Reading: Matthew chapter 5 verses 13-16.
Ill:
• Snake who escaped from his cage etc;
• He became a victim of his own appetite!
• I believe our society has become the victim of its own permissive appetites;
• We have become trapped, enslaved by our own sinful attitudes and actions.
Quote: The word ‘Permissive’ in the dictionary simply means;
• ‘Tolerant, liberal, giving permission’
• Alternative words could be; “acquiescent, easy going, fore-bearing, indulgent’,
Our society is permissive because government after government:
• Have passed laws (given permission), to certain forms of behaviour & conduct.
• That runs contrary to this book.
• As a result morals and ethical standards have been lowered;
• People openly commit acts that at one-time they would have been ashamed of,
Quote:
“It all began with the "Swinging Sixties" and the advent of the Pill.
Suddenly all the "old fashioned" morals and values were cast off in favour of free expression, free love and generally "doing your own thing".
Young people finally broke away from the social and moral shackles which, they thought, had enslaved their parents' and previous generations; beginning a carefree romp through all standards of restraint.
We have now gone past the end of the twentieth century, widely acknowledged as the wreckage of the permissive society.
What has it left us?
The answer is a painful legacy of broken homes, illegitimacy, venereal disease, drug addiction, and AIDS.
The permissive society with all its promise of total liberation has instead led us into insecurity and misery.
Ill:
• On the Caribbean island of Barbados,
• Is a castle that once belonged to the pirate called Sam Lord.
• Sam Lord was a very cunning and crafty pirate, because he did not use a ship,
• Instead he used to hang lots of lanterns in the palm trees in front of his castle.
• Then when a ship having crossed the Atlantic, saw Barbados and saw those lights.
• It used to think that it had arrived at the port of Bridgetown,
• And it would turn into those lights,
• Thinking that that was where all the other boats were anchored.
• Unknowingly it would turn into the coral reef and be wrecked,
• That is exactly what Sam Lord wanted to happen, because he was a pirate
• His men could then row out to the wreck,
• Take prisoners or kill any survivors and steal all the goods and treasure.
Those alluring lights:
• Offered the sailors so much, but it gave them nothing,
• It promised them freedom, enjoyment, & a good time, but it shipwrecked (destroyed) them.
Now rather than depress you with statistics:
• Related to the use of drugs, or teenage pregnancies,
• Or the number of babies aborted each year etc
• I thought I would look at how we as Christians;
• Should react in a society gone wrong!
Quote Longfellow said;
"In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer".
• Meaning of course that we will either be a moulder of society,
• Or society will mould, it will change, it will influence us.
Quote: We live in a world, a society:
• That has been influenced, moulded by a variety of philosophies,
• A variety of different influences.
• Greece said, "be wise, know yourself !"
• Rome said, "be strong, discipline yourself!"
• Religion said, "be good, conform yourself!"
• Epicureanism says, "be sensuous, enjoy yourself!"
• Education says, "be resourceful, expand yourself!"
• Psychology says, "be confident, assert yourself!"
• Materialism says, "be satisfied, please yourself!"
• Pride says, "be superior, promote yourself!"
• Asceticism says, "be lowly, suppress yourself!"
• Humanism says, "be capable, believe in yourself!"
• Legalism says, "be pious, limit yourself!"
• Philanthropy says, "be generous, release yourself!"
Now there is probably a measure of truth in all of those philosophies:
• But on their own they can be very extreme and very excessive.
• And also dangerous! And if you will forgive the pun:
“The trouble with being moulded by these influences,
Is that society has gone mouldy, gone wrong, gone away from this book!”
In Matthew chapters 5-7:
• What is commonly called; 'The Sermon on the Mount'.
• It could well be called; 'The sermon of change, and its effect'.
Because this revolutionary stuff and if it were applied, it would turn:
• Our world, society, city, town, community, street,
• Our work place, family, our individual lives upside down
• Or perhaps rather inside out!
• And bring about a positive change for the good (‘a righteousness to lift up a nation’).
(a). Salt (verse 13):
• Jesus talks about what it means to make a difference?
• I would suggest; ‘How Christians should live in a permissive society!’
(1). Personnel (verses 13 and 14):
• When talking about our influence on our society, on our world:
• Verse 13: He says, "You" (vs 13)
• It's personal.
