Title: Living as Disciples in a Fallen World Script: Mt. 5:13-20
Type: Expos. Where: GNBC 2-9-25
Intro: Indianapolis pastor Davey Blackburn knows what means to live as a disciple in a fallen world. "I cannot thank you enough for the unbelievable outpouring of love that you have shared with my family over the past few days. As many of you know, my wife Amanda Grace and our unborn baby have been tragically killed," said Blackburn in a message on his church's Facebook page Friday." We are going to have church this Sunday, just like we always do. In addition to meeting together at our normal service times, we are going to focus on celebrating Amanda's life later Sunday afternoon. Please join me at Traders Point Christian Church at 5 p.m. We are going to worship, share the Gospel through sharing Amanda's story, laugh together and cry together," he continued. Blackburn also asked his followers to invite as many people as possible to church who do not know the Lord and warned them not to speak with the media if they are approached. "Her heart would be that you invite as many people as possible to this celebration service that do not know the Lord. Amanda's story has attracted national news. I know that Jesus is going to make good come from this.” Blackburn has experienced unspeakable tragedy and yet is attempting to live out his faith in Christ in the midst of that tragedy.
Prop: Exam. Mt. 5:13-20 we’ll see 4 Charac. Jesus Calls His Disciples to demonstrate.
BG: 1. Today talking about being disciples – simply means pupil or learner. –section examining is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mt.
2. Every Christians is to be a disciple. How successful and close is up to you.
Prop: In Mt. 5:13-20 we’ll notice 4 char. represented in Disciples.
I. Christ’s Disciples are Called to Be Salt in the World. v. 13
“You are the salt of the earth.”
A. What Does Jesus Mean when He called His Disciples the “salt of the earth”?
1.Saying that disciples are “the salt of the earth”, is hermeneutically speaking, figurative language. Jesus is not saying that everyone who is a disciple of His is sodium chloride. Rather, he is making a figure of comparison by which He is comparing you and I to something. That something is salt. Notice not saying: “You may be” or “Pray that you would be …” Rather, simply saying: “You are…” Therefore, we need to know what we are! - Illust - In ancient times salt was seen as a necessity of life. Because of its seasoning and preservative qualities was one of the most highly prized minerals. In many societies it was so highly valued that it was used for money. The English word salary is derived from the Latin word Salarium which refers to the payments made to a Roman soldier with salt.
2. As citizens of the KOG we have serious responsibilities. Jesus is telling us that we are the “salt of the earth”. Now, expository preaching doesn’t require seeing how creative I can come up in finding all the uses of salt in the Bible. Rather, being a good student of the Bible requires trying to come the closest to what application Jesus was making in the text. Essentially two applications I see:
a. salt enhances flavors – Salt was and still is one of the most basic spices in cooking. Think of corn on the cob, popcorn. Now add butter and a little salt!!! Life without Christ is boring, bland, insipid, tasteless. Yet, life in or with Christ is abundant life! (John 10:10) (World tells you to enjoy life need addictions, wealth, men or women, career, adulation of individuals. I can tell you there is nothing that compares to being sober, set-free, clear conscience, loving people, and growing in a relationship with your Creator!
b. salt preserves – Xstians/Christianity are preservative of or within human society. At the time of Christ there was no refrigeration, and the fish that were caught in the Sea of Galilee (The fish in the Dead Sea didn’t need to be salted! 😊) were heavily salted before being shipped down to Jerusalem. This preserved the integrity of the meat. Look anywhere in the world. Where there is a strong and vibrant Evangelical Church in a nation it is an improving society. Where there is not, the society is not. Christianity preserves.
B. How are Christians supposed to be “salt” in today’s society?
1. How do Christians make a tangible difference today?
a. The Christian who makes an impact on the world in our day is no different from the ones who did in the early church. 1st. Strong warriors for Christ are not created instantaneously, rather, they grow. No man has stood in a great place who did not stand previously in a lesser place. If a person cannot be faithful in the smaller task he/she will not be in the greater.
b. If a disciple does not give glory to God in the lesser accomplishments, crediting God and not exulting his own devices, he will not be able to give God glory when men praise him for greater things. Maybe you have great gifts and talents, you have a special challenge to lay those at the feet of Christ and trust Him all the more. (I’ve seen as many new believers lost to pride as to vice!)
