Shocking Advice to the Selfish and Strong-Willed, Part 3

In the post-Christian era in which we live, it's quite common to feel oppressed by those who seem threatened by our values. Sometimes when we receive hostile pushback from adversaries, it's tempting to strike back in defense.

Our first instinct is to retaliate rather than show compassion. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll resumes our study in Matthew chapter 5. In this passage, Jesus is teaching His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.

These are bold commands. Chuck Swindoll calls it, shocking advice to the selfish and strong will. Your Bible is open to Matthew 5. Look at verse 39. I say to you, do not resist an evil person. Verses 38 to 42 are dealing with an evil individual.

We are dealing often with people who have evil motives, who would hurt us, who would do us wrong. That's verses 38 to 42. When you get to 43 down through 47, notice the last word in verse 43, your enemy. Again in verse 44, pray for those. He says, I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

The enemy. So we have enemies mentioned in 43 to 47. We have the evil person mentioned in 38 to 42. So with evil people in the context, let's see what Jesus teaches. And I suggest there are four segments in these verses 38 through 42. First, He's telling believers who wish to operate under the power of Christ in a lost world, release your right to personal dignity and respect.

Look at verse 38 with verse 39. You have heard it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now Jesus describes the spirit of the law. But I say to you, do not resist an evil person. Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. The old expression turn the other cheek comes from that 39th verse.

What does it mean? In the days of Jesus being slapped on the cheek was an insult. Now what do you do? Do you retaliate? If you're operating under the power of the spirit, no, you don't answer back. Remember my disclaimer, we're not referring to national defense. We're not referring to criminal acts done against us or attempted against us. We're dealing with individuals who insult us.

But let's face it, I've experienced it and you've experienced it. We've been insulted. We've had the ugliest thing said to us, often to our face. The best way I've learned from Jesus in handling it is to stay quiet.

And I'll tell you that's not easy to do. I have a very creative old nature and I can come up with some real insults to give back. Don't insult back. Release your right to be respected. You're not going to be respected by the majority.

I don't care what your work is or how pure your motive may be. Some will find fault. So Jesus helps us know how to deal with those kind of people.

There's a second. Release your right to cling to personal comforts. That's in verse 40. Anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Stop!

These are instructions to individual followers of Jesus regarding releasing our individual rights. Here's a guy who's fairly well off. He's not only got an under tunic, he has a coat.

And he's around someone who really could use warmth. Don't cling to everything you have. Be willing to release it.

That's what he has in mind. Here's a third, verse 41. Release your right to your own private schedule and lifestyle.

What does 41 say? Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him too. Now who would force you to go a mile? In the first century, there were Roman soldiers. They were an authority over all the Jews because they ruled over what they called Palestine.

We know it as Israel. And they would say often to a citizen, carry that load, carry my pack. The citizen could answer back in an ugly way and pay a price for that. Jesus said no, carry it. He says go a mile, go two miles. This is where we get the idea of an extra mile. Go the extra mile. Demonstrate an attitude of willingness. Don't be so tight with your own plans and schedule.

There's a fourth. Look closely, verse 42. Give to him who asks of you and don't turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have something someone else could use and needs.

Do you really need it that badly? Now I can just hear some of you cynics thinking they'll take advantage of you. You know the answer? You're right. Don't let that deter you from loaning, from releasing. Don't let that make you bitter because you've been ripped off a few times. And we're not that great, Shakes. We're just stingy as anybody else. There are some things I won't loan you, but don't ask. But honestly, there aren't many. I've lived long enough to know that I can't take any of it with me.

Never saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul. Now we've got to deal with the enemy. How should we treat an enemy, 43 to 47? Look at 43. Interesting statement of scripture.

Look at this. You have heard, so you know this, the rabbis had been teaching. We say they'd been hearing it since they were knee-high to a grasshopper when they're little tiny kids all the way growing up. They heard in the synagogue. They heard from their parents.

They heard from others who were adults. You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy as if it's all one big verse. Well, the first part of it is Leviticus 19, 18 says love your neighbor.

In fact, it adds love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say hate your enemy. Nowhere.

Nowhere. Old or New Testament. But they've been taught that. You and I have been taught things all our lives that are not scriptural.

