Swift Creek Baptist Church, 18510 Branders Bridge Rd., Colonial Heights, VA 23834
7/24/2011
Matthew 5:43-48 �Christian Love�
I. CHRISTIAN LOVE IS INCLUSIVE
How broad & inclusive is your love? Do you love everyone, or to be honest, you would admit that you only love those who love you, your family & friends? Jesus will establish in our
text today that God wants our love to be inclusive, excluding no one. But notice first of all:
A. The Contrast � Jesus says in v.43, �You have heard that it was said, �You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.�� The first part of that statement is a quotation from Lev.19:18. The Jews knew that the law required them to love their neighbor, but they typically wanted to define �neighbor� in a very limited fashion. Some would include all of their Jewish
brethren, as implied in v.47. Others would only include Jewish brethren who literally lived near them. The Pharisees would limit the definition of �neighbor� to Jews who were living by the law, as they interpreted it. Of course, as Jesus indicates in v.46, they would love those who love them.
So their love was limited in scope, excluding all others. The Pharisees where extreme separatists, who would have little to do with anyone outside their likeminded group. In fact, some were even bold enough to add to the law a new requirement that you �hate your enemy.� Of course that
would include Gentiles, such as the despised Romans.1 They would also regard Jewish tax collectors as enemies rather than �neighbors�, for they collected taxes for the foreign government that had conquered them and taken away their freedom.
So as you can see, for most Jews their love was limited to family and friends and like-minded Jews. They even felt justified in hating most others, especially in light of the way they had suffered at the hands of their enemies for In v.47b some of our older Greek texts have "Gentiles� rather than "tax collectors." hundreds of years. The duty of love was restricted to a narrow circle, and the rest of the world was left out in the cold. Yet they thought that they were living in obedience to the law, and were pleasing God, & earning eternal life. I�m afraid that too many Christian people love to about the same extent. So whether then or now, Jesus drops a bombshell on the self-righteous people who feel that they are obeying God when it comes to the law of love.
Notice with me:
B. The Call for an Inclusive Love - He says in verse 44, �But I say to you, love your enemies�.� Here Jesus expands
�neighbor� to include anyone you come in contact with, even an enemy, whether Jew or Gentile. You also see in v.44 a pretty good description of what an enemy does. They will probably curse you, hate you, verbally abuse you, 2. and persecute you.3. The word �persecute� refers to someone who won�t leave you alone. They hound you, and constantly attack you in various ways. How are you to respond to an enemy? Jesus says you are to love them! What? How can
that be?
In fact, many are puzzled by this wide scope of Christian love that is even extended to enemies. They say, �How can I love someone who has just verbally abused me?� To understanding how this is possible, you must understand the meaning of the word translated LOVE, agape. This does not refer to a friendship kind of love. It does not refer to a family kind of love. This is not an emotional or romantic love. Jesus does not ask us to be fond of our persecutors, or like our enemies. Agape love is a love of the will, that chooses to do good to others. It is a love that seeks to meet the needs of another person. So since Christian love is an act of the will, Jesus has the right to command us to love our enemies.
How broad is your love? Let�s be honest with God, who knows you heart anyway.
Is your love nothing more than typical human love, which is limited to family, friends, and your church family?
Notice what Jesus asks in v.46, �For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?� Then in v.47 He asks, �And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?� Then in both verses He indicates that if your love extends only to family & friends, then
your love is no better than that of an unbeliever! Such limited love could even indicate that you are not a true believer. If you & I are going to please God and manifest Christian love, we must love all people, even our enemies!
II. CHRISTIAN LOVE MUST ALWAYS BE OUR GOAL
Jesus has certainly raised the standard of righteousness here. God demands a love that is inclusive, excluding no one. Our love should not just be talk, but must be expressed in various ways, even to our enemies. This is not normal, human love. This is God-like love.
So Jesus concludes this text by giving a challenge in v.48, �Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your
Father in heaven is perfect.� Does this mean that Jesus was a perfectionist in the sense that He taught men that they could reach sinlessness before death? Not at all. What does He mean?
