Hey there friends and welcome back to Take Heart, a pastoral podcast here on the Eskitology Matters Network, where we open the scriptures and seek to live faithfully in a complex world. I'm your host, Corey Wing. Today, I want to tackle something that is both deeply biblical but also deeply difficult. What does it really mean to love your enemies? If we're honest, this command from Christ feels almost impossible, especially in a world marked by hostility, division, theological compromise, and well outright opposition to the truth. And for those of us who care deeply about sound doctrine, who want to defend the faith once delivered to the saints, and who believe that truth matters and isn't just sentiment, well this raises attention. Can I be bold for truth and still be loving? Can I contend for the faith without becoming harsh, cynical or cold? Now the answer of scripture is not only yes, but that this is exactly what Christ calls us to do. I want to begin with the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 544 where he says quote, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In quote, now we need to slow down and really understand what Jesus is and is not saying. First off, loving your enemies does not mean agreeing with them. Jesus is not calling us to affirm falsehood or excuse sin or even to pretend that error is harmless. In fact, the same Jesus who spoke these words also rebuke topocracy. He would overturn tables in the temple and of course, he spoke with piercing clarity against false teachers. Love is not the absence of truth. In fact, love divorced from truth is not biblical love at all. All makes that quite clear in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 6 where he says quote, love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. So if something is promoting false doctrine, living in unrepentant sin or opposing the gospel, then loving that person does not mean we say, well, that's fine. No, of course not. Love compels us to care enough to tell the truth. But here's where we've got to be careful because secondarily loving your enemies does not mean condoning their behavior, but it does mean caring about their soul. And that's where sadly many of us stumble, myself included at times. Look, it's very easy, especially when we're in the midst of a theological or a cultural battle to begin to view people not as image bearers of God, but as opponents when we need to defeat. We start to measure success not by fidelity to Christ and his teaching, but by how thoroughly we can dismantle someone else's. But you see, Jesus never lost sight of the person that was in front of him. Even as he was being crucified, we see in Luke chapter 23 verse 34 that he prayed quote, father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Think about that. The very people nailing Jesus to the cross, those mocking him, rejecting him, gambling over his clothes. He spoke words of mercy over them. My friends, that's not weakness. That's divine love in action. So what does it look like practically to obey this command? Well, here's where I want to bring in Romans chapter 12 verses 17 to 21. All of course writing the Roman church will start by saying quote, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. And if possible, so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it has written vengeance his mind. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Or by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. And quote, now look, this passage gives us a framework and not an easy one. I agree with you. That passage seems again improbable, almost impossible. But loving your enemies means that you refuse to retaliate in kind. You entrust justice to God. You actively seek their good where possible. Now, that doesn't mean you ignore evil. It means you refuse to mirror it. Now, let's bring this into context that you and I may live in, especially those who, again, may love reformed theology or who care about doctrinal precision, who engage in apologetics or polemics or even theological debate. Now, here's the tension. You're called to contend and you're called to love. Jude verse 3 says that we are to quote contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. End quote. Now, that's not passive language. That's active, even aggressive in the right sense. We're to defend the truth, expose error and guard the flock. Paltale's Titus in Titus chapter 1 verse 9, an elder, like myself, must be able to quote give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradicted in quote. So look, there is a place for clear, firm, even sharp correction. But here's the key. The matter matters just as much as the message. Listen to Paul again in 2 Timothy this time, chapter 2 verses 24 and 25, where he says quote in the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. End quote. Did you catch that? Correcting opponents. Yes, but doing so with gentleness. Why? Well, the rest of the passage that I didn't finish yet will tell us. It goes on to say quote, because God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. In other words, your goal is not merely to win an argument. Your goal is to win a brother or to see an enemy become a brother. And that, well, that changes everything. It means that even when you're being a zealous defender of Christian orthodoxy, when you're engaging as a vigorous apologist, even when you're standing firm as a stalwart polymesist against error or even heresy, you