Which cracker are you?

Matthew 5:13–16 NIV

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Galatians 2:19–21 NIV

19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

1 John 1:5–7 NIV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Introduction

I have a friend who made fish crackers every year, which i normally would buy from her from Sibu.

three type of cracker, which are you?

a paragraph that points to the penetrating power of the gospel and of people who are transformed by it. They are likened to salt and to light

Who are we?

salt of the earth － the role of flavouring, preserving, purifying nad cleansing. it was also used to brighten the light of lamps and to enhance the efficiency of baking ovens. it was also recognised as a fundamental human necessity - a requirement of life.

There should be a flavour of Christlikeness, a sparkle of joy and unselfishness about them that is immensely attractive.

Green, M. (2001). The message of Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (p. 91). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Metaphorical uses of salt include ‘the salt of money’ with reference to action which guarantees the preservation of (or perhaps gives value and significance to) one’s wealth (ʾAbot R. Nat. 17); placing salt on a table ‘to remind us of what is right; for salt preserves whatever it finds, and it arises from the purest of sources’ (Diog. Laert. 8:1:35); ‘to have salt’ in oneself as making for peace with others (); speech ‘seasoned with salt’ as gracious speech, offering apt answers ()

preservative - What is good in society his followers keep wholesome. What is corrupt they oppose; they penetrate society for good and act as a kind of moral antiseptic. And they give a tang to life like salt to a dish of food

Jesus’ followers would be like salt in that they would create a thirst for greater information. When one sees a unique person who possesses superior qualities in specific areas, he desires to discover why that person is different. It is also possible that salt means these people serve as a preservative against the evils of society. Whichever view one takes, the important quality to note is that salt ought to maintain its basic character. If it fails to be salty, it has lost its purpose for existence and should be discarded.

Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 29). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 212). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.

if they are true to their calling, make the earth a purer and a more palatable place. But they can do so only as long as they preserve their distinctive character: unsalty salt has no more value

Salt seasons, preserves, cleanses, and creates thirst. Like a seasoning, disciples are to make Christ attractive to the world (cf. v 16). Similar to a preservative, disciples are to retard corruption and decay. As a cleansing agent, disciples are to assist in helping people find forgiveness and new life in Christ. As that which stimulates thirst, disciples are to engender a feeling of thirst for the gospel in the world.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 117). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Salt was connected with purity. No doubt its glistening whiteness made the connection easy. The Romans said that salt was the purest of all things, because it came from the purest of all things, the sun and the sea. Salt was indeed the most primitive of all offerings to the gods, and to the end of the day the Jewish sacriﬁces were offered with salt. So, if the Christians are to be the salt of the earth, they must be examples of purity.

But the greatest and the most obvious quality of salt is that salt lends ﬂavour to things. Food without salt is a sadly insipid and even a sickening thing. Christianity is to life what salt is to food. Christianity lends ﬂavour to life. The tragedy is that, so often, people have connected Christianity with precisely the opposite. They have connected Christianity with that which takes the ﬂavour out of life. In his ‘Hymn to Prosperine’, Swinburne wrote: “Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilaean; the world has grown gray from Thy breath.” Even after Constantine had made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, there came to the throne another emperor called Julian, who wished to put the clock back and to bring back the old gods. His complaint, as the playwright Henrik Ibsen puts it, was: “Have you looked at these Christians closely? Hollow-eyed, pale-cheeked, ﬂat-breasted all; they brood their lives away, unspurred by ambition: the sun shines for them, but they do not see it: the earth offers them its fulness, but they desire it not; all their desire is to renounce and to suffer that they may come to die.” As Julian saw it, Christianity took the vividness out of life.

Haller, H. M., Jr. (2010). The Gospel according to Matthew. In R. N. Wilkin (Ed.), The Grace New Testament Commentary (p. 24). Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society.

Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilaean; the world has grown gray from Thy breath.

