Love your enemy? Does this mean even people who are against us?

Question

1 Corinthians 5:11 - "But now I am writing you to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man."

1 Corinthians 5:13 - "While God judges those outside? Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”

Titus 3:10, 11 "As for a man that promotes a sect, reject him after a first and a second admonition; knowing that such a man has been turned out of the way and is sinning, he being self-condemned".

Then we have:

Matthew 5:43-45 "...Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you"

How would you explain that "apparent" contradiction?
No bashing please.
I'm sure someone will have a good thorough answer! :0)

Answer 1

Nice - placing the other scriptures as a counterpoint and seemingly opposed to the words of Christ.





Think of it as this....



Why should we have a great compassion and feel love toward these people and yet refrain from deep association if they refuse to follow God's Way?



This is the only life they will have. Hope they enjoy it and it is rich and full of the things they believe bring them happiness.



The enemy offers only some happiness in this life - what does the Christian doctrine (the bible) say about this?



Mark 10:21



Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (NAS)

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Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (KJV)

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And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. (ASV)



Remember Jesus too was tempted by Satan to take power and wealth. Jesus declined and rebuked him. Many people are give these and do not know the true riches and strength lies with God Almighty through His son.



This world is all they have and is all many of them will ever have.

Answer 2

It isn't such an apparent contradiction at all. First of all the first three passages you give are the words of Paul and he was saying that a person who is not with you is against you and since the whole concept of Christianity was fairly new, he did not want to see negative influences infiltrate and ruin the whole mission. In Matthew, that is Jesus talking and of course He always gave the best of all options as the one we ought to choose. Now these people may have been cast out of the group but never did Paul say that they were not to be prayed for. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 5 around verse 9 or so Paul says that he was not referring to those of the outside world but to those who were supposedly brothers or sisters in the church. He did not want to chance the "yeast destroying the whole batch". We can never be wrong to pray for our enemies, even those that are violently opposed to us, even those who hate and ridicule us. That is what Jesus taught us as the right thing to do.

Answer 3

i don't see this as a contradiction at all.



in corinthians & titus, paul is addressing the born again church.



in titus, paul is teaching that if there is one in the church who is contintious & teaching against doctrine, & he cannot be reasoned w/ or made to see the error of his ways, then he must be put out of the church.



again in 1 corinthians, paul is referring to those in the church & the one who will not stop his sins of fornication, covetousness, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.





you have to draw the line in association w/ those who have fallen away & are are not interested in living for God.... & God will judge them.



in matt., Jesus stresses to pray for those who persecute you. you can love a person spiritually (even though you may not get along w/ them physically) & not want them to go to hell, while at the same time, keeping a personal distance from them.

Answer 4

yes... you must love even your enemies Even in the old testament... which we should pay attention to... says not to rejoice in your enemies problems lest God see it and be displeased



It is not a contradiction...

you are mixing those who you love and those who you fellowship with... the prodigal son had a father who loved him enough to let him run away for a time.. is that love... yes



in some of the verses, fellowship is broken, but it is like a parent exptessing tough love, not letting the child back home till they quit drugs



it is important to break fellowship because the person will no longer be comfrotable with sin, in the end it is more loving than pretending nothing is goign on



it is also loving to those around, so they don't think the believers are into sin



one must speak the truth in love... even though the message may sound unloving to the hearer sometimes.. the intent is love or is supposed to be

Answer 5

Yes. Jesus did not have in mind the sort of affection that might exist between close friends. The Greek term for love used at Matthew 5:44 comes from the word a·ga′pe. This word carries the meaning of love that is guided or governed by principle. It does not necessarily include warm affection. Because it is guided by righteous principle, such love moves one to seek the best interests of others, regardless of their behavior.

Answer 6

The apparent contradiction you pose is solved by defining love as it was understood by the Biblical writers. Presently, love appears to imply unquestioning acceptance of another’s preferences as long as no obvious harm results. However, according to the ancients, true love is a fixed, rational intent to seek the well-being of another. Therefore, I can truly love someone by the act of confronting their wrong behavior as harmful to them. Sometimes the problem is resolved quickly, but sometimes a person will persist in behavior that harms themselves or others. In that case, one should not give approval to such bad behavior by acting as if it has no effect on the relationship. Bad deeds disrupt good friendships. But that does not mean I cannot continue to act to help my “enemies” overcome what troubles them. No practicing Christian hopes for their enemy to starve or freeze to death. Many, many Christians have shown a generous, unselfish love to their persecutors without approving of their bad deeds. This love has manifested itself in many ways, including not only prayer, but also food, housing, clothing, medical care, etc. Yet such love must also include the courage to disapprove of evil deeds, even while hoping for an uncertain reconciliation. Otherwise, it fails to seek the ultimate well-being of the other, and thus falls short of the true meaning of love.

