Again, turn, if you would, to
Matthew 5. We will be continuing our walk through the Sermon on
the Mount with our text again taken from Matthew chapter 5.
Those of you who were here at the 10 o'clock hour, you already
know that this is a continuation of an earlier session, picking
up where we left off this morning. I had hoped to preach on the
entire passage in one setting, the passage that includes verses
10 through 16 here in Matthew 5. I wanted to do it all in one
sermon, but in order to do the subject justice and given the
time constraints we have, I decided to deliver it, as you know, in
two consecutive sessions today. During the 10 o'clock hour, my
message was titled, Blessed of God, Part 5, which concluded
our study of the Beatitudes. And in this hour, I will pick
up there with our primary text being taken from Matthew 5 verses
13 through 16. As I told everyone earlier in
preparing for the message today, I became persuaded that there's
an important tie in between what Christ is saying in verses 10
through 12 with that which he communicates in verses, excuse
me, that which he communicates in
verses 13 through 16. where he uses the metaphors of salt and
light to describe the same folks that are spoken of in the preceding
verses. That is, the ones that are referred
to throughout the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 as blessed, that
is, the eternally blessed of God in Christ. Now, the title
I've chosen for this sermon is simply Salt and Light. I do believe, as I said earlier,
these two messages are best if they're heard together, and I
encourage anyone who might hear them later to consider listening
to both of them in the order they're given. So, let's go back
and begin by looking at this entire passage, Matthew 5, and
beginning in verse 10, we read, Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake. For theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for
my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. And then our text for this eleven
o'clock hour. Verse 13, ye are the salt of
the earth. But if the salt have lost his
savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good
for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot
of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that sat on a hill cannot
be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are
in the house. Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. As we consider verses thirteen
through sixteen here, keep in mind the backdrop of verses ten
through twelve. See, the very traits that are
displayed in each of the Beatitudes, traits that are exclusively found
among the citizens of the kingdom of heaven, are those which bring
on the persecution that comes from the world. When we testify
and witness of the fact that Christ's righteousness alone
makes the difference between saved and lost, between heaven
and hell, between being blessed of God, blessed are, and cursed
of God, when we plainly say that we're justified, redeemed, reconciled,
and accepted by God by the blood of Christ, His righteousness,
and that alone, that is to the exclusion of all that men by
nature value. When we then call on sinners
to repent of ever trusting in anything else, as all men must
repent of, are entrusting in something that's in addition
to the righteousness of God in Christ. Well, that brings out
the offense of the cross, and it brings on that persecution
in some form or another. When we tell men that your faith
in your faith is no good, when you give all the credit Like
that Pharisee who said, I thank God I'm not like other men, but
then you ultimately rest in the fact that what makes the difference
between those in hell and heaven by your way of thinking is, oh
yeah, I received him. I appropriated what he did for
me by my willingness to invite Jesus into my life, to accept
him. No. When we tell men no, nothing
in addition to the righteousness of God in Christ, it brings out
the offense of the cross. and in some form or another the
persecution that Christ speaks of here in Matthew. To see how
this works, we have to recognize that it is impossible to walk
as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, the theme of the Sermon
on the Mount, it's impossible to walk as that kind of citizen
in a purely private way. The believer, see, is not poor
in spirit, not mournful, not meek, not hungry and thirsty
for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker,
and so forth. He's not all those things in
some kind of isolation. These characteristics, see, when
they're manifested in a lost and a sinful world, they identify
the Christian. and thereby they constitute his
witness to the world, and that's a witness that brings on opposition
and persecution. Now we know that this fellowship
in the sufferings of Christ, this persecution, that it is
not, listen, it's not suffering over our morality, or over our
kindness, our generosity and so forth, because we know that
our Lord was not persecuted for any of those things. Why was
he persecuted? In John chapter 7, verse 7, he
said this, The world cannot hate you, but me yet hateth. Why? Because I testify of it, that
the works thereof are evil. Now he's speaking of the religious
world, that their works were evil, the works they thought
were good. You see it was his doctrine, his testimony that
the world was lost and that their deeds were evil. Now here in
our text for today verses 13 through 16 Christ goes on and
says of these very folks who are the blessed of God and who
are persecuted for righteousness sake that they are the salt of
the earth and the light of the world. Now, seeing this tie-in,
I must tell you, has really been convicting to me, and it's been
a blessing to me as I prepared this message for today. And I
hope it speaks to you in the same way. You see, these blessed,
they will be persecuted, and that affliction may be light,
but it shall occur for righteousness' sake. You see, it's not because
I used to think this way when I read that verse years ago,
long before I really knew and understood the gospel, before
I'd been given eyes to see God's way of salvation versus the way
that seems right unto men, but as the scriptures say, ends in
destruction. I used to think that refusing a drink at a cocktail
party, you know, that I might endure a snicker of some derision
when in all probability I really wasn't, but this idea that I
wasn't conforming in some based on some standard of conduct that
others had led me to adopt, or perhaps maybe going into a restaurant
and silently saying a prayer before the meal and a blessing.
