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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew, chapter five. Matthew, chapter five, as we 
continue our study in the gospel, according to Matthew, specifically, 
we find ourselves in the Sermon on the Mount finishing up this 
section, this chapter, this morning, and then we'll probably hold 
off on starting chapter six till after the new year. This seems 
a good spot to take a bit of a break. But I want to read beginning 
in chapter five at verse 17, so that we can see our passage 
in the context. Do not think that I came to destroy 
the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but 
to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, 
till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by 
no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore 
breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men 
so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever does 
and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of 
heaven. Christ say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds 
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no 
means enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said 
to those of old, you shall not murder. And whoever murders will 
be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever 
is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of 
the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 
Raka, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says you 
fool shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore, if you bring 
your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has 
something against you, leave your gift there before the altar 
and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother 
and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary 
quickly while you're on the way with him. Lest your adversary 
deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer 
and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you 
will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. 
You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not 
commit adultery. But I say to you, Whoever looks 
at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with 
her in his heart. If your right eye causes you 
to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable 
for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body 
to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes 
you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. For it is more profitable 
for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body 
to be cast into hell. Furthermore, it has been said, 
whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of 
divorce. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for 
any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery. 
And whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Again, you have heard that it 
was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but 
shall perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, Do not 
swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by 
the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the 
city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head, 
because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 
yes be yes and your no, no. For whatever is more than these 
is from the evil one. You have heard that it was said, 
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not 
to resist an evil person. Whoever slaps you on your right 
cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue 
you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him too. Give 
to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from 
you, do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 
you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say 
to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you. Do good 
to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use 
you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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. For if you love those who love 
you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors 
do the same? And if you greet your brethren 
only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors 
do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect, 
just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Amen. Well, this 
morning we come to the last illustration, the last of six antitheses that 
the Lord Jesus presents, contrasting a true interpretation of God's 
holy law versus the scribal and Pharisaic misinterpretation. Remember, the overarching theme 
is in verse 17. Do not think that I came to destroy 
the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but 
to fulfill. So our interpretation is such 
that we're not taking away from the law. We're not saying that 
Jesus added to it or elevated, but rather Jesus properly interpreted 
it. In fact, in the language of Calvin, 
again, a valuable reminder, we must not imagine Christ to be 
a new legislator who adds anything to the eternal righteousness 
of his father. We must listen to him as a faithful 
expounder that we may know what is the nature of the law, what 
is its object, and what is its extent. So Christ's war is not 
with Moses. Christ's war is with Moses' false 
interpreters. And that's how we'll approach, 
again, this last illustration this morning concerning the law 
of love. Well, let us first pray. Father, 
thank you for your Holy Scripture. Thank you that all Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, that it's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
and our genuine desires that you would thoroughly furnish 
us unto every good work. And God, for those who do not 
know the Lord Jesus, I pray that this law, this exposition, this 
understanding of your statements, your declaration would convict 
and would bring that realization that they have sinned against 
a holy God. I pray as well that Christ in all of his glory and 
all of his saving ability would be presented, that sinners today 
would believe on him and turn from sin and know the joy of 
everlasting life. And God, for us, your people, 
certainly as we come face to face with your law, with your 
revealed will, we are mindful of our own sin, our own shortcoming, 
our own transgression. And we confess that now. We pray 
for forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, thanking you, 
God, that you have provided him, that you have blessed us richly. 
We would ask that in all this we would remember him. We would 
remember that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. 
And we come to you now through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
Well, last week, in verses 38 to 42, we considered the lex 
talionis, or the law of retribution. And we saw that the believer 
must forbear. He must exercise forbearance 
under distressing and difficult and trying circumstances. Jesus 
illustrates, or Jesus gives, four particulars. He says that 
we are not to resist an evil person. Again, it's not talking 
about matters concerning the civil magistrate. It's not saying 
you should get rid of police, and get rid of military, and 
get rid of the government, and get rid of courts, and get rid 
of saints, and guard dogs, and locks, and all those sorts of 
things. Remember that he's dealing with interpersonal ethics here, 
and this spirit of retaliation that was fostered by a misunderstanding 
of God's law, taking a principal fit for the civil magistrate 
and employing it in one's personal life, would only yield a vengeful 
