Sermon Tone Analysis

I. Reading of Scripture

This is God’s Word, Amen.

Pray

II.

Introduction

A. Introduction to Theme

I would imagine that an important moment in your spiritual story involves you walking down the aisle in a church sanctuary, at the conclusion of a sermon or service of worship, to make public your profession of faith and obedience to the Lord.

This has been called an “altar call,” or “invitation time.”

Often, it is accompanied by the singing of “I Surrender All” or “Just As I Am” and the voice of the minister saying: “We’ll sing one more verse, one more verse, would you come, would you come?”

Have you ever made a public profession of faith like that?

Do you remember walking down a church aisle to publicly respond to God?

To acknowledge what God has already done in making you a member of His body, the Church.

To make it known that by faith in Jesus, you have been born again, to walk in newness of life.

To make public your intention to obey Jesus through the waters of baptism.

To confess and repent of sin before God and others who have been wronged?

How did walking forward make you feel?

Were you terrified:

Wishing you hadn’t picked a seat in the back of the sanctuary?

That small aisle of 100 feet now feels like 100 miles!

Did you walk forward, or did you come with a nervous run?

Whether or not you have had such an experience,

Can you remember watching someone else walking down a church aisle and making public their faith and obedience to the Lord?

How did that make you feel?

Were you overcome with joy because it was someone you had been praying for and now you see with your eyes the fruit of your prayer?

Were you inspired to follow Jesus with more boldness because of their public profession?

Or, even better, were you moved to follow after them and obey Jesus in the same way because their faith was made public?

I remember as a child, wondering why the pastor would ask people to stand up and walk forward to obey Jesus in front of everyone.

Especially when you consider that one of the top fears people report is a fear of public speaking!

Wouldn’t it be safer, to give people a less-public way to respond to Jesus?

Would we have more people join the church that way?

Would we have more professions of faith that way?

And the pastor would explain it this way —

“if you will not stand up, and walk forward publicly in front of all these people, in a church, your faith family, a people who are prayer warriors, who celebrate your decision, who are cheering you on and supporting you —

HOW will you stand up and walk with Jesus and speak about Him publicly, in a world that either does not know Jesus, or hates Him?

It’s a worthwhile question to ponder, personally!

Because Jesus makes his teaching about this personal.

What Jesus does for us personally is to be shared publicly.

When we become a follower of Jesus by faith, we are not given a new set of tools for living, to use or not to use at our option or discretion, in order to make life easier until we find rest in glory.

No! — But when we become a follower of Jesus by faith, it is because God has done something upon our hearts.

God has made us new.

We have been born again, as a new creation in the resurrected Christ.

We have been made citizens of that which already is, and is yet to be — the kingdom of heaven.

We are given a new identity.

This means —

We do not get to control who we are anymore.

We are who God says we are.

We do not get to control what we do anymore.

WHO we are, and WHOSE we are, informs what we do!

By the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in us, our new identity — who we ARE — is a people in perfect submission to the Father through Jesus Christ the Son, to give God glory on earth for the great things He has done!

B. Introduction to Text

After teaching about the contentment of the kingdom of heaven — those who are happy and blessed as they are in Christ —

Jesus makes his teaching personal.

The “blessed are they” statements become statements directed at “you.”

The “you” is the small group of disciples.

His followers who came to him and gathered around him on the mountain.

The “you” is also US, followers of Jesus in the world today.

And Jesus’ first group of disciples are about to learn from Him what we are about to learn from Him, that —

Whatever Jesus does personally in us, Jesus does publicly through us.

The statements of “they” are NOW directed at “you.”

“Blessed are you,” when publicly you are persecuted “on my account.”

In other words, “what I will do in you personally, I will do through you publicly.

This will produce outcomes that you will not be pleased with, but on the promise of my word, you will be at peace with.

Jesus relates the persecution his followers will suffer to the persecution the prophets suffered before them.

The prophets spoke the Word of God to the people, and likewise, our persecution will be a result of us speaking the words of Christ to people, too.

Peter and John said it this way, when they were warned “to speak no more to anyone in [the name of Jesus] —

It’s who we are!

It’s what we do!

We belong to Jesus!

We speak of Jesus!

We can’t stop speaking any more than we can live without breathing.

It’s who we are!

Jesus illustrates this in his teaching.

Before giving any more commands, he speaks about who his disciples are, to whom belong the kingdom of heaven, in Him.

In Matthew 5:13-16, there are three main movements.

First, Jesus tells his followers that they are salt.

A statement of identity.

Who they are.

Second, Jesus tells us followers that they are light.

Who they are.

A statement of identity.

Then, Jesus tells his followers what to do because they are light.

A statement of command, informed by identity.

Two-thirds of this text focuses on who his followers are, their identity, and one third focuses on what they are to do — the command.

Jesus is not giving another set of 10 commandments.

He’s giving new life for all who will find it in Him.

And the new life Jesus gives, is the light of His life that His followers let shine in the world!

III.

Exposition

A. Salt (v.13)

1. “You are the salt of the earth” (5:13a)

“You are the salt of the earth” (5:13a)

The first word “You” is emphasized here.

“You” — the disciples, not the crowds.

The crowds follow Jesus but are not yet his followers.

They associate themselves with Jesus but are not yet identified with Him.

They are the “cultural Christians.”

Those who gather with the saints to “receive” only without ever participating, contributing or giving in worship to God or on mission in the world.

They are the ones who will ride the next wave to the next congregation, to the next movement or the next feeling, because they have no foundation or anchor in Christ.

“You” — the disciples, not those who (verse 11) oppress, harass and lie about you on account of Jesus.

Those people are not the salt of the earth, they are the corruption of it.