Love Your Enemies

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Mighty Bear

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Luke 6:27 ESV "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Luke 6:28 ESV bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Luke 6:29 ESV To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.

Luke 6:30 ESV Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

Luke 6:31 ESV And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Luke 6:32 ESV "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

Luke 6:33 ESV And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

Luke 6:34 ESV And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

Luke 6:35 ESV But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Matthew 5:38 ESV "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

Matthew 5:39 ESV But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Matthew 5:40 ESV And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Matthew 5:41 ESV And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Matthew 5:42 ESV Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Matthew 5:43 ESV "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

Matthew 5:44 ESV But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:45 ESV so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:46 ESV For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Matthew 5:47 ESV And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Matthew 5:48 ESV You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
 
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veteran

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And that must be kept in perspective of all of our Lord Jesus' teaching, for in Luke 22 He told His disciples who didn't have a sword to go buy one.

So our Lord Jesus was not teaching us to stand still like a tree and allow murderers and thieves to kill us. He was talking about doing good to our enemies that aren't trying to murder us.
 

Mighty Bear

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEIQ5MUPZmA

Love, thy will be done
I can no longer hide
I can no longer run
No longer can I resist the guiding light
It gives me the power to keep up the fight
Love...thy will be done
Since I have found you my life has just begun
And I see all of your creations as one
Perfect complex
No one less beautiful or more special than the next
We are all blessed and so wise to accept
Thy will love be done

Love, thy will be mine
And make me strive for the glorious and divine
I could not be more, more satisfied (satisfied…)
Even when there's no peace outside my window
There's peace inside
And that's why I no longer run (I no longer run)
Love thy will be done

Love, thy will be done
I can no longer hide
I can no longer run (no….)
Love, thy will be done
Thy will love be done

No longer can I resist (no..) the guiding light (guiding light)
The light that gives me power to keep up the fight
I couldn’t be more satisfied (no…)
Even when there's no peace outside my window
There is peace inside
And that's why I can no longer run
Love thy will be done (thy will be done, done, done…)

Love, thy will be done
I can no longer hide
I can no longer run
Love, thy will be done
Thy will love be done

Love, thy will be done
I can no longer hide
I can no longer run (no….)
Love, thy will be done
Thy will love be done…
Thy will love be done…
Thy will love be done

Psalms 34:9-10 HCSB Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. (10) Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.
 

Strat

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But if we want to truly be like our Father in heaven, we must punish and torment our enemies forever, right? :)

God has the right and authority to do that if he chooses...do i understand it,no...but by faith i must accept it
 

aspen

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Jiggy - lol. Still tempting me with universalism?

I agree that we are misinterpreting the doctrine of Hell in a serious way - I have faith that a Good God will straighten it all out. No one is going to be tricked into anything. I am just hoping He will wrap this all up quickly.
 

veteran

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And wrap it up quickly is exactly what He said He's going to do,

Rom 9:27-28
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
(KJV)
 

Mighty Bear

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Matthew 16:21 ESV From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 16:22 ESV And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."

Matthew 16:23 ESV But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
 

accdan

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Luke 22:36 was clearly just to fulfill prophecy. Christ's Kingdom is not of this world, if it was his servants would fight, but it isn't. Non-resistance was lived out by Christ, Steven, Paul, and countless other faithful believers. Especially those in Europe around the time of world war 2. Many were put in prison, tortured and some even died because they refuse to take a gun to kill another human being. I even know some of them personally and the powerful testimonies of those who took to heart Christ teaching to love your enemy.
 

veteran

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Luke 22:36 was clearly just to fulfill prophecy. Christ's Kingdom is not of this world, if it was his servants would fight, but it isn't. Non-resistance was lived out by Christ, Steven, Paul, and countless other faithful believers. Especially those in Europe around the time of world war 2. Many were put in prison, tortured and some even died because they refuse to take a gun to kill another human being. I even know some of them personally and the powerful testimonies of those who took to heart Christ teaching to love your enemy.

Sure it was to MAKE SURE prophecy would be fulfilled, and that was involving HIS DISCIPLES taking The Gospel forward after His death, and then the safeguarding of CHRISTIAN SOCIETY THEREAFTER.

What He commanded His disciples with buying a sword had NOTHING to do with His crucifixion. You might want to read that group of Luke 22 Scripture again.

And no thanks, those in Christ Jesus don't need your own 'personal' anti-self-defense notions aligned with the Soviet Communist's long-range strategy against the western Christian Church (per ex-FBI agent Cleon Skousen). As a matter of fact, if the western Christian nations had not... taken up swords to defeat the invaders of Islam in 700 A.D. when they invaded Europe, then you would probably be bowing to Mohammed and the Imman's today instead. So don't give me all that non-resistence propaganda.


For others interested, here's what the Luke 22 difference is about:

As Christians, WE have the God-given right to self-defense. That is why Jesus told His disciples to go buy a sword for those who didn't have one. When two swords were held up and He said that was 'enough', that's to show us we shouldn't go overboard with having weapons, just enough to be able to DEFEND ourselves, our family, our community, our nation. This is why in past history in America when those in government 'knew' more of God's Word, they always downsized the military during peacetime. It is why the U.S. was ill-prepared to fight WWII. It is why the U.S. government today is considering the plan to join all four military branches into one, and do further cuts. If it hadn't been for the Soviet and Chinese Communists OVERBUILDING their militaries posing a global threat, even to the point of letting their own citizens starve, then the militaries of the western Christian nations would have remained much smaller throughout the Cold War era. That proves who the REAL 'war-mongers' are, the Communists and their allies. (Communism adopted Clausewitz's dialetic of "war is the continuation of politics by other means.")

