Righteous Resistance to Individual and Government Tyranny

 This is from my sermon notes on Luke 6:27-36, on how we are to love our enemies. But it also shows that loving our enemies does not mean we allow our enemies to destroy us without resistance. 

Luke 6:27-36 – Love Your Enemies – Sermon Outline

Intro: How do we love those who hate us? Jesus teaches His disciples how to do so. 

Need: Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the context of persecution they will face for faithfulness. 

Theme: Christ’s kingdom ethic of love and mercy.  

 

I.       Treat even your enemies as you want others to treat you. (27-31)

A.      Recall the Context of Jesus words, spoken to His disciples/apostles and the crowds who “hear”.

       1.      Christ is preparing His 12 apostles to take the Gospel, healing and teaching even as He has done.

       2.      Jesus has told them they are blessed by God when they are hated and reviled, now He is going to tell them how they should respond when hated and reviled and persecuted.

       3.      But He says this to all who hear, and so this application is more general/broad/true for each of us.

       4.      Should we return insult for insult, escalating the situation? No, Jesus shows the righteous way to handle those who hate us for Christ’s sake, ultimately laying down His own life for His people’s sins, and praying that God the Father would forgive those who put Him on the cross and hated Him.

       5.      Christ’s apostles especially will have enemies, be hated, and cursed, and ultimately martyred.

       6.      The Apostles must love their enemies, because Christ came to save His enemies, and the Apostles are called into that same work as Christ.

       7.      Indeed, the whole church, each of us, must love our enemies for the sake of Christ and His kingdom.

       8.      But even so, there are limits to this. Jesus in Lk. 9:5 will also tell His apostles to shake off the dust from their feet as a testimony against entire cities that reject them/the gospel of the kingdom.

       9.      If we lose the context of the rest of Scripture, and even the immediate context of this passage, we are going to come up with absurd interpretations of the following verses that would put Christ’s teaching at odds with what He Himself says elsewhere and what the Apostles themselves will later say.

B.      V. 27-29, Loving our enemies and doing good to them is given specific examples to define the “love”.

       1.      We do not return hate with hate, but overcome it with love, expressed in doing good to our enemies when they do bad to us, blessing those who tell us how terrible & stupid we are for being Christians, and praying for those who are taking advantage of us and essentially praying curses over our heads!

       2.      V. 29 shows the mistreatment the early disciples of Christ would face on a regular basis. The “striking” here is not being beaten up, but an insult, perhaps a physical slap but with the intent to humiliate not harm/kill. Mt. 5 uses a different Greek word indicating an open palmed slap/insult.  

       3.      If someone takes your cloak/outer garment, be willing to have your tunic/undergarment taken as well.

       4.      None of this is ruling out self-defense, or telling battered wives to keep taking strikings, etc. Jesus isn’t overturning the eye-for-eye principle. That was a legal/courtroom principle, here we are primarily talking about personal insults and minor situations that don’t need to be taken up legally necessarily.

       5.      Lev. 19:17-18 says Israelites could not hate, take vengeance, or hold grudges against their own people, fellow Israelites, but most love their neighbors as themselves. Jesus is applying OT law.

       6.      The root issue here isn’t the action itself (slapped on the cheek, or having your cloak taken, etc.,) but our heart attitude towards our enemies who insult and seek to take advantage of us.

       7.      This certainly scales up, we must pray like Christ and Stephen, full of the Spirit, that even our executioners would repent and be forgiven by God our Father if the Lord so wills.

       8.      Yet there are times where Jesus fled from being stoned or taken, and He had the unique task of coming in human flesh precisely to atone for human sin. No others, including the Apostles, were tasked with such a horrible calling.

       9.      Paul himself in Acts 22:25 appeals to His Roman citizenship to avoid a flogging from a centurion. He doesn’t apply “turning the other check” or “give your tunic also” to mean, “No don’t only flog me, cut off my head” or “whip me on both the back and the stomach”. See his response to being struck in Acts 23:3-10, the OT law had a rule against speaking evil against its rulers/high priest, Ex. 22:28.

   10.      In Acts 23:3 Paul is upset that he is struck on the cheek, and says God will strike the one who hit him. So we cannot interpret Luke 6, or Romans 13, contrary to how Paul himself behaved.

   11.      Neither Luke 6 nor Romans 13 means we can never resist abuse or tyranny, whether from the individual or the state/government. Neither Jesus nor Paul apply their own words in this fashion.

   12.      Jesus isn’t advocating going in the nude. Ex. 22:26-27 said you cannot keep your neighbor’s garment in a pledge after the sun goes down, because the poor man would need it to sleep in and be warm.

