Matthew 5:13-14

The Importance of Every Word in Scripture

Friends, this is truth and love. We get a truth and love from Ephesians chapter four, verse 15, where Paul says, but speaking the truth and love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ.

So join me as we do that together, speak to the love and grow up in all things into Christ. He is our goal. He is the one we look toward to keep our eyes fixed toward heaven so that we may please him, so that we may enjoy him, so we may praise him.

Everything is about him. So that's what Ephesians 4 .15 is about, and that's what we want to be about. Thank you for watching. Thank you for your support. If you would give us a heart, a like, a comment, a share, I would really appreciate your help reaching our community in this way, in this type of venue and the marketplace of the world today, social media.

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Thank you for watching. Thank you for spending some time with me. I really appreciate it. We're just briefly going to look at two verses in Matthew tonight, Matthew 5, verses 13 and 14. Before I come on, I was thinking about the importance, maybe, of is this particular time together less important because I'm only looking at two verses rather than a whole section.

It occurred to me, even if we were just looking at one letter or one word, because it's from the God of the universe, it's the most important time that we could be spending together, the most important topic that we could be looking at.

I reoriented my thinking based on the object of our faith and where this word comes from. One jot, one tittle is more important than anything else in this world when it comes from the Lord. The verse that says, better is one day in your house than a thousand elsewhere.

That's where we would rather be is in his house, being his doorkeeper, looking at one jot or tittle of his word rather than anything else. We're going to glean the most from him. Let's just take a few moments to look at Matthew 5.

We're going to specifically look at verses 13 and 14, but I want to read the passage that we looked at last time to kind of lead up to 13 and 14 because I think, obviously, if you sit down and go through sections, go through books, you're going to read it in sequence.

You're not going to miss what was before and after. A lot of times when we do expository preaching or teaching and we do sections at a time, review is sometimes good because if we're just pulling out one section, we miss some of the context.

I don't want to miss the context of the passage that we're looking at. So Matthew chapter five, starting in verse three, and you'll be familiar with this as I read it. It says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In verse 13 and 14, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Oh, 15 and 16, excuse me. I wanted to go two more verses. Nor do men light up a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16, let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. I apologize. I wanted to do 13 through 16. And so, yeah, if you'll remember, we looked at, or if you've read this passage before, been in church at all at any length of time, you're probably familiar with what they call the Beatitudes, this beginning of Jesus' sermon where Jesus is talking about kingdom life, how he would have us to live, and what we've seen is that it's contrary to how the world lives.

It's contrary to how, hey, John, hope you're doing well. It is contrary to how the world lives, worldly wisdom, and so we're going against the grain when we live this way, and it talks about consequences when we live this way.

You'll be persecuted, or blessed are those who are persecuted. There's an expectation of persecution when you live this way, and blessed are you when men cast insults at you. So there's this expectation that when we are going against the grain, we are going to get a backlash.

We are going to see persecution. There's going to be the tension there between us and those of us who are not believers, those who are not believers, who are not in Christ, who are still living according to their own wisdom or the wisdom of the world.

There's going to be tension. There's going to be backlash and even persecution. The difficulty with this passage and other passages for us specifically is the place and the time, the location in which we live.

You can go around the world today and find places that are similar to what was going on in the time of the original audience. There definitely are places like that that you can find. But for us here where we live, I don't think that any of us, and I guess I'll just speak for myself, there is no way for me to even imagine what they would have been hearing, how they would have been processing this information because of the world that they lived in and what they knew they were going to be facing.

So when we read, blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, we think when we receive a little insult, blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely.

We can't comprehend what that meant to the original audience and what that means to folks who live in other places in the world who are, at this very moment, scared for their lives for the sake of Christ, for the cross, for the glory of God.

We can't even imagine what it would be like to stand in their shoes, to stand in their place. Here in their time, in first century, it was not a matter of personal insult. It was a matter of this is how things are.

And if you go against the grain, if you go contrary to our family, our religion, your friends, your culture, your customs, your society, if you go against that in any way, even in your family and how husbands and wives treat each other, how at that time the masters and their servants would treat each other, if you go against that and you go against the grain of that and contrary to that in that society, you're either out of the household or you are out, period.

You're put away from this earth. You are no longer breathing because you are going against religion, against family, against culture, against society. And so it's impossible for me to fathom how they would have been processing this information and what Jesus said that they would be going through and what our brothers and sisters are going through now in other parts of the world.

So it made me think about 1 Peter. I'm studying 1 Peter for an upcoming sermon, and it made me think about some verses in 1 Peter. I'm going to read them to you. 1 Peter chapter 4, starting in verse 3.

