Do and Teach
How many of you remember singing that song, ‘this little light of mine’ as a child in Sunday School? I do. I remember that this song told me that I needed to do something, I needed to shine. But what does it mean to shine? And what are we shining? This morning we are going to look at Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5 about being lights in the world. And its not such a “little” light either!
Please turn in your Bibles and follow along with me as we study together Matthew 5, verses 13-20:
Last week we studied Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes about what it means to be truly blessed in His kingdom – not all what the world would consider a blessing: being poor in spirit (humble), mournful for our sin and sin in the world, meek yet truthful, hungering after God’s righteousness lived out in our lives, living with mercy for others, purity of heart, peacemakers like God, and willing to suffer persecution for the sake of Christ. Though these may not sound like blessings, they are the keys to living in the kingdom of God. Today, we will study the great purpose of these things lived out actively in our lives – it’s not just for our blessing!
13. “YOU are the salt of the land; but if the salt has become useless, how can it be salted again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trodden down by men.”
Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In ancient times salt was not pure, but rather it was laden with impurities – when the salt would leach out, the impurities would remain (to be disposed of). The main point here, is that salt does not lose its taste, and neither does the gospel. The power of the gospel working in the heart of the true believer (who lives out the beatitudes in their attitude of dependence on God), must have its effect in the life of the believer. Jesus uses the salt analogy in Luke 14 and Mark 9 to show that the believer who does not take their discipleship seriously and take up their cross and follow Jesus, is not a true disciple at all, and He warns that such a person, is in jeopardy of being cast aside by God.
14-15. “YOU are the light of the ordered creation (cosmos), a city on a mountain is not able to be hid. Nor do they light a lamp, and put it under the container, but on the lamp-stand, and it shines forth to all those in the house;”
The ‘you’ here is in the emphatic position, as in verse 13.
In our Old Testament reading this morning, we see that God has ordained it that He will establish a people for Himself that will be a light to the world, - and people will stream to it! Isaiah 2:1-5 says:
Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
Jesus said to the crowd in John 12:35-36a: “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” Here in our passage in Matthew 5, Jesus is describing what it means for us to live as ‘sons of the light,” – that is, to be like Him, the true light of the world.
Jesus uses the illustration of a lamp on a stand shining forth its light in Mark 4 to show that the Gospel light must shine forth now to all the world, it must no longer be hidden as it was in ancient times. NOW is the time of God’s revelation and if we use what gifts we have to show His light to our world, He will give us even more gifts: “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mark 4: 21-25) Are we shining our lights so that God can give us more light? Are you? Am I? . . . . .
16. “Thus shine forth (imperative) your (plural) light, so that they might see your (plural) good works, and give glory to your (plural) Father who is in heaven.”
Look back with me at the beatitudes, we see there: an attitude of poorness of spirit and mourning for personal sin, meekness, striving for personal righteousness, mercy, pureness of heart, peacemakers, and a willingness to suffer persecution for the sake of God’s righteousness. These are not works that draw attention to us (our world does not admire these things!), but rather these are works that bring Glory to God! This is how we SHINE in a dark world!! And this is how the world will know about the Kingdom of God – by us living it and showing it to them.
Dwight L. Moody often told this terse, but moving story of a violent storm on Lake Erie:
On a dark, stormy night, when the waves rolled like mountains and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rocking and plunging, neared the Cleveland harbor. “Are you sure this is Cleveland?” asked the Captain, seeing only light from the lighthouse.
“Quite sure, sir,” replied the pilot.
“Where are the lower lights?”
“Gone out, sir!”
“Can you make the harbor?”
“We must, or perish, sir.”
With a strong hand and a brave heart, the old pilot turned the wheel, But alas, in the darkness he missed the channel, and, with a crash upon the rocks, the boat was slivered and many a life lost in a watery grave.
“Brethren,” concluded Mr. Moody, “the Master will take care of the great lighthouse. Let us keep the lower lights burning.”
God sees it, when our lights have gone out – and the world will not see the glory of God because our lights have gone out. God has called us to live as His people and His Lights to the lost world around us. When we live out the truths of the Beatitudes that we studied last week, we become His Lights and we proclaim real hope in this hopeless world.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred for his faith by the Nazis in World War II said: “a community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.” Are we hiding ourselves as followers of Jesus? What about our church? Are we visible to the world? Are we willing to suffer for it? How do we become more visible to the world? To Danvers?
