Every Christians has three enemies—the flesh, the world, and the devil. In fighting sin and evil, it is important to know the many forms they take. Emphasizing one above the others is to lower our guards against these three enemies of Christians.
God has a right to call down judgment on his enemies. God hates unrighteousness. In the Psalms, the people of God express this judgment in their songs and prayers. This has nothing to do with personal vindictiveness, but rather foreshadows God's final judgment and is a call to return to God, who judges in righteousness.
Nolland studies Matthew 5:43-48 and other key texts that highlights the command to love our enemies as a priority in Christian discipleship. He further sheds light on Jesus’ teaching by setting it in the wider context not only of Matthew’s gospel but also of the ancient world and the Old Testament. He demonstrates that, without being critical of the Old Testament, Jesus radically extends its teaching.