really to be seen of others when you think about that. It's no
different than what Christ said of the Pharisees. He said, they
stand on the street corner that they might be seen of men. Well,
I thought that was my witness for which I was persecuted. And listen, it's not for any
of those types of things. It's not because you took a stand
for your concept of what you thought Jesus wanted you to do,
but it's for righteousness sake. And that is the same as we saw
earlier for Christ's sake. Now if your hope is wrapped up
in Him and Him exclusively, that is based on righteousness, then
this scripture says you are salt and you are light. You aren't merely encouraged
to be salt and light but ye are the salt of the earth, ye are
the light of the world. Look again at those verses, verses
13 through 15. It reads, Ye are the salt of
the earth, but if the salt had lost his savor, wherewith shall
it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing
but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye
are the light of the world. A city that's set upon a hill,
it cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and then put
it under a bushel, but on a candlestick. and it giveth light unto all
that are in the house." You see, Christ is saying here that if
the salt isn't salty anymore, the salt hath lost its savor,
how will it regain its saltiness? It's good for nothing. You see,
he's showing the absurdity of unsalty salt. That word if there,
in if the salt hath lost his savor, that's a hypothetical. In other words, if it could lose
its savor, it would just expose it never was salt. Salt here
in the ancient world was used primarily as a preservative,
and salt also used as a seasoning, that is, to make things savory. Consider that salt, it's distinct,
it has its own flavor, it doesn't just blend in with the surroundings. Similarly, Our gospel, our doctrine,
it's distinct and it's unique. It does not blend in with the
doctrines of the naturally but lost religious world. We cannot say we all believe
the same thing because, you see, we know something. We know that
so many in religion still rest in that which we've been brought
to repent of. That is, of what we have been
brought to see the very evil of our former religious thoughts.
When we, what we once considered good, we now see as evil. The way that seems right to men,
but ends in destruction. As Paul put it in Philippians,
that which I thought was gain to me, I now count lost. And
you see it's not, and we understand fully that because That's where
we all are by nature. Scripture says God's called on
men everywhere to repent. You see the distinctiveness of
our doctrine is that we trust in Christ alone, alone, for all
of our salvation. That is based upon the righteousness
of God established by Christ and Him alone in His life and
death with no contribution by or through us the sinner. Now
the true church will never lose its savor. Here on earth there
will be unbelievers. There will be false professors. They'll be present in the visible
church. He says there will be terrors among the weak. But all
true believers, the salt of the earth, will never lose their
savor. They will endure until Christ
comes again, because, why? Because their entire justification,
their salvation, their sanctification, it's found in the immutable,
the unchangeable God-man, Christ Jesus, who cannot and does not
fail. You see, they will endure because
it's not based on anything they do or don't do. It's based on
the one that cannot fail. If God be for us, who can be
against us, the Scripture says. Well, likewise, all the citizens
of the kingdom here in this passage, they are aptly described as light. You know, light's usefulness
is to expose, to dispel darkness. And Christ shows the absurdity
of the concept of a light that is hidden so that it doesn't
fulfill its function. Light is to be seen. A light
that isn't seen is to expose things, it's to shine. So a light
that isn't seen at all is not fulfilling its function. He says
a city set on a hill cannot be hid. Susan and I had the privilege,
perhaps once in a lifetime privilege, of traveling this past year to
Europe. And we were in Italy and as we were driving around
in the hill countries, the mountains really of Chianti and Tuscany
