This text is about anybody that crosses your path.

Love them and don't stop loving them even if they offend you,

even if they dishonor you, even if they anger you,

disappoint you, frustrate you threaten you, or kill you.

Don't stop loving them.

How does Jesus expect us to love our enemies?

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper turns to Matthew 543 to 48

to identify the only place we can find the strength to love as he commands.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on May 21st, 1995. What I want to talk about today is who the enemies are, what love looks like and how in the world do we appropriate this for ourselves.

Let's begin by noticing here in verse 43 that Jesus is correcting a misinterpretation of an Old Testament command, namely the vidicus

1918, love your neighbor is yourself.

He says, you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy. You heard that. Somebody has said that. Some

community, some group of people have interpreted love your neighbor in

Leviticus 19 that way. Now I, by my authority, speak no into that

misinterpretation. All interpretations of the Bible do not go folks.

If you try to establish Christian unity on saying your interpretation is all right, your interpretation is all right, your interpretation is all right.

You won't have Christian unity when When Jesus hears this interpretation of Matthew

1918, namely, it's a plausible interpretation. Neighbor mean a neighbor. It doesn't mean enemy. So, loved one and what's left? Hey, it's a plausible

interpretation and Jesus says no to that interpretation. Not all interpretations of the Bible are right. And then he says,

I say to you, I say to you, love your enemies.

And the point here is this, Jesus does not have two commandments,

...