Heretics & Enemies
How did Jesus say that Christians should relate to heretics and enemies?
Short answer - lovingly.
Matthew 22:37-40
"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'"
Matthew 7:12
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
Jesus described the Christian's duty toward all other human beings. They are to be loved and treated as we would like to be treated - regardless of whether they are our enemies and persecutors. Jesus' own example as He lay quietly while being murdered on the cross could not show the loving human response any stronger than what He did when He prayed, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
Jesus' concern was for the welfare of those who were murdering Him. He felt not one moment of righteous indignation. He had no thought that He would be justified in punishing His torturers. He did not cherish hatred and anger toward the demon-possessed, evil-doers. He did not take pleasure in the thought that these wicked people would one day be destroyed, stoned or struck down by lightning from heaven. He did not ask His Father to send Him 12 legions of angels to strike them down and release Him either. Jesus only loved His enemies and He demonstrated pure love for His followers so they too would be able to discern love. It is Love which separates the truth from all other false and loveless gospels.
Keeping all the commandments of God depends on how humans know and love God supremely and then on how they love their fellow human beings.
There are many religions, supposedly Christian and non-Christian whose doctrines teach that it is "just" (justified, acceptable, not sinful) to kill heretics. It's not only justified, but it is encouraged and a promise of heavenly reward is offered to convince their followers to commit the crime of the murder of heretics. They believe the sin of committing murder is outweighed by the 'goodness' or the benefit of the outcome - freeing the world of a 'heretic.'
The lethal situation has sadly occurred and is still occurring against Christians. Jesus prophesied to His disciples and warned them to beware of 'religious people,' because religiously devout people would believe they were doing God a special service by murdering them.
John 16:2
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."
The history of the persecution of the early Christians in the 'holy' Roman Empire through to the Dark Ages and the persecution of Christians in communist and Islamic countries show the determined effort to destroy the Christian message of peace and love. The attack by Hollywood upon Christians is relentless also. Blasphemy against God's character is rife. The 'hero' always uses violence to destroy the evil person. Violence is seen as a good character trait instead of the anti-Christian curse that it really is.
The prophesied Messiah was not a violent warrior. He was a pacifist motivated by Love. The Jews however, had invented many Messianic 'beliefs' that the Messiah would liberate their people from the control of the hated Romans and by using force and violence, set up a new Jewish, earthly kingdom. Jesus was not their 'ideal' Messiah because He was completely non-violent and a respecter of freedom of choice. Indeed, Jesus would not have been the true Messiah if he had have committed or encouraged any violence as the prophecy said "He had done no violence."
Isaiah 53:9
“And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.”
The true religion of Jesus is Love and it is the only religion that offers freedom of the conscience and the will. Force can only work in the absence of love and it is motivated only by fear. Fear is however, cast out by love.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
John 18:16
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
Matthew 26:52
"Then Jesus said unto him, 'Put up again thy sword into its place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.'"
Revelation 13:10
"He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
In Acts 26, Saul, prior to his conversion, believed he was 'doing service to God' when he was killing the people he believed were heretics, but in fact he was killing the followers of Jesus. On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul. In verse 14, Jesus asks, "Saul why are you persecuting Me?" Saul replied, "Who are you Lord?" Jesus replied in verse 15, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Clearly Saul, a highly educated religious leader, made a dreadful mistake in believing that God would be pleased with Saul's work of annihilating those who he considered to be heretics. Saul was in fact, told by Jesus that his actions were not of God.
In Luke 9:54, 55 the disciples James and John thought they were offering to do God a service by killing the disrespectful inhabitants of a Samaritan village. The incensed disciples asked Jesus if He would like them to ‘command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did.’ Jesus rebuked them by saying, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Then Jesus gave the loving response and went into another town where they people did accept Him. The disciples were demonstrating an evil, loveless spirit that they didn’t recognise in themselves.
Matthew 5:44
Jesus said:"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
1 Peter 2:22-24
In reference to Jesus: "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
John 14:8-11
“Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.”
Jesus is non-violent therefore the Father is non-violent. Either that or Jesus did not present humanity with a true image of the Father. Did Jesus only show the ‘good’ parts of the Father’s character but in an evil manipulation of humanity, withhold His Father’s ‘nasty’ character traits?
1 John 4:7-9, 16
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him… And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give you that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Ellen G White states that
"Force is the last resort of every false religion" (Signs of the Times, 6 May, 1897).
