This weekend marks the end of the message series we've been working through together here at Vineyard OP called The Complicated Art of Loving Your Enemies. You can listen to the message series here.

One person asked about where Jesus says that we need to turn the other cheek in Matthew 5:38, "Are you suggesting that we should just stand by and let someone break into our house and rob us?" When Jesus says to "turn the other (cheek) also", does he mean we are not allowed to defend ourselves and our loved ones?

The quick answer for this is "No". In Matthew 5:38, Jesus is talking about a slap on the cheek, which indicates an insult. In Jesus' day, slave owners could slap their slaves to assert authority. To the best of our understanding this many years later, if two people are equals and one slaps the other on the right cheek, then this is a serious insult effectively saying, "You are beneath me" to the person being slapped. Jesus is not talking about a life-threatening situation here. He is talking about dealing with an insult between two individuals.

Turning the other cheek does not indicate abstaining from self-defense. That's just not what Jesus is talking about here.

If someone breaks into your house, you have no idea what their intent is. Do they mean to rob you? Maybe they've come to kill or harm your loved ones in some other way. You may have to resort to lethal force to defend yourself, your roommates, your family. This doesn't happen that often, and I pray it doesn't happen to you - EVER.

What could be a more clear-cut enemy than someone breaking into your house? If you were forced to harm that person, possibly even kill them, does this mean you have failed in loving your enemies?

Here at Vineyard OP, we look to God to guide our response first. What does the Bible show us about what God has to say about self-defense?

In short, the Bible seems to indicate that self-defense is understood to be necessary. God even understands that lethal force is sometimes required to defend life. However, God takes the spilling of blood very seriously. He values human life and sees lethal force in self-defense as a last resort.

Here are just a few quick snapshots from Scripture (from among many) of God's attitude toward killing and the preservation of life:

In 1 Chronicles 28:3, God says to King David, "'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'" David wants to build a house for the Lord. This is a good desire. But God says, "David, you are disqualified from doing this." Why? Not because of the murder of Uriah. Not because of his adultery with Bathsheba. It is because of the wars, and because David was "a warrior and have shed much blood." David had killed men in the sight of God, and that disqualified him from this spiritual service.

But wasn't David obeying God in engaging in these wars? Yes. Did David sin in shedding this blood? No. But shedding blood is so significant to God that David was unfit to for certain "ministries".

This shows us how seriously God takes killing - even when the killing is not sin.

In Exodus 22:2-3, we see another example of God's attitude toward self-defense: "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed." This passage indicates that if someone breaks in before sunrise (i.e. in the dark of the night) and you kill them, you have not sinned, because you didn't know they were a thief. They could have been breaking in for any number of evil reasons. However, if they break in after sunrise (i.e. you can see them) then you will be guilty of unjust murder. This again shows us how God wants you to be sober in the use of lethal force, even to defend yourself against a person unjustly invading your home. We see these types of distinctions carried forward into our justice system here in the U.S.A. today.

Finally, in the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John, we see Jesus telling his disciples to put away their swords when the mob came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is not making a blanket statement of pacifism; it is a demonstration of Jesus' awareness of the situation. He knows he must go and die, and that being arrested is just part of the process. Here we see that Jesus understands sometimes you do need to defend yourself. He does not rebuke the disciples for having swords; he is letting them know that this is not the time to fight. In fact, in Luke 22:35-39, we see Jesus admonishing his disciples to make sure they have a sword to defend themselves (although interestingly enough, the two swords the disciples have among the eleven of them appears to be "enough").

The Bible makes it clear you are to defend yourself when life (yours or someone else's) is threatened. But some people take this very lightly - maybe because of all the action movies they've seen - I don't know. God cares about people, and the use of lethal force is a very serious thing to God. It's so serious that it was the primary reason King David was not allowed to build the Temple for God. We should never take the use of lethal force lightly. You need to be able to stand before the courts of men, and more importantly - before the Creator of the Universe - and say with all truth that you had no other choice but to kill.

What does this mean in the context of loving your enemies? This is where it gets interesting. Let's say someone breaks into your house, and you must harm them to defend your life and the lives of your family. When the conflict is over, the question remains the same as any example of loving your enemies: What will you do next?

Will you allow fear and anger to turn into hate toward this person? Will you lobby for the harshest punishment for this individual? Do you sit around and day-dream of the attacker rotting in prison? Do you relish the pain his punishment will cause him? These things are not loving your enemies.

To love this enemy, you begin by praying for him and yourself. Pray for the attacker to encounter the living God. Pray for God to show him the lies he has believed that Satan has sold him. Pray for God to show him what it is in his life that has led him down this path. Pray for restoration and recovery. Pray for God to show you how to behave toward this person. Pray for God to let you see the attacker the way God sees him.

