Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Today, our guest Kurt Traugott continues our study of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5: 43-48 we hear some more countercultural commands such as loving our enemies and praying for our persecutors. Kurt shows us that the cultural trend may have been to hate your enemy, but that isn’t a command of Scripture, only a saying of the religious leaders of the time. If we want to be children of our Father in Heaven, we must prayerfully learn to love the unlovable.