“Tota Scriptura”

Sermon Text

Please Turn with me in your Scripture once again to the Gospel According to St. Matthew (Matthew 5:13-20) with our focus especially being on vss. 17-20, and please remain standing for the reading of God’s Holy and inspired Word, which I pray you receive it as such:

Matthew 5:13–20 ESV

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. 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. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!

Opening Prayer

Sovereign God, our blessed heavenly Father,

Father, you have caused the entirety of your Holy Scriptures, every jot and tittle, to be written for our learning–grant us that we may in such a way hear them, read them, mark them, and inwardly ingest them; that by the patience and comfort of Your Holy Spirit illuminating Your Holy Word, we may embrace them and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given to us in our Sovereign King and saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, that we, Oh Lord, might be faithful subjects of your eternal Kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

i. Introduction

Beloved brothers and sister in the Lord Jesus Christ,

I cannot express strongly enough the importance of this evenings sermon. And it’s not because I have some ground-breaking new never before heard insights. No! If I did, to be honest, you ought to be very skeptical of them.

No! This evenings sermons is so important because the text before us has been so often misunderstood by Christians.

Moreover, the seven verses of sacred Scripture that we are looking at this evening contain within themselves the mission of Church–the ekklesia–the royal ruling assembly of God, the standard of righteousness of the Kingdom of God, and a powerful example of the authority and sufficiency of the totality of the Word of God as revealed to us in the pages of Scripture. Lord willing, in these verses we will see that…

Brothers and sister, one of the most basic truths of the Christian faith is that God is sovereign. As the Sovereign, He rules by His Word. His creation Word, His incarnate Word, and His inscripturated Word, are a unified garment, which together are the means by which God rules over His creation.

And today, specifically, we will see how the Word of God Incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ, rules by the Word of God inscripturated.

Not just part of God’s Word, but the whole of it.

While last week we focused on the doctrine of sola Scriptura, that Scripture, as the Word of the living God, is the sole source of special revelation and as such possesses a unique authority and and function.

This evening, in the final part of our two-part sermon series on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, we turn our attention to the doctrine of tota Scriptura (all of Scripture)to see what this important doctrine means both (1) as it relates to the whole corpus of Scripture and (2) the scope of its authority. Taken together, these two conjoined twin doctrines form the basis of a Reformed revelational epistemology (theory of knowledge) and maintain that all of God’s Word (tota Scriptura) and it alone (sola Scriptura) is the sole infallible rule for faith and life.

Put succinctly…

All of Scripture, and only Scripture, for all of life.

Personally, I cannot think of any better place to turn to see this all-important motto on display than to turn to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ which He spoke in His glorious Sermon on the Mount, recorded for us in our text today.

So, without further ado, let us begin by considering our text…

ii. Exegesis

Beloved, it has been said that “a text without a context is a pretext for a proof-text.” (x2)

That is, a text stripped of its context can easily be abused, misused to imply meanings not intended by the author.

Therefore, please allow me to set the context of our text before getting into the text itself.

Context of Matt. 5:13–20:

First of all, I must remind you that our sermon text today takes place within an all-important broader context.

Our text is but a piece of Christ’s famous Sermon on the Mount.

Here, at the start of His earthly ministry, we see Jesus, as the better Moses, proclaim the Law-Word of God for his disciples on a mountain somewhere not far from Capernaum.

In the Sermon on the Mount, we see King Jesus preach to His subjects about what it truly means to be loyal citizens of the His Kingdom.

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise, then, that we find the most detailed account of Christ’s great sermon recorded for us in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, the very Gospel account that is uniquely concerned with highlighting the Messianic Kingship of the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This detailed account of the Sermon, which spans from the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 all the way to the end of Chapter 7, is the locus classicus (the chief example or distillation) of the New Kingdom ethical order.

Throughout the long account, Jesus is focused on the righteous that it takes to enter the heavily Kingdom of God, the same righteousness which ought to evident in the life of the citizens of that New Kingdom order.

As it turns out, the Sermon on the Mount teaches us that…

Jesus Christ, as the the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, has a Kingdom, and that Kingdom has Law-Word, and as a good magistrate, the King of the Comos, Jesus is intensely concerned about the Law and Order of that New Kingdom.