Take a look at these verses. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lust, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they beline you. But they shall give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

So we've got to keep that in mind. And that's what they were being encouraged to keep in mind. Here is how Christ wants you to live in his kingdom. And living that way will bring backlash, will bring persecution.

But we've got to think outside of what's in front of us. Yes, and here again, there's no way for me to imagine putting myself in that position to where this is how Jesus wants me to live. And if I live this way, this is what's going to happen to me.

I'm going to be cast out or even killed for my faith in how I live. But yet Jesus says, or Peter said in chapter 4 of 1 Peter, that there was a time for that, and you left that. And they are surprised that you don't run with them anymore.

So they malign you. But Peter says that they will be judged. So it helps to orient our thinking, to correct our thinking, to give us a confidence in the position that Christ wants us to be in. He wants us to live this way.

There's going to be backlash. Hey, happy, hope you're doing well, brother. There's going to be backlash because of how we're living. But keep this in mind that they will be judged. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.

I will repay. That's what he says. So move forward. Move forward in the light of they're going to be judged in their behavior. Whatever they do to you, God's going to handle it, either here now on this earth or later on Judgment Day.

And so we can keep that in mind. And I truly believe that Scripture teaches us that he will give us the grace. The Spirit is giving them grace that I cannot even fathom. Where our brothers and sisters are being persecuted now.

The Holy Spirit was given our brothers and sisters here in this first century grace that I can't fathom because of the backlash and the persecution of going against the grain of their religion, of their family, of their society that I can't.

And I'm sure many others here in this country that we live in can't even fathom. But God will give us because he's the one who placed us here. He placed us where we live. We couldn't control where we were born.

God put us here and he will give us the grace through his Spirit to live how he's called us to live in Matthew 5, 3 through 12. Bruno says, Bruno, I hope you don't mind. I'm going to put you up here on the screen if that's okay.

He says, you can't obey someone you don't know. And if we know him, we don't act gingerly. There is a sense of urgency in our lives because we know understanding carry the truth. Hebrews 10, 24, the day is drawing near.

Bruno also says he will give us grace and also strength to endure and persevere. Amen. Absolutely. And that's what we've got to hang on to that promise. Because if we step back and think about, as I was doing, the position that they were in and our brothers and sisters in who are in other countries, we can't fathom being in that position.

So we must anchor ourselves in the promise of that grace that he will give us, that strength that he will give us to endure and persevere. So here's the second thing, verses 13 through 16. The first thing was that sense of God's got this under control.

He will take care of this in his timing now or later on Judgment Day. But from 1 Peter 4, he will judge them. So we don't have to worry about that. Verses 13 through 16 in Matthew 5. Here's the other thing that Jesus wanted them to keep in mind.

Here's how I want you to live. It's going to be contrary. You're going to get backlash in every situation, wherever you are. And here's the motivation for living that way. Verse 13, you are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing except to be thrown down and trampled under the foot of men. So we are the salt of the earth, the thing that gives this earth flavor and preservation.

And Jesus is speaking of the earth. That's one of the main points that I wanted to make tonight. I'm sure you've heard sermons or Sunday school teachings or other teachings breaking down these verses.

But one of the main points that I wanted to make tonight is the fact that Jesus cares about his creation. And we see that in John 3, 16. For God so loved the world. And back when I was younger in my understanding of the sovereignty of God, I wanted to, I know that John 3, 16 wasn't a, it's not a verse that talks about the quantity of the gospel.

It's a verse that talks about the quantity or the quality of the gospel. For everyone who is believing, for God to love the world, that everyone believing in him will have everlasting life. We misunderstood this King James word, whosoever.

And so in the backlash of my being young and my understanding of the sovereignty of God, I wanted to make the word world. And of course, in the book of John, John does use the word world like around 14 different ways.

But I wanted to make the word world fit in my understanding of the sovereignty of God and election and predestination. But what I didn't realize is that the Greek word is cosmos. There's other Greek words for earth or world.

Oikomene is one of them. Oikomene is a more localized word. And you'll see that oftentimes when you're studying eschatology. But here it's not oikomene. It's not a localized thing. And it's not just talking about a certain race of people or a certain group of people.

Jesus says, for God so loved the cosmos, his whole of creation, that he sent his one and only son. What an amazing grace that is. And so there's something about his creation that he loves and he is preserving.

And here in his sermon in Matthew chapter 5, verse 13, you are the salt of the earth. That preservation of the earth. It's about evangelism. It's about souls. But it's about having dominion. Think about creation and the creation mandate.

Adam and Eve, they were to go subdue the earth. And how many souls were on the earth at that time? It was those two. So it wasn't about evangelism. It was about subduing the earth because God cares about his creation.

