Matthew 5 (which presents our Lord’s “Sermon on the Mount”) cannot be treated as putting forth “impossible tasks” which merely convict us of sin. This view is insufficient.

You are a new creation and you abide in Christ and Christ abides in you.

While it is true that due to our sinful nature we always dilute our holy impulses and actions in Christ, this does not cancel the new creation and Christ abiding in you.

The key to Matthew 5 of course is to properly understand its meaning and to know how it is the Lord leads us to live in His Word. There IS a way to love your enemies. It is taught in Matthew 5, Matthew 18 and Romans 12.

This will be the basis to our teaching that builds on the foundation of the GOSPEL: Christ who saved YOU, His enemy!

And now He calls you friend, child, disciple, beloved…it is in the GOSPEL that we live out the Sermon on the Mount.

Invite a friend to Church and let us look forward to the blessing of Word and Sacrament and the work of the Holy Spirit in us leading us back to our Savior Jesus.

Here is an excerpt from today’s sermon:

“Love Your Enemies”

(Matthew 5:44)

Pastor Espinosa

Introduction: We must be VERY careful with Matthew 5!

A. A popular take is to treat it as hyperbole. A mistaken view is that God’s whole purpose here is to make us think that these things are impossible! Therefore He shows us our sin. Be careful!

B. Just because there is extraordinary language here doesn’t mean that these descriptions of the new life are unrealistic (nor do these contradict grace alone). Not in the least.

C. We just need to know what our Lord’s words mean.

1. Matthew 5:23-24. Should lead us to be reconciled…and after last Sunday’s sermon through Dr. Stoterau…it happened! A member of our congregation shared what actually occurred! What a gift God’s Word really is…the Holy Spirit works through the Word for us to live differently! That is the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus and Jesus lives in His people and leads His people! This is the new life! It is transformative…and this too is by grace!

2. But “tearing out your eye” and “cutting off your hand” is not in the realm of what is impossible. No the Lord is not teaching self-mutilation which would set up an interesting dilemma: in that case God who prohibits suicide would be inviting you to break His own Word. Of course not! We must understand the images: these words describe repentance: we are led to crucify the flesh; mortify it; kill it; drown it…now apply these biblical concepts/real Christian life concepts to what Jesus teaches here: how do we tear out the eye in respect to repentance? How do we cut off the hand in respect to repentance?

 

Answer: you “pull these away” from the committing of sin; you tear away from what would lead you to sin; you cut off what would permit sin to engulf you.

 

Think of King David on the balcony…God called him to tear out his eye in regard to Bethsheba. Because he did not, sin took over and engulfed David.

3. This is why we pray the 6^th petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “and lead us not into temptation.”

a. We are NOT praying for no temptation.

b. We ARE praying that while being tempted, we are not overcome by it!!!

 

Part I: The Same Realism Permeates Our Focus For Today:

A. Love your enemies.

B. We have to be up front and honest.

 

1. Totally impossible on our own.

2. The flesh will never in a million years love an enemy.

3. In the flesh we LOVE to HATE our enemies.

4. This enters into what Bonhoeffer warns in his book Ethics…we take the Law and become Pharisees…we LOVE to judge other people with our exalted knowledge of good and evil. And when our pride can accuse someone else as evil, then we feel so good about ourselves.

C. However, there is more to the story…you Christian are baptized; you Christian are a new creation; you Christian are “not alone”! There is a movie coming out called Noah. There is a scene that has captivated me. Noah’s enemies come out to meet him while he’s building the ark and the enemy says that he has many with him and that Noah is alone; Noah in the movie says, “I’m not alone.” That’s it…you’re not alone.

D. There’s a real biblical account: 2^nd Kings 6. The king of Syria wants to kill Elisha…and Elisha prays that the Lord would open his servant’s eyes (vs 17), but prior to that Elisha says to the scared servant: “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us, are more than those who are with them.” (vs 16) Again, you’re not alone.

E. The Holy Spirit is with you! God is with you! Christ is in you! God is with you!

F. So you can’t leave it at: it’s impossible to love my enemy! No it’s not, because you’re forgetting the rest of the story.

 

Part II: In Christ, with our Eyes of Faith upon Christ, we Live Christ’s Life Towards Enemies!

A. But you must begin with yourself.

 

Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

In Your Service and To Christ’s Glory,

Pastor Espinosa