed which will continue to lead us into sinful pursuits and cause us to be warlike. Jesus is telling us to never expect mankind to stop being warlike and violent until Jesus does come back to this earth. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. (Matthew 24:6). So, the end times may be close, but we cannot know for sure when because things continue as they were until Jesus comes back to rapture believer’s and take them back to heaven with Him! Paul wrote about this event for us. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). So, fellow believer, are you ready to fly to heaven with Jesus? And so we will be with the Lord for ever.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Romans 12:18 (NIV)
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
In our world today we see more and more violence. In the nightly news we hear how many people were murdered during the previous day, and then, usually an update on how many have been murdered thus far in this year. The next news item is often reporting another school shooting, or a shooting at some workplace, usually by a disgruntled worker, who was recently fired. Next, we hear about how some terrible storm has destroyed some town or city in the USA. Or maybe a tropical storm has destroyed some island community. Then we can get ready to go to bed and enjoy a restful night’s sleep. I recently heard of a plan in some community of a gun being made available to the residents, and it is stored in a mailbox or some other place, so anyone needing it, can go fetch it and then go shoot someone who has in some way wronged them! This is being done in some communities in the USA, this is not in some foreign country being run by some dictator, this is purportedly being done in the once Christian inspired USA! Paul wrote to the church in Rome, and to us, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” If you are a Christian, then the part of this verse most important is “as far as it depends on you!”
Christianity is the only religion in this world where we are told by Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself! Jesus did not limit our love to be only for those who love us, but Jesus also said we must even love those who desire to be our enemies. Matthew reported what Jesus taught about this loving attitude. "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:43-46). If you are truly a Christian you should never choose to consider anyone as your enemy, this I believe is what Jesus was trying to teach us. That is why in the sentence above, I worded it as “Jesus also said we must even love those who desire to be our enemies.” As a Christian we should never hate someone we do not like, or who we cannot agree with over worldly topics. Even those people we may go to war with for self-protection, we are still expected to love such enemies! Jesus said, “I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
Paul wrote about this love of everyone as a debt! God’s law requires all who choose to follow Him to love every member of mankind, which Jesus/God created to live on this earth! Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10). Six of the ten commandments deal with loving our neighbors, which are all the people who currently live on this earth. The fourth commandment deals with all of mankind needing to observe a day of rest, and this day should be observed as a day to worship God. Of course, Christians for the most part observe Sunday as that day, and thus, we should try to take time to worship God on that day. It seems to me we should also desire to be the company of other Christians on that day. What do you think?
The first three commandments are directed to learning to love God, and to serve Him through His Son. Paul wrote about this need to love God for the newly formed Christian churches, and of course for us! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). Paul using the term called “who have been called!” Do you feel that you were called to be a follower of Jesus as an active Christian. Next Paul wrote about how he was saved even though he was a sinner by what Jesus did for him, and of course this applies to us too. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:24-25). Here Paul writes about the pull by our inborn sinful nature toward continuing to commit sins. Then he writes about how we as sinners are saved by what Jesus did for us. Then Paul tells how this salvation should compel us to claim to belong to Jesus in this life, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Paul wrote about how Jesus death on that cross saved us from our sins. Paul wrote about how Jesus saved us from the, as he puts it, the curse of the law. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (Galatians 3:13). As Paul knew his life was in eminent danger, as he thought he would soon be executed. Paul then wrote, Finally, brothers, good-bye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11). Paul was assuring us that God will be with us and therefore, we should be able to be peaceful. Jesus also echoed this idea of being able to lead a peaceful life if we hold God in awe and follow Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus is telling us that we can be yoked with Him so that our lives can be conducted in a peaceful mood, by His sharing in our problems and adversities.
So, we continue to wonder when Jesus will come back to this earth to totally free us from this sinful lifetime. Jesus warned us to not be deceived by mankind’s greed which will continue to lead us into sinful pursuits and cause us to be warlike. Jesus is telling us to never expect mankind to stop being warlike and violent until Jesus does come back to this earth. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. (Matthew 24:6). So, the end times may be close, but we cannot know for sure when because things continue as they were until Jesus comes back to rapture believer’s and take them back to heaven with Him! Paul wrote about this event for us. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). So, fellow believer, are you ready to fly to heaven with Jesus? And so we will be with the Lord for ever.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|