and a retaliatory spirit that Jesus is condemning. So that's 
the idea. And we'll see that as we move 
along this morning when we consider this law of love set forth in 
verses 43 to 48. But Jesus says we are to be for 
bearing. He says, whoever slaps you on 
your right cheek, turn the other to him also. We saw that that 
was more primarily concerned with insult rather than injury. A right-handed person slaps you 
on your right cheek. It's delivered by a backhand. That's a very insulting thing. And Jesus says you need to bear 
up under insult. You need to bear up with reference 
to your property. Don't be sue-happy. Don't be 
the sort of person that wants to always insist upon one's rights. He says, if anyone wants to sue 
you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 
You need to not be so concerned with self-interest. As well, 
he says, we ought to have a disposition of peaceful allegiance to the 
governing authorities. Again, not if they're commanding 
us to sit. But if a Roman soldier comes along and conscripts you 
into service to walk one mile, then go with him two. And as 
well, you need to have an attitude of benevolence. Verse 42. We saw how all of these things 
were revealed in Old Testament law. Give to him who asks you, 
and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away. So 
the Lord Jesus says we need to bear up under difficulty. We 
need to engage in this society that we find ourselves in with 
a spirit of resignation. We need to be willing to deal 
with the various issues that confront us, the negative issues. But this next section goes on 
to highlight that it can't simply be a stoic resignation. Yes, we're going to bear up, 
but all the while we're going to hate that particular person. No, you mustn't only bear up, 
you must do so lovingly. You must do so in the orbit of 
Christian ethics. You need to conduct yourself 
in such a way that you reflect accurately what the kingdom of 
Jesus Christ looks like. And that brings us to consider 
the positive response that we are to bear toward those who 
wrong us. Kingdom citizens must feel pride 
and selfishness and manifest humility So you don't just bear 
up, you do it lovingly. You don't just deal with people, 
but you seek by God's grace and empowerment to love them. I say 
God's grace and empowerment because many of us, most of us, probably 
struggle with what Jesus says here with the people we really 
do like, people we really do love. Jesus says, love your enemies, 
and then he gives three concrete expressions of that. I realize 
the NIV and the NAS and the ESV don't have the fuller version 
that we find in the New King James. We're going to treat it 
the way we have it here. Not to suggest that this is the 
only way, but I'm just going to use this translation. But 
he says, love your enemies, and then he gives us three means 
by which we are to do that. I mean, if we're honest with 
ourselves, brothers and sisters, we find it difficult to do this 
with people we really like, let alone our enemies, right? How 
many of you, as husbands, do this with your wife? You do good 
to them always. You bless them always. And you 
pray for them. Wives, how many times do you 
do that for your husband? You do good to them. You bless 
them. You speak well of them all the 
time. And you pray for them. I suggest that as we come to 
this Sermon on the Mount, we're not being called here to just 
grin and bear it, suck it up, and do it on our own. It casts 
us at the foot of sovereign grace and mercy, or we will never be 
the sorts of men and women that Christ calls us to in this passage. I want to look at four things 
this morning. First, the contrast. Secondly, the corrective. Thirdly, 
the reason. And fourthly, the summary. Notice the contrast. Jesus uses 
that familiar statement. You have heard that it was sad, 
but I say to you, you have heard that it was said you shall love 
your neighbor. This comes right out of Leviticus chapter 19 and 
verse 18. It says, You shall not take vengeance 
nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but 
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Remember later on in Matthew's 
gospel, in Matthew 22, a man comes to Jesus and asks, What 
is the first? What is the foremost? What is 
the greatest commandment? Jesus cites Deuteronomy 6 5. 
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, 
mind and strength. And then he says in the second 
one is like it. You shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. This is accurate. You shall love 
your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18. Jesus says, Upon these two hang 
all the law and the prophets. They summarize the entirety of 
God's moral law. The first table of the law, our 
duty toward God. The second table of the law, 
our duty toward man. Jesus already has told us in 
Matthew 5, 17 to 20, that he's not at war with Moses. This is 
correct. This is right. You are supposed 
to love your neighbor. Now, notice the addition in verse 
43. You have heard that it was said 
you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Now, you can search the scriptures 
for this and you won't find it. This was the pharisaic addition, 
the scribal addition, an implication perhaps drawn from the statement, 
love your neighbor. They falsely concluded, therefore, 
we are supposed to hate our enemy. That's the contrast. The law 
of love as God gave it in the Old Testament and what the scribes 
and the Pharisees had done with this particular law. You have 
heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your 
enemy. The New King James Margin, at 
least in my Bible, indicates Deuteronomy 23, 3 to 6 to substantiate 
this statement, hate your enemy. Well, if you back up to Deuteronomy 
23, verse 1, it speaks of who is allowed into the assembly 
of the Lord. It speaks of one who is emasculated, 
one who is born illegitimately. You're not supposed to allow 
them into the assembly of the Lord. Doesn't mean you hate them 
and you do all kinds of vengeful things against them. He mentions 
a couple of nations that they were to exclude from entering 
into the assembly of the Lord. Again, what a nation does in 
its relationship with other nations that they're at war with does 
not affect the Christian's personal relationships. You're mixing 
apples and oranges when you do that sort of a thing. What might 
be legitimate for a nation is not necessarily so for an individual. That's what Jesus is dealing 
with here. And then my Bible also highlights 
Psalm 41, 10, which is an imprecatory psalm. In fact, our brother, 
Pastor Porter, preached imprecatorily. How do we square that with what 
we find here when Jesus says, you are to love your enemies? 
Well, we square it first by realizing there's no contradiction in the 
Bible. There's no distinction, or there's no discrepancy, rather, 
between what we find David and the Psalter doing and what we 
find Jesus calling us to do as individuals. Again, think in 
terms of national. Think in terms of church. The 
Psalter is filled with expressions unto God that he vindicate his 
holy name in the execution of judgment against his enemies. 
The Psalter's not saying, somebody cut me off on my way to work 
today, God. I want you to visit them with pain and punishment 
and trial. God, somebody did a wrong thing to me. I got shorted. 
I got gypped at Walmart. They wouldn't return my item. 
I want you to bring down vengeance upon their heads. It's not the 
spirit of the imprecatory psalms. It is the psalmist crying out 
to God for God's glory, for kingdom advancement and for the protection 
of God's people. If you make that the prescription 
for your imprecatory praying, then you're in good company. 