For, after all, a King without a Kingdom is no King at all, and a Kingdom without a Law is a Kingdom divided against itself which cannot stand. Thankfully, despite what many foolish Christians would have you believe, this is not the case as it comes to Christ’s Kingdom.

Moreover, Jesus doesn’t just preach about the righteousness of the Kingdom…

He provides us with the very key to understand the fullness of the righteousness of God–Himself.

So, now, with that all important spade-work behind us, lets us take a look at our text…

So, let us now take a look at our sermon text Matt. 5:17–20, which acts as the thesis statement for the whole of the Sermon on the Mount.

Beginning at verse 17…

Verses 17:

Matthew 5:17 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Beloved, here, we see a most profound, emphatic statement from the Lord Jesus Christ!

The gravity of Christ’s words at this point cannot be lost on us.

At the beginning of verse 17, He says “Do not think.”

In other words, “Perish the thought!” “Do not even begin to think…,” “Do not entertain the thought for even one second!”

What thought ought they not think? Simple: “ that [He has] come to abolish the Law or the Prophets”

Against both the accusation of His detractors and the assumptions of even some of His followers, Jesus Christ emphatically declares at the outset of His earthly ministry that He has not come to do away with, destroy, or in any way contradict the Law of God.

In other words, everything that they will hear Him say, and see Him do throughout the entirety of His earthly ministry is not in contradiction to the Law-Word of God, but in fulfillment of it!

Think about this beloved. Jesus Christ, as the greater Moses in this very moment had every opportunity to institute a new Law-order for His heavenly Kingdom, instead, Jesus doubles down and unequivocally denies that He has come abrogate the Law in any way shape or form.

Against the assumptions of many, Jesus makes every effort to ensure that His hearers understand that the ethical standard of His New Kingdom order is not at all novel. It is the very same covenantal standard that abides in all times and all places.

I want you to notice the idiom the “Law and the Prophets.”

This is another way of Jesus saying the Tanakh. He has not comes to abrogate the Tanakh.

Pop Quiz!: What is the Tanakh?

I trust for some of you this might not be a familiar term, but the Tanakh is simply the threefold division of the Hebrew (or Older Testament) canon.

Tanakh is a clever transliteration of the (1) Torah (“the Law or Instruction” the 5 Books of Moses–Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Dueteronomy); (2) the Nevi’im (“the Prophets” which contains the historical and oracular books, such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets; (3) the Ketuvim ("Writings," which refers to the diverse compilation that includes poetry, wisdom literature, and historical books—such as Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.)

So, simply, the Tanakh is the Torah, Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim (The Law, the Prophets and the Writings).

In affirming the entirety of the Older Testament corpus, we see here that the Incarnate Word of God has NOT come to do away with the inscripturated Word of God, He has come to affirm it in its entirety!

And, as though His emphatic opening statement weren’t enough, Jesus further emphasizes His point by restating the fact that He has not come “to abolish [the Scriptures] but to fulfill them.”

Calvin, commenting on this passage said this:

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 5:17–19; Luke 16:17

[Here] Christ… declares, that his doctrine is so far from being at variance with the law, that it agrees perfectly with the law and the prophets, and not only so, but brings the complete fulfilment of them.

So, while it is obvious that Christ has not come to abrogate the Scriptures in anyway, the question remains…

What Does it Mean to “Fulfill” the Law?

Understanding what is meant by Christ’s statement that he has comes to “fulfill”that Law is crucial for understanding Christ’s position on the Law. So, what does it mean?

Despite what many interpretations would suggest that Christ has come to do away with the Law in some way or another in it’s fulfillment, which basically makes Christ say I have not comes to get rid of the Law, but do away with it some sense.

In this context, given Christ’s preceding words, the Greek word “πληρώσαι (plērōsai), translated “fulfill,” should be understood to mean “confirm, establish, or restore in its full measure, intent, and purpose,” which is, logically, the direct antithesis of abolish.

