2. The Salt and Light of Believers in Christ (Sermon on the Mount Series). Subtitles in 71 Languages
We are to show forth our values and our good works to those around us so that when they see something of Jesus Christ in us, they would say that is unusual. A normal person would not do that.
There is something about that person that makes them different from the way this world is set up. So tonight, we are in the second study of the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5, and we’re going to focus on verses 13 through 20. So I’ve entitled this message The Salt and Light of
Believers in Christ. So we’re continuing to look at the Sermon on the Mount, the most famous sermon of the Lord Jesus. I’m sure those that were on the hillsides uh that day just north of the
Sea of Galilee, as Jesus looked out upon them and as they looked up the hill to him, I’m sure they never understood the impact of the words that He spoke on that day, because the words that we are
Studying is known as the most famous sermon of all time, spoken by the most famous preacher of all time, the Lord Jesus Christ. These sayings that He spoke that day has echoed through time and have touched many languages and cultures, and whole cultures have been changed through understanding
The words of Jesus. When you examine this sermon and look up close, and that’s what I love to do. What does it say? What does it mean? and how do I put into practice these words that Jesus has
Taught? When you look at it closely, He was imparting to His followers a new way of thinking, and a new way of living, and they’re very challenging. They have always been challenging to me. First time I read them, I thought how can anyone keep to this, because they are the most challenging
Words in the history of the human race. Matthew gives us what many scholars believe is a condensed version, because I am positive this sermon, which can be read in about 10 to 15 minutes, but I
Kind of think that it took several hours uh for Him to speak. And maybe He took a break and took a rest, we don’t know. But people came from miles away, even from Jerusalem, which is 80 miles
From where this message was spoken, and people were coming from East Galilee, and from Tyre, we said last week. We looked at that Scripture and many Bible teachers think that Jesus spoke the eight Beatitudes, we called them the beautiful attitudes, and then expanded on them, or fleshed
Them out with the rest of the sermon. It’s like a preacher nowadays takes one Scripture and then elaborates on it for the rest of his message. We think that Jesus did this with these eight Beatitudes, and then took the rest of his time in making them clear to those who
Were listening that day. So in other words, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount explains the Holy Spirit’s operation in the core of the believer’s life. Our view is that Matthew, when he wrote this down, did not keep to a chronological order in referring to the things of the Beatitudes, but
He was out of chronological order in the way that he wrote them down. So when Christ’s disciples live according to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit of God there will be encounters with people from an opposite spirit. Have you ever come across people that when you speak the Word of
God to them, they get angry and they don’t like light coming into their darkness. I always remember a time when I was on the streets of Sudbury (In England) with a team of evangelists, and we moved out across
The City, just talking to people on the streets about Christ. And Sandy and I approached a gang of bikers. They looked, well, scary really, to be honest. There were probably about 12 of them, and we started telling them about Jesus and there was one in among them that
Just reacted so much. And oh, he was so angry and so upset. He didn’t want to hear, and said, “who are you to come and preach this message to us?” I always have the opinion that if you throw
A stone in a pack of dogs, the one that squeals the loudest is the one that got hit! He got hit that night, and later on, when we came back and we gathered as a team, he walked in shaking
Like a leaf under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. So you never know, you never know, who’s going to get hit by the stone, so to speak. And when you’re living out these Beatitudes, these values, there’s going to be people who are going to push back. And it can be easy to
Think, oh, I can’t do that again, because there was some opposition from that guy. That did not put off Sandy and myself. We continued to do that kind of ministry for several years. But how are we to respond? That was the ending part after the Beatitudes, Jesus talked
About persecution. If you hold to these values, and let these values shape your life, then you will be persecuted. He warned them, that if they persecuted me, they are going to persecute you. So we should recognize that when we live out the Beatitudes of the Lord Jesus Christ there are
Going to be people of an opposite spirit, are you with me? When you live out the Beatitudes, you are moving in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in you, in the Believer, will speak and the light will be revealed in you, and the darkness doesn’t like it. And sometimes that
Darkness will retaliate in opposition. So Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” When we live our lives according to these Beatitudes these beautiful attitudes of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we point the Lord.