   13.      Jesus is advocating a humility of spirit and heart desire that is willing to be wronged without vindictive retaliation or straining at smaller matters. Matthew Henry puts it well, “Christians must not be litigious; small injuries must be submitted to, and no notice taken of them; and if the injury is such as requires us to seek reparation, it must be for a good end, and without thought of revenge.”  

C.      V. 30-31, The Golden Rule in v. 31 controls how we interpret v. 30.

       1.      “Everyone” here should either be understood as exaggeration, hyperbolic overstatement, or as not only our friends, family, and acquaintances, but even those who are not, even our enemies.

       2.      Not every panhandler who says “give me” should be given to. What if they ask not just for food or money, but your clothing and keys to your car! 2 Ths. 3:10-15 says those who don’t work don’t eat.

       3.      Christians often read passages like this in a nonsensical and frankly illiterate fashion. They look at the letter of the law apart from the context/principle in which the letter is to be applied.

       4.      We should want to be dealt with righteously by other men, and to deal righteously with them as well. If you desire that your neighbor gives you your house and all his belongings, you are covetous!

       5.      Likewise, I would not desire that others give the shirt off their backs to me if I did not need it. If I was in true need, however, I would hope that even my enemies would pity me and clothe my nakedness.

       6.      So when it says “him who takes away your goods do not ask them back” do not apply that in a carte blanche, this applies in every possible scenario fashion.

       7.      V. 34 seems to limit its application to generosity in lending, even to your enemies. But also, if a poor, hungry person steals your hamburger, you don’t need to demand they repay the stolen hamburger.

       8.      Likewise, you don’t need to track them down, slap the burger out of their mouths, and shout in a fit of righteous zeal, “He who does not work shall not eat!”

       9.      If the Roman soldiers mistreated the disciples, or the Sanhedrin/Jewish courts taxed them more heavily or taking personal items out of spite, they must be willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake.

   10.      Heb. 10:34 states that the Christians “joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven”. Notice the context there is extreme persecution for faith in Christ and supporting the author of Hebrews (Paul?) in prison.

   11.      Aiding & abetting the apostles was criminal, like aiding /abetting the truckers in Canada today. If they freeze and seize your bank accounts, rejoice! You just hit the lottery of God’s blessings in heaven.  

   12.      Of course, if other Christians raise funds for you, or there is legal recourse, you may pursue those.

   13.      How we interpret Scripture matters. If God wrote the whole Bible and does not change in essence, then His law/will does not change in essence. There should be no “red letter only” Christians, as if Jesus’ words are more true/holy than the rest. There should be no “NT only” Christians, as if the NT corrects some of the “harshness” of the OT. Scripture must be interpreted in light of all Scripture.

II.       Treat your enemies as your Father treats His & He will greatly bless you (32-36).

A.      Why do we submit to such mistreatment as Christians and even love our enemies who hate us for Christ’s sake? Because we desire Christ’s Kingdom to grow and advance on earth, and the glory of God and His will to be done on the earth above all else, even our financial and physical well-being!

B.      And that love for God above all else, for His glory and kingdom, allows us to, if need be, even lay down our life, not for our enemies so much as for the glory of God and advance of His kingdom/Church.

C.      This is about being like the Father, merciful as He is merciful, perfect as He is perfect, V. 36.

D.      VV. 32-34 show the Triune mercy of God is not like the “mercies” and kindnesses of this wicked world.

       1.      “Credit” as NKJV translates is used 3 times, is the Gk. “Charis”, or grace/mercy. The world might think they are being gracious/merciful because they love their friends, do good to them, and lend so long as they get back what they gave out.

       2.      But Jesus says that is no “credit” or grace and mercy on our part. Even “sinners” do this. This is customary for unbelieving sinners to do this, it’s nothing special/mercy.

       3.      The exceptional, transformative Christian/kingdom ethic is that we do these things even for enemies!

a.       If you have an atheist neighbor that hates your faith and hates your family and your noisy children and the color of your car and how you walk and everything about you, if he was in need and came to you for help, you must help him if you are able.

b.       If his house burnt down in a fire and he escaped with nothing but his life, you should help him raise funds and be the first in line to donate to his fundraiser.

c.       That’s a powerful way to live the gospel, to love our enemies, and to win our neighbors for Christ.

d.       Now, if your atheist neighbor is clearly well off, has brand new cars and boats and is in pristine health, etc., and comes to your house everyday and says, “it’s time for your atheist neighbor to be loved with Christian love, please give me $100”, you are not to give him a dime.

e.       The “asking” & lending of v. 30 & 34 has to be in good faith at some level, & the aim here is at the heart of the Christian, being generous and merciful, giving the benefit of the doubt, but not a call to be utterly defrauded. If your Satanist neighbor can’t pay the light bill & asks for help, help him!