Again, interpersonal relationships. It's not dealing with if a man 
breaks into your house to rape your wife. You say, I want to 
bless you. I want to do good for you. I 
want to pray for you. It's apples and oranges. It's 
unfortunate we have to spend time dealing with our own version 
of misinterpretation. But as we saw last week, that 
people derive pacifism out of verses 38 to 42 indicates a misinterpretation. Christ is dealing with us as 
individuals before the Lord God. And the Old Testament was the 
same. The Old Testament bid the believer 
to do the same. I'll just rehearse a few of the 
passages. Exodus 23, 4 and 5. If you meet your enemy's ox or 
his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to 
him again. And we hear that and say, oh, what about us? You know, 
we don't have any donkeys roaming in the street. Your neighbors 
are your enemy's possessions. It's property. You see his car 
unattended with the keys in it. You say, hey, too bad for him. 
Always had my eye on this. He's my enemy after all. No, 
you return it to him. Your enemy drops some cash. What do you do? Well, he shouldn't 
be my enemy. I'm going to put it in my pocket, 
head back to Walmart, and swear up with that person who wouldn't 
take my return. That's the attitude that Christ 
is condemning. It's vindictive, vengeful mindset 
that says, I have to have mine all the time. He's condemning 
pride. arrogance. He's condemning a 
lack of love. He's condemning a lack of selflessness. He's condemning selfishness and 
that insistence upon one's own. If you meet your enemy's ox or 
his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to 
him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you, lying under 
its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, ESV changes 
it. I think what we find here in 
the New King James is right. You see Let's go back, I'm sorry, 
I missed my place here. If you see the donkey of one 
who hates you, lying under its burden, and you would refrain 
from helping it. That's legit. Again, we're sinners, 
right? Think about it. You see that 
donkey. You see it's in distress. You realize it's owned by your 
enemy. What's the tendency? What's the temptation? Too bad 
for him. Too bad for him. God through 
Moses says, don't do that. That's supposed to do that. You 
shall surely help him with it. Leviticus 19, 33 to 34 calls 
for the law of love applied to the resident alien. If a stranger 
dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The 
stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among 
you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you are strangers 
in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord. Job says this as he's highlighting 
or rehearsing the fact that he has been a righteous man. He's 
not engaged in boasting. He's not engaged in wickedness. 
At least in Job 31, he's rehearsing the way that he has lived to 
counteract the idea that it's his fault that all of these things 
have occurred. He says this in Job 31, verse 
29. He says, if I have rejoiced at 
the destruction of him who hated me or lifted myself up when evil 
found him, Yeah, he says that would be a bad thing and I haven't 
done it. I've restrained myself from engaging 
in such activity. Proverbs 24, 17 bids us do not 
rejoice when your enemy falls and do not let your heart be 
glad when he stumbles. Proverbs 25, 21 and 22 quoted 
by Paul in Romans 12, 20, which is the parallel passage in Romans 
12 to this ethic we find here in chapter five of Matthew's 
gospel. says, If your enemy is hungry, 
give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water 
to drink. For so you will heap poles of 
fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you. The elimination 
of the Canaanites from the land, the place of the civil magistrate, 
and the execution of criminal offenders. The place of the magistrate 
in calling for a just, legitimate war is not being spoken to in 
Matthew chapter 5, verses 43 to 47. What is in view is your 
relationship and my relationship to people in this world that 
rub us the wrong way and make themselves our enemies. Again, 
if somebody comes to do a home invasion robbery, Don't bless 
them, don't do good for them, and don't pray for them, at least 
at that moment. After the cops come and bring 
him into the prison, you can pray for his salvation, his conversion, 
whatever you want to do. That's not what Jesus is talking 
about. We've got to clear away our own 
misinterpretation, because passages are taken out of their context, 
they're taken away from who they belong to, and they are put into 
the hands of who doesn't have the right to it. That's what 
we need to realize. So that's the contrast. Notice 
the corrective. Again, Jesus gives a command 
and then he gives three means of compliance with that command. 
He says, but I say to you, love your enemies. Reject the false 
implication. Reject the inference that was 
drawn by the Pharisees. They were wrong. The biblical 
data does not support that. The moral law of God does not 
indicate that. The law was always concerned, 
as we've just seen in a few sample passages, that God says that 
you were to be concerned for your enemy. The command given 
by Jesus repeats that given in the moral law. The command, I 
suggest, is as difficult for us today as it was in Old Covenant 
Israel. So I think Jesus speaks to these 
issues, right? You see, even as kingdom citizens, 
even as Christian believers, when we see our enemies donkey 
in the pit, Our natural tendency isn't to go fetch it out and 
return it home safely. Our natural tendency is to secretly 
rejoice. Our natural tendency is not to 
do what Paul says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with 
those who weep. How many times in your history 
have you been at a prayer meeting? You've met a brother or sister 
and they've shared something that is wonderful for them. Now, 
maybe you're not as sinful as me. Maybe you're not as sinful 
as the people I've met who have admitted as much. But has it 
ever risen up in your heart to begin to think, well, why didn't 
I get such a blessing? Why didn't I get such a job promotion? Why didn't I get that advancement? 
I'm a nice guy. I'm doing everything that I can. 
Instead of rejoicing with those who rejoice, you're calling God 
into question because he's blessed someone that's your friend. Let 
alone your enemy. I think it was as difficult then 
as it was for us, and so Jesus highlights this. Calvin says, 
for he who shall bring his mind to love those who hate him will 
naturally refrain from all revenge, will patiently endure all evils, 
will be much more prone to assist the wretched. Love your enemies 
is what Jesus says. Now, again, I feel it necessary 
to make some qualifications. Because of this interpretation 
in Matthew, twenty two verses one to thirty six, Jesus deals 
with his enemies. And he doesn't say, I bless you, 
but he says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. So the same Christ, who on this 
mount said that we are to love our enemies, displayed at least 
an expression of love that may be contra to what you and I know. 
