He did such a thing for the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:43, Jesus declares, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies…” What they’ve heard is actually only half true. If they searched the Scriptures, they wouldn’t find the command to hate their enemies, and neither would we. Actually, we find the opposite in Scripture:

Proverbs 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles…”

Exodus 23:4-5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.”

What Jesus gives his disciples, and us, is proper Enemy Theology. Instead of cursing their enemies or despising the ones that persecute them, the disciples are to pray for these people and seek to bless them. To seek their good. The God of our salvation is patient toward those who hate you and hate him, even blessing them with sun, rain, breath, and other daily provisions each new day.

If we say we belong to the Father, we must love this way. We must look at our enemies not with disdain or hatred, but look and see them as people that Jesus wants to save. As those whom God wants a relationship with. But how? How can I forgive what they’ve done and the harm they’ve caused me? How I make an enemy a friend?

Loving this way is only possible by looking at the cross, where the Lord Jesus prays for his enemies even as they are murdering him. There, the Lord Jesus died at just the right time for us, when we were weak, ungodly, unrighteous enemies. Enemy Theology flows out of the cross. There, we find all the grace we need to love this way.

Pray, bless, and seek reconciliation with those you are at odds with. It is clear from Scripture that Christians are not content to be at war with others. Nor do they seek to get even. Nor do they want to make enemies, though we’re told we may have them. The one who follows Jesus desires peace and pursues it, as much as it depends on them.

When we seek to welcome All people as Christ has welcomed us – even our enemies – we show the perfect love of the Father to a lost world. The reward? Enemies become friends. Friends with us, but most importantly, friends with God.

-JDW

1. We want to see lost people reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. This is the point! There is no more important message than the message of the cross, where the Son of God died for sinners. The cross tells us who we are and who Jesus died to make us. Our prayer and our hope must be to see our neighbors meet Jesus and come into a real relationship with the God of the universe.
2. We want to see believers connected to a Community of faith – the local church. People are saved individually but are automatically grafted into a body, the body of Christ. We desire to see believers in Jesus actively participating in the life of the church, serving fellow brothers and sisters, worshiping together, sharing burdens, and building up the church in love. In the community, we are bound together by the Spirit and are sent as One to live out the gospel.
3. As the sent-out people of God, we have an obligation to pour ourselves out for our Neighbor. The community (church) exists for the glory of God and all believers must take the form of a servant, welcoming all people as Christ has welcomed us, and considering our neighbors as more important than ourselves. We want to live out our faith in word and deed, seeking the welfare of all those around us, in the hopes that our neighbors will be blessed by the good news of redemption in Christ.

May God teach us, change us, rebuke us, and equip us to be a city on a hill, for his glory alone.

- JD Wilson

Audio files from the corresponding sermon series can be found here.

Christians in the middle ages started focusing on three aspects of Advent: Christ’s birth, his presence with us now, and his return. I think this is essential. For most, Jesus’ birth is the focal point of Christmas. The Nativity Scene. The star, the wise men, the manger, and the shepherds. These are all part of the grand, marvelous story of the night Jesus was born.

What I like about Advent is the widescreen panorama focus on the story. Not just that Baby Jesus was born in a manger when there was no room in the inn, but that he was the long-awaited Messiah. He is the Son, the child Isaiah prophesied about, who would sit on the throne of David forever with the world as his footstool. He is the Prince of Peace and Wonderful Counselor. Israel longed like a woman in labor for the Deliverer, the Redeemer – the one who would bear up their sins and sorrow. They waited in darkness for the coming of the light God promised.

Christ Jesus is that Light. Into the darkness of sin and rebellion, God said “Let there be light!” And this is the great hope of Advent, that Jesus came into the world and overcame darkness. His coming means triumph over the works of the serpent. Into my darkness, my sin, and my rebellion, he shined his blinding light, exposing me for who I am, and bringing me near to God. I can no longer hide. I can no longer cower in the trees, as Adam and Eve did. And I don’t want to. His coming means the forgiveness of my sins. I come into the light with my shame and guilt and find refuge instead of condemnation. And into the darkness of your anger, your lust, your envy, your pride, and your self-love, Jesus has shined. Embrace him, the hope of Advent.

Hallelujah! He has come, He is with us, and he will come again.