Who's Child Are You?

If you are a parent, have you ever been told that your child acts just like you?

And when you heard that, what was the context?

Wasn't good, was it?

Wasn't good what your child was doing.

Most of my son David's, which he's not here today, I wish he was.

Most of his growing up years, I heard that over and over and over again.

He would do something and I'd get all upset, irritated, ready to get him.

And my dad would say something.

I know another little boy who used to act that way.

And my mother's favorite line was, he's just like you.

Never said that when he did something good.

Always said that when he was getting into something.

Who are you like?

Are you like one of your parents?

Or a grandparent?

Or an older brother or sister?

Are you ever, or has anyone ever said, you are like your heavenly father?

You'd think, well that's just crazy.

Nobody would ever say that.

That's impossible.

Is it?

Jesus said on more than one occasion,

we should live in such a way that we would be called sons or children of our heavenly father.

So if Jesus said that, it's not impossible, is it?

We're going to look at one such place today in Matthew chapter 5, verse 43 and following.

Matthew 5:43

If you would, go ahead and turn there.

And while you're turning, I want to sort of bring some people up to date if you haven't been here.

Or remind those who may have slept through a part of it on one occasion or two.

Over the past several weeks, we've been looking at how we're supposed to respond to people who mistreat us.

Maybe insult us.

And what we've discovered, it is not easy and it is not natural.

Look at these examples.

Paul writes in Romans chapter 12,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Bless those who persecute you.

Bless and do not curse them.

A little bit later in verse 19.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.

For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

And then we saw this from Matthew chapter 5, verse 38 and 39, what Jesus said.

Matthew 5:38

You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

If you were not here and you want to go into the details of that message,

what Jesus actually was talking about, what He wasn't,

go online at our church website and listen to it

and find out exactly what Jesus is talking about.

But just sort of as a little summary.

We've learned that these statements were primarily,

not exclusively, but primarily aimed at individuals

who were being persecuted because they were Christians.

What Jesus is talking about, He's writing to His disciples.

Paul's, Paul's writing to Christians in Romans 12.

And the idea is, as you live in this world trying to live out your faith

and you encounter persecution, you encounter people who don't like you

because you are my follower, because you're seeking to live as I have taught you.

And they mistreat you.

They insult you.

Don't seek revenge is what they're saying.

Don't retaliate.

Don't have this idea,

I don't take anything off anyone.

I don't get mad.

I get even.

The idea in all these statements,

we've got to learn as Christians to treat people better than they treat us.

Boys and girls,

boys and girls,

we're supposed to treat people better than they treat us,

not like they treat us.

Last week,

we looked specifically at how God does not call us

to live as pacifists in this world.

To just passively sit back and take all the abuse,

all the whatever people want to take out on us.

We looked at two things last week in particular.

I want to give you a real quick summary.

God provides justice and protection from evil people

through governmental authority like police,

like the court system,

and on a national level,

through the military.

God intends for justice to be carried out in this world,

for justice to be served,

not so much individuals seeking it,

but as a governmental authority seeking it,

like a law enforcement officer,

like a military person,

like through the court system.

And we get this in Romans chapter 13,

Romans 13:1–4

verses 1 through 4,

but I just want to read verse 4 right now.

Look at it.

He says,

But if you do wrong,

be afraid for he,

he's talking about the emperor,

the king,

he's talking about government

as if government was a person.

If you do wrong,

be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain.

He's talking about lethal force.

For he is the servant of God,

an avenger who carries out God's wrath

on the wrongdoer.

We also saw last week

that God allows us to defend ourselves

and others with deadly force

when threatened by evil.

Here's what we saw last week.

In Luke chapter 22,

Luke 22 · chapter mention

you see the verses on the screen.

Jesus did not prohibit his disciples

from walking around

carrying a sword

which was used to defend themselves.

Jesus, over three years of ministry,

when he came to the end,

Peter used his in an inappropriate way.

We looked at that last week.

But the point I want to make is,

Jesus did not tell his disciples,

you can't be armed.

They were armed.

He knew they were armed.

respected theologians explain

that this is not only allowed

defending yourself or other people

under certain circumstances,

but to do this is sometimes

the absolute moral right thing to do.

Listen to John Frame,

one of the most well-respected

ethical writers,

theologians you'll find alive today.

He says,

if someone seeks to kill you

or a family member

and there is no help available,

it is right

for you to ward off the attack

by force if necessary.

