Enemies is a subject that most of us already have a pre-determined mind set on. We look at our enemies with no sympathy, no remorse for what happens to them and we would love to destroy them in our sinful nature. But the LORD has a lot to say about our enemies and how to treat them. As you will read, He does not tell us to take vengeance for ourselves, He actually tells us to be kind to them and to pray for them. To forgive them and to lend money to them, things that we would never do, if it was not for wanting to obey God. When I was younger I use to believe that vengeance was mine for all of the offenses that we done to me. As I grew a little older, I realized that I was reaping what I sowed and I decided that I needed to quit doing stupid stuff. So I started obeying the laws and fell into line with our society. This did help out my life tremendously to say the least. Now, I still would not have treated my enemies any differently if they crossed me under the right circumstances, for I use to tell people, don’t take my kindness for weakness, for you will find out that I am not weak. But of course some people had to find out the hard way. When my daughter was a teenager and her mother found some pictures of her and her friend trying to look hard, I pulled her aside and explained to her that fighting never got me anywhere except giving me a bad attitude. It took me down a bad path that never ends, it just keeps escalating!!!!!! Before you know it you will either kill someone or end up in prison for the violence, I have met many people that this has happened to.
You will see that in this study, God is your defender and He is a just judge. Vengeance is God’s alone according to Scripture and believe me I have seen God pour out His vengeance on my enemies. You actually start praying for them, just as God has told you to, so that God’s mercy will come into their lives. You actually start feeling sorry for them and for what they are going through. The first few times this happened I did not know what to expect. To actually do what the LORD told me to do was the hardest part. I had already learned not to take vengeance myself, but to actually pray in a way that the LORD told me to do, well, this was a lot more difficult. I want to encourage you to check out what the LORD has told us to do, and see if it does not work for you also. I would personally love to hear some testimony on this, if you apply what the LORD has told you to do and what the outcome was. I hope that this study will help you view your enemies a little bit different and realize that if God is with you, who can be against you!!! May God Bless You and remember a gentle answer turns away wrath!!!!
Enemy: n. 1 a person, group, or country that hates another or fights against another; foe. 2 one who hates or fights against an idea, cause, conditions, etc.
Matthew 5:21-26
You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fire of hell.
“So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and you are dragged into court, handed over to an officer, and thrown into jail. I assure you that you won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 22:41-46
Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call him Lord? For David said,
‘The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
Since David called him Lord, how can he be his son at the same time?”
No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
Luke 1:68-75
“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited his people and redeemed them.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant with them,
the covenant he gave to our ancestor Abraham.
We have been rescued from our enemies,
so we can serve God without fear,
in holiness and righteousness forever.”
Luke 6:27-36
“But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it: and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do for others as you would like them to do for you.
“Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, what good is that? Even sinners will lend to their own kind for a full return.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
Luke 19:11-27
The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten servants and gave them ten pounds of silver to invest for him while he was gone. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say they did not want him to be their king.
“When he returned, the king called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what they had done with the money and what their profits were. The first servant reported a tremendous gain – ten times as much as the original amount! ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
“The next servant also reported a good gain – five times the original amount. ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You can be governor over five cities.’
“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘I hid it and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
“You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Hard, am I? If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, why didn’t you deposit the money in the bank so I could at least get some interest on it?’ Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who earned the most.’
“But, master,’ they said, ‘that servant has enough already!’
“Yes,’ the king replied, ‘but to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away. And now about these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king – bring them in and execute them right here in my presence.”
Luke 20:41-44
Then Jesus presented them with a question. “Why is it,” he asked, “that the Messiah is said to be the son of David? For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms:
‘The LORD said to my Lord,
Sit in honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.’
Since David called him Lord, how can he be his son at the same time?”
Psalm 110:1-7
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit in honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”
The LORD will extend your powerful dominion from Jerusalem;
you will rule over your enemies.
In that day of battle,
your people will serve you willingly.
Arrayed in holy garments,
your vigor will be renewed each day like the morning dew.
The LORD had taken an oath and will not break his vow:
“You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek.”
The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you.
He will strike down many kings in the day of his anger.
He will punish the nations
and fill them with their dead;
he will shatter heads
over the whole earth.
But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way.
He will be victorious.
Romans 5:6-11
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment.
For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.
Romans 11:25-32
I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of the Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this?
“A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness.
And then I will keep my covenant with them
and take away their sins.”
Many of the Jews are now enemies of the Good News. But this has been for your benefit, for God has given his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still his chosen people because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his mercy, God was merciful to you instead. And now, in the same way, the Jews are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you. But someday they too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned all people in their own disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
1 Corinthians 15:21-28
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised.
After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has given him authority over all things.” (Of course, when it says “authority over all things,” it does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) Then, when he has conquered all things, the Son will present himself to God, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
Psalm 140:8-10
LORD, do not give in to their evil desires. Do not let their evil schemes succeed, O God. Let my enemies be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me. Let burning coals fall down on their heads, or throw them into the fire, or into deep pits from which they can’t escape.