Then direct your anger at the source. If you can see this attacker as part of God's creation trapped in bondage to evil, then you know your anger must be directed at the powers and principalities, because our fight is not with flesh and blood. You must direct your anger toward Satan and his demons.

Finally, you must forgive the attacker. You must determine in your heart before God that you will no longer judge this attacker based on the crime he committed against you and your family. This sets you free from the fear and anger caused by the grievance, and it sets the attacker free from all the horrible things you want to do to him in the flesh.

The attacker will still be tried by our justice system. He will likely go to jail. You will almost certainly need to give testimony concerning the crime committed, because the truth of the grievance must be dealt with in love. But you will do these things in the absence of hatred, with a desire to see this attacker's life changed through the power of the Holy Spirit. The grievance is acknowledged, and healing can begin.

This is loving your enemies.

David Andersen
Vineyard OP

Note: portions of this article were influenced by or borrowed from this article.

We've been working through a message series here at Vineyard OP called The Complicated Art of Loving Your Enemies. The entire series deals with Jesus' command to love your enemies in Matthew 5:43-48. You can listen to the messages here.

I had someone ask the following question: "If Jesus says to love our enemies, does that mean we are supposed to love satan?" Now, some people may feel this is an odd question, but it is not the first time it has been asked in the history of the Church. The movement known as "universalism" in the church asserts that even people who go to hell will someday have a chance to be redeemed, and that in the end all God's creation will be redeemed. Some have extended this so far as to include the father of lies himself (capitalization intentionally withheld, I think you know where I land on this topic already), theorizing that someday satan will be saved. This has an even bigger name and is hard to pronounce.  For the record, Vineyard OP does not follow or teach universalism.  We just don't see it in the Bible.

Let's agree that this is a logical question that comes to mind based on our understanding that Jesus is serious about us loving our enemies. Which he is. Who is a bigger enemy to followers of Jesus than the prince of darkness? No one, that's who. He is the biggest enemy we have.

So, do we have to love him? Is that what Jesus means?

My short answer is "no, we don't need to love satan."

My long answer looks like this:

Jesus calls us to love our enemies. I know it is not 100% clear, but he does not specifically state whether this includes satan or not. Any opinion made based on this verse alone will be an argument from silence. So, to address the question, we must understand what it means to "love" your enemies and then see if it applies to the devil.

Jesus tells his followers to "pray for your enemies". It's the primary way that we diffuse our anger and demonstrate love for an enemy. It's amazing how brilliant Jesus is in this one simple little suggestion. Well, Jesus is always brilliant, but particularly brilliant here, because it is extremely difficult to hate someone you are praying for.

As we see Jesus living out loving his enemies, we see him often take pity on those who are in bondage to evil. I get the feeling that Christ-like love for enemies is something akin to pity for those who are enslaved. Then we couple this with a desire to help set them free. We are not allowed to hate them. What they do is evil, because they are enslaved by evil. And we can only call it "love" for our enemies when it proceeds from a genuine desire to draw people into relationship with the healing Savior, even if they continue to embrace their slavery - even if nothing changes. Like with the Pharisees, Jesus' "woes" are best interpreted as "I feel sorry for you".

This means we must learn to direct the anger that we feel at the injustices that are done by our enemies (assuming we are not guilty of our own grievances in the relationship between two enemies) to the appropriate place. Paul tells us in Ephesians that our battle is not against flesh and blood. The human enemy is not the target of your anger. satan and his demons are the target, unless, of course, we are somehow called to love him as well...

Jesus' admonition to love your enemies is best accomplished through one of the most powerful transforming tools God has given us: forgiveness. To fully love your enemy you must forgive them. Read R.T. Kendall's book Total Forgiveness if you want to go deep with a biblical concept of forgiveness. I don't have time to cover it here, because we are trying to answer a different question.

With this understanding of how loving your enemies actually works (praying for them, directing your anger at the forces that enslave them, and forgiving our enemies), does this apply to satan? Can we pray for satan? Do we feel sorry for the devil? Can we forgive the prince of all things evil? Furthermore, does the grace extended by the Creator God to humanity even extend to Satan? Is Satan an evil being, or is he a being in bondage to evil?

With all that in mind, the overwhelming tone of Scripture is that Satan blew it. We don't know all the details, but nowhere in Scripture are we told to pray for, feel sorry for or forgive the father of lies. The Bible unapologetically dumps him in the Lake of Fire at the end of Revelation. There is not even a hint of a notion of redemption for this being of pure evil. There is no indication that the grace God has extended to humanity includes satan or any of his demons. You could say this is just another argument from silence, but for something as important as the redemption of the evil one, you would think it would show up somewhere in all of Scripture.

