"You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But 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, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust alike. For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:43-48.)

This is one of the most difficult commands of Jesus Christ to his followers. It demands the greatest level of maturity and spirituality. It runs counter to our human nature. Our first response is to fight back, to hate those who hate us, to curse those who curse us and to harm those who harm us. But if we so respond to our enemies, it makes us like the publicans, the sinners, and all other evil people. God loves the sinner and does good to those who hate him. Jesus is teaching us to be like God. But being like God is precisely what is difficult for man to be!

Did the Law actually teach for the Jews to hate their enemies? (Matt. 5:43.) Some of the Jewish teachers devoutly believed that God willed the destruction of Jewish enemies. Their attitude to this day demonstrates this belief. For this reason, Jonah at first refused to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Law did not teach hatred and the destruction of all the enemies of Israel. David expressed hatred for the enemies of God. "Do not I hate them that hate thee? Am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies." (Psalm 139:21-22.) This was the common Jewish understanding, but they did not get it from the Law of Moses. The nearest parallel to "hate your enemies" is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls’ injunction "love all the children of light and hate all the children of darkness." Solomon wrote, "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink." (Prov. 25:21.) Paul quotes this passage in Romans 12:20.

The Law also restrained punishment against an evil doer. The doctrine of "an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth" limited retaliation. It was a law of limitation, not a law of permission. The Law stated: "If any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe." (Exodus 21:23-25.) In other societies outside of Israel, justice and retalia-tion were not limited.

This subject is very complex. We should be cautious about over simplifying it. Jesus meant what he said. It was as difficult a saying to the Jews who first heard it as it is for modern man to hear it. There is some- thing contrary to our very nature to love our enemies, to bless them, and to pray for them. It is tempting to rationalize why we should not hate our enemies.

For many people this seems like an impossible command. How can I love and enemy the way I love a friend, a family member or spouse? One writer expressed the solution this way:

"There are two kinds of love, involving the same general feeling, or springing from the same fountain of goodwill to all mankind. The one is that feeling by which we approve of the conduct of another, commonly called the love of complacency; the other, that by which we wish well to the person of another, though we cannot approve his conduct. This is the love of benevolence, and this love we are to bear toward our enemies. It is impossible to love the conduct of a man that curses and reviles us, that injures our person or property, or that violates all the laws of God. Though we may hate his conduct and suffer keenly when we are affected by it, yet we may still wish well to the person. We may pity his madness and folly; we may speak kindly of him and to him. We may return good for evil. We may aid him in time of trial. We may seek to do him good here and to promote his eternal welfare hereafter. This seems to be what is meant by loving our enemies." (Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament: Matthew-Mark, Albert Barnes, 60-61.)

Another wrote, "Jesus used agape, a common word he used when speaking of love. The force of this love does not come from one’s feelings. It comes from a decision. The decision is to function in consideration of your enemy’s highest good. One cannot feel about his enemies as he feels about his friends. However, he can consciously choose to treat enemies with the consideration that comes from kindness rather than from resentment. That attitude is a core quality of godly character and integrity. The person of godly character and integrity chooses God as his or her example." (Godly Character and Integrity, "Jesus: Treatment of Enemies," lesson 7, page 4, David Chadwell.)

"When Jesus taught about the proper treatment of enemies, those in his audience knew by experience the quality of life under an enemy. A discus-sion of enemies included factors of greater significance that ‘someone I work with distresses me.’ Typically, issues created for us by enemies and issues created for them by enemies would be different issues. Many times their issues would be of greater seriousness." (Godly Character and Integrity, "Jesus: Treatment of Enemies," lesson 7, page 2, David Chadwell.)

We should keep the definition of "enemies" on a serious and high level. By some definitions, one’s own husband or wife is regarded as an enemy. For others, it is a brother or sister in the same church, or other religious people who believe in Jesus Christ, or those of other races, or those of the opposite political party, or anyone who rebukes us or disagrees with us about the least matter. Enemies of God and my enemies may not be one and the same. Everyone assumes that his enemies are also enemies of God. We assume that enemies of America are also enemies of God. Hussein and Bin Laden think that we are the enemies of God. Be careful about the assumptions that you make concerning enemies. (John 16:2.)

David often cried out for help from God due to his enemies. One of David’s enemies was King Saul who tried to kill him with a javelin and pursued him relentlessly with an army. (1 Samuel, Psalms.) Jesus’ enemies lied about him before Pilate, cruelly treated him and killed him. Yet, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.) Stephen was stoned to death for preaching Jesus as the Messiah. He died praying, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." (Acts 7:60.) All but one of the apostles died a violent death at the hands of their enemies. Early Christians were deprived of a market place for their goods because of their faith. Some were burned at the stake. How do your enemies compare with these?

