Feb 15, 2026 // Love Your Enemy

Matthew 5:43–48 calls disciples to a radical reorientation of the heart: love enemies and pray for persecutors. The command contrasts God’s law, as stated in Leviticus, with the hostile traditions that added “hate your enemy,” exposing how religious systems can harden the heart and justify exclusion. Human instinct favors retaliation, self-protection, and selective love; those tendencies show in small daily moments—road frustrations, travel delays, or grudges preserved in private—that reveal the deeper work required for kingdom living. Jesus reframes neighbor-love to eliminate dividing lines and insists that hatred in the heart qualifies as sin, not piety.

Three reasons ground the command. First, children of God should reflect the Father’s character: praying for enemies evidences a familial likeness and flows from being shaped by grace, not earned righteousness. Second, common grace demonstrates God’s benevolence to both the righteous and the wicked; because God bestows life and provision widely, disciples should extend ordinary kindness and refrain from withholding basic compassion. Third, the Spirit enables a higher ethic than the surrounding culture; loving those who hate mirrors divine distinctiveness and prevents Christians from mirroring the very attitudes they critique.

Practical application centers on prayer as the habitual response to animosity. Prayer functions both as an act of love and as a formative discipline that softens hardened affections; actively praying for someone undercuts vengeful imaginings and reorients desire toward their ultimate good. The call to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” presses for ongoing formation rather than a checklist—spiritual maturity looks like persistent lament over sin, dependence on the Spirit, and a refusal to settle into worldly patterns of retaliation. The command moves Christians from moral abstraction to specific practices: stop retaliatory imaginings, pray when tension arises, and allow the cross to recalibrate responses toward the lost, the hostile, and the unjust.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Love and pray for enemies Loving those who oppose or persecute exposes the depth of gospel transformation: genuine discipleship produces a heart that seeks another’s flourishing even when that person wishes harm. Prayer functions as tangible love and as spiritual leverage; regularly interceding for opponents dissolves the imagined necessity of retribution and enlarges compassion for their eternal well-being. This discipline refuses moral economy—love not as earned response but as Gospel-shaped obligation. [31:26]
• 2. Disciples must resemble their Father Being “sons of the Father” means formation into a family likeness, not earning status through performance. Imitation of God shows in praying for enemies and in actions that mirror divine mercy rather than human favoritism. Such resemblance grows from dependence on Christ and the Spirit, not from moral self-sufficiency. [47:52]
• 3. Common grace demands common love God’s sun and rain on both good and evil demonstrate a baseline benevolence that believers must emulate in ordinary kindness. Reflecting common grace prevents selective compassion that withholds basic dignity from those deemed unworthy. Upholding this ethic guards against religiously justified hatred and sharpens witness. [52:19]
• 4. Prayer softens hearts toward enemies Prayer works as a formative practice that replaces resentment with concern; actively praying for an adversary undermines the emotional architecture that sustains hatred. Beginning with requests for a softened heart often leads to concrete intercession and eventual care for spiritual restoration. This is not instant perfection but steady formation. [58:22]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:58] - Community Announcements
• [12:09] - Call to Worship (Psalm 34)
• [28:25] - Transition to Matthew 5
• [31:26] - Read Matthew 5:43–48
• [33:31] - Everyday Examples of Enmity
• [36:01] - Old Testament Background
• [43:32] - Cultural Contrast and Prayer
• [47:52] - Three Reasons to Love Enemies
• [58:22] - Application: Pray for Enemies

Bible reading
Matthew 5:43–48 (ESV)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Observation questions

1. What two specific actions does Jesus command in response to enemies and persecutors?
2. How does Jesus describe God’s character in verse 45?
3. What comparison does Jesus make between his followers and tax collectors or Gentiles?
4. According to the sermon, what did religious leaders add to the command “love your neighbor,” and where did this addition come from? [39:00]

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Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus connect loving enemies with being “sons of your Father”? What does this imply about our identity?
2. How does God’s common grace (sun and rain for all) serve as a foundation for how we treat those who oppose us?
3. Jesus says, “Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” How would this statement have challenged his original audience? [55:09]
4. What does “be perfect” mean in this context? Is it about sinless perfection or something else?

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Application questions

1. When have you recently felt tension or frustration toward someone (e.g., in traffic, online, or in a relationship)? What would it look like to pause and pray for them in that moment? [33:10]
2. Is there someone you struggle to love because they’ve hurt you or hold values opposed to yours? How might praying for them soften your heart over time? [50:15]
3. How can we reflect God’s common grace in practical ways—like showing kindness or withholding judgment—toward people who don’t deserve it? [52:38]
4. In what areas of your life are you tempted to love only those who love you back? How does the Spirit empower us to love beyond natural inclinations? [54:48]
5. What would it look like to “render good for evil” in a specific relationship or situation this week? [59:10]
6. How does remembering the cross—where Jesus died for us while we were still his enemies—shape the way we view those who oppose us? [01:00:11]
7. Who is one person God is placing on your heart to pray for regularly? What would it look like to start today?