From Gethsemane to the Cross - How To Deal With Enemies

Jesus did not say we were to let our morality be seen by all. He did not say to let our piety be seen by all. He said our good deeds. When dealing with people opposed to us, Jesus first says to have compassion on them.

Secondly, we travel with Christ to when He stands accused before the Sanhedrin and eventually Pilate.

Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. Jesus replied, "Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said." John 18: 19-21 (NLT)

Pilate said, "So you are a king?" Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true." John 18: 37 (NLT)

The second concept Jesus teaches us is that we must never compromise the Gospel with unbelievers. No matter how serious the setting, conditions, or whatever cost it might have to us personally. Jesus does not sway from His message just because of where He is. Pilate actually reminds Him that he has the power to sentence Him to death but Jesus does not swerve from the message He was sent to bring. We must be equally ready:

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! 1Peter 3: 13-17 (NLT)

The Bible is a double edged sword not a blunt instrument. Sometimes we can take things to the extremes. We either hit people over the head with the truth or we massage it to avoid confrontation. Too much modern Christianity is like this. The Gospel message has been perverted in so many ways in these last days. We have a prosperity message designed to make you think that God is an ATM for our whims and that blessings are somehow materially found on this earth instead of our riches being found in Christ Jesus. Or we have a feel good Gospel which is really self-help or motivational. Matters such as sin, repentance, and hell are barely mentioned if at all. We have a bloodless Christianity lest we offend anyone. We have a Spirit-less Christianity lest we confuse anyone. We are seeker-friendly and purpose driven but there is too much of this world infiltrating the Gospel message. Paul understood this as we see in his farewell to the Ephesian elders:

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Acts 20: 26-27 (NKJV)

The whole counsel of God. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Love does not win beloved God does! In these the last days, people gather around them teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. That there is no hell. That there is no penalty for sin. That there are many paths to heaven or that we all serve the same God. The problem is that while all those may "feel good" they are factually inaccurate. If there is no penalty for sin, then there is no need for a Savior. We all do NOT serve the same God. There is only one way to the Father and that is Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. We cannot deviate from the core message of the Gospel, the entire Gospel as we deal with people opposed to us and we must do so with compassion.

Lastly, we journey with Christ to the Golgotha and the cross. We can certainly talk about forgiveness here as Jesus forgave the very people who were crucifying Him but instead I want to look to the left and the right of Jesus where two criminals hung with Him. One of the criminals mocked Jesus as the world will often do. But here was the exchange between Jesus and the second criminal:

But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23: 40-43 (NLT)

When dealing with people who are opposed to us Jesus has already shown us that we must never compromise the Gospel and do so with great compassion. Lastly, the message is clear beloved NO ONE is beyond redemption! These criminals were seconds away from death and they still had a choice to make. That choice is in essence the same choice we all have to make. Do we mock God or do we confess and ask for forgiveness? Remember, it is not God's desire that any should perish:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. - 2Peter 3: 9-10 (NIV)

God wants everyone to come to repentance, as this criminal at the cross did. Sometimes however we supersize the sin of the world and start to think of people as somehow beyond the redemptive grasp of God! We become judgmental about people instead of compassionate. We become Jonah. The prophet Jonah was told by God to preach repentance to the Ninevites. The problem is that Nineveh was one of the most ruthless cities in the Assyrian Empire. They had routinely pillaged and killed the Jewish people and quite possibly had killed some of Jonah's kin as well. Needless to say, Jonah did not think the Ninevites deserved God's redemption. After trying to run away, God delivers Jonah and he relents to go preach to the great city. To his shocking dismay they repented! No one is beyond redemption! But Jonah retreats to a hill and hopefully waits for God to destroy the city anyway. Nineveh remained beyond Jonah's redemption.

Unfortunately we too can sometimes have Ninevites in our hearts in the church as well. We can look down upon certain people we are actually called to compassionately spread the Gospel to. We can condemn the murderer, the homosexual or the Muslim and think that they are somehow beyond God. Nonsense. You weren't! I wasn't! I do not ever want to draw a line that separates redeemable from non-redeemable for fear that one day someone draws it with me on the wrong side. No beloved, the message from the way Jesus approached His end is clear. We are to present the entire Gospel and not waver in it. We are to do so with great compassion. Love them into the kingdom not beat them over the head with the Bible. Lastly we must put aside our Jonah feelings and never lose sight of the fact that there is no one beyond the redemption of Almighty God! Then the key verses take on their proper perspective. Pray for our enemies. Pray for those in opposition to us. Perfection in Christ is what we strive for and it all begins with not how we treat people in agreement with us but rather how we treat those opposed. Amen.

Reverend Anthony Wade December 1, 2011