“THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN – KINGDOM LOVE”
LUKE 6:27-38
I. Introduction
Ginny and I recently heard that an old acquaintance of ours, in referring to her church, had said something to this affect: “We don’t get involved in all of that. We just talk about the love of Jesus.” “All of that” was the six literal twenty-four hour days of crea-tion taught in Genesis and affirmed by Jesus in the NT, as opposed to the millions of years of evolution taught by modern science and embraced by the world. But all of the things they “don’t get involved in” could just as easily have been the wrath of God, or the judgment to come, or the reality of an eternal hell for all who do not know Christ.
Some of you may remember the line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” from the old movie Love Story starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw. It seems that much of the modern church has co-opted that ludicrous line of dialogue and now teaches that “Love means never having to mention sin, judgment, or hell.”
Now let’s be clear. “We just talk about the love of Jesus” is, in and of itself, not a bad thing. But the problem is that too many Christians and too many churches equate Jesus’ love with something akin to sitting on “Grandma’s lap.” They have no concept of the truth that the love of God is virtually meaningless without an equal understanding of His wrath, and the fact that a holy God must and will judge sin and punish sinners.
Why is this? I believe it’s because far too few Christians have learned about love from the Bible, while far too many Christians have learned about love from Sesame Street. They think that when the Bible says “God is love,” it really means is “God is nice.”
But the love of God, divine love, is not a “basketful of warm fuzzies.” It is a holy thing. It comes from, and is defined by a holy God who is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and who demands that we are to be perfect and love Him unconditionally. God’s love has nothing to do with passivity. It has everything to do with activity. God’s love has nothing to do with feelings. It has everything to do with decisions. God made a decision to love us even when we were unlovable. He made that decision in eternity past.
*Ephesians 1:4-5
4 …He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…
We must be holy and blameless or we will never see the kingdom of God. So God made it possible for us to be holy and blameless by choosing us in His Son before time began. God chose to love us even though He knew we would all be sinners! God chose to love us even though He knew His choice would cost the life of His Son.
Romans 5:8-9
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified (made righteous in God’s sight) by (Jesus’) blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
In 1 John 4:16 you will find the words, “God is love…” Of course He is! Only an unbe-liever would deny that. But there is abroad in the church today the idea that everything else God is, that is to say, His other attributes, are somehow subordinate to His love.
The idea seems to be that God’s love trumps His wrath. So many have convinced them-selves that God’s love means He will neither judge nor condemn sinners, and there will be no hell. They say we shouldn’t tell people they are lost in their sins, or tell them they need to repent, or ask God to forgive their sins, or put their faith in Christ. All they need to do is “believe” in Jesus, whatever that means, and they will be saved.
But Satan and his demons believe in Jesus, don’t they? Are they saved? And since there is little or no talk of sin, judgment, or a hell to come, it remains somewhat unclear as to just what it is that people are to be saved from.
Listening to much of what passes for the gospel today would make one think that God’s love will ultimately save everyone. That’s called universalism. There are countless well-known theologians today teaching universalism. They teach that because of God’s love there will be no judgment, no eternal hell. There will just be love. Everyone will be happy and everything will be nice. After all, God is love, and love conquers all.
But that mistaken view ignores one critical fact. It ignores God’s absolute holiness. You see, love does not define absolute holiness. Absolute holiness defines love. And that is why so few Christians ever come to grips with divine love, biblical love, holy love. Few understand that God’s wrath is equally as pure, as undefiled, and as holy as is His love.
A. A. Hodge, the 19th century Presbyterian theologian, said it so well.
“The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others; it is rather a general term representing the conception of His consummate perfec-tion and total glory. It is His infinite moral perfection crowning His infinite intelligence and power…Infinite perfection is the crown of the Godhead. Holi-ness is the total glory thus crowned.”
