The Influence of the Kingdom Citizen
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
The world has issues. We all know this. Because of the fall of mankind when sin entered the world, there is corruption, impurity, decay, and death. There is darkness and there is despair. Christians are rescued out of our sin and made to be salt and light to the world and push back the darkness.
John Stott said “The greatest hindrance to the advance of the gospel worldwide is the failure of the lives of God’s people.”
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
If we were to describe the Beatitudes as the start of a river flowing downhill toward the ocean, then this passage today is at the bottom of a drop in the river. There is a natural flow from the beatitudes into this next section. And as a good student of the Bible, you’ve got to consider why it was placed here? What is Jesus telling us?
The life that He had just described in the Beatitudes is what makes us salt and light. It’s the lifestyle of a citizen of the Kingdom of God that makes you salt and light.
This keeps with Jesus’ overall mission and our commission.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The context of this passage is that Jesus had just delivered his teaching about persecution. If the followers of Jesus, who He is talking to, live as salt and light to the world, they will face persecution. If you are living your life as a walking, talking witness to the gospel and the Lordship of Christ you will face persecution. And here we have a contrast from verses 11-12. You have those who are persecuting the children of God and then here you have those who are salt and light to the world.
I. Be Salt in a World of Decay
I. Be Salt in a World of Decay
This statement about Christ’s followers being salt about us being light are not for later. Christ’s statement here is emphatic. It’s an emphatic statement and not a promise. You are the salt. His people are the salt. Not would be, not can be… ARE...
Salt benefits in fundamental ways.
In Bible times salt had a few basic functions.
Purity
Preservation
Flavor
Healing
Creation of Thirst
Could render land useless
Used to brighten the light of lamps
ILLUSTRATION
A. Don’t lose your purity.
A. Don’t lose your purity.
- A pure life gives credit to the proclamation of our lips.
B. Don’t lose your usefulness.
B. Don’t lose your usefulness.
Would be strange and unnatural for salt to lose it’s saltiness.
Back then, salt could become contaminated and impure. It could lose its taste.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3094 Salt Creates Thirst
At a meeting some young people were discussing the text, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” One suggestion after another was made as to the meaning of “salt” in this verse.
“Salt imparts a desirable flavor,” said one.
“Salt preserves from decay,” another suggested.
Then a Chinese Christian girl spoke out of an experience none of the others had. “Salt creates thirst,” she said, and there was a sudden hush in the room. Everyone was thinking: Have I ever made anyone thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ?
II. Be Light to a World in Darkness
II. Be Light to a World in Darkness
Being a light in the world implies that the world is in darkness.
The expression, Light of the World is applied to Jesus so it seems strange that it would be used by him of us, His followers, here.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
In the Old Testament, there is a background of the idea of the light of the world. In those pages it stood for revelation, instruction, hope, joy, righteousness, salvation, and the radiance of divine presence according to Quarles.
he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah here writes of the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, as “a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach the end of the earth.”
In our passage for today, the phrase is used in a different sense in reference to the followers of Christ. We are to be reflectors of the light. Jesus is the true light and we are to reflect him to the world. He’s the greater light and in reflecting Him we advance the mission of God.
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Being who and what they are is inevitable - Light in this world. This is a continual activity.
300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon The More Light, the More Dust We See (Job 13:23; Jeremiah 17:9)
You know how it is with yourselves. It is like when a housewife cleans her room; she looks, and there is no dust. The air is clear, and all her furniture is shining brightly. But there is a chink in the window shutter, a ray of light creeps in, and you see the dust dancing up and down, thousands of grains, in the sunbeam. It is all over the room the same, but she can see it only where the sunbeam comes.
It is just so with us. God sends a ray of divine light into the heart, and then we see how vile and full of iniquity it is.259
Here we come to two examples of what this means, to be the light of the world.
