(written by Raymond E. Leonard)
(Matthew 5:43-48) Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy…44…but I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father which is in heaven…He causes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
You have just read the words of Jesus Christ. No greater person has ever lived than He. As is known the world over, time has been divided into BC, ‘BEFORE CHRIST’, and AD, AFTER CHRIST, which comes from the Latin. Again AD stands for Anno Domini….Latin for ‘In The Year Of The Lord’….BC stands for ‘Before Christ’.
If all people loved their enemies there would be .no divisions in government, no riots, no thievery, no plots to hurt individuals, groups, or religions. There would be no murders, no wars, and hatred would be a thing of the past.
We also need to be listening to the Holy Spirit and consider how we may be talking about, criticizing and perhaps even hating another denomination and their members. If their belief is unbiblical, we may point that out firmly, but in love,, and we must keep our hearts from hating the people.
(John 13:35) Jesus said, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are My disciples”.
If you are a Christian you immediately understand what I am saying, because you believe and follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. What some Christians may not understand, however, is that a professing Christian who ‘HATES‘, and won’t forgive another, will forfeit ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus tells His disciples in ‘THE LORD’S PRAYER’, …. “forgive us our debts (sins against another) as we forgive our debtors (sins against us). Here, Jesus is telling us that if we don’t forgive those who offend us, God will not forgive us.
And guess what? If God doesn’t forgive us for our grudge-bearing, He won’t allow us into heaven. Dear brother/sister, we need to take that very seriously. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Be very careful, even in politics, if you call yourself a Believer in Christ, that you do not get so angry over the opposing party that you start hating them. There is a very thin line between hating their politics, what they stand for, and hating them because of their opposing position and political stand.
Yes, as a Believer in Christ and His Holy Word, we must always hate what God hates, but remember, God never hates people. but what God does hate is anything in people and in this world that is an abomination to the Lord, but we must not hate the people practicing those destructive abominations.
Separating people as people as beautiful creations of God and their rebellion, abominations and sins against God and sins against humanity is not easy, ‘BUT WE MUST, AND THERE IS A SURE WAY THAT WORKS EVERY TIME’.
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?
ARE YOU READY FOR THE ANSWER? WILL YOU RECEIVE IT?
If you have submitted yourself to the Authority of God through Jesus Christ and His Word you will receive it, but if you’re not subject to His Word and rebellious you won’t.
When you hate the evil that they stand for, ‘YOU MUST TAKE IT TO GOD AND PRAY FOR THE SALVATION OF THEIR SOULS FIRST, AND TRULY WANT THEM TO REPENT AND COME TO CHRIST.
Then, and only then, are you ready to stand against the evil they are pushing and standing for. You can strongly oppose any evil cause they are supporting. Just as God ‘Loves righteousness, and Hates iniquity, so must we intensely love what God loves and hate what God hates.
God hates evil plans and plots devised against one’s fellowman, but loves all mankind, even evil men, ‘BUT HE COMMANDS EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE TO REPENT AND BE CONVERTED AND CHANGE HIS THOUGHTS, HEART AND DEEDS, AND COME TO HIM WHO LOVES, THE WORLD SO MUCH THAT ‘HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOEVER WOULD BELIEVE IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVER LASTING LIFE” (John 3:16).
GOD IS THE CREATOR, AND HE CREATED ALL MANKIND IN HIS ‘IMAGE’.
(Genesis 1:27) “So, God created man (mankind) in His own image. In the image of God created He him. Male and female created He them”.
God created Adam and Eve in His image. God is perfect and makes no mistakes, and created mankind in His perfect image.
But you say, look at how many people are born with some flaw or some terrible deformity, whether physical or mental, so how can you say we were created in the perfect image of God?
When mankind sinned and rebelled against God it fatally struck humanity and separated man from God, and mortally wounded every person and marred and distorted the image of God in man beyond humanity’s ability to restore it. As a result babies are born with cleft pallets, down syndrome, and many kinds of disabilities, both physical and mental. Sin has been passed down upon all of us and we are all conceived in sin and we like, desire, and want to sin. In fact we can’t stop sinning and sin is really ‘SELFISHNESS ON STEROIDS‘.
That’s why Jesus died for us on the cross to pay the penalty and price that sin demanded, which was death.
(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”.
(Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”.
He died in our place and for our sin and defeated death on the cross, and now, all those who will accept Christ and His sacrifice for their sin on Calvary and ask God’s forgiveness will receive eternal life by trusting and believing fully in Jesus Christ, as their Lord, Savior and Messiah,
(Isaiah 53:5) “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, He was punished for our sins so we could have peace with God, and with His stripes we are healed”.
But returning to our beginning subject, “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”, we must understand that there is no such thing as an inferior race that God has created. The brown skinned race, red skinned, yellow skinned race, black skinned race, and white skinned race were all created by God, and were all created in His perfect image, and God loves them all. GOD LOVES ALL OF US EQUALLY, AND DOES NOT FAVOR ONE OVER ANOTHER, OR PUT DOWN ONE OVER ANOTHER.
If someone tells you that you are inferior or evil because you were born a certain skin color, do not accept that because that is the Serpent, the Devil and Satan espousing that doctrine and it’s a destructive lie.
On the other hand, if you believe you are superior to another race and skin color, you are full of pride and you have a spirit of control and witchcraft moving you to think and act that way. Rebuke that demon, and submit your life to the Lord of all creation and mankind.
He loves all His creation both male and female and all races of people and skin colors equally. If we love our race and skin color, but hate those with a different skin color, we must repent and beg God’s forgiveness immediately. God is angry with us and His judgment is already upon us. Hatred in the ‘spirit realm’ is deep darkness and is like deadly evil magnetism pulling us down, down, down to hell like a huge and mighty magnet.
So, let’s be a part of the solution in our families, neighborhoods, communities, nation and world and love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind, and our neighbor’s as our selves.
‘DON’T FORGET TO LOVE YOUR ENEMIES’ LIKE JESUS SAID WE SHOULD. THEN WE WILL BE THE CHILDREN OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. PEACE WILL REIGN IN OUR HEARTS AND OUR WORLD WILL BE A WONDERFUL PLACE TO LIVE.
AND WE OURSELVES WILL BE THE FULFILLMENT OF THE ANGELS DECLARATION WHEN CHRIST WAS BORN, “PEACE ON EARTH TO MEN OF GOOD WILL”.
GOD LOVES YOU DEEPLY AND IS CALLING YOU TO COME TO HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THE LORD, JESUS, CHRIST. In Jesus Christ alone is ‘Eternal Life’. (Acts 4:12) “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we ‘Must be Saved’, but the Name of Jesus Christ.”
PRAY THIS PRAYER: Dear God, I know I am a sinner and desire that you forgive me of all my sins. Jesus, come into my heart as my Lord and Savior, and forgive me of all sin. I forgive everyone who has ever hurt me. I turn from my sins and will walk with you all the days of my life. Give me the power to live a godly life. Deliver me from all the power and influence of the Devil. Jesus, fill me with Your precious Holy Spirit, and fill me with your love for all people. I will live by your Holy Word and obey Your commands. Thank You for peace, and cleansing my soul from all sin.
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