Christian Counter-Culture: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (John Stott) Part 3

This chapter looks at the whole concept of Christians being salt and light to the world. Lots of details here and more challenges to bravely face.

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"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, 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 in heaven.

Matthew 5.13-16 (NRSV)

Notes from my HarperCollins Study Bible

• Behaviour matters.

A Christian's influence: salt and light.

• Beatitudes = essential character; these metaphors = influence for good in the world.

"This must be your only retaliation: love and truth for hatred and lies." (Rudolf Stier)

Salt and light are indispensable household commodities. (p.58)

• Salt is both a way to enhance flavour and a preservative.
• The church and the world are distinct communities. We are related to each other, but we are different, separate. God created all of us but we are not all His children.
• The world is dark; it needs light (Christians) to illuminate it.
• The world is in a constant state of deterioration; it need salt (Christians) to stop this loss.
• Parallel statements: affirmation followed by a condition that is necessary to retain the affirmation

The salt of the earth.

"Be a moral disinfectant in a world where moral standards are low, constantly changing, or non-existent."(R.V.G. Tasker)

• Salt is always salty, but it can be contaminated--which makes it useless or dangerous.
• Christian saltiness = character as per Beatitudes.
• Resistance is necessary; don't be assimilated by the world!
• Our influence is dependent on our distinctness, not our similarities.

"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 it may hate it at first. (Dr Lloyd-Jones)

The light of the world.

• Jesus is the light of the world, but so are we, because of Him.
• Our good works are to bring glory to God, and our good works are our whole lives: everything we say and do.
• Rise from love and faith both.
• Practical, visible deeds of compassion.
• Be a light, let it shine. Don't hide it.
• Don't pretend to be anything other than what you are.

Lessons to learn.

• Fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians, between the church and the world.
• Minimizing or eliminating this difference serves no one.
• Constant tendency to conform to the surrounding culture, just like Israel before us.
• We have a responsibility.
• We are salt and light, and so we must follow through.
• Offer a different path to the disenfranchised, the alienated, those who are being ideologically captured and becoming revolutionaries.
• We are not helpless or powerless; we have Christ!
• Our responsibility is twofold.
• Arrest decay; bring light to the darkness.
• When people reject God, God rejects them and society deteriorates.
• When society goes bad, don't despair or blame society for it, because obviously we haven't been doing our job properly.
• We need to be a part of secular society, but also different from it.
• Be courageous and condemn evil.
• True Christian witness will naturally hurt--how could it not, with the message of God's judgment and grace at its heart?
• Stand boldly for truth, for goodness, for decent behaviour.
• Deeds and words are vital.
• The state and the family should be preserved and operated with justice.
• Yes, help those damaged by society but also look to the causes of that damage.
• Better social structures are needed.
• We should be conscientious citizens.
• Improving society = love.
• The truth of the gospel is the light we bring to offer regeneration to the world.
• We have both social and evangelistic responsibilities.
• Our influence depends on our character.
• The Beatitudes set a high standard!
• We are blessed through righteousness.
• The world is best served through righteousness.
• God is glorified through righteousness.
• The Christian counter-culture "brings blessing to us, salvation to others, and glory to God. "(p.68)

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I'll probably get really deep into this later, but for now I want to say that I think it's really important for us to hold to the standards Jesus set before us, and that yelling at people that they're going to hell because they keep sinning and sin is bad actually is not how we do that. At all. That's how you get labelled a hypocrite. Because it's hypocritical to yell at people about sin when you are also a sinner and sin is sin is sin is sin.

It's only through Christ that we are able to trust that we will someday be like Him, be truly righteous and holy and recognized as belonging to Him.

Peace & Blessings.