there, As we come around a bend, all of a sudden, you're looking
miles away up on top of a hill, you would see one of these very
ancient walled cities. And you couldn't miss it. It
would just jump out at you. Beautiful sights. And some of
these cities, they were very ancient. They date back even
to the time of Christ. And we learned that they would
build those cities on a hill, those walled fortresses, really. And they would do so so that
they could see their enemies approaching from miles away and
they would have time to mobilize their defenses. But just as they
did it, for that reason, anyone who lived in the valley or anywhere
nearby could not miss that city. It would jump out at you. A city
that's set on a hill cannot be hid. He says men don't light
a candle and then cover it up. It's meant, see, to give out
light and dispel darkness. Well, if you're among the blessed
of God, you are salt and light, and you will be useful in some
capacity, to some degree, in the ministry of the gospel on
this earth. If not, the verses here suggest that it gives evidence
that you're not among the blessed at all. Believers, listen, men
and women and children, As members of the body of Christ, they are
all servants in the ministry of reconciliation, the ministry
of the gospel. And I want to digress just a
moment on that point, and I'll point out to you what some commentaries
that I studied brought out about the obvious shift here in the
language that takes place in Matthew 5, really beginning with
verse 11. Prior to verse 11, you may notice
Christ addressed the multitude And he spoke using the pronoun
they. He says, blessed are they. And then in verses 11 through
16, he speaks more directly to those who are the blessed of
God by using the pronoun ye. Blessed are ye when men shall
revile you. Ye are the salt of the earth.
Ye are the light of the world. And some think that those remarks
then Here in verses 11 through 16 are directed exclusively to
the disciples or those who like the disciples, pastors and teachers
and so forth, who have public ministries such as the disciples
themselves were given. And I do agree that it most certainly
does include them and is very appropriate to them. However,
I'm convinced that these verses are likewise directed to all
of the members of the body of Christ, all of the redeemed ones
who have been given life. The scripture tells us that all
believers are given spiritual gifts to contribute to the church's
ministry. They're different gifts, but
they all have them. That is, to contribute to the
ministry of reconciliation. being, if you recall the earlier
message in this series, being peacemakers in the sense that
I reviewed there when we looked at that passage. Look, as God's
servants, we sin when we hide or fail to make use of the gifts
and the talents that he has given us for use in his ministry. We are lit candles And as such
we act contrary to our calling in Christ Jesus and his purpose
for us on this earth as salt and light when we hide that light
under a bushel basket. Now here in our text today I
want you to gain a sense of the context by viewing verses 13
through 16 as I spoke earlier in light of the preceding verses,
verses 10 through 12. You see, by nature, we love the
praise of men. We desire to be liked, and I
certainly do. I have an extra dose of that,
I think, sometimes. But do we love the praise of
men more than the praise of God? In the 12th chapter of John,
it was recorded of some of the Pharisees who were following
Christ that they would not confess Him lest they should be put out
of the synagogue, that is, be persecuted. not applauded, but
rather rejected. For it says, they love the praise
of men more than the praise of God. And I'll tell you, I think
there that loving the praise of men more than the praise of
God, it might not be that you just seek a lot of fame and compliments,
but it may be that like those Pharisees, you just didn't want
the rejection. Well, I believe the message here
from Christ to believers is that this is why you must endure that
which, look, aside from the fact that you have cause to rejoice
in such circumstances as we reviewed in the previous hour, it is nonetheless
undesirable to our human nature. I don't know about you, but I
don't particularly like the idea of suffering and persecution.
