"Light"

Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 5?

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

That's page 760, 760 in the Pew Bible. This fall, we are continuing our journey through

the Sermon on the Mount to learn what it means to follow Jesus and to be distinctively Christian.

What does it mean to really follow Christ, to be His church, to be His disciples?

Well, Jesus teaches us that right here in Matthew 5 through 7. We're returning to verses 13 through 16

of Matthew chapter 5. Last week, Pastor Matt unpacked what it means to be the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Today, we're looking at the second half of that paragraph where Jesus says,

you are the light of the world. So let me pray, and then I'll read again verses 13 through 16.

Father, we ask for you to be making yourself and your word clear and understandable, not just to

our minds this morning, but to our hearts and to our wills. Lord, we want to be whole people,

holy following you. We know that we need your help, your grace to do just that. So help us now as we

come to your word. Would you give us clarity and would you give us conviction as we consider what

you're saying to us again this morning? Help us to see Christ most of all, our Savior, the light of the

world. In His name we pray. Amen. All right, Matthew 5, 13 through 16.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It's 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. I think it's worth remembering that the early Christian movement was small.

Yes, the crowds were growing at this point in Jesus' ministry, but the disciples, the followers

of Jesus at this point, were not many in number, and they were not wealthy or powerful or

all that influential. Doubts must have persisted among the earliest disciples whether their little

band of men and women could make any difference. What difference could a handful of fishermen,

a reformed tax collector, an ex-zealot, and a couple dozen other rural Galilean peasants make

in the cold, hard world? The Roman Empire, now there was power. Its military had conquered the world.

The religious establishment in Jerusalem, now there was influence. When they spoke, people listened.

What difference could this small band of Jesus' followers make in a world like that?

Now, from where we sit today, we know a bit of how the story turned out, don't we? The disciples

turned the world upside down with the message of the risen Jesus, and history shows us how Christianity

shaped the very warp and woof of our culture, of Western civilization, for example. For those of us

in the West, we can't really think about things like justice or education or government or law without

inevitably depending on the Christian tradition, even if we don't even realize it. By the way,

if you're interested in learning more about that, there's a book by a guy named Tom Holland called

Dominion, which is a really interesting account of that. But even if we sit in a different place after

2,000 years of history, I think we can still often feel very similar to those first disciples, can't we?

We can still feel doubts about whether or not we can make a real difference in the world.

What influence or impact can we really have?

Some of this doubt comes when we look at the world. The problem seems so great. The darkness seems

so dark. Some of this doubt comes when we look at ourselves. We see our own flaws, our own limitations,

the older we get. The older we get, we see our own inconsistencies, our own shortcomings,

the gnawing cynicism that grows the older you get. What difference can we possibly make?

But in our text today, Jesus looks at his disciples. Yes, small in number. Yes, neither wealthy nor

powerful nor significant by the world's standards. He looks at his disciples, a bit doubtful. They're a bit

afraid. He looks at them, looks at us, and he says, you, you are the light of the world.

Let that sink in. You, Christian, you are the light of the world.

Is that how you think of yourself? Or do you squeeze yourself into the world's mold?

Do you think of yourself only as what you can produce, only what you achieve, only how you

compare to what you see in marketing and in social media? Or do you see yourself the way Jesus sees you?

You are the light of the world.

Now, think with me for a minute. What does light do? What does light do?

Now, immediately we think, wow, light dispels darkness. And yes, that's true. But what does it do after it dispels darkness?

You wake up early in the morning, you see the sunrise, and yes, the darkness is dispelled. But then what?

What does the light do?

The light brings out the color in everything.

You see the green of the trees. You see the white of the clouds. The world comes to life with color.

This is something I learned from Beth, my wife, who was trained as a painter.

Light can play and shift in a thousand different ways and bring out the richness of what's right before your eyes.

And Jesus says, Christian, you are the light of the world.

You bring out what's possible, what's latent, what's hidden.

You make brilliant the world around you.

You are not your job or your grades or your bank account or your marital status.

You are light.

But your very existence in Christ is a thing of beauty that brings out the beauty in the world around you.

You're a redeemed child of God.

Notice in this paragraph, Jesus calls God our Father.

Now, that's the first time in Matthew's gospel when Jesus does that, and it won't be the last.

But that idea takes us right to the heart of the gospel.

How is it that we are the light of the world?

I mean, come on, that's a little much, isn't it?

The light of the world?

I mean, at best, like, maybe I'm a candle in my living room, right?

But the light of the world?

