How Christians Affect the World (Matthew 5:13-16)

Transcription

1 CFCW- 05/11/2014 How Christians Affect the World (Matthew 5:13-16) Introduction Whether we like to admit it or not, the Christians feel a lot of pressure to conform to the world. Often with good intent, Christians will follow the pattern of the world in an attempt to win the world to Jesus. The thought is something like: We need to be like them if we are going to win them. The result of this in the West has been the development of a Christian-subculture. The world has rock concerts and we have Christian rock concerts. The world has movies and we have Christian movies. The world has dating websites and we have Christian dating websites. The world attacks Christianity with bumper stickers and we answer with Christian bumper stickers. I am not saying that any of this is wrong or sinful in-and-of-itself, but we do need to keep in mind that King Jesus does not intend for His followers to be just like the world. John 17: I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Christians are in the world, but they are not of the world. A Christian is fundamentally different than the men and women of the world. And it is striking to note from Church History that the periods when the Church was most effective was when she was most distinct from the world. The early Church lived such dissimilar lives from the surrounding pagan Roman culture that they endured periods of terrible persecution. But by 313 AD the Gospel had so spread throughout the Roman Empire that the Emperor issued the Edict of Milan declaring Christianity a legal religion. In the same way, godly Reformers suffered at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. But through their efforts, the Gospel was recovered and the grip of Roman Catholicism over much of Europe was broken. Perhaps the way Christians can affect the surrounding culture is most clearly seen in periods of revival. For instance, during the Great Awakening in the 18 th century, men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley preached throughout the American Colonies and in Britain and the impact of their ministry was astounding. Benjamin Franklin, who never professed to be a Christian, made the following observations about the effect George Whitefield had on those who heard him preach. In 1739, the Reverend Mr. Whitefield arrived in America from England where he had become famous as an itinerant preacher. At first, he was permitted to preach in some of our churches. But later the clergy took a disliking to him and refused to allow him the use of their pulpits and he was forced to preach in the fields. The multitude of all kinds of sects and denominations that gathered to hear him preach was enormous. And it was a matter of curiosity to me as an eyewitness to see the extraordinary influence of his preaching upon his hearers and how much they admired and respected him, even though he regularly abused them, assuring them they were by nature half beasts and half devils. And it was astonishing to see the change that was soon made on the behavior of our citizens; from being thoughtless and indifferent about 1

2 religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious. One could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing Psalms sung in different families of every street. 1 It is not too much to say that the Great Awakening changed the course of American History. It is when Christians are most like Jesus that they most powerfully affect the world. Christ Fellowship, that is God s purpose for our lives as well. Our passage for study this morning teaches us that God intends for us to positively impact the world around us. Christians are to be salt and light in this corrupt and dark world. Background In our study in the Gospel of Matthew, we have come to the Sermon on the Mount. Here the Lord Jesus describes His followers. Jesus is a King and His purpose in this sermon is to describe the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven Christians. What are Christians like? Over six weeks, we studied through the Beatitudes and saw Jesus give eight concise descriptions of the citizens of His kingdom. From those descriptions we learned that Christians are unlike the men and women of this world. They are fundamentally different. The world is characterized by a love for SELF and a pursuit of SELF. But Christians are characterized by a denial of SELF and a love for God. The world tries to find happiness in this life. Christians realize that they are not long for this world and so they live for a better world which is to come. And Christians are men and women who have received great promises from God. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (5:3, 10). They shall be comforted (5:4). They shall inherit the earth (5:5). They shall be satisfied (5:6). They shall receive mercy (5:7). They shall see God (5:8). They shall be called sons of God (5:9). Christians are truly Blessed. But with blessing also comes responsibility. Jesus has told us about the citizens of the Kingdom. They are blessed happy, blissful, fortunate. He has also told us how the world will respond to the citizens of the Kingdom. It will persecute them. Now, in our passage this morning, Jesus tells His disciples who they are to be in the world. They are to be distinct. And we will see that it is precisely because Christians are different than the men and women of the world that they are able to do good in the world. MIM: Christians are to live distinct lives filled good works so that others might come to glorify God. Matthew 5: You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people s feet. 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. This morning we are going to see: -The Distinctiveness of the Christian s life (5:13-15) -The Goal of the Christian s life (5:16) 1 Cited from an article entitled Benjamin Franklin on George Whitefield 1739 accessed online at on 05/7/2014 [modernization mine]. 2