Suffering and persecution are not things that we naturally
desire or look forward to. When these verses then are considered
together, I believe Christ is expressing here that we are to
rejoice, not only because it evidences the great reward that
awaits us, heaven itself, but also because he has a job for
you. He's reminding them that they
are His workmanship, as we read in Ephesians 2.10, His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before
ordained that ye should walk in them. We know that the ministry
of the Word of God, the Gospel wherein His righteousness is
revealed, that it makes use of what the Scripture refers to
as the remnant of the election of grace. Those, the sheep of
God, who have existed on this earth in each and every successive
generation, and those who have been during their lifetimes given
eyes to see and ears to hear, given spiritual life that they
may look to the cross, to Christ and his finished work there and
nowhere else. And he makes use of these through
the preaching of the gospel, the scripture tells us. pleases
God by that means, that instrument, to use that, His very word, to
draw men unto Himself. Well, what a privilege! We've
been entrusted with the glorious knowledge, see, of how God can
be both just and justifier of ungodly sinners such as we, of
how God saves sinners based solely on the person and work of Christ,
based upon the righteousness that He established in perfect
satisfaction to God's justice. Now, what a responsibility, but
also a salt when God deals with a person
to cause them to understand that the way of salvation that would
seem right unto men, that seemed right unto all of us initially
by nature, but the way that His Scripture says, but it's a way
that leads to destruction. When He deals with a person,
He causes them to see that something's awry. There's something rotten
in Denmark, so to speak. That is that there's something
objectionable or unsavory about that which they've been resting
in. When God does that, he uses his servants then, the salt. Those who have already been blessed
with spiritual life to come along and provide the seasoning. the
saver of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 2 15 and 16
it reads, For we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them
that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are the
saver of death unto death and to the other the saver of life
unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things? All who are spoken here in Matthew
5 as being citizens of the kingdom of God, they are the saver of
life unto life to others who will believe. How through preaching
and teaching and supporting the ministry of the preaching and
the teaching of the gospel, in all the various ways using their
various gifts and talents, this gospel wherein God's glory is
revealed. It's thought we're used to deliver
and to spread the distinctive message that is believed unto
salvation wherein men can be assured that they will be preserved. That is, knowing that nothing
can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus. As light,
we share the light of the gospel, the very light that has been
shown into the hearts of these eternally blessed of God, these
who are persecuted for righteousness sake. It is the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face, that is, in the
person and work of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4, 6. And we'll
look at that passage again in just a moment. Well then, so
since we are salt and light, let's be diligent and ready. He says in verse 16, so let your
light so shine before men that they may see your good works
and glorify your father, which is in heaven. Now, in looking
at that, I want us to consider for a moment just a few interesting
characteristics of these two metaphors, salt and light. I
was speaking with Ken Wymer earlier in the week and told him I was
going to be bringing a message from here. We got to talking
about it. He said, you know salt shakers,
they don't just hop around on the table and then just empty
themselves indiscriminately on all the food. No, some people
don't have a taste for it. You see, salt doesn't force itself
where there's no interest. on those who are happy, like
their food like it is. But it does sit on the table
ready to be used. It's available and it is ready. Likewise, we don't go around
shining lights in people's eyes with the intent of exposing them
and shocking them when it's unwanted and unwelcome. But the light
source does stand by ready for use. In our day, the switch is
there ready to be turned on. Or in olden days, the candle
is there to be lit. And when the light is called
for, it shines and it exposes things as they are, dispelling
the darkness. So how are we to respond as salt
and light in this world? In Matthew 10, verse 16, Christ
said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents
and harmless as doves. You see, we should be, use our
heads, we should be wise as serpents. And we should attempt to be harmless
as doves. That is gentle in our support
of the outreach of the gospel ministry here in the world we
live in. It's using wisdom to refrain from brow-beating folks
whom the Lord has yet to stir up an interest. And it's wise
to avoid stirring up religious controversy just for the sake
of controversy. However, that truth should not
be used as an excuse for any lack of diligence, attention,
or zeal to take every opportunity to serve God by each of us applying
our individual gifts and seizing the opportunities so as to collectively
support the spread and the ministry of the gospel in our community
and elsewhere. As justified sinners plagued
with remaining sin, we do need reminding and encouragement from
the scriptures and from one another to be exhorted unto good works,
to act As the children of the kingdom that we profess to be,
as we read in Hebrews, he says, forsake not the assembling of
yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one
another unto good works. And I need that. And we should
do so. We should act as children of
the kingdom, the act as we in accordance with our very profession,
with what motive? Listen, it isn't order that we
can look at our own service and what's going on within us and
gain some sort of assurance that we've measured up because you'll
never find any assurance there, no real assurance. No, we serve
out love because he first loved us. And I believe that's a love
that manifests itself by flowing through believers to others in
much the same way that we discussed in an earlier message of this
series when we talked about the verse that says, blessed are
the merciful. You may want to go back and review that. Well,
here's the question. Has that love of God been shed
abroad in your own heart, to use the scriptural language?