Yes.

The light of the world.

How?

How can that be?

Because of what God has done in the gospel for you and me.

See, the truth of the matter is, at one time, you and I dwelled not in light but in darkness.

A little earlier in chapter 4, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah.

When Jesus begins his ministry, when he began his ministry in Galilee,

that was the fulfillment of what Isaiah had said hundreds of years earlier,

that people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.

You see, what Isaiah is describing there is what's…

That's what's true of all of us in our sinful condition in Adam.

We dwell in darkness.

We're in a region of shadow and death where we didn't know God.

And the gods we thought we knew were idols of our own making.

But this is the good news.

Into our dark and sinful state, light has dawned.

Jesus came into our darkness.

In love, he pursued us into the region of shadow and death.

In the incarnation, the light entered the darkness, and as John 1 says,

the darkness did not overcome it.

But here's the really shocking thing about what Christ has done about the gospel.

The true light came into the world,

and though the darkness could not overcome it,

the true light was willing to be plunged into darkness for us.

At the cross, the Son of God died.

And what happened?

Do you remember?

Remember, the sky turned dark at midday.

The light willingly went into darkness so that those living in darkness could come into the light.

And not just come into the light, but become light.

You see, when Christ rose on the third day,

he accomplished the complete and utter forgiveness of sins

and the spiritual regeneration, the rebirth of all who believe in him.

Through faith, we're united to the one who said,

I am the light of the world.

And united to Jesus, the light of the world,

we now become light.

Through the Holy Spirit, God dwells in us.

We're partakers of the divine nature.

We've come out of darkness and into his marvelous light,

as Peter says, or as Paul says in Ephesians 5,

you've become light.

So, friend, are you in Christ this morning?

Have you given your life to him?

Have you confessed that he is Lord and God?

Do you know his grace,

his free forgiveness,

willingly purchased for you at the cross?

Do you know his unbreakable life,

demonstrated in the resurrection?

Have you surrendered to his love?

If so,

then you are what Jesus says you are.

Because Christ is in you,

and you are in him,

you are the light of the world.

That's what's most true about you.

What's most true about you is not your past,

not your flaws and failures,

not your family history.

Because of Jesus,

you are the light of the world.

Yes, you and I are imperfect.

Yes, we are flawed.

But the light of Christ shines through you

because he's willed it to be so.

What he promised through the prophets,

what he began in his incarnation,

what he accomplished in his death and resurrection,

what he announced at Pentecost

by the pouring out of his spirit through the apostles,

he's now chosen to continue to advance through you.

You're the light of the world.

Christ is in you,

the radiant hope of glory.

You are the brilliance

that will dispel the darkness

and bring out the beauty around you.

I know that sounds hard to believe.

I know we doubt it.

But it's what Jesus says.

And if the risen Lord has said it,

then it must be true.

Okay, let's go back to where we began.

Our doubts, our anxieties

about whether Christians can make any difference

in the world.

Can we, our little band of Christians,

make any difference in the world?

It's almost the wrong question.

Jesus says,

you're the light of the world.

You may feel small or insignificant,

but by your very existence,

you're bringing light into the darkness.

You are the sun rising on a world in darkness.

The church is the advance rays

of the coming day.

The first beams of sunlight

breaking over the horizon,

announcing that the sun will soon rise.

And the earth will be bathed in light.

It's not a question of whether Christians

can make any difference in the world.

The very existence of the church

is evidence that God's gospel

is making a difference in the world.

That the world is swept up

in His plan of redemption.

And it is coming to fulfillment

in His time.

So Christian, you are the light of the world.

Embrace this truth with all the dignity

and all the hope that it's meant to give.

And let your light shine.

That's the responsibility that we have,

by the way.

Jesus says it right here in verse 16.

You are the light of the world.

Now, let your light shine.

But how do we do that?

How do we live into this identity

that we have as the light of the world?

What does letting our light shine look like?

How do we apply this great truth?

Well, I think there are three things

that this text points us to.

How do we let our light shine?

And I think we see here

that we do it corporately,

and we do it practically,

and we do it doxologically.

So, that's the outline of the sermon.

If you're wondering,

where is this sermon going?

You're the light of the world,

so let your light shine corporately,

practically, and doxologically.

Okay, first, shine corporately.

You know, up to this point,

as we've been thinking about this,

it would be easy

to take everything we've said

about being the light of the world

in a strictly individualistic sense.

But we must not do that.

The dignity of the gospel

does reach to each of us personally,

but it's not individualistic.