I mean, we have the idea that to ever denounce anybody's sin, 
to ever speak ill of bad doctrine, to condemn any other mindset 
or a mindset that is not consistent with Scripture, is somehow unloving. You ever heard that? happens 
to reform people a lot. And I admit, we can be an unloving 
bunch. We can be a very unloving bunch. 
But to condemn heresy or error in and of itself is not to be 
unloving. Jesus does it. Matthew 23, woe 
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. That's not unloving. Luke 18, 7 and 8, Jesus teaches 
a parable about importunate prayer. He uses a woman. He says that 
she comes to this unjust judge. She continues to present her 
case. Finally, the judge, who doesn't 
fear God, who doesn't regard man, says, I'm going to render 
her verdict just so she'll leave me alone. Just get her off my 
back. That's a great justice system, 
isn't it? We'd be out boycotting with signs. 
How dare you do that? Jesus says, this is the way life 
is in a sinful world. Man, get used to it. But what's 
the implication that he derives from that? Shall not God avenge 
his elect who cry to him day and night? You see, so we can't 
condemn at the outset every form of vengeance because then God 
himself is suspect. As well, we find in 1 Corinthians 
16, 22, what I've often considered to be a statement that makes 
the Psalter's imprecations look like a walk in the park. I mean, 
David talks in Psalm 58 of the righteous dancing in the blood 
of the wicked. We read that and we're just offended 
by that. Our delicate sensitivities are 
rubbed raw. Again, David crying out for the 
glory of God and the vindication of his church says that the godly 
will one day see the demise of the wicked and they will rejoice. You turn to the book of Revelation 
after the whore is judged, after Babylon falls, what is heaven's 
response in Revelation 19? Alleluia! Praise God! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16, 
22, if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be 
anathema. I want to stop for just a moment. I want to ask you, do you love 
Jesus? We're not saved by love. We're 
saved by grace through faith in Christ. But the fruit that 
flows, the result of that faith is love to God. Love to Jesus. You appreciate him as Solomon 
sets him forth as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
You can't get enough of it. You sing 599 and your heart is 
throbbing in love to Christ. Listen to Paul's imprecation. 
If you don't love Jesus Christ and you're here this morning, 
the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 16 says, let him be anathema. That means damn to hell. That means condemned, that means 
banished from the kingdom. I don't think Paul is betraying 
his commitment to Jesus ethic of love in Matthew chapter five. There is a time, there is a place, 
there is an instance where Paul even prays an imprecation upon 
one of his own enemies again, not because he got shorted at 
Walmart, not because he got cut off in the streets, not because 
somebody took the larger bun at dinner. He says, Alexander, 
the coppersmith, did me much harm. Second Timothy 414. May the Lord repay him. You cannot say that Paul was 
in sin. You cannot suggest that Paul is betraying what he found 
here. We must infer. We must imply 
that Alexander, the coppersmith, was an enemy of God's glory. 
an enemy of the Church of Jesus Christ, an enemy of the Apostle 
Paul, whose primary task was to preach the gospel and call 
sinners out of darkness into marvelous light. He did me much 
harm. May the Lord repay him. The last 
week I said we need to pray for the Spirit. We need to pray for 
wisdom. You might have a situation. Can I pray an imprecation on 
this person's head? You need the Spirit. You need 
wisdom. You need to go to the Scriptures on that. It's a general rule. Those people that are engaged 
in massive acts of wickedness, it's legit. You can pray for their conversion. 
That's 1 Timothy chapter 2. I exhort first of all, Timothy, 
that you're the best preacher in town. Timothy, that you're 
available to everyone who comes to see you. Timothy, that you're 
canvassing the neighborhoods with the gospel and with tracts 
and with all those things. He says, Timothy, I exhort you 
first of all. That prayers, supplications, 
intercessions, givings of thanks be made for all men, he says, 
for kings and for all who are in authority. You pray for them. You pray for their salvation. 
You pray that the fear of God would be in their hearts. You 
imitate David in Psalm 2. You bid the judges, you bid the 
leaders of the nations to fear the sun, to bow before the sun. You pray that. First Peter chapter 
three, he shows us as well this attitude of this disposition 
of prayer. So Jesus says we are to love 
our enemies. Notice the means, the duty to 
bless. He says in verse 44, I say to 
you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you. The thing 
that you need to notice first is that it's. Not just a negative. What do I mean by that? Bless 
those who curse you doesn't just mean don't say anything bad to 
them. Avoid them. Stay away from them. I suppose Stoics could engage 
in that quite admirably. I suppose all of us could engage 
in that quite admirably. It's not just negative. There's 
somebody out there cursing you. Jesus doesn't say just stay away 
from them so they don't have more ammunition. He says, bless them positively, 
speak well of them, speak well to them. You see that in these three means 
of compliance. Pesky little thing, not just 
negative, but positive. I don't know how anybody could 
read the Sermon on the Mount and not praise God for Jesus 
Christ. Because we fail miserably. We 
don't bless our best friends the way we should. We don't bless 
our spouses the way we should. We don't bless our children the 
way we should. Children, do you bless your parents 
the way you should? Are you thankful that mommy and 
daddy serve and give and do for you? You speak a word of appreciation, 
that's what bless means here. God's blessing is when he multiplies 
certain benefits on our behalf. Our blessing refers to ascribing 
praise to God. In this instance, he says, bless 
those who curse you. If they're going to curse, you 
don't meet them with equal or more toxic curses. You meet them with blessing. 
