What is Christian Testimony?

Matthew 5:13-16

a. You are salt and Light (5:13-15)

b. Let your light shine (5:16)

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. You are salt and Light (5:13-15)

i. Before we begin, I want to make it clear that the church in America is unaware of what Jesus is speaking of in these verses. What do I mean about this? The church in America rarely experiences persecution. We might be oppressed or even ridiculed, but we don’t face persecution. On the other hand, the Church Universal, this is relevant because of the persecution of the church we hear about in the Middle East and Southeast Asia where Christians are being killed for their faith.

1. In America and in the west, we don’t face persecution in that way, but rather, discrimination for our faith. So we must understand while this text is speaking to us, we might not understand the implications as clearly because we don’t actually experience what Jesus is speaking about here in the United States. But certainly at the time of Jesus’s audience, we can see in the Scriptures how the people at the time would have understood this.

2. But what does apply to us is the principle in which we are to be salt and light in the world. The reality of Jesus’s claim here is and can be understood by the Church locally and universally because we live in a fallen world. The church must stand as a pillar of salt and light because of the dawn of sin in this world.

3. When we say things like we live in a fallen world, Jesus is addressing that issue here. The fact that sin is rampant in the world is dealing with the reality that Christians must be agents of opposition to the current of the world. Jesus starts by calling all those in Christ as a reality.

ii. Verse 13 begins with a reality. Jesus says you are the salt and in verse 14, He says you are the light of the world. Jesus is not telling us that you can be or you will be but rather, you are. This is who you are. Following the context of 5:11-12, this is who you are if you are in Christ. If you are following me, the reality is, people will persecute you and say bad things about you. But when people say these things, you have to realize, that you receive these things with humility, because you are My followers. You receive this type of oppression because of Me.

iii. So Jesus says you are the salt of the world. Salt here can have various meanings as the idea of salt is used in many different passages. Elisha uses salt to purify bad drinking water in 2 Kings 2:19-23, in Job 6:6, salt is a condiment for food. Mark 9:50, Jesus mentions that salt is linked with peace. Lastly, in Colossians 4:5, salt is linked with friendship and being gracious. So given the various uses of salt, we can’t say that salt here in Matthew 5:13 is just one instance of salt. But what we can say is, salt can be all of these references that are mentioned in the Bible. Jesus explains what salt is, by saying if salt has become tasteless, how could it be salty again? Jesus explains that salt itself is from this description, something that must be distinct. It must keep its distinct aspect.

iv. When we think about salt within food, salt is what flavors the food. It is what allows food to have a certain taste. Let’s take for example meat. When we eat meat, we eat it with salt because it enhances and brings out the flavor of the meat. It has a distinct purpose in that it enhances and brings out the flavor. At the same time, it preserves the meat so that it doesn’t rot.

v. That’s the importance of salt which is why Jesus tells all believers in Christ, we must be salt. The point Jesus is making here is if salt is mixed with impurities, it also becomes useless. No matter how useful salt is, if you put salt with rotten foods, it becomes useless. So Jesus says, it is no longer good and is thrown out and trampled under foot by men. If salt loses it’s purpose, it is used to throw out.

vi. Verse 14, Jesus continues His statement by telling His listeners that they are light of the world. This is an important phrase because it explains to us the function and purpose of the church. The Church is supposed to be light in the world, that assumes that it is a dark world. In darkness, the church is called to be light for the purpose of the representation of who God is and how God is involved in the world.

vii. Just as God is light in reference to 1 John 1:5, James 1:17 and 1 Timothy 6:16, the church is to be light in the world to see how God is working in the world. Functionally, the church is the window in which the divine light enters into the world. The church is the means in which the world sees the work of God.

viii. Verse 15 tells us how and where the world should be. Jesus explains that a light that is put under a basket has no fruitful purpose. What Jesus is explaining here is that if you setup a light, and put it under something that blocks the light from shining, it’s useless.

ix. To understand this better, what Jesus is teaching His people is that the church must be in the world and shine in the world. The church loses its purpose if it hides from the world and lives in a secluded place all by itself. Why? Because the function of the church is to live as a testimony of God and His faithfulness. The church’s testimony is how it interacts with the world and how the Christian is different than the world. It would make no sense for Christians to retreat to a secluded place and live alone apart from the world. Rather, it makes the most sense if Christians were involved in the world and live as salt, functionally distinct and yet involved and apart of the things of this world.