There are different kinds of enemies. We most often think of those who know us and we know them. There is some kind of conflict between two persons. We have enemies that we do not know personally. They stand opposed to us because of differences in religious views, world-views, ideology, or political views. Their hatred can be so strong that they seek to kill and destroy us. Many Christians have been persecuted unto death simply because of what they believed. The apostle and elder Peter addressed this in his first epistle. He wrote, "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on his behalf." (1 Peter 4:16.) In this case, we should follow the example of Jesus in suffering. (2:21-23.)

Since 9/11/01 we understand that as a nation, we have enemies who wish us serious harm. It is strange to have such enemies that we do not even know. We do not even understand fully why they hate us. But they hate us religiously, politically and ideologically. Their hatred is even the more surprising because we as Christians do not hate them. We (Christians) do not wish them harm. We conclude that enemies can be personal and national.

Suppose for a moment that we do have enemies, real enemies, personal enemies. The attitude that we are taught to possess by Jesus is to not take vengeance against them. God will do so. "Recompense to no man evil for evil. . . Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:17, 19-21.)

Our defense is God and doing good. Evil can be overcome with good. What if Israel or Palestine started doing good deeds to the other? They never try that solution. It would work. But what if love, praying, doing good does not work or change our enemies? If personal harm is threatened, I believe in self-defense. I further believe in the right of constituted authorities to take action; that is, God has ordained political powers. (Rom. 13:1.) I believe that a police office has the right to defend citizens from those who seek to kill and harm innocent people. I believe that a government exists by divine right and they do not bear the sword in vain. (Rom. 13:4.) There are two possible reasons why people do right: because of their conscience and because of fear of punishment. Paul mentioned both of these in Romans 13. "Wherefore you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake." (13:5.)

Christians can act and they should act against evil. But first, we must be sure that our hearts are right. Our hearts must not be filled with vengeance and hatred for others. There is no place for war mongering.

Story: I like what a captain of United Airlines Flight 564 said to his passengers on September 15, 2001. According to Peter Hannaford, a public relations consultant on the plane, he wrote the following account for The Washington Times. "The pilot addressed the passengers this way: I want to thank you brave folks for coming out today. We don’t have any new instructions from the Federal government, so from now on we’re on our own. Seasoned road-warriors who typically would have been reading newspapers showing their disregard for the pilot’s greeting perked up. Newspapers were dropped into laps. Heads came up. Everyone was listening in total silence and with wholehearted attention. He proceeded to tell his passengers what to do if anyone should stand up on this or any other aircraft they should ever be flying. He said, If anybody tries to take over the plane, stand up, take hold of anything you can find, and throw it at their heads. Aim at their faces, so they will have to defend themselves. Throw a blanket over the heads of the person or persons threatening their plane, wrestle them to the ground, and let the plane’s pilot land and turn those culprits over to authorities. Remember, there will be only a few of them, and we are 200-plus strong! You can overwhelm them. We will not allow them to take over this plane. I find it interesting that the Declaration of Independence says, ‘We, the people’ and that’s just what it is when we’re up in the air---we, the people versus would-be terrorists. The people of this country will not be defeated by terrorism.

He continued, I don’t think we are going to have any such problem today or tomorrow or for a while. But sometime down the road, it is going to happen. And I want you to know what to do. Now, since we’re going to be a family for the next few hours, I’m going to ask you to turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself. Tell them a little about yourself, and ask them to do the same.

Everyone applauded; people had tears coming down their faces. The people felt that they had a choice. They were not completely powerless.

We all are like those on the United Airlines Flight. For the duration of the flight, we are all in this together. It applies to churches in their petty bickering, to families who quarrel over selfish things, and to a nation which is threatened by determined enemies. We are a family here. If this plane crashes, we all are going down, not just the terrorists. If someone has a heart attack on the plane, we render medical assistance the best we can. If someone is rude to a flight attendant, the whole cabin needs to react. If terrorists try to take over the plane, we do just what the pilot said!

Those who resisted the terrorists in the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania acted bravely and appropriately. The Bible nowhere teaches that we should allow such evil men to destroy us or our nation. We should always pray for peace. We must not harbor hatred for others. We must love our enemies. But we have the right of self-protection. The powers that be are ordained of God. (Romans 13:1.)