2. Christians, we are living in a society that desperately needs the effects of the Gospel.
a. Illust - G. Campbell Morgan said it nicely when he wrote, “Jesus, looking out over the multitudes of His day, saw the corruption, the disintegration of life at every point, its breakup, its spoliation; and because of His love of the multitudes, He knew the thing that they needed most was the salt in order that the corruption should be arrested.” (The moral corruption facing America will not change by a border wall and deported Tres Agua members. (Although I firmly support both!) America’s insatiable demand for Fentanyl and other drugs, sex trafficking, cheap human labor, etc. are signs of a spiritual crisis in our nation that only Jesus Christ fix.
b. Illust- “A Peanuts cartoon, showed Peppermint Patty talking to Charlie Brown. She said, "Guess what, Chuck. The first day of school, and I got sent to the principal’s office. It was your fault, Chuck." He said, "My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?" She said, "You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me." While Peppermint Patty was seeking to pass the buck, she was in a very real sense right. We should be a good influence on our friends. We certainly do have an influence, for good or for bad.” As the “salt of the world” we are to have an influence as disciples.
C. Applic: If you hear someone describe an individual as “A little bit salty!”, it is not seen as a compliment. However, every Christian should want this accolade to be said or him/her.
II. Christ’s Disciples are Called to Be Light in the World. Vv14-16
“You are the light of the world.”
A. Christian Disciples are to Shine Christ in a World of Spiritual Darkness.
1. Light, by nature, dispels darkness.
a. I believe this is the only location in Scripture where we are so called, but Jesus says that as disciples “you are the light of the world”. You and I don’t have to pray to be the light, or desire to be, or… You are! You and I are by light of our inclusion in Christ, who is the Light of the World. What was the “light of the world”? The sun/son of course. Still is today. Just as the sun is essential for there to be life on the world, the message of the Gospel is that the “Son” is essential for eternal and abundant life.
b. Whereas salt operates internally, in the mass with which it comes in contact; light operates externally, irradiating all that it reaches. Hence Christians are warily styled "the salt of the earth"--with reference to the masses of mankind with whom they are expected to mix; but "the light of the world"--with reference to the vast and variegated surface which feels its radiance. The same distinction is observable in the second pair of those seven parables which our Lord spoke from the Galilean Lake--that of the "mustard seed," which grew to be a great overshadowing tree, answering to the sunlight which invests the world, and that of the "leaven," which a woman took and, like the salt, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (Mt 13:31-33).
2. As the Light of the World we are supposed to live Visible, Christian Lives.
a. We are the light of the world as we live in Christ. We are told not to hide our light. Illust – During the time of Christ most people in Palestine were poor, many would have lived in small, one or two room homes, most did not have a window. And yet, in all but the poorest of homes, would have had an oil lamp for lighting. That lamp, when lit, was all needed to bring light to the entire house. They didn’t use their only source of illumination and put under a bushel (v.15)
b. Illust – (Not a stealth Christian)
B. We are to live in Such as Way so as to Illumine Others to the Knowledge of Christ.
1. Your and my purpose in life is to live so others see Jesus.
a. In I Jn. 1:5 we see the Apostle writes: “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” Of the statements about the essential nature of God, none is more comprehensive than “God is light”. It is His nature to reveal Himself, as it is the property of light to shine; and the revelation is of perfect purity and unutterable majesty.” (J. Stott, p. 75, I,II, III John) The light of God is the exact opposite of the darkness and fear in the world. Illust: Outspoken believers should never deny Christ in order to submit to cultural pressure. Now, I have NEVER been a fan of OSU, and certainly wasn’t cheering for them against ND. However, after their National Championship victory, no less than five of their standout players (QB, DT, WR, O Line, and LB, ALL gave praise and glory to Jesus Christ! Wow!)
b. Illust- I recall reading an interview with Stephen King, the author of many tales of horror. In the interview he talked about his daily writing routine. He said that he only writes in the morning. When he was asked whether he ever wrote at night, he replied, "Are you kidding? Not with the stuff I write." Apparently, even Stephen King knows the power of darkness. Light dispels darkness and fear. That’s why knowing Christ is the believer’s security. Little Stevie needs Jesus!