I must conclude that he cannot be redeemed. He is an evil being not under the grace extended to humanity and creation. As such, we are not called to love satan, in the biblical sense of loving your enemies. We might pity him, but I can't imagine praying for him. I just don't think that is what Jesus meant.

satan is the source of the suffering that leads to the making of enemies in the first place. Behind every parent who defends child abuse, behind every junkie who robs to fund their habit, behind every corporate embezzler is a lie the person has swallowed. They didn't set out to be entangled in lies and deception. They bought a lie that was sold to them by the father of lies, and now they may have become your enemy. If you are a follower of Christ, you must see beyond the individual to the source of the deception and direct your righteous indignation and anger there. There will be consequences for people who commit evil acts in this world, and we should acknowledge and confront these grievances. But we should never lose sight of the message of Christ: love your enemies, pray for them, see them the way God sees them and learn to forgive.

David Andersen
Vineyard Church of Overland Park

This past weekend, I had the honor of teaching the final message for the Take Your God To Work Day series here at Vineyard OP. We took a hard look together at the culture of fear and anxiety that has been nurtured in our society around the uncertainty of the future, specifically regarding employment (or should I say un- or under-employment?). This fear is fueled by lay-offs, salary reductions, mergers and rumors of mergers, bankruptcy and buy-outs. All these things combine to create a "perfect storm" of bad business behavior in the workplace. People will lie, cheat and even steal sometimes when they think their jobs are at stake.

Our culture most commonly responds to this uncertainty in the workplace by trying to grab hold of situation and force it to their advantage. This response is born from interpreting the things that happen at work (a lay-off is announced, a merger is rumored) through what I call the "worldview of fear".

I use the term "worldview" to mean the set of experiences and beliefs that help an individual interpret what the things that happen to them mean. The things that happen in our lives are just facts: a lay-off is announced, someone else gets the job you wanted. When we want to know what these facts mean to us, we tell ourselves stories about them based on our worldview.

The worldview of fear operates on three evil maxims:
1. I am on my own
2. The future is random
3. Trust no one

So, when we apply the worldview of fear, it looks something like this:

Fact: the company is going to lay off 100 employees from my office.
Fact: My boss gave my co-worker the new account.
Story: The new account goes to the employee my boss likes most.
Story: My boss likes my co-worker better than me.
Story: I am going to be laid off.
Action: I will talk trash about my co-worker whenever possible and make my co-worker look bad to get my boss to like me better and so I won't be laid off.

Facts are just things that happen. Our worldview tells us what those facts mean through the stories we tell ourselves, which leads to action. You can see how the worldview of fear is particularly destructive.

In contrast, Jesus Christ calls us to a God-centric worldview. In Matthew 6:24 - 34, Jesus is on a hillside in Galilee, instructing his disciples on what it takes to be one of his followers. Here he says:

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

Jesus uses the example of "the pagans", which should be understood as the Romans and other people groups who worshipped gods other than Yahweh. They had to try and manipulate and appease their fickle gods to gain provision. Today, "the pagans" is best understood as anyone who does not know God, who does not declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Instead of worshipping Roman deities, people who do not know God often times will try and manipulate the corporate systems, management or co-workers to gain the provision they need - to keep their jobs so they can provide for their families. Because they are not followers of Jesus, they have no hope that God will provide for them.

Followers of Jesus must trust God to take care of the future. They know that God will provide for them as they seek to be obedient to him and in relationship with him. Because he is the source of everything - their talents, schooling, jobs, parents, houses, cars, health, wealth and even the breath in their lungs - they know that he will provide from his unlimited resources.

That's what Jesus means when he says:

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Jesus' worldview (as contrasted with the three evil maxims above) looks like this:
1. God is in charge
2. He has a plan for me
3. I can trust him

When this worldview is applied to the scenario discussed earlier, it looks something like this:

Fact: The company is going to lay off 100 employees from my office.
Fact: My boss gave my co-worker the new account.
Fact: God is in charge
Fact: God has a plan for me
Fact: I can trust him.
Story: No story needed.
Action: I pray for God to reveal what I should do next and I continue to do my best at work with love for my co-workers, regardless of how they treat me.

The things people say matter half as much (or less) than the things people do. So, when the rumors of lay-offs roll in, how do followers of Jesus respond? If people know you are a follower of Jesus, you can bet they are watching to see what we do. If nobody knows you're a follower of Christ at work, then that is a different set of issues. Go download last week's message. But if people know you are a follower of Christ, then they are watching.

They want to know if your faith in God really makes any difference.

Because if you're freaking out like they are, why would they bother with God? They can be just as scared without him. Or if you are scheming and jockeying for position just like everyone else scrambling to hang on to their jobs, then what difference does Jesus make in your life? People who are still a long ways off but are moving toward Christ want to know that following Jesus makes a difference. They want to see the incarnational expression of Christ in his followers. And when they don't, it is disappointing. And it raises doubts about the validity of a life of following Jesus.

