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Matthew 5:43-48
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43“You have heard that it was
said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44But I tell you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45that you may be children of
your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46If you love those who love
you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47And if you greet only your
own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.
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1)
According to
verse 43 what is the traditional view of the proper attitude toward neighbor
and enemy?
o
Love your
neighbor.
o
Hate your enemy.
2)
What did Jesus
mean when he said, “But I
tell you” in verse 44?
o
Jesus intended
for what he was going to say to be superior to the traditional view.
3)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 44 what is the proper attitude toward enemy and those who
persecute us?
o
Love our enemies.
o
Pray for those
who persecute us.
4)
What did Jesus
intend for us to overcome in his teaching?
o
Jesus intended
for us to overcome evil with good instead of
§
Being overcome by
evil.
§
And returning an
eye for an eye.
5)
According to what
Jesus said in verses 44 and 45 how may we relate to our Father in heaven when we love our enemies and pray for those who
persecute us?
o
We may be children of our Father in heaven.
6)
According to
verse 45 do the evil and the
good have sunshine and the righteous and the unrighteous have rain because of their own merit and why?
o
No, because
sunshine and rain
have been given them as a gracious gift from our Father in heaven.
7)
What motivates
our Father in heaven to give his gracious gifts?
o
Our Father in
heaven gives his gracious gifts out of his gracious character that has nothing
to do with the recipients of his grace.
8)
Given that we may
be children of our Father in heaven, do we love our enemies just for the sake of
loving our enemies and
pray for those who persecute us just for the sake of praying for those who persecute us
and why?
o
No, because we do
so striving to be children of
our Father in heaven.
9)
Who then should
be the focus and motivation for
loving our enemies and praying
for those who persecute us?
o
Our Father in heaven
should be
§
The singular
focus.
§
And the sole
motivation.
o
Even though
o
On the surface it
is about
Ø
Our enemies.
Ø
And those who
persecute us.
10)
Do we then love our enemies and pray for those who
persecute us for our own good as much as doing so for the benefits of
others and why?
o
Yes, because by
doing so we may be children
of our Father in heaven.
11)
Why is it
important to establish the right focus and motivation for loving our enemies and
praying for those who
persecute us?
o
It is only then.
o
That
o
We can attain the
high ideal.
o
That
o
Jesus taught.
12)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 46 what is his
assessment of our loving those who love us?
o
We will not get
any reward.
o
Because
o
Even the tax
collectors do that.
13)
According to what
Jesus said in verse 47 what is his
assessment of our greeting only our own
people?
o
We are not doing
more than others.
o
Because
o
Even pagans do
that.
14)
According to what
Jesus said in the current passage what testifies to the perfection of our heavenly Father?
o
Our heavenly
Father’s being gracious to all without exception testifies to his perfection.
15)
According to what
Jesus said in the current passage how should we strive to be perfect as our heavenly Father?
o
We should strive
to be gracious to all without exception as our heavenly Father.
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Matthew 5:43-48
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