We point others to the Lord of Life. Regarding our response to persecution, which is the following verses, the ones we’re now exploring. Jesus gave us two metaphors as to how we respond to those who persecute us. So let’s talk about the salt of the earth and read the passage that we’re looking
Closely at tonight, verse 13. Jesus carried on in His sermon and said to them, “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. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. So
Let’s talk first about salt. When Jesus walked on Earth, salt was one of the most valuable of commodities. In fact, in the time of Caesar, Rome paid its soldiers in salt, and in Asian China, salt
Was second to gold in value. Even today, we talk of people being worth their weight in salt. Did you ever come across that phrase? Worth their weight in salt. Why was salt so valuable? We will look at three
Things that Jesus could have been referring to in his metaphor of believers being like salt. Number one, salt spoke of purity. The Romans believed that salt was one of the purest things on earth, because it comes from the whitest and purest of properties. They thought certainly then in
That time, the sea was of a pure nature. Nowadays, we look at our seas, and we see so much rot, we see so much rubbish that’s thrown into the sea, and our seas are polluted. That was one of the
Reasons that I could see that fishing would not be the best industry to continue in to the rest of my life. And of course, on top of it, the Lord was calling me, but I could see that there was
Pollution in the seas. We would see it in the fish. We would literally find fish with their heads stuck in Durex condoms. Unbelievable! Why was salt so valuable? Sun and salt. Jesus could have been saying that the believer was
To be an example of purity, there is nothing purer than the Sun and the Sea they believed. Secondly, salt was a preservative. At a time when there were no freezers and refrigerators, how did they keep their meat and their fish fresh? They actually used to get their fish in
Jerusalem, they used to get their fish from the Sea of Galilee. Of course, as well as the coast and Caesarea, but it took 3 days journey to get from the Galilee down to Jerusalem. And we know that John was a fisherman, and was well known by the high priest. So the conjecture is
That John was the one that was the go-between and he’d get the best price for his fish, and his fishing family, from the Sea of Galilee. So it was a three-day journey to get from the Galilee
Down to Jerusalem, so how did they keep it fresh with no refrigerators and very little ice? How could you freeze the fish? Salt was the commodity that they would use. They would cover it in salt and plenty
Of times as a commercial fisherman, we have done that, to salt the fish down, and ice them down to keep them. So in the same way to slow the decomposition, in the same way, believers
In Christ are to slow the decomposition of this world by the way we live our lives. Our lives and our adherence to the Beatitudes and walking in close relationship with Jesus Christ, upsets the demonic forces, especially when we begin to pray and to use the authority that God has given to
Us. We slow down the putrefaction of the world system in which we live, but it’s difficult if it’s just one or two grains of salt. No, we need a number of salt, a number of believers in a
City will slow down the putrefaction of the area that we live in, the town or the city. Thirdly, salt lends flavor to food. Some foods are so bland that unless you put some salt on, like… I often have two eggs in the morning. Just two boiled eggs is often what I’ll have.
