Deo Gloria
Sermon for February 5, 2023
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Matthew 5:13-20
Theme: Let Your Light Shine!
- That others might see your good deeds
- That others might see the source of real righteousness
Bill was going off to college, and his parents were concerned. No, they weren’t concerned about his academics. Bill was a bright kid and had always done well in school. What concerned them was the new fraternity he had joined. You see, this fraternity had a reputation—a reputation for wild parties and drinking. So his parents did their best to prepare him. They warned him that he would need to be careful. They warned him that he would need to be on guard against temptation. They warned him about the pressure he would face to compromise his faith and how he would have to stand firm. And off he went to school. The fall semester seemed to go all right. At least Bill’s parents never heard about any problems. So when Bill came home for Christmas, they couldn’t wait to ask him about it: “So, how did it go, Bill? Did you face a lot of temptations? Did they have lots of wild parties? Was there a lot of drinking or drugs? Did the fact that you were a Christian create any problems or any uncomfortable situations?”
“Well,” Bill replied, “there were plenty of parties and lots of drinking. And I certainly faced lots of temptation. But I wouldn’t say my Christianity really created any problems. The other guys never found out.” The other guys never found out! That’s the very issue Jesus is addressing today in these verses from Matthew ch. 5. Jesus wants people to find out. He doesn’t want us to hide the fact that we are Christians. He wants us to show it, to live it, to reflect it in our lives in such a way that people will notice. And that’s the encouragement he gives you and me today. Let your light shine! Let it shine so that others might see your good deeds, and so that others might see the source of real righteousness.
Jesus begins this section with a couple of familiar images, images that are easy for people to understand and basically have the same point: salt and light. “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus says. “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”(v. 13). Salt was very common back in Jesus’ day. The people back then didn’t use it for flavoring, however. They didn’t stand over the stove, stirring the stew, tasting it every now and then, and saying, “Hmmm, I think it could use a little more salt.” No, they used salt as a preservative, especially to preserve their meat. They didn’t have refrigerators or freezers back then to keep their meat from spoiling, so they used salt. They knew that salt had a preserving influence and kept things from spoiling.
That’s the role Christians are to play in the world. They are to be a preserving influence, something that keeps the world from rotting and spoiling so fast. They are to stand up against sin and evil. They are to stand up for what’s right and oppose what’s wrong. They are to be a good and godly influence at school, at work, in their communities and in the world at large. They are the salt of the earth.
So when my friends at school invite me to a party where I know there will be drinking or drugs, as the salt of the earth, I know exactly what to say: “Sorry, guys, it’s not right. We shouldn’t go.” Or if my friends at school want me to help them cheat on a test or plagiarize in writing a paper, I say, “No, it’s not right.” Or if my co-workers at the office want me to fudge some figures and doctor up a financial report so it looks better, or maybe they want me to be involved in some shady, business deal, I say, “No. Sorry, it isn’t right.” There are countless situations like that that come up in our lives, situations that come up every day. Don’t hide your faith. Be the salt of the earth and be a preserving influence.
The second image Jesus uses is even more familiar to us.
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”(vv. 14-16).
Imagine you’re camping, camping out in the woods somewhere in northern Minnesota. The sun has set and it’s getting dark. So you fire up your Coleman lantern. And then you take your Coleman cooler and put it over the top of the lantern, right? Of course not! Or imagine you’re just getting home from work. It’s wintertime, so of course it’s dark already. You walk through the door and flip on the light switch. And then you immediately grab a blanket and run over and throw it over the lamp or put it over the light fixture, so you can’t see the light. That’s what you do, right? Of course not! The whole purpose of having a lamp and turning it on is so that it can provide light for you to see.
Again, the point is obvious, isn’t it? Does God want us to hide our lights? Does he want us to hide our Christian faith, to keep it a secret so others can’t see it? Of course not! He wants us to let it shine so others can see it. He wants us to let it shine in our daily words and actions. He wants us to let it shine at school in the kind and respectful way we treat other students and our teachers. He wants us to let it shine at work in the way we do our work faithfully and honestly, and in the kind and respectful way we talk to and about our fellow workers. He wants us to let it shine on the basketball court—how we always play fairly, how we don’t curse and swear like other players, how we don’t trash talk, how we always are good sports—win or lose. He wants us to let it shine in our neighborhood, in the way we help our neighbor fix his car or the way we shovel the driveway for the elderly lady across the street. God wants people to see our faith, to see it in our good works and our good deeds, to see it in our kind words and loving actions. Don’t hide your faith. Let it shine! Let your light shine no matter where you are—at school, at work, at the store, on the basketball floor. Let it shine so that others might see your good deeds.
I don’t know about you, but when I listen to Jesus’ words, I know what he’s saying. It’s perfectly clear what he is saying. And I know what I’m supposed to do. It’s as plain as day. But I also see my failures, the many times I just blew it. I mean, yes, there were times when I was a good influence, times I did take a stand against sin and against wrong, times I even said “No” to my friends. But there were probably just as many times when I didn’t, times I wasn’t a very good influence, times I didn’t take a stand against sin but went along with it, times I went to the party too even though I knew I shouldn’t. And yes, there were times when I did let my light shine, times I was kind and helpful to my classmates at school, even helped them with their homework; times I was kind and respectful to my teachers; times I was kind and helpful to the lady across the street. But there were probably just as many times when I didn’t, times I didn’t let my light shine at all, times I wasn’t very kind and helpful to others, times I wasn’t a very good sport, times I was embarrassed by my own behavior. Is the same thing true of you? God’s Word has a way of doing that, doesn’t it? It just has a way of showing us our sins and our failures.
