Roadmap for Today
- Review: The Uniqueness of Christianity as it pertains to retaliation
- This deals with matters of personal retaliation, not criminal offenses or acts of military aggression. Jesus applied this principal of non-retaliation to affronts against one's dignity, lawsuits to gain one's personal assets, infringements on one's liberty, and violations of property rights. He was calling for a full surrender of all personal rights
- John MacArthur
- 3 Spheres
- Your life (relationships, work, school, family, community, etc.)
- Governmental authority and law
- God and His Law
- Explore: The Uniqueness of Christianity as it pertains to love
-There are vast differences between Christianity and other religions. The uniqueness of Christianity stands out boldly in the way we treat our enemies. Nikita Khrushchev understood this and graphically illustrated the difference between Communism and Christianity when he said: "The difference between the two is great. When someone strikes you on the face, you turn the other cheek. If you strike me on the face, I'll hit you so hard your head will fall off," - Bob Deffinbaugh
- The Pharisees' approach: Bigotry and Bondage
- Jesus' approach: Benevolence and Blessing
- Consider: The Unconditional Love of God
- While we were still sinners, Christ died for us - Romans 5:8
- The Hospitality of God
- Hospitality - "to love or befriend strangers"
- "I will dwell in the house of the lord forever" (Psalm 23)
- When we love our enemies, we are simply treating others as we have been treated. That is the way God treats his image-bearers. When we love our enemies, we demonstrate that we are God's children. We prove that we have a relationship with Him.
- Our Father is perfect, which in this context (Matthew 5:48) could be understood to mean "there is no limit to the bounds of His goodness". In the same way, we are called to be "perfect".
There should be no limit to the bounds of our goodness in our dealings with others.
- The Lord's Table - What a privilege to come to the table of our Heavenly Father - a table made possible by a glorious Savior.
- The incredible POWER of unconditional love.