Sermon Notes from September 3

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:13-16

On Sunday we talked about our desire to see a culture of mission in our church.  Unlike the four previously discussed cultures (grace, enjoyment, pursuit, and empowerment), this idea of living on mission, for many, is unattractive.  Why?  Because of unpleasant, pragmatically oriented, past experiences. 

The goal of this sermon was to replace unattractive ideas of what it looks like to live on mission with an attractive picture found in the teaching of Jesus.    

In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus uses two metaphors that describe how He intends for us as His people to participate in fulfilling His mission in the world. 

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

Jesus didn't say, “be salt;” rather, He said, “you are salt.”  This descriptor speaks of more than simply an activity.  It’s deeper than that.  This verb of being—“you are”—reminds us that this is our identity as Christians. 

In this verse, there is not a direct command, but one is implied—one that can be expressed like this: don’t lose it. 

Salt in the first-century world had a number of purposes (taste, food preservation, etc.), but regardless of how Jesus understood the primary, first-century utility of salt, His point is clear: As His people, we should not lose our distinctness, because we will become useless if we do. 

As Christians, the gospel in our lives should be good news not just for us, but also for people around us who aren’t Christians.  Because our lives have been so salted by the gospel of Jesus, it should actually make the world a better place. 

2) “You are the light of the world” (14-16). 

Light’s purpose in Jesus’ day, as it is today, was to shine. 

In spite of all its claims to enlightenment, the world is a dark place in need of light, and according to Jesus, we as His people are the light it needs.  Hence, the command found in these verses: let your light shine.    

I think it’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t say we’re to shine like the sun or like stars or some other objects that have light in themselves intrinsically.  Rather, he says, “you’re like lamps”—objects that had to be lit.  In the same way, we can only shine as light when we’ve been lit. 

The word good in verse 16 is the NT word kalos.  It’s rightly translated as good, but it also can be translated as beautiful.  This verse is what a culture of mission looks like: Christian lives on display, and non-Christians seeing them and praising God. 

This is not to be confused with people looking at us and thinking, “They’re great!”  This is the picture of people looking at us and thinking, “Wow, their Jesus is great!” 

Conclusion:

Jesus is the light of the world, and when we receive Him as our Savior and Lord, we, in turn, become a light to the world.  Jesus is the salt of the earth, and when we call on Him for salvation, He fills us with His Holy Spirit and makes us salt to the world.  This looks like a lot of things.  It’s bigger than just speaking of Jesus—not less, but bigger—living as salt and light entails:
a) Living with character—embodying the ethics of Scripture because of the work that Jesus has done in us.  
b) Loving and serving the people around us—not because they deserve it, but because Jesus loved and served us when we didn’t deserve it.
c) Speaking of Jesus—because people need to hear about Him and because our God deserves to be made much of. 

How do we do this?  How do we move from a theology of mission to a culture of mission? 

I’ve wrestled with this question all week, and this story kept coming to mind. 

Moses, in the book of Exodus, went up on Mt. Sinai to meet with God.  He stayed there, in God’s presence, for forty days and forty nights.  Then, he came down, his face was literally glowing, He spoke God’s word to God’s people, and they were amazed.  Essentially, He spent time with God and people noticed. 

If we want to live as salt and light, then we have to spend time with Jesus.  The exact amount of time is not important, but Moses spent 40 days straight with God, and we sometimes only spend ten meaningful minutes with Him every couple of days. 

I don’t think giving God the fringes of our time or the fringes of our lives is going to be enough to make us function as salt and light to the world.  No, for that to happen we must earnestly seek Him.  So, here’s my challenge for you: This week would you spend meaningful time with Jesus, then, in the overflow of that, would you make it your aim to live, speak, and serve as His presence for the good of those around you.   

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