It's a tough passage, brothers and sisters. It's a very difficult 
thing here. Maybe you don't feel the tension. 
Maybe you just do this. Maybe you're the most blessing 
person in the world. Maybe you should get a trophy. 
Maybe you should get a prize. Maybe you should have I am the 
most blessing kind of person I know dot com so we can all 
take lessons. You see, I don't think it's an 
accident when this sermon was over, the people marveled. Because 
Jesus was not like the scribes, but he taught as one having authority. Yes, the authority of God as 
his spokesman, but the authority of one who has actually done 
what he says. No minister of the gospel, no 
Christian can say that in every instance, in every occasion, 
in every time, I love my enemy. And I bless them. I speak well 
of them. I look out for their well-being. It's not just negative, it's 
positive. He doesn't say, don't slander 
them, don't gossip about them, don't roll your eyes when their 
names are mentioned. But you actually have to speak 
well of them. That goes on to the second, the 
duty to do good to your enemies. Again, not negative. Avoid those 
who hate you. Stay away from them. Don't go 
near them. You know, if they're going to 
be here, you go there. Just don't go near them. No, he says, do 
good to them. Who's done this? Now, I don't 
really want you to raise your hand. If you raise your hand, 
we're going to talk afterwards. There's some other passages you 
need to consider. One's on humility. You see that? Love your enemies. How am I supposed 
to do that, Jesus? Is it the sort of innocuous, 
the sort of negative, the sort of approach that many adopt today. 
Well, I don't say bad things to them. I don't go near them. I don't punch them back. That's 
not the kingdom ethic. It's not just what you don't 
do. It's what you do that certainly reflects the Savior. Do good 
to those. Do good to those who hate you. I even think we could do good 
to those we hate. Now, follow me here. He said, 
do good to those you hate. Again, stoic resignation. We're 
going to do this. We're going to grin and bear 
it. Now, I'm not by saying this advocating you go out and hate 
people. Just follow my logic or illogic, at least for a moment. You might really not like somebody, 
but because Jesus says you need to do this, you'll do it. You'll 
grin and bear it and do it. You'll suck it up. He says, do 
it to those who hate you. Who wants to serve somebody that 
hates them? Who wants to bow before somebody 
and wash their feet if that person on the receiving end hates your 
guts? You see the topsy-turvy ethic 
of Christ's kingdom. It's so unlike the world. I mean, 
if we are constrained to do nice things, we pick the people that 
are nicest. We certainly don't pick people 
that hate us, because what's in it for me? Palmer said this, he says, to 
return evil for good is devilish. To return evil for good is devilish. To return good for good is human. Generally speaking, to return 
good for evil is divine. That's the ethic of Christ's 
kingdom. And then the duty to pray for 
your enemies, pray for those who notice spitefully use you 
and persecute you. Those who spitefully use you 
and persecute you. Commenting on Luke 23, verse 
34, John Stott says this, Jesus seems to have prayed for his 
tormentors actually while the iron spikes were being driven 
through his hands and feet. Father, forgive them for they 
know not what they do. If the cruel torture of crucifixion 
could not silence our Lord's prayer for his enemies, what 
pain, pride, prejudice, or sloth could justify the silencing of 
ours? Love them. Manifest that love 
by blessing them, by doing good to them, by praying for them. That's actually where I was supposed 
to refer to 1st Timothy 2, 1-7 and 1st Peter 3, 9-12. You pray. You pray for those. You pray. God save them. God 
change their hearts. They're in a position to reap 
massive mayhem. God save them or remove them 
from power. Save them or get rid of them 
so they don't engage in such lawlessness. Notice, thirdly, 
the reason, verses 45 and 47, that you may be sons of your 
father in heaven, for he makes his sunrise on the evil and on 
the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if 
you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not 
even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren 
only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors 
do so? This is the nature of sonship, 
right? Your son gets older. I mean, 
hopefully you see it when he's eight months or 10 months or 
20 months or whatever. But when he gets to be about 
15 or 18 or 20 or 25, you say he's like his father. Like father, 
like son, we say. That's the ethic of Christ's 
kingdom. The father's this way. You need 
to be this way. The father functions like this. 
Notice he's not the father of the unjust or the unrighteous. 
He's the father of the disciple. He's the father of the believer. 
He is the father of the Christian. This does not substantiate some 
unbiblical notion of the universal fatherhood of God. No, God in 
his creation and in his providence does kind things even to unjust, 
ungodly, unholy men. When we look at this particular 
passage in verse 45, that you may be sons of your father in 
heaven, the idea isn't that it's a condition. This is the means 
or pathway by which you are saved. This is the result of having 
been saved. This is what children do. They reflect their parents. You 
ever seen that? Oh, that kid looks a lot like 
his dad or that girl looks a lot like her mom. When we pray for 
those who spitefully use us, when we bless those who curse 
us, when we do good to those who hate us, who are we reflecting? Not our father, the devil, because 
he's a liar and a murderer from the beginning. We're rather reflecting 
our father, the God of heaven and earth, because he does nice 
things. He's kind. He's good. He's gracious. He's 
benevolent. He shows mercy even to the unjust. He speaks of the rising of the 
sun. He speaks of the descending of the rain. So I was thinking 
about this in Chilliwack. We might reverse this. We might 
tend to think he sends the rain on those he curses, and we find 
ourself in that lot. The illustration is pretty easy 
to follow, isn't it? The rebel, the unjust, the ungodly, 
the unrighteous lives his life like this at God. As Van Til 
said, he's like the girl in her father's lap who slaps daddy 
right on the face. It's completely incomprehensible, 
isn't it? You see a little girl, you see a little boy sitting 
on their father's lap. He gave them life. He gives them 
sustenance. He gives them support so they 
can sit in his lap. And they slap him right in the 
face. That's what unbelievers do every single day. They eat 
God's food. They drink God's water. They 
engage in God's world, they breathe His air, they delight in His 
blessings, and all the while they slap Him right in the face. 
