Many passages in Scripture command us to love our enemies . Jesus directly said this in Matthew 5:44 : “ Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you .” In so doing we will imitate our heavenly Father and grow toward the perfection that salvation in Christ will eventually complete in us . So also Paul forbids the taking of revenge and commands us to do good to those who hate us ( Rom . 12:19 – 20 ). The final word in that paragraph is amazingly helpful in bitter church settings : “ Do not be overcome by evil , but overcome evil with good ” ( Rom . 12:21 ). Only good can drive out evil , just as only light can drive out darkness . If when we are attacked we respond in kind , we are no different than they are .
Why be humble toward opponents ? Here are ten good reasons :
1 . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble ( 1 Pet . 5:5 ). God detests pride in any form , and if church revitalizers are more zealous for their own agenda than God ’ s glory , God will fight them as much as he will fight the nominal Christians at that church . But God gives grace to the humble . So humble yourself , and God will lift you up .
2 . We are sinners too . Every church leader , no matter how godly , is a sinner saved by grace . We all deserve eternal condemnation . How are we different from those who oppose us ? Is there any sin that we see in our opponents that we are incapable of ? “ Who sees anything different in you ? What do you have that you did not receive ? If then you received it , why do you boast as if you did not receive it ?” ( 1 Cor . 4:7 ). Meditation on God ’ s grace in your own life should destroy any arrogance you may feel toward your opponents .
3 . God is motivated to fight for those who do not fight for themselves . In this way , we will be following the example of Jesus Christ and how he treated his enemies . According to 1 Peter 2:23 , “ When he was reviled , he did not revile in return ; when he suffered , he did not threaten , but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly .” In entrusting ourselves to him who judges justly , we are forsaking the right to defend ourselves . God ’ s wisdom and power in defending those falsely attacked when serving him are beyond our calculation . And God will use our humble suffering to advance his purposes in the church .
4 . Paul was willing to trade his salvation to rescue his enemies . In Romans 9:1 – 4 , the apostle Paul made a stunning claim — that , if possible , he was willing to trade his own salvation and spend eternity in hell if it would result in the salvation of his Jewish enemies . He claimed to have “ great sorrow and unceasing anguish ” in his heart concerning their spiritual condition . Paul is a great role model for any leader in church revitalization . Paul ’ s Jewish enemies were hunting him down to kill him . Ours are doing far less . We should see
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