A. Learn from the example of light on a hill.
A. Learn from the example of light on a hill.
It’s conspicuous like a city up on a hill. He calls us into His kingdom and doesn’t expect us to hide the light but to let it shine for all around to see it and light the way to the Father. God gives us this influence so we must guard our tongues and watch our actions.
An anonymous writer is quoted as saying, “The reason some folks don’t believe in missions is that that brand of religion they have isn’t worth propagating.”
B. Learn from the example of light in a house.
B. Learn from the example of light in a house.
A little light in a dark room will make a big difference. It draws the eye. The darkness flees from the light. When other people see our good works, when they see us living the life described in the Beatitudes, it can not be ignored. People will persecute us like the prophets were persecuted. In the end though, those who are mesmerized by the light we reflect will give God the glory. See, either way, in the end God is glorified. When we stand firm in our commitments and convictions He is shown to be worthy and true and the one who enables us to stand. He is glorified. Would you be the cause of other people giving glory to God?
I want to ask you seven questions that Danny Akin lists in his commentary about you seeking to light the dark places.
He asks:
Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount The Power and Purpose of Our Witness to the World 5:13-16
1. Does fear of man keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
2. Does pride keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
3. Does sin keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
4. Does comfort keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
5. Does peer pressure keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
6. Do parental expectations keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
7. Do your ambitions and agendas keep you from shining brightly for Jesus among the nations?
Conclusion
Conclusion
Active, not passive
David Dockery says, “salt is only useful when it gives of itself.” God’s people should be known for, famous for both their courage and convictions.
Compassion
Grace
Humility
A love for others expressed in actions
Lose saltiness = useless in the kingdom. Parellel verse:
“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
“Compromise is a deadly cancer to our witness in the world.” The world’s desires are seducing. Materialism, political expediency, irresponsible rhetoric, moral laxity, and foolish actions are compromises that trade in false promises.
It stands out when we hold to our convictions and our commitments. It’s so different from the normal way the world is that it makes us seem wierd and it’s noticable. We add flavor to the world and are useful to the Kingdom. We’re the Savior’s salt. Our lives should influence the world for good.
As the salt of the earth, we should be acting as a moral antiseptic. Christians living by Jesus’ standards are this. They give a tang to life. Preservative. Enhancing the good in life and opposing the evil as measured by Christ’s standards and not the world’s.
The world responds to Christians who don not function as they should by throwing them out. They see when we are not genuine in our convictions and where we are willing to compromise for the things I listed above. The world notices when we are materialistic, when we trade away Christ’s standards for political outcome or expediency, when we use irresponsible rhetoric on social media or in person, when we are lax in our morals or foolish in our actions…
Permeate society as agents of redemption.
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Matthew 2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)
Both metaphors of salt and light raise important questions about Christian involvement in society regarding all forms of separatism or withdrawal. We are not called to control secular power structures; neither are we promised that we can Christianize the legislation and values of the world. But we must remain active preservative agents, indeed irritants, in calling the world to heed God’s standards. We dare not form isolated Christian enclaves to which the world pays no attention
Many of you may know about the Little House books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder as she tells about her days growing up in the backwoods and prairie towns of the American Midwest. In the first book of the series, The Little House in the Big Woods, Laura talks about growing up in a cabin in Wisconsin in the 1800s. Getting and keeping enough food to survive the winter was a major part of their lives. In one part of the story, her father Pa goes fishing and comes back with a wagon full. They eat some, but Laura says most of the fish were packed in salt to be eaten later. Why salt? It preserves those things around it. It keeps it from decay and from rot.
In the world, the Christian often finds themselves living among a lot of decay and rot. Christ calls us to offer a way of preservation in a world bound to corruption when he says “you are the salt of the earth” in Matthew 5:13.
President Woodrow Wilson told this story. He said, "I was in a very common place. I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself, to have his hair cut, and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done for me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D.L. Moody was in that chair.
“I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They didn't know his name, but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts. And I felt that I left that place as I should have left the place of worship. My admiration and esteem for Mr. Moody became very deep indeed." Influence. Influence.