Individuals may sometimes fight

or even kill

to preserve a life,

but they should not use force,

they should not use more force

that is necessary

in a given situation.

Norman Geisler is another

well-respected writer on ethics.

He, along with J.P. Moreland,

they make an even stronger statement.

Look at what they say.

To permit murder

when one could have prevented it

is morally wrong.

To allow a rape

when one could have been hindered

is an evil.

To watch an act of cruelty

to children without trying

to intervene

is morally inexcusable.

In brief,

not resisting evil

is an evil of omission.

And an evil of omission

can be just as evil

as an evil of commission.

Any man who refuses

to protect his wife

and children

against a violent intruder

fails them morally.

There's a time

and there's a place.

We should pray

that it never happens

when Christians

should act

with force

to protect someone,

to protect their own life

and it's morally right.

It's not just something

that can be done.

It's the morally right thing

to do.

God provides a way

for us in this world,

even us as Christians,

to seek justice,

to be protected

from evil people

who have no respect

for human life,

no respect

for morality

or authority.

That's important

to understand.

But,

most of us

will live our entire lives

lives.

And our enemies

will never be

such evil people

as I just described.

Most of us,

we have enemies

who may insult us,

who may mistreat us,

who may abuse us,

who may take advantage

of us,

who may persecute us

because we're Christians,

but they don't really

threaten our life

or our family

or our community,

our country.

The way

we

interact

with

enemies

is what Jesus says

in Matthew 5,

43

as the general rule

for us

as individuals.

So let's look at it.

Matthew 5,

43.

You have heard

that it was said,

you shall love

your neighbor

and hate

your enemy.

But I say to you,

love your enemies

and pray for those

who persecute you

so that you may be

sons of your Father

who is in heaven.

The idea is not

you love your enemy

and pray for those

who persecute you

and by doing that

you become sons

of your Father

or children of God.

No.

By loving your enemy,

praying for those

who persecute you,

you demonstrate,

Jesus is saying,

that you already

are

a child of God.

Verse 46 now.

Now back up,

verse 45.

So that you may

be sons of your

Father who is in heaven

for he makes

his son

rise on the evil

and on the good

and sends rain

on the just

and on the unjust.

For if you love

those who love you,

what reward

do you have?

Do not even

the tax collectors

do the same?

And if you greet

only your brothers,

he's talking about

a greeting,

not just,

hey, how you doing,

but a Jewish greeting

of peace,

of shalom.

You're really wishing

well,

wholeness,

a good quality

of life on someone.

It's a heartfelt

kind of expression.

Look at it again.

And if you greet

only your brothers,

what more

are you doing

than others?

Do not even

the Gentiles

do the same?

You therefore

must be perfect

as your heavenly

Father is perfect.

He's talking there

about being complete,

about being whole,

about living up

to what God's

called us to

in the Sermon

on the Mount.

That last phrase,

sort of a way

he ends this

section of the

Sermon on the Mount.

But let's look at

what Jesus is

talking about.

First,

the natural way

to respond to enemies

is what he says

in verse 43.

You've heard

that it was said,

you shall love

your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

The Jewish leaders

of Jesus' day

taught people

that's what

you're supposed

to do.

That's what you,

as a good Jew,

will do.

But that was not

what the Old Testament

taught.

The Old Testament,

most of us

in here know,

Jesus called it

the second greatest

commandment,

love your neighbor.

neighbor as yourself.

Throughout the Old Testament,

God commanded

his people

to love other people,

not just their fellow Jews,

but even an alien

living in your land.

Help them,

do certain things

to provide

for some of their needs.

God commanded

his people.

But over time,

the Jews

developed this

mentality,

love your neighbor

and your neighbor

is a fellow Jew.

Period.

Love your neighbor,

your fellow Jew,

and then

hate everybody else.

Look down,

despise everyone else.

And that was the mentality

that was developed.

To a Jewish person,

if you were not

a part of that group,

you were looked down upon.

You were a Gentile dog.

You were not worthy

of being spoken to

in a proper way

as we saw there

toward the end.

What Jesus is doing here

when he says,

you have heard

that it was said,

you shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy.

He's not quoting

an Old Testament passage.

He's quoting

what was being said

at that time.

And what was being said

at that time

was this.

Love people

in a way

that comes naturally.

naturally.

What was being said

at that time

is you just

do what feels good.

You love those

that are like you.

People who look

and think

and act like you.

You love them

but just

hate.

Look down

at those

who are not like you.

