Treasure The Word

In a previous post, I asked “What does salt and light mean?” Now, I’m asking, “What does it mean to be salt and light?” What are the implications?

I have included what I believe is a good, simple, direct mission statement for our church.

We aim to spread the glory of God, strengthen the people of God, and share the gospel of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why did I feel led to put this forth? One, it’s biblical. Two, everytime God led me to put this before all of you, I would get such an encouraging response. Spread.  Strengthen. Share. I would ask myself, “Why?” This statement gives direction. And even 222-year-old churches need to re-evaluate and re-assess what we are all about. So let’s look at some implications in relation to salt and light.

First, we aim to spread the glory of God. Psalm 29:2 says:

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Here is the salt and light in spreading his glory. To ascribe is to “assign, credit, or attribute.” This is outward… this is  being light. As Christians, we have His name and we live with a love for Him not wanting to do anything to take away from his name or his fame. But the  worship is inward. The glory of God captures us, transforms us, directs us! It’s an inward worship and a lifestyle worship.

How can any Christian, any follower of Christ, ever live a redeemed life or ever come into his house with anything but joy and gladness and enthusiasm and expectation? Have we done as Romans 1:22-23 where, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” If you are here this morning and the wonders of all that God has accomplished for you in Christ does not cause you to fall down and worship, exalt, and adore him in your heart and in your life, you need to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith!

Second, we aim to strengthen the people of God. Lookwith me at Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

See the progression. We hold fast to the confession of hope without wavering. Why? Because he who promised is faithful.  We have to take time to be discipled and study the Word of God so we know what our confession is and what the promises are. We confess what we believe.  We need to learn what our hope is about.  And notice verse 24: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” We strengthen one another by encouraging them to feel and live the truth of our Savior. How is this done? Primarily with verse 25: come to church and be the church.  We come to church. We support one another. We see our family together as an absolute priority because it is the body of Christ.

Let me ask you: do you see yourself playing a role inhelping strengthen your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you seek to be strong in the Word so you  can help strengthen others in the Word?

Share the gospel of God. In Acts 4:32-37:

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. [33] And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold [35] and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to eachas any had need. [36] Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Notice that those who believed were “of one heart and souland they had everything in common.” So the Gospel brings about unity among the believers in truth. The heart issue is the salt of Christ. And that worked its way out as light when the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection, with great grace being on
them all. It also brought about a generosity in sacrificial giving.

You see, when the salt of the Gospel penetrates and then brings about the light of living, it will utterly transform!

Ron Paul has long been the object of much admiration and much scorn. Yet, I am one of the folks who support Dr. Paul due to his strict constitutionalist leanings and his Jeffersonian worldview of small government. I bought his most recent book, The Revolution: A Manifesto. It is the #1 book on Amazon.com and will be the #1 book on the New York Times Bestseller list that will come out on May 18.

In his Chapter Three dealing with “The Constitution,” he addresses a number of different areas. One of which is abortion. He is against abortion because he feels the Supreme Court overstepped its authority in Roe v. Wade in that horrendous decision in 1973. Instead, Congress should come along and strip the court of their power over this decision and bring this issue exclusively to the states.

But let us listen to what he says on p. 61:

Let us remember, though, that the law can do only so much. The law isn’t what allowed abortion; abortions were already being done in the 1960s against the law. The courts came along and conformed to the social and moral changes that were taking place in society. Law reflects the morality of the people. Ultimately, law or now law, it is going to be up to us as parents, as clergy, and as citizens — in the way we raise our children, how we interact and talk with our friends and neighbors, and the good example we give — to bring about changes to our culture toward greater respect for life.

We cannot trust in the government to fix everything — and some politicians run on just that platform. For us to fix the ills of our society, we must turn our people back to the Word of God. Only Christ can change and transform. Yes, we must still stand up and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Let’s just not rely on the government to do only what the Spirit of God can do (Ezekiel 36:25-26).

Ed Stetzer recently posted on The Resurgence Website about “Beginning a Conversation about Christ. Well worth reading.

(HT: Don Brown)

Many of us here have been in church for all our lives, and with that we have our own expressions. This should not surprise us. Every field has their own terminology and if you desire to work in that particular field, you need to learn what it’s all about! For instance, if you are working on computers and say, “I’m going to boot up my computer and download Windows on my PC, then use Mozilla Firefox for my web browser so I can surf the ‘Net,” you may understand everything I just said — or you may think I’m speaking in tongues.

Christians have their own terms as well. One phrase we tend to use often is the phrase “salt and light.” All of us fall into three categories:

• We may understand perfectly.
• We may be fairly new to Christianity and have no clue as to what this means.
• Or, we could be ones who use the term frequently and may even find some inspiration in it, but not have a good grip on it.

All of us need to see two things. First, what does ‘salt and light’ mean? Secondly, what does it mean to be ‘salt and light?’ The answer to this question will not simply satisfy a theological question, but will give all Christians the reason why God put us here.

1. What does ‘salt and light’ mean?

Salt. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” What does this mean? Salt in our culture has various uses. Many have salt on the kitchen table which is used to season food. Having this in mind, some say that God has placed Christians here to season the earth with the salt of Christianity. This is partly true!

The Roman Empire was overturned not by warfare but by ordinary Christians living Kingdom lives in the midst of tyranny and opposition. They saw the reality of Matthew 5:10-12 which says:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When the Roman citizens saw the peace and joy that Christians possessed even in stiff opposition and persecution, this made an impression.

Even now Christians make a difference. Think of all art over the last 500 years devoted to Christ. Think of all the music given over to the glory of God. Our educational system was founded largely by Christians to help children read the Scriptures. Harvard and Yale were founded as colleges for pastors. Our hospitals have named like St. Joseph’s, Good Samaritan, Jewish and others because God placed a compassion in Christians to treat and help those made in his image.

In Jesus’ time, salt was not just used for seasoning but as a preservative to cure the meats and also brings out the flavor. With no refrigeration system, the only way to keep the meats from spoiling would be to cure the meat, wrap it tightly, and bury it in the ground. The meat would stay put — that is, unless some dirt came in and mixed with the salt. If this happens, the meat spoils and the salt loses its preserving nature.

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride–common table salt–the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we’re able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

Salt works inwardly which means that when salt works, it’s where no one sees it. But the effects of it are on the outside. With the salt, the preserving nature works inwardly so that

Light. In Matthew 5:14-15, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” Here, the skeptic may say, “Wait a minute. In John 8:12 (this skeptic knows his Bible) says that Jesus is the light of the world.” Correct. John 8:12 says, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” Is Jesus or are we the light of the world?

We are the light of the world because we are the body of Christ in the world. He lives in us and shines through us as we live out the Kingdom He’s transferred to us. And light has a distinct function: to uncover the darkness and put on display all that’s around us.

Yet Jesus says that people don’t light this lamp in order to hide it. Yet not everyone who has light shines it. Why? Two reasons come to mind: some hid their light because of an enemy approaching. Some snuffed out their light when they were sleeping.

But Christ called us to be his light in his world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Christians are to rise high above the fray of the world so all the world can see the light of Jesus. This verse may be difficult for us to grasp since we are so surrounded by light. But in the 1st century as well as in most of the world today, no light can be found for hundreds of miles. So when the lights of the big city shine in dark rural areas afar, those areas can see that light clearly.

By Jesus saying that we are the light of the world, and connecting this with the fact that Jesus is the light of the world, we shine and shine brightly. But we must be discerning enough not to allow the enemy to douse the light. This is not easy, for Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He makes himself and his way look quite good, but that’s because without Christ we are remarkably like him: Satan wanted to be like God, and so do we. We want to rule our lives with impunity.

We also must make sure that we do not put out that light by falling asleep. Ephes. 5:15 says that we should, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” We need to be alert, be focused, be discipled — we need to look to Christ and follow his will and way.

Kenneth and Kellyn started coming to our church about two years ago. Kenneth decided to make an “announcement” at their weekly CRU meeting.

Matthew 5:10-12 says:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus now shows what will happen to the “peacemakers” who try to bring others to Christ: persecution. And notice that Jesus doesn’t spend just one verse on this topic, but three. Why? Because of what Paul says in 2 Tim. 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” If you live for Jesus, opposition will come.

Some feel they are being persecuted at work, at home, etc. But there is a difference between getting persecuted and being persecuted for righteousness sake or, as it says in Matthew 5:11, on his account. He is speaking of persecution as a result of radically living for Christ. The world may persecute, but the church may as well because many may feel threatened and guilty seeing you live a life of mercy and purity and sharing your faith. Some just can’t handle it, so they try to drag that person down to their level rather than imploring God help them rise up to a level of sacrificial obedience.

Jesus is saying there are many ways to be persecuted. Some said it was just torture, but even spoken words of evil, insults, ridicule, mockery and shameful behavior may come our way as well. Jesus was not just persecuted by those who jammed the crown of thorns on his head or drove the nails in his hands. He was persecuted by Peter who denied him and Judas who betrayed him and by his disciples who abandoned him.