Even after Constantine had made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, there came to the throne another emperor called Julian, who wished to put the clock back and to bring back the old gods. His complaint, as the playwright Henrik Ibsen puts it, was:

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 137). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Have you looked at these Christians closely? Hollow-eyed, pale-cheeked, ﬂat-breasted all; they brood their lives away, unspurred by ambition: the sun shines for them, but they do not see it: the earth offers them its fulness, but they desire it not; all their desire is to renounce and to suffer that they may come to die.

As Julian saw it, Christianity took the vividness out of life.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 138–139). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

light of the world. It is an expression applied to Jesus (; ; cf. ); thus it is interesting to find it used also of his followers. The sense is, of course, quite different; Christ is himself the light, whereas his followers are no more than pointers to and reflectors of Christ the Light (they are “light in the Lord,” , and they shine “as lights in the world,” ). But in this way they bring the light to the world and the world to the light in a way that would not take place apart from them. World in this verse, like earth in the previous verse, points to no small and mean task. The task of the disciples is to bring light to the whole world

The light, too, is a most evocative image. A light is often a warning; think of a lighthouse. It is often an attraction; think of a lighted window looming out of the fog when you are lost. A light is often a guide; think of a torch or a flare path

The light, too, is a most evocative image. A light is often a warning; think of a lighthouse. It is often an attraction; think of a lighted window looming out of the fog when you are lost. A light is often a guide; think of a torch or a flare path.

It may well be said that this is the greatest compliment that was ever paid to the individual Christian, for in it Jesus commands the Christian to be what he himself claimed to be. Jesus said: ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world’ (). When Jesus commanded his followers to be the lights of the world, he demanded nothing less than that they should be like himself.

Green, M. (2001). The message of Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (p. 91). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 141). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

What would happen to us? by how?

lose our saltiness and can never be restored again. Lost of saltiness for salt is quite impossible. how could it happen? it would be bizarre and unnatural for salt to lose its saltiness: if other foodstuffs are or become insipid, they can be salted into palatability, but this won’t work for the salt itself! we are either the salt of the earth, or the salt that is trampled by the world underfoot.

The most common explanation for this is that what would have been called salt in that era was quite impure, containing a wide array of other compounds. Of the substances in this mix the NaCl was the most soluble in water and if exposed to moisture the NaCl would disappear leaving a white powder looking just like salt, but not having its flavour or its preservative abilities. The salt used in the area mostly came from mines around the Dead Sea and material extracted from that area demonstrates these same properties today. Gundry notes that some other explanations have been advanced. Salt was extremely valuable and unscrupulous merchants may have replaced the salt with other substances. For some purposes gypsum was added to salt, but this would erase its flavour and make it unfit for consumption

Strictly, pure salt cannot lose its salinity; but the impure ‘salt’ dug from the shores of the Dead Sea could gradually become unsalty as the actual sodium chloride dissolved

it would be bizarre and unnatural for salt to lose its saltiness: if other foodstuffs are or become insipid, they can be salted into palatability, but this won’t work for the salt itself! The corresponding image of unnaturalness for light is to hide the light of a lamp (5:15).

Strictly, pure salt cannot lose its salinity; but the impure ‘salt’ dug from the shores of the Dead Sea could gradually become unsalty as the actual sodium chloride dissolved.

One of the characteristics of the world in which we live is the lowering of standards. Standards of honesty, standards of diligence in work, standards of conscientiousness, moral standards, all tend to be lowered. The Christian must be the person who holds aloft the standard of absolute purity in speech, in conduct and even in thought. A certain writer dedicated a book to a friend ‘who makes the best seem easily credible’. Christians can never depart from the standards of strict honesty. Christians can never think lightly of the lowering of moral standards in a world where the streets of every great city provide their deliberate enticements to sin. Christians can never allow themselves the tarnished and suggestive jests which are so often part of social conversation. Christians cannot withdraw from the world, but they must, as James said, keep themselves ‘unstained by the world’ ().