Now,

loving people

who are like us,

anybody can do that.

You know,

you think to yourself,

I love my family.

I love my friends.

I love people

I work with.

I love people

I hang out with.

There's a lot of people

in this world.

I genuinely

care about them.

Have an emotional

attachment to them.

So what?

Everybody likes people

who are like them.

Jesus says

even the despised

tax collectors,

those traitorous Jews

who work for the Romans,

even those Gentile dogs,

they do that.

There's no reward

in that.

You're doing

nothing special.

Look at that

follow-up question,

the hard question,

verse 47.

What are you doing

more than others

if you just love

those who love you?

or you just love

those who are like you?

What Jesus wants us

to think is,

how is your love

as a follower of me?

How is your love

different than unbelievers?

Love those

who are close to you.

That's good.

It's not bad.

Love your family.

Love your friends.

Love your fellow

Sunday school class members.

Love those people

you work with,

you play sports with,

you hang out with.

That's good.

But don't pass yourself

on the back.

Don't think that makes you

some kind of model Christian.

That's nothing special.

Gang members

love one another,

don't they?

Thugs

have a brotherhood.

So to love people

just like you

means basically

nothing

in terms of it

honoring God

or being something

commendable

or something

that is rewarded.

The question

that Jesus

is confronting us

with this

is this.

Are you demonstrating

that you are God's child

by the way

that you love people

who are difficult to love

that are in your life

and you know

who they are?

Are you

showing the world

that you're a child

of God

by loving people

that you don't like?

And I hope

nobody's gonna

be so spiritual

as to say

oh there's no one

I don't like.

You're lying to yourself.

You don't like everybody.

I can tell you this

everybody doesn't like you.

We know that

don't we?

Don't we?

Aren't we

aware of that?

Everybody does not

like me.

Think it to yourself.

Everybody doesn't like me.

But

the opposite's true too.

I don't like everybody.

that's just the way it is.

That's just natural.

But what Jesus

is calling us

as Christians

as His people

love people

that you don't like.

Love people

that don't like you.

Love people

who offend you.

Who insult you.

who oppose you

about certain things.

See what Jesus

is teaching here

is to go against

our natural way

of dealing with

our enemies.

So let's look at

the next thing.

The supernatural way

to respond to our enemies.

What we're talking about

all these messages

from Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

about

not resisting evil

what Jesus

is talking about

about

taking an insult

turning the other cheek

and what we're looking at today.

This is not normal.

This is not natural.

This is something

that God has to give us

the help

the grace

like Brian was thinking

and the internal help

as we'll talk about

in a moment

to do.

The supernatural way

to respond to our enemies

verse 44

love your enemies.

Let's think about

what this does not mean

first.

Jesus is not saying

when He says

love your enemies

you have to have

an emotional

or an affectionate

kind of love

for them

like you do

your family.

A lot of people

are sitting right now

you're sitting

next to someone

who is your

family member

or a good friend

you just look around

for a moment

if you would

just sort of glance around

you don't have to stare

at everybody

but just look around

if you're honest

you love

certain people

in this room

a whole lot more

more heartfelt

more deeply

than you love

other people.

I can't imagine

anybody

saying otherwise.

Jesus is not saying

you ought to love

your enemy

like you love

your spouse

or your child

or your parent

or your best friend

or anything like that.

That is not

in the

realm of possibility

that Jesus is talking about.

Jesus is really

not even saying

that you have to

like someone

who is your enemy.

We all have

enemies

of various

levels

and he's not

even saying

don't let them

be enemies.

Hear this?

