Sis Christina Phang
24-01-2021
Matthew
5:13-20
New
International Version
Salt
and Light
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 underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the
world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they
may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “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. 18 For truly I tell you, 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. 19 Therefore anyone who sets
aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,
you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What does Jesus
expect of His disciples?
After giving His disciples a set of principles on how to
live and on how to be blessed, Jesus is now commanding us to be the salt and
light of the world. Jesus expects all believers to be an influence on the world
around them. When He rolled out the Beatitudes, it is a set of high standards. But
as believers in these challenging times, Jesus is challenging us as His
disciples on how we can live differently so that we can impact the world for
the Lord.
At that time, salt was used mainly as a preservative. Salt
was applied to meat so that the meat could last longer. We also use salt as
antiseptic for mouth ulcers or wounds. As salt of the earth and as His
disciples, Jesus wants us to prevent decay in the society that we live in. He
is asking us as Christians to live out the Beatitudes—the high standards—so that
we can prevent rot and decay and to be that moral compass to society at large.
But what happens when we eat food that is too salty? Is
there an issue of being salty Christians? When you eat too much salt, you
become very thirsty. If we Christians become really salty for the Lord, it
means it would cause people to thirst. If we live out the Beatitudes and the Kingdom
principles, would we be able to create this thirst in the hearts of many who
really, truly need Jesus?
As followers of Christ, how do we tap from the fountain
of living water and never thirst again? Let’s continue to be salt of the earth
to bring the Gospel and the living hope to people around us.
Let us now consider light. Light shines in the darkness. Light
is actually a spectrum of electromagnetic waves.
Jesus is the light of the world.
John
9:5
New
International Version
5 While I am in the world, I
am the light of the world.”
John
8:12
New
International Version
12 … “I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus is no longer in the world but we are. Jesus is
asking us to illuminate the dark world around us. As followers of Christ, we
know that Jesus lives in us so we are also light of the world.
The Beatitudes reminds us “Blessed are the pure in heart.”
In the context of being light of the world, we get our lives right inside. We need
to be comfortable in our own skin and we need to understand the purpose that God
has called us and the role that God has given to each and every one of us. We
do not only choose to walk in God’s will but we should also seek God that we
would actually walk in God’s perfect will. When we say that light shines in the
darkness, it means that we are making an impact and we are making something
right in somebody else’s life situation that is very dire and hopeless. What is
it that Jesus is asking you and I to do? We just have to look around. Jesus
will bless us if we choose to live for Him. Let us just do our part so that we
can truly reflect the light of Jesus. And like the rainbow, in the photons of
light, there are many colours. We can bring colours to many people in society.
What happens
when our world does not have salt and light?
Jesus reminds us to never lose our saltiness or hide that
light under a bush. When salt loses its saltiness and when Christians stop
living out the Beatitudes and the Kingdom principles, we become undercover or
underground Christians. We read in Romans 1 that when the earth loses its moral
compass, it starts to decay. People’s minds would be depraved and they would be
given over to lustful desires and their hearts would be darkened.
Together, as a community of believers, as we
intentionally seek after being disciples of Jesus Christ, we would never ever
be undercover or underground Christians.
1 Peter
2:9
New
International Version
9 But you are a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light.
We are a people who are called to give glory and praises
to God. Let us encourage each other to continue to be the salt and light to the
world.
Matthew
5:17-20
New
International Version
The
Fulfillment of the Law
17 “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. 18 For truly I tell you, 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. 19 Therefore anyone who sets
aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,
you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus
came not to abolish the Law but He came to fulfil them. At that time, His
disciples were probably thinking that they could be unshackled from the Old Testament
laws and the do's and don'ts of the Ten Commandments. That is very different
from the Ten Commandments to how Jesus called us to live out the Kingdom
principles through the Beatitudes. Every word in the Old Testament points to Jesus
and when He came, He came to fulfil a lot of what the prophets in the Old Testament
were speaking. Yet, Jesus warns us not to be like the Pharisees because they
only had an outward appearance of conforming to the Law and they were not truly
living it out. As Christians today, we praise God that we do not live under the
Law but we live by grace. But Jesus says not the least stroke of a pen, will by
any means disappear from the Law until all things are accomplished. We know
that there is still a lot in the Word of God that needs to be accomplished. As
followers of Jesus today, we need to truly live up to the expectations of Kingdom
principles under grace. God’s Word is eternal and as believers, we need to hold
on to the Word of God and it means living in obedience to all that Jesus has
asked us to do.
Jesus
teaches us that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees. To be
blessed means to live a holy life.
To
quote D.L. Moody: “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses
blow no horns, they just shine.”
As
Jesus calls us to be holy and to live a righteous life, we need to be living lives
that make deep impressions to the society around us. And we need to be like
lighthouses that do not boast about the things that we do, but we are here to
just shine for Jesus.
The fundamental
question is, are we INFLUENCERS in the community that God has placed us into?
We do not just want to be a disciple but we also want
to be a discipler and a discipler that would multiply. Let us be influencers
for Jesus Christ. Let us gather together a big following, not because we want
them to follow us, but we want them to follow the Jesus that is in us. Let us, together,
live and reflect the light of Jesus and be determined that the light of Jesus
shines through us.
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