Answer 7

Hello Paul S... :)



In Corinthians 5:11..Paul is talking about other believers in Christ..not non believers..our brothers and sisters in the Lord..



Titus 3:10-11..Is speaking of more the same..brothers and sister that have turned away from the Lord..not those that do not know him..



Matthew 5:43-45 Is speaking of those that are not believers in Christ..those that mock and or condemn us..we are to ~Love~ our enemies and pray for those that persecute us.. :)





In Jesus Most Precious Name..

With ~Love~ your "Friend" In Christ.. :)

Answer 8

Corinthians is written by Paul of Tarsus.



Some of Pauls writings directly contradict the 4 main Gospels, or contradict them in spirit. However, when the bible was compiled, the proto-orthodox section of christianity won the debate about which books to include. The proto-orthodox worshiped Paul.



The truth is that God loves all the sheep, especially the lost one.

Answer 9

Your enemy is someone against you.....that's what it means to have an enemy.

The examples you quote are not personal enemies of you but of God, Himself because they are wicked, promoting false religion. They disobey God and even rebel against Him and professing Him a liar. God doesn't want us to hang with these types or let them in the fellowship to freely cause confusion and disharmony and even lead the innocent astray.

No contradiction at all........one is talking about people who "have it in for" you, personally - the other is talking about campaign against God, sinful, wickedness at it's worst.

Everyone has a personal enemy at one time or another and the Christian just has another reason to have more of them. If a Christian has an enemy and it is not his fault, he can pray for that enemy and God will intervene on their behalf. It's part of the provision and protection clause in our contract with the Savior (just a little humor there). And by showing the love of Christ in the face of persecution, you may lead them to the knowlege of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Answer 10

Yes we should love our enemies for a number of reasons. First off, how can we expect people to love us if we cannot show love in return. Also, the less hatred going on in the world the better we will all be. I also heard somewhere that the people who are the hardest to love are the ones who need it the most. Think about that...why are these people your enemies?? Very likely it is because they do not experience enough love in their lives and desprately need someone to love them, though they usually dont know it. Also, though it may be difficult, loving our enemies will bring us personal joy and also bring us closer to God.

Answer 11

First, the scriptures that you quoted from 1 Corinthians and Titus have to do with pseudo-Christians, wolves disguised in sheep's clothing, who are in among the sheep, who's purpose is to deceive and lead weak and unaware Christians astray.

Even if you continue to love and pray for your enemies, would you still want them in the midst of you? Just because we forgive somebody doesn't mean that our forgiveness will have any effect whether they change or not. If the person continues to deceive, manipulate, lie, instigate strife and division, we would be fools to allow them to continue to be in our midst.

Would you allow your child alone in a room with a known child molestor, even if you have forgiven him? Would you put a wolf or a lion or any meat eating predator in a pen full of sheep? Loving them and trusting them are two entirely different things. You can love a son who is a heroin addict, but it doesn't mean you can trust him alone in your home, not to steal your things.

It's just common sense. I see no contradictions.

Answer 12

good question and that i such as you easy and finding heart with this and that i'm hoping that my answer can assist you to. This answer isn't specifically replied interior the Bible, yet i'll piece mutually bible verses to tell a narrative. a million John 3:5 "in [Christ] is not any sin." Jesus does no longer sin. 2 Peter a million:a million "to those that in the process the process the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have gained a faith as worthwhile as ours:" Jesus is God Deuteronomy 6:4 "pay attention, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." there is one God, (i do no longer prefer to bypass by each and every of the verses proving the Trinity, it is one.) So Jesus and God the father are an identical. for this reason, God the father by no skill sins. Romans 3:10 "because it is written: 'there is not any one righteous, no longer even one;" No human is righteous. Matthew 7:2 "For interior an identical way you opt others, you would be judged, and with the degree you employ, it is going to likely be measured to you." Matthew 18:35 "'it is how my heavenly Father will handle each and every of you until you forgive your brother or sister out of your heart.'" this implies you would be forgiven as you forgive. God will basically forgive you completely in case you forgive different's completely. (That is going back to a million John 3 through fact if Love lives in you [while you're stored] then you definately'll adore everybody else and forgive them). So, enable me condense this slightly. God does no longer sin and you do. So does another man or woman. So, you may no longer decide one yet another on account which you all sin (there are exceptions yet we at the instant are not coping with the exceptions surprising now). So through fact God does no longer sin his is righteous in his judgement (John 5:30). So God can ruin his enemies through fact he replaced into no longer his very own enemy formerly, we we are enemies of God formerly our salvation (Romans 5:10) and so we could continuously amplify an identical mercy to everybody that he extends to us. yet judgement and revenge is his to furnish, no longer ours.

