Christians who have realized their spiritual bankruptcy are God’s kingdom people. As kingdom citizens, we are commanded to love our enemies. In today’s passage, Jesus shows his disciples how to love our enemies. For clarification, there are plenty of circumstances where we must fight and defend ourselves against our enemies (home intrusion, war, etc.). But our Lord commands Christians to love our enemies actively to follow how God loves his enemies (v 27-28).

Christians are distinct from the world in how they love their enemies. The unique duty to love our enemies commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ. Loving the enemy is not for everybody. The ability to do such a thing is granted by God after becoming a Christian.

Jesus gives three illustrations how the world loves and how Christians are to be different in how they love.

32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

The sinner has no desire nor the capacity to obey the Lord (1 Cor. 2:14). Second, unbelievers express their love in two ways, eros (erotic/passionate love) and philia (friendly/brotherly), which falls short of agape love (goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love) that can only be given by God.

Stark contrast between Christians and unbelievers is their spirit. Christians’ spirits are made alive to God. In spirit, we are able to love the way he loves. Unbelievers view everything externally, but Christians look at the heart as the Lord does (Matt. 5:27-28). In addition, the Christians love positively and other-worldly. This causes unbelievers to wonder what kind of love it is. As the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer’s heart, he causes them to be different. The Spirit cannot help it. This supernatural transformation is the work of God. We must ask ourselves if we go with the flow of the world or against it. This shows where our love and allegiance lie.

Moreover, it is worthy of loving our enemies (v 35). Loving our enemies is worthwhile because our reward will be great in heaven. The Lord says our reward in the future tense but more importantly it implies that it is guaranteed. It is a good fight for Christians to love their enemies. The Lord knows this and rewards us for this work we do here on earth.

Another worthwhile truth is that we will be sons of the Most High God. God himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil men. One way God demonstrates this truth is common grace. In the same way, as children of God, we are to also be kind to our enemies. If this is not found to be true, we have a different Father. “The driving force of our life must be agape love. We must check our motive. If we’re driven by anything else, we are nothing” (John MacArthur).

Lastly, the most important matter in loving our enemy is to be merciful as our Father is merciful (v 36). What is mercy? God doesn’t give to us what we deserve. Difference between grace is that God gives to us what we don’t deserve. To be merciful in this passage is in the imperative (ongoing). Christians are chosen by God to love. This is worthwhile and it matters because it is a direct command from our Lord who also demonstrates this kind of love faithfully each passing day.

Jesus has been teaching three major characteristics of kingdom people. Faithfulness in every circumstance, humility to serve men and endure suffering, and lastly, loving your enemies. We will continue to expand on what it is to love your enemies.

“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also.” How should we interpret or react to this principle from Jesus? Is it literal? If taken literally, many would react confused or upset. Some take this as Jesus’ command for pacifism, like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr did. Even some Christians have taken Jesus’ words to the extreme and refuse to defend themselves or others. This passage is not taken to be as pacifism because God is not a pacifist (Romans 13:4). God allows justice to happen through the government and other legal means. The police should not be pacifists and Christian policemen should most certainly uphold and defend the law.

So this command is not literal and it is not for all circumstances. The point of this passage, based on the context, is love. Love which is beyond reason. You must be willing to endure all sorts of suffering for the sake of love. 1 Corinthians 13:7. In John 18:22-23, Jesus was struck and he explained that what the guard did was illegal. Apostle Paul did the same thing. They did not turn the other cheek but they did show love. Ultimately Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who murdered Him (Luke 23:34).

Only Christians possess the living Holy Spirit and can respond like Jesus did (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). Instead of retaliating, the Christian forgives. The Christian realizes that as a sinful and finite creature they are in no position to judge rightly and retaliate properly. Vengeance belongs to God because He is the perfect judge (Romans 12:19). Any vengeance taken by us would be partial and biased. We must leave it to the righteous Judge.

We also turn our cheek because our war is not against flesh and blood but it is spiritual warfare where the Holy Spirit convicts the hearts of our enemies. In Luke 23:48, we see the reaction of the people beating their breasts after seeing the manner in which Jesus died. Just earlier that day they were chanting for His crucifixion and mocking Him. This is how the Christian fights the spiritual war.

Lastly, it says in 1 Corinthians 13:7 love bears all things. The word ‘bears’ means ‘covers’. By love sin can be covered, sin can be extinguished, made powerless, or overcome. A wonderful example: Corrie Ten Boom, a holocaust survivor, met with a former Nazi soldier and instead of denouncing and demanding retribution, she forgave and shared the gospel. This is the love of God that can cover any sin.

As a side note, some people might ask if self-defense is biblical. The short answer is yes but it is case by case and requires wisdom and personal conviction.