First of all, He is reaffirming the fundamental principle already giving in v.45, that we are to be like God. That is the goal of every true child of God. If God is loving to all, then we should
be loving to all. If God does good to all, we should do good to all. If God is holy, we should be holy. If God is perfect, then we should strive toward perfection.
Secondly, we should not be satisfied with half-way obedience to the law of love. After all, we insist on yards of 36 inches, gallons of 4 quarts, pounds of 16 ounces, and dollars of 100
cents, and become volatile if we discover someone has been shortchanging us. God�s doesn�t want us to shortchange this, the greatest of His commandments. He will not be satisfied with anything less than His own high standard of love.
But how can we attain such a lofty goal? When you are born again you also receive the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 says, �the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.� The fruit of the Spirit is love (Gal. 5:22). Only with the Holy Spirit will you be able to love like God. Does your love give evidence that you have been born again? If not, I invite you to repent of your sins & trust in Christ as your Savior today.
Then you need to understand that life is a process of growth, especially in the spiritual realm. This law of perfection provides the opportunity for infinite moral growth. Though we
will not attain perfection in this life, it is a goal that we should seek to attain.5 The kind of love described here is indeed difficult to practice consistently, but it must always be the target that we aim for. And when we miss the target, isn�t it wonderful to know that the love of God provides forgiveness.
As Christians, we are commanded by Jesus to love others. But, what does this mean? In today's culture, love is usually associated with romantic feelings and sexual relationships. Clearly, this is not the type of love Jesus meant we should have for everyone! Also, we often think of love as a feeling. But since we can't decide what we feel, how can we have feelings of love for everyone?
To fully understand Jesus' command to love one another, it helps to look at the Greek word for love most often used in the New Testament. For in the Greek language, unlike in English, there are four different words used for four different types of love. These Greek words are storge, philia, eros, and agape. C.S. Lewis expands upon these in his book, The Four Loves.
Storge is the Greek word for the love between family members. C.S. Lewis calls this affection. Storge is most clearly evident in the love of parents for their children. Most parents are so devoted to their children's welfare that they are willing to sacrifice and do most anything, even unto death, for the sake their children. Storge is also the love children feel for their parents, as well as the love between relatives in an extended family. Storge is a committed, often sacrificial love. It doesn't expect too much, revives easily after quarrels, is unconditional, often overlooks the other's faults and frequently forgives. We often take the storge love of our family members for granted. Storge is the love where we can be comfortable and secure just being in the presence of one another. Just being together in comfortable closeness is often enough.
Philia is the love between good friends. Philia is also called "platonic" love. Philia is a chosen love, because we choose whom we will befriend - usually on the basis of shared interests. Philia is more conditional and less sacrificial than storge. Philia is less willing to continually overlook faults and frequently forgive others.
Eros is the Greek word for romantic/sexual love and is the root of the English word erotic. Eros is the passionate feeling of romantic attraction felt between two lovers. It is also associated with infatuation and lust. Unlike friends who stand side-by-side absorbed in some common interest, eros lovers are normally face-to-face absorbed with each other. Since eros is a passionate feeling and because we cannot decide what we will feel, we usually do not choose this type of love. That's why we say a man and a woman "fall in love." Eros ("being in love") usually just happens. Of course, this does not mean we must always give in to the desires of these passions. While we cannot decide what we feel, we can and should control what we do in response to our feelings.
It is also worth noting that this type of passionate love is often expected to last throughout the many years of marriage. That's why many young newlyweds are often surprised and disheartened when the "fires of passion" begin to decay. However, it is perfectly normal for this passionate love to diminish in intensity over time. What often takes its place in marriage and grows over time is the more secure, committed, and comfortable love of storge. Since feelings come and go, when a man and a woman get married they cannot promise to have passionate feelings of love for each other forever. Rather, what they can and should promise is a commitment of the will to the lifelong good of the other, no matter what lies ahead in their lives.
