The Blessed of the Kingdom are the Salt and Light of the World
Matthew 5:13-16
Review and suggested outline/purpose:
1. The sermon is built on Isa. 57:15—the blessed are the ones the High and Lofty One Who Inhabits Eternity dwells with, has fellowship with. I John 1:1-4 Therefore, the sermon opens with our Lords’ description of those blessed people. They are not blessed because there is some merit in their poverty of spirit, in their mourning, in their meekness! They are blessed because they have encountered the High and Lofty One and found out their true emptiness, but praise Him, they have also been filled with His Fullness!!! There is no merit in mourning and groveling. But there is great Comfort in being indwelt by the High and Lofty One, by His Very Spirit!!!
2. Mt. 5:13-16 These blessed ones are the salt and light of the earth.
Salt: “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its FLAVOR, how shall it (the earth?) be seasoned? It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
A. The “flavor of the earth” are those who have discovered that their riches are in heaven, not here, where moth and rust corrupts, those who live in the comfortable indwelling of the Holy Spirit, turning their mourning into peace and joy. This flavor is those who have discovered by the Spirit that their reputation isn’t what life is about. (Phil.2:7) They quietly go about doing good because it is their nature. They have found the unquenchable fountain of Righteousness to fill the emptiness of their once barren soul. Having had Mercy constantly mediated to them, they overflow with mercy to those around them. They have one desire, and that is to see God in all things and that impacts their innermost being, their hearts. They are therefore peaceable, easy to be entreated. “There is no panic in heaven.” (Corrie Ten Boom) There is no panic in the heavenly minded!!!
B. But when the salt looses this flavor, when we no longer behave as the blessed, the preservative value of the salt is lost. Then we move on to artificial preservatives—legalism. But these artificial preservatives are worthless, have little or no impact on the world. Where at once it had a hedge on its’ rottenness, it now has a universal stench about it. The decomposition is occurring at a breakneck pace. Oh for more Beatitude People!!!
Light: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill CANNOT BE HIDDEN!!!
A. This light is not battery powered!!! II Cor. 4:6 “For it is the God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness WHO HAS SHONE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.”
1. That is an Eternal Power Source—God is doing the shining. 2. It is a shining from the inside out. God shines in our hearts and the beatitude blessings shine out!! 3. And what shows is the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. II Cor. 3:18, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
B. It’s the Lord that determines the placement of the Light Houses!!! He sets them on the proper hills. Shine where He has placed you!!! Verse 15 isn’t a verse to brow beat us into doing a better job of shining. It is stating that the Father didn’t place you under a bushel basket. He placed each and every one of us on the hill of His choosing!!!
C. Let your light shine doesn’t mean to work real hard at doing a better job. “Let” means merely “LET”. Beatitude people begin to do everything “before the Father Who sees in secret”, as Jesus will soon tell us. As we are “BEING”, He does the shining out through us, through the good works we have been created unto!!! Eph .2:10 “We are His workmanship”—and He does good work. If He is indwelling us by His Spirit, then doing good to all men, especially the household of faith will be our “first” nature. Beware of human ambition!!!
D. Our shining light of doing good has but one goal—That men would glorify (see and praise) our Father in heaven!!! Our light only flows out of the will and purpose of the Father, through the willing obedience of the Son in His Glorious work of redemption, and by the implantation of His Spirit in our hearts, shedding abroad the Love of God in our hearts, and through this illumination of the love of God that pours out in our “doing good before the Father Who sees in secret”, they see that the Father so loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son for sinners. The Father is manifested in His true Merciful Name!!!
3. Mt. 5:17-20 To enter the Kingdom of God requires a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and only Christ’s fulfills that requirement!! What does that statement say about the scribes and Pharisee’s “chance” at the Kingdom of God?
4. Mt. 5:21-7:6 Here’s what Kingdom Righteousness looks like!!! The standard is exceedingly high, who can attain it? Only One Man!!! Remember Mt. 3:13-17? “And Jesus said unto him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!” Colossians 2:9-10 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him.”
5. Mt. 7:7-29 Concluding encouragements and warnings.
A. Vs 7-12 When you realize how short you fall, keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Ezra 8:22b “The hand of our God us upon all those for good who seek Him.” B. Vs 13-14 The gate is too narrow for any flesh to pass through. Only Christ can pass through, and we in Him!!! C. Vs 15-20 Pay attention to fruit and the tree it comes from. If it doesn’t come from a Beatitude Tree, stay away from it, it’s got worms in it! D. Vs 21-23 Talk is cheap! E. Vs 24-29 Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. Only doers of the Word are blessed in their deed! James 1:21-25
Matthew 5:13-16
Review and suggested outline/purpose:
1. The sermon is built on Isa. 57:15—the blessed are the ones the High and Lofty One Who Inhabits Eternity dwells with, has fellowship with. I John 1:1-4 Therefore, the sermon opens with our Lords’ description of those blessed people. They are not blessed because there is some merit in their poverty of spirit, in their mourning, in their meekness! They are blessed because they have encountered the High and Lofty One and found out their true emptiness, but praise Him, they have also been filled with His Fullness!!! There is no merit in mourning and groveling. But there is great Comfort in being indwelt by the High and Lofty One, by His Very Spirit!!!