can at the same time have a heart that is kind, patient, gracious and filled with the mercy of Christ. Because the same gospel that you were defending is the gospel that saved you when you were God's enemy. Remember Romans 5, 8 says, but God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He goes on to say in verse 10, quote, for if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son and he goes on, let that sink in. You were not saved because you were right. You were saved because God was merciful. That reality should shape how you engage with others. So now let's get really down and dirty. Let's get practical. Now do you cultivate that kind of love? Well, first, you must see people theologically, not just in a human or even an argumentative way. Every person that you interact with is either a brother or sister in Christ or someone who is in need of Christ and yet may become a brother and sister. Now that includes the person who annoys you online or the person who misrepresents your position or sometimes the person right there at home, your spouse, your child, your parent, the person at work, the person on the road who cuts you off or the person who promotes bad theology. Look, these people aren't just a position. They're a soul. Now second, you must pray for your enemies. Jesus didn't say merely tolerate them. He said pray for them. And it's really difficult to hate someone that you are consciously and consistently bringing before the throne of grace. But what do we pray? Well, I think it's appropriate to pray any number of prayers. The Psalmist is great here. He gives us so many examples of prayers, loving prayers, gracious prayers, imprecatory prayers. We ask God if he will open their eyes to the truth. We ask that he will grant them repentance. We ask that he will show them mercy. And ultimately, we ask God that he will save them. And yes, it's not inappropriate to ask God to stop their evil behavior. But third, you've got to check your heart in the moment. You have to ask yourself. Am I speaking out of love for Christ and love for neighbor? Or am I speaking out of pride and irritation or anger or any other selfish motivations? Because look, it's entirely possible to say something true in a way that can still be sinful. Truth does not justify having a harsh spirit. So fourth, remember the character of Christ. In John 1 verse 14, we're told that Jesus came full of grace and truth, not 50, 50, not switching back and forth, back and forth between those two, but fully both at the same time. And as those united to him, we're called to reflect that same kind of balance. So here is the big takeaway for today. Loving your enemies does not weaken your theology. It proves it. Let me say that again. Loving your enemies does not weaken your theology. It proves it. Anyone can be kind to those who agree with them. Anyone can be gracious when there's no conflict. But it takes the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to produce a heart that can say, I will stand firmly on truth. I will not compromise what God has revealed. And yet I will treat even my opponents with dignity, patience and Christ like love. Well that, my friends, is not natural. That is supernatural grace. Let me leave you with this from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 where Paul says, quote, speaking the truth and love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ. In quote, truth and love, my friends, are not enemies. They're inseparable in the life of a faithful Christian. So wherever you find yourself today, whether that's in a theological debate, a tense relationship, or just the frustration of the world that we live in, take heart. Christ has loved you when you were his enemy and by his Holy Spirit that indwells us his believers. He's making you into someone who can love the same way. Now, let's pray. Father, this is such a tall task. And if we're honest, we feel completely incapable. We're not up to this task. Left to our own devices. We are selfish. We are vengeful. We are spiteful. We're unloving. We want what we want. And that's to win, to make our point, to walk away with our chin up and our shoulders back, feeling like we were victorious. Oh, Father, forgive me. Forgive me for all the times that I have wanted to win an argument more than win a brother. Help me, Lord, to be more gracious. Help me to be more loving. Help me to be more patient. Those are difficult things to even pray for, Lord. Because I know how you operate. I know how you give us opportunities to flex those new muscles that you're giving us. Oh, Father, give us the strength. Help us we pray. In Christ's name, amen. Now, what was I alluding to there? What I said, it's difficult to even pray those things. Well, my friends, God uses ordinary means to accomplish His extraordinary ends in our lives. So when you pray to be more gracious, when you pray to be more patient, when you pray to be more loving, well, buckle up. God's going to send you people and opportunities to flex those new muscles. Thanks for tuning in to Take Heart. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who may need it. And if you have a question that you'd like me to answer in future episodes, please send it to me at cwing at civicallyminded.com. It'll be here at the bottom of your screen. And until next time, hold fast to the truth, walk in love and take heart in Christ. God bless. Our sponsors steadfastsigars.com promo code escatology10 rockwallbibles.com