The Acts of Divine Love (Luke 6:27-36)

The Acts of Divine Love
Sunday, June 14^th, 2026
Third Sunday After Pentecost
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Luke 6:27–36

Interpretive Note:

• These precepts are binding upon all believers as to the disposition of the heart (the habit of charity).
• They are binding in action when the following conditions have been met:
  • 1. It is a case of serious necessity (e.g. without a coat they will freeze).
  • 2. It would not undermine the common good (e.g. they ask to borrow your phone but then refuse to give it back, you should freely give it to them, vs. they ask you for your gun and likely intend it to use it to harm someone, therefore you refuse to give it).
  • 3. It would lead your enemy to eternal life (e.g. the object demanded, or endurance of the wrong suffered, would not contradict the manifestation of kindness and gentleness).
  • In doubtful circumstances, these become counsels of perfection that may or may not be acted upon depending on one’s state.
• These precepts are not civil laws, nor contrary to the justice of the civil law.
  • In cases where the civil law cannot or will not restrain evil, we may not take vengeance into our hands.
  • In cases where greater harm would be done by not appealing to the civil law, we are bound to appeal to the civil law, but not for private vengeance, rather for the public good.
  • We may desire temporal evils for our neighbor, namely the just punishment for sin, but only for the sake of their attaining to eternal life.

Prayer

O Father, we praise You for great Your mercies. Your mercy that removes our misery, heals our defects, and gives us a perfection far beyond what we justly deserve. Grant that we may become merciful and kind, even as You are, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

Last Sunday we began to wrestle with this command from Jesus to love your enemies. And we acknowledged that this command is probably the most difficult moral action that any human being can do. We said further that this act of loving your enemies from the heart is indeed impossible apart from the grace of God. And therefore, to love your enemies, you must first receive God’s love, receive salvation, receive a new heart, so that you are no longer an enemy of God, but rather His most intimate friend.

• This friendship that results from God’s grace is what we call charity. Charity is a supernatural kind of love, that comes down from God to raise us up to God.
• When God converts you and regenerates you, He infuses into your soul this new power to love the way that He loves. And when you exercise that power, you become what 2 Peter 1:4 calls, a partaker of the Divine Nature which is essentially love all the way through. Love unites the Beloved to the Lover. Love unites us to the love that God is.
  • It says in 1 John 4:16, God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
  • Paul says in Romans 5:5 that, the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
• And so here in this Sermon on the Plain from the Lord Jesus, Jesus is giving now spiritual laws for a spiritual people. Jesus is giving supernatural precepts that only a supernatural person, living in a state of grace, has the ability to carry out. And therefore, if you are unable to love your enemies, the way Jesus is telling you to, you are either not a Christian at all, or you are a very spiritually stunted Christian.
  • Whatever the case, these commands to love your enemies expose the radical selfishness of our own hearts. And what we discover behind all these commands to love, is that love is radically God-centered, not Me-centered. Love considers what is best for others, not merely what is best for Me.
    • When God’s love comes and indwells a believer, it starts to mortify/kill/crucify/purge the Self (the Ego).
    • God’s love is like a consuming fire, a jealous flame, and we are like a stump of wood. And what happens at conversion is God cuts you down, graciously sets you on His sacrificial altar, and then He turns up the heat. He starts to transform you from a stubborn piece of wood that was fixed to the dirt, into a heavenly fire that can now ascend upward.
    • This is the divine flame of the Holy Spirit. And He is intent on converting you from wood to fire, from earth to heaven, from dust to divinity, from inordinate self-love to a God-ordered divine love. This is the love Jesus is revealing here, the supernatural fire of charity.
• Now with all that by way of review, let us consider again the outline of our text.

Outline of the Text

Our text divides into two basic sections.

• In verses 27-31, Jesus teaches us What Charity Does Toward Its Enemies.
• And then in verses 32-36, Jesus teaches us Why Charity Does This.
  • So what does charity do, and why does charity do this?
  • This morning we’ll focus mainly on the specific acts of charity, and next week we’ll focus on the reasons why. So starting in verse 27 we see that charity does good to those who hate us. Jesus says…

Verse 27

²⁷But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

• Now recall that charity does not just seek any good for our enemies, charity seeks the greatest good for our enemies, which is their conversion to Christ.
• And just as we were formerly enemies of God,living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another (Titus 3:3),so also are those people who presently hate us. And therefore, observing the Golden Rule as Jesus will give in verse 31, we are to, Do for our enemies what we wish someone had done for us when were God’s enemies. This is the logic of charity.
  • It says in Titus 3:4 that what converted us from a state of hatred was that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
  • In other words, because salvation is wholly of grace from beginning to the middle to the end, therefore, we are to be gracious, merciful, kind, generous, to show our enemies what has already been shown to us.
  • If it was the appearance of God’s kindness and love that converted you, then that same appearance of God’s kindness and love through you may become the means by which God saves your enemies’ soul.
• Well how do we do this practically? Jesus goes on to give five illustrations of charity in action. And they are: 1) we bless, 2) we pray, 3) we turn the other cheek, 4) we give away necessities, and 5) we forgive our debtors. So in verse 28 Jesus says…

Verse 28 – We Bless & We Pray

²⁸Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

• Now to bless means to say something good to someone (or to wish them good). And the good that we wish for those who curse us, is that they stop cursing, stop blaspheming, and instead confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
  • Now consider for a moment the alternative. What if you curse those who curse you? What do you think they will do in return? Probably curse you again.
  • And so what is Jesus doing here? He is calling for a de-escalation of the conflict. And the way you de-escalate is by choosing to not return evil for evil, but rather to overcome evil with good.
  • As we heard earlier from Proverbs 19:11, The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
  • And in Proerbs 10:12 it says, Hatred stirreth up strifes: But love covereth all sins.
• So this how God intends to make peace on earth. When they curse we bless them back. When they wish us evil, we wish them good in return.
  • It says in Proverbs 26:2, As a flitting sparrow, as a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.
  • Meaning, it does not matter how much the wicked may curse you, if you are innocent, that curse cannot land on your head. And in fact, sometimes that curse boomerangs, and falls upon the person who sent it. And so don’t fall into the trap of cursing back. Choose to bless, and not merely with your words, but genuinely from the heart, desire their salvation.
  • David prays in Psalm 141:10, Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely. That is, we pray that those who curse, fall in their own wickedness, so that they cease from sin. This is how you bless, even as you ask for God to punish your enemies. You pray for their temporal punishment, so that they may escape eternal punishment. Charity only wishes God’s justice upon the evil, as a means to them seeking His mercy.
• Now when we do this, and bless from the heart, what we are also doing is praying for our enemies. The next thing Jesus says is, pray for them which despitefully use you.
  • Now think about a time when someone has used you for their own selfish interests. How did that make you feel? Angry? Bitter? De-humanized? Like an object and not a person.
  • Well now think about a time when you have used someone else for your own selfish interests. Can any of us honestly say that we are not guilty of that sin? We have all done this in various degrees to our shame.
  • Well Jesus says that when people use you, and use you with contempt, they want to spite you, they want to humiliate you, they want to de-humanize you, then go to God and pray for them.
  • Do you see how God’s love, charity, is totally opposed to man’s natural desire for vengeance, for what you think is justice. When in reality, to pray for those who use you, is also to humbly acknowledge that you are guilty of having done the same (and maybe worse), and yet God forgave you.
  • How many of us have despitefully used Christ? We come to church, we receive baptism, we hear the Word, we receive the very body and blood of Christ from this table, but then we go out and commit the same sins again and again and again.
  • Thanks be to God that Jesus prays for us. That we have a mediator who is willing to forgive us, again and again and again and as often as we confess our sins and return to Him. And so this is why we pray for those who use us. This is what Jesus has done.
  • Later in Luke 17:3-4 Jesus will say to his disciples, Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
  • Why do we do this? Because God does this for us. And so bless those who curse you, and we pray for those who despitefully use you.
• In verse 29 Jesus teaches us to 3) turn the other cheek, and 4) give away necessities. He says…

Verse 29 – We Turn the Other Cheek & We Give Away Necessities

²⁹And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

• Notice that both of these actions require supernatural humility and restraint, what the Bible calls meekness/mildness/gentleness. When someone strikes us, our reflex is to strike back. When someone robs us of our raincoat (called here the cloke), our instinct is to cling even more closely to whatever we still have on, our shirt (coat here refers to the undergarment).
• Well, the love of charity that arises from meekness does not clutch to what it has, but rather opens its arms wide, even as Jesus did on the cross.
• Charity is willing to suffer consecutive assaults on our dignity. That is what Jesus is saying here. They smack you once, and you are willing to be smacked again. They take your coat, and you are willing to give them your shirt too.
• It is the repetition of personal affronts that Jesus is calling us to patiently endure.
  • Now we should note here that this is not a command for absolute pacifism, as if there is never a time for self-defense, or the defense of others, or even the defense of your property. Remember these are not civil laws, they are private precepts (or counsels) that depend upon the situation.
  • The principle is that your heart does not desire personal vengeance, or retribution, your heart desires their attainment of eternal life. Because when they strike you, they are really striking at God. When they take your coat, they are really robbing God.
• What does God say to Saul after consenting to the murder of Stephen? “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Notice, Jesus takes our suffering personally, as if it was done to Him.
  • And because of this, later the converted Apostle Paul will say in Romans 12:19, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
  • So whatever you and I suffer for righteousness’ sake, Jesus takes personally as done to Him. And He says, I will repay. I will see that justice is done, and mercy is shown, in accord with my perfect wisdom.
  • So leave it to Him who knows better than us what is good for us, and for our enemies. Jesus is the one who has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell. So give place for God’s wrath, don’t take vengeance into your own hands.
  • Now the fifth and final action Jesus describes is that of forgiving our debtors. He says in verses 30-31…

Verse 30 – We Forgive Our Debtors

³⁰Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

³¹And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

• Now what is most likely in view here is a situation where you choose to lend to someone, and then they either defraud you, or refuse to pay the loan back, or squander the money and are unable to pay you back. And in such a situation, Jesus says, write it off as a gift. Forgive whatever they took you for.
• One of the reasons this is the most likely situation in view is because a few verses later Jesus will contrast this act of forgiveness,with the way the sinners lend to one another.
  • He says in verse 34-35, And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return.
• Now if you find this to be a hard saying, to forgive someone who has defrauded you, then it might be because you still don’t know the blessing of hating money.
  • Recall the very first words of this sermon, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. That is, blessed are those who do not love money, whose hearts are not attached to earthly goods. They are the blessed ones to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs, and they shall be heirs of everything.
• And so because God has forgiven us, and paid our debts (which we could never repay!), and He has given us grace, and promised us eternal life, and has in store for us imperishable riches beyond the heart’s imagining, we are then willing to forgive those people who defraud us of mere earthly stuff.
  • In Hebrews 10:34 the Apostle Paul encourages the Hebrew Christian who practiced what Jesus is preaching here. He says to them, for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
  • Dear Christian, do you know what you have? A better and more enduring possession for yourself in heaven? Because only that will detach your heart from the love of money. And when your heart is attached to this world, it prevents your soul from flying upward to God, to heaven.
  • And so heaven is where you need to be making more frequent deposits. And you do that at times by suffering temporal losses, by forgiving debts, by being wise and generous with whatever God has given you. This is how, Jesus says, you become rich toward God. He says in Matthew 6:20-21, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
  • Our heart is secure, when it is hidden in God. And that security is not shaken by liars and cheats and robbers.

Conclusion

David says in Psalm 119:32, I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart.

• And so if you are struggling to run in God’s commandments, or perhaps you feel that you can hardly walk in them, then start by asking God to enlarge your heart.
• Remember charity is God’s love, flowing into us, and then into others. So go to the one who has nothing but love flowing out of him. Go to the cross, go to the dead body of Christ, of which it says in John 19:34, But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
• If you go the cross and stare at Christ, and think about why He is there, and what He has suffered, and how there is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life to turn His enemies into His friends, well that is what enlarges our heart.     To know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).
• May God grant us this fullness of love, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.