From the MLJ Archive

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: I would like to call your attention this evening to verses 14 and 15 in that 12th chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans which we read at the beginning. "Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep."

Now as we resume our studies in this great epistle, it is important that we should bear in mind the context of these two verses which I've just read to you. Perhaps I ought to remind those interested in statistics that this is our 326th study in this great epistle. And as we finished at the end of May, we had come to the end of the 13th verse. And so we start now with this 14th verse. That was a kind of juncture, a kind of the end of a little subsection in this chapter.

But it's important, as I say, that we bear in mind the general arrangement of the matter. I'm constantly making this point, and it is very vital that one should do so. It's important with all Scripture. It is particularly true with the writings of this Apostle Paul. There is always a logical coherence in everything that he does, and it is dangerous to pick out a verse or a statement without bearing in mind its context.

So let's remind ourselves again what is happening. In the first 11 chapters, the Apostle has been dealing with great doctrine. I needn't recapitulate that for you. The essential doctrines of the salvation are in the first eight chapters. And then in verses 9, 10, and 11, he deals with the peculiar and special problem of the relationship of the Jews as a nation and as a people to this great salvation. And he finishes that at the end of chapter 11.

Now then, at the beginning of chapter 12, there is a new theme. Here's a new section of this entire epistle, and the section runs on to the very end, virtually to the end of the epistle itself. There are some final salutations and so on. But now this last section, this last major section beginning in verse 12, is the section in which the Apostle applies the doctrine that he has been laying down.

There he says, in effect, is the doctrine. So he starts here by saying, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, in the light of all that." And we were at pains a year ago to show this intimate connection between theory and practice, doctrine and application. Some of us are tempted, you see, with doctrine and to feel when we've come to the end of chapter 11 that we've got all we really want out of the epistle to the Romans. There is no more fatal mistake than that.

We must take the whole of the Scripture, otherwise we shall miss its balance. And here in this whole section, as I say, the Apostle is concerned with our practical daily living. Why should we be so concerned about this? Well, one great reason is that the glory of God in His great salvation is involved in this. If we say that we are people who believe what we've got in the first 11 chapters and then live in a manner that is opposed to that teaching, we bring that very doctrine that we claim to glory in into disrepute.

The glory of God and of the great salvation is, in a sense, in our hands. And people, and particularly today, are much more concerned with what we do than with what we say. It's the sort of popular attitude of today to say that we're not interested in what people say, that we're practical people. We want to know what they do. Well, if that is so, it becomes that much more and more important that we should realize that the glory of God and of this great salvation is something that is in our hands, and people will judge it by what they see in us.

If we talk learnedly about justification, sanctification, and glorification, but still live like everybody else, well, you can see the inevitable reaction in the lives of men and women in their whole reaction to the gospel. But not only that, these things are so interrelated and intertwined that we can never enjoy the benefits of this great salvation if we don't give obedience to its precepts. Many people go astray here. They're seeking blessings, seeking experiences.

Most of the trouble with most of us when we do that is that we fail to realize that it is in the way of ordinary practical duty that we are most likely to get the blessings we are seeking. If we do not implement this "therefore," it is no use praying for or expecting some unusual experiences. God has always granted His greatest blessings to those who have been obedient to His commandments, to His instruction—the instructions of the gospel as well as the law in the Old Testament.

So if we really are concerned about our own happiness and our own enjoyment of the blessings of salvation, this is the high road that leads to that. "If ye know these things," says our Lord, "happy are ye if ye do them." There it is once and for all. If you know them, all right, that won't make you happy. You're only happy when you do them. These things are always joined together. And here we find that in this particular chapter that we are studying together.

And in the same way, as I've been indicating, surely this is again the best form of evangelism. This has been God's way of evangelism throughout the centuries. That's how the gospel spread in the early church, in the early centuries. It was Christian people manifesting the Christian life in their daily life and occupations. It was that that conquered the ancient world. Often they were not allowed to preach, and especially in great meetings. It was the life of the individual average Christian that had such an impact that it shook the ancient world.

Of course, there was the preaching of the Apostles and others, but it was this other thing, it is generally agreed, that was most responsible for the spread of the gospel. It is the best form of evangelism. It is when people see in us this peculiar something that marks us out that they will come to us and say, "What is this you've got? I wish I could be like that. What is this?" That has been so often demonstrated in the long history of the Christian church.