So do you see? Holiness is God’s overarching attribute. God’s love emanates from His holiness. It is not the other way around. And God doesn’t love the way man loves. God’s love is driven by His holiness. But man’s love is driven by human feelings and emotions. And human feelings and emotions are a product of a fallen and sinful human heart. Man does not think like God thinks. He does not because he cannot. Do you remember what God said about Himself in Isaiah’s prophecy?
*Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts (higher) than your thoughts.”
Again, the unsaved person does not think like God because the unsaved person can’t think like God. So unless and until God regenerates the human heart, and places His Holy Spirit in it, no one ever will.
1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
Therefore, to man’s way of thinking, “nice” is love, but “anger” is not.” “Tolerance” is love, but “judgment” is not. “Acceptance” is love, but “condemnation” is not. “Grand-ma’s lap” is love, but “Father’s discipline” is not. And so it goes. That’s the way we think. That’s the way much of the church thinks. And that, I am convinced, is why so much of today’s gospel preaching says little or nothing of God’s anger, God’s judgment, or God’s condemnation. Man doesn’t think those things equate to “God is love.”
But that is not how a holy God thinks. That is not how a holy God loves. The love of a holy God is totally different. The love of a holy God is what Jesus taught. So when man is confronted with such love he says it isn’t love at all. He’s never heard anything like it. He’s amazed by it. In fact, “amazing” is the very nature of supernatural and divine love. And that is precisely what the Gospel of Matthew says about it.
Matthew 7:28-29
28 The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching;
29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
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II. Review
This morning we are continuing our exposition of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. He has already given us the Beatitudes. What did they say?
• Blessings to those who are poor, but curses to those who are rich.
• Blessings to those who are hungry, but curses to those who are well-fed.
• Blessings to those who weep, but curses to those who laugh.
• Blessings to those who are hated and ostracized by the world, but curses to those who are loved and embraced by the world.
What Jesus was saying was essentially this: If you live for this world and what it has to offer, you will never know the joys of heaven.
Jesus was teaching that only if you reject this world and what it has to offer, will you be blessed in heaven. So the question is, “Where is your heart?” Is it here or is it there?
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
In all of this Jesus turns human wisdom and human love on its head. And He’s not done.
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III. Text
In the second segment of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain He gives us a number of examples of divine love. They express the polar opposite of what fallen man would normally do.
*Luke 6:27-38 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
30 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
31 “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.
32 “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.
35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
38 “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
In vv. 24-26 Jesus has pronounced woes or curses on those who have placed their hope in the things of this world. Now look again at v. 27.
*Luke 6:27-28
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
In v. 27 “…you who hear” isn’t addressed to those in vv. 24-26. It is addressed to Jesus’ true disciples. They’re the ones who hear His Word and strive to obey it. His commands dscribe not the love found in this world, but the supernatural love of God.
We know that when the world has an enemy, it wants to seek vengeance. Who are some of the greatest heroes in today’s movies, television, and literature? Aren’t they the ones who are best at repaying evil and the ones who are best at taking vengeance? If we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that there is something in all of us that gets a cer-tain amount of pleasure in “payback.” But doesn’t the Bible tell us not to do that?
Romans 12:19
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
But there are those today for whom hatred and vengeance have nearly become virtues. When Jesus says, “…love your enemies,” His statement is outrageous, shocking, and quite simply, unacceptable to the mind of man. Who can possibly take such a thing to heart? If the Holy Spirit lives in us, then you and I can.
While His hearers are still trying to digest, “…love your enemies,” Jesus says, “…do good to those who hate you.” “Good” here is the Greek word “kalōs.” It means doing something good that actually benefits the recipient. Jesus isn’t just saying that we are to be passively nice to them. He is saying we are to be actively good to them.
*1 Peter 3:9
9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; (why?) for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
So do you see? Loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you are just two of the reasons you were chosen to be one of God’s children. From where does the most intense hatred come? It often comes from religious people, those who are relying on their own good works and piety to save them. Many of you know, from your own first-hand experience, that questioning a religious person’s self-righteousness can be dangerous. But telling them the truth is loving them as God loves them. Telling them the truth may not be doing good to them as they see it, but it is doing good to them as God sees it.