x. So many times, people think that the church should be separate from the world as if they should live functionally different and unlike the world. This is why the church has written in articles and sermons in how Christians should watch certain movies or listen to certain types of music. I think those are good practices to do, but that’s not the point of what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying, that we should be in the world and interact differently than the world. It is not to say that Christians should never do or experience the things of this world. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that all things are lawful but not all things are profitable.

xi. People have used this verse to say that we should refrain from certain things, but the reality of that verse is to tell us that all things are permissible but not all things edify others. For Paul, it’s not a matter of telling people what they can or can’t do, but rather, giving people the freedom to understand how they can edify others.

xii. So what does this actually look like? Well let’s take certain television shows or music for this matter. Many Christian leaders will say how we shouldn’t watch certain television shows, movies or listen to certain music because it’s not helpful. But the reality is, most Christians will watch them anyway and listen to it anyway. Why? Because these movies and music are not entirely bad. How could Christians be salt and light in these moments? Well they can listen and watch these movies and music to understand how we can better understand the worldview of the unbelieving world. We can better understand why people think and live the way we live. We can use these things to relate to others and also understand how these people come to certain conclusions.

xiii. I believe that is the purpose of the Church. It isn’t to take the fun out of the things of life. That is not to say that we should partake in sin, but to say Christians shouldn’t listen to certain types of music or watch certain types of movies, I think misses Paul’s point and misses the point of what Jesus is saying. Jesus is not telling the church to be different than the world because we don’t listen to their music or watch their television shows. Rather, it’s telling us to have a different outset and perspective into life. We should be in the world, understand where the world is coming from, and to give hope to the world. It isn’t to police the world and tell them what they should be doing.

xiv. Afterall, Jesus says you are the salt and light of the world. He doesn’t say you are becoming salt and becoming light because of the way you live. Rather, He gives the indicatives of what we are. He tells us of our reality because of the finished work of Christ on the cross for all believers.

b. Let your light shine (5:16)

i. So in light of this, Jesus concludes by telling the church to let their light shine. I believe this is the best part of Jesus’s sermon. Jesus is telling His listeners then and now, that if you are followers of Christ, let your light shine in such a way that they might see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.

ii. We see contextually that the premise of Jesus’s argument here is about persecution. As I said earlier, the Church in the West is relatively unexposed to this idea of persecution. So we will talk about this in a broader way. The way the church is to be salt and light in the world as we know it today, is how we deal with others that disagree with us. It can also be understood of how we deal with people who say all kinds of evil things about us. What Jesus is telling us is, how to let your light shine, how to be different than how the world would deal with this issue.

iii. Jesus’s section here is very practical in the sense that Jesus isn’t telling us how we should just think and how we should understand this sermon that Jesus was preaching. Rather, Jesus is telling us, how we should live. Jesus has told us the indicatives already. Jesus has said we are salt and light. There is something functionally and inherently different about us than the world.

iv. So what? What will you do with it? Will you just say you are salt and light, and functionally be no different than any other ingredient? The church’s function is that we must be different. Not that we must be opposite of the world, but rather, be in the world, to be watching the movies of the world and listening to the music and understanding why people are the way they are, and yet, be different.

v. I mean if we knew a family member who is an unbeliever and we are trying to evangelize to them, and they ask us to eat a certain type of food or watch a certain movie with them and we say, well we can’t because that’s not what Christians do, how will we ever relate to the world? That’s not to say that we have to indulge in that lifestyle and we have to do everything like the world.

vi. No the purpose of what we do, is always in the words of Paul, for the edification of others. We should live our lives to edify other people. How do we edify others? We must understand who they are and where they are coming from. We can’t edify others if we are constantly telling them how they should live or telling them what they should do. Rather, we edify others when we allow freedom to exist in our relationships and we share with them when we can. But the best way to edify someone? To allow our actions to speak for ourselves.

vii. When we preach about how marriage is so and so, what God expects from our marriages, we should embody those things in our marriages. Jesus says let your light shine. Jesus is saying let your convictions speak for themselves. If you say you believe in Jesus Christ, let your attitude and your expression of your conviction (확신) speak for you.

3. CONCLUSION