Luke 6:29 ‘whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.’ Jesus is showing that love is kind. The phrase ‘takes away’ implies a robbery. In ancient times, the coat was very important and there is even a law in the Old Testament that says when you borrow a coat you have to return it before sunset. This is because the coat was used as a blanket to sleep as well. But here, Jesus says to even give the inner garment, the shirt. When you love, you are ready to give and help others sacrificially. This principle continues in Luke 6:30. Love is giving without asking in return. Love helps those who are in need. It doesn’t evaluate whether the recipient deserves help or whether the help is going to be worth it. Simply, love is kind. When we are kind in this way, we are able to look beyond past wrongs, past hurts and past sins and help our enemies. This love is our testimony and witness of the gospel by which we are saved.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” The famous Golden Rule. Jesus affirms what God said thousands of years prior (Leviticus 19:18). Other religions and the world have copied or mimicked the golden rule. They also misuse the Golden Rule to further their anti-Bible and anti-Christian agendas. The Golden Rule is not what God calls it rule but has only been named by men. This rule is not above the rest of the Bible and it does not revise or cancel other commands in the Word of God. It is part of what Jesus has been continually explaining as loving your enemies.

How is the believer able to practice the Golden Rule? The first application would be to deny yourself. Those who think about themselves cannot practice love. How can they love others when they want things for themselves. Love begins with a self-denial. Self-denial comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not just truth but also power (1 Thessalonians 1:5). It is more than information, it is God’s revelation. A Christian does not believe because he has an intellectual understanding of the Bible but because Holy God has revealed Himself to the sinner and by the power of the Holy Spirit they believe and are changed. A true belief in the gospel, true salvation is the key to self-denial. For in the gospel, we see the vileness of our sins and the love and grace of God given to us. We deny ourselves and receive the gift of Christ. Jesus died on the cross and so we too die. Dead to sin and alive to Christ. If we truly experience this in the gospel, then our prayers and songs are full of praise and love.

Loving our enemies is impossible for anyone but the true Christian. That is because it is unreasonable and irrational. It goes against the very sinful nature of men. Yet it is the joy and blessing of one saved by the love of Jesus Christ. We must ask if we truly love as we are called to love. If we are a church without love, then we are dead (Acts 2:47). We love our God, we love one another and we love the lost.

Introduction

Jesus encourages his kingdom people to act in love even in the midst of facing persecution as he exemplified. The immediate background of today’s passage is Christian persecution (v 22-26). Christians are not ordinary people as we possess the divine nature; that is, the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit dwells within them, they are given ears to hear and given a direct command from the Lord Jesus. Giving heed to the word of God leads to understanding and a life of obedience.

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you… (v 27)

A transformed heart that is indwelt by the Holy Spirit enables the Christian to love with a divine love that only God is able to give. It is this divine love Jesus speaks that allows Christians to practice. Jesus exemplified this love. The divine love we read in Scripture is known as agape love. God loves because he is true to his nature to love. As God’s kingdom people, we are to love in the same manner he loves; that is, we are to love everyone, but especially to the brethren (Gal. 6:10). God’s love unto both the righteous and unrighteous (Matt. 5:45). So, we too, must love all. God’s love is demonstrated ultimately on the cross when Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus is also speaking of a loving heart attitude. This is significant at that time because the Jewish traditions taught to love each other and hate their enemies. In stark contrast to the teachings of Judaism, Jesus was teaching the disciples to love their enemies. Jesus is consistent with what Scripture has always taught – to love everyone (Lev. 19:18).

Only the true Christian are able as they have been chosen to love as they are given the power through the Spirit. Only Christians are able to show the fruit of the Spirit. Prior to being saved, we only loved those who loved us. But given our new nature, we are no longer governed by flesh but by the Spirit. However, we might fail to love in this way when we are disobeying (Lk. 9:23). Without denying ourselves, we are unable to love. In addition, we must follow Christ daily in order to avoid failing to love our enemies.

What motivates us to love our enemies is that we know their spiritual condition. They are spiritually dead and blinded, living in darkness. By loving and sharing the gospel, Christians help the unbelievers think of their spiritual condition and seek salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus also recognized this (Lk. 23:24). And we pray for fervently that they repent and believe (v 47).

How are we able to love our enemies? By doing good to those that hate you (v 27). We are not to go against them, but to love them despite hating us. In other words, we do not retaliate whatsoever (Rom. 12:17-18; 20-21; 1 Pet. 2:23).

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (v 28)

Here, Jesus s referring to blessing our enemies with our words in grace and love. Practical ways that can help when enemies say or do anything bad to us is not to take things personally and remembering we would be the same without the grace of God (Prov. 10:12; 1 Cor. 15:10).

Jesus also calls us to pray for those that mistreat us (v 28). Who we pray for demonstrates where our hearts lie. Do we only pray for those that we care about? We must be determined to love by praying for the enemy and their souls. It is never a waste of time to do this, and rather a blessing unto us. Those that pray for the lost understand the reality of spiritual warfare is present and Satan is behind persecution (Eph. 6:12). However, even in light of failing to love our enemies, do not be discourage or doubt your salvation, but realize we failed to be like our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 1:9).