Look at v. 28. We’re called to go beyond “good” and bless those who curse and mistreat us. Those who hate us and refuse to receive us can still be blessed through our prayers. Listen, if you are shut out from your friends and loved ones who will no longer hear you, you can still pray for them. You may not be able get through to them, but God can.
*Luke 6:29-30
29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
30 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”
Jesus continues His teaching of kingdom love, the love of which the world knows little or nothing. It has been defined as love in action as opposed to love in reaction. It is about how we are to act toward others, not about how we are to react to others.
Now please do not misunderstand this. Don’t misread it or take it out of context. Jesus is not forbidding self-defense in vv. 29-30. In fact, in Luke 22:36 He tells the disciples to buy swords so they could defend themselves. In context, “turning the other cheek” is Jesus’ teaching the next reasonable step after praying for “those who mistreat you” in v. 27. We are not to retaliate when we are mistreated. We are to continue to love and bless those who mistreat us.
But again, Jesus’ words do not negate self-defense. For example, we know that no Scrip-ture ever teaches that a man should allow his wife and/or children to be abused while he stands passively by and “turns the other cheek.” Such behavior would hardly be the mark of a Christian; it would be the mark of a coward!
Two years after Jesus preached this Sermon on the Plain, He was struck in the face by one of the High Priest’s guards. He didn’t say, “Here, hit Me again.” But neither did He speak out in anger or seek revenge. So can you see the difference between “turning the other cheek” the way Jesus is teaching it here and taking vengeance on an enemy?
Jesus gives us another illustration in the second part of v. 29. The example is the theft of some personal property. The example may be different but the principle is the same. We are not to retaliate against the offense. We are to do our best to minister to the offender.
The next illustration is found in v. 30. It is an extension of the principle in the previous verse. But here the context is somewhat different. I don’t believe this is a command to give to every panhandler that approaches you on the streets of a city. I say that because the Bible is crystal clear in its condemnation of laziness and those who refuse to work. Both the Old and New Testaments speak to it.
Proverbs 20:4
4 The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.
2 Thessalonians 3:10b
10b …if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.
Notice that the Apostle Paul does not say, “…those who cannot work…” He very speci-fically says, “…those who will not work…” The difference is obvious.
So Jesus’ point in Luke 6:30 is directed at lawful borrowing and lending, not begging or panhandling. It assumes a legitimate need. So the Christian’s generosity should never be based on the likelihood of repayment, but on our love for Christ. It’s up to us to use our God-given discernment to determine the legitimacy of the need, and then act accordingly.
With regard to this verse (and the parallel passage in Matthew), Richard Lenski, the German theologian who lived from 1864 to 1936, said –
“The disciple loses less by letting his things be taken wrongfully than he would by with a selfish heart clamoring to have them returned.”
The bottom line of all of this is that kingdom love, the love of God, seeks neither revenge nor redress when we have been wronged. I know full well that it takes both great faith and great restraint to receive that truth and then live it out in our lives. But isn’t that pre-cisely how Jesus lived His life? And isn’t He our supreme example?
*1 Peter 2:23
23 …and while being reviled, (Jesus) did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously…
Take comfort Christian. God will set things straight. He will take revenge against those who take advantage of you. And He will do a better and more thorough job of it than you or I ever could. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
*Luke 6:31
31 “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”
Well, there it is – the “Golden Rule!” The cynical critic of Christianity and the Bible says, “There’s nothing Christian about the ‘Golden Rule.’ Every religion says the same thing.” That’s partially true, but listen carefully to how the world says it.
• The Greek philosopher Isocrates – “Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you.”
• The Chinese philosopher Confucius – “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.”
• The Jewish philosopher Hillel – “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor.”
