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I want to spend just a few minutes giving you the big picture before we camp out in the details of the text this morning. In verse 35 the Lord Jesus gave us this command:
Love your enemies.
This is not natural… it is supernatural. No unsaved person can love his enemies… it is impossible (notice I didn’t say it was hard)… it is impossible for a person to love his enemies unless he has the Holy Spirit living within him. Now remember Biblical love is not first and foremost a feeling… it is a verb… it is action. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, etc. 1 Cor.13. Read the rest of this entry »
Luke 6:37: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
I think Judge not, and you shall not be judged are some of the most familiar words in the Bible. I also think these words are some of the most misunderstood words in the Bible. Perhaps you have been taught that Jesus is teaching us that all judging is wrong all of the time… many people think this is the point of the text. Let’s compare Scripture with Scripture… we find a fuller explanation in Matthew’s account. Read the rest of this entry »
Let me remind you of the context. We are looking at the Sermon on the Mount… the Sermon that starts out with the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes seem paradoxical, do they not? The first half of the verse seems to clash with the 2nd half. Human wisdom says such things as being poor, mourning, being reviled and persecuted do not equate with blessedness. To the natural man, and to the immature and carnal Christian, this “blessedness” sounds a lot more like misery… it is as if Jesus went into the great display window of life and changed all the price tags. Read the rest of this entry »
