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Are we to ask God's terrible justice and vengeance upon them, as David did in some of the Psalms? Are not these contrary to Christ's prayers for God's mercy on those who crucified Him?


Answer # 77


Christ Himself is the foremost example of love for one's enemies. He was beaten and crucified, yet He prayed for His tormentors: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke, 23:34). The martyr Stephen showed the same forgiveness (Acts 7:60) before he was stoned to death.

The book of Hebrews tells us to "Consider him [Christ] who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin you .have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" (Hebrews 12:3-4).

When we pray for our enemies, then, it should be in an attitude of forgiveness, asking that God's will for them be carried out with the same mercy we would want for ourselves if we were in their shoes (Matthew 7:12). Sometimes God's mercy might include punishment or death such as David asked for his enemies. Such people will be resurrected into a world full of the knowledge of God and grow into His salvation free from the influence of Satan the devil. (Isaiah 65:17-25).

True godly love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We receive God's Spirit through repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands (Acts 2:38; Hebrews 6:2). Once a person has gone through the process of being forgiven by God, he is better equipped to forgive others and feel Christian love even for his enemies.