Taught by people who learned them from their parents and from their parents. That's why I say to you, become your own student of the scriptures. Be sure you're living by truth, not by hearsay. So Jesus is going to tell them it's not about hating an enemy. Hate never accomplished anything, by the way, except making me more angry, more bitter. He says I say to you, look at the spirit of the law 44, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Doesn't say love the way your enemies live. Doesn't say love their beliefs and method of treatment. Doesn't say defend their plans and their motives.

No, no, no, no, no. Persons. People. Doesn't say support them when they're doing wrong.

It says love them as people. You say I can't do that. Well, wait a minute. Hold it.

When's the last time you tried? Through the power of Christ. How else do you explain Jim Elliot and four other young men fresh out of college going to Ecuador and giving their lives to reach the Aucas, a savage tribe who killed all five. They loved the Aucas.

They loved their souls. How else could Chuck Colson have started prison fellowship without loving those men behind bars, men and women, and start that ministry that goes on today in a healthy manner because he saw when he was himself a prisoner what it was like to be behind bars and all the things that went on there and the things he might be able to help if he began a ministry prison fellowship. How else could Bonhoeffer pray for the Nazis? Did he cooperate with them?

You know he didn't. He was imprisoned. He was one of the holdouts that wouldn't let them give him his message to preach and to declare. Ultimately, he was hanged shortly before there was liberation, but Bonhoeffer was a marvelous example of someone who loved the hearts of those who hated him.

How about Corrie Ten Boom? The reason she had a ministry throughout her later years was her willingness to forgive the guard who made life so miserable for Betsy and for her and forgiving those who took the lives of her family. Don't tell me you can't do this. Jesus never gave us a command that's unattainable. You and I will become increasingly more despised in the world in which we live, and I urge you, let it go. Okay? Here's a simple little plan.

When you leave, you get on a road, maybe not today but tomorrow, traffic is heavy, there'll be some road hog that'll want the lane. Okay? He just bought it. Okay? It's his. He thinks so. He comes over and he cuts you off in traffic.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, right there, wait, right there. When you get a cut off in traffic, what do you think? Ah, there's more to this lane than what's right there, and I'll go around and I'll cut him off.

Really? So now you own the lane, huh? See how stupid that is? How much better not to even let it bother you? Now Cynthia and I have the fun of saying to each other, I guess he just bought that.

That lane means more to him than his life. Okay, it's okay. Otherwise, Cynthia's got a husband guilty of road rage, and then that makes the paper and then the whole church is scandalized because I'm in jail for pulling that gun that cop told me to load up. I know, wait, wait, wait, hold it, hold it, hold it. This isn't rocket science. It really isn't.

In fact, look, I love it and I'm intrigued by it. Look at what Jesus says. I say to you, 44, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Okay, I got that. Look at the next verse. So that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, for he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. What on earth does that mean? What does that mean? When I'm all alone and I'm working through this verse, I got to figure out what you are, you may be sons of your father. Do I do this to become a Christian? Is that what sons of my father means?

Think. Can't mean that. You don't earn your salvation. It's got to mean something else.

So I began to dig. I imagine Matthew was there among those who heard the sermon on the mount since Jesus preached it to the disciples. Naturally, he would remember Jesus very words, even the phrases. Jesus didn't speak Greek, he spoke Aramaic.

Think. He spoke a language that's akin to Hebrew, not akin to Greek. Now when Matthew wrote, he wrote in common Greek, which has now been translated, thankfully, into English and many other languages. But when Jesus spoke, he spoke a language not unlike Hebrew. They're sister languages.

The character's identical, but the vocabulary is different and the pronunciation is a little different. But anyway, back to this Hebrew. You may not know this, but the Hebrews, they had a language that wasn't really rich in adjectives. And so instead of saying he's a peaceful man, the Hebrews would normally say he's the son of peace. Or to say she is a kind woman. No, the Hebrews would say she is a daughter of kindness.

You tracking this with me? Now look at this. So that you may be sons of your father.

You know what I think is a good rendering? Father-like. You live like this, you respond like I've described.

You take these words literally into your life and lifestyle. You will be father-like. And what is the father like?

Loving, full of mercy and grace. And when you're father-like, you model love and mercy and grace. You see a driving rainstorm doesn't stop when it gets to the unrighteous and doesn't water his lawn. Rain falls on the unrighteous and the righteous. The sun shines on the believer and the unbeliever.

That's father-like. Careful here. If you're not careful, you'll build your little world around only Christians and see all of those outside the Christian family as enemies. Careful here. They may be unbelievers, but they're observant.

