God Wants Us to Know How to Be His Representative

(from the Sermon on the Mount)

 
Not Everyone Wants to Know
Back when electricity was first introduced to a little European village, almost everyone in a particular church switched from the propane lanterns they had to electricity as soon as it became available. But the oldest couple in the congregation were last to get the electrical power as they had to wait for the poles and wires to be set near their home ion the countryside. In the meantime, they continued to use their propane lanterns. Finally, electricity was brought into their home and the day came when they got their electric lights installed. The old man waited for the house to get extra dark, then he told his wife to go turn on the switch. When she did, the light filled the room and everyone rejoiced! The old man grinned from ear to ear, picked up a propane lantern and said, “it sure makes lighting my lamps easier!” and with that he lit a lamp and his wife turned off all the electricity. While God would like us to light up our worlds with love and truth, the world around us will often resist moving in this direction. They may be more than happy to stay with what has been comfortable for them for so many years, missing out entirely on what God has in store for them. Jesus talked about our role in God’s plan to bring love and truth to the world around us, and he told us about it in the Sermon on the Mount.

Remembering What It Is To Be Persecuted
As we examine this second section of the Sermon on the Mount, it’s going to be important for us to remember just where we left off last time. In our first study, we took a look at the ‘blessings’ (beatitudes) described by Jesus, and at the end of that passage, Jesus began to remind us that we are blessed and cherished by God when we are willing to step out and represent Him in this lost world, even when doing so might cause others to persecute us:

 
'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 
A Couple of Examples
Now, Jesus continues the message by telling us a little more about God’s desire for our lives. Read and listen as he describes a life that should stand out in contrast to the world around us:

 
Matthew 5:13 -20
'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 by men. '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. '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. 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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.

 
A Closer Look
In describing just how it is that we are to be different than the world around us, Jesus is careful to give us two examples, ‘salt’ and ‘light’. Now take a closer look at these two examples, studying just how salt and light effect the environment in which they exist:

 
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 by men. 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.

 
So how are you different; how are Christians different from the world around them? Are we different at all? If our goal was to stand out in this world, and stand for something that is presently missing, it wouldn’t take much effort to see what it would take for us to stand out. We could look at a couple of areas that are important to God.

The Perfect Blend
We often say that we want to be more Godly or Christ-like, and when we say this, we seldom think about what that might require. But the answer can be found in the nature of God Himself. God is the perfect blend of MERCY and JUSTICE. These two sides of God’s nature are in perfect relationship, and if we want to be more like God, we’re going to have to understand the truth about God’s nature, and try to embody that nature here on earth:

 
Zechariah 7:9-10
This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.’

 
God is calling us to represent Him here on earth as the perfect blend of mercy and justice (which can also be described as LOVE and TRUTH):

 
Psalm 40:10
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.

 
One Requires the Other
God would like us to see that LOVE and TRUTH (MERCY and JUSTICE) require each other in order to have any value or meaning at all. Let me give you an example. Let’s say I’m driving down the road with my son David and I look over and say to him, “David, my son, I truly love you!” I think he would feel pretty good about that statement and he would value what I just told him, recognizing that I said something significant to him. Something meaningful. But let’s say I continue to drive down the road and see and mugger beating up an old lady. I stop my car and roll down my window and say to the mugger, “Hey mister mugger, my son, I truly love you!” Then I roll up the window and drive away. My son David would probably have to rethink my statement to Him. If I am not JUST about who I show my love to, if I am not selective about whom I praise, then my love and praise is meaningless. If I feel this way about EVERYONE, then I don’t really feel this way about ANYONE. Does that make sense?

At the same time, if all I am ever concerned about is JUSTICE, you know, what’s right and wrong, what’s fair and just, but I have no love for people, then I may very likely end up being a judgmental, arrogant jerk! Justice without mercy is harsh and condemning! While justice and truth are important, nothing is more important than love and mercy:

 
James 2:12-13
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

 
What the World Hates
Now keeping in mind this relationship between truth and love, justice and mercy, let’s take a look at what it means to be salt and light in our world. Before we even begin to try to live out these principles, we are going to have to understand that a life of love and truth is going to put us at odds with the world around us. Do you know why? Well, the world doesn’t have a problem with the LOVE part of Jesus’ teaching, believe me! The world has a problem with the TRUTH part of Jesus’ teaching. The world doesn’t have a problem with a God who is all loving. The world has a problem with a God who claims to speak an objective, absolute TRUTH!!!