17-18. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish but to complete (fill with content). For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all has come into being.”
Jesus has not come to abolish the Law or even to remove its smallest part. As part of the dawning of God’s kingdom on earth, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law & the prophets by His teaching. This does not mean that He merely kept certain laws or that He fulfilled specific prophecies, but that He “fills up” the law and the prophets – that is, He gives meaning to what was prepared for in the Law (that is, the new age, the age of the Messiah). And the law will remain until Jesus’ redeeming work is complete. The Law, and all of the Old Testament were not given as rules alone, but as pointers to Jesus and to the “law of Christ” referred to by the apostle Paul (1 Cor 9:21 & Gal 6:2). We understand the law perfectly through Jesus, who taught it to His disciples and lived it out before them. Jesus shows us the true meaning to which the Law points.
The dawn of the last days does not eliminate the need for law keeping. The Law remains in force “until everything is accomplished” (v.18)—that is, until the kingdom is consummated. In Scripture, we can see three purposes for the law (as developed by John Calvin and summarized by R.C. Sproul):
1) The first purpose of the law is to be a mirror. On the one hand, the law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The law tells us much about who God is. Perhaps more important, the law illumines human sinfulness. Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.” The law highlights our weakness so that we might seek the strength found in Christ. Here the law acts as a severe schoolmaster who drives us to Christ.
2) A second purpose for the law is the restraint of evil. The law, in and of itself, cannot change human hearts. It can, however, serve to protect the righteous from the unjust. Calvin says this purpose is “by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice.” The law allows for a limited measure of justice on this earth, until the last judgment is realized.
3) The third purpose of the law is to reveal what is pleasing to God. As born-again children of God, the law enlightens us as to what is pleasing to our Father, whom we seek to serve. The Christian delights in the law as God Himself delights in it. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This is the highest function of the law, to serve as an instrument for the people of God to give Him honor and glory.
By studying or meditating on the law of God, we attend the school of righteousness. We learn what pleases God and what offends Him. The moral law that God reveals in Scripture is always binding upon us. Our redemption is from the curse of God’s law, not from our duty to obey it. We are justified, not because of our obedience to the law, but in order that we may become obedient to God’s law. To love Christ is to keep His commandments. To love God is to obey His law.
Again, the three purposes of the Law are:
1) To show us our sin and our need of God.
2) To restrain evil and maintain Law & Order in the world.
3) To show us who we are as Christians and how to please God.
19. “Whoever then negates one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but the one who does and teaches them, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
This phrase, “Least in the kingdom” stresses how seriously one’s destiny depends on our decisions relating to the commands of scripture and of Christ. Before I teach, I must DO! WOE! As hard as teaching and preaching can be, doing is harder. Yet in Jesus’ value system, doing and teaching (note the order) is what makes a believer great in His Kingdom. Do my actions speak louder than my words? Does my light always shine? I have to confess that Matt 5 has been very challenging to me. I don’t want to be meek when someone cuts me off in traffic during my one hour commute home or when they are in the left lane obliviously going 20 miles an hour slower than everyone else! I don’t want to shine then! I want what I want – and I want it now! But this is not the attitude that we are called to have as followers of Jesus – He gave himself up for us and we must follow His selfless example and be lights in this dark world if we want to be true Christians:
James 1: 22-25 says: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
James 2 says that our faith ALWAYS results in action: “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
We won’t get ahead in this world by being lights, but we will be becoming Kingdom sons & daughters. We will suffer for Him and for righteousness now, but we will enter His kingdom (with rewards). Can we live for the future kingdom? Can we stand for righteousness so that others will know God?
In the film “Titans,” as the football team is playing for the state championship, the assistant coach realizes that his friends have fixed the game with the officials, so that they will lose and the head coach will be fired and he will get his job back as head coach. They are arranging this for him so that he can fulfill his coaching dream of being voted into the hall of fame. As coach Yost realizes what they are arranging for him, he looks back at his young daughter in the stands (who also dreams of her dad being in the hall of fame) and he realizes that if he allows this to happen, he will ultimately hurt his daughter with the deception and the cheat of him getting his dream in this way. He looks at her and he chooses to do right – he sacrifices his dream to stand for justice and truth and to show his daughter how to live right. He tells the official that he will blow the whistle even if he “goes down with them.” He knows that he must, and that it is worth it for the sake of his daughter.