Answer 13

Romans 12:20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. NKJV



The thought was brought out in a recent talk that fiery coals would have a melting or softening effect on anything it touched, and might soften the attitude of the person that is our enemy. I had never thought of it that way before this explanation.

Answer 14

These scriptures are not contradicting.

What they simply mean is, hate what the person is doing but don't hate the person himself.

The scriptures say.. "Bad association spoil useful habits.."



If you associate with individuals who practice things that goes against bible teachings you would eventually do the same. Therefore you should avoid "mixing" with them but at the same time pray to God to show them the right way.

Answer 15

It's not a contradiction. It's the concept of "Hate the sin, love the sinner." When you have people who are Christians in word, but not in deed; in fact, those who are going completly against the Gospel, you have to remove them. That's not to say you stop loving them, and praying for them. But it's very easy to be lead astray when those who you are hanging out with(or those who are in power in the church) aren't living right. I like what Titus says, especially. You warn them, and give them a chance to repent and then you have to ask them to leave. Like I said.....that doesn't mean that you are a jerk about it, but we have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters in Christ. And if someone is leading them astray, even one who used to be "for us", it's our responsibility to ask them to leave.



That may seem harsh to some, but I see it as necessary. Asking them to leave isn't saying you don't love them. You can love someone, but decide that you can't be around them. Espeically when it comes to your spiritual well-being, or that of others. It's never an easy situation, but you just have to let them know you still love them and that if they need you, you'll be there.

Answer 16

I'm not a christian, but I'll say this:



Jesus Christ said the quote from Matthew, and the apostle Paul said the quotes from Corinthians and Titus.



I don't think many people can argue with the things Jesus said, but why do people put so much emphasis on the words of Paul?



Paul very well could have been a false teacher, no?

Answer 17

We are not to call the evil person a brother or to allow him to be a part of our company because such a person is not part of our company. We are still to love him and to try to get him to be a good person.



First, help and love the evil person in an effort to make him your brother. Then welcome him into the community.

Answer 18

It is not a contradiction. I can still love and care about someone but if they refuse to adhere to God's word then I won't fellowship with them. This has nothing to do with every day life. It is talking about having hypocrits in your congregation. Then I would care and love them and pray that they will repent and come back.

Answer 19

When they say to ban the wicked, they mean wicked things, like the devil, demons, and others. Also, it might be to avoid confrontation, but we must still pray for even our enemies. It's hard to wish a terrible person well, but we should anyway. Hoping that they will one day screw their head on straight is better than hoping that they will go die.



and i'm hoping that this has helped. :)

Answer 20

It is not a contradiction. You must love and pray for your enemies. These are just saying that you should not hang out with them. It puts you in a situation of temptation and the Bible says to stay away from temptation.

Answer 21

5:11, if a person says he/she is a christian, and still is ..... (fill in the blank according to the verse), you should avoid them.

5:13, you do not judge those who arent christians--God will. you judge those who call themselves christians. if they are wicked, remove him/her from the congregation

3:10,11, pretty much same thing. heretics who call themselves christians should be removed from the congregation

5:43-45, now thats about enemies. those who hate us. not christian brothers and sisters who are theoretically on the same side. when it comes to enemies, we should love them and pray for them.

Answer 22

YES, love your enemy...even people who are against us.



Jesus asks us to love one another, and when we all do it, we do not have an enemy. Because love makes the difference. We do not have to accept "enemy's" life style to live peacefully together .



