Matthew 5
In Matthew 5-7 the LORD gives the “constitution for the kingdom”.
One of these days the LORD is going to come back on a white horse with 10,000s of his saints and set up his Kingdom on earth.
This is the “kingdom of heaven”. When we read about “the kingdom of heaven” don’t think of the “third heaven” where God presently is.
Think about a physical kingdom on this earth where Jesus Christ will be king reigning on a physical throne in Jerusalem.
This chapter isn’t directed to the church. It is the LORD laying down the rules for the coming millennial kingdom.
It will be HIS Kingdom and HIS rules.
Citizens Of The Kingdom
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
The LORD is about to give the disciples some private lessons.
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
The LORD “opened his mouth”. He knew there was a “time to speak”.
Ecc 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
He also knew there would be a time to keep silent.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
The disciples are being taught by the same mouth that will hold a sharp two edged sword at the second coming.
Imagine being taught by the LORD JESUS himself. This is your future if your saved.
In the kingdom the LORD will teach.
Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
What kind of citizens does the LORD want in his kingdom?
Poor In Spirit
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The men King Jesus wants in his kingdom are humble servants. Blessed means “happy”.
The people the LORD wants to go into the physical kingdom of heaven on earth will be “poor in spirit”.
Your going whether you are “poor in spirit” or not. You have the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
But at the same time let this remind you to be HUMBLE.
Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Isa 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
The LORD does not like a cocky, haughty, prideful spirit.
Imagine living in a kingdom where everyone knew they didn’t deserve to be there.
Imagine living in a kingdom where the people didn’t feel like the world owed them something. They knew they owed the world to Jesus.
Imagine living in a kingdom where nobody ever stuck down there nose at you or stuck it up in the air, and kept it out of your business.
Everybody will know they are only there because of Jesus Christ and if it wasn’t for him they would be in hell.
When you got saved , you showed yourself “poor in spirit”.
At that moment you knew you weren’t righteous enough to save yourself.
You changed your mind about yourself and turned to Jesus Christ and his righteousness.
Remember, these verses have little to nothing to do with me and you. The cockiest Christian you know today will enter the kingdom.
The thing is, he just probably won’t have any REIGN in the kingdom. He may be suffering, but it is all for himself.
Mourners
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
This has to be talking about a time in the future.
All kinds of people mourn the entirety of their life but are never comforted.
Apply this to a tribulation saint about to enter the millennium and you’ve got it!
Apply it spiritually speaking and remind yourself yourself about the rapture! Read 1 Thessalonians 4 and “comfort” yourself with those words.
Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Ecc 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The people who were right with God wouldn’t have had true comfort until they went into the physical kingdom of heaven.
Me and you can presently have true comfort because spiritually we have already entered the “kingdom of God”.
At the same time the more “mourning” me and you do for the lost the more comfort we will have in the millennial kingdom.
More suffering in the present will make the rapture even more comforting. The more suffering I face in the world, the more I will look forward to the rapture.
The uglier the world gets, the sweeter the rapture becomes. The more beautiful it becomes, the more dreaded the rapture will be in our minds.
In the kingdom you will live with the “poor in spirit” who spent their time “mourning”. These are people that care about others.
Meek
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
This one is very obvious. Meek people are not “inheriting the earth” today. This is obviously in the future kingdom.
Where the LORD’s people get the land and faithful Christian’s from the church age will have reign over cities.
What does meek mean exactly?
Websters definition..
Mild of temper; soft; gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries
Appropriately,humble, in an evangelical sense; submissive to the divine will; not proud, self-sufficient or refractory; not peevish and apt to complain of divine dispensations.
For a good example of meekness, see Moses.
Num 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
A meek person is lowly and puts themselves under the authority of God’s words and doesn’t try to usurp authority over it.
Men try to put authority over the word of God like the Pharisees did with their traditions.
Imagine living in a kingdom where the people are uniting under God’s word and that is the absolute standard.
Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Contrast this with today where most men’s god is their belly. They are hungry for sin and their self. These things don’t “fill”.