Christian, remember to love and treasure our Lord’s words when face persecution and our enemies: “Blessed, are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers to treat their prophets” (v 22-23).

In His perfect wisdom, Jesus is helping his disciples through teaching them the Beatitudes. The first Beatitude, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’ is the essential and central blessing. The rest of the Beatitudes depend on being poor in spirit. We might ask “Why are Christians miserable when they are promised so many blessings?” It is because they fail to practice the first Beatitude and pursue  obedient sanctification (Matthew 7:24-28). Those who are poor in spirit are in the kingdom of God dwelling in the presence of the great and mighty king. They are truly blessed.

From Luke 6:24 the blessings turn into woes. Jesus goes from the positive to the negative. Being rich is not a sin but there are many who seek riches in the world instead of being rich in Christ. They use verses like 3 John 1:2 to justify their desires. This is wrong. The way Jesus declares woe here, it is not a possibility but a judgement. 

Luke 6:25bAfter the rich and well fed, Jesus says ‘Woe to you who laugh now’. Jesus doesn’t mean there should not be laughing or joy in the church. Jesus and God have a sense of humor and are full of smiles. Laughing is wonderful and can be a powerful aspect of life. Laughing can even be medicinal. God doesn’t disapprove of laughter, especially since He created it. 

Yet why does Jesus say woe to those who laugh? If we look at the other woes, its the rich and well fed, who are habitually and lavishly enjoying the world without concern for others (Luke 16:19). From this, we can draw the meaning of those who laugh, it is those who are excessively finding their joy and pleasure in worldly things. Jesus curses this laughter because He wants believers to rejoice in all circumstances, not just when it’s entertaining. He desires the believer to rejoice and have laughter in Him. Our laughter should not be in wealth or success or even at the misery of others. Our joy must be at all times in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a big problem in the modern Church in America, which only rejoices when things are going well.

The ones who laugh and enjoy the world are cursed because they have given up their pilgrim mentality. We must realize this life is fleeting and we will enjoy the life to come. We cannot believe the lies of Joel Osteen who falsely preaches ‘your best life now’. The pitiful pursuit of trying to live and enjoy the now will eventually end up cursed (Colossian 3:1, 1 Peter 1:1, 1 Corinthians 15:19). The one who lives only for the present does not realize who Jesus is, that Jesus raises the dead, that Jesus is the hope. The fool will try to gain all things now instead of placing their joy and future in Jesus Christ. Particularly since most of the enjoyment and laughing comes as sin, when all is said and done, their enjoyment will be judged and condemned.

Jesus is the Bread of Life and He satisfies you full and completely (John 6:35). In contrast, when you look at the world, they are never satisfied. Even though there are so many things to do, they are bored. They always want something new. Look at the beautiful actors and actresses, why do they divorce even though they are rich and beautiful? It is because true satisfaction is found only in the Lord.

Death is not just the wage of sin, but sin is death and if you sin then you will no longer have a relationship with the living Lord. The sinner is condemned. Still, there are people who would rather laugh now and enjoy their sin. Romans 7:24 shows Apostle Paul who struggled against sin his whole life. We also sin, yet if we confess our sins, mourn and weep over our sinfulness, then we will be forgiven and have the joy of salvation (1 John 1:9). Jesus wept over our sin too (Matthew 23:37) It shows that salvation does not come through a light and cheerful way. We can know the content of the gospel but unless we mourn and repent we cannot be saved.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. Luke 6:26 At first, this curse might seem to be in contradiction to 1 Peter 2:12. The context is different and Peter is addressing hypocrisy, while Jesus is talking about worldliness. There are many times when both Peter and Paul refused the praise of men in fear of taking the glory from God (Acts 10:26;14:14-15). As a bad example, some churches treat their pastor’s like a god, or like the pope, giving them honor only God deserves. Ironically, Jesus, the perfect Son of God was treated poorly by men. They insulted him, slandered him, questioned him, persecuted him and eventually hung him on the cross. The believer should be careful to not pursue better treatment than our Lord. Do not demand or think that you deserve better than Jesus. 

If you wish to be popular with the world then don’t teach sin and hell. If you say ‘yes’ to the world’s demands, ‘yes’ to social justice, ‘yes’ to critical race theory, ‘yes’ to universalism then people will say good things about you. Robert Schuller heretically says positive thinking is almost as important as the resurrection of Jesus. That is a dangerous and damning teaching but it is well received by the world. Compromising the Bible with the world will make you a friend of the world but an enemy of God. 

How to avoid being spoken well by the world? It’s simple. The Christian doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Just don’t compromise Biblical truth and live by faith. Only by faith can we have a relationship with the Lord. If we abandon our faith, then we cut off ourselves from the Lord. So the righteous will live by faith and the world speaks ill of the righteous. We must be salt and light to preserve this dying world.