And for that very reason there is part of us that would just like God’s Word to go away—at least the law. We don’t like God’s law. We don’t like it when God says, “You shall not covet,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal.” We don’t like it when God says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself,” because we know we haven’t done it. We haven’t obeyed God’s commands and we feel guilty about it. And we don’t like to be reminded. We don’t like our sins exposed. So we just want God’s law to go away. There were people like that back in Jesus’ day too, people who wanted God’s law to go away, people who even thought Jesus might be the one to get rid of it. Jesus alludes to that in v. 17, where he says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” But notice what else Jesus says in the following verse: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” In other words, the Law isn’t going anywhere.
What God’s Word says about coveting it will still say tomorrow and the next day and a thousand years from now. What God’s Word says about cursing and swearing it will still say tomorrow and the next day and a thousand years from now. What God’s Word says about lust and sexual immorality it will still say tomorrow and the next day and a thousand years from now. God’s law is not going anywhere. It’s always going to be there, revealing our sins, exposing our failures, convicting us in our hearts.
But why? So we never, ever stop looking to Jesus as our Savior, as our source of real righteousness. You see, there’s another part of us that likes to think that we’re not that bad. In fact, we’re actually pretty good. I mean, look at all the good things we have done. We didn’t go to that frat party the other night and get drunk like our roommates did. We didn’t cheat on that test. We didn’t talk back to the teacher. And we even helped our friend with his homework. And we helped our neighbor fix his car. And we helped the lady across the street shovel her driveway. We are such wonderful people. We’re certainly a lot better than some other people we know and that should make us good enough for God, right? I mean, it should, right?
Wrong! Did you catch what Jesus said in the very last verse? “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”(v. 20). Can you imagine the look on people’s faces when Jesus made that statement? Can you imagine the look on the disciples’ faces? They must have had to pick their jaws up off the ground. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were the most righteous people around—at least outwardly speaking. They obeyed God’s law far better than most people. In fact, they took great pride in how well they obeyed God’s law. They thought of themselves as being pretty good, even good enough for God. But the problem is they weren’t. Oh sure, they may have been pretty good, especially in comparison to others, but that didn’t make them good enough for God, because God demands perfection. God demands perfect righteousness.
Obeying God’s commands 50% of the time doesn’t cut it in God’s book. Obeying God’s commands 80% of the time doesn’t cut it in God’s book. Obeying his commands 99% of the time doesn’t cut it in God’s book. You have to obey them all the time, 100%, every minute of every day your whole entire life. And who of us has done that? You and I can’t even make it through one day without sinning, much less our entire lives. As the Bible says, we all have fallen short. We don’t have what it takes. We don’t have the real righteousness, the perfect righteousness God demands if we’re going to live with him in heaven.
And that’s why we need a Savior, why we need Jesus. Look back again to v. 17, the second part. Notice what Jesus says: “I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Jesus didn’t come to abolish God’s Word or God’s law; he came to fulfill them. And he did. He fulfilled them perfectly, every single day his whole, entire life. He always did the right thing. He always said the right thing. He always set a good example. He always stood up against sin and evil and was always a good influence on others. He lived a life of perfect righteousness. He did that for you and me in our place as our Savior. As the Bible says, he is our righteousness.
And for all the times we failed, all the times we failed to set a good example, failed to stand up against sin and evil, failed to let our lights shine, Jesus paid the penalty by his own suffering and death on the cross. Because of him our sins are forgiven. Because of him our guilt is taken away. Because of him we are at peace with God.
And that’s what people need to see. Oh sure, they need to see our good deeds. They need to see us living our Christian faith. They need to see us letting our lights shine and setting a good example. But even more importantly they need to see our Savior. They need to see that we are honest about our sins and our shortcomings. They need to see that we don’t think we are better than them or good enough for God. They need to see that we don’t trust in ourselves and our own good works to make it to heaven, but that we look to and rely on Jesus our Savior, that he is the source of our righteousness, that he is our salvation.
I’d like to share with you a story about a business owner, a man who employed quite a few Christians over the years. He said:
You know, I was naturally drawn to God by observing Christian workers who were conscientious and kind and thorough and aggressive on the job. But I’ll tell you what really impressed me. One day a guy who I knew to be a new convert asked if he could see me after work. I agreed to meet with him, but later in the day I started to worry that this young, religious zealot might be coming to try to convert me too. I was surprised when he came in my office with his head hanging low and said to me, “Sir, I’ll only take a few minutes, but I’m here to ask your forgiveness. Over the years I’ve worked for you I’ve done what a lot of other employees do, like borrowing a few company products here and there. I’ve taken some extra supplies, abused phone privileges, and yes, I’ve even cheated the time clock now and then. But I became a Christian a few months ago and it’s real—none of this smoke and mirrors stuff. Jesus is my Savior. He died on the cross for my sins. And in gratitude for what he has done for me, I want to make amends to you and the company for the wrongs I’ve done. So could we figure out a way to do that? If you have to fire me for what I’ve done, I understand. I deserve it. If, on the other hand, you want to dock my pay, that’s fine. Or if you want to give me some extra work to do on my own time, that’s fine too. I just want to make things right with God and between us.”
Well, they worked things out. And the business owner said that that conversation made a deeper impact on him than anything else ever had. He said it was the single most impressive display of true Christianity he had ever witnessed.
Let it shine, friends! Let your light shine for others to see. Let them see your good deeds. Let them see your good example. Let them see your kindness and love. But even more importantly let them see how you rely on Jesus as your Savior, that he is the source of real righteousness for you, and for them as well. Let it shine! Amen.