They’re so bland and tasteless, so what I do is to sprinkle some salt on it, and get the pepper shaker out, and it goes down pretty fast, you know. So a little bit of salt adds flavor to food,
And of course, those of you that are good cooks, or even bad cooks, you need a bit of salt. There are not very many recipes that don’t call for salt, so salt adds flavor to food. Let me use this illustration. Before I came to Christ my life was one, as a commercial fisherman,
My life was one of six days a week from 3:00 in the morning to 5 or 6:00 at night, six days a week. I just got one day off, and the the humdrum of life was just so boring. I thought am I really going
To do this for the rest of my life? And again, you know the Lord was calling me, and the more his call came to me. I made loads and loads of money, I had a fishing boat by the
Time I was 21, I had my own house, and my own car, my own bike, uh I had everything, and yet life was tasteless and bland. There was no excitement, even though there’s plenty of excitement when
You’re a commercial fisherman. You catch a few wrecks here and there, and a few unexploded mines in your nets, bombs, and Second World War aircraft wings, with huge machine guns in them. We would dig them out with live rounds in them, and everything, and life was pretty exciting, but it
Had no eternal meaning, and I was very aware that life was not just for this world, that I was being prepared and called for an eternity, and where did I want to spend that eternity. I suddenly
Began, when I gave my life to Christ, everything was exciting and there was a real purpose in my life, and no longer was I living for the things of this world, but I was living and investing in
The things of eternity. The Lord adds flavor to our lives, and you know, the first time I came across a person… As I grew up, I never knew another believer at all, none of my family was believers. So the first time I ever came across another believer was in America, actually, and it
Was the Spirit of God just drew me sovereignly to this place. It would take me too long to explain it, but I first saw a real Christian and he blew his cover, so to speak, he let it be known that
He was a believer in Christ, and he radiated Jesus. And when he talked about Jesus, he sobbed, he cried, the tears were coming down his face as he explained what happened at the cross. And I was
Envious. There was something, this was what I was looking for. I wanted to be touched in the core of my heart like that man just explaining Jesus and tearing up, and tears coming down his face, and
Salt creates thirst. You know, some people say you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. But you can put salt in its mouth. It’ll soon want some water when you put some salt in its
Mouth. And for the first time, I came across a salty believer, if I can use that expression. He radiated Jesus, and I was thirsty and I had to talk with him. Tell me about your life and how you came to
Be a servant of Jesus Christ? And I was hooked. The Lord pulled back on that fishing rod and that hook drove deep into my heart, and He’s never let me go since. And I had to drink deeply of Jesus. There
Was something about him that I looked at, and thought, I’ve got to have what he has. The salt of a person’s life. When a believer holds to the values we’ve written, and read about, then there’s something about that that draws people, that makes them thirsty, and we underestimate those around us
That meet with us day after day and are assured within their hearts, there’s something about that person, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. So you ought to tell them about Who it is your
Life has been flavored by. Who is the One that’s put salt in your mouth, and led you to Himself. So when we hear sermons on this passage of Scripture, it’s often separated from the text before. People often just go straight into the text and don’t really give you the context,
The passage before, which we’ve already said is all about persecution. The Lord was saying that if we hold to these values that he’s enumerated in the previous passage, there will be opposition and there will be around us people who are hungry and thirsty for Christ. I once heard someone
Remark that they had never heard the gospel when they were young, stating that if there were any Christians around him at the time none of them blew their cover. Dr Martin Lloyd Jones once said the glory of the Gospel is that when the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably
Attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though they may hate it at first. Let me ask you a question. Give you a chance to kind of process these thoughts. Can you remember
A person who stood out to you as a Christ follower in your life by being different. Is there someone in your life that made you consider Christianity, or is there someone who has inspired you to want
To live differently. How did they do this? Go for it! I’ll give you a few minutes just to process or discuss. Introduce yourself at the table if they don’t know you. Some of you know that I lead
Tours, I organize and lead tours to Israel. And I’ve done that, what, 11 or 12 times now. Every time I go, I always take people down to the Dead Sea. Have any of you been to the Dead Sea? It’s
An amazing location, it’s the lowest place on Earth. I always have at least one day down there because it’s something that must be experienced. It’s not often you can go to the lowest place on the earth,
And when we get down there, I take them… Usually, we’ll get a spa hotel and the people are instructed to go for a, not a swim, but a float, because you don’t want to swim in that in that water, because you
Don’t want to get that salt in your eyes. It can really hurt you bad, so what we do is, people plaster the mud all over their bodies or they get their spouse to plaster their back with mud and,
It’s really got many healthful properties in the mud. And of course, then they shower off. They’ve got freshwater showers by the edge of the beach and then they go back to their hotel. Many people enjoy the Spa and
The massage. And I’ve never done it myself (the spa and massage), but that’s there, you know. But one thing I’ve learned is to warn them the day before not to shave on the day they want to go into the Dead Sea
Because I know from experience that people are in terrible pain if they’ve shaved themselves close, and they’ve got cuts on their skin. It is painful and one feels cleansed and invigorated and people with skin problems deliberately go to the hotels down in that area just for the properties
That the Dead Sea area has on the skin. One is very invigorated when you come out and you shower, your skin feels alive and it’s very cleansing and invigorating thing to do, So as the cleansing of the salty water is to the body, our salty values bring an antiseptic cleansing
Power to the world around us. The light and salt that we carry to a decaying society transforms society around us, but often there’s a recoiling and persecution due to the values that we have, and as I’ve mentioned, some people react and the darkness doesn’t like being brought
Into the light. But if those people around us see Christians compromising their beliefs and values, not only will they not see a positive witness for Christ, but it has the very opposite effect. It turns them off. I remember reading about Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian guy who totally transformed India.