Finally, if you claim Jesus as the only way, then the world will hate you. The world loves the first part of John 14:6 but the moment you say ‘no one comes to the Father but through Me’, they hate you. The secular world wants a partial gospel or a softened gospel. They hate the true gospel but we must share it without compromise and boldly because only by the true gospel can they be saved. We will be scolded by the world. It is silly to expect their favor and it is not their favor that we seek. To preserve our own salvation and to bring others into it, we must remain true to Christ and His word.

When preaching on the Beatitudes, Jesus preached of the blessings that came with believing in Him and growing spiritually as we passionately strive to be like Christ (Ps. 73:25). In today’s passage, Christ preaches a stark contrast as he lays out four “woes”, transitioning from the blessings previously. What does woe mean? It’s a sort of declaration or reaching a sentence in a verdict, often introduces a prophetic oracle of doom (Reformation Study Bible), and like the word “anathema”, which means to be accursed; condemned to destruction. Jesus warned the disciples of four woes of which two will be covered in today’s sermon: woe to those that are rich and well-fed now.

Woe to you who are rich

Jesus and Scripture are not anti-wealth as God loved and blessed Abraham, Job and many others we see in Scripture. There are lots of people that are dedicated to the Lord and are rich. God is particularly against a specific group of the rich. That is, the people Jesus is preaching woe to that are pursuing wealth as the priority, the idol of self-sufficiency. Wealth and self can easily become an idol. Anything to do with God and his will is just a hindrance to this goal. Why is this bad? Those seeking these things without the Lord is sin. All good things come from God. Earthly blessings must be used to glorify God, but there are those that attribute their wealth to anything but God (Ps. 24:1).

When we see Jesus’s encounter with the young rich ruler, the Lord makes it clear to be poor in spirit because the young rich ruler is intoxicated in his wealth (Matt. 19:21). Those that are consumed in their love for wealth are cursed (v 23-24) You cannot serve Jesus and wealth. In other words, those pursuing materialism in this world is under God’s curse.

What is materialism? Money-centered and thing-centered rather than God-centered. Materialism is sin and foolish. Money cannot purchase salvation and save the soul (Matt. 16:26). The problem with so many is they think they have time, so they store up riches for themselves (Lk. 12:20-21). But God owns time and we’re living on His borrowed time. Are we pursuing to be rich in the Lord or to be rich in the world (1 Tim. 6:7)?

Woe to you who are well-fed now

This is the second woe Jesus warns his disciple of. Those that are well-fed now are people that have everything they supposedly need so they think they don’t need God. This woe might not just point to food but anything in this world such as intellectualism, atheism, or any other (Lk. 16:19).

AW Tozer points questions to examine our hearts.

• What do you value most? That is your god.
  • If we cannot confess and profess this (Phil. 3:7)
• What would we most hate to lose?
• What do your thoughts turn to most frequently when you’re free to think of what you will?
• What affords you the greatest pleasure?
• If Jesus Christ is not the answer to any of the above questions, we need to re-examine our hearts. It is because when we are converted, although not perfect, we fight to grow in sanctification and glory of God.

The consequences are severe for those that are rich and well-fed based on Jesus’ words. For those that are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full (payment). For those that are well-fed now, you shall be hungry (Ps. 73:12). Some might as if they’re cursed by God, why do the rich and well-fed seem to be doing so well on this earth? God is not going to intervene (which is part of the curse) on this earth until judgment.  It is in the future that those that are well-fed shall be hungry (Lk. 16:24).

What is the solution to find relief from these woes?

We are all born under the curse of the law of God (Gal. 3:10). But the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed those that will repent and believe in Him for salvation (Gal. 3:13)! It is only by God’s grace our hears can be opened, while under the curse, to repent and believe (Rom. 10:9)! As long as we are alive, the free gift of salvation is available that brings true blessings that goes on into eternity.

Since COVID-19 this world has become strange and confused. The times are unpredictable, there’s social and political unrest, as well as worldwide fear of COVID-19, which has caused the church to come under attack. Similarly, in the days of Moses, the Israelites were going through hardship under the Egyptians. They were under attack, there was fear everywhere (like now) and fickle beliefs. Moses chose to deal with all these by faith. People can try to come up with all sorts of solutions by their own strength or inventiveness, but those solutions will never work. The Bible tells of only one solution: faith (Hebrews 11:2). Faith is the means God gives as the answer to our circumstances.

Take Peter and the disciples in Luke 8. They were veteran fishermen, their family were fishermen. One night, they encounter a storm, they’re full of fear and become hopeless. They plead with Jesus who was sleeping. His response to their hysteria is: “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). The answer to their crisis wasn’t sailing skills or fishing experience but faith. 

This is how Moses also faced his challenges. “By faith” We might excuse ourselves saying we are not Moses or Jesus. However this faith is possible for all believers. George Muller says his faith is the same as all Christians, the only difference is that he tries to exercise it. As he faces situations he applies his faith continually and through the applying of faith, God answers his prayers and his faith grows. We also ought to exercise our faith in our circumstances. Even Jesus went through the same process and overcame the world for us. (John 16:33)
What is faith? “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1 Faith is realizing we have already obtained what God has promised even though it has not happened yet. “Obeying the revealed will of God and trusting Him for the results” – Jerry Bridges.