The workplace is the most common place where followers of Jesus have opportunity to spend real life with people who do not know God. Do your co-workers know you are a follower of Jesus? I'm not talking about handing out tracts or preaching impromptu sermons during lunch break. I'm talking about a genuine reflection of the love God has for those who do not know him. Do people see that you are a follower of Jesus? Do people see that your following Jesus makes a difference in your life? Because, how you conduct yourself when a lay-off is announced may be the best example of the difference following Jesus Christ makes you'll ever give to your co-workers.

Peace,

David

With the launch of the new website, you may have noticed this cryptic little link in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage that says "Login to MyVineyard". What is that? What are you supposed to do with it? Well, here in the 411 blog, I'll be taking some time over a number of posts to explain all about MyVineyard and what it means for you.

So, what is it?

MyVineyard is a private social network site just for Vineyard OP. It is similar to Facebook in a number of ways. It allows you to:

• Maintain a personal profile with your picture and your personal information
• Become friends with other people on the site
• Join groups you're interested in
• Browse events and sign up to attend the ones you're interested in
• Post and respond to messages and communications within the groups you join

But, MyVineyard is NOT Facebook. It differs from Facebook in many, important ways:

• MyVineyard is a private site. Only people who attend Vineyard OP have access to the site.
• MyVineyard is associated only with Vineyard OP. So all people, groups and events are associated exclusively with Vineyard OP (you won't be hassled by the latest Mafia Wars or Farmville request).
• You can choose to be completely private on this site. You choose your own privacy settings, anywhere from "everyone can see me" up to "no one can see me". You have complete control over who is able to see your information, who you are friends with, what groups you join and what events you attend.

Why would Vineyard OP offer something like this?

MyVineyard provides the opportunity to connect and communicate better with the groups you are already involved with, and to open opportunities to connect at a deeper level with groups and service opportunities you may not know about. For instance, the Outreach Group I sent the email out about yesterday is one of the public groups on MyVineyard. You can choose to join this group to receive updates about outreach and to interact with all the other people at Vineyard OP who are passionate about outreach. If the emails I send start bugging you, you can go into your settings and specify that you don't want to receive email updates from this group any more. When outreach events are posted, they are posted to this group, and you'll be notified via email - if you choose to receive those notifications. See how this works?

In the near future, small groups that choose to participate will have their own groups on MyVineyard. The small group leaders will have the option to use the MyVineyard small group to stay in touch with the small group members, post updates, share ideas and plan events. And it is always up to you what groups you choose to be in, and what communications you choose to receive.

MyVineyard is also part of our church congregation database. Vineyard OP pastoral and administrative staff use MyVineyard to manage events and keep records for everyone who attends Vineyard OP. For instance, our Prayer Network is a public group we use to communicate prayer needs out to the members of that group. We also use it to help offer people opportunities to serve that fit who God made them to be. In your personal profile, you can update information about the gifts you have, the ministries you are interested in and the issues you are passionate about. Based on this information, we can search for people who are passionate about the homeless and see if they want to volunteer to serve at Hope Faith with us.

Your personal profile is how you communicate your personal information to Vineyard OP. If you change your phone number or move to a new street address, you can simply update the information in your profile, and you will have notified Vineyard OP of the change. This is the information Vineyard OP uses for sending emails, giving statements and other information.

This first post is just to help make you aware of what MyVineyard is. We understand MyVineyard is probably not for everybody, but you should login and update your personal profile information if nothing else. The next section deals with what you need to do to get a username and password and get logged in.

Requesting a Username and Password

1. Click on the "Login to MyVineyard" link on the homepage
2. Click on the "Sign-Up" link on the left side of the screen
3. Fill out all of the fields and click the submit button
4. You will be emailed a username and password at the email address you put into the form

NOTE: MyVineyard only sends usernames and passwords to people who have attended Vineyard OP and given us their contact information. If you have not given us your email address and contact information, then MyVineyard will give you a message saying that you aren't in the system. If this happens, you won't get a username and password automatically and you need to send me an email with the same information you entered to sign up and I'll take care of it.

Logging In To MyVineyard

Once you have the username and password,

1. Click on the "Login to MyVineyard" link on the homepage
2. Enter the username and your password in the appropriate fields and click Login
3. You'll be taken to your MyVineyard homepage

As always, if you have any questions about MyVineyard that aren't answered via these posts, you can email me. I reserve the right to point you to a blog post if I've already answered your question. Please be patient as I will be blogging about different aspects of MyVineyard over the next several weeks.

Over and out,

David Andersen
Vineyard Church of Overland Park