Well, now we're reminded of all that here. A mere theoretical Christianity is useless. It's generally useless to the person himself. It is certainly quite useless as regards those that are outside. And indeed, I go further. A theoretical Christianity is a contradiction in terms, for the whole object of salvation is to do something to us: to bring us to God, to bring us to perfection, to ultimate glorification. There is nothing, I say, that is so wrong and more foolish and harmful, therefore, than a mere theoretical Christianity.

Now we're reminded of all that here. You see the Apostle puts all that in one word, "therefore." "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God," and so on. Now then, there's our background. What's our analysis of the chapter? Well, let me remind you. The first two verses lay down the great principles which govern this entire matter of conduct and of behavior.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Now if we don't grasp the teaching of those two verses, as I'm going to show you, we shall not be able to understand any of these particular injunctions.

It is only in the light of the first two verses that we not only can understand these other things, but it is certainly only in the light of those two verses and their truth that we have any hope whatsoever of implementing and putting into practice the various injunctions that we have gathered together in this chapter. Very well, keep on carrying in your mind verses one and two. And indeed, whether you do or not, I'll keep on reminding you to do so. It's a part of my business as the one who has the privilege of standing here to instruct in this matter.

Very well, now remember further, verses one and two of chapter 12 govern the whole of the remainder of this epistle. He starts off by laying down fundamental postulates. It'll be applicable right away through to the very end of the epistle. Then having emphasized that, verses three to eight give us a picture of the Christian in the church, exercising the various gifts that have been given to him. That's verses three to eight. We've dealt with that.

Verses 9 to 13. Here's a different section. Here we have the Christian, not so much in the realm of the church exercising his gifts, but the Christian in his relationships mainly again within the church. How he gets on with other people in the church and so on. And again, you remember, he started with two big principles: "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another." And the rest follows.

And that brought us away down to the end of the 13th verse because he points out that we ourselves have got to be patient in tribulation and that we've got to continue instant in prayer. Then he went on to remind us in the 13th verse that other people are in the same condition. And he tells us to remember them, to be kind to them, distributing to the necessity of saints, given to pursuing hospitality. Very well. That brings us then to the end of the 13th verse. So we resume now at the beginning of verse 14.

Now, what is the theme here? Well, from here to the end of the chapter, we've got a series of particular injunctions. I remember telling you that it's rather difficult to classify these. There are some who have tried to press them all into certain classifications and say that he's here only dealing with people outside the church. I think that that's quite unjustifiable. I don't think that applies to verses 15 or 16. However, this really doesn't matter.

But what he is really—I would prefer to put it like this: that from the beginning of the 14th verse to the end of the chapter, he is dealing with our reaction to other people. Up until now, he's been telling us how we should behave towards other people. We are active, as it were. But here, I think I'll be able to show you that in each case he's dealing with our reaction to what other people are like and what they do to us.

So that it is really quite a new section. It's looking at the position of the Christian living his life from a slightly different angle. Now then, here they are. We're living amongst people. They are of certain types and they behave in a certain way, and they tend to do things to us. Now then, the Apostle tells us how we should conduct and comport ourselves in the light of this. What's our reaction to them?

Here again is a most important subject. Let me make some general comments. First of all, notice once more the wonder of the Scripture. Isn't it perfect? You see, it deals with everything. Let me say once more, there is no more fallacious view of the Scriptures than to regard them as just something theoretical, just a view of life, an idealistic picture. No, it's not just a picture. The gospel, the Scripture, is intensely practical. And here one cannot but notice the stark realism of the Scriptures.

It never sort of paints a rosy picture. The Scriptures never give the impression as is sometimes given in evangelism particularly: "Come to Christ and you'll never have another trouble. All will be well. You'll go walking down the road of life with your head up; nothing will ever go wrong." The Scriptures never say that, never. In fact, they tell you the sort of thing that you find here: "Bless them which persecute you." That's the sort of thing you're likely to meet.

Now, the Scriptures, you see, are practical. They face the worst, and they tell us how we can face the worst. This is, of course, a part of the doctrine. The Scripture tells you—this is the message of the gospel—not that the world is going to be made better, but that you and I are saved out of it, and the world will remain the same. You see our blessed Lord Himself with this great honesty and realism that met us everywhere? He said, "In the world ye shall have tribulations: but fear not, I have overcome the world."

The Apostles did exactly the same thing. You read at the end of Acts 14 how the Apostle Paul and his companion going round churches reminded them that it is through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of God. This is to me so wonderful that he doesn't mislead us. He doesn't try to wheedle us into it or to entice us by giving a kind of false prospectus. No, no, it's all here in its utter, absolute honesty. And it is again one of the great differentiating characteristics of the gospel as over against the cults.