The final type of love is agape. Agape is the word most often used in the New Testament to describe Christian love. Agape is made manifest in our acts of charity and service for others, including those who we may not even know or like. Agape is unconditional in that it does not expect anything in return. Unlike eros, agape is not a feeling that just happens. Rather, like philia, agape is a chosen and committed love. Agape takes a decision of our free will, a commitment to act for the good of another. Like storge, agape can be a sacrificial and unreciprocated love. It is the love Jesus made manifest for us on the cross. Agape is self-giving.
Agape flows from the abundant, overflowing, and unconditional love of God. After all, God is love. Agape is God's divine love made visible in our good works of charity and service. It is a joyful and spiritual love that grows in our lives by the grace of God. The Holy Spirit is the source of agape love. Agape is the type of love that all Christians are called to manifest in their lives by unconditional acts of goodwill and charity for others, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
The breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's LOVE that Paul prays for all the saints to comprehend and to know in Ephesians chapter 3, leads us to the cross which connects us to God who while we were yet without strength Christ died for the ungodly... and that God commanded His LOVE for us, in that, while we were yet/still sinners Christ died a suffering humiliating death on the cross for us.
We as believers in Christ are to always keep in mind...The breadth of the cross connects us to God through Jesus Christ; the length of the cross reaches out with out stretched arms to the lost; the depth of the cross touched firmly down into hell in victory; the height of the cross reaches God's throne of grace in heaven.
This is how much God so loved the world and gave of His Son who was innocent t, but He died for our sins, He who knew no sins... this is the lOVE Paul speaks about that surpasses all knowledge that believers are to know and comprehend and keep in mind, so that we all might spiritually grow and develop as mature Christins, and share in our hearts true godly LOVE toward others, because of the LOVE God shared with us through Jesus Christ.
This kind of godly love is what fills us with the hope of His glory and brings us into the fullness of God in abundant life and the charater of Christ.
Jesus commanded his disciples many times to obey the OT command �To **LOVE** your neighbor as yourself� and on the day before his atonement Jesus added a NEW command �To **LOVE** one another as I have **LOVED** you� and this was just one day before he laid down His life for His friends.
John 13:34: Jesus says, �A **NEW** command I give you: **LOVE** one another as I have **LOVED** you so you MUST **LOVE** one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples!!�:angel:
John 15:9-14: �As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My **LOVE**. **IF** you :rolleyes:obey My commands, you will remain in My **LOVE**,,, My command is this:**LOVE** each other **AS I HAVE LOVED YOU**!!. Greater **LOVE** has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends **IF** you do what I command!
Ephesians 3:16-19: �I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you:rolleyes: with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in **LOVE**, may have power, together with all the saints:rolleyes:, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the **LOVE** of Christ, and to know this **LOVE** that surpasses knowledge�that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!!�
I Peter 1:22,23: "Now that you have purified yourselves by **OBEYING THE TRUTH** so that you have sincere **LOVE** for your brothers, **LOVE** one another deeply, from the heart. For you:rolleyes: have been born again through the living and enduring Word of God. For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the *WORD OF THE LORD* stands forever!!. And this is the *WORD* that was preached to you!"
God's Word further explains what this new **LOVE** is like in I Corinthians 13:2,4-8: If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not **LOVE** I am nothing...**LOVE** is patient, **LOVE** is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. **LOVE** does not delight in evil but rejoices with the Truth. It always trusts, always hopes {In UNSEEN Eternal Rewards}, always perseveres. **LOVE** never fails!!"
John 14:23: Jesus says, �If anyone **LOVES** Me, he will obey My teaching, My Father will **LOVE** him, and We will make Our home with him. He who does not **LOVE** Me will not obey My teaching.�
I John 2:3-5: �We know that we have come to know Him {Jesus} **IF** we obey His commands. The man who says, �I know Him,� but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. But if anyone **OBEYS HIS WORD**, God's **LOVE** is truly made complete in him!!�:angel:
And *THEN* you will "Grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the **LOVE OF CHRIST!**.":angel:
