Thank you all for the chance to be here this morning. It is a great privilege to share with you from God’s message. My wife and I are excited to be here, and I’m thrilled to be able to speak to you all for a few minutes. Would you pray with me?
Holy Father in heaven, unimaginably perfect and just, we come before you by means of the access you have granted followers of your son Jesus, and we ask for you to watch over us this morning. We pray for protection for our loved ones who are not here this morning, and we pray for clarity and accuracy in my speech. I ask that your Holy Spirit would unplug our ears for the next few minutes so that we might commit ourselves to understanding and obeying your life changing words to us. We thank you in advance for the work you will do in us this morning. We pray these things by the power of your Holy Spirit within us and through the name of Jesus Christ who died to make us right with you. Amen.
If you ask for a piece of candy, you will not get one. If I give you a reward, like a piece of candy, say thank you, or I might take it back. If any of you uses the electric pencil sharpener while I’m talking (grinding noise), everyone else will point at you until you figure out you need to stop.
A day or two into each school year, my wife covers the standards of behavior in her classroom after she introduces herself, meets the students, and takes down their emergency contact info. These standards let the students know how they are expected to behave while they are members of the classroom. They learn things like, “If you call me hey, or teacher, or Miss, I will ignore you. If you call me Mrs. Jordan, I will be happy to help you.” It’s normal for a teacher to have rules for their students. It should come as no surprise that Jesus, early in his ministry, only five chapters into the New Testament, laid out a set of standards for his students. He taught the disciples how members of God’s kingdom were expected to behave.
This lesson by Jesus is called the Sermon on the Mount. You can find it beginning in the fifth chapter of Matthew. Today we will be looking at one part of this lesson, this set of standards, in order to answer the question what does a good member of God’s kingdom look like. More specifically, since I am a church planter, we are going to try to answer the question how does a good member of God’s kingdom behave toward outsiders, toward unchurched people. We find our answer in Matthew chapter five beginning in verse 13.
As you turn to Matthew chapter 5 verse 13, I want you to picture the setting of this sermon. Jesus is sitting on the side of a mountain with his disciples, whom he just recently called. In the background is a huge crowd of people, from all over Israel and beyond, who have heard that there is a new preacher, this Jesus guy, who can heal sick people and paralyzed people and even demon-possessed people. As Jesus is speaking to the disciples about the standard of behavior for members in the kingdom of God, a curious crowd of outsiders is listening just a stone’s throw away. This teacher Jesus, whom we follow, came with the power to heal, the power to forgive us of sin, so when he tells us how to behave, we better listen. I pray that you would join me this morning in learning a little more about what Jesus expects of us as his disciples.
In this passage Jesus uses two metaphors. First he uses a metaphor to teach what a good disciple is, then he uses another metaphor to describe what that looks like to outsiders. Let’s look at the first metaphor. Verse 13:
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
The first metaphor that Jesus uses is that the disciples are salt of the earth. He goes on to explain that salt without saltiness is useless. What is salt without saltiness? Jesus is talking about one of two things here. Jesus may be talking about an inferior kind of crystal that was mined from the ground in Middle East. This crystal could be used as salt, because it contained some sodium chloride, or table salt, but it was easily drained of its sodium chloride, its table salt whenever it got wet. The other possibility is that Jesus is referring to a joke. Later Jewish rabbis, after Jesus, recorded a joke about salt without saltiness. We’re not sure how old the joke is, but it’s possible that’s what Jesus is hinting at. The joke goes, to fix salt without saltiness, all you have to do is rub it with the blood of a mule’s baby. The punch line is that there is no such thing as a mule’s baby. Mules are sterile. So presumably, there’s no such thing as salt without saltiness. Hilarious, right. Well, sometimes jokes don’t translate well from one country to another. The point is Jesus could be saying, there’s no such thing as unsalty salt, because why would God create such a thing? Either way, whether Jesus is referring to that impure mined crystal or the mule joke, Jesus tells his disciples that salt without saltiness is useless. It’s pointless, it’s garbage. If you had some, you would throw it out. God created salt to be useful. Therefore the first metaphor Jesus uses tells us that the standard for members of the kingdom of God is that they be useful, that they do what God created them to do. If you are a disciple, you will do what God created you to do. And we know from Ephesians two that God created you to do good works. A good disciple will do some good works.
The only difference between us and the disciples in the original audience is that we stand on the other side of the cross. We understand that Jesus satisfied the Father’s standard of perfect good works for us. Now we aim for that high standard not in order to gain access to the kingdom of God, but in order to live as good members in that kingdom. In other words, like Paul tells us in Ephesians 2, we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus who died in our place, and now, having been saved, we must do good works which God created us to do.
Good salt is useful. Likewise, good members in God’s kingdom are useful. They serve God’s purpose. What does that look like? Doing good works is still a little vague. Is Jesus talking about the flavor of salt, its distinctiveness, or its preservative quality, its resistance to corruption? If members in the kingdom are useful like salt, what do their good works look like? What specifically is Jesus telling us to do here?
