Jesus said to ‘Love Your Enemies,’ but Why in the World Should We Do That?

by Deek Dubberly on April 2, 2010
in Audio, Biblelife, Churchlife, Daily Bible, Luke, Sermon, Youth Ministry

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I preached to a group of middle and high school students this week for a chapel service in a private Christian school.  My message came from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where he commanded his followers to love their enemies.

Here’s the audio:

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I worked through the text rather quickly (only preached for 18 minutes!) because I wanted to save time to ask the question of why we should obey this command.  Why should we love people who treat us bad, call us names, wish us ill, and take advantage of us?

I told the students that we should obey the command because Jesus tells us to, sure.  That should be sufficient enough reason to obey.  However, it was a perfect opportunity to teach them that when God commands his people to do things he has reasons for doing so, and that those reasons, like him, are good.  Further, he has given us many of those reasons in his Word.

Here are five reasons why we should obey Jesus’ command to love our enemies:

  1. It demonstrates a saving relationship with God (Luke 6:35, 43-45)
  2. Is shows that we love Jesus (John 14:15)
  3. It shows that we trust God to take care of us no matter what (Matt. 6:33)
  4. It models to the world how God has loved us in his son, Jesus (Rom. 5:7-8)
  5. It shows that we love others more than we love ourselves (Phil. 2:3-4)

There are certainly more reasons than this.  Given that these students were following a schedule and soon had to be in another class I had to keep my comments brief.  So help me out.

What are some other reasons that we should ‘love our enemies?’

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When Was the Last Time Jesus Did Something in Your Life?

by Deek Dubberly on March 24, 2010
in Biblelife, Daily Bible, Luke

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The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by Pieter van Aelst

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by Pieter van Aelst (click for larger image)

The opening verses of Luke 5 tell the story of Jesus calling his first disciples.  At the beginning of this tale Peter is but a curious fishermen.  By the time its through he’ll be on his knees before the Savior, acutely aware of his own sinfulness and ready to follow Christ to the ends of the earth.

Here’s the Scene:

  • Jesus taught the word of of God from a boat (Simon Peter’s) to people on the shore (Luke 5:3).
  • After his teaching was finished Jesus told Simon Peter to cast his fishing nets into the sea (Luke 5:4).
  • Peter doesn’t see the point seeing as to how he and his colleagues had fished there all night without catching a thing, but he does it anyways (Luke 5:5).
  • Not surprisingly, the nets are filled so full with fish that they begin to burst (Luke 5:6).
  • Enough fish were caught to fill and nearly sink two boats (Luke 5:7).

Here’s the Result:

  • When Peter realizes the power and authority that Jesus wields over nature (i.e. the fish) he falls at his feet and expresses a deep realization and conviction of his own sinfulness (Luke 5:8).
  • Jesus uses this opportunity to call Simon Peter to a life of sharing the gospel with others (Luke 5:10).
  • Peter’s response was to leave everything and follow Jesus (Luke 5:11).

When was the last time Jesus did something in your life?  Did it show you how sinful you are?  Did it beckon you to follow him and share his truth with others?

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