3 I. The Distinctiveness of the Christian s Life Salt and Light (v.13-15) A. Christians are the salt of the earth (5:13). Matthew 5:13- You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people s feet. a. This is the first statement Jesus makes about His disciples. Now we need to remember whom Jesus is addressing. Surrounding Him as He gives the Sermon the Mount is a vast crowd, but Jesus is specifically addressing His disciples and when he sat down, his disciples came to him (5:1). There were no doubt some who were educated and rich among these disciples, but the vast majority were common men and women. These were men and women who were going about their lives just like you and I, except they were mostly uneducated and just getting by, living day-by-day. It is these people that Jesus addresses when He says, You are the salt of the earth. And the words Jesus uses here are emphatic in the Greek. Jesus is saying, You and you ONLY are the salt of the earth. b. This statement must have come as quite a shock to these disciples because in the first century, salt was very precious. They were common men and women, but Jesus is saying that they are valuable. At times, Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt. 2 In the days before refrigeration, salt was an important preservative. It kept food from spoiling and going bad. And that is almost certainly the picture Jesus has in mind here. Who are Christians? They are the ones who go into the world and work to preserve it and keep it from spoiling and going bad. Illustration: To grasp what Jesus is saying here, we need to understand that according to the Bible the world is getting worse and worse. Its natural tendency is towards decay. Left to themselves, both men and civilizations tend to go bad with time. The theory of evolution might say that things naturally move upward towards more order. Theologians and philosophers of the late 19 th century were convinced that man would enter a golden age in the 20 th century and there would be no more wars or national conflicts. But things do not tend to move towards order but disorder. And the 20 th century, as we have noted, was marked by significant bloodshed with two World Wars, a Cold War, and innumerable smaller conflicts. Every great society The Roman Empire, The Byzantine Empire, The Ottoman Empire, The British Empire has fallen apart from within. Every great society in history has ultimately collapsed under the weight of its own corruption. And America is no different. In our day, we are watching a society unravel before our very eyes. Every truth is being questioned and abandoned. Now the only important questions are What do I want to do? What feels right? How can I please myself? c. It is the task of Christians to be salt in a corrupt world. We are to go into the world and we are to do what we can in our individual lives to keep things from 1985), John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7 in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 3

4 getting worse. And just as salt also adds flavor to food, we are to work in our lives to make things around us better. Illustration: What does this look like? It looks like individual Christians being salty. We are to live distinct lives in the world. Salt is by its very nature different than the food it goes into and it is the fact that it is different that enables it to have its effect. 3 A Christian, by virtue of who he or she is (Remember the Beatitudes: poor in spirit, merciful, pure in heart, etc.), should have a positive effect on those around them. Our co-workers should feel a little uncomfortable to swear around us. Our neighbors should feel a little out of place when they are gossiping about others around us, because they know we do not gossip. Men, the fact that we do not ridicule or belittle our wives at work, but instead speak highly of them, should encourage other men around us not to put their wives down. And it goes to higher levels as well. Christians should actively work to stop societal evils. It is good and right to do what we can to confront the sin of abortion. It is good and right to do what we can to preserve the Biblical definition of marriage as a life-long covenant between one man and one woman. We should fight to protect the weak and vulnerable. We should exercise our right to vote in order to promote things that please God and are good for society. Application: I am not saying we all need to go into politics. But I am saying that we need to realize who we are. This is an issue of identity. God has given us a task to do, and that task is to do what we can to make this world better because we are in it because we are salt. Throughout history Christians have been at the forefront in righting injustice in the world (e.g., Early Church deaconess rescuing infants in Rome; Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery in England) and of promoting good in society (e.g. establishing universities, hospitals, and orphanages). d. If they are going to be faithful to King Jesus, Christians need to be salty working to preserve the world from corruption and seeking to make society better. But sadly we know that many genuinely saved men and women are not faithful to be salty in the world. They compromise. They become worldly--focused on money and success. They fail to speak up for Jesus out of fear. The Bible tells us that some will be saved on the Day of Judgment, but they won t have much to show for their lives. They will have wasted their lives (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). The main trouble is that there are far too few Christian people, and that those of us who are Christian are not sufficiently salty. 4 -Martyn Lloyd-Jones e. And that is why Jesus issues the WARNING He does in the second part of the 5:13...but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people s feet. Some have been confused by this statement because salt is sodium chloride and sodium chloride is a stable molecule. Pure salt doesn t become less salty. But we are helped when we remember that the salt in Jesus day 3 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 1971 edition), Ibid.,

