Kingdom Life and Light

ILLUST - My first week here I asked someone where Goshen College was. That was the first indication that I was not from around here. Pop vs soda, sucker vs lollipop

Matthew Chap 5-7 Jesus describes the life and character of Kingdom citizens. He describes the actions, attitudes, and areas of character that lead people to believe that followers of Christ, Kingdom people, are ‘not from around here.’

This is what we popularly know as ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’

Genesis 2:5–7 ESV

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Gen 2:5

Genesis 2:15 ESV

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

God created woman

Genesis 2:22–25 ESV

And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

This was the good life - man was satisfied and flourishing vocationally, relationally, and spiritually.

Then sin entered and

Matthew

This is what we popularly know as ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’

Matthew 5:1 ESV

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

“blessed are. . .” - this is more spiritual than it really means

"He went up on the mountain," as this very same wording is used in the Greek Old Testament when Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the law (). Just as Moses went up on the mountain, Matthew is telling us, so Jesus went up on the mountain, and in the same way that Moses spoke with authority, so now Jesus speaks with authority

- Kingdom life and character - our relationship to the world

- The world’s response to those with kingdom life

- Kingdom life disbursed and displayed throughout the world.

Platt, David. Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) (Kindle Locations 1758-1767). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 3. Salt and Light, 5:13–16

Morgan points to the permanent applicability of what Jesus said, for people continue to be “in circumstances of corruption and darkness.” While these circumstances last, there will still be the need of this teaching of Jesus. The Master is conveying a warning: salt must be salty or it will be thrown out; light must shine.

John 17:14–19 ESV

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. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

How much of a difference do you make? How much of a difference should you make? What difference does a Kingdom Life make?

The Kingdom life is one of integrity and influence.

Matthew 5:13–16 ESV

“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. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. 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.

(Explanation)

Couple of observations about the passage before we can really unpack some of the implications of the passage to our lives:

The world is corrupted and dark.

Does much really need to be said here?

The statements describe a state of BEING not a state of DOING

** Interestingly, neither of these statements as calling us to do something. They are calling us to BE something.

** Jesus was smoking out the difference between a description of something and the reality of something.

‘You ARE’ - Present Active Indicative - state of being

You are salt, not can be salt

You are light, not can be light

Speaking to followers of Jesus

You can’t separate what salt is from what salt does

preservative

flavoring

payment

blessing

If salt looses it’s saltiness it is not salt

It is impossible for salt to not be salty

salt in ancient Israel was usually from Dead Sea or other sources where the salt is impure - mixed with other substances

As the soluble salt would be diluted out, the remaining substance was not salty and neither was it salt.

It would typically be thrown on a rooftop to be compacted into the hard surface of the roof

In the same way, light is fundamentally different from darkness

There is no light dark or dark light.

Leon Morris

“Giving light is not an option, so to speak, which the disciple may or may not choose. It is part of being a disciple, just as much part of discipleship as giving light is of a lighted lamp. Jesus has chosen his own so that they may give light. It is the nature of light to shine, and when people have received the light of the gospel they will shine in a dark world. That is the point of both comparisons. It is of the very nature of light that it brings illumination.”

These pictures are both particular and corporate.

YOU are - You is plural

You don’t get off the hook

One grain of salt doesn’t do much difference, yet each piece matters

It is the collective nature of light that allows it to be seen from a distance

The church (not just church service) needs to be the display of children of light to the dark world

Neither salt nor light exist for themselves.

No one ever put vegetables under their salt in an effort to make their salt taste better.

The fundamental reason for putting salt on you food is to preserve your food or to flourish the flavor of the food you put it on. (corn on the cob)

No one ever turns on a light in a room just to stare at the bulb. The point of the light is to help others see.

This sounds funny, but Jesus is telling us that we do not live out Kingdom life simply to make our lives better or to make us a ‘shinier’ Christian.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

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.

‘Good works’ is actually ‘attractive works'

Our light is a borrowed light

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Be different enough to make a difference.

Be invested enough to have an influence.

Be passionate enough to actually pursue it.

The Kingdom life is one of integrity and influence.

(Application)

** Finish the saying, “You are to be in the world but . . .”

What Bible verse is this found in? It’s actually not found in a verse at all.

John 17:14–19 ESV

Be Different In the World

Be Different

A better word may have been ‘distinct’ We are to be distinct, not simply different (some of you all are just different!)

Something salted is distinct form something unsalted. A room in the light is distinct from a room in the dark.

What ways are we to be different?

Kingdom life changes our attitudes, our actions, and our relationships.(Platt)

What we are talking about here is way more than religion or behavior modification. In essence, what we are talking about is the good life - the way God always intended people to live because it is the way we flourish.

