Loving Your Enemies: What Was Jesus’ Point? – Part 2

In our exploration of what it means to “love what God loves, and hate what He hates”, we began with Jesus’ words to “Love your enemies” – words that seem to make “hate” in any form, illegitimate.

These words are in the Sermon on the Mount, and in Part 1, we saw that Jesus’ purpose in it was not to establish a code of conduct, but rather describe the kind of righteousness necessary for entrance into the Kingdom.  This righteousness does not come through trying harder, but is part of a lifelong journey of transformation by the Holy Spirit as we walk with God and become like Him.  Turning the Sermon on The Mount into a “to-do list” misses Jesus’ point and embraces the very performance-based approach He repudiates.
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Loving Your Enemies: What Was Jesus’ Point? – Part 1

As we explore what it means to “love what God loves, and hate what He hates“, it seems best to begin by examining key Biblical teachings that seem to undermine this notion.

We will start with Jesus’ command to “love your enemies,” which is recorded in both Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). These words were not spoken in isolation, and to understand them, we must understand the context in which they are given.
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Loving What God Loves; Hating What He Hates

Most of us are quite aware that God calls us to love what He loves, but I don’t think I had given much thought to hating the things He hates. Not until recently.
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