Let’s return to Matthew and read the second metaphor beginning in chapter 5 verse 14
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The second metaphor that Jesus uses to explain God’s standard for our behavior is that the disciples are light. Jesus explains that light is not meant to be hidden. We put light in obvious, visible places so it can shine.
Besides, it’s hard to hide light. I tend to read before going to sleep at night, and I just bought myself a book light so I wouldn’t keep Anessa awake. I used to just use the lamp on my night stand, but I finally felt guilty enough watching her put a blanket over her head while she tried to fall asleep that I bought a little book light that clips onto the book I’m reading. But now I’m self conscious and I try to hold the book so the light doesn’t accidentally slip and blast her in the eyes. It’s hard to hide light. And except when I’m reading at night, I don’t want to hide light. I put it somewhere obvious where it will light up the whole room. Jesus tells us that God’s standard for members of his kingdom is that they do the same sort of thing. A useful member in God’s kingdom lets his good behavior shine. He lets his good behavior point people toward praising God. We could say that God’s standard is that we act as ambassadors of God, letting our behavior shine in full view of other people, so that they may praise God.
Being a visible ambassador of God, shining a light that people can see, means more than doing good works inside the walls of your church and your house. We must be visible, obvious to outsiders. After all, ambassadors live in foreign countries. We must seek out non-Christians and show them love that can only come from God. This could mean babysitting for a single mom, donating emergency supplies to victims of a fire, or participating in a church plant. I’m not talking about doing good deeds and forgetting about the gospel of salvation in Christ. I’m saying that rubbing elbows with non-Christians and meeting their needs is an important part of earning their trust. And as you’re sharing the gospel, and sharing what God has done for you, they are more likely to listen to you if you’re an unusually kind person. We see this in the life of Jesus, in how people whom he healed always listen to his preaching, whereas the religious types wouldn’t even touch sinners, let alone befriend them enough to lead them to God. And we see it again here in the Sermon on the Mount. King Jesus teaches us that members of his kingdom must let their good works shine so that others will praise God.
Be a visible ambassador of God. Be useful to God by being an ambassador of his kingdom. This means living a self-sacrificing life like Jesus. God calls us to live so kindly, generously and sacrificially that our good behavior points people toward God. Are you a person who is habitually kind and generous to outsiders and outcasts, to dirty people? Jesus was kind like that, and people, all kinds of people, flocked to him. When was the last time you had a non-Christian over to your house? Do the non-Christians around you have any idea by your behavior toward them that you have good news from God? Can they tell by your kindness that you have something that they want?
Now everybody is different, so when I tell you to build relationships of supernatural kindness with non-Christians, some of you already have great ideas about how to start doing that. But in case you’re a more process-oriented type thinker, let me give you four ways you might start. I suggest you do all four whenever you build a relationship with an unchurched person. As you’re doing these four steps, you will have a chance to share the gospel, and you will probably have to share it more than once before someone trusts Christ. But here are the four steps that I would use, write these down:
- First, “G” give a gift. You could buy them lunch, make them some cookies, or bring them veggies from your garden. If you’re an artist or a craftsman, you could bring them something that you’ve made. It doesn’t have to be a huge gift. Most of us could take someone out to lunch occasionally. I can tell you personally, it is hard for me to dislike anyone who feeds me. Give a gift.
- Second, “I” invite them to a party. This could be some fun church event, or a game night, a concert, a movie night. Maybe you could combine step one and step two and invite them over for a BBQ. Invite them to a party.
- Third, “F” fill one of their visible needs. This depends on what they need. Maybe you could offer to babysit for them, or fix their car. You could help with their yard (as long as you aren’t the rude guy who mows his neighbor’s yard just because he hates how it looks). Maybe you can help them set up their computer. Find some need that they have, and offer to fill it for them. No strings attached. Fill one of their visible needs.
- Fourth, “T” tell them how God has filled one of your invisible needs. You could talk about the relief from guilt you’ve felt since becoming a Christian, or maybe the friendships you’ve made at church. Maybe God has given you new hope for the future or wisdom to deal with frustrating people. Tell them how God has filled one of your invisible needs.
These four steps, GIFT, in whatever order that you do them, will cause your light to shine. They are one process you might follow for being a visible ambassador of God, so that your good works will point people toward God, even as we continue to share with them the gospel message.
Whether or not a student obeys the standards my wife sets out in her classroom, they are still a student. She still lets them into the classroom every school day. But if they want to be good students, if they want to pass the class, and grow in their education, they must follow the teacher’s standards. If you have put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I’m not telling you to live up to Jesus’ standard out of fear for your salvation. I’m telling you that if you don’t strive toward that standard, you won’t grow, you won’t be a good Christian, and honestly your life here on earth will be useless and pointless. There’s a reason that God has kept you safe from death all these years. He has stuff for you to do and people for you to encourage. Be salt, be a useful member of his kingdom. And let your light shine, behave in such a way as to point outsiders toward God. Let your good deeds lead to unchurched people meeting and praising our Lord. Let’s pray.
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