Faith knows the object it believes and rests on. Moses was a Prince of Egypt, which was the most prosperous and powerful country at that time. He enjoyed the world to its fullest. He definitely experienced the temptations this world has to offer. Yet it says “by faith he left Egypt”. He did not love or cling to this world (1 John 2:15,17) There is nothing good in this world because it loves the darkness and as a result is under judgment (John 3:19). Departure from the wicked world is a fundamental part of being a Christian. The Christian must be like Abraham and Ruth and the disciples leaving their old life to follow Christ (Matthew 4:19-20, Matthew 19:27). Leaving the world is Christianity 101. Sadly, one of the main reasons many Christians struggle in their faith is because they have failed to leave the world. Christians are called to be pilgrims. We are enemies of the world but friends of Jesus Christ.
Faith comes from hearing the word of God. In Exodus 3:5-6 God tells Moses he is on holy ground so he must take off his sandals. Moses understands his sin before the Holy God and takes off his sandals as a sign of repentance and faith. He obeyed God’s command. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” John 5:24 Faith is a holy gift from God which comes from His word. We are saved by faith and have received the Holy Spirit. This means faith and holiness (obedience) are always together. If faith binds us to God who is holy, then it is clear that faith cannot be mixed with the sinful world.

By faith Moses had no fear. Moses should have been fearful of Pharaoh because he was a criminal who murdered an Egyptian. He was a traitor who ran away and hid in the wilderness. Forty years later he came back and faced Pharaoh. After the ninth plague, Pharaoh threatened to kill Moses (Exodus 10:28). Moses was a traitor. Hebrews 11:27 “not fearing the wreath of the king, for he endured”. The threat was there but by faith Moses overcame his fear. Everyone fears. Fear is a natural reaction. People have so many fears, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of disease, fear of persecution, fear of heights and many other phobias. How can you overcome these numerous fears? By faith. “Fear is not part of the Christian life. We may be marked, we may be rejected, we may be hated, we may be imprisoned, we maybe killed, but we are loved by God” – Dale Partridge

How to overcome fear with faith? First we must know what causes fear. One thing is a guilty conscience. Like a criminal meeting the police, like Adam and Eve in the garden, our sin causes guilt and fear. For a believer, the faithful response to guilt is to believe Jesus is our advocate (1 John 2:1). Another cause of fear is uncertainty. We don’t know what’s going to happen. However, there is no need to fear, God will certainly do what he says (Numbers 23:19). God has fulfilled and is still fulfilling his promises. Also God is with us. Like a child with their parents, we can have confidence in our God who is with us (Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 10:28). God is bigger than anything we may fear. This is why the martyrs were able to joyfully face death. They knew God is more powerful than even death and Satan (Job 2:6). The Christian has no need to fear man but trust in God since He is the mightiest and above all. 
Pray to overcome fear. By praying you will receive the peace of God (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is the most tangible expression of trusting God. The prideful have many fears and complain but the humble cast their anxiety on the Lord and trust in His care (1 Peter 5:6-7). King David, when his son Absolom betrayed him and chased him out, turned to God in prayer in his embarrassing and shameful situation. Prayer is not complicated or confusing but simply just turning to the Lord with a genuine appealing heart (Psalms 3:4-6).

The last challenge Moses faced was fickleness. The Bible says, “he endured”. He was consistent and unshaken. This is the greatest sign of Biblical faith. Many Christians move the goal post, get bored or grow impatient, but Moses endured. Endurance is important, especially when you face challenges and receive harm and damages. They will persecute the Christian but the one who endures to the end will be delivered (Matthew 24:9-13). There are many famous pastors and Christians who did great things and wrote great books, but didn’t endure to the end. It is sad and terrible. Remember to endure.

Faith can be sight. We must continually set God in front of us in our circumstances (Psalm 16:8) By practicing faith, God who is spirit and invisible, becomes visible as He works in our lives. His presence and His promises become clearer and more vivid (1 Peter 1:8) Believing becomes seeing. Therefore, meditate on the Bible day and night to strengthen your faith (Psalm 1, Joshua 1:8). As your faith is strengthened and practiced, you will realize God’s presence more and more, which is truly a wonderful blessing.

Main subject: Rejoicing in the midst of Christian persecution.

“The beatitudes paint a comprehensive portrait of a Christian disciple” (John Stott).

From last week’s part one on Christian persecution, why does the world hate Christians? Simply state, Christians are set apart intrinsically and opposed to the world system. Our faith in Jesus Christ is exclusive and this is ultimately why the world hates us as they hated Him (Jn. 17:14). However, our faith cannot be taken away as God is faithful to preserve His people.

Christians are controlled by the thoughts of heaven and heaven where Christ is seated as King. Our conviction of the gospel and longing to be with Christ in heaven is what drives us even in the present time.