1 Cor 5:11 talks about an immoral life style. If the true Christian has intimate association with someone who calls himself a Christian while continuing to live an immoral life ( that life style gives a false testimony to Christ ), the non-Christian world may assume that the church approves such ommoral, ungodly living and in that case the name of Jesus Christ would be dishonored.



The Corinthians mistook the letter to mean that, on separating from sin, they should disassociate themselves from all immoral persons, including non-Christian people. Instead, Paul meant that they should separate from immoral persons in the church who claimed to be Christians ( vv 10-11 )



Titus 3:10- The severity of the action of the church will depend on the seriousness of the sin of the member being disciplined. Those who are livingin immorality should, after being exhorted to change, be excommunicated, since their sin has a levenous or contageous effect on others ( 1 Cor 5:5-7 . Even so, if they repent, they should be reinstated in church ( 2 Cor 2: 6-7 ), since the primary purpose the of discipline is not the reject, but to reform.



The main difference in the severity of the discipline was in the penitence of the person being disciplined. If person repented, he was to be reinstated (2 Cor 2:6-7 ) and if not, then " after the 1st and 2nd admonition" (Titus 3:10) he was to be rejected.



We need to remember that God never commanded His people at any time to hate their enemies ( In "Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated" God did not talk about the PERSON Esau, but the NATION that came from him, namely, Edom. The nation Edom was deserving of God's indignation for their "violence against your brother Jacob [ Israel ]" ( Obad 10 ) They sided with Israel's enemies, blocked the way of their escape, and even delivered up those who remained.



Like the Nicolaitans, God hates the works of the sinner, not the sinner himself. John commands the believers that "hate the deeds of Nicolaitans, which I also hate" ( Rev 2:6 )



Matt 5:43- God never commanded His people at any time to hate their enemies. God is unchanging God of love and He cannot hate any person, nor can He command anyone else to do so. Jesus said the greatest commands were to love God and to love our neighbor as ourself ( Matt 22:36-37,39 )In point of fact, this very command is taken by Jesus from the Old Testaent. Leviticus 19:18 declares; "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" !



Why did Jesus say the OT taught we should "hate our enemy" in Matt 5:43? HE DID NOT, and for a very good reason. Nowhere in the OT can any such verse be found. In fact, Jesus is not quoting the OT here, but the pharisaical MISINTERPRETATION of the OT. Notice, Jesus does not say "it is written", as He often said quoting the OT ( Matt4:4,7,10 ). Rather He said , " you have heard", by which He meant Jewish "tradition" that had grown up around the OT and by which THEY had made the commadment of God of no effect ( Matt 15:3,6 ). The truth is that God of love commanded love both in the OT and NT and never at any time commanded that we hate each other.



It is a mistake from our part when we think that God hates the same way we, humans, do. God's hate is a judical act on the part of the righteous Judge, who separates the sinner form Himself. This is not contradictory to God's love, for in His love for sinners, God has made it possible for sin to be forgiven so that all can be reconciled to God.



So I see it is very imortant that we are true follwers of Christ, because as we should lovingly guide our fellow Christians to honor God and repent from our sins and correct our ways, also God wants us to love Him and honor Him and be true to His mission or He will separate us from Him in eternity. So it is a dangerous to be a false witness of God.

Answer 23

1st scrip: this is not about loving your enemy. this warns you to stop keeping company with a hypocritical Christian. it does not say to stop praying for this person or trying to help them, it simply says to stop hangin' with them.



2nd scrip: again, another admonishment against hanging with those who practice evil or an unGodly lifestyle.



3rd scrip: the sect guy is someone who is trying to cause a rift between believers. it says to allow this person a couple of times to stop being divisive, but if he continues, to take him out of the place he has in your relationship. his sinful behavior is what condemns him, as he is not following bible standards.



none of these scrips you've quoted is a contradiction. we are not talking about enemies of our bodies, but enemies of the spirit and faith...

Answer 24

basically, separate yourself from the sinner so you do not get caught up in their influence.



love them for what they are- a son of god, and pray that they will find the strength and testimony to overcome sin.



it is hard to do with some of the things that are going on, but even members of the taliban are sons of god and their sins were atoned for by our lord and savior.

Answer 25

You don't have to be in the company of people who are obviously not living a clean, moral lifestyle. That could be drug users, alcoholics and whatever is offensive to YOU.