• "You are the salt..." (vs 13). "You are the light..." (vs14).
Ill:
• During World War II, Britons placed large signs;
• At the entrance to their munitions factories.
• The signs carried only five letters: "IADOM."
• A stranger in England during that time probably didn't understand what the signs meant.
• But the British people knew that the letters were an abbreviation for the words,
• "It all depends on me."
• It was a slogan to remind them that they were fighting for their land and lives,
• That victory depended on them – they played a key role!
So when talking about our influence on our society, on our country, our world:
• Jesus made it personal;
• "You are the salt..." (vs 13). "You are the light..." (vs14).
• He doesn't say:
• "You are like salt!” “You are like light."
• Salt and light are things we are!
• Not things we represent, symbolize or depict.
The most important thing about any of us is not what we do, but what we are.
• What we do is of course important,
• But it never speaks as loudly as what we are.
Ill:
• Paul wrote boldly to the Philippians (Phil. 4.9).
• 'Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put into practice'
• He invites the Philippians to not only listen but to watch!
• The credibility of what they hear will be determined by the integrity in what they see.
• To quote an old dictum,
• 'The most important things in life are caught, not taught'.
Both salt and light affect their environment.
• In these verses Jesus describes the impact of the Christian on the world,
• 'You are the salt of the earth ... You are the light of the world...'.
Quote Francis Bacon.
“It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong;
not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich;
not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned;
not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians”.
(2). Symbolic (verses 13 and 14):
2 Things that salt symbolises / represents:
(A). SALT WAS CONNECTED WITH PURITY:
• In the ancient world salt was connected with purity.
• Even its colour, the fact its white, makes that connection easy.
Quote The Romans said:
"Salt was the purist of all things, because it came from the purist of all things,
the sun and the sea".
• And to a Jew would be aware that:
• Jewish sacrifices were offered with salt.
Application: If as Christians are to impact a permissive society:
• We must be an example of purity.
• We live in a world were standards are lowered all the time:
• Standards of honesty, standards of diligence in work,
• Standards of conscientiousness, standards of morality.
The Christian must promote the standards of purity:
• Purity in speech.
• Purity in conduct.
• Purity even in thought.
(B). SALT PRESERVES:
• It is hard to imagine times before people refrigerates and freezers;
• But in times past, salt was rubbed into meat to stop it going rotten.
ill:
• Connie: Chandlers Ford.
• Buy salt in blocks, off the wagon to preserve their meat (Salt prevents corruption).
Application: As Christians in a permissive society, we have a duty to slow down:
• Evil, injustice, corruption, immorality, wickedness, sin;
• From spreading in our society.
ill:
• Mary Whitehouse. "You get what you deserve"
• Question: When did you last write a letter to your MP?
Quote:
"For wickedness to spread all it requires is for good men to do nothing".
In a world where moral standards are:
• Low, constantly changing or non-existent.
• We are called to be a moral disinfectant:
4 things about salt:
(1). SALT IS SHAKEN AND SPRINKLED... NOT POURED.
• Salt must be spread out.
• Too much salt ruins food.
We will be most effective:
• When we are out in the world,
• Rather than sticking together in a holy huddle.
ill:
Don't be a 'rabbit hole Christian':
• Popping out of our holes,
• Racing from our insulated warren,
• To meet only with other Christians,
• Then racing back home to our insulated warrens.
(2). SALT ADDS FLAVOUR... BUT ITS OBSCURE.
• No one ever comments when eating a meal;
• "Hum, this is good salt" they might say “it’s too salty” but that’s different!
• Salt is one of those products we take for granted,
• We only notice it when it is absent.
Christians ought to add zest to life, a flavour:
• Something unique, unequalled, unrivalled,
• A quality that cannot be achieved without us.
• What salt is to food,
• Christians are to life.
Ill:
Sadly, so many non-Christians have connected Christianity with precisely the opposite:
• Something that takes the flavour out of life.
• Quote Robert Louis Stevenson:
• Who once entered in his diary, as if recording an extraordinary phenomenon:
• "I have been to church to-day, and am not depressed".
• Christians should naturally be a diffuser of joy.
• Not a joy crushers or spoilers.
(3). SALT IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER SEASONING.