In the ancient world, salt was the commonest of all preservatives. It was used to keep things from going bad, and to hold putrefaction at bay. Plutarch, the Roman historian and philosopher, has a strange way of putting that. He says that meat is a dead body and part of a dead body, and will, if left to itself, go bad; but salt preserves it and keeps it fresh, and is therefore like a new soul inserted into a dead body. So, salt preserves from corruption. If Christians are to be the salt of the earth, they must have a certain antiseptic inﬂuence on life. We all know that there are certain people in whose company it is easy to be good; and that also there are certain people in whose company it is easy for standards to be relaxed. There are certain people in whose presence a risqué story would be readily told, and there are other people to whom no one would dream of telling such a tale. Christians must be the cleansing antiseptic in any society in which they happen to be; they must be the ones who by their presence defeat corruption and make it easier for others to be good.

In the ancient world, salt was the commonest of all preservatives. It was used to keep things from going bad, and to hold putrefaction at bay. Plutarch, the Roman historian and philosopher, has a strange way of putting that. He says that meat is a dead body and part of a dead body, and will, if left to itself, go bad; but salt preserves it and keeps it fresh, and is therefore like a new soul inserted into a dead body.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 117). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

So, salt preserves from corruption. If Christians are to be the salt of the earth, they must have a certain antiseptic inﬂuence on life.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 137–138). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

We all know that there are certain people in whose company it is easy to be good; and that also there are certain people in whose company it is easy for standards to be relaxed. There are certain people in whose presence a risqué story would be readily told, and there are other people to whom no one would dream of telling such a tale. Christians must be the cleansing antiseptic in any society in which they happen to be; they must be the ones who by their presence defeat corruption and make it easier for others to be good.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 138). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

The Rabbis commonly used salt as an image for wisdom (cf. ), which may explain why the Greek word represented by lost its taste actually means ‘become foolish’. (Aramaic tāpēl, which conveys both meanings, was no doubt the word used by Jesus.) A foolish disciple has no influence on the world.

lossing of saltiness is a metaphor of Christian losing faith.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 117). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 213). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.

lossing of saltiness is a metaphor of Christian losing faith. if the salt have lost its savor. The point of comparison in the figure lies in the idea: salt which has lost its savor cannot be salted again, nor a corrupted evangelist be evangelized anew. There remains, then, only the judgment. Salt which has lost its savor is only fit to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men.

the early Church made a very strange use of this text. In the synagogue, among the Jews, there was a custom that if a Jew became an unbeliever and then returned to the faith, before he was received back into the synagogue he must in penitence lie across the door of the synagogue and invite people to trample upon him as they entered. In certain places the Christian Church took over that custom, and Christians who had been ejected by discipline from the church were compelled, before they were received back, to lie at the door of the church and to invite people as they entered: ‘Trample upon me who am the salt which has lost its savour.’

if the salt have lost its savor. The point of comparison in the figure lies in the idea: salt which has lost its savor cannot be salted again, nor a corrupted evangelist be evangelized anew

the early Church made a very strange use of this text. In the synagogue, among the Jews, there was a custom that if a Jew became an unbeliever and then returned to the faith, before he was received back into the synagogue he must in penitence lie across the door of the synagogue and invite people to trample upon him as they entered. In certain places the Christian Church took over that custom, and Christians who had been ejected by discipline from the church were compelled, before they were received back, to lie at the door of the church and to invite people as they entered: ‘Trample upon me who am the salt which has lost its savour.’

Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew (p. 104). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 140). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

lose our light. Light can never lose its brightness, unless we hide the light. The rhetorical force of the image comes from normal human discomfort with things not being or behaving in accord with what is understood to be their intrinsic nature. This sense of unnaturalness is then reinforced with images of uselessness, rejection, and humiliation.

Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 213). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.

those who light a lamp and put it under a bowl - those who want to hide their identity as Christians. To build a city on a hill is a piece of assertiveness. It expresses a certain confidence and a claim to importance, and flags a desire on the part of the inhabitants to play a wider role in human affairs. People who want to live a quiet and secluded life build their cities tucked out of sight in the hope that they won’t be noticed. In the biblical tradition Jerusalem is a city with a wider significance

To build a city on a hill is a piece of assertiveness. It expresses a certain confidence and a claim to importance, and flags a desire on the part of the inhabitants to play a wider role in human affairs. People who want to live a quiet and secluded life build their cities tucked out of sight in the hope that they won’t be noticed. In the biblical tradition Jerusalem is a city with a wider significance

What should we do?

how can we be savoury? our spiritual life.

We need to discover the lost radiance of the Christian faith. In a worried world, Christians should be the only people who remain serene. In a depressed world, Christians should be the only people who remain full of the joy of life. There should be a sheer sparkle about Christians, but too often they dress like mourners at a funeral, and talk like spectres at a feast. Wherever they are, if they are to be the salt of the earth, Christians must be diffusers of joy.

A light is ﬁrst and foremost something which is meant to be seen. The houses in Palestine were very dark, with only one little circular window perhaps not more than eighteen inches across. The lamp was like a sauce-boat ﬁlled with oil with the wick ﬂoating in it. It was not so easy to rekindle a lamp in the days before matches existed. Normally the lamp stood on the lamp stand, which would be no more than a roughly shaped branch of wood; but when people went out, for safety’s sake, they took the lamp from its stand and put it under an earthen bushel measure, so that it might burn without risk until they came back. The primary duty of the light of the lamp was to be seen.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 139–140). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Further, this Christianity should be visible not only within the Church. A Christianity whose effects stop at the church door is not much use to anyone. It should be even more visible in the ordinary activities of the world. Our Christianity should be visible in the way we treat a shop assistant across the counter, in the way we order a meal in a restaurant, in the way we treat our employees or serve our employer, in the way we play a game or drive or park a car, in the daily language we use, in the daily literature we read. As Christians, we should be just as much a Christian in the factory, the workshop, the shipyard, the mine, the schoolroom, the surgery, the kitchen, the golf course and the playing ﬁeld as we are in church. Jesus did not say: ‘You are the light of the Church’; he said: ‘You are the light of the world’—and in our lives in the world our Christianity should be evident to all.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 139–140). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Further, this Christianity should be visible not only within the Church. A Christianity whose effects stop at the church door is not much use to anyone. It should be even more visible in the ordinary activities of the world. Our Christianity should be visible in the way we treat a shop assistant across the counter, in the way we order a meal in a restaurant, in the way we treat our employees or serve our employer, in the way we play a game or drive or park a car, in the daily language we use, in the daily literature we read. As Christians, we should be just as much a Christian in the factory, the workshop, the shipyard, the mine, the schoolroom, the surgery, the kitchen, the golf course and the playing ﬁeld as we are in church. Jesus did not say: ‘You are the light of the Church’; he said: ‘You are the light of the world’—and in our lives in the world our Christianity should be evident to all.

A light is a guide. On the estuary of any river, we may see the line of lights which marks the channel for the ships to sail in safety. We know how difﬁcult even the city streets are when there are no lights. A light is something to make clear the way. So, Christians must make the way clear to others. That is to say, Christians must of necessity be examples. One of the things which this world needs more than anything else is people who are prepared to be channels for goodness. Suppose there is a group of people, and suppose it is suggested that some questionable thing should be done. Unless someone makes a protest, the thing will be done. But if someone rises and says: ‘I will not be a party to that,’ another and another and another will rise to say: ‘Neither will I.’ But, had they not been given the lead, they would have remained silent. There are many people in this world who do not have the moral strength and courage to take a stand by themselves, but if someone gives them a lead, they will follow; if they have someone strong enough to lean on, they will do the right thing. It is the Christian’s duty to take the stand which the weaker brother or sister will support, to give the lead which those with less courage will follow. The world needs its guiding lights; there are people waiting and longing for a lead to take the stand and to do the thing which they do not dare by themselves.

A light is a guide. On the estuary of any river, we may see the line of lights which marks the channel for the ships to sail in safety. We know how difﬁcult even the city streets are when there are no lights. A light is something to make clear the way.