5 wasn t pure salt. It was found in rocks in the ground and the Dead Sea and it was often mixed with other minerals. Given time, the salt could actually leach out of the salt rock and the salt rock could become tasteless. 5 Commentators tend to spend a lot of time on things like this, but I agree with R.T. France who noted that Jesus is not teaching a chemistry lesson here. 6 He is making an obvious point: salt that is not salty is worthless. It fails to accomplish what it is supposed to accomplish. It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on the ground. Application: In other words, Jesus is urging these disciples to act like what they really are. Paul makes this same point in Ephesians 4:1 when he writes: Ephesians 4:1- I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. A Christian is not just someone who likes Jesus and tries to imitate Him. According to the Bible, A Christian is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Yes, Christians still struggle with sin (1 John 1:8-9), but the Bible tells us that in Christ we have died to sin (cf. Romans 6:5-11). Fundamentally, Christians have been transformed. We have been given a new identity. We are blessed. We are adopted sons and daughters of God. We are co-heirs with Christ. And the message of the Bible is that we should realize this and we should live accordingly. We are the salt of the earth and so we should be salty. Application: In other words, if you are a Christian, then be a DECIDED Christian. Labor and strive with all your power to be Christlike. Do not think you can coast to heaven. Jesus went to heaven by way of the cross. The pattern for the Christian is always suffering then glory. We need to strive to affect this world for good and we need to strive to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. B. Christians are the light of the world (5:14-15). Matthew 5: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. a. You are the light of the world. Here again the Greek is emphatic. Jesus is saying, You and you ONLY are the light of the world. This statement contradicts the world which believes it is the light. In the 18 th century the Western world entered into a period that has been called the Enlightenment. The great idea of the Enlightenment is that REASON and not God s Word (the Bible) is the ultimate source of truth. But the Enlightenment has led to disaster. Reason unguided by Scripture convinced the Nazis that the Jews were an inferior race which needed to be exterminated and so 6 million were killed in concentration camps. Reason unguided by Scripture has convinced entire Daniel Doriani, Matthew, vol.1 in Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), 2007), R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew in NICNT (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 5

6 nations that individuals are not nearly as important as the State. And more than 50 million were killed under Communist Russia. Reason unguided by Scripture has dictated that a woman s freedom of choice is more important than the life of an unborn infant, and so more than 50 million unborn babies have been murdered in America since And Reason unguided by Scripture is currently convincing our culture that gender is an issue of personal preference that there is no fundamental difference between men and women. Reason is not a reliable guide because our minds have been affected by sin. The message of the Bible is that this world is darkness and the people of the world walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). b. But the message of the Bible is that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Throughout the Bible light is associated with God. Light represents God s holiness. God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). And light represents God s truth. Paul refers to the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). Before Christ came, the world was walking in the darkness of sin and ignorance. But Matthew 4:16 declares, The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. This was an OT prophecy fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The Gospel How Christians become light 1. Jesus IS the light of the world. He declares this in John 8:12. By His life and teaching, He perfectly revealed the holiness and truth of God. Jesus is utterly unique. No one performed miracles the way He did. No one spoke as He did. No one has conquered Death and Hell the way Jesus has. He is light. And that is what is amazing about 5:14. Jesus came so that His followers might be the light of the world (5:14) as well. Jesus addresses His disciples and says, You are the light of the world. How do men and women become the light of the world? This is the Good News of the Gospel. Before Jesus saved us, you and I were walking in darkness. We loved sin and we loved SELF. But Jesus came to undo that. God created Man to worship serve Him, but the first man and woman rejected God s good rule. We have all followed suit. You and I were born in darkness. We did not love God. We loved ourselves. We did not want to serve God. We wanted to serve ourselves. And so we lived under God s judgment. But Jesus came to live the kind of life you and I should have lived, but have failed to live. And then Jesus died on cross in the place of sinners. He took the punishment we deserved. And then He rose from the dead. Now all who turn from their sins and trust in Christ are forgiven for their sins. But more than Christians are united with Christ. They become partakers of the divine nature. God s Holy Spirit lives within us. And the light of God shines in us. Brothers and sisters, in Christ, we become the light of the world. If you are not a Christian, but you want to learn more about this, we would love to talk with you about this after the service this morning. Illustration: Friends, Christians do not become God. We do not become divine. But we do receive new hearts. We do become reflectors of the glory of God! Now we are mirrors that capture the light of God and reflect it to others. We become the light of the world in the same way as the moon lights up the sky 6

7 at night. We reflect God s light. It is God s Spirit that lives within us and shines through us. When people see us, they see the light of God. In this way, we become the light of the world. Ephesians 5:8-9- for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. 7 c. In 5:14b-15, Jesus gives two illustrations to help us understand what He means when He says You are the light of the world. i. Illustration #1- A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (5:14b). Naturally, a city that is placed on top of a hill will be seen in the day because of how it is situated. Everyone will look up and see it. But since Jesus is referring to light in this passage, it is probably best to picture a city upon a hill at night. How will it be seen? The lights of the city will join together and shine in the night and people will be able to see the city for miles around. Illustration: If you have ever flown at night, you have seen this reality. When Missy and I lived in Istanbul, we would fly out early in the morning before sunrise. It was dark, but Istanbul has a population of 16 million people and the collective lights of the city would light up the sky. The city was visible for miles and miles as we flew. 1. And that is probably the picture Jesus has in mind for His disciples. The point here is that it is not only individual Christians who are the light of the world, but the entire Christian community is the light of the world. The Christian community should live together in a way that reflects God s holiness and truth. Application: Practically, this means that the way we live life together in Christ Fellowship should impact non-christians when they are among us. Light is fundamentally different than darkness. And the way we interact with one another should look very different than the way men and women in the world interact with one another. Our church should be marked by holiness and truth. Our church should be marked by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). God intends for us to be salt and light in the world. ii. Illustration #2- Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house (5:15). The point of this illustration is pretty clear: The reason why someone would light a lamp in the house is so that it would shine. To light a lamp, but hide it under a basket would be foolish. It would defeat the purpose for lighting the lamp. Brothers and sisters, God has lit a lamp. We are the light of the world and God intends for us to shine in this dark world. 7 See also Philippians 2:

8 Application Questions: 1. Do you claim to be a Christian? Are you salty? Do you let the light of God shine in your life? Or do you try to hide it? 2. Would your non-christian friends agree with you? Would they say there is something distinct about you? Would they say you work to make things better wherever you are? Do they know you are a Christian? Are you letting your light shine? II. The Goal of the Christian s Life (5:16) Matthew 5:16- In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. A. Why did God choose to make His followers the light of the world? Jesus tells us in 5:16. The purpose of light is to shine. If you are a Christian, your goal in life is to let your light shine before others. Christians are distinct in the world and God wants that difference to be seen. And it will be seen in the way we live in this world. Letting your light shine looks like doing good works. God has called us to live lives filled with good works. The word good here in the Greek refers to works that are beautiful or attractive. 8 We should self-consciously live in such as way that non-believers look at our lives and see them as beautiful. Why? So that they will be drawn to God, who is the source of our good works (cf. 1 Peter 2:11-13). When they see our light, they will realize that there must be a source for our goodness, and conclude that God is that source. They will praise God for his work in us. 9 Three realities about the Christian s life from Matthew 5:16: -Daniel Doriani a. The Christian life is a life of intentional obedience- God has prepared good works for us so that we might do them (Eph. 2:10). We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved unto good works. It really does matter that we do good in this world. That is what obedience looks like and obedience is how we demonstrate love for Jesus (John 15:14). b. The Christian life is a life dedicated to bringing glory to God, not ourselves. Our goal in doing good is not to draw attention to ourselves, but to God who empowers us to be light in the world. We are only different because God has saved us and transformed us. 8 MacArthur, Matthew 1-7, Daniel Doriani, Matthew,

9 c. The Christian life is a missional outward, others focused--life. God has saved us to be salt and light in the world. But if we are never in the world, but instead always hold up behind the safety of the walls of our homes or the church, then we are being disobedient to God. Application: What good is hidden light? Parents need to think about this as we raise our children. There is a tension here. We do want to protect our children as best we can from the evil of the world. But if we don t disciple them to see that God wants them to be salt and light in the world, and if they never see us acting as salt and light in the world, then we are FAILING to disciple our children. Some Christian parents out of a desire to protect their family from the world effectively put their family under a bushel. A better way is Psalm 127:4-5. Psalm 127:4-5- Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Let s pray big prayers that God would save our children and let s encourage them to be salt and light to take His Gospel to their schools, workplaces, and even to the nations. Application: Christ Fellowship, if this passage teaches us anything it teaches us that we cannot be content to be a nice Christian Bible study. Christ wants us to be salt and light in Williamsburg. We need to feel the burden of this responsibility. We are content to just stay inside and enjoy each other s company and never go out and seek to make disciples in Williamsburg we are failing to live out who we are. Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him. 10 -Dietrich Bonhoeffer Application: Which danger is greater: the danger of being negatively affected by the world or of being persecuted by the world or the danger of living a life that dishonors Jesus through disobedience to be salt and light IN the world? Conclusion We may try, but we will learn that we cannot win the world by becoming like the world. We can only positively impact the world by being who we are who God has saved us to be. Are we salt and light? Then we must be salty and we must let our light shine. Christian people, you and I are living in the midst of men and women who are in a state of gross darkness. They will never have any light anywhere in this world except from you and from me and the gospel we believe and teach. They are watching us. Do they see something different about us? Are our lives a silent rebuke to them? Do we so live as to lead them to come and ask us, Why do you always look so peaceful? How is it that you are so balanced? How can you stand up to things as you do? Why is it you are not dependent upon artificial aids and pleasures 10 Cited in D.A. Carson, The Expositor s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984),

10 as we are? What is this thing that you have got? If they do we can then tell them that wondrous, amazing, but tragically neglected news, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and to give men a new nature and a new life and to make them children of God. Christian people alone are the light of the world today. Let us live and function as children of the light. 11 May God help us live for Him in the world this week! Let s pray -Martyn Lloyd-Jones 11 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1,