Imagine for a moment that you have a friend or a family member
dying with cancer. And it's a dear friend who you
presumably love and care about. I know, like me, many of you
have actually endured such as that. But now also assume you've
learned of a sure and certain cure. Unfortunately, we just
have to imagine that at this point. But not only that. But you know the expert doctor
who can communicate. He's the person that came up
with the cure. He can communicate the cure and clearly explain
it to others just what is required and involved in this cure. And this doctor is coming to
your area to conduct the seminar. Now can you imagine, out of genuine
love for your dying friend or loved one, failing to even invite
them to come hear this man who is going to conduct the seminar?
that will relate to them how they too can be cured. In other words, he's relating
what you know to be. It's been proven to you to be.
You're convinced with all your heart is a sure and certain remedy.
Well, I don't mean to insult your intelligence and I know
that many of you know where I'm going with this, but it makes
it nonetheless applicable. I got to imagine that if this
was one of my dearest loved ones that I wouldn't just invite I
might not use all the wisdom I should. I may hogtie them to
get them there if I really cared about them. I do believe I would
use all the persuasion I could muster because I love them. And I love this true cure, you
see, that I've been shown cannot fail. Well, do we really believe
that we live in a dying world? a religious world, mind you,
but no less a spiritually dead world. And I'm talking about
a world where most of our friends and family are sadly not even
aware of the extent of their disease, of the nature and the
depth of their sinfulness, of their total depravity before
God. And, you know, their ignorance
is so obvious to those who have been given an understanding in
spiritual life. It's obvious to us, first of
all, because That's where we were. It's not that we were smarter. We just didn't have the eyes
to see it either. And we too trusted in a remedy
that would not get the job done. You see, we've been made aware
of how we too were mistaken. Now the blind and the sinful
ignorance of those whom God has not yet blessed with spiritual
life, you know how it's made evidence? It's made evident by
the inadequate remedy that they religiously presume constitutes
the cure they need, that they think proves to themselves that
they are accepted by God, as they rest in a false refuge,
that is, they're resting in something other than Christ's obedience
unto death. They're resting in something
other than His finished work in establishing righteousness. You see, I know in my years ago,
for me, it was this. I would have said, oh no, I'm
trusting only in Christ. But my remedy exposed me. You
see, I believe that Christ died for all men. And that He did
no more for these in heaven than He did really for these in hell.
