Sermon Tone Analysis

SALTY CHRISTIANS CONSIDER THEIR WAY OF LIFE.

Christians never sin in a vacuum.

Our sin always affects ourselves and others.

In (v.42), Jesus wants us to consider our way of life, mainly how we sin and how that sin affects those around us, especially fellow believers.

In a world filled with stumbling blocks, Jesus says; consider your way of living for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let me put forth two considerations for being salty for those around us.

First, we must put to death our flesh and put away our freedom.

The first consideration is obvious; we must put to death our flesh (Romans 8:17).

I will deal with this in the second point of today's passage.

The second consideration is not so obvious; we must put away our freedom.

There are times in our lives where we have Christian liberty to act in a way not prohibited by Scripture, but it is a problem for a fellow believer.

Paul put away His freedom for the sake of others because His motivation was The Gospel.

Thus, Paul determined what to put away in His present circumstance by what advanced The Gospel.

Those who are studious will say that Paul speaks of His behavior among unbelievers, and this is true.

But, if such consideration is necessary amongst unbelievers, how much more among believers.

Jesus' consequential words are not loveless but loving.

He is not indifferent but involved in how we live our life.

Jesus, our elder brother, is treating us like a younger brother.

His words establish a familial interaction.

Jesus knows that we will sin against each other unintentionally; it's our intentional sin He seeks to steer us away from with His unsettling words.

As citizens of God's Kingdom and children of the King, there is an expectation of behavior because of our adoption experience.

Seeking the demise of a brother or sister is not in keeping with being a child of God.

James, Jesus' half-brother, teaches us that "we love God because He first loved us, and this love expresses itself in loving our brother."

We are not to be a stumbling block but a stepping stone.

We are to provoke one another to love and good works.

STAY SALTY BY CUTTING OFF WHAT CUTS YOU OFF FROM GOD.

Some read the words of Jesus as threatening, and yet Jesus is imploring us to action based on love.

God proved His love for us by cutting off His Son from His presence and crucifying Him so that He can say to sinners, "come to me." John 3:16 shows us the extent God's love will go to bring sinners into His family, while Mark 9:43-47 teaches us to what extent family members will go as a result of that love.

Cutting off that which cuts you off from God is consistent with love, just as cutting cancer out of your body is consistent with living.

When we begin to see God's true love for us, His asking is not too much.

He is not asking us to earn His love but to enter into it more deeply.