Luke 6:31-35

Luke 6:31 (KJB)
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

This verse is called the Golden Rule and it is the summation of all the teachings which the Lord gave in the Sermon on the Mount. It is the sum of the law and the prophets. The guideline for understanding this verse is to place ourselves in the position the person is whom we are dealing with. Would we want to be treated in the same way we are treating them? (James 2:8 KJV) If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James sums it up and calls it the Royal Law, not “a” royal law. This is a verse to ponder when doing evangelism, whether we are doing it ourselves or sending the Gospel forth by ministry or missionary. If I was unsaved and someone knew what my future was beyond death and they did not tell or warn me, how would I feel about that? We as Christians know the future of both Christians and the unsaved and it if is in our power to bring the Gospel to them, then we should place ourselves in their position and realize they are one heartbeat away from eternal damnation. Wouldn’t you want somebody to tell you the Gospel? Do unto others as you would have them do to you and that is in all areas of life. The highest form of love is to tell someone that they can live forever in eternal bliss in Heaven instead of eternal damnation. We go and tell, but God is the one who does the saving so we just need to be prepared to go.

Luke 6:32 (KJB)
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

To love those who love you is not showing any kind of transforming grace in your life. The Lord Jesus did not only minister to those who followed Him but He was also kind to those who did not follow Him. One good example is the ten lepers. Jesus healed all ten and only one came back to thank Him. (Luke 17:17 KJV) And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? Our ministry must never be based upon what I can get in return from the people but must be with the realization that I am to reach as many as possible and not to concern myself as to whether those people can somehow “pay me back.” Many wealthy or influential people invite people to their homes who are of the same social status they are of. This of course will result in a reciprocal invitation. Our mindset must be to minister to whomever the Lord sends us to, whether they are influential or whether they don’t even own a second pair of pants. The world uses this method to gain some kind of advantage but Christians must never seek to gain any social status by use of the ministry. (Jude 1:16 KJV) These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Luke 6:33 (KJB)
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

What if there is a rich man in your neighborhood who needs to have his car jumped because the battery is dead and there is another in your neighborhood who is poor and needs a jump. If you go to the rich man with the notion that maybe he will do something for me will place you in the category of how sinners act toward each other, that is, the unsaved people of the world. If we only do good things to those who have money and influence, then we are acting no better than the world. If we seek to help those who are poor and really need our help, then we are showing that there is a transformation which has taken place because the desire for worldly gain is not even factored into our actions and our choice of people we help. This is not to say that we would never offer our services to an influential person but we must never do it with the wrong motives.

Luke 6:34 (KJB)
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

Then Jesus brings into the equation the lending of money. When we know someone who is in a dire situation and they come to us asking to borrow some money, we should loan it to them without the notion of charging them interest or some other type of addition. The worldly people lend to each other and do charge interest and penalties if the money is not paid back exactly on time. When we loan money, let it be as though we would not receive it back again and this would take the pressure of the one we are loaning it to. If they pay it back, fine, if they cannot pay it back, we must never attempt to after them with threats and legal proceedings. This is what the worldly people do. As Christians, we must look at the other person realizing that could be us and to help alleviate their situation a little bit is definitely ministering to them. Let me just caution that if a person borrows money to gamble, drink, or use it for something nefarious and you find out ahead of time, you are not obligated to loan them the money because you would be helping in the destruction of their lives. In fact, if a person has a legitimate need, make it a gift and that will have a liberating effect on their situation.

Luke 6:35 (KJB)
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Jesus starts off this verse with a very strong word of contrast. He just detailed what mindset the world has toward dealing with people. Jesus then tells them that they need to love their enemies. The enemy of the Christian is every single unbeliever in the world since they are in the kingdom of Satan. We are to show them love and the greatest love we can show them is to bring them the Gospel. Then we are to do good to the unbeliever and deal with them as if they were family. Then we are to lend to the unbeliever and lend with the idea that we may never see any part of it paid back. That also has a liberating effect on the believer because once we lend without the idea of repayment, then we will not get frustrated and constantly worry about repayment which could escalate into hatred. If we deal with the world with the mindset of selfless actions, then our reward will be great. Part of the great reward is that we will confirm that we are children of the Highest. (Gen 15:1 KJV) After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Just as God was Abraham’s reward, He shall also be our reward. God also works in this manner. He blesses those who hate Him and allows many unbelievers in this world to prosper. (Mat 5:45 KJV) 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. We must treat people with the same manner in which God views them, with pity because if they do not get saved, this is all they have.

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