- Acts 16:28: Paul stopped the Philippian jailer from suicide, preached the gospel to him. Why?

- “Living in Babylon”: title of my sermon on Daniel 1, focus on not compromising.

- Different focus here; we live in a culture that is increasingly at odds with us.

- We will encounter opposition (see vv. 22-23); how should we respond?

- 1913: 50^th reunion of survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg; Union embraced Confederates

- Picture of Heaven, where those who used to be enemies are reconciled.

- Our call: to love our enemies, knowing they could be welcome into our family one day.

- This is Jesus’ main command; two questions: how and why?

I. How do we love our enemies?

(1) By seeking their good (vv. 27-28, 31)

- Not a command to feel a certain way, but to act.

- Parallel statements in 27b-28: “do good,”: serve in practical ways; “bless,” “pray for”

- Not a command about feelings, but does speak to our hearts; do you really desire good?

- Summary v. 31: the Golden Rule: more than merely leaving them alone.

- Are you the kind of person who can serve a cruel neighbor? Help a coworker who has mocked your faith?

- My hope: not just that you will be the kind of disciple who, faced with dilemma of obedience to Christ vs. jail, wouldn’t hesitate to go to jail; but that you will also be the kind of disciple who will fall to your knees in your cell and pray for God to bless your persecutor with repentance.

- The gospel: Rom. 5:8-10: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

- We who have been loved as enemies must seek the good of our enemies.

(2) By not retaliating against them (vv. 29-30)

- Four examples: loss of honor, clothing, money, possessions

- In each case, Jesus’ command is, “Let it go.” These things are not ultimate.

- Children fighting over a seat in the car; do we stress over things that are insignificant in view of the kingdom?

- MLK: on nonviolence: “You see, this method has a way of disarming the opponent. It exposes his moral defenses. It weakens his morale, and at the same time it works on his conscience, and he just doesn’t know what to do. If he doesn’t beat you, wonderful. If he beats you, you develop the quiet courage of accepting blows without retaliating. If he doesn’t put you in jail, wonderful. Nobody with any sense likes to go to jail. But if he puts you in jail, you go in that jail and transform it from a dungeon of shame to a haven of freedom and human dignity. And even if he tries to kill you, you’ll develop the inner conviction that there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally true, that they are worth dying for. And I submit to you that if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

- Spoke of non-retaliation as a strategy to break the cycle of violence; it worked.

- But it doesn’t always work: gas chambers of Auschwitz demonstrate that.

- Jesus’ point is not whether or not this will “work” to our political advantage; it may not.

- His point is that non-retaliation testifies to our hope in the coming kingdom.

- When we allow honor, money, possessions, to be taken from us in service to Christ, without seeking to get them back, what are we saying about Christ?

- Love your enemies by doing good to them and by not retaliating against them.

II. Why should we love our enemies?

(1) To receive God’s favor (vv. 32-35a)

- Not the favor that gives us salvation, but the favor of his reward for obedience.

- Key word in vv. 32-34: “benefit/credit” (same word in Greek): divine favor

- Can we expect special favor from God if we act according to natural human instinct?

- Examples: It is natural to love those who love you; do good to those who do good to you; lend money in view of getting some advantage.

- Even the greatest sinners do these things; ever seen a mafia movie?

- Jesus’ disciples should be distinct, loving beyond our own circles, as he has loved us.

- v. 35a: Jesus tells us to seek a reward. “But if we are motivated by reward, that’s bad.”

- That’s not Jesus talking; it’s Kant. Jesus tells us to seek a reward.

- Edwards’ resolution 22: “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power; might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

- It was in loving his enemies unto death that Jesus has received his reward; we are sharers in his suffering, and therefore in his destiny.

(2) To reflect God’s character (vv. 35b-36)

- v. 35b: you will show yourselves to be sons of the Most High (like father, like son)

- Note in particular: “he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” Common grace.

- Isn’t that wasted effort? If so, God is the most wasteful of all.

- v. 36: show good will to the undeserving because this is what your Father does.

- Phil 2:15: Paul writes of us being “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” This is living in Babylon.

- Paul wrote those words to a church that included the Philippian jailer, his former enemy.

- Don’t forget: Paul himself had been loved when he was the enemy.

- Stephen’s prayer, Acts 7:60: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

- When Paul died, like the veterans of Gettysburg, he and Stephen embraced in Heaven.

- Until the Day of Judgment comes, see every enemy as a potential family member. And love your enemies.

Living in Babylon

Watch Video