The cults offer you everything, like patent medicines. Wonder—everything's going to be all right. Scriptures never do that. But they enable you to be prepared for the worst, and they'll tell you how to face it. It is the most wonderful characteristic of the Scriptures. And again, I say, as we come to look at this particular injunction that's before us here, we see the all-important necessity of remembering verses one and two. What do I mean? I mean this: the Christian is a new man, and he's got to live an entirely new kind of life.

I'll go further. He is the only one who can live the kind of life that is depicted here. In other words, these instructions and injunctions that we have in this 12th chapter of Romans are not just a collection of moral maxims such as you have in certain pagan writers—Seneca and others—or as have been written in different parts of the centuries: de La Rochefoucauld or the letters of Lord Chesterfield and so on. This is quite remote from all that. We have here something that the natural man is entirely incapable of living.

No man can possibly live in the way that we are instructed to live here unless he is born again, unless he's got the life of God in his soul, unless he is the possessor of a new nature. There is no greater heresy—and it's been very common in this century—than the heresy of thinking that you can get Christian conduct and behavior from people who are not Christian. That is, incidentally, the essence of the heresy of pacifism: that it expects nations and people who are not Christian to implement these instructions. They can't do it. It's impossible.

No man can live the Christian life unless he is a Christian, unless he is born again. In other words, once more, you must never separate practice from doctrine. Very well, now then, with that in our minds, look at what we are told. "Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not." Now then, what does this mean? Well, you see, here we are reminded that because we are Christians, we are certain to be persecuted.

If any man, says this same Apostle in writing to Timothy later, "If any man live godly in Christ Jesus, he shall suffer persecution." Our Lord had said it all before him. "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more so shall they call his children?" He says repeatedly, "If they've treated me in this way, how are they likely to treat you?" You see, this is again a profound piece of doctrine.

What happens to us in practice and in experience is constantly proving the truth of the doctrine. Christian people are persecuted in some shape or form. Why? Simply because they're Christians. The world doesn't realize it, but it's paying a great tribute to us. The world can give you proof that you're a Christian in a true sense by persecuting you. It only persecutes the true Christian. You can be a church member without ever having any persecution. The world doesn't object to that.

But if you are truly Christian, born again with the new nature in you, you will get it because of the new nature that is in you. So the world, by persecuting you, can often do you a great kindness. It's giving you an absolute proof that you are a child of God and that you're being treated in exactly the same way. He said, "If it has hated me, it will hate you." It recognizes this same thing in us as it recognized in Him. That's the astounding thing that we are told in the pages of the four gospels.

Here is the Son of God come from heaven to earth. He did nothing but good. He went about doing good, relieving suffering, sickness, being kind to people, preaching the message of the love of God to a fallen world, and yet the world hated Him, rejected Him, and in the end crucified Him. There you see the state of the world revealed and exposed, confirming what the Bible always says about the world. Well, now the same thing happens to those who are His people.

You've got these abundant statements to that effect in the various parts of the New Testament. We needn't take time in indicating the various ways in which persecution can come. It has many, many different forms. Sometime it can be open, blatant, physical, even military. There are people tonight in prisons in different parts of the world simply because they're Christians. There are people who are being killed in the modern world because they're Christians. But persecution doesn't always take that form.

It can have very subtle forms indeed. It can just mean people looking at one another when you go into the room or into the office or something like that. It can mean people working against you. It can work against you in a profession or in business. There's a lot of this happens. It can be a sneer or a suggestion, curl of the lip—all sorts of things. I needn't take time in describing these things. But persecution, never forget this, it's not bound to be open, not bound to be physical.

Perhaps the most cruel forms of persecution are the subtle ones: the intellectual ones and the emotional ones and so on. Well, now in various ways, it's going to come. So the Apostle deals with it in this amazing way which I've already adverted to. But now, what are we to do about this? This is the question. What's to be our reaction to persecution? And here the instruction is quite plain: bless them. "Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not."

What does it mean? What does he mean by bless? Well, the literal meaning of the word translated bless is "speak them good." Speak them good. It really comes to this: pray for them. Speak them good even to God. Ask God to deal with them and to be merciful to them. Do them good in the highest way that you know of, which is to pray for them. Well, then you notice he puts it negatively. And he's got to do this: "curse not."

Which would be better translated by saying, "Bless them which do persecute you and stop cursing them." In other words, the instinctive tendency is to curse them. Stop cursing, he says. Bless them rather. He puts it positively and negatively as is so often the case with him. Now, what does he mean by cursing? Well, this is important that we should understand this. It doesn't merely mean swearing. Curse here doesn't mean swearing. Christians are not tempted to swear at people. That isn't our temptation.