Further, this Christianity should be visible not only within the Church. A Christianity whose effects stop at the church door is not much use to anyone. It should be even more visible in the ordinary activities of the world. Our Christianity should be visible in the way we treat a shop assistant across the counter, in the way we order a meal in a restaurant, in the way we treat our employees or serve our employer, in the way we play a game or drive or park a car, in the daily language we use, in the daily literature we read. As Christians, we should be just as much a Christian in the factory, the workshop, the shipyard, the mine, the schoolroom, the surgery, the kitchen, the golf course and the playing ﬁeld as we are in church. Jesus did not say: ‘You are the light of the Church’; he said: ‘You are the light of the world’—and in our lives in the world our Christianity should be evident to all.

So, Christians must make the way clear to others. That is to say, Christians must of necessity be examples. One of the things which this world needs more than anything else is people who are prepared to be channels for goodness. Suppose there is a group of people, and suppose it is suggested that some questionable thing should be done. Unless someone makes a protest, the thing will be done. But if someone rises and says: ‘I will not be a party to that,’ another and another and another will rise to say: ‘Neither will I.’ But, had they not been given the lead, they would have remained silent.

There are many people in this world who do not have the moral strength and courage to take a stand by themselves, but if someone gives them a lead, they will follow; if they have someone strong enough to lean on, they will do the right thing. It is the Christian’s duty to take the stand which the weaker brother or sister will support, to give the lead which those with less courage will follow. The world needs its guiding lights; there are people waiting and longing for a lead to take the stand and to do the thing which they do not dare by themselves.

(3) A light can often be a warning light. A light is often the warning which tells us to halt when there is danger ahead. It is sometimes the duty of Christians to bring to others the necessary warning. That is often difﬁcult, and it is often hard to do it in a way which will not do more harm than good; but one of the most poignant tragedies in life is for someone, especially a young person, to come and say to us: ‘I would never have been in the situation in which I now ﬁnd myself, if you had only spoken in time.’ It was said of Florence Allshorn, the famous teacher and principal, that if she ever had occasion to rebuke her students, she did it ‘with her arm round about them’. If our warnings are given not in anger, not in irritation, not in criticism, not in condemnation, not in the desire to hurt, but in love, they will be effective. The light which can be seen, the light which warns, the light which guides—these are the lights which Christians must be.

(3) A light can often be a warning light. A light is often the warning which tells us to halt when there is danger ahead.

It is sometimes the duty of Christians to bring to others the necessary warning. That is often difﬁcult, and it is often hard to do it in a way which will not do more harm than good; but one of the most poignant tragedies in life is for someone, especially a young person, to come and say to us: ‘I would never have been in the situation in which I now ﬁnd myself, if you had only spoken in time.’

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 142–143). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

It was said of Florence Allshorn, the famous teacher and principal, that if she ever had occasion to rebuke her students, she did it ‘with her arm round about them’. If our warnings are given not in anger, not in irritation, not in criticism, not in condemnation, not in the desire to hurt, but in love, they will be effective.

shine before the world. this is the point of practical challenge to which vv. 14–15 have been leading. The challenge is to live out in the public arena what one is intrinsically. That to which the Matthean Jesus calls is neither private nor to be ghettoised in the Christian community. The interest in public visibility here is of a very different kind from that which is criticised at 23:5 and 6:1, 2, 5. It is more akin to the visibility of the ‘deeds of the Christ’ in 11:2 (and cf. v. 19) and of the great light of 4:16. All is here viewed in a mission perspective. The outcome is to be that people are impressed by what God is currently doing.

The light which can be seen, the light which warns, the light which guides—these are the lights which Christians must be.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 143–144). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

shine before the world. this is the point of practical challenge to which vv. 14–15 have been leading. The challenge is to live out in the public arena what one is intrinsically. That to which the Matthean Jesus calls is neither private nor to be ghettoised in the Christian community. The interest in public visibility here is of a very different kind from that which is criticised at 23:5 and 6:1, 2, 5. It is more akin to the visibility of the ‘deeds of the Christ’ in 11:2 (and cf. v. 19) and of the great light of 4:16. All is here viewed in a mission perspective. The outcome is to be that people are impressed by what God is currently doing.