He was actually living and grew up in South Africa, and he was very open to the Gospel until he actually met some Christians, and he said their values they were not living. It turned him off Christianity. And if he had become a believer, if he’d have seen true salty
Values there in South Africa a whole nation could have been transformed. I’m encouraged because that nation is now going through a revival and many wonderful things are happening in the nation of India. And my hope is that I can influence those in India through this video, which is our biggest
Viewer of these videos. India is our number one viewer. So if we uh if we don’t have an impact on those around us, people can be put off because they look at us and if they know we’re a believer,
Yet we are lying, and cheating, and etc etc, they find an excuse not to come to Christ. Well, if they live like that then I can live like that without their God. That is the response. So here’s a good question to ask
Yourself. Is the world doing me more harm than I am doing it good? If those who do not believe in Christ see no difference in our Christian Life, if they don’t see these values that we’re talking about, these beautiful attitudes, there is no challenge to their worldview, and there will
Be no hope for them. If they don’t see in us the Lord Jesus, therefore the saltiness of our values is then thrown away and trodden underfoot, verse 13. The church, the Lifeboat, should be in the sea.
I’m a sea person. so I think in terms of the sea. If you’ve got the Lifeboat out on the sea, then all is good, but if the sea gets in the Lifeboat, we’re in trouble. and from what I can see, as I look
Out in the world, the Lifeboat is seeping with water, and we’re sinking fast. The world looks at us Christians, and say, well, where’s the salty values that they should have? And they are turned
Off by our lack of love for the Lord. Let’s talk now about: You Are the Light of the World. Christ then uses the metaphor of light to describe the believer. As he looked around the hillside down at these believers, thousands of them are on the hillside with Him. He told them
That they were The Light of the World, verse 14. In the days when the New Testament was written, they didn’t have any flashlights in their homes. They didn’t have any electricity or anything. So how did they light up their homes? They had a little household lamp consisting of an
Earthenware container of oil that had a little funnel at the front. And there’s places where they’ll give you one of these as a kind of a souvenir. And you put a wick in through that little
Funnel at the end, and the wick… You fill it with olive oil and the wick goes in one end… goes in the oil and you light the other end. And everything is good until you go out. The
Problem when you’re going out of the home is how do I relight my lamp? Because there’s no such thing as matches, so how are you going to relight your lamp? So lots of people just used to leave the lamp
Going. What they would do is that they’d put the wick as far down as they could, so there was just a little bit of light from the wick to keep it alive, and that way the oil would last a long
Time until they got home again. But the problem was if there was anything… imagine if you had a dog at home or anything like that. If the dog kicked over the lamp, much of the floor was combustible
Material. Often they had had hay on the ground to be able to sweep and clean up easily, and during the night time, they would put the lamp up really high and pull the wick out so that
It was bright. But when they were going out they had to put it under a basket, and hide the light, so that they just keep it alive just a little bit so it could keep on flickering until they got back.
