Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 5:43

"Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy:" — Matthew 5:43 (ASV)

You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.

In this case, a command of Scripture had a human antithesis imposed upon it by depraved minds, and this human addition was mischievous. This is a common method: to append to the teaching of Scripture something that seems to grow out of it, or to be a natural inference from it, which may be false and wicked.

This is a sad crime against the Word of the Lord. The Holy Spirit will only author His own words. He owns the precept, "You shall love your neighbor," but He hates the parasitical growth of "hate your enemy."

This last sentence is destructive of that from which it appears legitimately to grow, since those who are here called enemies are, in fact, neighbors.

Love is now the universal law; and our King, who has commanded it, is himself the pattern of it. He will not see it narrowed down and placed in a setting of hate. May grace prevent any of us from falling into this error!

In this case, a command of Scripture had a human antithesis imposed upon it by depraved minds, and this human addition was harmful. This is a common method: to append something to the teaching of Scripture that seems to grow out of it or to be a natural inference from it, which may be false and wicked. This is a sad crime against the Word of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit will only author His own words. He owns the precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, but He hates the parasitical growth of hate thine enemy. This latter phrase is destructive of that from which it appears legitimately to grow, since those who are here called enemies are, in fact, neighbors.

Love is now the universal law, and our King, who has commanded it, is Himself the pattern of it. He will not see it narrowed down and placed in a setting of hate. May grace prevent any of us from falling into this error!