But what about the situation of one of Christ's elect that's to be delivered up in the last days to give a Testimony for Christ against the coming world beast kingdom and its coming king? That's a different situation. If we are persecuted for Christ's sake, for taking The Gospel to the nations, and arrested for it, that's not the same situation as a whole Christian nation and people being under military attack, nor attack by a mugger on the streets! Authorities God has put in control in a non-believing country arresting one of us for preaching The Gospel is not the same thing as a mugger on the open road who kills to steal. That's just plain ole' common sense.

Both ex-FBI Cleon Skousen in his 1958 book The Naked Communist, and the 1960's ex-KGB defector Golitsyn in his 1980's book New Lies For Old, documented the long-range Communist disinformation strategy against the west with propaganda in today's western nations to get western Christian leaders to preach 'pascifism' and 'disarmament' within today's Churches.
 

Vaccinius

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In Luke 1:57-63 it says:

"Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all."

Is your neighbours "baby" a Zacharias or a John? Or is he in fact a Matthew or a Judas? Only when you know for sure you can judge your neighbour.
 

aspen

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We are called to love our neighbor regardless of whether they turn out to be friends or enemies
 

aspen

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And sometimes that 'love' means a tough love towards our enemies, getting them to turn away from doing evil.

How is tough love different than gospel love?
 

Strat

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No matter what one thinks "love" is God is love and the love expressed in the bible is like what Jesus said about gouging out an eye or cutting off a limb to enter the kingdom of God and avoid an eternity in Hell...making someone's road to Hell smooth and easy is not love...telling them what they need to hear and allowing them to face consequences on earth that are infinitely minor compared to a Hellish eternity is love.

The love expressed by so many is selfish love....they love others because they want to be loved,liked,admired and respected by others,they would never tell someone the truth for fear that they would be angry with them and that would make them feel bad about themselves or make them have to experience a little discomfort or fear....because in the end they are all that matters,they and how they feel about themsleves.
 

veteran

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No matter what one thinks "love" is God is love and the love expressed in the bible is like what Jesus said about gouging out an eye or cutting off a limb to enter the kingdom of God and avoid an eternity in Hell...making someone's road to Hell smooth and easy is not love...telling them what they need to hear and allowing them to face consequences on earth that are infinitely minor compared to a Hellish eternity is love.

The love expressed by so many is selfish love....they love others because they want to be loved,liked,admired and respected by others,they would never tell someone the truth for fear that they would be angry with them and that would make them feel bad about themselves or make them have to experience a little discomfort or fear....because in the end they are all that matters,they and how they feel about themsleves.

Pretty much 'on the nail'. Gotta' be The Holy Spirit speaking that.
 

aspen

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No matter what one thinks "love" is God is love and the love expressed in the bible is like what Jesus said about gouging out an eye or cutting off a limb to enter the kingdom of God and avoid an eternity in Hell...making someone's road to Hell smooth and easy is not love...telling them what they need to hear and allowing them to face consequences on earth that are infinitely minor compared to a Hellish eternity is love.

The love expressed by so many is selfish love....they love others because they want to be loved,liked,admired and respected by others,they would never tell someone the truth for fear that they would be angry with them and that would make them feel bad about themselves or make them have to experience a little discomfort or fear....because in the end they are all that matters,they and how they feel about themsleves.

You are assuming that people do not know the truth. Telling a person 'the truth' as you call it, is not going to change their heart - that is God's job. LOL - maybe you are the real liberal here! You are the person who is promoting the liberal lie that 'education is the answer to all the world's problems'

Only God can change a person's heart - we are called to walk beside them while He is at work. And once again. bring me one person that does not know what behaviors God calls sin and I will be the first to tell them.
 

jiggyfly

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No matter what one thinks "love" is God is love and the love expressed in the bible is like what Jesus said about gouging out an eye or cutting off a limb to enter the kingdom of God and avoid an eternity in Hell...making someone's road to Hell smooth and easy is not love...telling them what they need to hear and allowing them to face consequences on earth that are infinitely minor compared to a Hellish eternity is love.

The love expressed by so many is selfish love....they love others because they want to be loved,liked,admired and respected by others,they would never tell someone the truth for fear that they would be angry with them and that would make them feel bad about themselves or make them have to experience a little discomfort or fear....because in the end they are all that matters,they and how they feel about themsleves.

Even though King James (mis) translated what Jesus said about Gehenna the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem, it doesn't take a scholar to see that this religious doctrine conflicts with many other scriptures.

Jesus said many things about love yet none of them when translated correctly conflict. If the unending torment paradigm were true than as I pointed out earlier, Jesus would have said for us to torment and torture our enemies yet many want to simply ignore or deny many of the things Jesus said and taught in order to maintain a carnal paradigm.
 

lawrance

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Jesus loves the sinner but hates the sin.
So if you have a son or daughter it is your job to raise them up to be in the light of Christ and this is not about being a foolish person just soft fluffy loving type of rubbish that you see some people do, it's like spoiling one and then the child just becomes a brat. you may have to put you foot down at times. like when it's in there best entrust, even if they don't know it at the time.