Accordingly, an appropriate translation of this text is the following: “Do not (begin to) think that I came in order to abrogate the law or the prophets; I did not come to abrogate them but to confirm them.”

Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, agrees at this point when he writes: “The law of God, he [that’s Christ] established and confirmed… [His conclusion being] Our king has not come to abrogate the law, but to confirm and reassert it.”

Indeed, far from diminishing the Law, like the scribes and Pharisees, Christ came to restore it to it’s proper place.

In doing so…

Christ reaffirms the Law-Word of God as the relevant, authoritative standard for the New Kingdom ethic.

And as though Christ’s emphatic statement in verse 17 weren’t enough. Agian, Christ double’s down by rendering an unequivocal conclusion of His statement in verse 18.

Verses 18:

Matthew 5:18 ESV

18 For truly [verily], I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

It’s truly hard to imagine how Jesus could be more plain, more direct and more emphatic in His teaching In verses 17–18 of Matthew chapter 5…

In “affirming” and “confirming” the relevance and authority of the Law of God, we should not be at all surprised to see Christ echoing the teachings of Scripture that He has come to affirm.In his emphatic statement that “ until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law” He is merely echoing the teachings of the Tanakh.

Isa 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Ps 119:89 “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” Ps 119:160 “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”

So firmly established is the Law of God, that it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away (Lk. 16:17), it would be easier for the whole created COSMOS to be undone than for even the smallest jot or tittle, the most minute breath-mark to pass away from the Law-Word of God.

Not what does it mean “until all is accomplished.” This is another important piece of our text to understand.

While much ink has been spilt on this phrase, I, like many others, simply think it is another literary emphasis highlighting the abiding validity of the Law.

After Dr. Greg Bahnsen, I believe, that Christ, with divine authority essentially says, “for truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, (i.e.) until everything has taken place, not one iota or one horn will by any means become invalid (pass away from the law).”

The take away: the abiding validity of the Law is more sure than the space-time universe. Think about that! Astonishing!

But, how could it be any other way, for the Law of God is, after all, a perfect reflection of the nature and character of Almighty God Himself. God Himself would have to pass away for His Law-Word to be in anyway annulled.

Here Christ teaches the timeless universality of the Law of God.

Taken together then, in Matt. 5:17–18:

Jesus, the Word of God, teaches the relevancy, applicability, authority, and validity of the perpetually binding perfect Law-Word of God, even in its most minute detail.

It’s because of this fact, that Christ issues a stark warning in verse 19…

Verses 19:

Matthew 5:19 ESV

19 Therefore, [because of the relevancy, applicability, authority, and validity of the perpetually binding perfect Law-Word of God] whoever [dares to] relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Beloved, this warning should make us sit up in our pews! In how many churches across the globe in our day-and-age is the Law of God set aside as somehow old and irrelevant. How often do we, if not explicitly, treat the right side of the Bible as more important than the Left?

After all, the God on the left side of the Bible seems rather mean. Therefore, like Andy Stnaley and Maricon before Him, we should probably unhitch the OT from the NT, right? Wrong, Dead wrong!

And maybe you wouldn’t be so foolish as to suggest that, but hoe flippantly have many Christians set aside the Law of God because they erroneously believe it is somehow at odds with the grace of God in Christ.

Sadly, this is true even in ostensibly Reformed churches.

A misunderstanding of the Law/Gospel distinction has led many to view the Law of God as though it is in an antithetical relationship with the grace of God, as though, they are mortal enemies. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!

However, pious and well-meaning as this may seem, it has led to no small amount of antinomianism within Protestant churches.

But some may say, “we are not under law but under grace!”

Is this not the Apostle Paul’s constant refrain throughout the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians? Does Paul not set the Law at odds with the Gospel?

No! Of course, not!

Nevertheless, the false antithesis that derives from this view becomes one that erroneously sets Law against grace, and accuses anyone who would dares teach the abiding validity of the law of God as one who commits the Judiazing heresy of the Galatians, and thus nullifies the grace of God.

But, this is nothing but a false unbiblical antithesis.