This light will issue in good works that are seen by people, a provision that must be understood carefully, for there were people like the Pharisees who made sure that their good deeds were seen by others and it is not this Pharisaic attitude that Jesus is commending. The good works are to be seen, not in order that the doers may be congratulated as fine, upstanding servants of God, but in such a way that the observers will give glory to your Father. There is to be no parade of virtue, no attempt to win praise for oneself. It is the light that is to shine, not those privileged to be the bearers of the light. People will always see the deeds that disciples do, and disciples are to make sure that when that takes place it is the light that they will see. And that they will see it in such a way that they will praise God. Light-radiating people live so that others see their good deeds and give praise not to them but to their Father in heaven

Light-radiating people live so that others see their good deeds and give praise not to them but to their Father in heaven

Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 29). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text (pp. 214–215). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.

The city set on a hill, rather awkwardly introduced among the sayings about light, reinforces the importance of being conspicuously different. A secret disciple is no more use in the world than one who has lost his distinctiveness. There is no excuse for secret discipleship. ‘A city on a hill cannot be hidden’ (5:14). And all this is possible only because Christ is the light of the world. Until he has illuminated us we can never shine with his reflected light. The imperative of shining is based on the indicative of being lit up by him. Then people will see our good deeds and praise not us but our heavenly Father, who is the source of the light they see reflected.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 118). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (p. 106). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

(1) People are to see our good deeds. In Greek, there are two words for good. There is the word agathos, which simply deﬁnes a thing as good in quality; and there is kalos, which means that a thing is not only good but that it is also captivating and beautiful and attractive. The word which is used here is kalos. The good deeds of the Christian must be not only good; they must be also attractive. There must be a certain charm in Christian goodness. The tragedy of so much so-called goodness is that in it there is an element of hardness and coldness and austerity. There is a goodness which attracts and a goodness which repels. There is a charm in true Christian goodness which makes it a lovely thing.

A secret disciple is no more use in the world than one who has lost his distinctiveness

(2) It is further to be noted that our good deeds ought to draw attention not to ourselves but to God. This saying of Jesus is a total prohibition of what someone has called ‘theatrical goodness’. At a conference at which the American evangelist D. L. Moody was present, there were also present some young people who took their Christian faith very seriously. One night, they held an all-night prayer meeting. As they were leaving it in the morning, they met Moody, and he asked them what they had been doing. They told him; and then they went on: ‘Mr Moody, see how our faces shine.’ Moody answered very gently: ‘Moses wist not [did not know] that his face shone.’ That goodness which is conscious, which draws attention to itself, is not the Christian goodness. One of the old historians wrote of Henry V after the Battle of Agincourt: ‘Neither would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung by the minstrels of his glorious victory, for that he would wholly have the praise and thanks altogether given to God.’ Christians never think of what they have done, but of what God has enabled them to do. They never seek to draw the eyes of others to themselves, but always to direct them to God. As long as people are thinking of the praise, the thanks and the prestige which they will get for what they have done, they have not really even begun on the Christian way.

Green, M. (2001). The message of Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (pp. 91–92). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 118). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

shine before the house

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 144–145). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

shine before the house. Both salt and light are essential element for each household. Jesus use metaphor that everyone household could understand.

shine before the house. Both salt and light are essential element for each household. Jesus use metaphor that everyone household could understand. The influence you are to have—if it is to be for the whole world, as indeed it is, must be felt in the neighbourhood in which you live, and à fortiori in the immediate circle of your own home

Conclusion

last two piece of crackers look the same, but one is not edible becuase it has already been affected with damp - lao hong.

lose our crunchiness

walk in the light, not darkness. do not lie but to live out the truth ()