Matthew 5:13-20

You (Church) are the Light of the World

Introduction:

Astrophysicists tell us the reason why space is dark. Why does our sun not light up space? The answer is relatively uncomplicated: light needs something to reflect off. Sunlight from our sun and other stars float through space, but without anything to reflect off, there is only darkness. This phenomenon is how we get moonlight. The moon is merely a rock in space, and it does not make any light of its own. Yet, it reflects the sun’s light in the evening, offering a bit more light to guide us in the night.

When John the Baptist pointed to Christ, he said something similar; his role was pointing to the light. In some ways, this is also an apt analogy for those who follow Jesus. We are not the source of the light, but hopefully, we point to the light of Christ with our words and actions. But there is one glaring difference between moonlight and Christians. Christians don’t merely reflect light; they are the light through the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is at work within us, we become a dwelling place for God’s own Spirit. For this reason, Paul says in 1 Corinthians,

1 Corinthians 6:19 LSB

Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Last Week we looked at the beatitudes and pointed out the reality that Jesus was foreshadowing something that had been entirely impossible for humanity to do prior, and that was to be genuinely renewed and forgiven of sin. Before Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, a Jew could have their sins temporarily covered with the blood of the sacrifice but never forgiven and washed clean. Nor could sin or death have been truly defeated. Jesus knew the time was coming when this would change, and the Spirit of God would forever change the world. Thus Jesus set down words that would have seemed absurd to the lost and make perfect sense to the found. He ultimately shows us through the beatitudes what we should look like as believers growing in the light of the Word, walking in sanctification.

On the most basic level, a believer with a healthy relationship with Christ will grow into the community that is His body here on earth, learn to follow Jesus, and boldly proclaim to one another-- and the world that “Jesus is Lord!”

Here is the problem that so many, if not all, face in one way or another. We can be spiritually and intellectually deficient in understanding and living out the doctrine of sanctification. In some aspects, spiritually, many of us never grow. This is something that we are all responsible for correcting both individually and collectively.

When we learn to truly hand over our lives to the counsel and correction of the Holy Spirit, we go from individuals trying to live and grow in Christ all by ourselves to a congregation growing together and in the same direction, which is to fulfill the great commission in the fashion that God’s Spirit and Word guide us. In other words, not only do you learn as an individual to be more like Christ. Through proper Biblical discipleship, the Church grows in that same fashion, taking you from being a quote-on-quote church-- to being...

“A community gathering people to know, follow, and share Christ!”

I will say that again. Our goal as a church is to be...

“A community gathering people to know, follow, and share Christ!”

Although it is a simple thing to say, it will require genuine effort and sincere commitment to surrendering one's self entirely to the will of God.

Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word together.

Matthew 5:13–20 LSB

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Let us Pray!

Gracious God, You have called us out of darkness and into marvelous light. You have saved and made us whole to free us from bondage. The challenge You place before us is to die to ourselves, surrender our wills, and serve sacrificially. Yet we cling to our sinful humanity and the trappings of this temporal life. Forgive us for being stubborn, selfish, and sinful. Set us free to embrace the values of Your Kingdom, transform our hearts to long for You, and empower us to live courageously as Your children. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Restored or Thrown Out?

Having grown accustomed to the redemption theme that saturates Scripture, I find the explanation that Jesus provides to his question in v. 13 surprising and unsettling—like getting to the end of a children's movie and having a dragon eat the princess.

“So, how can it be restored?” Obviously, “For mortals, it is impossible, but nothing is impossible with God.” The nature of this text, however is that the implied answer is that it can’t be restored: “It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

Being careful with this passage, I want to point out the reality that the word "you" in verse thirteen is in the plural and not talking on an individual basis. So, “you”— “y’all, collectively, are the salt of the earth.” And this is not to say that Christian communities that fail to function as salt cannot be reformed and redeemed. Still, it’s different from suggesting that individual prodigals are only good to be trampled upon—and it’s a potent warning against communities drifting into this useless state.

Jesus didn't get the light and darkness portion of this right to turn around and be wrong about salt losing its flavor. A scientist will tell you that, chemically speaking, salt doesn't lose its flavor. Instead, they will tell you that salt can’t lose its saltiness at the molecular level. So, Jesus must be referring to salt becoming contaminated and thus diluted down by mixing with other substances. And perhaps the ministry of a Christian community that has lost its gospel in a mix of greed, abuse, moral relativism, or idolatry does need to be thrown out altogether. Still, God can undoubtedly renew such a community with brand new salt.

The only way such a renewal can take place is if those faithful to God and His word are consecrated. On some level, there will always be traces of pollutants, convinced they are salt.

The Body of Christ, aka the Church, is a collective of us all. Therefore the goal is to be obedient and faithful to be consecrated and sanctification unto our Lord!

Let me say this;

if you are not being consecrated unto God, you are being consecrated unto yourself.

When it is the case that we are consecrating ourselves, we are guilty of original sin and cannot be consecrated by God. In other words, you will not see lasting valid consecration in a person consecrating themselves because regardless of what God says in His Word, you will attempt to recuse yourself on one lame excuse or another.