2. We are to illume Christ in the world by letting His life reflect off of us.
- Illust – We need to be concerned about being a witness wherever we are. Illust – The moon doesn’t have any ability to produce light. However, recently the moon has been incredibly bright, hasn’t it? The moon simply reflects the light of the sun. That’s all we are called to do. The church/individual Christian is the moon which is to reflect the light of the Son of God into the face of a world darkened by sin and death.
C. Applic: You are the light of the world. Don’t hide your light!
III. Christian Disciples are to Live Obediently to God’s Word. Vv.17-19
A. Jesus Tells us the Importance of the Law of God.
1. Jesus Tells us the Law is both important and eternal. In that it serves a purpose.
a. vv.17-20 – Some people look at these verse and wonder if anything has changed from the OT to the NT and what the Christian is and isn’t supposed to do or keep in relation to the OT Law. Now in OT 3 Parts to Law – Moral – “thou shalts”, Civil – government of Israel, Ceremonial – OT system of sacrifices, feasts, etc. Gal. 4:4 tells us that at the right time “God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the Law.” Jesus obeyed the civil law of Israel and Rome (as we should of our nation!), Jesus obeyed the moral law of the OT (as we should), and Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Ceremonial Law of the OT (so we don’t have to!)
b. Illust- How do we know it’s ok for Christian to do or not do certain things that were prescribed in OT? Like eat pork, etc.? OT ( Lev. 11:7-8 ) specifically says not to eat pork. Very simply, latter revelation, i.e. NT takes precedence over earlier when building doctrine. Well in the NT Jesus says "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." (Mt. 15:11) Again in Acts 10:15 “Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” Or in I Tim. 4:4 – “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the WOG and prayer.”
2. In this passage Christ Explains His relationship to the OT.
a. Jesus makes it very clear that the OT was not set aside for His coming. Rather, through the NT, the OT was given a higher interpretation (like adultery – 5:27 ff – not just act as in OT, but thought in the NT, not just love neighbor as in OT but love enemy in NT Mt. 5:44). Only in and through Xst are we complete and can we find the proper interpretation and understanding of the OT. You see, Jesus fulfilled the entire OT in a perfect life of absolute obedience to the will of the Father. We meet the Law’s demands when by faith we unite ourselves with Him. To be dominated by the Spirit of Christ is to fulfill God’s requirements.
b. Our society lives in utter disregard to the Bible, with an attempt to cling to Liberalism’s pluralism. Religious pluralism is a belief system that sounds good, but does disservice to all religions. All religions are exclusive. Every religion has its starting points and its deductions, and those starting points exclude. For example, Hinduism has two non-negotiable beliefs: karma and reincarnation. Not debatable to Hindu. In Buddhism, there is the denial of the essential notion of the self. Buddhists believe that the self as we understand it does not exist and only way to cease suffering is to stifle desire. Naturalism teaches that anything supernatural or metaphysical is outside the realm of evidence and not true. Islam believes that Mohammad is the last and final prophet, and the Quran is the perfect revelation. No flexibility. In the Christian faith, we believe Jesus is the consummate experience of God in the person of His Son, and is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. We cannot deny these premises and continue to be Christians. The question is not whether these are mutually exclusive. The question is which one of these will we deny as being reasonable and consistent? We can have pluralism in cuisine, clothing styles, accents, and other things. However, as any 1st year philosophy major would tell you, we cannot violate the law of noncontradiction! Secularism is not sustainable, it only creates a vacuum that a stronger world view will enter and dominate. (Growth of Islam in Western Europe.)
