There are some old covenant laws that indicate that the Israelites were expected to hate the enemies of God (Deuteronomy 7:2; Deuteronomy 23:3–7; Deuteronomy 25:17–19; Psalm 139:21–22). Under the terms of this covenant, the enemies of God were the people who lived in the land of Canaan but refused to worship the Lord (for example, Deuteronomy 7:1–2; Deuteronomy 13:1–18), as well as those outside the land who made plans to kill and destroy God’s people (1 Samuel 11:1–15; 1 Samuel 17:1–58). With the coming of Jesus and the new covenant he inaugurates, God’s people will no longer be identified with a particular land and ethnicity. As a result, their response toward those who refuse to submit to God’s law and seek to harm God’s people is also different. No longer are there unbelievers in the land that must be killed. Likewise, when it comes to enemies outside the land, the power of the sword is not in the hand of the church council as it was in the hand of the Israelite king in the past. Church and state are no longer one and the same. Therefore, instead of physical fighting against enemies, God’s people are to engage only in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10–18). As heavenly citizens scattered throughout the world (1 Peter 1:1) there is not an earthly political kingdom that must be advanced (John 18:36).
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,