Genesis 2:5–7 ESV

Genesis 2:15 ESV

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

not good for man to be alone

God created woman

Genesis 2:22–25 ESV

This was the good life - man was satisfied and flourishing vocationally, relationally, and spiritually.

Then sin entered and fooled us into thinking the good life had escaped us and could be found and gained by our own pursuits.

After calling his people out of the Exodus, God gave Israel the Law - a way to help them understand the good life in relation to God.

Then Jesus comes to show us the good life and make a way for us to experience it - working to keep the Law would never work, Jesus came to fundamentally change us so we can experience all that we were meant to be through his power.

Matthew chap 5 starts with the beatitudes = good life.

“blessed are. . .” - this is more spiritual than it really means

Matthew 5:1–8 ESV

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The Beatitudes describe the Kingdom life because they describe fundamental attitudes of the believer and not just superficial actions. It describes somoene different, distinct.

ILLUST - Julian not wanting to rollerblade while rollerblading.

** You can’t make a statement that contradicts your life and expect people to be moved by it. If we do not look different than the rest of the world we have nothing to offer them. (Like someone trading you a red lollipop for a red lollipop)

ILLUST - Julian not wanting to rollerblade while rollerblading.

In (not from)

Why are you not in heaven right now? Why is it not the case that as soon as we trust in Jesus that God doesn’t simply assume us to heaven? He can - he has - Enoch, Elijah.

Do we need to become more like Jesus before we can go to Heaven?

Jesus literally prays that we NOT be taken from the world.

John 17:15–19 ESV

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

John 14:15–19 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.

John

Why? Because we are sent on mission.

Yet, if we are left here specifically to enter in and engage with the world, why do we spend so much time trying to avoid it? (I’m not talking about engaging in sin)

Jesus was a friend of sinners, yet DID NOT SIN.

JD Greear

Many Christians only think about the first dimension of holiness, as if a “holy” life is one that stays isolated from the world so as not to be dirtied by it. But if we see Jesus as the one who is holy, then we must conclude we’re not being holy until we are covered in the suffering and pain of the world like Jesus was. True holiness means separation without isolation; contact without contamination.

Jesus embraced lepers. He made his home with sinners. If we are holy, we will be doing the same.

Did you ever stop to think that perhaps God has placed you where you are and with the people who surround you for the specific purpose of carrying their shame, pain, and dishonor?

ILLUST - Stinky Tommy

“Disciples, therefore, must be both distinctive and involved. Neither the indistinguishably assimilated nor the inaccessible hermit will fulfill the mandate of these challenging verses.”

France, R. T.. The Gospel of Matthew

Who is in your circle of influence, with whom you have regular contact that is ‘dirty?’

France, R. T.. The Gospel of Matthew

France, R. T.. The Gospel of Matthew (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) (p. 172). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

**Do you have enough regular contact with sinners that if Pharisees of Jesus’ day (ultra religious people) were to see you they would call you a ‘friend of sinners?’

The World

We are not saved to sit (in a church), we are saved to be sent.

The good life is not for us to own, it’s for us to share

C.T. Studd

“Some people want to live in the sound of chapel bells, but I want to run a mission a yard from the gates of hell.”

Jesus does not list another salt container. He did not say he placed his light in a couple of other religions just in case this Christianity thing dies out. We are the only salt and light there is.

The good life is not for us to own, it’s for us to share

Ed Stetzer in his book, Subversive Kingdom. . .

“We’re in rebellion against the rebellion. So if we know deep down we cannot mingle our convictions with the prevailing moods and modes of the surrounding culture, even out of comfort and convenience, so it seems we’re left with only a handful of choices for how to respond to a society in rebellion against our King. We can run and hide to keep from being overtaken, or we can defiantly stand our ground in open, declared warfare. Or maybe there’s a third option. Something less expected, less obvious. More biblical, and amazingly more effective. In a sense we go underground. . . The reason we can subvert is because the nature of the kingdom is to show first an irresistible social order and then tell about an irresistible king. We go under (sub) where people “out there” don’t expect to see and experience grace. We leave our home court (the church) and go to their home court (the world). And then when they least expect it, Jesus shows up in their world, inviting them to draw near to him through our random acts of kindness. So rather than (or maybe in addition to) inviting the unbeliever to the Sunday morning show, we demonstrate our faith by how we live, relate, and care.

** How much have you thought about the lost this past week? When was the last spiritual conversation you had with someone who does not believe in Jesus?

Stetzer, Ed. Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation (pp. 6-7). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Stetzer, Ed. Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation (p. 6). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Salt does no good in the shaker. Light is purposeless under a basket.

Conclusion

The Stutzmans

The Newmans

Be different enough to make a difference.

Be invested enough to have an influence.

Be passionate enough to actually pursue it.

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