And he wants his people to glorify him through their work in creation. And so God is about preserving the earth, subduing the earth, bringing under the submission of Jesus Christ and the glory of God.

And so that was one of the main points that I wanted to make instead of breaking down these verses. So we are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

So we are to be shining that light of God's word, of the gospel, the good news of salvation, the good news of the kingdom as he is preaching here. You have to remember, we go back to Matthew 4, verse 23, and Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

So Jesus is preaching about the good news of the kingdom. That's what we are as the salt of the earth, as the light of the world. We are to be going out and preaching and teaching the good news of the kingdom, which includes salvation.

In Matthew, chapter 28, he's going to go to that again. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I've commanded you, and lo, I'm with you even to the end of the age.

So it's about preserving the earth, shining light of the kingdom of Christ over the earth. And here, this last point that I wanted to make, which is so foundational too, in verse 16, let your light shine before men.

And what's the light? The light is living, like verses 3 through 12 is teaching us to live. So we can talk about the light being the good news. We can talk about the light being the kingdom. But the light here in the context is you living out the kingdom in front of the world.

The context is the world, and the context is us living out the kingdom in the world. It says, let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

And when we think about glorifying God, we think about something that we desire to do. Sorry about the video. We think about it as something that we have a desire to do as Christians, as a positive thing, that we give God glory.

We do it in worship. We do it in how we live and how we breathe and walk and move. And everything that we do, we do it to give God the glory. But here it is unbelievers seeing our good works and giving God the glory.

So we know that there's going to be backlash. We know that there's going to be persecution, insults, all kinds of evil spoken against us falsely. So we know all those things are going to happen. And it's going to come from the world, unbelievers in the world, and they are the ones who are going to be glorifying the Father who is in heaven when they see our good works.

So what does that look like? I thought about a good example, and it's been, I can't remember exactly how long ago it was. Was it a month ago, two months ago? It was somewhere right in there when a group in the Middle East was firing missiles at Israel.

They were firing missiles at Israel. And the missiles were not reaching Israel. And I think a lot of it had to do with what they called the Iron Dome. So they were falling short. They weren't able to reach their target mainly because of the Iron Dome, from my understanding there in Israel.

And it's also my understanding, if the report is accurate, that there was a news report that this group that was attacking Israel, in their amazement that their missiles weren't reaching Israel, made the comment, their God is protecting them.

Their God is keeping them from the missile attack, basically. I can't remember the exact words. But that's what I think of when I heard that. This is the verse that I thought of. In principle, I think that's how it works in our lives.

They weren't glorifying God as in praising him for the work that he was doing protecting Israel at that time. They were just giving him credit. They were giving him credit because of the actions that were taking place.

And I think that's the principle that is occurring here. When we are shining our light into the world, living according to Christ, obeying his teachings, and the world sees our good works, they will give him credit.

How that works, what that looks like exactly, I'm not 100 sure. But I think that's the principle. They will see our good works, and they will give God the credit. Not that they have a desire to praise him, but they will be giving him the credit.

And that's what our lives should look like, and our motivation. Not to live in such a way that we are pointing to ourselves, giving ourselves credit, lifting ourselves up, but living in such a way that our desire is when the world sees our good works, they will give God the credit.

And whatever their motivation is, they may be even cursing God, but they are giving God the credit for your good works. They are seeing God through you and your good works, and your obedience to Christ.

Let me see what else Bruno says here, and then we'll wrap it up. Bruno says, that's right. Salt of the world, no half-stepping, let's live our lives sold out for our King and Savior Jesus Christ. Have we considered the cost, Luke language, no self-preservation, let's share it, let's live it out, and let the gospel go forth from us in all aspects.

Amen. 1 Thessalonians 1 -6 -8. And we have no need to say anything. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Bruno, for those comments. Thank you guys for watching. Again, if I can pray for you, I'd love to be able to do that.

Let me close this in prayer. Father, thank you for this time that we have together. Thank you for your Word, and showing us the importance of your Word. I know I don't give you thanks enough for the place and time on this planet that you have placed me, and the freedoms that we have, that we take for granted.

So Father, I thank you, and I praise you, and I pray for our brothers and sisters who are not as fortunate as we are, that are under persecution. I pray that you would grant them strength and grace for the hour, and if it be your will, Father, you would deliver them, those that want rescue, those that want out.

Father, I pray for their rescue. Father, will you let this Word abide in our hearts, and work itself out as we grow up in salvation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you guys for watching. I really appreciate it.

Remember that Jesus is King. Go speak with the authority of Christ. Live in the victory of Christ, and let's continue to go out there and share the gospel of Christ. I hope you have a good evening. Hope to see you soon.