Ecc 6:7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
In this world you have everyone going around eating, drinking, and doing everything they want. They are depressed, miserable, incomplete, and can’t be satisfied.
You have men who hungered and thirsted after righteousness and are continuing to do so. THEN, when the kingdom comes, they are FILLED.
The tables turn, this world is set up by the god of this world. It caters to the wicked.
The world to come is set up by the King of Kings and it is for the RIGHTEOUS.
The people of today have a god that is their belly but out of the belly of the righteous “flows rivers of living water”. (John 7:38)
In the tribulation the ones who “hunger”
And “thirst” will turn down the “mark” and “worship of the antichrist” because…they have “esteemed the words of his mouth more than their necessary food”. (Job 23:12)
The words are compared to food.
Apples (Proverbs 25:11)
Water (Eph 5:26)
Bread (Luke 4:4)
Strong Meat (Hebrews 5:12-14)
Milk (1 Peter 2:2)
Honey (Psalm 119:103)
It is sweet (Rev 10:10)
Also bitter (Rev 10:10)
Come to God “hungry for the word” and he will fill you with the Spirit.
Have you ever got so used to a daily time in the word that you became “hangry for the word” if you didn’t have it?
Merciful
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Enter the kingdom and enter a world of mercy. In this world you have people who pride themselves in “showing no mercy”.
If the God of heaven can show mercy to man than surely a sinful man can show mercy to another sinful man.
You can apply this to yourself today in the sense that if your merciful to a brother, he will probably show it right back.
But God didn’t give you mercy because you were merciful to others. He gave you mercy because you believed on Jesus Christ.
Pure In Heart
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
This can’t be referring to today. The lying spirits and Satan himself can “see God”. (Job 1:6,2:1, 1 Kings 22:21-22)
So this has to refer to a future day once again.
In the millennium the devil is chained and unclean spirits are made to “pass out of the land”. (Revelation 20:3, Zech 13:2)
The “pure in heart” of the tribulation will go right on into the millennium.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Me and you are considered “pure in heart” in the sense that when God sees me he sees the blood.
Imagine living in the land of those who have a “pure heart”. You’ll always know their heart is in the right place.
Peacemakers
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
In the kingdom…
Mic 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Solomon had a reign of peace on every side at the beginning. This pictures the LORDS reign.
All the fighting is done at the second coming. Then we live in peace under authority of the King.
The disciples were “peacemakers” because it wasn’t yet time to “bring in the kingdom”.
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Remember how the LORD was upset with Peter for cutting off the ear of Malchus? That is because it wasn’t time to fight yet.
In your life today you should be a “peacemaker”. You shouldn’t be the one starting all the drama…
Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
There will never be true peace until the King sits on the throne of his kingdom.
The Persecuted
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
A person in the tribulation who isn’t giving into the antichrist policies will be persecuted, suffering, and probably beheaded.
But his is the “kingdom of heaven”. He is simply trading the temporal pleasure of the antichrist kingdom for the millennial kingdom.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Are people bashing you for the Lord’s name? Or for your name?
The tribulation saints will have men “speaking evil against them falsely”. This is because during the time the righteous become the law breakers.
They will be persecuted, looked on as an enemy, a bad person, a villain, as someone who is holding up progress.
It will take a lot of guts to be a tribulation saint but the pay off is unbelievable.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
In the kingdom your going to be living with people who died for the faith, lost their family for the faith, lost everything they had for the LORD’s sake.
These are going to be grateful and thankful and appreciative people.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
1Pe 3:16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
When your falsely accused and slandered because of a righteous life, your reward will be great.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Look at the Old Testament prophets and get courage to go against the world. When the world hates you, be glad about it.
Salt & Light
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
The Jews were “the salt of the earth” because of God’s covenants of salt with them.
Lev. 2:13 records God’s covenant of salt for sacrifices.
Num 18:19 records God’s covenant of salt for the Aaronic priesthood.
