A Penetrating Life 5 13-16
A Penetrating Life
Matthew 5:13-16
In the beatitudes, Jesus has given us a compelling picture of the character of His disciples. Now, in vv. 13-16, Jesus uses two word pictures to communicate the influence those disciples are to have in the world around them. These followers of Christ are to have such an influence in the world that people will see their deeds and give glory to God. They exert this influence like salt and light.
Penetrating Influence in the World
Before we look at these two word pictures specifically, I want to make some general observations about the words of Jesus in these verses.
- Jesus is drawing a distinction between the church and the world. This distinction became clear in the final beatitude. The world will persecute the church. Jesus continues this distinction by emphatically drawing a line between “You” (His followers) and the “earth or world” (people in general).
- Jesus emphasizes that the church is to influence the world in a penetrating way. Salt preserves food by penetrating and saturating it. Light illuminates the darkness by penetrating it. So the church has a preserving influence and an illuminating influence in the world.
- Jesus emphasizes that the influence of the church in the world is to bring people to glorify God. The Pharisees did their good works to be seen by people for their own glory. The church is to do good works for the glory of God.
Now with this general framework in mind, let’s look closely at the two images Jesus uses here and the implications they have for us.
I. The church penetrates the world as a preserving influence (v. 13).
A. You are the salt of the earth.
1. Salt was used in the ancient near east to preserve food and
fight against decay.
2. This is a reminder that Christians live in a decaying world.
a. Decay is the inevitable result of sin in the world.
b. Paul makes this clear in Romans 1 for instance where
he catalogs the downward spiral of godless society.
He also tells us in Romans 8:21 that the creation is
enslaved to corruption because of sin.
3. Christians are to be like a preservative in a world of decay.
ILL: Leon Morris said it this way, “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.”
APP: There are examples from history that certainly bear this out. England would have gone through a bloody revolution similar to France had it not been for the influence of Christians during the Great Awakening. I believe you can see the preserving influence of Christianity in the founding of our nation. The American Colonies were greatly influenced by the Great Awakening as well.
When you exhibit the qualities outlined in the beatitudes, you will have a preserving influence on those around you.
B. The salt must maintain its saltiness.
1. Pure salt does not lose its chemical quality. However, the
salt used in Jesus’ day was taken from the mineral deposits
around the Dead Sea. The salt was mixed with other things
that leached out the sodium chloride and left it “unsalty.”
When it lost its salt quality, it was scattered on footpaths or
on rooftops.
2. The point of this analogy is that for Christians to have the
preserving influence on society, they must maintain their
purity. The original literally says that if the salt loses its
salty quality, it has no power or strength. Christians must
not lose their distinctive quality as different from the world.
When the church becomes like the world, it is good for neither the church nor the world. The church loses its authority when worldliness sets in. The church loses its preserving influence because it loses the power of a Christ-like life.
Research from organizations like Gallup and Barna have demonstrated that evangelical Christians are losing their distinctiveness in the world. They talk like the world, act like the world, spend like the world, think like the world, and look like the world. Is it any wonder that we are losing our influence in the world?
How salty are we when our vocabulary is no different from the world?
How salty are we when we trash our spouses around the watercooler just like everyone else in the office?
How salty are we when we go out of our way to entertain ourselves on the weekend and view worship as an imposition on our self-centered schedules?
How salty are we when our necklines are plunging and our hemlines are rising just like the world?
How salty are we when we laugh with the world at things that should make us weep?
Beloved I’m not advocating some kind of legalism here. I am simply saying that Christians must be distinct. We must be in the world but not of it. We must retain our salty quality as followers of Christ if we want to fulfill our purpose as a preserving influence on the world. There is nothing attractive to the world about a church that looks just like the world.
TS – Now, Jesus tells us here that not only does the church penetrate the world as a preserving influence…
II. The church penetrates the world as an illuminating influence (vv. 14-15).
A. You are the light of the world.
1. Believers are light because they reflect the light of Jesus.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” We don’t generate
light. We reflect His light.
2. This implies that the world is in darkness. Again, it is the
spiritual darkness and blindness of sin. The Bible speaks of
darkened hearts, darkened understanding, and how men love
darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
3. The shining of our light in the world refers to good works.
Good works are the things we do and say because we are
followers of Jesus. It could be verbal witness, roofing a
house, visiting a sick neighbor, giving out free food, etc. In
doing these things we are displaying the light of Christ to a
dark world.
B. The light must be visible.
1. Jesus uses some illustrations to emphasize that the light must
remain visible.
a. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
b. People don’t light lamps and put them under baskets.
c. They put them in prominent places so they can shine
their light to all in the house.
2. Believers are not to conceal their light.
a. Jesus said we are to let our light shine so our works
may be seen.
b. That is, we are to live clearly and publicly Christian
lives that display the light of Jesus.
3. God gets the glory. Let your light be seen so that God is
glorified. It is not a “look at me” life. It is a “look at Him”
life. I fear sometimes that it is easy for us as a church to do
God’s work for our glory. We want to be the happening
Church. We want people to be excited about us. Jesus said
live your life in such a way that people will be excited about
God. A telescope doesn’t take credit for the glory of the
star.
Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)
Peter said, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12)
ILL: From 1991 to 2007, Fuller Theological Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies conducted a survey among 750 Muslims who had converted to Christianity. Those surveyed represented 50 ethnic groups from 30 different countries. They asked these Muslims why they converted to Christianity. You want to know the number one reason? Christians practiced what they preached.
APP: In other words, dear friends, when followers of Jesus live like salt and light in the world, it has a tremendous impact on attracting people to Christ.
Is the light of Christ shining through your life so that others can see it and glorify God?
We need to get our heart into a frame in which every word we say could be a ray of Christ’s light in a dark world.
Employers and employees need to walk so closely to Christ that the way we interact with others on the job will bring the light of Jesus to our workplace.
Students need to value the glory of God so much that the way we do our schoolwork will reveal the light of Jesus to our peers.
It is not slogans and bumper stickers which bring the light of Jesus into darkness. It is Christ-like words, attitudes, and actions exhibited in the public places of a dark world which penetrate the darkness of sin with the light of Christ.
The Demand and the Dangers
This passage presents us with one demand and two dangers. Both of these images demand that Christians penetrate the culture. Like salt we penetrate to preserve. Like light we penetrate to illuminate.
But there are two dangers we must be aware of. First is the danger of identification. We can become so identified with the world that we no longer maintain our distinctiveness as followers of Jesus. In other words, we can lose our saltiness by being like the world. We can lose our ability to reflect light by being too much like the darkness.
There is a second danger here. It is the danger of isolation. Salt has to be shaken on the food to preserve it. It is no good in the saltshaker. Light has to be put in the open. It is no good under a basket. If we isolate ourselves from the world, there is no opportunity for us to penetrate the world with the preserving and illuminating influence of Christ. We must not retreat and disengage from culture. We must penetrate the culture with the transforming gospel of Christ.
So, get into the world for the sake of Jesus. Churches are not to be cloisters of frightened Christians holed up behind closed doors waiting for the second coming. We are to be the people of God living our lives in a dark and decaying world in which Christ has placed us as ambassadors for His gospel. Isolation will lead to failure in our mission.
But as you go into the world, don’t become like the world. Don’t become identified with the world. When the church becomes indistinct from the world, the influence of the church is negated. We cannot reach the world by becoming like the world. Identification with the world will lead to failure in our mission.
Dear church, let us obey the demand and avoid the dangers so that we may live a penetrating life for the glory of God.