While much can be said on this point, in a nut shell, when Paul asserts we are no longer “under law,” he means we are set free from the curse of the law for our failure to personally, perpetually, and perfectly obey it, and the works righteousness of those who would seek to obtain the righteousness of God based on their own accomplishments, which was never the means of life.

In the words of Dr. Greg Bahnsen, “To be under law is to take a legal system and its demands for your reckoning before God, but to be under grace is to be the recipient of God’s mercy in Christ.”

It is not the Law itself that is condemned in Scripture, but the pharasic misuse of the Law that is in every way condemned.

f. For, Paul Himself says of “the law”that it “is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. (Romans 7:12). Indeed,

The Law of God is perfect because the God of the Law is Perfect. (x2)

And because the Law is a reflection of His nature and character it is a serious sin to nullify the Law of God for the sake of grace. For as the Psalmist rightly declares, Psalm 19:7 “ The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

John Calvin agrees at this point. He says this: “With respect to doctrine, we must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law: for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable, as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform.”

To try and separate Law/Grace or Law/Gospel, then, amounts to trying to separate justification from sanctification.

For the grace of God is the means of life (how we obtain salvation and life) and the law of God is the way of life (how we live our lives coram Deo).

So while Law/Gospel are distinct they are not antithetical.

The Law of God is not the enemy of the Christian, it is the way of the Christian life. It is the ethical standard of the Kingdom of God!

For this reason then, whoever mistakenly relaxes the commandments of God, and teaches anything less than the relevancy, applicability, authority, and validity of the perpetually binding perfect Law-Word of God will be considered least in the Kingdom of God. For to do so is to teach one to forsake the way of the godly-man as described in Psalm 1.

Psalm 1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Yahweh, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Jesus, by use of Hebraic parallelism, then further emphasizes His point by contrasting the poverty of the one who neither does nor teaches God’s Law with those who both teach and obey. While the former will be the very least in the Kingdom of God, the latter shall be great!

Christ’s stark warning and sharp contrast then leads to His shocking words in verse 20:

Look with me at verse 20…

Verses 20:

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Beloved, it’s hard to stress how shocking this statement would have seemed to Christ listeners.

Let’s be honest, we have so often heard the word Pharisee used in negatively that we take it pejoratively. In our theological math class, it’s a simple equation: Pharisee = bad.

But, that would not have been the operating assumptions of Christ’s contemporaries, especially at the start of Christ’s ministry.

In fact, in there context the Pharisees would have be the exemplars of what it meant to live a righteous life. The would have been the Gold-standard of ethical living.

So scrupulous were they that they tried to meticulously follow all 613 law of the mitzvot.

It’s important, then, to understand the true weight of Christ’s word’s.

He’s essentially saying to His disciples, “unless you are more righteous than the most righteous people than you could ever imagine” “you will” in His words “never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Indeed, for the Law of God is not only perfect in its nature, it is perfect in its requirement.

For as Christ states later in the Sermon on the Mount: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).

The righteous requirement for entrance into the Kingdom of God is nothing less than perfect, perpetual, obedient sonship.

This has always been the covenant requirement of God, this has always been the way of life for God’s people.\

Nevertheless, this is the weightiness of Christ’s Words. No doubt, Christ’s disciples would felt this crushing weight of the moral requirements of God’s Law.

Because, since…

Romans 5:12–21 ESV

12 sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…

Therefore, Romans 3:20, “by works of the law no human being will be justified” for Romans 3:23 “ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Therefore, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God by one’s own works, because even the best works of man, apart from Christ, are done with sin-stained hands.

This is the point that Christ laboured to emphasizes, which comes out clearly in the 6 antitheses that follow our text today.

As I said last week, ironically, by foolishly believing that righteousness comes by works of the law and not by faith, the Pharisees diminished the requirements of the Law.

The Law was far more comprehensive than the Pharisees supposed, because it pertained not only to the extrenal actions, but also to the heart motives.

Both of which the scribes and Pharisees have over looked on account of their own man-made religion.

This raises an all-important question of eternal significance.

How does someone enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

The answer which we will explore in even great detail over the next few weeks is this…by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Romans 5:12–21 ESV

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Beloved, the only anyone can enter into the Kingdom of God is through the door that is Christ while clothed in His perfect righteousness.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ that He is the eschatological fulfillment of the Law of God.

