In this episode we discuss Jesus’ extended discussion on performative religion. We talk about how this creeps into our own lives, and what the point of “good deeds” may be after all.

We close out our discussions on retaliation and enemy love by wrestling with the role of Christians and the government in advancing God’s purposes. Can Christians serve in government or military positions and still keep Jesus as their master? After this discussion, we end by summarizing rock-solid convictions we’ve come to through the past 7 episodes.

In this episode, Tim leads us in a discussion as we revisit the question of retaliation: what should Christians do when we are physically assaulted? Note: this episode and the one following are excellent examples of how we can wrestle with the scriptures as a community even when we may disagree on our interpretations.

Can Christians join the armed forces? What is the role of the government and its institutions in bringing and upholding justice? How can Christians be a light when participating in the effort to bring justice? This episode looks at one side of this discussion - continue to part 4 of our series on enemy love for our discussion on a different perspective.

In this episode, we focus primarily on two questions: what can happen when we ignore Jesus’ words to love our enemies? What is the scale and scope of Jesus’ words here: is he thinking about interpersonal relationships or broader groups? How would someone in Jesus’ audience define an enemy? We are joined in this episode by Darryl Owens, an elder in the Boston Church of Christ and a police officer who specializes in training other officers in the use of force.

As we start our discussion of Jesus’ command to love our enemies, we welcome Darryl Owens, an elder in the Boston Church of Christ and a police officer. Darryl shares his background and experience both as a police officer and a use of force instructor for other officers. We discuss the contagious nature of both love and hate, the way that love overcomes enmity, and begin to draw connections between our previous discussion on retaliation and loving our enemies.

We are joined in this episode by Darryl Owens, an elder in the Boston Church of Christ and a police officer who specializes in training other officers in the use of force.

How did Jesus call us to respond to evil? In this episode, we look at the subversive nature of Jesus’ teaching on retaliation. We discuss the implications of this teaching on giving to (anyone??) who asks, and how Jesus modeled the behavior he calls us to on the cross.

This episode opens our extended discussion on Jesus’ teachings on retaliation and loving our enemies. We start by examining Matthew 5:38-42, where Jesus calls us to not resist an evil person. How does this command relate to existing commands in the Old Testament? Is Jesus talking about how we respond when we or insulted, or when we are physically assaulted? Note: this episode and the ones following are an excellent example of how we can wrestle with the scriptures as a community even when we may disagree on our interpretations.

In this episode, we continue our discussion on oaths and vows by exploring whether Jesus is saying that oaths and vows are always bad. We discuss what it looks like to live a life of radical integrity in a world filled with deceit and dishonesty and how our integrity is a lens to who our true father is.

Scriptures Referenced:

• Matthew 5:33-37
• Galatians 1:20
• Hebrews 6:16-18
• Genesis 3:1-4
• Romans 12:1-2
• John 8:44