They're in need of love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, a long leash of loving kindness. And when you are father-like, you're different. Again, I will say you will really stand out. Now then, we've got it all figured out. Well, I hope.

Actually, we don't. Look at verse 48. Be perfect. Okay? Anybody qualify? I dare somebody to raise his hand. Not a soul.

Well, a child did. Yes. Perfect. It must mean something else. That translation must mean something else. So I dug a little and I found that the word is teleios.

T-E-L-E-I-O-S. The Greek word. Doesn't literally mean perfect. This original Greek word conveys the idea of mature. A teleios individual who has reached full stature is a man, not a kindergarten child. A student who has a grasp of a subject because of deep and lengthy study in it is a teleios student. Teleios means an end, an aim, a goal, a purpose.

You know what Jesus said on the cross? Te tellestai. The root word is it's finished. It's done. I've reached the end. I've accomplished the purpose of my mission. Te tellestai.

It has been completed. So what is this saying? We bear the image of God, therefore we fulfill our purpose when we live out the character traits of the Father. Jesus says do that. You're to be like that even as your Father is that. The Amplified Bible says you must be perfect. That is, grow into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity.

That is teleios. Now then, what's our response? I can wrap it up in three statements. The first and immature response is this is easy. It's easy till tomorrow in the traffic and the guy cuts you off. It's easy until that person at work insults you. It's easy until that person doesn't turn and give back to you what was borrowed. It's easy when someone takes from you and brings it back but when they rip you off. The first response, this is really easy.

Hand me the rose-colored glasses and this is the way I'm gonna live my life. You can't do it. So the second response is no, this is extremely difficult.

Some of the things are easier than others depending on our makeup but this is all pretty tough. No, let me tell you the only intelligent response to this, actually this is impossible. This is impossible in myself but the great thing about becoming a Christian, you're not just left with yourself. You had only yourself when you came to Christ.

Now you have the Holy Spirit who lives within you, taken up residence within you and the Lord Jesus Christ releases his power through you and believe it or not you can forgive that person. You can ignore that insult. You can go the extra mile. You can give up your rights. You can even have people say things against you that are absolutely untrue and you don't have to set the record straight. You don't have to do that because the Lord is at work on your behalf. I began this message by saying assumptions are shaky. Assumptions are shaky things to rely on.

You assume you don't need Christ, you'll never fulfill what this says without Christ ever. You will have no success at it. You'll be frustrated within a week's time but with Christ you can do it. Trust me. Please bow your heads.

You've listened very carefully and I appreciate that. This is not an easy section of scripture to understand. Certainly isn't easy to apply but I can tell you this, it will never take place in your life without your having a relationship with Christ by faith. He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. Since it's impossible to live like this without Christ, the only intelligent response is I want to come to know him who can transform my life.

Do that now. Trust him now. Thank you Father in these closing words for the way you've been teaching us Jesus' words. Guard us from getting out of balance. Deliver us from a life lived without wisdom or common sense. Restrain us our Father when the old nature would rise up within us and give us a heart for those who don't know you, realizing that's the only way they know to live. Give us the ability to forgive without overlooking the wrong that was done.

That is not taking an offense but realizing that it comes from a heart that doesn't know you. Enable us our Father through all of this and so much more to be truly salt that is tasty and light that dispels the darkness. In the name of Jesus, our Savior and Master, we pray.

Everybody said, Amen. Founded on the teaching in Matthew chapter 5, Chuck Swindoll titled today's message, Shocking Advice to the Selfish and Strong-Willed. You're listening to Insight for Living and if you'd like to learn more about this ministry or these messages, please visit us online at InsightWorld.org. Then let me warn you, this week will feature a sequence of convicting messages because in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke boldly about the dangers of hypocrisy and religious performance. And if you're prepared to take these principles to heart, let me point you to a book Chuck's written called Simple Faith. It's closely aligned with our current teaching series and in this classic, Chuck focuses entirely on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Chuck calls it the Sermon of all sermons. We tend to complicate what it means to follow Jesus but Jesus spoke in simple and direct terms so anyone could understand him. So to purchase a copy of Chuck's book, again called Simple Faith, go to Insight.org slash store or give us a call.

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I'm Dave Spiker. Chuck Swindoll describes the danger of turning our religious convictions into a performance Tuesday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Shocking Advice to the Selfish and Strong Will was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.