He, not the Pharisees, is the true exemplar of a Kingdom citizen. And through Him, as both the Just and the Justifier, he can maintain the perfect abiding stipulations of the Law of God in full as the means of life, while also, by His grace, providing the way of life to all those who forsake their efforts of justifyin themselves and through faith alone cleave to Him and His righteousness.

iii. Tota Scriptura

So, with our text laid bare before us, you might ask, what, pray tell, does this text have to do with doctrine of tota Scriptura?

Well, hopefully, as we were unpacking the text, you were paying attention to some of the obvious implications of our text to our subject both as it relates to (1) the whole corpus of Scripture; and (2) the scope of its authority.

(1) The Total Corpus of Scripture:

As we saw in vss. 17–18, the relevancy, applicability, authority, and validity of the perpetually binding perfect Law-Word of God is applied to the whole corpus of Scripture down to the most minute element.

The fancy theological term for Christ’s teaching here is the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture.

Simply put, every word (verbal), in all it’s parts (plenary) are equally inspired.

While Christ’s words in the context of our text applied to the whole corpus of the OT Scriptures, we know, that the NT also, as the Word of God is likewise inspired.

As the late great Dr. Sproul said, “The Bible is the vox Dei, the voice of God—not just in its grand themes, but in its very syllables.”

Indeed, this is the very position of our Lord. In fact, our NT Scripture reading is a perfect example of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture.

Really quick turn back with me to Mark 12:24–27:

Mark 12:24–27 ESV

24 Jesus said to them [the Sadducees who came to interogate Him regarding the resurrection of the dead], “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Now Christ’s argument here is subtle, but extraordinarily powerful, in fact His answers were so powerful, that after this argument, no one dared ask hium any more questions (Mk. 12:30).

Jesus’s entire argument for the resurrection of the dead hinges on a single verb tense, namely, listen closely, “Have you not read… what God spoke to him, saying, “I am,” not was, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Here Jesus, God Incarnate, sharply rebukes the error of the Sadducees for their failure to understand the implications of a single word of Scripture.

This implies that every breathed out Word of God inscripturated for us is inspired, authoritative and trust-worthy. For in the words of our Lord “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Finally…

(2) The Scope of the Authority of Scripture:

Put another way, to what does Scripture speak authoritatively?

Simply put, the whole of life.

As Dr. Cornelius Van Til, has put it:

“The Bible is authoritative on everything of which it speaks. Moreover, it speaks of everything.”

Now, while Scripture doesn’t speak of all thing like how long to cook an egg, or how and internal combustion engine works, etc.

The point that Dr. Van Til is rightfully making is commensurate with the Westminster Confession of Faith at this point

“The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.”

or, in the words of the Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 1hat the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Needless to say, the implication of the conjoined twin doctrines of sola Scriptura and tota Scriptura are totalizing, they have ramifications for all area of life.

For, because all of life is lived coram Deo (before the face of God), as Dr. Bahnsen has written: “all of life is ethical, and ethics requir[ing] a standard of right and wrong…that yardstick is found in the Bible–the entire Bible, from beginning to end.”

In a nut shell,

The Word of God in its entirety is the sole infallible rule for faith and all of life.

iv. Application & Conclusion

What, then, do these doctrines mean for us?…

To answer that question, I want to go back to the beginning of the sermon to Matthew 5:13-16, where Jesus says to His disciples, His Kingdom people:

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

13 “You are the salt of the earth, 14 “You are the light of the world…

Beloved, as Christ’s disciples You are (present, active tense) the salt of the earth (preserving and flavouring the whole earth, as the glorious firstfruits of the New Humanity of God. Likewise, You are light of the world, a city set on a hill, the Theopolis, the city of God, a beacon of light meant to dispel the darkness of this world.

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

13b 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.

If, therefore, we as the Church will not act according to our new nature in Christ, and our new role as His ambassadors, then we are, in a word, useless! We are, in Christ’s Word, good for nothing! How can this be…

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

14b For, 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.