As we are persecuted, our initial response must be gladness (v. 23). Our Lord is interested in how we respond and attitude going forward in the midst of persecution. What kind of gladness does the Lord mean? Jesus is referring to joy. Biblical joy is related to grace as it goes hand in hand. Joy in Greek is kara, grace is karis. In other words, character of joy is evident in those that are saved by grace. A Spirit-filled life is accompanied with joy as well. Thus, a healthy Christian is full of joy as they walk with the Spirit.

“Believers are not dependent upon circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have, but from what they are, not from where they are, but from whose they are, not from what they enjoy, but from that which was suffered for them by their Lord” (C.H. Spurgeon). Joy comes from the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joy is a reality internally for Christians resulting in outward expression. How can we express joy externally? In persecution, those that are internally joyous do not retaliate and leave vengeance up to the Lord. Jesus exemplified this as He went through persecution while on earth. Christians also understand that our sovereign God allows persecution to occur for His glory. Thus, we trust in Him and respond in faith and joy. Moreover, Christians do not live under the power of depression. The power of prayer helps us not to lose heart and remain in our joy of the Lord (Lk. 18:1).

Without persecution Christians remain untested and unsure of their faith. When persecution comes, believers know where they stand in the faith and that they belong to God’s family. In the U.S., physical persecution is absent. However, how we handle every problem and circumstance demonstrates where we stand in the faith. Do we trust in God’s word in both good and bad times? Is our first response to turn to God in prayer and His word?

How else can we test our faith in persecution? We are to intentionally be the salt and light of the world. Most importantly, our passion to share the gospel in the midst of persecution is how we can be demonstrating that we are children of God. Our greatest joy comes from identifying ourselves with Christ and handling trials as our Lord Jesus did. We also know that testing of our faith produces endurance so that we may be mature and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4). Believing and suffering for Christ is a Christian privilege (Phil. 1:29).

Lastly, Christians desire to remain in joy during persecution as we know our reward is great in heaven. Knowing where we are headed and will end up, our present life is shaped by this knowledge. In other words, the destination will determine the path we choose daily. Do we think about heaven consistently (Col. 3:2)? Scripture is clear that even though all Christians will enter heaven, there will be those that are rewarded more than others for their faith. Our heavenly award is a promise given by God that only adds to the joy we possess.

This is the blueprint Jesus laid out for Christians in the face of persecution. Thus, when suffering occurs it is imperative remember His words as He went through it and provides hope for all believers. Christlikeness is always the goal for the glory of the Father.

Here we come to the last blessing of the Beatitudes similar to Matthew 5. Blessed are the persecuted. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is blueprinting the Christian life for His disciples. The blessings outline what a Christian life looks like and it does include persecution. However, persecution doesn’t come at the beginning. First, you must be edified internally before facing external persecution. The Chistian fully depends on Jesus by being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, thirsty and hungry for righteousness. These are the internal driving forces behind sanctification. Once the joy of sanctification fills you and gives you strength, then you will face persecution, which is also a blessing.

Persecution is not pleasant and often unexpected. Take John Mark who went along Apostle Paul’s missionary journey. He might have initially been excited to serve with Paul and Barnabas, but after the harsh reality of their missionary journey, he abandoned them. He wasn’t ready to face such persecution. Demas too, forsook Christ for the world because he was unwilling to face persecution. It shows that he wasn’t truly poor in spirit. The first 3 Beatitudes are preparatory.

It is a little strange that Jesus says those who are persecuted are blessed. The word you must remember while being persecuted is that you are blessed. The believer is truly happy regardless of their circumstance because there is peace in their heart.

Persecution is expected The word persecution has roots in ‘pursued’, ‘chased down’ and is defined as ‘harassed evilly’. Persecution is not a joyful word. Especially in America we face little persecution so it is a little difficult for us to relate. However in Afghanistan and other countries, Christians are being beaten and killed for their faith. Still, we must realize that America is not a Christian country and we are living in a post Christian era. Norman Geisler explains the transition “Eventually, a post-Christian society moves from assuming Christian values to ignoring them, to resenting them, to repressing them, and eventually to persecuting them. What was once Christian and is now post-Christian will eventually become anti-Christian.” We are heading towards persecution and it can come suddenly. However our response should not be surprise or frustration. It says in 1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised if the world hates you.” Since the beginning of mankind, the unrighteous have attacked the righteous. (1 John 3:12)

Expecting persecution doesn’t mean it becomes a blessing. The reason we can face it joyfully is because it also happened to Christ. Jesus is not like us, he did not make any mistakes, he was not flawed. We as sinners might deserve persecution, but not Jesus. He was perfect man, yet the world still hated Him and crucified Him (Isaiah 53:9). It wasn’t only on the cross, but from the beginning Jesus was persecuted. From King Saul trying to kill David (Jesus’ ancestor) to Herod trying to kill Jesus as a baby. Even his own family ostracized him. Jesus constantly faced persecution (Mark 3:6;John 11:8;Matthew 26:55)

If Jesus was constantly persecuted then should we not also be persecuted? We always say we want to be like Christ, but does that include His persecution? As Christians, if we are not persecuted then it might signal that something is wrong with our faith. That is because the world hates you not because of who you are but because you have Jesus (John 15:18).