Now by referencing His people as lights in the world, the Lord said that instead of hiding our testimony under a bushel… Instead of making the wick really low, and hiding it, and allowing the room to be dark, we are to pull the wick out, so to speak. We are to show forth our
Values, our good works, to those around us so that when they see something of Jesus Christ in us they would say, “That is unusual, a normal person would not do that, there is something about that person that makes them different from the way this world is set up.” Whether
It’s your purity of Life, your values for honesty, etc etc, people should see the good works, the honesty, your purity of life, and say I want to live like that because I see in that person something of God. Jesus didn’t say you are the light of the church,
Did He? He said, “You are the light of the world.” We are to be out there, you know, that’s why I’m not into going and meditating in some monastery, some place hidden away from the world. No, we’re to be in
The world, but not of the world. We’re not to allow the sea to come into the Lifeboat. We are to walk these values out to the world, so that they can see something of God in us. Our life is reflected
Light, we are not to show them ourselves, we are not to proclaim ourselves, we are to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope I’ve given you an example of that, by often talking about Jesus.
When people of the world look at us, they should see Jesus Christ. We are to let them go by us. We are the best fishermen. I’m using my fishing analogy again. This time a fisherman
On the river. The fisherman on the riverbank learns that if he wants to catch the fish, he needs to be hidden, because if the fish see him, then guess what? They’re not going to take the bait. we don’t credit fish with much intelligence, but actually they’re very intelligent. I used to watch fish
Going over the headline of our net when we’d fish up the river. The net would be literally across the whole river and we would tow this huge net up the river, and we used to watch the mullet,
Seeing that they couldn’t get around the net they would go up to the headline, and jump out of the water, over to the other side of the net. I literally stood on the stern of our boat and
Watched them do that. So credit fish with a little bit of intelligence. But the fish, if they see you. (Angling on the riverbank) guess what? You’re not going to catch them and if people see us, it speaks nothing about Jesus.
They are to see the Lord Jesus. That’s what John the Baptist said, less of me, more of Him, right? As believers, we are to be the guiding Harbor Lights. There’s another fishing analogy. When I came
Home in the early morning and my dad would take over his boat again, I often used to work his boat at night, which was very dangerous, because sometimes I used to work on my own, and at 4 in the morning,
When he was to take the boat out, I’d come in and I’d be looking for the Harbor Lights. There’s certain lights that flash the right way that would guide me through the channel, the Cork Sands channel into the
Harbor, where I would be safe. And we believers in Christ is to be The Guiding Light to others to find the Lord Jesus. Good works done by believers in Christ will be seen by those in the darkness
Of this world system. So we are to be accurate reflections of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here’s what Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Our Salt and Light will make people thirsty for
God. There’s a song that Phil Keaggy sings, and it perfectly illustrates this point. It’s from an old poem entitled “Indwelt.” “Not only in the words you say, not only in the deeds confessed, But in the most unconscious way, is Christ expressed. Is it a beatific smile? A holy light
Upon your brow? Oh no, I felt His presence when you laughed just now. To me, it was not the truth you taught, to you so clear, but to me so dim, but when you came to me you brought a sense of Him and from
Your eyes He beckons me, and from your lips His love is shed, until I lose sight of you and see Christ instead. Is it a beautiful smile? a holy light upon your brow? Oh no, I felt His presence
When you laughed just now. I love that. Let’s move on. Christ came to fulfill the law, verse 17: “Do not think,” says the Lord Jesus, “that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets; I have not come
To abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you until heaven and earth pass away, not an Iota, not a dot…” What’s He talking about? He’s talking about the yod in the Hebrew language.
You know how to pronounce a Sheen is either a sh a sir, and there’s a little dot underneath, sometimes three little dots, that’ll tell you how to pronounce it. That’s what He’s talking about.