And if you said, well, then what makes the difference? And I'd
say, oh, but I believed. I received it. You see, although
I thought I was trusting in Christ, I was really trusting in a counterfeit
because he didn't get the job done. I had faith in my faith
because that really made the difference. That's trusting in
something other than or in addition to Christ's obedience unto death. Well, if you too perceive that
we're surrounded by spiritual darkness in a world that abounds
in spiritual death and ignorance, I want to encourage you, as really
I encourage and preach to myself here, the things that have come
to my mind as I prepared this message. As most of you already
know, we're hosting a Sovereign Grace Bible Conference here at
our church in just a few weeks, January 27th through 29th. And I, for one, I don't know
of any three men anywhere in the world with whom I have as
much confidence in communicating the one true cure, the one true
gospel distinctively, the gospel that I love, than the three men
that we have coming, those who have so graciously agreed to
come here and speak. And all three of them will be
gathered in this one place on this one weekend here in Albany,
Georgia. Well, here's the question. Will
I Will you take the time, risk the rejection by personally inviting
and encouraging those around us to simply come and hear this
glorious message? The one that, look, that could
change their lives for eternity if God be so pleased to you who
are salt and light. I hope this speaks to you as
it has to me. Look, let's not kid ourselves
about it. I've given some thought as to why We are often tempted
to hide our light under a bushel. We know ourselves and we know
our sinful nature. We also know that any who come
and hear this message of salvation by grace alone, that is, based
upon the righteousness of God in Christ that excludes any and
all contribution by, in, or through them, we know this, that they
will not receive that message And we know that unless they're
just indifferent, they will hate it unless God performs a miracle
of grace and gives them spiritual life with its faculties to see
and to understand what the spiritually dead cannot see and will not
have. Boy, that puts it out of our
hands, doesn't it? We might be ostracized, or as
Luke wrote, They might want to put you out of their company
All right, you know we may feel a little discomfort. Let's face
it. We don't face a whole lot of persecution For our stand
on the gospel in the day we live We might have a few things said
against us We might just not be quite as accepted and in that
in the realm of a religious discussion by them Unless they are one of
God's own and he draws them to him Well, I'm convinced that
this type of reluctance that springs forth from us, that it's
nothing more than a manifestation of the remaining sinful nature
that plagues us and will throughout this life and this body. Now,
recognizing this, we need to continually feed on God's Word
and encourage one another to act as ambassadors for Christ,
consistent with our standing in Christ, that is, dead to sin
in Him. Well, which will it be? Will
you, will I, concede to the natural, sinful aversion to being rejected
by those you know will most certainly be in opposition, short of a
miracle of God, a miracle of grace. They will be in opposition
once they hear the message you're promoting, apart from God's grace
being shown upon them, or will you be faithful stewards of the
marvelous gift that God has entrusted us with, His gospel. Knowing A, that it is the power
of God unto salvation and thereby it is His ordained instrument
that He uses to bring every one of His sheep into a knowledge
of Him and what He has accomplished. And B, that listen, independent
of the responses of the hearers, He said in the passage we just
read that salt and light, you are a saver unto Christ to them
that believe and those that perish. Independency of the responses
of the hearers that it, that gospel, the message which is
a message that glorifies our Father, that exalts our Savior
by ascribing to him all of the preeminence and salvation that
belongs solely to him. When verse 16 then says, to let
your lights shine, recognize it isn't saying let your good
works shine. Most people interpret this scripture
as if it were saying that the world will recognize us to be
a, quote, Christian when they see our works, our works of,
our outward works, our works of morality, charity, compassion,
kindness, love, so forth. And listen, all sorts of unbiblical
platitudes are spawned by that kind of reasoning. And regrettably,
I've used one of these even in the past. Platitudes such as,
I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon. Or you are the
only Bible some people read. Or people will not listen to
your doctrine until they see your life of obedience. But those
things are misleading. It is true that all Christians
should live exemplary lives of obedience and morality. And it's
sad when a true Christian ignores his responsibility to conduct
himself according to God's revealed will and chooses rather to walk
inconsistent with his calling and his vocation. And it's even
sadder when Such behavior in a professing Christian gives
the enemies of Christ occasion to blaspheme God and conclude
there's nothing to your profession and nothing to your religion,
much like Nathan told King David regarding his sin in 2 Samuel. Christians should realize when
they do such things, they misrepresent and dishonor the God of salvation
and the Christ who they claim to serve. However, this being
the case, we must interpret Matthew 5.16 in light of a glaring reality
and in the light of other scriptures. And the glaring reality is this,
that no one did as much good as our Lord and Savior when He
walked on this earth, yet the world did not recognize Him to
be the Son of God incarnate. You've heard this said before,
it bears repeating, while some sing, let others see Jesus in
you, they fail to realize they didn't even see Jesus in Jesus. He led a perfect, sinless life,