When you face your adversaries, remember God is with you. Jesus accused Saul of persecuting Him. This means Jesus takes the persecution of the church as His own persecution. Your persecution is also Christ’s and He is with you.

Persecution is a blessing because the end of persecution is exaltation. In Philippians 2:9-12 Jesus was obedient unto death but one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord! Our persecution will one day result in exaltation. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

What is true Biblical persecution? To be honest, most people are persecuted because they brought it on themselves, because they acted wrongly. This is not true Biblical persecution. True persecution starts with hatred. Like how Esau hated Jacob (Genesis 27:41) Why has the Christian baker been sued 3 times? Are there no other bakeries in Colorado? It is because they hate the baker for his faith.

Christians are also abandoned by the world because of their faith. The academic world especially excludes Christians and their beliefs. Christians are insulted and slandered when it comes to science yet we have the truth and true knowledge. Many Christians have benefitted the world with their study in science, like Isaac Newton. Still, they insult and exclude us.

Finally, they scorn. They call us evil and act out on their hatred by imprisoning and killing Christians. This is the process that happened towards the Jews that eventually led to the Holocaust. It started with changing a few laws and eventually it ended with branding them as enemies of the people and allowing any sort of violence against them. Christians are now that target.

Who will persecute the Christian? In short, the world. It can be the government grabbing for power. It can be other religions, like what’s happening in Afghanistan. Other false beliefs and religions have constantly persecuted Christians in the past because we are the true faith and claim Jesus is the only way. Even nominal Christians will also persecute faithful Christians. Even today, there are Christians spreading CRT (Critical Race Theory) as an addition to the gospel. While doing so, they attack those who deny CRT, calling them racist and white supremists.

Why do we get persecuted? One reason is to test our true faith. This will be explained more next time. Matthew 5:10 also explains that it is because we are pursuing righteousness in an unrighteous world (Romans 3:11). The Christian is different from the world (2 Timothy 3:12). There is a conflict between the righteous and unrighteous. The righteous Christian will be persecuted because they stand out. We stand out because we have gospel conviction. We have the death and resurrection of Jesus and we proclaim it to an unrighteous world (Acts 24:21). Apostle Paul was imprisoned and put on trial because He proclaimed Jesus is alive. We are different because we fear God above anyone else (Acts 4:19). While the world fears or respects man, disease, wealth, authority, knowledge or anything, we fear God. All these things differentiates the believer from the world and so the world persecutes.

What will you do when you get persecuted? Many Christians around the world throughout history endured persecution with a faithful passion. What’s amazing is that the church grew during those times. They proved that the persecuted are blessed. We are called to prove the same.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.

In this context, the Apostle Paul is encouraging the church of Philippi and his confidence stems from being convinced himself. He had every reason to be confident in his own righteousness; however, his confidence and trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the righteousness of God given to him on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:4-6). Paul met the risen Lord Jesus and personally knows him. Therefore, the worldly things he was formerly confident in was but mere rubbish in comparison to the things of Christ.

The Almighty God who is the only one able to save and give the gift of faith. Not only is God able, He also follows through in keeping all His promises (Joshua 21:43-45). The most significant promise God has made and kept is sending Christ Jesus to be the Savior of sinners (Genesis 3:15).

God, who begins a good work, is good because it is within His domain. Thus, we can be confident that God will see it through as He does not fail in completing His work and will (Isaiah 55:11). It is His very nature that enables Him to complete any work He begins as He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). Paul emphasizes who God is to remove any doubt. And the work Paul is specifically addressing in this passage is the work of salvation.

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30).

There is no greater work than salvation as it is the highlight of what God has done (Rom. 5:8). God forgiving us of our sins is not as easy as we often make it out to be (Matt. 9:5-7). A price had to be paid to be forgiven of our sins. That price was for Jesus to become man and die for our sins on the cross. As the work of salvation was costly, the work of sanctification is also costly for the Christian. For this reason, it is important to be confident in the Lord for our sanctification that will lead to our glorification in heaven, which God will bring to fruition. Moreover, we will be like Christ and see Him just as He is in our glorified state in heaven as well (1 Jn. 3:2).

Another aspect of God completing the good work of salvation is the Christian’s current suffering versus future glory (Phil. 2:12-13). Whatever temporary suffering we might face on this side of glory is incomparable to the future glory we will receive from God. However, we must be honest and ask ourselves if the sufferings we experience is for God or something we put ourselves in. If our suffering is for the sake of Christ, it is guaranteed that our future glory is worth every single suffering – however difficult it might be.

Our glorification is tied to God’s glory. God’s glory is the perfection of His attributes that is perfectly right manifested in all His majesty. God does not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). As God’s glory is sure, our glorification is sure.