Therefore, beloved, as Christ’s New Kingdom people, lets us live as we ought as those who boldly shine the light of God’s New Kingdom order dispelling the darkness wherever we go.

But, how do we do this?

We walk after Christ. For, as the Word of God incarnate, as the perfect Law-keeper, He is the perfect embodiment of the Law-Word, the very light of the world (John 1:4–5, 9 John 3:19–21, John 8:12, John 9:5, John 12:46; 1 John 1:5), which gives light to all men.

The only way we can truly bear the light of God is by “teaching and obeying” the Word of God, for if we love God “we will keep His commandments,” the very same commandments which are, in the words of the Writings Psalm 119:105, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” and Proverbs 6 God’s Word is “a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” God’s Law is the way of life and as we walk in it by faith, we bear forth the light of Christ.

You see, not all of us are called to be Charlie Kirk, going onto college campuses and engaging in rigorous debates. No! Some of are called to that work and others not. But as salt and light, we are called to be who we are, all of us should be bold witnesses for the Gospel in our lives.

You know there is an old adage, that I’m sure many of you are familiar with “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.”

This adage is silly, and has rightfully received scorn, for, as Romans 10:14–15 clearly states “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” The Gospel is proclaimed through Words.

Neverhtless, there is a nugget of truth in the statement. And we see that in that great apologetics text…

1 Peter 3:13–17 ESV

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

You see there is an element of truth in the adage, because our God works, while not the Gospel, adorn the Gospel and shine forth the glories of Christ’s New Kingdom Order.

You see this great apologetics text is for all Christians. All of us should honour Christ as our Holy Lord in the core of our beings. This is the reason we emphasize the Lordship of Christ so much at CCC. Because Christ is King, All of us should be ready to give an account for the reason we have hope in Him doing so as His humble servants with gentleness and respect that when the world hate us they hate us on His account. They hate us because they first hated our Lord. And we should all be resolved in our hearts, to boldly give a witness to the watching world, even if it should mean suffering, even to the point of death, like our brother Charlie. We might not be called to the same arena in the same way as Charlie, but we are all called to the same bold witnesses to the Gospel as he was. We are all called to give our entire lives, knowing that even in our deaths, the Gospel can shine forth.

So, Beloved, be bold and courageous! Season well and shine brightly that all might taste and see the glories of Christ’s New Kingdom Order.

For if we are going to fulfill our task, as the salt and light of the world, as those commissioned to teach the nations the entirety of the Law of God:

We must all boldly proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to all men every where, standing firmly upon the Word of God in its entirety as our sole infallible authority for faith and life. May we cherish it, may we meditate upon it, may we be careful to do it, applying it to every area of our lives, that we might have the savour of a well-seasoned life, shining bright for all to see for the glory of God alone.

And as, I said last week, as a church, as we establish ourselves and attempt to build and fight toward Christendom 2.0, we must do so on the solid rock of the whole counsel of God, not turning to the right or the left. For unless the Lord builds the house those who build it build it in vain, and unless that house is built on the unshakable foundation of the entirety of the Word of God alone, it will come to naught.

Beloved, let us stand firmly and boldly, therefore, on the sure foundations of the totality of the uniquely authoritative, inspired Scriptures and it alone. 

For, if we are going to truly live out our motto: All of Christ, for all of life, for all the World!

We must holdfast to…

All of Scripture, and only Scripture, for all of life.

Let’s pray…

Closing Prayer

Yahweh, Our God and Heavenly Father,

You have given us Your Word, all of it, as the sole infallible rule for faith and life. Lord, may we have the same view of Your holy Law-Word that our Lord Jesus Christ possessed. May we speak of your Law in the same way as the Psalmist. May we see in it perfection, righteousness, and truth. May we also see, Oh Lord, our need in it, that we would ever cleave to Christ our righteousness in whom and through whom alone we have access to Your Heavenly Kingdom. Father, empower us by Your Holy Spirit, to boldly live as ambassadors of Christ in this world, that we may indeed live as we ought, as salt and light of the world, that we may proclaim your New Kingdom order both in our words and our witness for Your glory alone. Amen.