• It's difference is its strength,
• It cannot be duplicated.
ill:
Saccharin for sugar, no substitute for salt.
• It must be applied before it is useful.
• Salt is no good in the saltshaker.
(4). SALT CAN LOSE ITS SALTINESS.
Ill:
• Sodium Chloride is a very stable and resilient chemical compound,
• In reality, it never becomes un-salty.
• But when salt is contaminated by dirt, sand or other impurities,
• It becomes “good for nothing”.
• In fact that expression: "Good for nothing" which is common in our language.
• Comes from the Kings James version of this verse.
• Jesus said: "Don't lose your saltiness".
• "Don't lose your cutting edge, your difference".
(b). Light (14-16):
(1). Personal (verse 14).
• Although there is a change of illustration in verse 14 (form salt to light);
• Notice once again it is personal: "You are the light of the world".
Quote William Barclay:
"This may well be the greatest compliment that was ever paid to an individual Christian,
For in it Jesus commands the Christian to be what he himself claimed to be,
"The light of the world"".
(2). Productive (verse 14).
Question: What is the function of light?
Answer:
• The function of light is to dispel darkness;
• Darkness cannot remain when light is turned on.
• When light is introduced into darkness;
• It produces a beneficial effect.
4 things about light:
(1). LIGHT IS SILENT.
• No noise, no banners, it simply shines.
• But there is an over rider, a condition,
• It must not be hid,
• ill: "City on a hill".
Quote: It was this analogy that caused one writer to say;
"I sometimes think how splendid it would be if non-Christians,
Curious to discover the secret and source of our light,
Were to come up to us and enquire;
"Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are"”.
• Silent / yet so loud,
• It draws attention by its contrast to the darkness.
(2). IT GIVES DIRECTION.
• No words, no sermons "See" said Jesus not hear!
• We are to be doers, not just hearers.
ill:
The great preacher Dr Lyman Beecher used to say;
"That the reason why he was so blessed to the conversion of men was,
that he had so many pulpit reflectors,
Who lived out and diffused everywhere the gospel".
(3). LIGHT ATTRACTS ATTENTION.
Ill:
• Moths and other insects are drawn towards the light,
• Makes you wonder why they don’t come out in the day time (plenty of the stuff)
Ill:
• Aeroplane you see people wearing blindfold masks so the can sleep,
• Without that mask they cannot sleep because the light demands their attention.
Ill:
• The gleam of a lighthouse on the horizon,
• Gives a direction, it attracts attention.
The Christian life ought to attract people to it,
“We who are married do not have to pretend we are living as Barbie Dolls on a wedding cake. We have struggles, and dashed expectations too. But if we offer the world a model of a reasonably good marriage, a reasonably good family lifestyle, a reasonably good Church, a reasonably amount of good works, it will have radicalising effects on the world”.
(4). LIGHT CAN BE HIDDEN.
• Light is only effective as long as: "It is not hid."
• The light must be switched on (uncovered) to be any good!
ill:
• At the time of Jesus if people went out rather than turn out the light,
• Then have all the hassle of lighting it again,
• Because remember they were lighting an oil lamp,
• They didn't have 'Swan Vesta' (matches).
• So what they did was to take the lamp from its stand,
• And put it under an earthen bushel measure, bowl
• So that it would continue to burn,
• Yet it was without risk of catching fire to things.
• But the main duty of that lamp was to give light,
• To be seen and not to be hidden.
In order to help us keep:
• Being salty, shinning as lights.
• Making a difference in a permissive society.
I want to suggest 3 keys that will help us fulfil this:
(1). "I AM DIFFERENT."
No false humility:
• We are different to the society / neighbours around.
• If we are not, then why not?
In Matthew chapter 5, 6 & 7. The teaching of Jesus is so different:
• It really is all change,
• And the effect of change.
ill:
Matthew chapter 5 goes on to speak of a new way to live:
• Verses 21-26: On the subject of murder:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
• Verses 27-30: On the subject of Adultery:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
• Verses 31-32: On the subject of Divorce:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
• Verses 33-37: On the subject of Oaths:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
• Verses 38-42: On the subject of Retaliation:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
• Verses 43-47: On the subject of love:
• "You have heard........ but I say unto you."