From Being Seen to Giving Light

I love the shift in the function of light in verses. 14-15. At first, as if Jesus is giving two examples of light to make a single point, but the two pictures he presents to have the light serving two distinct ends. He ties the two together to make the first end serve the second.

“A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Here the point is that light is itself seen. Then, a lamp is not put under a basket but upon a lampstand, not so that it might be the more visible itself, but so that it might give “light to all in the house.” Here the point is that light illuminates what is around it.

So the first image draws attention to the light, and the second away from the light to objects around it. Jesus’ concluding comment indicates the ultimate purpose of our light to draw attention away from us: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

In the first instance, Jesus points to himself as the source of light and lets us know that without Him, there is no light,-- no truth or hope, and His intent for the Church is to reflect Him in a world of darkness.

The second instance points us back to Him as the light and tells us to make Him known and let the world see Him.

Do not be guilty of being saved and then fail to share the miracle you have found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Promise and Fulfillment

Verse 17 summarizes the basic hermeneutic of many Christian traditions for connecting the Old and New Testaments: “not to abolish but to fulfill.”

This pattern of promise and fulfillment, taken as a basic interpretive principle, highlights the constancy of God through the ages and the unity of the one covenant of grace that we find throughout the scriptural witness. This unity of God’s purpose rules out alternative ways of reading the two testaments. Such as, the New Testament does away with the Old, representing God’s “Plan B,” or offering a parallel plan of redemption running alongside but distinct from God’s previously expressed promises. God's covenantal promises fulfill and capitalize on the previous to legitimize the next to confirm its authenticity throughout time.

Doing and Teaching

James tells us (3:1) that teachers are judged with greater strictness, and we don’t necessarily see the “greater” strictness here; and this, for me, points to Jesus' audience being again His Church in its entirety. Still, Jesus clearly knows that the content of our moral instruction matters greatly. “Whoever breaks [commandments]…and teaches others to do the same” will be called the least, and “whoever does them and teaches them” will be called great.

All of you who are parents, grandparents, and teachers listen up here. There is no provision here for “do as I say but not as I do.” I of course mean, in practice—especially for those with positions of authority (as a parent with children, a teacher with students, or a pastor with a congregation)—any division between doing and teaching is artificial, and merely serves as a stumbling block to those you would otherwise wish to influence for the better.

In other words, every action doubles as instruction, so a proper approach to discipleship and obedience will sound louder than any sermon about God’s law.

In other words, your actions will speak far louder than your words, whether you are a pastor, teacher, parent, or grandparent. Whatever roles you are filling, take them seriously because eternity for someone may depend upon your diligence.

In the end, our momentum needs to be moving us toward realizing as individuals and a congregation a heart of total praise, worship and adoration for God by fulfilling His Great Commission, and keeping His Greatest Commandment.

Last Week we looked at the beatitudes and pointed out the reality that Jesus was foreshadowing something that had been entirely impossible for humanity to do prior, and that was to be genuinely renewed and forgiven of sin. Before Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, a Jew could have their sins temporarily covered with the blood of the sacrifice but never forgiven and washed clean. Nor could sin or death have been truly defeated. Jesus knew the time was coming when this would change, and the Spirit of God would forever change the world. Thus Jesus set down words that would have seemed absurd to the lost and make perfect sense to the found. He ultimately shows us through the beatitudes what we should look like as believers growing in the light of the Word, walking in sanctification.

On the most basic level, a believer with a healthy relationship with Christ will grow into the community that is His body here on earth, learn to follow Jesus, and boldly proclaim to one another-- and the world that Jesus is Lord.

Here is the problem that so many, if not all, face in one way or another. We can be spiritually and intellectually deficient in understanding and living out the doctrine of sanctification. In some aspects, spiritually, many of us never grow. This is something that we are all responsible for correcting both individually and collectively.

When we learn to truly hand over our lives to the counsel and correction of the Holy Spirit, we go from individuals trying to live and grow in Christ all by ourselves to a congregation growing together and in the same direction, which is to fulfill the great commission in the fashion that God’s Spirit and Word guide us. In other words, not only do you learn as an individual to be more like Christ. Through proper Biblical discipleship, the Church grows in that same fashion, taking you from being a quote-on-quote church-- to being...

“A community gathering people to know, follow, and share Christ!”

Again it is a simple thing to say, but it will require genuine effort and sincere commitment to surrendering ourselves entirely to the God’s will.

Let us pray!

Lord, guide us in sanctification and consecrate us so that our joy may be complete in you. Knowing the message, we have heard and received through your Word so that we may announce to the world that You are light, and there is no darkness at all in you. May we fellowship with you and reject the darkness of this world. May we embrace you as the truth and walk in the light as you are in the light. Heavenly Father, guide us as we have fellowship with one another, and may the blood of Jesus your Son cleanse us from all sin. So that we may truly become "A community gathering people to know, follow and share Christ." in this world of desperate darkness, forever in need of you and your light.

Now is the moment when I offer up the invitation for the would be lost to publicly proclaim Christ if moved by the Holy Spirit, and open up the alter for you all who would like to request prayer for God to light your path and help you learn to be consecrated and walk in sanctification.

As we sing Draw Me Nearer if you need to come then please do!

Benediction:

Benediction is

Psalm 121:7-8

7 Yahweh will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in From now until forever.