The Best Bible Story on Doing Good To Our Enemies That Most Christians Have Never Heard Of

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Pastor Foley

Part VI of our series on Doing Good

Since it’s no longer we who live but Christ who lives through us, it’s a good idea for us to search Scripture in order to see how Christ is going to respond through us as we encounter our enemies.

So let’s look at John 19:10-11, when Jesus is appearing before Pilate, who has just had him beaten:

10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Pilate says to Jesus, “Don’t you see that there are only two people here—you and me—and I have all the power?”

And Jesus says, “Actually, there are two people here—you and my father—and I trust my father. He is giving you this power at the moment, but I can trust him and his love for me and you.”

So when we are attacked by an enemy, we need to say, “It is no longer me who is being attacked by an enemy; it is Christ Jesus living through me who is being attacked by my enemy. And he is trustworthy and will repay. But he may be doing something in this situation that I can cooperate with. In order to figure that out, the first thing I need to do is to not retaliate.”

Turn to 2 Samuel 16:5-14. This story takes place when Absalom, David’s son, rebels and runs King David out of Jerusalem. When David is leaving the city, Shimei, one of the people who was still loyal to the first king, Saul, took the opportunity to attack David.

Look at the difference between David’s and Shimei’s responses. David does not see the conflict as between him and Shimei at all. Instead, he sees God at the center of it all, and he responds accordingly:

5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. 6 He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. 7 As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! 8 The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”

9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”

10 But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”

11 David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. 12 It may be that the LORD will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

13 So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. 14 The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.

Later in the story, David returns to Jerusalem, and Shimei realizes he has made a big mistake! And then even later in the story, David’s son gets to deal with Shimei. In each of these cases we learn about letting God (and not us) take revenge.

So when you are attacked by an enemy, think about it this way:

  • Christ is present.
  • Your enemy is actually attacking Christ.
  • Christ will repay.
  • But Christ does good to his enemies, and he is doing something you can’t see or understand.
  • Your job is not to try to think of something good to do to your enemy. Instead, your job is to stay focused on Christ. Trust him. Let him act instead of you.
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Your Enemy is Actually Attacking Christ – Not You. And Christ Still Does Good to Them — Through You.

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Pastor Foley

Part V of our series on Doing Good

Check out the story of Stephen, one of the earliest martyrs in Christian history, in Acts 6 and 7. Look what happens right after he gives a speech to the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin:

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Notice that when Stephen is attacked by his enemies, he does not think, “I am being attacked by my enemies. I want to protect myself, but I’m supposed to love my enemies. I think I will bake them a cake–as soon as they stop throwing stones at me.”

Instead, he says, “Where’s the father? Where’s Jesus? Oh, there they are! Everything is going to be OK, because I can trust them.” That’s what we see in Acts 7:57:

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Any time we have a conflict with our enemy, the most important person in the room is not us or our enemy. It’s God.

He is really there, actually present, watching over you. You can trust him. He’s doing something. He is, in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5, “sending rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”—that is, he is taking care of both you and your enemy, even if we don’t exactly see or understand what he is doing.

That’s what Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12-19. Look at the first couple of verses:

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

What Peter is saying here is amazing: when an enemy attacks you, there are indeed two people in the room. But the two people are not you and your enemy. The two people are your enemy and Christ!

Paul explains why in Galatians 2:

20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

And Paul understood this very, very deeply because he had experienced it personally before he became a Christian. At that point you may remember that he was persecuting Christians. Then Jesus appears to him and says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4)  Paul came to see that when we are baptized into Christ, it’s no longer just us who is living as us; it’s Christ!

Which means anyone who attacks us is actually attacking Christ, whether they (or we) know it or not.

And so Peter and Paul have some very specific advice about how we are to think about such a situation. First, let’s look at 1 Peter 4:12-19:

14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

That last verse is key. Peter says, “If an enemy attacks you, maybe it is because you did something wrong. But maybe not. Maybe the enemy is opposing God and, in the words of Stephen and in the words of Jesus on the cross, the enemy doesn’t know what they are doing. In this case, rejoice because you are blessed! Commit yourself to your faithful creator. He is doing something even if you can’t see it. And continue to do good.”

Paul says the same kind of thing beginning in Romans 12:19:

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Paul is saying, “When an enemy is attacking you, they are actually attacking Christ, because it is no longer you who live but Christ who lives through you. Since your enemy is attacking Christ, not you (whether they realize it or not), it is not your decision how to respond. Instead, it is God’s decision.

“And God will repay…but if he is not choosing to repay now, you need to respect that. And you need to join him in doing the good to your enemy that he is doing.

What enemies of yours might you need to hand over to God for repayment even as you join him in doing good toward them?  

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How God is Present When You Get Hurt

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Pastor Foley

Part IV of our series on Doing Good

When we search the Scriptures in order to grow in the Work of Mercy of doing good to one’s enemies, we hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:43-44 and we immediately ask, “Um… How do I do this?”

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:43-44)

But we need to always remind ourselves that our first focus—and our main focus—when we look at each Work of Mercy is to ask, “How is God doing this in our lives today?” And that’s what Jesus is trying to help us see in Matthew 5. Look again at those verses we were just looking at, but this time add in verse 45. If you leave that one out, you’ll miss Jesus’ whole focus:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45, emphasis mine)

So the focus of Matthew 5:43-45 isn’t us, it’s God. Jesus is showing us that God is present and active any time we are having a conflict with an enemy. Quite often we fail to see this.

Our thinking usually goes like this:

    • An enemy just hurt me.
    • I want to hurt them back.
    • But I am a Christian, so I am supposed to do good to them.
    • I will bake my enemy a cake.

But this kind of thinking reduces God to merely an inspiration.

That is, we don’t think of God as present in the conflict except as a voice in our heads saying, “You better love your enemy. That’s what I did.” So in a conflict situation we (mistakenly) believe that the two main people involved are us and our enemy. And we (mistakenly) think that it is our job in this situation to love our enemy.

But God wants us to see the situation differently. He wants us to see that every time an enemy hurts us, he is present. Not only is he present, but we can trust him. We know that he loves us. He hasn’t abandoned us.

Imagine that you are a very young child. You are going somewhere with your mother or father. An enemy comes up and hits you.

What is your reaction?

Even if your parents aren’t very good, if you are a very young child you will probably react by looking up at your mother or father and saying, “Mom! Dad! He just hit me!” And you will trust that your parent will step in and fix the situation.

Now, imagine that you have a very good parent who always takes care of you (I hope this is not just imagination anymore!). What if you got hit and they did not step in and fix the situation?

If they were a very good parent who always took care of you, you would probably think, “Well, this is unusual. I just got hit by this enemy, but my dad is not doing anything. I wonder why? He is a very good parent, so I think he must have a reason why he is not doing anything. Maybe he is trying to teach me something. Or maybe he is trying to teach my enemy something. All I know is, I can trust my dad. He must have a reason why he is standing there. Maybe he is even doing something and I can’t see it.”

This is exactly what Jesus is trying to show us about himself and our heavenly father.

They are present every time we get hurt.  In our next post, we’ll find out why that should change our approach to our enemies.

How might the knowledge of how God is present when you are hurt change the way you think about your enemies?

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