Romans 12:14

Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. ["Thus," says Johnson, "did Christ on the cross, and the martyred Stephen." The apostle here drops into the imperative because quoting from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:44 : Luke 6:28). We would expect to find this command classified among duties to persons entirely outside the church, but the apostle's life reminds us that cursings were apt to come from those inside as well as from those without (2 Corinthians 11:26). "This doubling of the exhortation (bless) shows both the difficulty of the duty, how contrary it is to corrupt nature, and also the constancy of the duty, we must ever bless and never curse" (Burkitt). Love must win this battle for our untrue brother's sake.]