43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
King James Version (KJV)
Our love has to be different than others. We can't just love those that love us. We have to love even our own enemies. We have to love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, & pray for them which despitefully use us & persecute us. God doesn't hate people, who are His creation. He loves all of us even the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11 states the following "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" God does not take pleasure in their death. He wants people to turn from their ways. It's the evil ways, the sin, that God hates. Psalm 45:7a states, "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness." It's the wicked ways God hates.
John 3:16 lets us know that God loves the world so much that He gave His only Son so that those who believe in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. God loves us. We have to love others as well, including our enemies. We have to be like God is & do as He instructed. In terms of vengeance, Leviticus 19:18 tells us not to avenge or bear grudges, but to love our neighbors as ourselves. Galatians 5:14 lets us know that love is "the sum of the whole law" (Matthew Henry's Commentary on biblegateway.com). James 2:8 > love is the royal law. Hence, if we love others, we do well. Proverbs 25:21, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink." Stephen exemplifies what Christ did (Luke 23:24), by praying to God for them-that their sins not be held against them in Acts 7:60. When we help our enemies, being nice & loving them, our actions are actually heaping coals of fire on their head (Romans 12:20), which is not our desire. 1 Corinthians 4:12(b)(c) > we are blessed when we are reviled, & suffer(endure) persecution. Like Ephesians 5:1 goes into, we need to be "followers of God, as dear children." We have to be perfect as the Lord is. This kind of perfection is not perfect, perfect, but perfect in the sense in striving to live, striving to obey His commands. 1 Peter 1:16, "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). We have to be representatives of God, & that means avoiding rendering evil for evil (1 Thessalonians 5:15). We have to love others, think about them, minister to them, show acts of kindness, bless & love them. God has done this for us through His Son Jesus. If we are to put on Christ & walk in the Spirit, we are to do this.
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