Dr. Aaron Perdue

The Sermon on the Mount presents the challenge of loving your enemies. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5–7 is a classic teaching of Jesus full of truth and grace. Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount to clarify that the Law of Moses should expose sin. No one can follow the entirety of the Law (Matthew 5:17–20). The religious rulers wanted to show their righteousness by keeping the Law and even adding to the Law to make it more difficult to follow. Jesus took time in this sermon to talk through situations that revealed that people couldn’t earn righteousness through obedience, and the heart of the person mattered more to God than going through the motions of obedience. Jesus directed the challenge of loving your enemies to anyone who claimed they were keeping all of the Law.

Many religious people thought they were keeping the Law by loving their neighbor, but that didn’t make them righteous. They chose to love only the ones who were easy to love. Jesus wanted people to understand that the reason why they obeyed and loved mattered because God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Looking at 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter” verses 1–3 point out that without Jesus and His love and righteousness operating in you, your show of love profits you nothing. So, it isn’t surprising that one of the examples Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount called on people to love their enemies.

Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say to you, love your enemies…” Let’s look at three aspects of the challenge of loving your enemies.

1. How do you love your enemies? 

The next part of Matthew 5:44 shows the answer, “…bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” The expectation is not to show love to your enemies by blessing them, doing good to them, and praying for them. Jesus showed an example of how to love when He forgave the people who persecuted and put Him to death. 

2. What does it mean to love your enemy? 

Leviticus 19:18 says to love your neighbor as yourself. Even that is a challenge, and treating your enemy like you treat yourself seems impossible. That’s the point Jesus made—it is only possible through Him. Jesus also pointed out in John 13:35 that people will know they are His disciples if they love one another. 

3. Why is it hard to love your enemies? 

Our sinful nature wants to retaliate against those who hurt us. It shows a lack of faith in God keeping His promise to avenge found in both the Old and New Testament (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, and Hebrews 10:30). When we trust God’s promise, we won’t take vengeance against our enemies. We do our part to love them through blessing, doing good, and praying for our enemies, and God will do His part to deal with them.

When we focus on loving people the way God loves us, we shouldn’t want revenge because God forgave us and didn’t seek revenge. God’s grace was shown to us when Jesus died for our sins to pay the price that we couldn’t pay. Read Romans 3 with the Sermon on the Mount to accurately understand the Law versus God’s grace. The Law eliminates boasting about what you do; it proves everyone is guilty before God; it brings a knowledge of sin; and it demonstrates that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

By focusing on grace, we see that Jesus directed people away from performance-based righteousness. We can only be perfect by trusting the One who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. A revelation of grace will transform your life and enable you to see God for who He truly is. He is your heavenly Father and only has good things to give you. When you look upon the face of Jesus, you behold the grace of God! Receiving the love of God into your life is the key to loving others—especially your enemies!

Excerpts from this blog are taken from Pastor Aaron Perdue’s six-part teaching series, “Grace on the Mount,” which is available for free download at charischristiancenter.com. If you would like to receive the love of Christ in your life through His free gift of salvation, please visit Charis Christian Center (Sundays 8:30 and 10:30 am and Wednesdays 7:00 pm). Our dedicated prayer ministers are here to pray with you, supporting you in your journey to receive salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.