Do You Only Love Those Who Love You?
In Jesus’ greatest sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches that we, as Christians, must love both our friends and our enemies. Said another way, we have a duty to love those who love us and to love those who hate us. But such a clear-cut truth was heavily distorted by the Pharisees during Jesus’ day. So Jesus sets out to correct their faulty teaching in order to show His true disciples the way in which they should respond to all people. Join Tom Pennington as he will help you answer from Scripture a crucial question: Do You Love Only Love Those Who Love you?.
Part 1
In Scripture, there are several commands to love someone, but in the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord chooses the most difficult of all—love your enemies. And He commands us to must pray for them, bless them, and even do good to them. As professing Christians, we must obey Christ in all areas of our lives, including loving our enemies.
Part 2
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls all believers to love one another, including those who would be considered enemies. Since God is characterized by self-giving affection for all of humanity that He created in His image, we too should imitate His love. God Himself has concern for their welfare and well-being, so we as Christians should be marked by the way we love others
Part 3
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sought to correct some of the bad teaching and theology of the Pharisees. In particular, they had distorted the Old Testament teaching on loving your enemies, so Jesus corrects them and offers His disciples the right interpretation and understanding.
Part 4
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that all His true subjects, His true disciples, will demonstrate a genuine love for their friends as well as a genuine love for their enemies. For us as Christians, we must examine our own hearts and ask ourselves, “Do I truly love my enemies?” You see, being a Christian is more than a mere profession; it is a way of life.