Matt 5:43
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
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But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
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That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
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For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
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And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
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Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Luke 6:24
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
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Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
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Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
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But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
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Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
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And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
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Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
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And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
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For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
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And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
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And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
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But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;
and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
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Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
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Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven
Does "judge not" only apply to those who want to judge YOU? Look at the context here! Jesus is OBVIOUSLY talking about judging and condemning those that you don't really want to forgive, isn't He?
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And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
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Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
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He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose,
the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
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But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth;
against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
IS JESUS REALLY OUR LORD, OR NOT? WHAT DO WE REALLY TRUST, ANYWAY? The Lord, or our own strength? (We often hear preachers say "you can't do 'it'
in your own strength". Is "it" only applicable to walking obediently in
some things, or is it applicable to everything we do?
John 18
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Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
If Jesus wouldn't let His servants defend
HIM with carnal weapons of war (sword, gun, bomb, napalm), how much less worthy is a mere worldly nation of the sacrifice of our bodies? Shall we kill our enemies seeking to secure an
earthly nation, and think we are doing God a service? Do we seek a "continuing city" on
this earth?
Hebrews 13:14
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
Heb 11:8
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
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For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
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These all died in faith,
not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
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For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
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If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
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But as it is,
they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Abraham knew the true inheritance is not of this world.
Matthew 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him,
Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
2 Corinthians 10
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For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh:
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(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
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Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves.
Remember the Crusades? They thought THEY were doing God a service, didn't they? Don't we see their works as those of madmen today? Indeed they were. Let us learn from them, and not repeat such madness.
Can one love his enemy and KILL him?
Was Jesus a "gutless pacifist"?
I think not.
Were all the martyrs of Jesus throughout the history of the world, who refused to resist their murderers "gutless pacifists"?
They were TRUE Christians.