2. Mt. 5:13-16 These blessed ones are the salt and light of the earth.
Salt: “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its FLAVOR, how shall it (the earth?) be seasoned? It is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
A. The “flavor of the earth” are those who have discovered that their riches are in heaven, not here, where moth and rust corrupts, those who live in the comfortable indwelling of the Holy Spirit, turning their mourning into peace and joy. This flavor is those who have discovered by the Spirit that their reputation isn’t what life is about. (Phil.2:7) They quietly go about doing good because it is their nature. They have found the unquenchable fountain of Righteousness to fill the emptiness of their once barren soul. Having had Mercy constantly mediated to them, they overflow with mercy to those around them. They have one desire, and that is to see God in all things and that impacts their innermost being, their hearts. They are therefore peaceable, easy to be entreated. “There is no panic in heaven.” (Corrie Ten Boom) There is no panic in the heavenly minded!!!
B. But when the salt looses this flavor, when we no longer behave as the blessed, the preservative value of the salt is lost. Then we move on to artificial preservatives—legalism. But these artificial preservatives are worthless, have little or no impact on the world. Where at once it had a hedge on its’ rottenness, it now has a universal stench about it. The decomposition is occurring at a breakneck pace. Oh for more Beatitude People!!!
Light: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill CANNOT BE HIDDEN!!!
A. This light is not battery powered!!! II Cor. 4:6 “For it is the God Who commanded light to shine out of darkness WHO HAS SHONE IN OUR HEARTS TO GIVE THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.”
1. That is an Eternal Power Source—God is doing the shining. 2. It is a shining from the inside out. God shines in our hearts and the beatitude blessings shine out!! 3. And what shows is the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. II Cor. 3:18, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
B. It’s the Lord that determines the placement of the Light Houses!!! He sets them on the proper hills. Shine where He has placed you!!! Verse 15 isn’t a verse to brow beat us into doing a better job of shining. It is stating that the Father didn’t place you under a bushel basket. He placed each and every one of us on the hill of His choosing!!!
C. Let your light shine doesn’t mean to work real hard at doing a better job. “Let” means merely “LET”. Beatitude people begin to do everything “before the Father Who sees in secret”, as Jesus will soon tell us. As we are “BEING”, He does the shining out through us, through the good works we have been created unto!!! Eph .2:10 “We are His workmanship”—and He does good work. If He is indwelling us by His Spirit, then doing good to all men, especially the household of faith will be our “first” nature. Beware of human ambition!!!
D. Our shining light of doing good has but one goal—That men would glorify (see and praise) our Father in heaven!!! Our light only flows out of the will and purpose of the Father, through the willing obedience of the Son in His Glorious work of redemption, and by the implantation of His Spirit in our hearts, shedding abroad the Love of God in our hearts, and through this illumination of the love of God that pours out in our “doing good before the Father Who sees in secret”, they see that the Father so loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son for sinners. The Father is manifested in His true Merciful Name!!!
3. Mt. 5:17-20 To enter the Kingdom of God requires a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and only Christ’s fulfills that requirement!! What does that statement say about the scribes and Pharisee’s “chance” at the Kingdom of God?
4. Mt. 5:21-7:6 Here’s what Kingdom Righteousness looks like!!! The standard is exceedingly high, who can attain it? Only One Man!!! Remember Mt. 3:13-17? “And Jesus said unto him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!” Colossians 2:9-10 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him.”
5. Mt. 7:7-29 Concluding encouragements and warnings.
A. Vs 7-12 When you realize how short you fall, keep asking, seeking, and knocking. Ezra 8:22b “The hand of our God us upon all those for good who seek Him.” B. Vs 13-14 The gate is too narrow for any flesh to pass through. Only Christ can pass through, and we in Him!!! C. Vs 15-20 Pay attention to fruit and the tree it comes from. If it doesn’t come from a Beatitude Tree, stay away from it, it’s got worms in it! D. Vs 21-23 Talk is cheap! E. Vs 24-29 Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. Only doers of the Word are blessed in their deed! James 1:21-25