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May 15, 2009

A Light Piercing the Darkness

By Anthony Wade

A Light Piercing the Darkness

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A Light Piercing the Darkness, Lessons From the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5: 14-16 "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.

The world is walking in darkness. You need only watch the nightly news to realize how deep that darkness is. You need only remember where Jesus found you, to recall the power that darkness held over you. Remember that the darkness is so profound that the world cannot see the things of God for what they are:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. - 1Corinthians 2:14

The things of God appear as foolishness to man. He cannot understand them. All he knows is the darkness. The darkness is oddly comforting in that it is familiar. But praise God that He sent Christ into the world:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8: 12

And so it was that we passed from darkness into His glorious light. With our spiritual blindness behind us, we forge ahead to try and do His will and the key verses above show us that now through the Holy Spirit, we become the light for the world as well. With Jesus Christ in us, we not only bring the Gospel to the lost but a light to pierce their darkness. These verses from the Gospel of Matthew are from the Sermon on the Mount. Right after the Beatitudes, Jesus starts teaching the ever growing crowd on a whole range of topics but this discussion of salt and light is first and contains many truths.

Jesus gives two metaphors to describe the role we are to play as a light unto the world. The first one refers to a city on a hill. Jesus teaches that a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, our Christianity should not be hidden from the world. It should not be the biggest secret in the office or in the neighborhood. The second metaphor Jesus uses here is that we are likened to a lamp. Jesus teaches that you do not place a lit lamp under a bowl, but rather on a stand so that we might provide light to everyone in the house. This metaphor is more local in nature; more personal. Just as we are to be a light to the world, we are also to be a light in our own house as well; to our own families. This is possibly mentioned second by Jesus not because of importance but rather because it is often more difficult. Take comfort in the fact that whatever we go through, Christ also had to endure. After visiting his own hometown, Jesus was dismissed by the residents; to which Jesus taught:

Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. - Mark 6: 4-6

And often we are amazed at the lack of faith in our own family members. They see the change in our lives but still have difficulty separating who they have known all these years from the new creation we become. Their darkness deepens further around us. But according to these teachings, we still are to be that light they so desperately need.

To our houses and to the world. And how are we to show this light according to the Master? Is it with strong words, strict warnings, and choice Bible verses? No beloved. Jesus taught that we show the world and our homes the light of Christ through our good deeds; not our words. Unfortunately, some in modern Christianity have it backwards. There seems to be a never-ending supply of people willing to talk the talk but the world is filled with doubting Thomas'; who want to see before they will believe. And remember, the things of God are still foolishness to them! You cannot expect to just explain Christ to them. You cannot expect to just rationalize Christ to them. You cannot expect to just intellectualize Christ to them. What Jesus is teaching us here is that we must first live Christ to them. Would you take driving lessons from someone who has been in ten accidents? Would you take dieting advice from someone who was overweight? Neither then should we expect the world to accept a message of love wrapped up in hate or judgment. The world is looking first at whom we are; not what we say.

That is why it is not surprising that the very next subject Jesus teaches on in His discourse is in regards to the law. In it He addresses that He ahs come to fulfill the law, not abolish it. The key verse for us today is:

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. Matthew 5:20

Jesus is warning us that our righteousness must pass the level of hypocrisy; which the Pharisees represented. The Pharisees were religious but not relational. They understood the letter of the law but not the spirit of it. Jesus is teaching us that this type of religiosity is false righteousness. It speaks of righteousness instead of living it and that was exactly the problem with the Pharisees. They talked the talk but did not walk the walk. If you asked the majority of the unsaved what their primary problem with Christians is the answer would likely be, hypocrisy. It is dangerous to walk that close to the Pharisaical line. It is not righteousness, it is self righteousness. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector to show the difference between the way we should be and the trap we can fall into. This is how it is introduced in the Gospel:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: - Luke 18: 9

Jesus goes on to tell the parable of how the Pharisee was so self-righteous that his very prayers unto God exalted himself and how the sinner showed true humility before God because he knew he had no righteousness. That is the frame of mind we need to be walking our salvation in. Humility which comes from the realization that we have no righteousness except for the blood of Jesus Christ, which covers our sins before Almighty God! The Prophet Isaiah reminds us of the true nature of our righteousness:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64: 6

Our righteousness is but filthy rags before a holy God. The Apostle Paul wrote about righteousness as well and the language is even stronger:

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3: 9-18

So what must we conclude today? Are we any better than those in the world; the Gentiles of today? No, because we are all alike under sin. The difference is that we have been saved by grace. It is that grace that we are supposed to show the world that still walks in darkness, not condemnation nor self-righteousness. It is not mere words we are to show but our deeds. It is through whom we are, that others will want what we have not by persuasion. It is no wonder that the remainder of the teaching from the Sermon on the Mount shows Jesus telling us how we ought to behave, not speak. But Jesus cut even deeper than that. He did not only teach against the behavior, but the root sin behind the behavior. Because the world will see through the hypocrisy of man because hypocrisy is a product of the darkness they are all too familiar with. Going in order after the teachings on salt and light and fulfillment of the law we see the following teachings from our Lord and Savior:

1) We should not murder. Going deeper though Jesus teaches that we also should not be angry nor hold things against one another. The world does not need to see angry Christians telling them of the virtues of Christ.

2) We should not commit adultery. Going deeper though Jesus teaches we should not look upon people with lust in our hearts. The world does not need to see Christians professing morality in the midst of their own moral failings.

3) We should not divorce except for unfaithfulness. Going deeper though Jesus teaches that unwarranted divorce is actually adultery. The world does not need to see Christians decrying the problems in the world with the sanctity of marriage and the family unit amidst divorce rates comparable to the world.

4) Oaths Jesus teaches that our word must stand for something. Another teaching against hypocrisy.

5) Eye for an eye Jesus rewrites the code of retribution and says the world needs to see Christians who turn the other cheek.

6) Love for enemies again rewriting the code, Jesus teaches that we need to be praying for those who persecute us. Imagine if the world always saw Christians praying for those who mean them ill?

7) Giving to the needy Jesus does not teach that we need to give to the needy He actually assumes we will! What He teaches is that we need to do it not so we will be seen by men. We should not be bragging about it. The world needs to see Christians who are not haughty.

8) Prayer in this teaching, Jesus starts by actually saying, "when you pray do not be like the hypocrites..." in other words, do not pray so that men will think you are righteous. Again, teaching that the world needs to see your deeds, not just your words.

9) Fasting Jesus opens by saying, "when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do..." are you seeing the trend?

10) Treasures in heaven the world needs to see Christians who value God over money.

11) Do not worry seek His righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.

12) Judging others again, teaching against hypocrisy.

13) Ask, seek, knock do unto others what you would have them do unto you...

14) Narrow and wide gates the world needs to see Christians who take the harder road.

15) A tree and its fruit Jesus teaches that not everyone who merely says His name will enter the kingdom of heaven. The world needs to see the good fruit we are supposed to bear for His glory.

16) The wise and foolish builders the final teaching see Jesus summarize for us "everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock..."

Jesus didn't say those who repeat these words. He did not say those who merely speak these words. Jesus teaches us that it those who put His words into practice will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock; the rock of Christ.

The world is in darkness beloved. It is a darkness that Jesus reached into to save us and wants to save them as well. We are to be that light into the world, piercing into their darkness. Through His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount we see that this is accomplished not with the words of man but words of Christ put into action. It is through humility we show the world the grace of God they so desperately need; not through the words of hypocrisy. Shine your light today and let the whole world see, not just hear. In Jesus name, amen.

Reverend Anthony Wade - May 15, 2009



Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

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