But what Jesus says in Luke is different. Notice that all of the human wisdom is nega-tive. “Do not, never, etc.” It’s all about not doing bad so as to get good. But Jesus turns human wisdom upside down. His focus is on doing good without regard to what you will get. So in this we see yet another example of selfless love. Thus the “world’s golden rule” is the opposite of Christ’s. The love that Jesus teaches is a supernatural love. And it is only Christians, guided and directed by the Holy Spirit of God, who are capable of it.
*Luke 6:32-34
32 “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.”
In these three verses Jesus continues the same theme. The world does good to get good. But the Christian is not to live that way. The word “sinner” is used three times in this passage, once in each verse. It’s the Greek “hamartōloi,” meaning heinous and habitual sinners. While Christians commit sin, Christians are not the habitual sinners defined by this word. So Jesus is using the plural form of the word and referring to all the unsaved.
He is saying that the unsaved love those who love them. The unsaved do good to those who do good to them. The unsaved lend money and things to those from whom they know they will be repaid, often with interest. Do you do those things and then think they are somehow proof of your goodness, kindness, generosity, and love? “Big deal!” None of that sets you apart from the world. None of that makes you any different than the mul-tiplied millions of “nice people” who are lost in their sins.
It isn’t hard to see why Jesus’ teaching just infuriates religious people, is it? He literally trashes their good works, their piety, and their self-righteousness. Is He doing that to you this morning? Is He doing that to me? Are we relying on what we think is good, but the Lord says is no different than the world? “…even sinners love those who love them…
even sinners do the same…even sinners lend to sinners…” But He still isn’t finished.
*Luke 6:35-36
35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
In v. 35 Jesus repeats two earlier points, and promises that when we express such divine and supernatural love to the world around us, those who are unsaved will see the love of God in action, and they will be amazed. And some will come to saving faith.
*Luke 6:37-38
37 “And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
38 “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Does this mean we are never to judge anyone? No, that can’t be what it means because next week, in vv. 42, 45, we will hear Jesus tell us to judge the hypocrisy and the evil of the false teachers. But today Jesus is teaching us that we are not to judge without love.
Today He is teaching that we are not to judge without mercy. Today He is teaching that we are not to judge self-righteously. And today He is teaching us we are not to condemn. We are to remember that we are neither judge nor executioner. That fits perfectly within the context of this morning’s passage, doesn’t it? We are to judge with love and mercy. And why not? Haven’t you and I been judged with love and mercy?
Finally, this second segment of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain concludes with an appeal to generosity. Luke 6:38 is one of six passages we regularly print on the back of our bulle-tin where we give you the monthly financial picture of our church. Since we do not take a formal offering, preferring instead to let God prompt your giving, we hope that you will give generously or with liberality.
Of course this liberality in giving includes money as an expression of your love, but it also includes the giving of yourself. While it is surely true that the giving of money often results in temporal blessings here on earth, the giving of self in expressions of the king-dom love Jesus is teaching will always result in eternal blessings in heaven.
We know the old cliché, “You can’t ‘outgive’ God,” is true. Some of you have seen that truth worked out in your own lives and have been blessed by it beyond words. Some of you have not. If you haven’t, let me suggest that you take the last verse of this morning’s passage to heart. “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap…” (Luke 6:38)
Jesus’ hearers know exactly what He is talking about. His word picture is clear. Listen to this account from The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (p. 110)
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IV. Conclusion
The simple fact is that no one can be saved unless they hear the gospel and respond to it.
*Romans 10:13-14, 17
13 …for “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved.”
14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
But why should they hear you if all you have to offer them is the love of the world? They don’t need another “Grandma’s lap” to sit on. They don’t need another “basketful of warm fuzzies.” They don’t even need to “believe” in Jesus like Satan and his demons believe in Him. They do need to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus.
Today’s lesson is that we have a radical message for the lost. Jesus is telling us that if we love others with the same love the world offers we have nothing that they can’t find any-where else. But if we love others with kingdom love, the radical and “other-worldly” love of God, they will hear you. They may deny it, but they cannot ignore it. ~ Pray ~