2 Chr 13:5 records God’s covenant of salt for the Davidic kingdom.
They were the “salt of the earth” but they lost their savour because they picked up impurities in these covenants. They started sacrificing to idols, had priests from the wrong tribe, that sacrificed to devils, and they said “they had no king but Cesar”, which is a king that isn’t even from the line of DAVID.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
They were “cast out” by Nebuchadnezzar and also by Titus in 70 AD.
You have men that will be “cast out” into a lake of fire and “trodden under foot of men” in the tribulation(Daniel 8:13) and at the second coming.
In the kingdom what you’ll have is people that are salt and haven’t “lost their savour”.
You can be “salt” today…
Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
When your speech doesn’t have “salt” it makes it hard for people to relate.
Sometimes shock value in what you say can get someone’s attention.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
The city is JERUSALEM. The focal point of history.
The Jews were to be children of light just like the church is the “light” today. The light needs to be seen of men.
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
When people come into a room you are going to stick out. Your not doing what everyone else is doing. Your a LIGHT!
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
You don’t light a candle and put it under a “bushel”. A “bushel” is a basket. Don’t put the stuff in your basket over the LIGHT OF THE CANDLE! That shows your priorities are messed up.
Put the candle at the top of everything so that it gives light to everyone around you.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Your good works shouldn’t shine, but rather draw attention to the LIGHT, so then the father gets the glory and not you!
More Righteous Than The Scribes & Pharisees
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Jesus didn’t destroy the law. He fulfilled it. He “fulfilled all righteousness”.
Keeping the law and offering the prescribed sacrifice when you broke it was how to stay in the mercy of God.
Jesus came and fulfilled the law and now you get righteousness by believing on Him.
Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Jesus didn’t come to “destroy the prophets”. They wrote of HIM and he fulfilled their prophecies at the first coming and will fulfill even more at the second coming.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
The “jot or tittle” are the Hebrew characters in which the Old Testament was written.
Something as small as the dot on an “i” will not be forgotten.
Notice the importance the LORD places on the words of the law. One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.
Yet men want to take away whole verses.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
They only could falsely accuse Jesus of breaking the commandments. (John 9:16) Especially the sabbath.
It is one of the “least commandments”. It was a sign between God and Israel.
The church is under no obligation to keep the “sabbath day”.
The Pharisees loved to accuse Jesus of breaking the sabbath…
However the Pharisees constantly broke the commandments of God. They will not be going into the kingdom.
Imagine living in a kingdom without hypocrites.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Pharisees “say and do not”. They knew the law but they didn’t keep it. They would only accuse others of breaking it and put burdens on others that they themselves couldn’t bear.
Mat 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers
Consequences In The Kingdom
Sometimes people get the idea that sin and death are done away after the second coming.
However there will still be sin and death in the millennium. These things aren’t done away until after the great white throne.
The LORD will have consequences set up as a deterrent to crime. These are devastating consequences.
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
The judgment was when the avenger of blood comes after the killer.
The LORD is turning things up a notch. They already knew it was wrong to kill. However what drives a person to kill?
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
“Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause.” The heart attitude towards your brother is what leads to murder.
1Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Notice Jesus said “whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE”. Showing that it is ok to be angry if there is a cause.
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
“Raca” means “vain fellow”. A worthless fool, Or empty, vain, or foolish.
This has nothing to do with me and you. These are instructions for the kingdom.
In the millennial kingdom there really won’t be a legit reason to call your brother a “fool” or “Raca” without doing it “without a cause”.
The rules will be clear, the doctrine will be clear, Jesus will be visibly seen on the throne, it will be clear what he expects.
So to call someone a “fool” out of “anger” that is “without cause” , during that time period will be serious business.
If you do you will be “in danger of hellfire”. There are “consequences” in the millennium.
If you call your brother “Raca” than you will be in “danger of the council”. The only food council in the Bible. This is the one Jesus Christ sets up in the millennium.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Once again it is very clear that this has nothing to do with us today. We don’t have an “altar”.
