Matthew 5:38-39 | A Different Standard: Justice is to be couched in love, based upon a right relationship of our hearts to God and to our neighbors. We treat one another with our hearts fully dependent upon God: casting off earthly power, our so-called “rights”, including any sort of revenge or retribution.
Matthew 5:40-44 | Who is Valued: a question answered by a statement. If we value our enemies, then we are interested in their well-being, and our choices of how to handle conflicts and controversies is completely different.
Matthew 5:48 | Memorize this command of Jesus! It shows us HIS standard and that we cannot meet His standard on our own. It shows us this isn’t about what we do, but rather: in whom we trust!
Philippians 3 | The Holy Spirit guides Paul to write about his own accomplishments, to which he declares not only to be of no value, but to be despicable (using his language’s s-word). The ONLY thing that matters is CHRIST! To be found IN Christ! How? Not in his own righteousness (“that comes from the law”) but “a righteousness which is through faith in Christ”. It is a righteousness outside of us. It “comes from God and is by faith.” This faith leads us to the cross where we see what it looks like to turn the other cheek, where we see what it looks like when someone takes another’s clothes, where one is forced to go the distance up to the hill of Golgotha. We see where HE valued US enough to give up everything! Not so that we would feel guilty and be condemned, but so that we would have hope and be free! So that we would JOIN HIM! We see the empty tomb so we know what our future will also be!