The truth is, we as Christians do our best to avoid persecution. We cannot stand having anyone say anything against us for any reason. My question to you is this: are you being persecuted and ridiculed and mocked and insulted for your faith? If you are, Jesus says, rejoice and be glad. See how contrary the Kingdom of God is to the kingdom of this world? Why rejoice? Because the reward you have in heaven is great! You are identifying with the prophets.

You see, being merciful, being pure and holy, being a peacemaker has a price. And however much you are willing to sacrifice in your life in Christ will be in direct proportion to how much you treasure Jesus Christ. So we must examine ourselves and test ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and ask, Is the life I’m living so given over to Christ that the world takes umbrage? Do we give people a reason to persecute us for the sake of Christ?

May God shine the white hot light of His Spirit on us to see if we are living as a child of the King!

(This is a portion of a sermon preached on Sunday, April 27, 2008. To listen to the sermon in its entirety, click here. For other audio sermons, click here.)

At a time when we have just acknowledged the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq where approximately 140,000 of our troops are fighting and where another 31,000 troops are deployed to Afghanistan in a war that began six years ago, we think of peace as a significant goal to attain. Is this the type of peacemaker we should be?

At a time when divorces are so rampant and homes are broken, a peaceful home almost seems too good to be true. Does God want us to be peacemakers in our home?

We live in a small community filled with churches that have arisen from church splits, and sadly church splits and religious divisiveness are par for the course nowadays. Is Jesus telling us to lower our doctrinal and denominational convictions so unity and peace may prevail?

You can see just from these three issues how people can read these verses in many different ways. For some, it means turning into a wishy-washy Charlie Brown type. But the Scriptures tell us that there are times when we need to contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” In other words, anyone who denies himself and follows Jesus by faith will have opposition in the world.

So what type of peace is Jesus bringing? The Apostle Paul helps us in 2 Cor. 5:16-21:

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [18] All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [20] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The key is in verse 18, “The ministry of reconciliation.” This is the type of peacemaking Jesus is talking about and that Paul echoes, “Be reconciled to God.” True peacemakers are not just ones who try to reconcile nations or families or even churches, but it’s deeper — it’s reconciling a sinful man to a holy God. These are ones who are the “sons of God.” Meaning, as a son you bear the character of your Father who moved heaven and earth to reconcile you to Himself.

Let me ask you: are you a peacemaker? I’m not speaking of trying to reconcile sinner to sinner, but spending time working to reconcile sinners to a holy God? You say, “Well, that’s not my gift.” Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that evangelism is a spiritual gift, but is part and parcel of being a Kingdom child!

What can we do?

1. Take time to look through the Two Ways To Live plan to get a good framework of what God has accomplished through Christ.
2. Ask God to remind you of where you were before Christ.
3. Ask God to show you the condition of those who are without the peace of Christ.
4. Ask for a new love for Christ so you will rely more on your love for Christ rather than your fear before man!
5. Realize that success is in obedience, not their response (HT: William Fay, Share Jesus Without Fear).

Now, let’s go!

Jesus urges us not to look to external piety and good works or even to our intellect, but toward the purity of heart he requires if we desire to fellowship with him. Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4, ESV).

If you desire to fellowship with God, then you must desire holiness before God. Christ here is calling us to unadulterated, unblemished purity. We all must be careful in allowing anything in our hearts, souls, and minds that distorts or takes away from the holiness of God. Carson again asks, “What do you think about when your mind slips into neutral?” Purity should not be present only in certain situations, but privately and publicly.

Staying pure is not easy at first. Since we are products of the Fall and are tinged by sin. I will say this: oftentimes, those who have not surrendered to Christ understand Christ’s desire for holiness better than some Christians. They understand it’s a total surrender. For many Christians, it’s just about getting to heaven. All too few concern themselves about growing in the faith. But Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 12:14 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

J. Vernon McGee told one time while at a chapel service in Dallas that a beautiful song was sung, “Take Time To Be Holy” which starts off, “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.” Yet, Lewis Sperry Chafer who preached at that service requested that one word be changed. He said, “Let’s sing, ‘Take time to behold him, speak oft with thy Lord.” The connection is clear: If we wish to behold him, we must strive to be holy. And if we strive to live holy lives because we love him and wish to behold him as he is.

Do you long for purity in your heart? Do you find yourself allowing unholy things into your mind?