You want to see how you ought to conduct yourself? Look at 
the God of heaven and earth who causes rain to fall on unjust 
men, who causes His sun to shine on ungodly men. Now, again, this 
isn't all that the Bible says. The Bible says there is a day 
coming. The Bible says there is recompense. There is retribution. God will 
vindicate his name. In fact, the Apostle Paul encourages 
those in Thessalonica. He says it is just with God to 
pay with tribulation those who afflict you. That is a righteous 
concept that the scripture does not militate against. Interpersonal 
relationships, though. You've got an enemy at work. 
Think about it. He's not dealing with home invasion 
robberies. He's dealing with that guy at 
work that you can't stand. Hopefully he's not dealing with 
somebody in your church that you can't stand or somebody in 
your family that you can't stand. He's dealing with somebody that's 
on a lower level than home invasion robberies. He says the way that 
you deal with them is to love them. The way that you love them 
is by blessing them. The way that you love them is 
to bless them and to do good to them and to pray for them. 
That's the Christian response to the issues of your life. Notice 
these questions that Jesus asks. If you love those who love you, 
what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors 
do the same? I mean, tax collectors weren't popular people, were 
they? You ever had them knock on your door from Revenue Canada? 
Are you going to notice in the mail it says, we're going to 
audit you? Do you say, oh, yay, I love this. I can't wait to 
meet with my tax man. No, you start to get scared. What do they have on me? An IRS 
agent in the United States of America told my mother, if you 
bury money in your backyard, we will find it. These guys ain't 
playing games. Tax collectors in this context, 
in this situation, were more than likely Jews, working for 
the Roman government, exacting taxes from their countrymen. 
Jesus says, even they love those who love them. You say, well, 
who loves a tax collector? Surely his mom. I mean, there's 
not a mom in the world that doesn't love her kid, right? Even if 
he's a tax collector. I've met some fathers at times, 
and I don't know about this, but mom always loves him. She's 
there when he's in prison. She's there when he's at the 
electric chair. She's there when he's in the worst source. Mom 
is always there. So mothers love tax collectors. 
Probably other tax collectors love tax collectors, too. You 
see what Jesus is saying? You need to be like God, not 
like tax collectors. That summarizes the ethic here. 
Kingdom citizens are like God, not like tax collectors. Everybody loves those who love 
them. If you greet your brethren only, 
listen to the language. What do you do more than others? 
Do not even the tax collectors do so again? There's a variant. 
Gentiles, the heathen, the pagan. Don't even heathen and pagan 
have people that love them and greet them and they repay that 
back? Yes, of course. The kingdom ethic isn't the bare 
minimum. The kingdom ethic isn't doing 
what you're supposed to do, is it? That's how we adopt it. As long as I don't do this, as 
long as I don't go here, as long as I don't go there, as long 
as I don't look at this, then I'm good. Now, kingdom citizens, 
not only are you to love your neighbor, you're to love your 
enemy. Not only are you to love your enemy, not just in word, 
but in truth and in deed. You're supposed to do good to 
them. You're supposed to bless them. You're supposed to pray 
for them. That is what the kingdom of Jesus is supposed to look 
like. We're not bare minimum persons 
here. We're not those who are doing what they are called to 
do. What do you do more than those? Penetrating question. And that brings us to consider, 
fourthly, the summary of verse 48. Therefore, you shall be perfect, 
just as your father in heaven is perfect. There's some question. Does this summarize just the 
last antithesis, the one to love your enemies? Or does it summarize 
all six antitheses? I don't know. I think a good case can be made 
that it fits with the love of the enemies. When we compare 
Luke's gospel, Luke 6, 36, in this same context, we read, Be 
merciful just as your Father is merciful. But by virtue of 
the fact that the language is a bit changed here, not that 
there's discrepancies in the word, gospel writers report certain 
things for certain audiences, I would take this summary to 
affect the entirety of these antitheses. Be perfect as your 
heavenly father is perfect. Probably reflects passages like 
Leviticus 11, be holy for I am holy. Be blameless, Deuteronomy, 
for I am blameless. This is the ethic of the kingdom. We might try to soften the blow 
of perfect here and say, well, it refers to blameless. It refers 
to integrity. It refers to wholeness. It was 
used in the Old Testament to refer to an unblemished sacrifice 
that was being offered up to God. Or perhaps what Jesus is 
doing here is showing us something of the pedagogical use of his 
law. In other words, it brings us 
to our needs. It brings us to submission. It 
brings us to the cross. It brings us to the gospel. In other words, this is what 
a kingdom citizen looks like. None of you manifest this. No 
man, there is none, no not one, who has always pleased God the 
Father. The way of acceptance, the way 
to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. 
And as believers, as kingdom citizens, you need to be continually 
cast back to the mercy of God Most High. You need to continually 
appreciate the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to 
cry out for divine aid. You can't live this life on your 
own. I'm not talking about laying 
on the couch and let go of that God. Talking about a vital, militant, 
biblical Christianity cannot live without the Spirit of the 
living God. You see, the law in and of itself 
does not change us, it does not conform us. The law is a tool, 
it is a means, the Spirit must empower, the Spirit must vitalize 
us, the Spirit must enable us for compliance. So there's a 
bit of a different approach here with this particular verse. You 
shall be perfect, just as your father in heaven is perfect. 