He’s saying that not one iota, not one jot, not one yod, will fail, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Verse 19, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches
Other to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Oh, that scares me no end. That’s why I’m committed to teaching the truth. Let there be no failure to clarify these things,
And I work hard at trying to be the best I can, not only for you, but to not fail on that day when I stand before Him. “But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the
Kingdom of Heaven, verse 20, for I tell you unless your righteousness exceeds…” Wow! Imagine being the listeners. You’re listening, and He says this last sentence. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Imagine how that went
Down. What! Are we to live like them? They saw the scribes and Pharisees as the most righteous, the most purest, the most excellent characters in Israel at the time… or were they? All their righteousness was an outward show. And Jesus wants you and I to put on His righteousness,
God’s righteousness, not your own made-up, climbing up a ladder, in the hope that you’ll make it to Heaven. No, how tragic it is for those who are attempting to get to heaven climbing a ladder of works, when
They get to the end of their lives and find out their ladder has been against the wrong wall. Imagine, and plenty of people come to the end of their lives and look back asking themselves, what
A fool I’ve been! Why did I not listen back when I first heard about Christ? So another question. Time to reflect and process what we’ve heard. What are your thoughts about Christ’s words in verse 20? That last phrase. “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” In your opinion, what was Jesus telling them, and us, through this statement? I’ll give you a few minutes to process that and discuss. Let’s move forward. Jesus said that He had come to fulfill the law and the prophets, the endless rules of
The Pharisees and the scribes were invented to get around the law of God. So they could do what they wanted. Their man-made rules helped them get around the law of God until the spirit of the law was obscured. It was all outward righteousness, whereas God wants righteousness on the inward
Parts. Jesus spoke in this way about the rules of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger, Matthew 23:4. Jesus accused these religious leaders of teaching rules
That turned men away from God. Here’s what He said, Matthew 15:8 to 9, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the
Commandments of men. The Commandments of men. How how did this happen? Why did they leave the Law of God, and began teaching the laws of men? Part of the problem was when King Ahaz came to the throne.
Because King Ahaz was into idolatry, he burned his sons in the fires of Molech. Imagine that. And God said, enough! I’m done with this sacrificing of children in the fires of Molech. And He said, I
Am sending the whole nation off to Babylon and there, if they want idolatry, they can have it until they’re sick and fed up of it. And He banished them for 70 years to the king of Babylon. There is
Where they sat down and wept. And they strung their hearts and wept over losing Zion, their beautiful country, their Temple, and everything that they loved. There they sat down and they realized it’s because… remember they didn’t have the Word of God like we do. And they just relied on
The religious men to tell them what to do. So the nation were just sheep so when they listened to their sheep masters that were wolves in disguise, and really pushed the values of this world, the
Idolatry, they sat down and said, we made a mistake somewhere. What did we do? So they explored the Scriptures and they realized they broke the law of God, and they felt, they thought to themselves, how can
We not do that again? And they came up with the idea that, we’ve got to build a fence around the the Word of God, so if we perhaps break the fence, we still won’t break the law of God. And so they
Came up with all these rules, these little minor little rules, that if they keep to these little rules then hopefully, they wouldn’t break the law of God. A system of rules and interpretations that became commentaries like the Mishna and Talmud. These rules, they felt, would keep people from
Sinning against God. But the religious elite didn’t practice these things themselves. For example, the Scripture said that they should not, they must not work on the Sabbath day. So what does that mean? What are we not to do on the Sabbath day? So they made up volumes of rules that defined what
Constituted work on the Sabbath. So how far could a person walk before it became work? For those that traded and went to other towns and cities with their wares, they couldn’t do it on a Sabbath. So how
Are we going to get around this, this rule, this law of God so that we can still carry on doing what we want to do? They realized, they came up with plans, they stipulated that the Jew could only walk 2,000
Cubits, which is about 1000 yards from his house, but if one tied a rope across the end of the street, the end of the road now became his house, and he could go another thousand yards beyond that. However, if
He needed to go further on the Sabbath evening, he could place enough food for two meals along the way and the food then became his residence, and he could go another thousand yards. This is what we mean by rules of men, commandments of men. So living life became a a rule keeping system
Focused on looking righteous on the outside, but forgetting the inner core of love for God and others. And this is what Jesus came against. Don’t live your life by those stupid rules basically, but hold to the Commandments of God. Let the law of God be something that is on the inside of your
Heart. So another question, just a few minutes. What do you think the Lord meant by saying that He came not to abolish, repeal, or do away with the Law but to fulfill it? What on earth does that mean?
