📖 Biblical Definition
The command to love your enemy is among the most radical and distinctive teachings of Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, He declared: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:44-45). This love is not sentimentality or approval — it is the deliberate choice to seek the genuine good of those who hate you, slander you, and seek your harm. It is modeled on God's own love: "While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10). Loving your enemy means returning good for evil, blessing for cursing, prayer for persecution. It does not mean pretending evil is not evil or refusing to resist injustice — it means refusing to let hatred rule your heart.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Love: an affection of the mind excited by qualities in an object which command admiration. Enemy: a foe; one who hates and desires the injury of another.
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LOVE, v.t. In a general sense, to be pleased with; to regard with affection. In a theological sense, to love God supremely, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. ENEMY, n. A foe; an adversary; one who hates another, and wishes him injury. Note: The juxtaposition of these definitions shows the supernatural nature of the command — to deliberately will the good of one who wills your harm.
📖 Key Scripture
• Matthew 5:44-45 — "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."
• Romans 5:10 — "While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son."
• Romans 12:20-21 — "If your enemy is hungry, feed him ... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
• Luke 23:34 — "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Loving your enemy has been twisted into tolerating evil and refusing to make moral judgments.
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The modern distortion of enemy-love takes two forms. First, progressive theology uses it to forbid all moral opposition — if you speak against sin, you are not loving your enemy. This turns the command into a weapon of silence. Second, therapeutic culture redefines loving your enemy as having no enemies at all — a naive refusal to acknowledge that there are genuine adversaries of truth and righteousness. But Jesus who commanded enemy-love also called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, drove money-changers from the temple, and pronounced woe upon the wicked. Loving your enemy does not mean pretending they are not your enemy or approving what they do. It means refusing vengeance and seeking their genuine good — which often means speaking hard truth they do not want to hear.
Usage
• "Loving your enemy does not mean agreeing with your enemy — it means seeking their genuine good even when they seek your harm."
• "Christ loved His enemies on the cross — not by affirming their actions, but by praying for their forgiveness while they murdered Him."