We're not swearing people. But what does he mean then by say stop cursing them? Well, it means this: stop calling down a curse upon them. That is our danger. Not to use expletives or bad language or cursing. The danger to the Christian is to ask God to curse them. Now, you are familiar with this. What he's saying then I can put like this: call down God's blessing upon them instead of calling upon God to curse them. That's really what he is saying.

Now in saying this, of course, the Apostle is repeating something that our Lord Himself had already taught in the Sermon on the Mount. You've got it in Matthew 5 from verse 43 onwards: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 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." Same thing.

But now there is a much better statement of this whole method which seems to me to put it before us very clearly in the ninth chapter of Luke's gospel from verse 51 onwards. Here is a typical example in practice of what we are not to do especially and therefore indicating what we should do. Let me read it to you. "It came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face: and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they the Samaritans did not receive him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem."

Now listen. "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" They say, "Do you want us to curse these people in your name?" That's what they meant. "Shall we call down a curse from heaven upon these people and destroy them? They're refusing to receive you. They're opposed to you. They don't realize who you are. Shall we call down fire from heaven upon these people and consume them, even as Elias did?"

But He turned and rebuked them and said, "You know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went to another village. Now there it is perfectly. "Don't do that," says our Lord to James and John. "I haven't come into the world to do that. I've come to save men. So stop cursing these people in the sense of calling down a curse upon them, but rather do the exact opposite. Ask God to send down a blessing upon them."

Well, now this is obviously a most important matter. We all know something about this. We must do as Christian people. And it is vital that we should be clear about this particular teaching. And the essence of the teaching, you see, is this: that our attitude to persecution must be positive. Now, it's a very difficult thing, this. There is nothing that is more trying to us perhaps than the endurance of persecution. But it tests our profession; it tests the reality of our Christianity in a most thorough manner.

God's people have suffered under this and endured under it throughout the centuries. It's so important that we should be clear about it. Now, I say the essence of the teaching is that our attitude and reaction to it must be a positive one. In other words, it isn't enough merely that you don't retaliate. Many people think that that's enough. They do something to you; ah, but instinctively I do it back to them. I don't do that. I don't retaliate. All right, that's included. We're not meant to retaliate. But it's much more than that.

Again, it doesn't just mean that we say, "Very well, I'll bear this." And you bear it by ignoring it. You say, "Let them do what they like. I'll just go on. I'll bear it. I'll put up with this. I'll suffer it. I'll endure it." Now that again is entirely negative. It's resignation. It's not doing anything at all about it. Again, this is quite right. We're not to retaliate I say. We are to bear it and so on. But you see, it isn't enough. We've got to go beyond that.

We've got to desire the good of these people who are treating us like this. We've got to desire their good positively. Bless them. Desire good to come to them from God. Pray for them. Pray for their benefit. Pray that God may bless them. Now, here is a great question. How can this be done? How can this be done? Is there anything more difficult than this? I say once more: only the Christian can do this. And he can only do it because he alone can think in the way that alone makes this possible to us.

In other words, you see, this is not a matter of feeling. You can only bless those who persecute you instead of cursing them as you follow out a certain argument, as you go through a certain process of reasoning. And nobody can do this except the Christian. That is why I want to expound it to you. But let me point out this: that as I'm doing that, I shall be doing something else which I trust also will be of practical help and value to you. And that is this.

The principle laid down here is a principle that also governs our reaction to people who may be related to us or with whom we are very friendly but who are not Christians. Now you know what I mean. These don't of necessity persecute us, but they're not Christians and they don't understand us, and that leads to difficulty. You've all had this problem. You've become a Christian. They are not Christians. What do you do about them?

Now, the danger, of course, is to be impatient with them. The danger is sometimes even to get annoyed with them. The danger is, as it were, metaphorically to shake them and to react almost violently to them because of their failure. Now, that kind of condition is governed by the principles that the Apostle seems to me to lay down here with regard to our reaction to persecution. Persecution is an extension of this other thing which I have been describing. Haven't you often found yourselves, I say, in difficulty just at this point?

How exactly are you to handle these people about whom you're so concerned and in whom you're so interested, who just cannot see the thing? And you're amazed at them, and as I say, you're almost annoyed. What are the rules? Well, here are the principles that should govern our action in both these cases. First of all, you must start by reminding yourself of God's reaction to you.