Having confidence in the Lord’s work have several benefits. Our attitude does not necessarily change outcomes, but it changes how we live. Thus, having a confident attitude in the Lord will change the way we live to the glory of God. Confidence gives us strength to press on and fight the good fight through many sufferings. Confidence results in courage and victory. In addition, having confidence gives internal spiritual peace because the great struggle we face is against the flesh (Rom. 7:24-25). This struggle does not end in despair or failure as God will complete the work of our salvation in our glorification in heaven. Furthermore, this confidence helps the church to grow. Rather than having confidence in men as the Corinthian church did, the church’s confidence must remain in the Lord as He is the one that causes the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). Churches grow as she trusts in the Lord.

Confidence gives us fuel in the work of sanctification. The goal Christians have is to purify themselves when the end goal is clear (1 Jn. 3:2-3). When we know what awaits us in heaven, the future glory and reward is also God’s grace that will provide us confidence in Him to pursue sanctification.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism). Giving glory to God allows us to enjoy this truth and to truly find joy in Him. Enjoy God and His work demonstrates our faithfulness to Him.

In conclusion, we must not live our life with regret. Even though we might have lots of regret in this life, we will never regret giving all of ourselves to the Lord. Investment in the things of this world will always end in misery, but investment in the work of the Lord will bring glory to God and will not end in regret.

As we continue to delve into the Beatitudes, today’s beatitude to hunger and thirst for righteousness is what Jesus designates Christians. This is extremely importantly for Christians to live by as it is based on Jesus’ terms. Jesus is describing His kingdom citizens to demonstrate a character of always being hungry for righteousness. As an adolescent hungers for food constantly through development, Christians show they’re growth as they’re always hungry. In other words, spiritual appetite is directly correlated to spiritual health. It is those that are poor in spirit that continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness who will be satisfied.

What hungry and spiritually healthy Christians look like

In Scripture, we see Peter’s transformation from being a fisherman to becoming a disciple of Christ. Peter’s conversion and newfound faith began directing his hunger for worldly things to the spiritual things of God. It is after meeting and believing in Christ that Peter’s spiritual appetite is completely changed in his heart (Phil. 3:7-8). As all are born in sin from Adam’s nature, there is absolutely no spiritual appetite and spiritually unhealthy (1 Cor. 2:14). However, the gospel becomes the greatest treasure and propels the unbeliever to sell everything he must obtain and keep it. What follows the heart transformation is a hunger for righteousness.

Spiritual hunger is from a sense of lacking our own righteousness. It is starving to know the righteousness of Christ. There is nothing that will truly satisfy the Christian from the world; therefore, they never cease hungering after the things of God.

Why do some Christians, however, lose their appetite from time to time? It is a sign that spiritual sickness has taken place because spiritual junk food is eaten rather than healthy food from the Lord. Spiritual junk foods pertain to idols and the things of the earth rather than God or the things of God. We can fall into the lie that something else can satisfy the hunger we have. Rather, our attitude must be like the psalmist who pants and thirsts for God in his soul (Ps. 42:1-2).

Our indifference to the word of God is a sure sign that we are spiritually unhealthy. It is true that we often times distance ourselves from God’s word when we are not spiritually well. In contrast, those that are spiritually healthy hunger and thirst after God’s word. Joy and excitement fill the heart, soul and mind to read, study and obey the word of God.

The healthy Christian has pity for the lost and strive to the utmost to share the gospel of Christ. The truth is that unbelievers are hell-bound, and this must drive the Christian to their knees and reach out to the lost.

Unhealthy Christians fear man, not God. If we are in this state, we must quickly repent and return to a healthier spiritual state in fearing God alone.  

What hungry and spiritually healthy Christians pursue

Our spiritual appetite must lead to hungering after God’s righteousness and pursue it to the utmost. Generally, righteousness is being right and doing right before God. There are two different types of righteousness: imputed and imparted.

Imputed righteousness is given by God as someone repents and believes in Jesus Christ. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).  Christ’s perfect righteousness covers the Christian.

Imparted righteousness is living righteously having been given Christ’s righteousness and by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Imparted righteousness is also known as sanctification. In other words, hungering and thirsting for sanctification shall be satisfied.

The pursuit of sanctification that results in righteousness is defining character and attitude of a Christian. By the work of divine grace in salvation is also at work in our sanctification. This truth enables us to respond in obedience to God’s word as we have a strong desire to become like the Lord Jesus Christ.

What elements are apparent in our sanctification? We have deep hate and disgust for sin. One of many Christian sufferings result from struggling and resisting sin and evil. Christians hate sin because God hates sin.  In addition, a Spirit-filled life that is growing in sanctification bears spiritual fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is thereby manifested through the Christian.

Sanctification occurs as often as we read God’s word and pray. Christians receive blessing from this pursuing righteousness and sanctification as they will be satisfied. Furthermore, God promised to Christians of eternal satisfaction in heaven. What a great God who promises that our daily hunger for righteousness will be forever satisfied in Him as we enter into His presence after death!