One of the failures of the American Church that has led to today’s insanities is that we have thought, after the end of the Cold War, that we have no enemies left. And that may have been true, geopolitically. But in many places Jesus assumed that those who follow HIM WOULD have enemies - for instance, Matt. 24:9. We who follow Christ are hated by ALL nations.
We must not assume, therefore, that one of us is doing anything wrong, when we have enemies. “If only you had been more winsome, you wouldn’t be in this trouble.” Nor should we assume that the point of the Christian life is to live so as to have NO enemies. That kind of life actually leads to a slow and gradual renunciation of Christ, for the sake of the approval of the world.
No, instead we must follow the way of David, which is the way of Christ, in Psalm 17. The way of Christ is to honestly see our enemies, and then behold what we have in heaven. Only when we see what we possess in heaven, are we able to be some earthly good, in the face of evil opposition.
Listen to this episode from Pastor Jed's sermon on July 28, 2024 to learn more.