       4.      Paul in I Cor. 6:5 decries the church in Corinth for having to call in the courts to sue a fellow believer.

a.       Paul says that we Christians, the saints, will judge the world, and if so, can’t we judge smaller matters and disputes between ourselves? We will judge angels, so how much more must we be able to judge small things between fellow Christians that come up in this life.

b.       Paul is incredulous that there is not a wise man among the brethren who can judge between his brethren, rather than brother going to law to sue his brother before unbelieving judges!

c.       Paul says in 6:7 it is an utter failure to sue one another, and it is better to accept being wronged, letting yourself be cheated than drag this out into the open world for all to see.

d.       Why? Because it shows division and hatred among the body of Christ, not love, and we are to not only love one another in Christ, but our enemies!

e.       There are times between believers, and before the world, that we must be willing to be defrauded given the particulars of the situation. Wisdom, discernment, & intimate knowledge of God’s Word reveals when/where/how.  

E.      35-36, Loving your enemies is the righteous fruit of the Spirit that shows you are sons of the Most High

       1.      Lk. 1:32 also refers to Jesus as Son of the Most High, showing loving our enemies is how Christ Himself came and evidenced that He was the Son of the Most High, His (and our) heavenly Father.

       2.      God the Father is “kind”, good and merciful, even to the unthankful and to the evil. And not just the unthankful and evil that will be converted eventually and prove to be elect, but also the reprobate.

       3.      Even those in hell cannot deny that God showed them something of His kindness in this life on earth.

       4.      For Christ’s apostles and disciples gathered before Him, he’s showing them that the world will know the Church and its people by its love, or lack thereof. That’s true of how we love one another in the body of Christ, which is hard enough for us, but its further true of how we love unbelievers/enemies.

       5.      Do we really believe that lending to our enemies for nothing in return will be blessed by God?

F.      God Himself is our example of love & mercy. He is kind to those who hate His kindness & live evil lives.

       1.      The parallel in Mt. 5:45 says He causes the wicked’s crops to grow just as He does the just, and gives rain and sunshine to all alike. This is a mercy of God. It isn’t deserved, and we too in treating even our enemies so kindly aren’t giving them what they deserve.

       2.      This isn’t a call to social justice, but mercy. We are required to be merciful, because our Father in heaven is merciful, & we must be like Him. But we can’t confuse a required mercy with demands of justice from social justice warriors, whether they cry from inside or outside the Church.

       3.      God gives mercy freely, His grace is unmerited, but we are the image of God, and must extend mercy because we are to be like God whom we must reflect. God does it by nature, we by image.

       4.      Our obligation resides in being like God/Christ, not in some inherent deserving of mankind, or because they demand we supply their every need and whim at every moment.

G.     But God’s mercy has its limits. Unrepentant enemies burn in hell under the foot of His Son/people.

       1.      God raised up Pharaoh to humiliate him, to send plagues on him and his people, reversing the normal kindness/mercy of causing the sun to shine and rain to fall on the just/unjust alike.

       2.      The atheist neighbor who descends into an individual tyrant is not to be lent to such that now we are defrauding our own wife and children by having nothing to clothe, shelter, and feed them with.

       3.      When the government crosses the threshold from being overreaching and taxing too much, into outright tyranny and oppression of its people, the people have a God-given right to no longer be generous, merciful, compliant, “love their enemies” by being enslaved & raped by its government.

       4.      It is not always clear when an individual or a collective entity such as an employer or government crosses that threshold, but we must recognize that there is one and Scripture bears this out.

H.      Consider differences over mask and vaccine mandates for Covid.

       1.      I hate this garbage. Just the same, I reluctantly comply to wearing a mask if/when it is absolutely necessary, usually after not wearing one to see if someone will actually enforce the rule.

       2.      If they do, I put it on. But submitting to forced injections from a government that has proven itself nefarious and hateful of its own people, for such a thin premise as Covid-19, is plain tyranny.

       3.      There’s a big difference between turning the other cheek, giving your tunic as well as your cloak, lending without expecting in return, on the one hand, and submitting to your 5th booster shot that has been shown to cause seizures, heart attacks, strokes, and other side effects that can literally kill you, not to mention the long-term effects such as cancer that some are suggesting will occur.

       4.      Representative government, our constitution, & civil disobedience give many righteous ways to resist tyranny. May God help us to love our enemies without hating our families, friends, and God.