Matthew 5:44 - Forerunner Commentary

Matthew 5:44

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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Matthew 5:44:

Matthew 5:38-48
Excerpted from: Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment!

Being merciful is part of a spiritual perfection or completeness. But the Pharisees believed perfection meant following only the letter of the law. And considering the inspired written Word of God as a whole, we are told to imitate our heavenly Father in all His attributes. Therefore, those who are merciful as God is merciful, even toward the evil and the unthankful, are living as God lives. We must be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful. Christ sets the standard by commanding us to love our enemies.

The Jews despised the Romans because the Romans oppressed them, yet Jesus told them to love their enemies. Such words turned many away from Christ. But Jesus was not talking about affection for enemies. He was talking about an act of the will. You cannot fall into this kind of love. It takes conscious effort. Loving your enemies or loving our enemies means acting in their best interests. And we can pray for them and seek ways to help them.

Love means action, and one way to put love into practice is to take the initiative to meet specific needs, and this is easy with people we trust. But love means doing so even for those who dislike us or intend to hurt us.

A merciful and compassionate person overlooks wrongs done to him. He dutifully provides the offender with relief. He does not allow repeated ingratitude to deter him from doing good, even to the unfaithful and the unholy. The reason for this is that mercy is an expression of love. It is a form of love determined by the state or condition of those it is directed toward. Their state is one of suffering and need, yet they may be unworthy or undeserving.

Matthew 5:43-48
Excerpted from: Love's Emotional Dimension

Why does this happen? Because the love of God has been poured in our hearts—this self-sacrificing, self-giving, generous, kind, and concerned will to do things for the well-being and benefit of others, beginning with God.

This love that God has shed abroad in our hearts can be so strong that we can love our enemies because we now see them from a different perspective. We begin to look on them the same way God does.

I gave these definitions here for a reason. Because God says here, it is a command that we have to love our enemies. You cannot do that on emotion. The word that he used here for love is agape. The agape love is one in which the will—the mind—dominates, not the heart, not the emotions, because if we followed what would be natural in dealing with our enemy, there would be feelings of irritation, anger, and antagonism. We would want to strike out against that person, we would want to retaliate.

Notice he says here, in verse 44, “Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” This is often the first step towards getting one's will under control—to pray for the person. Go into the presence of God and pray for them, and out of that fellowship hopefully will come the right attitude toward the other person. That will help to turn our mind back toward the right feelings for that person.

Matthew 5:43-44
Excerpted from: Government (Part Four)

You know how the feelings are: "I'm going to get even. I'm going to get the better of him." But Jesus said, "No. Be so generous and sacrificing that you will bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you." Now, look at this qualification.

Matthew 5:44-45
Excerpted from: Defining Grace

God is normally kind, merciful, and patient to everybody. That is the way He acts. That is His modus operandi. He is a Being who is full of patience, full of mercy, full of grace.

Articles
A Matter of Honor
Another Look at Footwashing
Essays on Bible Study
Go the Extra Mile
Living By Faith and God's Grace (Part Two)
Out of the Abundance of Our Prayers
Praying Always (Part Five)
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Four)
Serving Through Prayer
Should We Pray for the World?
The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience
The Sixth Commandment (Part One) (1997)
The Sovereignty of God and Human Responsibility: Part Eleven
The Tongue: Our Tool of Power
Tyre and Loving One's Enemies

Bible Studies
Basic Doctrines: Going On to Perfection
Love
The Sixth Commandment

Essays
A City on a Hill (Part One)  (2)
Are We Laodiceans?
Bin Laden's Death and Our Reaction
Christian Reaction to Terror
Facing Persecution
Jesus, Paul, and the Christian Right
The Absence of Love
The Jewish Testament?
Wasted Energy

Sermons
Themes of I Corinthians (Part 6)
The Priesthood of God (Part 6)
The Faithfulness of God (Part 2)
Anger (Part 2)
Love Thy Neighbor (Part 1)
Love Thy Neighbor (Part 1)
Following God Through a Spiritual Wilderness
Sin And Overcoming (Part 1): If Anyone Sins!
Listen To The Lamb's Voice
Themes of I Corinthians (Part 6)
On Works
Thou Shall Love Thy Neighbor
Acts (Part Twenty-Four)
Prayer Makes a Difference
God the Father (Part 2)
Lamentations (Part Eight; 1989)
Should a Christian Go To War? (Part 2)
Our Part in the Sanctification Process (Part Six): Cultivating Kindness
New Covenant Priesthood (Part 12)
Psalm Genres (Part Two): Imprecatory Psalms
The Trinity and the Holy Spirit (Part 1)
Self-Government (Part 1)
Love God, Love Neighbor
Privileges of the Family of God
Living by Faith: God's Grace (Part 4)
Ecclesiastes (Part Four; B)
Is Redistribution of Wealth Biblical?
Is Redistribution of Wealth Biblical?
Matthew (Part Seven)
Offerings (Part Seven)
Our Part in the Sanctification Process (Part Two): Cultivating Love
Handpicked By God
Out of the Abundance of Your Prayers Your Heart Speaks
Final Words of Jesus on the Cross
The Two Great Commandments: First Principles
The Rest of the Story
The Intercessory Character of Christ
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part One)
The Peacemakers
All Nations Before Him Are As Nothing!
Watch and Vigilantly Prepare
Those Who Are Persecuted
We Give Our Heads and Hearts
'But I Say to You' (Part Seven): Love Your Enemies
'But I Say to You' (Part Seven): Love Your Enemies
'But I Say to You' (Part Seven): Love Your Enemies
Worry and Seeking the Kingdom
Four Warnings (Part One)
Whose Side Are We On?
Strategies for Interfacing with Babylon without Becoming Assimilated (Part Seven)
Prepare for Your Future Now
Taking an Insult
Fatherhood and Modern Temptations
Christ Our Standard
Entanglement with the Yoke of Bondage
Sow for Yourself
Why We Tithe (Part 2)
The Prayers of Jesus
Reach for the Goal
Should a Christian Go To War? (Part 1)
Keeping God's Standards
Forms vs. Spirituality (Part 3)
Our Father
By This Shall All Men Know You
By This Shall All Men Know You
John 3:16: Does God Really Love the World?
Peace

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