2-5-23 Sermon Matthew 5:13-20

Matthew 5:13-20

This morning I'll be reading Matthew chapter 5 verses 13 through 20. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Matthew 5:13-20 These verses are a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount that we looked at last Sunday. Matthew 5:13–20 (HCSB) — 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Matthew 5:1-12,,, the Beatitudes,,, from the Sermon on the Mount,,, we can see that we are “Blessed” as Christians,,, or,,, we should feel “Blessed” knowing that the reward that we will receive will last forever!

We need to act like we are “Blessed” so that the world can see what a true Christian looks and acts like!

When we show these characteristics,,, especially in the face of persecutions or trouble,,, people take notice,,, because they can see that we have the peace of God that helps us in any situation,,, and it makes them wonder,,, if they need that too!

We shouldn’t act or respond to problems like everyone else does,,, because we are “Blessed"!

We know that God loves us,,, and He will take care of us,,, today,,, tomorrow,,, and,,, forever!

And it’s “forever”,,, “eternity”,,, that is key to our joy and peace that we experience today,,, knowing that the sorrows that we might experience today,,, pale in comparison to the joy that awaits us in heaven!

Remembering that we are “Blessed”,,, and show the world around us,,, each one of us,,, the way that true Christians act,,, and help them to find God,,, or,,, help them figure out that they want to find God,,, when they see us,,, living a life,,, that shows the world,,, that we “are”,,, truly,,, “Blessed”

This morning we will look at these verses in Matthew 5:13-20 and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

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In the verses just before this,,, Jesus has been talking to them about ways that they should live their life and He is giving them ways that are completely opposite of the ways that the Pharisees actually act.

We know from last Sunday when we looked at the Beatitudes,,, that the Pharisees had a “greater than thou” attitude!

The Pharisees were not “poor in spirit”.

They did not “mourn” in recognition of their needs.

They were "proud and harsh",,, instead of humble and gentle.

They felt like they had attained righteousness,,, and because of that,,, did not have an appetite or desire for it.

They were more concerned with God’s laws and their own "man made laws" than with showing mercy.

People possessing the qualities that Jesus was talking about,,, would naturally stand out in the crowd and would not be understood by others.

Thus they would be persecuted; others would speak evil of them.

However,,, Jesus’ words encouraged His followers,,, for they would be walking in the footsteps of the prophets,,, who also were misunderstood and persecuted.

The verses that I read this morning tell some of the ways that we should stand out from the world.

___________________________________ Verse 13 said: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.

We are to be the salty church!

In Jesus’ day,,, and for many years after,,, salt was a preservative.

There were no refrigerators or freezers like we have today.

The only way to preserve meat then was to salt it down or soak it in a saline solution.

In fact, this was common practice right into the twentieth century in remote areas.

Understanding the way that salt is used helps us when we think of what Jesus might have been trying to say.

The world began as a perfect creation by God,,, but the world is dying daily because of sin!

As a result,,, we are to be the preservative of others,,, those that will never enter a church building,,, the unloved,,, those in need,,, we are to help them,,, preserve their life,,, by being,,, the salt of the earth,,, by showing them Christ that lives in each of us!

We as Christians must continue to do everything that we can to preserve the body of Christ just as those that came before us have done.

We must also be sure that we remain committed to Jesus Christ.

When salt has lost it's flavor,,, it is thrown out.

If we lose our commitment to Christ then we run the same risk.

We are in danger of this when we get into a rut and begin to slowly miss more and more of our daily Bible study,,, prayer time,,, weekly church attendance,,, all of these can gradually get worse and worse until we just get comfortable doing without them.

The second illustration is found in the next three verses.

___________________________________ Verses 14-16 said: 14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

These verses shouldn't need a lot of explaining.

Jesus is saying that we must live our life so that others can see Jesus in us and they will wonder what is different about us and ask.

That's why so many people that aren't Christians watch to see how we react to trouble in our life.

They are searching for peace and we should be able to show them,,, thru our actions,,, that we do have the peace of God inside us!

And since God is greater than we are,,, it should be easy for them to see God’s love shining out before us,,, for all to see!

The Holy Spirit living in us will be seen by others,,, and we should live our life accordingly,,, so that it is not suppressed,,, or covered up.

___________________________________ Verses 17-18 said: 17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.

In these verses,,, Jesus is saying that He will fulfill the law,,, by obeying it perfectly,,, and,,, fulfilling the prophets predictions of the Messiah and His kingdom.

He uses the example of the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter because any change to them “could” change the meaning of the word that is written.

And He wanted to reassure them that He didn't intend to change "the law or the prophets",,, but through His life,,, death,,, and resurrection,,, all of these things would be fulfilled.

___________________________________ Verses 19 and 20 said: 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is saying that we must live the same way that we are going to teach.

The Pharisees were great at telling others what they should do but that didn't mean that they obeyed the law the same way that they taught.

We also see that Jesus makes it clear that the righteousness that the people were seeking,,, could not be found in the teachings of the Pharisees or their laws.

Unlike the Pharisees,,, Jesus was worried about their internal actions,,, what was inside of them,,, not just the way that they looked on the outside

Jesus was worried about the way that they truly felt inside,,, not just going through the correct motions every week.

We can make that same mistake today.

If you think that going to church every Sunday is the most important thing to do,,, and when I say that,,, I mean if you think that's what will save you,,, then you are wrong!

Now,,, going to church "is" very,,, very,,, important!

I don't want you to leave from here and tell everyone that I said that you don't have to go to church anymore,,, because that's not what I mean!

But,,, if you are thinking that just going to church is what saves you,,, then it's that thought that is wrong!

The only thing that will keep you out of hell is your personal relationship with God and that is only available through accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

It's that personal relationship that makes everything that Jesus is talking about here possible,,, because it's only through the help of the Holy Spirit that it is possible to do everything that Jesus commands!

This is what Jesus was trying to tell the people that day,,, and us today as we read and study His word,,, that its not just going through the correct motions like the Pharisees were doing,,, but an inward action that can only come from the heart.

It must be personal,,, it must be a way of life and it must be continuous,,, not something that you put on Sunday morning as you get ready for church.

It must be something that you experience every day of the week,,, from the beginning of the week,,, to the end of the week!

___________________________________ As we prepare to leave here this morning,,, I want us to remember these scriptures and remember what Jesus was trying to prepare us for.

Remember that our focus should be on our inward actions and not just on our church attendance every Sunday.

Remember that being a Christian doesn't stop at whatever time I finish this sermon and we get out of here.

It begins and ends with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and He is with us daily as we go through each week until we meet back here again next Sunday,,, and the next,,, and the next,,, and on and on.….. I hope you can understand that it continues until we leave this world in death or Jesus comes back again.

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------