Other interpreters say that's the standard, though we'll never 
meet it. We need to pursue it. And I think the Bible does reflect 
that doctrine. We do need to pursue this, pursue 
peace with all men and holiness, without which no one will see 
the Lord. Second Corinthians seven, verse one, we are to perfect 
holiness in the fear of God. The brethren holiness and the 
perfecting of it isn't done in your own strength. Oh foolish 
Galatians, you begun with the spirit and now you're trying 
to flesh it out in your own life. We need the spirit constantly. 
We need Jesus constantly. We need his mediation. We need 
his advocacy. We need 1 John 1.9. When we come 
to texts like these, brethren, I hope you don't walk out of 
here and say, man, I'm pretty good. I'm doing a fine job. And I'm at work and I did a nice 
thing for him. I brought him water. I gave him 
coffee, I brought Tim Hortons to him. I'm quite a noble man 
here. Not like those chumps I work 
with that couldn't care less. If you come to this Sermon on 
the Mount and you aren't humbled and laying low, I don't think 
you've understood it. Machen in the 20s is dealing 
with Christianity and liberalism. He's attacking the view of the 
liberals that treat the Sermon on the Mount as a code of conduct. 
as an ethical code. Certainly, it's that, brethren, 
but it's not only that. It's not only that. If we just 
take Jesus, the noble teacher at his word and do what he calls 
us to do, won't this be a wonderful world? That's what Machen attacks. He says the sermon on the mount 
rightly interpreted. He probably didn't do that. He 
seemed to be a lot more subdued than me The Sermon on the Mount, 
rightly interpreted then, makes man a seeker after some divine 
means of salvation by which entrance into the kingdom can be obtained. 
There's three uses of God's law. Yes, the normative. This is how 
you ought to live as a justified by faith in Christ believer. Absolutely. Third use. There 
is the first use, the civil or political use. It is the parameter, 
as God's means to restrain evil in a civil politic. There is 
that pedagogical use, and I don't believe as Christians we ought 
to forget that. Christians ought to continually 
go back to that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. 
Christians ought to continually appreciate the gospel. The Christian 
ought to continually see Christ as the one who satisfied these 
requirements perfectly, perpetually, always in our place. in our stead 
so that we may praise and worship and honor and adore and then 
go and cry by his grace to live the way he calls us to. Machen 
goes on to say the Sermon on the Mount, like all the rest 
of the New Testament, really leads a man straight to the foot 
of the cross. I really wonder at times that people have wrestled 
with total gravity and total inability. There's a lot of Calvinists, 
a lot of reformed people. Oh yeah, we affirm that first 
point. We affirm that first point. Do you know how extensive it 
is in your own heart? We affirm remaining corruption as Reformed 
believers. If we don't see it in Romans 7, as some men don't, 
we certainly see it in Galatians 5. The flesh lusteth against 
the spirit, the spirit lusteth against the flesh. These two 
are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things 
you want. We affirm that. Do you know how deep it is? Do you know how vile it is? Do you 
know how proud we are? You know how arrogant we are? 
You know how selfish we are? You say, I don't know who you're 
preaching to, brother, but you've got the wrong guy here. Then I don't 
think you've understood the Sermon on the Mount. I don't think you 
felt the weight of Machen's words. If you've not become a seeker 
after grace, if you've not become a seeker after Christ, if you 
have not said with Top Lady, Nothing in my hand I bring simply 
to thy cross I cling. You haven't understood Jesus 
words here. Be perfect. As my heavenly father is perfect. See, there's this idea that in 
the new covenant, there's been a lowering of the bar. God grades on a curve now. It's 
interesting, the apostles cite Psalm 40 in Hebrews 10. To obey is better than to sacrifice. God is never reneged on his desire 
for absolute, perfect, perpetual obedience. See, the glory of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the blessing of New Covenant reality 
is that Jesus is that Psalm 15 man. Jesus is the man he preaches 
at the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus can ascend into the holy 
hill of Zion. Jesus can enter into the presence 
of his father. Jesus obeyed as the second Adam 
where the first Adam failed. Jesus did everything in obedience 
to the law. So he brings the righteousness 
that God requires. But lo and behold, Jesus also 
was sacrifice that God requires. If the Sermon on the Mount doesn't 
cause you to rejoice in Jesus, you're missing it. Not understanding 
it, you're not getting it. If you're saying right now, I 
need to be nicer to that guy at work and you're not a believer. No, first you need to look and 
live. You need to look to Christ. You 
need to believe the Gospel. You need to come to Him with 
your sin for forgiveness, for mercy, for grace, for cleansing, 
for the imputation of righteousness. Then go be nice to that person 
at work. This isn't a means of acceptance with God. This is 
the ethics for those who have been accepted with God. Those 
who, by God's grace, are children of God. Those who, by God's grace, 
are included in the family of God. Those who, by God's grace, 
are those in Christ Jesus. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
I hope that you'll see in this exposition, brief as it may be, 
with reference to the least opening verses, the reality of the Eighth 
Deatitude. Jesus say in that 8th day attitude, 
blessed are you when they revile and persecute you. Blessed are 
those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. According 
to Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 here, he says you will have enemies. 