You see, you are now in the position of other people and how you react to them. Right. Start by reminding yourself of how God reacted to you and what God has done to you. You're a Christian now. All right. But remember what you once were. You were not born a Christian. You were born a sinner and born in sin. Remember what you were and try to picture God in His reaction to what you were. What were we?

Well, we're told in many places in the Scripture what we were. We were enemies of God. Romans 5:10. Parallel passages in Ephesians 4:17 and following: enemies, alienated in our minds. The carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. That was the attitude of every single one of us to God. Not only that, we were arrogant in our attitude to Him. We were disobedient to Him. We broke His commandments; we broke His laws.

That's true of every one of us. Not only that, we were hateful, says Paul, and hating one another. What was there in us to recommend us to God? The answer is there was nothing. Nothing at all. And yet you see we are Christians now. Why are we Christians now? Well, because God didn't curse us because we were what we were. Instead, He loved us. God so loved the world, which I've just described to you, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That's how God dealt with you when you were as these other people are now. Even worse than my second group, you were in a sense, as it were, persecuting God: working against Him, delivering opinions against Him, saying terrible things in your heart if not always with your lips. Or take it again as our Lord depicts it in the Father of the prodigal son. You see, there it is to perfection again. It is entire in spite of the son that the father runs to meet him and embrace him and does all that he does for him.

It was in spite of his lack of love, in spite of his utter selfishness, in spite of the contempt that he felt for his father and his home. It is in spite of all that was true of him—the fool that he was and everything else thrown in—it is entirely in spite of that. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. So whenever you find yourself reacting or tending to react violently to the persecution you're receiving, and you're on the point of calling God to curse them, or imitating James and John with those Samaritans, stop.

And say, what if God had dealt with me like that? Where would I be now? Now, this is Christian thinking, and that's what he's telling us to do. You can only bless as you have this background. You are what you are solely by the grace of God. It's nothing in us at all. There is nothing about which any man can boast. By grace are ye saved through faith and so on, lest any man should boast. We are His workmanship created anew in Christ Jesus. Very well, there's your first reasoning. You stop yourself reacting as you would do instinctively; you put down this great postulate: my position is entirely the result of grace. Then go on to the second one.

The second point you have to make is this: here is somebody persecuting you. You now, having got this idea of grace firmly in the center of your mind, you look at these people again and you say, why are they behaving like this? Why are they doing this to me? I've done them no harm. Indeed, it's the reverse. Why do they treat me like this? Why are they behaving in this manner? Now, this is most important.

And you see the moment you do that, you're proving again that you're a Christian, that you're born again. You remember how Paul puts it in the second epistle to the Corinthians in chapter 5: henceforth, he says, know I no man after the flesh. Before his conversion, he looked at everybody after the flesh. He was a Jew and he was proud of the Jewess, and he despised the Gentiles and looked down upon them and treated them as dogs. That's looking at men after the flesh.

And we all do that by nature. But the moment we are born again—if any man be in Christ, you see the same chapter, he is a new creature, new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And everybody else becomes new. The persecutor becomes new to me. I see the persecutor in a new way, exactly as I see myself and everybody else in a new way. What does this mean? Well, it means this: that as a Christian and in this Christian way of thinking, you look at the persecutor and you draw the vital distinction between the sin of which he is guilty and the sinner who is guilty of it.

Now, there is nothing to be said for the sin. The sin is wrong. It is always wrong to persecute. Sin is always sin. Sin is always evil, and it deserves to be punished. But the sinner must be differentiated from the sin. The danger is we look only at the action and at the sin, and we react violently. Look beyond the action to the person who is guilty of it and ask the question, why is he doing this? Why is he behaving in this manner?

And immediately as a Christian, you'll come to the only correct conclusion. You will say, he is doing this because he's unregenerate, because he's in a state of ignorance, because he's blind to spiritual truth, because his mind is darkened; he's biased against God and all His ways. Now, you must press this to this point: you must realize that he really can't help it. That's what you've got to say: he can't help it. Now, let me give you a simple illustration.

If a poor man who'd lost his reason—if a man who's insane—began behaving in a certain way and manner, and you treated him as if he were a sane person, well, you'd be very cruel; you'd be very unkind. The moment you realize that this poor man is insane and you realize he can't help himself—he doesn't know what he's doing—that's why he is insane—well, you make allowances for him. Answer a fool according to his folly. You've got to judge people.

