Online Bible Study - Our New Life in Christ
We're All In This Together!
Violence is all around us. We hear family members shouting at one another, hurting each other with words, and sometimes hitting one another in anger or jealousy. We read in the newspaper about shootings and stabbings, about murders committed to seek revenge for a past wrong. Nations go to war against other nations, and thousands of lives are lost. Our movies, books and television programs are filled with killings, fighting and violent crime. Could anyone who looked at our country from the outside be able to tell that we are God's people, people who love one another just as God loved us? But our New Life in Christ encourages us to stop using violence in our dealings with one another. In Jesus' eyes, there is no difference between our friends and our enemies. Our Christian faith calls upon us to love every other person, just as Jesus gave His life for us while we were still the enemies of God. How do we show love for our enemies? Jesus answers that question for us in Luke 6:27-34. First, He lists some actions we should take against our enemies (verse 27-30). What are those actions? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Every one of those actions comes as a surprise to us. They are different than the way we have been taught to treat enemies. Gone are the anger, bitterness, hatred and revenge that the world would have us show. But Jesus gives a very good reason for taking these very surprising actions! What is that reason? (verse 31) Don't do to your enemies what they do to you.do what you WANT them to do for you! Set them an example by your own behavior, so that they can learn to lay aside their own violence. In that same passage, Jesus reminds us that the way we treat our enemies is a sign that we are God's children. That we have felt His love and wish to show that same love in our own lives. Read His words in verses 32-36. He encourages us to show a special kind of generosity and kindness to our enemies. How does He summarize the way we should live? (verse 36)
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