If you're a Christian, you're going to have enemies. If P then 
Q. If you're a Christian, you're 
going to have enemies. They're not going to be nice 
enemies either. Not that there could be such a thing as a nice 
enemy. What's a nice enemy? These enemies Jesus speaks to 
will curse you, they will hate you, they will spitefully use 
you, and they will persecute you. The two sections that we've considered 
today and last week tell us that we mustn't only forbear, we must 
positively love. We mustn't just knuckle under, 
but we must do so with a smile. We must do so with a prayer. 
We must do so doing good and blessing those who inflict this 
upon us. It's a tough effort. You see, 
to think that man in his natural state could actually do this 
knows nothing of total depravity, knows nothing, no recognition 
whatsoever of total inability and just how bad we really are. 
The Christian must be distinct from the world. What do you do 
more than others? We need to be careful here. I 
suppose that Mr. Gandhi was better at these things 
than you and I. The primary distinctive of the 
Christian versus the non-Christian is in what we believe. I know 
that makes people say, that's unfair. You mean a nice guy like 
Gandhi is going to go to hell? While a not-so-nice guy like 
you is going to go to heaven, that's not fair. No, what's fair 
is that all of us go to hell. What's fair is that we're all 
recompensed in the lake of fire. What's fair is that we all receive 
the wages of sin, which is death. The gospel's not fair. It's good news. It's grace. It's 
mercy. It's kindness. It's love. It's 
God regarding with, or in Christ, people with affection and with 
mercy. You see, the primary distinction 
of a Christian is what we believe. You stand on that day, what are 
you going to say? Oh, I was nice to my enemies. 
I brought Tim Hortons to my enemies. You're putting your acceptance 
of God on you. See, Toplady, we talked about 
this yesterday. Toplady wasn't playing games. When he said, 
nothing in my hand I break, simply that I cross I cling. That wasn't 
for literary effect. I want to dazzle people with 
my knowledge of of total depravity and total inability. No, nothing 
must be different. First and foremost, by thinking 
God's thoughts after him, believing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And 
having believed that gospel of Jesus Christ, let our life adorn 
the gospel. Let our conduct be worthy of 
the gospel. Don't mingle gospel and life, 
but rather as recipients of the blessed gospel benefit of salvation 
by grace through faith in Jesus, as justified by faith believers, 
go live like Him. Go live like Him. And then notice 
the pattern for kingdom righteousness. It's not a consensus. It's not 
the lowest common denominator. It's not that guy in your church. 
The son must reflect the character of his father. God is the standard. God is the pattern for Christian 
ethics. God is absolute. John Murray 
said it this way, and I agree. The ultimate standard of right 
is the character or nature of God. Kind of interesting. Everybody 
talks today about rightness and wrongness, and they want to exclude 
the very standard from the discussion. It doesn't make sense. It's like 
saying we're going to build a mathematical system, but we're not going to 
use 2 plus 2 equals 4. We're not going to use those 
basic axiomatic principles. We're going to construct this 
elaborate system of mathematics, but we're going to take away 
addition? You can't do that. It's what we confront in the 
world today, isn't it? And unfortunately, Christians don't think God's 
thoughts after Him, and so we get mowed over. Well, you just 
believe the Bible. Yeah, we believe the Bible. And 
yeah, God speaks to matters of interpersonal relationship. Yes, 
God speaks to matters concerning the church. Yes, God speaks to 
matters concerning the family. And yes, God speaks to matters 
concerning the civil magistrate. He speaks to issues of foreign 
policy, speaks to issues of immigration. Is it that law concerning the 
sojourner? What? Maybe we could learn something 
by a fresh study and application of God's holy word. Maybe the 
creator of the universe actually knew what he was talking about 
when he set up a civil polity. No, no, we don't even think that 
way today. It doesn't even enter into our minds that we might 
have instructions in the Bible. Murray was right. The basis of 
ethics is that God is what he is. And we must be conformed 
to what He is in holiness, righteousness, truth, goodness, and love. Any 
doctrine of God's transcendence which, in effect, removes the 
character and action of God from all relevance to our obligation, 
destroys the foundation of ethical command. God made man in His 
own image and after His likeness. Man must, therefore, be like 
God. That's the standard Jesus sets 
up. Be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect. So that's 
the antithesis, the six particular examples we've seen that Jesus 
does not invalidate. Jesus does not abrogate. Jesus 
does not destroy. Jesus does not nullify the moral 
law of God. Rather, Jesus clears away the 
misinterpretation. Jesus gets to the heart of the 
issue. Jesus expounds the law for us in a way that under God, 
by virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to live as 
Christ's people in this world. Let us pray that God will enable 
us. Let us pray that we will go from 
here with a resolve to love him, to love our neighbor and our 
enemy. And if you're not in Christ, the prayer is that you believe. 
You turn, you go, you flee, you fly. You say, save me or I die. Let us pray. Father, thank you 
for your word and thank you for its consistency in both the Old 
and New Testaments. Thank you that you have blessed 
us with the written word. Thank you that we have an abundance 
of Bibles in North America. God, we thank you that you have 
been so gracious and so kind to us. And I pray that you would 
just help us to receive the teaching of the text, help us to receive 
what Jesus has said in these various contrasts between the 
old covenant law and what the the Pharisees had done to it. 
We pray that you would grant us grace to be students, to think 
your thoughts after you, and to seek by your grace to live 
in a manner consistent with the kingdom. We pray for those who 
do not know you. I pray that you'd open their 
hearts, that the demands of your law would show them their bankruptcy 
and their wickedness and their need for a redeemer. God, do 
this for your glory and do this for the good of souls. And we 
pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.