yet the world did not recognize it as such. The world called
him evil, a blasphemer. Consider this verse, 1 John 3,
1, where it reads, Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us
not, because it knew him not." Here we see just as they fail
to recognize the Lord for His good works, they fail to recognize
the followers of the Lord for their good works. So then how
do we rightly interpret, let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which
is in heaven? We must understand that the light here is not the
works of believers. It is the gospel truth. It's
the gospel truth that shines on such works, see, and reveals
them to be the works of sinners who were justified at the cross
of Calvary by righteousness established and imputed. and who have been
given life to know it." The principle here is this, good works can
only be good and recognized as good in the light of the gospel. Outward works of morality will
not bring anyone to glorify God. Look, consider that most all
religions, even those that openly deny Christ, who make no pretense
of believing that He is that no man can come to the Father
but through the Son. They all promote natural morality. See, God uses the light of His
gospel applied by the power of God the Holy Spirit to bring
a person to glorify the Father in heaven. Only those who come
to hear, believe, and judge by the gospel will recognize the
works of believers to be good works and their by a glorified
God. You see, they'll see them as
good works because they're the fruit of a good tree in contrast
to a corrupt tree. A tree that, as the Old Testament
tells us, the planting is of the Lord. Trees of righteousness,
it calls them. Also consider that the same light
that reveals the works of believers to be good works, that it also
exposes the works of unbelievers to be evil deeds and dead works,
as the scriptures assert in the book of John. But people will
never be converted simply by looking at our outward acts of
morality. However, we should never let
immoral, careless, or unbecoming conduct get in the way of our
witnessing the light, the gospel light, to the world. Let us be
diligent to adorn our profession of the truth with obedience and
service and with love and with good works. Verse 16 says that
we are to let our light, the gospel message itself, the light
that has been shown in our own hearts, so shine that men may
see your good works. That is, that they not be hampered
by giving them ammunition to truthfully say all manner of
evil against you. nor by drawing attention to yourself,
but rather that they might discover that your works are perfectly
good and acceptable in Him." And notice the verse doesn't
stop with just saying that they may see your good works, but
it says, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. But we don't
normally look at light, we look at what light exposes. The good works of a believer,
then, are to be accompanied by the testimony of the gospel that
redounds to God's glory, revealing how salvation is conditioned
on His person, the person of God the Son, and that alone. This letting your light so shine
is to participate in the ministry wherein is shown the same light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ that is manifested
in each and every one to whom God has given spiritual life."
Turn with me there to 2 Corinthians 4, and I want to close by looking
at this passage. I'm just going to read this with
very few comments. You know, God's own word itself
is His instrument of regeneration, and I want you to look there
with me. And I think you'll see how this entire chapter 4 of
2 Corinthians is relevant really to the message of today's text
in Matthew. 2 Corinthians 4 beginning in
verse 1. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. but have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost, in whom the God of this world, Satan, hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ Who is the image of God should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, God who in the beginning created
this world and said, Let there be light, that same God hath
shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." That is, in
the person and work of Christ we behold something. This is
what happens in salvation. God shines the light of the gospel
in their heart and they behold the glory of God. That is, they
learn something about what God is like. In the face of Jesus
Christ, that is, in the person and work of Christ that they
see nowhere else. We learn a lot about God even
from nature. The sun coming up every day tells
us of his faithfulness. But in the person and work of
Christ, we behold God, all the attributes of God coming together
in one place. We see how God can be just. God who will by no means clear
the guilty and still save people, sinners, who have transgressed
his law, who have broken it, who in their own persons would
be found guilty. He goes on in verse 7 and says,
but we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Boy, what a
comment. Look at what we're entrusted
with. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency
of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on
every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not
destroyed. And then in the interest of time
here, skip down with me and let's pick up again there in verse
15, where Paul writes, For all things are for your sakes, that
the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many read
down to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Boy, our citizenship's
not of this earth, is it? For our light affliction, now
this is Paul, who's cast in prison again and again, he calls his
affliction light. I guess ours would have to be
called our ultralight affliction, which is but for a moment, it
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
while we look not at the things which are seen. but at the things
which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Salt and light, let your light
so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father which is in heaven. Thank you.