However, you would want to see them as God does, their habits might be deplorable, but they are HUMAN BEINGS...created by God and He loves them and we should have the same feelings for them too.....none of us are in a position to judge.



In essence, be careful who you associate with, but have fellow feeling for all.

Answer 26

The Old Testament is in my opinion, the one that people shouldn't pay much attention, the one that has been clearly written by men and by men alone; God had nothing to do with its writtings. The God in the Old Testament is radically different from the one from the new testament; The O.T. God had rage, ask its followers to kill innocent and was nowhere near preaching equality.

Answer 27

bcs bible has written by many authors including St. Paul, the self appointed thirteenth apostle of Christ. Jesus had twelve apostles, but one of them (Judas) had the Devil in him. So the vacancy had to be filled, because of the "twelve" thrones in heaven, which had to be occupied by his disciples to judge the children of Israel (Luke 22:30).

it should be one author of the bible, Tha man Jesus (pbuh) but unfortunatly Jesus (pbuh) did not write a single word. It is Paul who wrote more Books of the Bible than any other single author.

Answer 28

The entire message of the Abrahamic deity is "love me or go to hell". Of course this would make it difficult for a believer to see the contradictions in those verses. If the deity "himself" can claim to both infinite love and to banish souls, why can't we?

Answer 29

My husbands family is totally messed up. Every sin imaginable. We choose to not be around them, but we love and pray for them. I believe this is what he meant. We must love all people, but if they are poison for our lives, then we have to stay away. Just as an alcoholic must stay away from strong drink!

Answer 30

It mean,s to love your enemie,s and pray for them but not to

run with them or accomany them to the Hell holes of this

world ,in other word,s don,t do the sin with them.

Answer 31

there are different kinds of enemies. one want to kill you u have the right to protect yourself and kill him, when u have killed him dont' disgrace his corpse just burry him, and respect his belongings and family.



other enemies are those who r agianst your opinion your dogma your thoughts, talk to them nicely, politely avoid any confrontation, or quarelling, avoid creating bad blood if he is still agianst you and u r in power just send him away from you, or u may change your paths not to conflict him. still you should not harm him or his family or disgrace him by using your force.

on the other hand you reserve the right to kill an enemy if he attack u to kill you or your family or your business or your nation,country. becuase he wants to deprive u of your chance of living on this earth with peace.

Answer 32

I would base this more on the Lord's Prayer, friend.

"Forgive us our transgressions as we forgive those who transgress against us."



It is hard to love enemies.



Love thy neighbor as thyself. That is hard too.



You are to walk away from evil, but pray for the evil doers. (The explanation for Paul's advice in Titus).



I would never bash you for this. I appreciate your quotes.

Answer 33

You have to ask yourself who your 'enemy' is. Those who do those things are not 'your' enemy, they are lost souls who are a threat to the Body of Christ.

Answer 34

dze is correct. You can disagree with a persons actions and not be accepting of what they do without judging and condemning them and being hateful to them.

Answer 35

to me its simple .. love ur enemies and love people but dont accept their bad behaviour and hang out with them ... that doesnt mean condemn it or rag on them about it .. it means avoid it ... ive actually heard bitter old ladies saying im not even going to eat with u coz ur doing this and that and going to hell .. no .. just dont eat with them is what it says ..

Answer 36

Just because I love them, does not mean I have to hang out with them.....

Answer 37

I don't see a contradiction. It's saying to remove yourself from your perception of who is wicked (making judgments about people). Don't help them in any real way. Just go hide somewhere and pray for them. MAybe if you're lucky they'll die because you refused to feed or clothe or help them, and then you won't have to deal with them anymore.

Answer 38

If Jesus cared enough to die for their sins, the least we can do is to love them.

Answer 39

Totally agree with "DZE". Exactly my thoughts.



Btw, are you just now noticing that there are contradictions in both the bible and in organized religions? Can you spell "G-U-I-L-T"?

Answer 40

Yes, it does... kill 'em with kindness, as my old grandma used to say.

Answer 41

I believe it means respect everyone, not just your friends.

Answer 42

What do you suppose "enemies" means: Pals?

Answer 43

That's exactly what it means.

Answer 44

If you can, why wouldn't you? I know i can.

Answer 45

war

Answer 46

No,



Its YOU love your enemy.



WE will invade, bomb and kill them.



WE can torture ............ but YOU cannot commit this crime against humanity.



.