It doesn't stop at the individual.

Jesus doesn't say,

you are the lights of the world,

as if we're just sort of

a collection of individuals.

He says, you, plural,

are the light of the world.

You're part of a body, a movement.

You are part of the church.

We need to think not just individually,

but corporately.

We let our light shine

first and foremost

in our life together.

I think Jesus again makes this point

in his first illustration.

He says, a city on a hill

cannot be hidden.

A city is a corporate identity.

We shine together as God's church,

and then it becomes unmistakable.

Unmistakable.

The greatest thing that the church

can do to influence the world

is to be the church.

If in our life together

we embodied joyful obedience

to God's commands,

if in our life together

we demonstrated the love,

the forgiveness,

the generosity,

the courage,

the truthfulness

that Jesus calls us to demonstrate,

then we would be as unmistakable

as a city on a hill.

And as weary travelers around us

dwelling in darkness

work their way through the valleys,

they just might see

that city shining forth

as a place of refuge and rest

in a place of safety

and warmth and welcome,

and they'll want to come inside.

You see, a healthy church

is the best hope

for a hurting world.

So as we let our light shine,

we must shine it corporately.

But second,

we have to let it shine

practically.

What is it that people see

when they see our light shining?

Well, in verse 16,

Jesus says,

let your light shine before others

so that they may see

your good works.

The church should be known

for its practical love

and not just for those

inside the church,

love for those outside

the church as well.

Who lights a lamp

and puts it under a basket,

Jesus asked in verse 15.

Of course, the answer is

nobody.

Nobody does that, right?

Nobody lights a lamp

and then immediately covers it up.

That's pointless.

It should be the same

with the church.

Of course, it can feel

safer and simpler

to just keep the light

to ourselves, can't it?

The world's dark.

The world's complicated.

It's messy.

So we can start to think,

let's just remove ourselves

from the world

and stick to ourselves.

But I like what one writer said.

He said,

putting a lamp under a basket

might keep it

from getting blown out.

But the price

for such protection

is darkness.

The church must

radiate beyond its walls.

You're the light

of the world.

And into the world

you must go.

Not to look just like the world,

not to imitate the world,

not to become darkness,

but to shine practically

the light of what Jesus calls

good works.

When the western half

of the Roman Empire

dissolved and collapsed

in the fourth and fifth centuries,

what did the church do

in response?

Interestingly,

in this time

of what seemed like

utter collapse

of civilization,

the church came forth

with some of its

most creative power.

in that time

when it seemed like

everything was crumbling

around them

and the world

as they knew it

was being totally

thrown apart,

it was the church

that began to develop

schools

and hospitals.

They began to create

institutions,

we might say,

that produced lasting good

for the lives of those

inside and outside

the church.

could we be living

in such a historical moment?

Rather than simply

denouncing the darkness

around us,

do we shine light

into it?

Do we think and act

creatively to serve

the common good?

Don't get me wrong,

evil should be named

as evil.

If the church has lost

its saltiness,

what good is it?

Have you ever just

eaten salt?

It hurts, right?

Like, who does that?

You know?

But after the sting

of the salt,

there has to be

the light of hope,

a light that lights

a different path,

a path of beauty

and life.

We can't just rail

against the moral evils

that we see around us

without then repenting

that we haven't

taken our light

into those places,

without then going forth

to try to think

creatively to construct

some kind of thing

that will create

some good there.

So we must let

our light shine

practically for the good

of our neighbors.

But lastly,

we must let our light

shine not just

corporately and practically,

but doxologically.

Now, what do I mean

by that?

A doxology is sort

of a praise, right?

I mean, the purpose

in letting our light

shine isn't so that

we are seen as great,

but so that God

is seen as great.

Let your light shine

before others

so that they may see

your good works

and give glory

to whom?

To your Father

who is in heaven.

At the end of the day,

it doesn't really matter

what people think of us.

At the end of the day,

most people aren't thinking

about anyone but themselves,

right?

At the end of the day,

it doesn't matter

what people think about me

or you

or Trinity Baptist Church.

It doesn't matter

what they think about us,

but it does matter

what they think about God.

Of course,

we want to be liked, right?

We want people

to love the church.

But what matters most

is what they think

about God.

And if our good works

can direct people's attention

to God

and to His beauty

and His glory,

then it will have been worth it.

But you know,

this sort of raises

an interesting question

at this point in the verse.

How will people know

when they see our good works

to give glory

to our Father in heaven?

Will they just sort of

naturally connect

those dots on their own?