He says

love your enemy

you identify

this person

is an enemy

this person

maybe has

something against me

they do stuff

to me

they hurt me

you don't have

an emotional

feeling toward

them

you don't

like them

what Jesus

is saying here

when he says

love your enemies

is he's saying

have a self

giving type

of love

for them

a love

that seeks

their good

even when

they don't

seek your good

a love

that meets

a person's

need

Jesus

is not

telling us

to feel good

about our enemy

but he is

telling us

to do

good

to our

enemies

I think

one good way

to explain

this

or illustrate

this

Kent Hughes

is a pastor

he wrote

about

a book

on Sermon

on the Mount

he tells

a story

a true life

story

it was

one of his

wife's

best friends

she and

her family

moved to

a town

house

in a little

community

where everybody

was quiet

and neat

got along

well

took good

care of

their place

they got

moved in

they fixed

it up

the way

they wanted

it fixed

up

they worked

outside

in the yard

front yard

backyard

they just

had everything

neat as a pen

they were

just as happy

as they could

be

living in

their

town

house

when all

of a

sudden

a family

moved in

next door

that was

just

night and

day

different

from

everybody

else

the family

that moved

in next

door

they were

loud

they were

obnoxious

they were

profane

they could

hear them

yelling

and screaming

at one

another

using

profanity

toward one

another

in their

town

house

they trashed

their front

yard

instead of

a green

area

like other

people

had

a desert

would

just

junk

all over

that front

yard

among

these

neat

town

homes

well this

lady

let's call

her

family

the

Jones

family

their

life

became

miserable

because

they couldn't

get away

from it

they went

outside

they saw

signs

of this

neighbor

inside

they heard

these

neighbors

Hughes

said

the final

straw

for the

Jones

family

is when

the boys

of the

Wyle

family

climbed

over

the

backyard

fence

and

spray

painted

orange

paint

on the

Jones

family

patio

wall

where

everything

was neat

and clean

and fresh

looking

he says

that

Ms. Jones

was just

absolutely

enraged

she not

only did

not like

these

neighbors

but she

expressed

that to

God

she was

committed

Christian

and

she

understood

what prayer

was all

about

so she

just

talked

to God

I don't

like

these

people

I don't

want to

be around

these

people

and she

just sort

of

fussed

in her

prayer time

complained

as she

prayed

about these

sorry

neighbors

that she

had to put

up with

but then

she made

this statement

to Hughes

his wife

she

realized

after a

period

of time

I'm

wrong

in my

attitude

my

heart

is not

right

with

God

much

less

these

people

and she

says

she

literally

got down

on her

knees

and prayed

Lord

you know

that I

don't like

these

people

at all

help

me

to love

them

she said

when she

got up

she felt

absolutely

no

different

but she

decided

she was

going to

start

demonstrating

love

toward

those

neighbors

she would

start

doing

what she

would

do

if she

did

in fact

love

them

and she

started

doing

that

she

started

doing

things

like

you know

baking

a pie

taking

things

to them

to eat

just

being

friendly

to

them

asking

the

other

lady

into

her

home

to

just

drink

coffee

talk

get

to

know

one

another

this

lady

said

this

Jones

lady

said

that

they

actually

developed

she

developed

a

relationship

with

that

lady

and

with

her

family

and over

a period

of time

those

neighbors

did

not

change

they

were

still

loud

and

profane

and

junky

but

Miss

Jones

said

I

did

begin

to

love

them

and

after

a

period

of

time

those

neighbors

moved

away

and

Mrs.

Jones

response

was

she

wept

she

said

she

had

not only

learned

to

love

them

she

had

learned

to

like

them

even

though

they

didn't

change

their

ways

she

liked

them

she

just

didn't

like

their

ways

C.S.