B. Obedience to the Word of God is a Sign of Christian Discipleship.
1. In the NT a heresy the Church often fought against was antinomianism – “against the law”. Basically, whether Gnostics, or whoever else, idea was that really spiritual Christians, since they have a special insight, can live in flagrant opposition to the law of God and is OK. Today Gnosticism is pretty outmoded, however, it’s not uncommon to see people today to claim fellowship with God and yet see no necessity either first to go to the cross for cleansing and forgiveness or to thereafter attempt to lead any type of a holy life. - Illust – John tells us in I Jn. 2 that the true Christian must pass three tests (I hate taking tests!) Moral Test – obedience to living Christian life; Social Test – Love one another; Doctrinal Test – belief in Christ alone. He said if didn’t pass test, you may claim to be a Christian, but you are self-deluded.
2. This obedience should affect how we live the Christian life.
- Illust - Dr. Ray Ortland once said: "The Christian who is not committed to a group of other believers for praying, sharing, and serving, so that he is known, as he knows others, is not an obedient Christian. He is not in the will of God. However vocal he may be in his theology, he is not obeying the Lord."
C. Applic: Are you living in obedience to God’s Word? Not attempt to earn salvation. But demonstrate agreement with God and love for Him.
IV. Christian Disciples are to Live Righteous Lives. V. 20
A. Christian, you and I are called to live Righteous lives.
1. The Pharisees were theological conservatives. They believed God. They believed his word. They wanted to live lives that demonstrated their devotion to God. So they were very careful about their behavior. They went to great extremes to make sure they were not disobeying God’s law. To the people of the day, there was no one more righteous than the Pharisees. They were the good guys. Sadducees were bad.
2. But Jesus says, “If you aren’t better than them—the most righteous people you know—then you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. In essence what that means is that no one is good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. How good is good enough? Perfect. 100%. Better than you are. Better than I am. Better than the Pope or Billy Graham. More righteousness than you have. Even the most righteous people are not qualified to enter the kingdom. A terrifying concept that runs completely contradictory to our society is that God does not grade on a curve. Illust – Never forget Fresh. Yr. college – Had to take Art History/Appreciation class. Prof. was a strange. I was an uncultured barbarian who didn’t really want to be there. Took Midterm. Got a 69% on test. Ouch! I am thinking D+ at best. Got an A – 2nd best score in the class (room mate was better!). I didn’t deserve A according to the test. I got “A” because prof. needed to have a few people look like learning something! God, however, doesn’t grade that way when comes to measuring up to His righteous standard. Perfect holiness required.
B. We Don’t Live Righteous Lives in an attempt to Earn our Salvation.
1. Illust - The great problem with trying to earn salvation is that no-one has ever done it or could ever for that matter! It is not that there was anything wrong with the Law. The problem is with human beings. In the movie the ‘Sound of Music’ a young woman by the name of Maria is sent from a convent to become governess to the five mischievous children of a wealthy widower sea captain. When she arrives Captain von Trapp informs her that the children have had seven governesses and that the last one had only lasted one day. Maria looked concerned and asks "What’s wrong with the children Captain?" The captain looks at Maria annoyed and says "there is nothing wrong with the children only with the governesses". The law of God is perfect. There is nothing wrong with it. The problem is really with us - the children of men. Our sinful nature makes us incapable of perfectly obeying God. As a result justification by perfect obedience to the law of God is a path that is completely closed to us.
2. Rejoice Christian, because ours is an imputed Righteousness. The Bible tells us that man's salvation as the "righteousness of God" (Rom. 3:21, 22; 10:3; Philippians 3:9) When I refer to the "imputed righteousness of Christ," I refer to his life of sinlessness and perfect obedience to God's law on this earth. The need for a human life of perfect obedience to God's law was the reason that Christ, who is God, had to become incarnate (take on human flesh) and live as a human being. Paul's statement in Romans 4:6, that God "imputes righteousness apart from works," bolsters the argument that this righteousness of Christ is imputed to our accounts.
c. Applic:
