Reformed Learner

I'll give a little more context on imprecatory prayers. My response to Brian Sauve was much more specific than some have construed it. This is what Sauve commended to pastors as part of their pastoral prayer: "each week we are praying for God to curse, oppose, and destroy someone in particular—whether that be abortionists in our area, wicked persecutors of the Church, or other evildoers." This is a striking statement. This is not just Sauve saying he does this; this is Sauve teaching pastors how to teach their people. This is Sauve telling leaders how to lead. Given that Sauve has a sizable following (he is a bold and gifted man, so it's not surprising), the stakes are not small here. This directive has come, furthermore, even as I have watched for many months as other pastors I know have begun to commend imprecatory cursing of evildoers from their pulpits. I have watched this (again for months), and I have withheld comment, but my concern has grown over time as I have seen this idea catch on. The directive to curse persecutors specifically by Sauve makes the conversation different than a seminary classroom debate or a post-church lunchtime convo. "Should we pray the imprecatory Psalms today?" God-loving believers have landed on different sides of this issue; you can find heroes in church history who answer "yes" to this question, men I honor and learn from. But Sauve is narrowing the discussion. He's commending the practice of praying for God to curse "wicked persecutors of the church," among others. That is a very, very significant position to take. I say this with emphasis because Sauve's counsel countermands Jesus' and Paul's teaching. To refresh (emphasis mine): JESUS: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:43–45). PAUL: "BLESS THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU; bless and do not curse them" (Romans 12:14). Both Jesus and Paul go the opposite direction of Brian Sauve. The Lord and King of God's people, the crucified Messiah, tells his disciples to "pray" for their persecutors, not curse them. Paul the apostle, author of 13 New Testament books, tells the Roman church to "bless" their persecutors and "not curse them." We can continue to have a lively discussion over the imprecatory Psalms. Godly believers will disagree over whether to pray them in the new covenant era or not. My position is that we do not do so, and there are many past and present who hold my view. However, even among those who would disagree with me to a degree, there are many who would balk at praying for God to curse their persecutors. Why? Because Jesus and Paul say quite directly that Christians should not do so. As I said in my post below, it is my conviction that Jesus and Paul are ushering us into the new covenant era by their teaching. No longer do we go to war against pagans, as in the days of David's rulership of Israel. That righteous era has ended; we are not the Israelite theocracy any longer. In the new covenant era, we lay down the sword. Now, we love our enemy. Now, we pray for our persecutors. This does not mean that we fail to defend ourselves or our families. It does not mean that we must embrace bad laws and hasten the breakdown of our countries. But it does mean that the gospel summons us not to hate those who persecute us, but to love them. This is the higher law of love. It is the way of Christ in this era. So it shall be this way until Jesus returns and executes complete and total justice on his enemies. Until that day, we pray for God to oppose and stop evil, and to destroy evil movements. But I believe that we should not curse our enemies or our persecutors. Sauve has offered clear and distinctive guidance for pastors, giving them a charge that they should follow; I believe that Sauve has contradicted Paul and Jesus, and is leading pastors in an unsound and ultimately unbiblical direction.