Lewis

wrote

in his

book

Mere

Christianity

the

worldly

man

treats

certain

people

kindly

because

he

likes

them

the

Christian

trying

to

treat

everybody

kindly

finds

himself

liking

more

and more

people

as he

goes

on

what

Lewis

is saying

there

what

that

Miss

Jones

actually

did

that's

hard

almost

impossible

for us

to do

on our

own

but as

we've

talked

about

throughout

this

series

as

Christians

the

Spirit

of

God

lives

within

us

and

the

Holy

Spirit

specializes

in

love

Paul

writes

in Galatians

5

the fruit

of the

Spirit

is

love

joy

peace

patience

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

and self

control

some

people

think

that

when

Paul

is

writing

about

that

he's

saying

the fruit

of the

Spirit

is

love

and

those

other

qualities

are

just

part

of

what

love

is

if

we

are

children

of

God

we

can

love

our

enemies

because

the

Spirit

of

God

living

in

us

will

help

us

to

will

enable

us

to

and

one

of

the

ways

we

can

get

that

love

flowing

more

naturally

as a

Christian

naturally

is to

pray for

them

look at

verse 44

pray for

those who

persecute

you

pray for

people

who have

it in

for you

because you're

a Christian

and so they

insult you

they mistreat

you

they may

even

abuse

you

only because

they don't

believe like

you believe

they don't like

it because

you believe

and live like

you do

so they

persecute

you

but what

Jesus is

saying here

praying for

them

help us

to love

them

it's

hard to

hate

people

that you

talk to

God

about

just like

that lady

she didn't

like them

at all

despised

them

but as

she started

talking to

God

about

them

not the

first time

probably

not even

for several

days

but as

she was

talking to

God

about

them

she

eventually

got

under

conviction

I've

got the

wrong

attitude

toward

God

and

these

people

it's

hard

to pray

for

people

about

people

and not

develop

something

positive

in relation

to them

so praying

for our

enemies

that will

help us

to develop

this love

that Jesus

commands

us

to have

for them

and the

spirit of

God

living

within

us

that's

the

spirit

of

Christ

he will

help

us

look at

how

Jesus

did

as

followers

of

Jesus

the

Holy

Spirit

will

help

us

to

become

more

like

Jesus

and

Jesus

is

the

greatest

example

who

prayed

for

those

who

crucified

him

like

this

father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

this

is

the

kind

of

love

that

demonstrates

that

we

are

God's

children

as

Jesus

says

there

in

verse

45

God

demonstrates

his

love

for

all

people

even

those

who

hate

him

by

the

way

that

he

gives

good

gifts

to

everybody

look at

it

verse

45

again

he

causes

the

rain

he

makes

his

sun

shine

on

the

evil

and

on

the

good

and

sends

rain

on

the

just

and

on

the

unjust

that's

what's

called

common

grace

God

just

shows

his

common

undeserved

favor

to

everybody

in

various

ways

even

those

who

hate

him

and

despise

him

who

are

his

enemies

you know

we need

to stop

sometimes

just

pause

from time

to time

and think

my

salvation

was not

anything

I deserved

Paul

makes it

clear

from this

verse

in Romans

5

8

God

shows

his

love

for us

and this

is that

while we

were still

sinners

Christ

died

for us

you see

God

comes

to us

to

save

us

not

when we

cleaned

up

our

life

but

when

we're

still

sinners

and

willing

to

admit

our

sin

and

our

need

for

him

and

our

need

for

his

forgiveness

think

about

this

for a

moment

there

are

some

things

about

you

if

you're

a

parent

you

and

your

spouse

that

can

be

seen

in

your

children

there

are

some

things

about

Lisa

and

me

that

can

be

seen

in

both

of

our

boys

children

demonstrate

something

of the

nature

of their

parents

that also

applies to

God's

children

you know

if you're

a Christian

the spirit

of God

has been

at work

in you

ever since

God

saved

you

and so

there should

be evidence

of his

presence

and his

working

in you

you know

when

when God

saves you

puts his

spirit

in you

Paul

describes it

like this

in 2 Corinthians

5 17

anyone

if anyone

is in

Christ

he is a

new

creation

God

does a

new

work

he puts

the spirit

in us

gives us

a new

way of

looking at

life

thinking

about

life

living

life

a new

way to

live

as you

look at

yourself

how you

live

how you

relate

to

people

even

enemies

can you

see evidence

of the

nature

or character

of your

heavenly

father

in you

there will

not be

perfect

likeness

in anyone

but there

should be

some

likeness

and it

should be

growing

developing

over time

and that

certainly

should

include

love

even

loving

your

enemies

if there's

no evidence

of the

love of

God

in you

there's

no biblical

basis

for you

to even

think

that you

are a

Christian

that you

are a

child

of God

look at

what it

says

in 1

John

4

whoever

does not

love

does not

know

God

because

God

is

love

so let

me just

ask you

right here

is God

your heavenly

father

are you

sure

because you

see how he

has worked

in you

his spirits

in you

you're not

perfect

you're far

from it

but he

is working

in you

shaping

and molding

you

your character

helping you

to develop

that

Christ

like

character

love

not just

for people

like you

but love

for even

your enemies

you know

if there's

no signs

in your

life

and that

bothers

you

you think

to yourself

I don't

see any

evidence

but I

would like

to be

I want

to be

a child

of God

well admit

to God

that you're

not

if that's

the case

confess

your sin

change

your mind

about the

way you've

been living

repent

turn

from it

express

sorrow

to God

over the

way that

you have

sinned

and dishonored

him

put your

faith in

Jesus Christ

understand that

when he died

on the cross

he actually

took your

punishment

paid the

penalty for

your sins

call upon him

now

right now

this moment

to save

you

to be your

savior

your lord

surrender

your life

to him

now

he can

become

your heavenly

father

you can

be

a child

of God

as you

walk out

here today

if you

came in

not being

but the

final thought

is

as a

Christian

which most

people in

this room

were professing

Christians