Can we in a similar way, look toward God and coming His kingdom and choose to live righteously now? Are we willing to sacrifice our wants and dreams for the sake of truth and righteousness? Can I be God’s light on earth even when it hurts me now in this world, knowing it is temporary and that the truth of Jesus, His kingdom, and His love (for all eternity) are worth it? You see, there is no other way to have faith, but to live it out in our lives – we cannot have a personal faith in God that never works its way into our actions. Jim Elliot who sacrificed his life to bring the gospel to the Auca Indians in Ecuador said: “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
20. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness is much greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never (double negative) enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus here is striking at the real content and the intention, of the Old Testament Law. He is trying to get them to look at righteousness in a completely different way – the true way as He said in Matthew 7:12: “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus is the embodiment of the fulfillment of all the Law and its true intention ordained by God. He shows us the true and complete meaning of the Old Testament Law. Not the ‘verbatim compliance’ that the scribes and the Pharisees obsessed about. Jesus criticizes the religious leaders, not for taking the Law too seriously but for failing to take it seriously enough. They thought that by going beyond the measure of what the Law actually said and developing a mass of little rules, that they were sure to please God with their actions. But they were really just making it easier for themselves – rather than meet the true intention of the Law, they chose to obey only the letter of the Law. This they could do perfectly. But real obedience to what the Law means, and to whom it points (Jesus the Messiah), is a lot harder than what the Pharisees did!
Oswald Chambers in his devotional “My Utmost for His Highest” says:
July 24th
Disposition and deeds
The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right doing is right being. Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new heredity which would exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says—‘If you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living, but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind.’ You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure. Who can stand in the Eternal Light of God and have nothing for God to censure? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that by His Redemption He can put into any man His own disposition, and make him as unsullied and as simple as a child. The purity which God demands is impossible unless I can be re-made within, and this is what Jesus has undertaken to do by His Redemption.
No man can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations; His teachings are truths that can only be interpreted by the disposition He puts in. The great marvel of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He alters heredity. He does not alter human nature; He alters its mainspring.
Jesus’ disciples experienced radical grace, and they are therefore ready to respond to Jesus with radical obedience – not to the letter of the Law, but to its true meaning found only in Christ. Jesus says his disciples must do better than the Pharisees. They must obey the law by letting it govern their inner thoughts and motives, not just their outward actions. We can see this in the examples that Jesus gives His disciples in the rest of this chapter in Matthew – even thinking murderous thoughts or lustful thoughts are egregious sins! Have we experienced radical grace? Jesus says we too are ready for radical obedience – obedience that SHINES out to the world and that makes it obvious that we have been changed by God, for His glory. Will this be easy? No, but we have experienced God’s amazing grace (that saved a wretch like me), and our righteousness can (and must) exceed the self-righteousness of the rule-following Pharisees.
This is illustrated by Jesus in Luke 18:10-14: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Does this sound like ‘poorness of spirit’? And mourning? And hungering and thirsting after righteousness? And pureness of heart? What about us, you and me? Is this what my righteousness looks like? Or does it look more like RIGHTNESS? You see, righteousness is not rightness – self-rightness is never achievable (that’s what the scribes and Pharisees were after), but righteousness (as defined in scripture) starts with our attitude before God, results in God’s counting Christ’s righteousness to and for us, and ends with His Holy Spirit sanctifying us from within. When we humble ourselves before God and adopt the value system of His Kingdom, we become His “oaks of righteousness,” as it says in Isaiah 61:1-3, to display His glory to the world:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Benediction: I Love to Tell the Story
1 I love to tell the story,
Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
Of Jesus and His love;
I love to tell the story
Because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings
As nothing else can do.
Chorus I love to tell the story!
’Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.
2 I love to tell the story:
More wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies
Of all my golden dreams;
I love to tell the story:
It did so much for me;
And that is just the reason
I tell it now to thee.
3 I love to tell the story:
’Tis pleasant to repeat
What seems each time I tell it,
More wonderfully sweet;
I love to tell the story,
For some have never heard
The message of salvation
From God’s own holy word.
4 I love to tell the story,
For those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting
To hear it like the rest;
And when, in scenes of glory,
I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story
That I have loved so long.
Chorus I love to tell the story!
’Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.