THE ACID TEST, Matthew 5: 43-48

 THE ACID TEST           Matthew 5: 43-48         November 04, 2012                                    

 In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus Christ stated, as I see it, some
 of the most difficult precepts found in  Scripture.  Four of these we
 consider here:
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In Matthew 5: 43-48 the Lord says, “Love your enemies, bless those
who curse you,  do  good  to those who hate you,  and pray for those 
who  spitefully use you and  persecute you, that you may be sons of 
your Father in heaven...”  There is much more to  this short sermon.
Let’s deal with vs 43-45a.  Where,  we are confronted with an impos-
sibility.  We must admit,  even to ourselves;  we cannot generate the
kind of  love in our  hearts that will include our enemies.   It's tough 
enough  to love  my  friends at times,  so  how do I  love my enemies.
Only in Christ as described  in John 15: 4-5, 12  can we actually love 
them.  Love,  according to  Scripture,  is doing what is best and wan-
ting  the best for  that one to the point of  depriving self in  the loved
 ones favor.

(Love your enemies?)  This leads, naturally,  to  His next statement in 
the passage where  He commands  us to bless  when  cursed,  do good 
to  those who are not shy about  letting us know their contempt for us.
Our "natural" tendency is just the opposite. 
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      As  Jesus was on  the cross,  He  prayed,  “Father  forgive them for 
they know  not what they do.”   Next  is, “Pray for those who spitefully
use you and  persecute you...”  Without  the  love  of  our Lord, Christ, 
is it possible,  on our own,  to pray for such people?  Praying  for these 
individuals,  gives us the ability to love them;  do good to and for them.
Our demeanor  toward  them will  change by the very act of  prayer  in 
the name of Jesus Christ.  Prayer  may be more important  for what  it 
does in us than what it accomplishes “for” us.  As we take our petition 
before the throne of "grace," our differences with others; their actions
toward us pale, as compared to the love and sacrifice God  has demon-
strated  on  our  behalf.   It is  reminiscent of  the Apostle Paul  saying,  
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present  time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  (Romans 
8: 18)  Doing business with  the Lord has a tendency  to get our  minds 
off mundane problems we all have, and we value the Spiritual over the
physical.  Back to our  passage in Matthew we find,  “That you may be
sons of  your Father in heaven...”  (Matthew 5: 45a)  Could this be the
qualification  for son-ship?  Sin is a direct affront to the Lord God;  As
King David said,  “...against You, You only have I sinned and done this
evil in your sight...” (Psalms 51: 4)  You see,  God’s view of  rebellious,
ungodly sinners is this,  “...for He makes his sun to rise on the evil and
on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
     (Matthew 5: 45b)  
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   What then,  is our  response to  the creator with such  character and 
integrity. He is unlike any God of man’s invention.  Mythical gods are
vengeful  and are said to play whimsically with their subjects.  We see
our God has our  best interest at heart,  as he has demonstrated  time 
and again.  Even when  seemingly bad  things are in our path,  we find 
them to be designed to discipline and refine us.  (Rom 8: 28)  What  is
our response to Mt. 5: 46-47.
    “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do 
   not even the publicans do the same?  And if you greet your brethren 
   only,  what do you more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors 
   do so?”   
Publicans were (generally) corrupt Jewish officials of the Government
of Rome, who occupied Jerusalem.  They were in a position,  not only, 
to collect taxes owed; they set the amounts and were known to collect 
more than required, keeping the difference.

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(Jewish tax collectors "Publicans" were collaborators with an oppres-
sive Roman government and took advantage of their position,  getting 
rich at the expense of their brothers.  They were hated and ostracized 
by other Jews.)   So, even people who work against us;  are not accep-
ted by our peers are not to be held in contempt by those of  us who are
“in Christ.”  Wisely, communicating Christ with them,  at an appropri-
ate time,  is the best way for Christ live in and through us.  We cannot  
be Christ to them, until we show our care for  them without prejudice.   
How could we love them more than by sharing the message  of  God’s  
love and  Christ’s  sacrifice for their  regeneration.  We must be care-
ful to communicate the Gospel only  as we are moved and empowered 
by God’s  Holy Spirit  and not  in our own innate ability or "wisdom." 
“ ...not of works, lest any man should boast.”

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SUMMARY:  Paul J. Meyer in his book, “Unlocking Your Legacy:”
“Forgive  anyone  for  any thing  they  do  to you.”   He  says he has  
lived with an attitude of  forgiveness to  everyone who has  wronged 
him.  To have the mind of Christ, we must live with a forgiving spirit.  
This can only be done  as we are controlled and  empowered  by His  
Holy Spirit.   “I can do all through Christ who strengthens me.”  (He 
is my strength)  Philippians 4:13

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Sidebar: Our attitude to one who wrongs others  is not  the same as to 
those  who  wrong  us.   However;  “righteous  indignation”  may  be a 
cover for the worse kind of mischief and as James  states,  “the wrath 
of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  James 1:20 Care 
must be taken to perform such necessary actions  under the control of
God’s  Holy Spirit.  He has  promised any,  who desire the  gift of  the 
Holy Spirit to ask and receive.   Luke 11: 13,  "If ye  then,  being evil,
know  how to   give  good  gifts  unto your  children;  how  much  more 
shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask  him?" 
If  and when we  take such  action we  must be  sure to  bathe  the atti-
tude in prayer and  never seek  revenge on any,  no matter the wrong.
We must, as indicated above, always keep in mind the "gift of the Spi-
rit."   There is  no way you  or I may  become Holy, Righteous, deser-
ving  enough to  receive this  gift.  It is given  because we  ask in  faith 
from a heart that is right with our Lord, but not of merit...

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 What do we learn from this?  We can learn one hard lesson from this.
It is  with constant  vigilance to God’s Word  that we know how to live. 
We are incapable to  live a life above  reproach without knowledge we
gain from  walking  daily with God  through  His  revealed  Word.  Our 
Our  “natural” inclinations can be described as “what’s in  it  for me.”  
Things  that come  to our  attention are  filtered through  this attitude. 
Only through a cleansed  life,  "...the washing  of water by the Word," 
(Ephesians 5:26b)  can we  live above reproach,  as part of  the church 
of the living, Most High God.

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The “Acid Test,” refers to  the testing of gold.  If you have metal that 
may look and feels like karat or fine gold, you first make a mark on a 
test stone with  the piece in  question;  place  one drop  of acid  on the
 mark.  If the mark dissolves,  it is base metal.  If  the mark stays clear 
and bright, we know the karat of the  piece.  We  may  know ourselves  
through  observing the  test of  how we react  to  those who  wrong  us, 
through  careful monitoring of  the use we make of our tongues.   
                                               donporter 11.04.12, edited  8.08.16

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