Ill:
• Just compare the beatitudes of society to those of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 verse 3-11:
• Quote: J.B. Phillips:
"Happy are the 'pushers': for they get on in the world.
Happy are the hard-boiled: for they never get hurt.
Happy are they that complain: for they get there own way in the end.
Happy are the blase': for they never worry over there sins.
Happy are the slave drivers: for they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world: for they know their way round
Happy are the trouble makers: for they make people take notice of them.
The lifestyle of Jesus is unmistakably different.
ill:
Spring Harvest. (never had so much lost property)
(2). "I AM RESPONSIBLE."
• I am responsible for my salt not losing its bite,
• And for my light not becoming obscure or hidden.
ill:
Roger Carswell & mission at ??????? Baptist Church in Hampshire.
• He was amazed at how many non-Christians were coming along to each event,
• The believers seemed to have an endless list of contacts.
• He asked one of the leaders;
• And got this reply:
“When someone asks to become a member, we don’t insist, but strongly recommend they also join another club e.g. painting or bowling etc.
Then whenever we have anything evangelistic at our Church we all have lots of friends that we can invite along!”
ill:
• Planning a mission or with our 'Man to Man':
• Often the feedback is: "I have no none-Christian friends to invite".
Jesus did not say:
• "You are the light of the church".
• But: "You are the light of the world".
(3). "I AM INFLUENTIAL."
Ill:
• A mother took her young son shopping.
• After a day in the stores, a clerk handed the little boy a lollipop.
• "What do you say?" the mother said to the boy,
• To which he replied, "Charge it!"
We have an effect on people:
ill:
Hide their fags / apologise for swearing etc.
ill:
• Headmaster, said "Oh my God ...ness".
• I hope my presence defeats corruption and makes it easier for others to be good.
ill:
Floodlights day / night.
Quote:
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done;
Leave countless marks for good or ill, ere sets the evening sun.
This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray:
Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way.
Ill:
• Penny forever telling me;
• With cashiers etc, “Smile!”
Ill:
• Dr. John Geddie went to Aneityum in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years.
• On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed:
• “When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians.
• When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen”.
Ill:
• There was a monk in the fourth century after Christ,
• He lived in a cloister:
• He was all alone by himself studying
• And one day he thought God said, "Go to Rome",
• He thought, "Rome, I don't want to go to Rome, I'm studying in this cloister",
• But he felt the irresistible call of God to go to Rome,
• And so he packed everything he had into a little satchel:
• Threw it over his shoulder and started on the road westward to Rome.
When he got into Rome he discovered this tremendous excitement going on in Rome that day:
• Every where people were rushing about, dashing to and thro,
• And he said to someone; "What going on?",
Someone replied:
"This is the day of the games,
when animals fight animals, and gladiators fight gladiators,
and people die for the glory of Caesar",
• And he thought to himself:
• "Could this be what God wants me here for",
The little monk whose name was Talamakus went down and he looked into the arena:
• And he saw the people 80,000 strong,
• Cheering as these huge gladiators came out,
• They were cheering:
• "Hail! We die to the glory of Cease".
• And Talamakus looked, he said to himself;
• "This is not right, four centuries after Christ has come to earth and died, this is not right",
He went rushing down and jumped up on the parapet:
• He was a little monk,
• And he jumped out in the middle of that great arena,
• And he started to shout:
• "In the name of Christ forbear! In the name of Christ forbear!"
And the crowd began to laugh and chant,
• "Get that little guy out of the arena".
• "Get rid of him, let the games begin".
A big gladiators came over and took the back of his sword:
• With it he hit Talamakus in the stomach,
• And sent him spinning off into the dust.
And the little monk got up and dusted himself off:
• He ran back in between the two gladiators & shouted;
• "In the name of Christ forbear",
By now the crowd began to shout:
• "Run him through, run him through",
• "Run him through, run him through",
And a big gladiator came over and took his sword and ran it through the stomach of Talamakus:
And the little monk fell into the sand,
And as the sand began to redden around him,
One last time, with the last ounce of breath in him,
He shouted out, "In the name of Christ forbear"
Silence came over the amphitheatre:
• A man stood up and walked to the exit,
• Then someone else got up and followed him.
• Within a matter of minutes the amphitheatre was cleared and empty:
• And it was the last known gladiatorial contest recorded in the history of Rome.