However you can still get the spiritual application. Be reconciled to your brother before you offer something to the LORD.
Mat 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
This means if you have done a brother wrong, than agree with his accusations QUICKLY!
To avoid him delivering you to the judge, then the judge delivering you to the officer, and being cast into prison.
The thing is that you need to right your wrongs before Judgment takes place.
You need to do that in your Christian life as well. Right your wrongs before judgment takes place.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Mat 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
So make peace with your adversary quickly before the judge gets involved.
Another way to look at it is that when you were lost God was your enemy, you got reconciled to God before he became your judge.
If you hadn’t been reconciled than you would have been judged as a sinner and cast into hell.
Mat 5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Meaning they don’t get out until they have paid the very last penny for restitution.
When it comes to hell you would never get out because only Jesus could pay the debt off and you rejected his payment.
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Everyone knew committing adultery was wrong. The LORD takes it a step further.
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Adultery is something that you can commit with the body AND the mind! The world is designed in a way to keep your “eyes full of adultery”.
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
In the LORD’s kingdom is would be better to cut off whatever is causing you to sin than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Notice it isn’t just the “soul” going to hell like today. It is “the whole body”. You are a risk of being thrown in alive.
Just like Korah “went down alive into the pit” when he went against Moses in the book of Numbers.
This is because during the millennium a consequence is being tossed BODILY into a lake of fire that is visible on earth.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isa 34:9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
Isa 34:10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
Isa 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
Imagine living in a kingdom where the crime is low because there is a visible lake of fire there for a deterrent to crime.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
It would be better to lose an eye than to have both eyes and be cast into hell.
Mat 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Mat 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
As a Christian you are in no danger of going to hell. What can you take for yourself from these verses?
Mortify your members on the earth. It would be better to put down the flesh and serve God than to live for the flesh and die early.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Notice the LORD talked about “the eye” and then mentions adultery in the next verse.
The eyes play a huge part in adultery. Mix this with immodest dress and it is like starting a fire.
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
It’s commonly taught that fornication and adultery are two different things.
But Fornication is sex with anyone you aren’t married to, even if you are married.
The act of Adultery is a form of fornication. So if a spouse steps out on you and lies with another person than a divorce isn’t wrong on your part.
However this doesn’t mean you HAVE TO get a divorce.
Communication in the kingdom
The talk in the kingdom will be cleaner than any G movie you ever seen.
You will be able to take a man at his word. You won’t even need to shake on it.
Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
“Forswear” means to swear falsely. The LORD actually says to “swear not at all”.
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
How do people “swear by heaven”?
They say…
My heavens.
For Heaven’s sake.
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
How do people swear “by the earth”? They say “my lands”.
If this isn’t even more of a dead give away that the context is about the millennial reign, Jesus Christ will reign as King FROM JERUSALEM!
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
How do you swear by the head? It is like swearing on your life. Some people say “as sure as I live and breathe”. Or simply “I swear on my life.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
You don’t need to add anything to the truth. In his Kingdom your yea will be yea and your nay nay.
Conduct In The Kingdom
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
This doesn’t mean be a pushover. It means in the kingdom you can overcome evil with good.
Most times getting angry and hitting someone back is something you regret
The same is true for today, just because a man punches you in the face doesn’t mean you have to retaliate.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
The LORD seems to chAnge things up here. Remember how David said he hated the enemy?
Psa 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Psa 139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
Now Jesus says to ..
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Since Jesus Christ was coming down to die for his enemies just like a friend.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
We can easily put Matthew 5:44 on us TODAY! Paul reinforces it.
Rom 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Notice it said “that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven”. Me and you are ALREADY God’s children.
That is further proof this isn’t directly TO us.
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
The same sun that shines on your head shines on every lost man’s head. The same rain that falls at your house falls at the lost man’s house.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
If the only people you love are the ones that love you than how are you different than the lost world?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
If you only salute your little group than how are you different than the lost world?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Obviously it can’t mean “sinless perfection”.
1Ki 15:14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