How come He fulfilled the Law? What did He mean by that? I’ll give you a few minutes to process that. Living by religious rules has become part of many churches in the West. We see it so often, we don’t even think about it. I still remember as a young Christian, I was
Probably two years old in the Lord, if that, and I was attending an Evangelical Church where they loved the Word of God in my hometown of Harwich and after church on a Sunday night there was always a youth group meeting, and I would come along and I would help disciple about 20 young
People. On the way there, this one particular night, I remember stopping by at the off-license. Now the Off-license to Americans doesn’t mean anything. It’s kind of like a liquor store. I wasn’t buying liquor or anything. I bought the snacks, the candy, and everything to share among all these
Young kids. And the only place that was open was the off-license. So I went into the off-license. I didn’t think anything of it. I was only buying candy. I came out and one of the old ladies that
Was in the church gave me such a hard time. She really tore into me. How dare you do this on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and you’re in the liquor store buying candy. They shouldn’t even
Be open on a Sunday, she was saying, and oh dear, I went that night with my stacks of candy and chocolate and everything, I went to that youth group under a cloud of depression and guilt and I still remember how heavy was that guilt, and brothers and sisters, if you’ve
Been guilted by your Christianity like that, then throw off that weight, that weight of guilt. And so many of us remember, as I say that, so many of you think of silly little rules in churches that you’ve been in, and legalism and rule-keeping are most popularly defined as redemption by human effort.
Redemption by human effort, that’s that climbing the ladder of the wall. And I trust that none of you are climbing the ladder of self-effort. The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were the legalists of the day. Jesus said this to them, in Matthew 23:1-5, “Then Jesus said to the crowds
And to His disciples, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’s seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they
Preach. Therefore all that they tell you do, and observe, but do not do according to their deeds for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens, heavy burdens, if there’s a heavy burden on you and your Christianity, then throw off those heavy yokes. They tie up heavy
Burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders…” And really we’re talking about the rules, the fence rules of their lives at that time. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but
They themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger, but they do all their deeds to be noticed by men, for they broaden their phylacteries…” Their little boxes with the Scriptures in them, and they wrap them around their arms, they have them on their foreheads to remind them to live
Out the Law of God, but they completely abandoned the Law of God, and were keeping to their rules… “For they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels of their garments. You know, after living
In Israel for about a year and a half, one of the things a person becomes aware of very quickly is the passion of the Jewish people for everyone to keep the Law. And the Pharisees of our day, they
Believe that if they can get everyone in Israel to spend one Sabbath and keep the Law and not do any work on the Sabbath, the whole nation, then the Messiah will come. That’s their belief. There’s no Scripture that gives them that, that thought, but they… oh you
Better not go anywhere near their places driving your car, because they will stone your car. In Mea Sharim, and there’s t-shirts that say, I got stoned in Mea [Laughter] Sharim, and if you’re on a Sabbath day, and you’re in a big hotel with 15 floors, and you happen to
Get into the wrong elevator, the elevator stops at every floor, because it’s considered work to press the button to the floor, so you get stuck in this lift. You go down one level, stop,the doors open,
The doors shut, then it goes to the next level, just so that you don’t have to press the button and break the Law by working on the Sabbath. So all of these little rules when you live in Israel are so
Frustrating. You can’t believe that the people actually hold to this, and many don’t, many are complete atheists, and Russians that have come out of communist countries don’t want anything to do with the Law of God. So Jesus came to fulfill the Law. He said, “Do not think that I’ve
Come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I’ve not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. So the question arises. Why was the Law given? If we’re to hold to Christianity and all these rules
Are not on us, or 613 that’s found in the five books of Moses, that’s just the Law themselves, without their rules that the fence around there, why was the Law given? God gave the law to show his righteous moral standard. Puritan Richard Sibs wrote in the 17th century about the role of the
Conscience, saying it is the soul reflecting upon it itself. Conscience is at the heart of what distinguishes the human creature. Unlike animals, people can contemplate their actions and make moral self-evaluations, and it’s a wise thing to go over the events of the day before you go to
Bed, and just think about the things of the day. Lay down all the guilt. If you’ve got something that you’ve messed up with your spouse, then get it right before you go to bed, the Scripture says. This is the very function of the conscience, to make a moral self-evaluation.