Will they see Christians

doing good deeds

and say,

oh wow,

glory to God the Father?

I mean,

that's not what

my neighbors would do,

right?

They probably won't

connect those dots.

The only way

they'll know

to direct their praise

to God

is because

at some point

they've actually heard

the where

and the why

and the how

we do these good deeds

in the first place.

because we've actually

told them something

about the gospel.

We've actually

shined,

we've actually shown,

what's the right

conjugation of that verb?

We've shoned.

We've shined our light

in not just our life

but with our words.

We love God

because He first loved us.

We give generously

because God the Father

gave His own Son for us.

We forgive

because we've been forgiven.

We advocate

for the helpless

and the vulnerable

because when we were helpless

an advocate stood up for us,

Jesus Christ the righteous.

We're children

of a heavenly Father

who makes us reign

to fall on the just

and the unjust

and so we shine

our light into the world

not expecting praise

or accolades

but because we want people

to see how good God is

and we tell them so.

You know,

most of the time,

what can we expect

when we go forth

doing good works?

I mean,

the end of the Beatitudes

sort of says,

well, most of the time

or some of the time

or a lot of the time,

you can expect

misunderstanding

or even ridicule

but there will be times

Jesus promises

when they'll see

our good works

and give glory

to our Father in heaven

and we shine our light

into the world

not because we want praise

but because we want people

to see how wonderful God is.

So, you know,

in that sense,

in that sense,

our goal

in letting our light shine

is not at the end of the day

to change the world per se

but to change the worship

of the world.

we want the whole world

to know how great

our Heavenly Father is

and how great is His Son,

Jesus Christ,

our Lord.

And if going forth

doing good deeds

can help create conditions

where people are loved

and protected

and safe

and there are just things happening,

if that can give praise

to God the Father,

then we'll do it

for His sake,

for His sake.

And seeing that spread

of the worship

of God the Father,

that's our greatest motivation.

That's our greatest motivation

for what we might call

the mission of the church.

That's what takes us

out of the church walls

shining our light

to the end of the street

and to the ends of the earth.

The glory of God.

God.

And you know,

make no mistake about it,

the scope of our calling

as a church

is global.

It's worldwide.

You're the light of the world,

Jesus is.

And at the end of Matthew's gospel,

Jesus will commission the church

to go to the ends of the earth

with the gospel

to make disciples

and to bring glory

to God the Father.

So there's a bit of a call

at the end of this passage.

What will you do

to advance

this light-bearing mission?

All of us should begin

where we are.

But all of us should pray

if God wants to keep us

where we are.

Pray if there's a place

where God's light

needs to shine

to which He's calling you.

to be a place

to be a place

to be a place

in the future.

Perhaps it's a professional field

in desperate need of light.

Many of you are here

in New Haven

to study,

to prepare for your vocational life,

whatever that might be.

Are you praying for God

to give you a vision

and wisdom

for how you might be used

to bring glory to God

in your field

among the people

that make up your field,

among the institutions

that make up your field?

Perhaps God's calling you

to a neighborhood

in our city

where light needs to shine.

How will you go

and let your light shine

so that people

will see your good works

and give glory

to your Father in heaven?

Perhaps it's not just

a profession

or a neighborhood

here in New Haven,

but perhaps it's

a people group

in the world

that's not even yet

heard the gospel.

Maybe God's calling you

into that great work

of global gospel mission.

Or perhaps closer to home,

God's calling you

to a family down the street

that's not yet heard

the gospel.

You are the light

of the world.

Let your light shine.

Let the brilliance

of Christ in you

bring out the beauty

of the world

God is calling you to.

And may God get all the worship

He so rightly deserves.

Let's pray together.

Father, we pray

that you would encourage

our hearts.

Lord, often the task

feels so daunting before us.

We can see how broken

and difficult things

are around us.

And yet thank you

for the bracing confidence

that we hear

in this passage

that you've promised us.

That as we let our light shine,

others will see our good works

and give glory

to you, Father in heaven.

Help us not to lose confidence

in your promise

that this is so.

And would you be directing us

how we might use

the gifts,

the talents,

the abilities,

the desires

that you've given us

to see more and more

of your light shine.

God, the last thing

we want to do

is take this great light

that you've given us,

that you've made us into

and hide it

because we're afraid

or because we're distracted.

Lift up our gaze, God,

to the beauty,

to the adventure

that you're calling us to

as your church.

And would we follow you

and let our light shine.

In Jesus' name, amen.