If church was just a place where we could all come and hold hands and sing nice songs and love everyone regardless of their stubborn disobedience and rebellion from God, the church would be packed with people!!! If the church was just a place where people could hold onto any false teaching they wanted, and we would never tell them they were wrong or being misled, the church would be packed! If this was a place where anything and everything was accepted and honored and praised, no one would ever be uncomfortable! And if Christians didn’t stand up for what they know is true, the world around us wouldn’t have any problem with us at all.

But the minute we claim to believe something that is true and try to stand up for this truth in the world that surrounds us, get ready for a fight. The world loves to be loved, and hates to be told it is wrong. We are called to LOVE first, but it would be completely UNLOVING if we didn’t share the saving truth with the people around us.

 
Salty Salt
I think Jesus knew this a long time ago and used these two illustrations to encourage and challenge us. Think about it for a minute. Jesus calls us to be salt. Yes it is true that salt can make things tasty, and our love for others should ‘flavor’ our environment and be the source of all that is beautiful in our world. But you know that salt can also sting! Ever get salt in your eyes or in a wound? It really hurts! Yes, we are called to love the world around us and give it flavor, but we are also called to the holiness and truth of God and this truth might sting when we share it with the lost world around us! We are called to balance these two sides of our Christian lives, just as mercy and justice are balanced in the nature of God.

Glaring Light
And think about light for a minute. It can show us things we’ve never seen before, like a flashlight. It can also serve as a beacon to guide us home. God’s love does that for us as well, and when we love others, we have the opportunity to lead them to a new life in Jesus Christ. But light can also expose what we are doing or who we really are. In this sense light is often something that is avoided by the world. Truth has the ability to expose us for what we really are, and we often don’t want anyone to know the truth about that. Light too has the ability to save us or expose us to the harsh truth. Once again we are called to balance these two realities about light; to balance the godly attributes of love and truth, reflecting God’s nature of Mercy and Justice.

 
The Roll of the Law
Now let’s look at the last part of this section and try to understand the Total Truth that Jesus is trying to tell us:

 
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. 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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.

 
The Law has a roll to play in our lives. So many Christians have perverted the Gospel of Grace. Since they know that Good Works are not a requirement for their Salvation, they think they can do just about anything they want and get away with it. But all of us know that our love must be EXPRESSED in order to truly be called LOVE (and be recognized by others).

How Do You Show It?
Let’s say you have someone you love. You want to show them that you love them. So, what do you find yourself doing? Well, if you are like most of us, you learn something about what is important to them so you can do something nice for them. If you are dating someone and you know that person REALLY likes the beach, you might plan a romantic dinner at the beach! If you have a relative who really likes pink sweaters, you might go out and purchase a pink sweater for him or her to show them that you love them!

The point is, that we show our love for someone by doing two things. First, we learn what it is that the person we love really values, and second, we go out and either do that thing or get that thing of value! Well the more we get to know God, the more we understand what He values. In fact, he has given us a detailed list of what is important to him. It’s called the LAW! If we really love God, we’ll give Him what he really loves, obedience to the LAW. We don’t do it SO that he’ll love us; we do it BECAUSE we love Him!!!

That Stuff Doesn’t Save Us!
Jesus is clear here that our good works DO NOT save us, but simply give us a way to show God that we love him. Notice what Jesus says here:

 
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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.

 
Jesus is talking about the behavior of those who have already surrendered themselves to Jesus as Lord. These folks are saved by their faith alone. Now he calls us to show God that we love him in a way that is natural for anyone who really loves someone. We are to give God the things that are really valuable to Him, upholding his Holy LAWS! How do I know this is true? Well, take a look at the passage very closely. Notice that both those who find themselves breaking the commandments and those who practice and teach the commandments are BOTH in the kingdom of Heaven. Both are still saved. But notice also that those who break the commands are called LEAST! While both groups are saved, one group is REWARDED more than the other!

You Know How That Feels
That is something we can recognize and understand. We all have an experience with reward. We all know that true love is not based on acts or stuff. If your mom really loves you, she will not disown you if you don’t get her the pink sweater. You’ll still be her son or daughter. But if you do get her the pink sweater, she is likely to give you a kiss! In both situations you are still the child of your mom, you can’t lose that, but in one situation you might receive the reward of the kiss.

Our relationship with God is very similar. Jesus wants us to understand the Total Truth. He wants us to know that we are called to live a life of LOVE and TRUTH, of MERCY and JUSTICE, perfectly blended to represent the true nature of God. That won’t be easy. There will be many times each day when we will fail and fail miserably. There will be days when we just won’t feel like even trying at all. Jesus wants you to know that while you are still called to live a life that honors the LAW of God and recognizes it as TRUTH, he still loves you enough to forgive you when you fail. You are no less saved. But our LOVE for God should motivate us to please him. That is the Total Truth.