And the law enlightens the conscience and gives an objective line in the sand. Have you ever been in a park where it says do not walk on the grass? You notice how many kids see that, and then run on
The grass straight away. You know there’s that preponderance within us to break the law. Once we see the law says don’t do this, then there’s something within us that wants to transgress the law. To transgress is to cross the line into sin. So God clearly lays out a moral guideline that
The conscience can hold to. The law defines what sin is, and Paul wrote that without the Law he would not have known what sin is, Romans 7:7. And every one of us falls short of moral
Perfection, and it shows us that we need a Savior. The Law was given to show us God’s moral standard. And for us as human beings to say I have fallen short of God’s moral standard. I need a Savior,
Because the guilt is upon me for breaking the law. And the law is a schoolmaster, Paul writes in one place, to guide us to the Savior. But then, on top of that, He came to fulfill the prophets. The prophets spoke about Him. “The Lord your God…” Moses said, and Moses was one of
The greatest prophets, and the Lord said uh to Moses, the Lord your God… Here’s what he wrote: Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among
You, from your fellow Israelites, it is to Him you shall listen.” I put it to you that the prophet Moses was speaking about was the Lord Jesus, and yet so many Israelis miss it. I like that website you
Can watch on YouTube. It’s called SO BE IT! Where these gentlemen are witnessing to Jewish people. and it is horrifying to us as Gentiles that the Jewish people have been given the New Testament, the Brit Hadashah, and they they don’t even know it. They’ve never read of
It. They’ve never heard of it, many of them, and so these evangelists who speak Hebrew and have come to Christ as Jewish people, are going out and they’re recording their conversation. SO BE IT! on YouTube. Just put into YouTube SO BE IT! and you’ll come up with them. I love their conversations,
Their witnessing to Jewish people, but the Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He was not above the law, nor in conflict with it. He brought scripture to completion. His words and actions took place to fulfill what the
Lord had spoken through the Prophets and to Him we are to listen, according to Moses. My prayer is that collectively and individually we will be salty people that will draw people to our Messiah. He is the Fulfillment of the whole book. The whole book is all about Him. He’s the
One that was there at the creation. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and one day, my brothers and sisters, I trust that all of you listening to my words will rejoice together before Him and look upon His face. What a joy that will be. Suppose today you
Feel that you’ve gone against your conscience, and who hasn’t? Maybe today is a day when you can pray and say, oh Lord, The Law has convicted me of my need of a Savior and, Father, I need a Savior
To cleanse me of my guilt, and to make me a salty person. Would you stand with me and let’s pray, Heavenly Father, I thank You that You sent Jesus to be the answer to the problem of sin and to cleanse us from the inside, not just for it to be an outside religion
Of works, but for it to be the Lord Jesus living on the inside, empowering us to live a Christ-centered life. I pray, Lord, if there’s anyone that’s listening to these words and you want to receive Christ, here are some words that you can say. Lord, I believe that
Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son came to the Earth to be the Savior of all men. Lord, I repent of all sin, and I ask You to forgive me. Cleanse me from sin, and I want to be new on
The inside. Lord, I receive today the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ. I receive you, Lord, into my life. amen! God bless you and we’re going further in this series next week.
Jesus was imparting to His followers, a new way of thinking and a new way of living. Many Bible teachers think that Jesus spoke the eight Beatitudes (the “beautiful attitudes”) and then expanded on them or fleshed them out by giving us examples of how the inner attitudes work in real-life situations. In other words, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount explains the Holy Spirit’s operation at the core of the believer’s life. The written notes are at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/engsermon/2.-salt-and-light