Do We REALLY LOVE our Enemies? https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/t242 Runboard| Do We REALLY LOVE our Enemies? en-us Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:16:40 +0000 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:16:40 +0000 https://www.runboard.com/ rssfeeds_managingeditor@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds managing editor) rssfeeds_webmaster@runboard.com (Runboard.com RSS feeds webmaster) akBBS 60 Do We REALLY LOVE our Enemies?https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p357,from=rss#post357https://bbiblenotes.runboard.com/p357,from=rss#post357Do We REALLY LOVE our Enemies? "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus would not have told us to do it if we could not do it. I reject all such interpretations of the Bible which say that God had to tell us these things because He is holy, but that we cannot live this way because we are sinful. God has promised to save us FROM our sins and to put within us His righteousness and His holiness! He has promised to do it in the here and now! "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:1-6 Just as Jesus prayed "Father Forgive them" even so can we have the same attitude which springs from God's love "shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5). At the very foundation of salvation is the indispensable concept of forgiveness. If we do not forgive others, Jesus said neither will we be forgiven. True forgiveness coexists with and depends upon true, godly love for others. Remember the woman who washed Jesus feet, while the self-righteous host looked on with scorn! Jesus said that her sins which were many were forgiven BECAUSE she loved much! (Luke 7:47) As I prayed seriously to return to the God of my salvation, after having wondered astray for several years, one of the first things I did was tell God that I forgive those who had done wrong to me. I even asked Him to enable me to forgive if I was not doing so from my heart. That same attitude of forgiveness towards others must be maintained from day to day in order to allow the love of God to continue to abide. This is one of the many reasons I have a problem with so-called "Christians" belittling, name-calling, and telling others how "stupid" they are on Facebook -- or anywhere else. When the disciples wanted to call down fire on a village of Samaritans who rejected Jesus, "he turned, and rebuked them, and said, 'Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' " Luke 9:55-56 This subject is so large! It is very deep and wide. The love of God reaches to the very depths of the inner man and reaches out to the most lost and despicable souls around us. A man, whom I fear was far from God at the time, asked me -- when but a teenage Christian -- whether I would love him even if he were to kill my parents and siblings. I answered that by the grace of God I would still love him! He said that it would have to be by God's help. I think I passed his test. I just wish he had walked in the love God. I hope he made his peace with God before he died. By the grace of God we can and must love our enemies! May God have mercy on our nation in this time!nondisclosed_email@example.com (OldWarrior)Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:55:01 +0000