And the Christian is doing this the whole time. You say, this man is behaving like this because he is the dupe of Satan. He is the slave of the devil. He doesn't understand. He's against me. Why? Well, because I've become a child of God, because I believe in God, because I'm a Christian. Yes, but he treated my Lord in exactly the same way. What is it that led mankind to shout out saying, away with him, crucify him? There was only one answer: they were blind.

As the Apostle puts it in 2 Corinthians 4, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest they believe the glorious gospel of God. Now then, you've got to work all this out. This man who's persecuting me or this woman who's persecuting me, this body that may be persecuting me, they don't know what they're doing. They don't see; they don't know; they don't understand.

Remember, this is equally true about that relative or loved one of yours who is not a Christian, and you are beginning to get annoyed with them. You say, but I put the gospel to them. I've done everything, and still they will not see it, and so on. Now then, instead of being impatient with them and getting annoyed with them, say they can't help it. They're blinded by the devil. They're victims. They are spiritually diseased. And it is as wrong for me to get annoyed with them as it would be for me to get annoyed with an insane person. They can't help it.

You work out the Christian doctrine in that way. There's your second step. Your third step is this, and by when you've done this, it'll already have happened: you'll be feeling sorry for them. You won't see them just as they are as people who are unkind and cruel to you; you'll see them as the victims of the devil and as people who are going to hell. And you'll be sorry for them. And you don't even stop at that, you see.

The next step is you will desire their salvation. You'll say, what a tragedy. They are still as I once was. Thank God I've been delivered. Oh, that they were delivered also. What are you doing now? Well, you've already started praying to God to bless them. Bless them that persecute you. Bless and don't curse. You see, you're already praying for them. Having seen them as they are, you'll pray that they may be delivered out of the snare of Satan, out of the condemnation of the law, saved from hell.

You'll say, I must pray for them that God would have mercy upon them as He did upon me and change them. Give them the new birth; give them a new nature. Change them from being persecutors as Saul of Tarsus was into, as it were, preachers and commenders of the gospel. Bless them. That's it. You see, having worked it out—and you can't do it unless you do; you can't create a feeling, a nice feeling—you've got to work it out, and the moment you do, the logic becomes inevitable.

If you're not sorry for them, it means you're not a Christian. If you are a Christian, you're bound to be sorry for them in the way that I've been indicating. And that will lead you to pray for their salvation, for their deliverance, for their regeneration. Well, let me therefore close by giving you these quotations from the Scripture in which this is taught elsewhere so plainly. I've already read to you that portion from the ninth chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Read it again, my dear friend. 51 to 56.

He turned and rebuked them and said, you know not what manner of spirit you are of. You're not behaving like a Christian. The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Have compassion upon them. Feel sorry for them. Pray to God on their behalf. But you know our Lord on another occasion put it much more strongly than that. Let me take you to the parable that is found at the end of the 18th chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, beginning at verse 23 and going on to the end of the chapter.

It starts there is therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservant saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

My friends, there it is very plainly, isn't it? But listen to it again at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, that passage that I've already partly quoted. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 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; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. That's our standard. Oh, we are to be like our blessed Lord. Do you remember Luke 23:34? Here He is, you see, they've already captured Him and they're leading Him to His death.

They've nailed Him to the tree. And we read about the two malefactors, one on one side there and the other on the other. When they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then said Jesus—here's the interpretation of Romans 12:14—Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And that's what you and I are to say about those who persecute us.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Ah, but you say that's the Son of God. That's a standard that's too high for me. I can't aspire to that. Well, you should. Do you remember the death of the martyr Stephen? This is the end of Acts 7:59 and 60. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

It's possible for us the disciples to rise to the height of our blessed Master. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. And so you will show that you are children of your Father which is in heaven and that something of the divine nature that was in your blessed Lord is also in you. Let us pray.

O Lord our God, we do indeed thank Thee once more for the teaching of Thy holy word. We thank Thee for this great and glorious life into which Thou hast brought us. That Thou dost ask us to be perfect even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect. O God, give us all such a sight of the privilege of this our great and our high calling, so that at any moment of subtle temptation when we are maltreated or persecuted by others, we shall ever be ready to follow His steps.

Who did no wrong, neither was guile found in His mouth: who when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously. Oh, let there be that mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus. Lord, give us such understanding of this particular matter, we pray Thee, that even through persecution we may glorify Thy name and extend the confines of Thy kingdom, reacting in such a manner as to surprise and amaze even those who do persecute us, and thereby to convict them of sin.

Lord, hear us and bless us, we pray Thee to that end. And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit abide and continue with us, now and ever more. Amen.