Key Verse: Matthew 5:16
I. The world can be divided into two kinds of people..
A. First, there are the believers who in the Beatitudes are called blessed
(makárioi), indwelt by God because of Christ (Matt. 5:3–12). They are the
people who realize their spiritual helplessness, show sorrow over sin, and
who are meek (or balanced between extremes), hungry for God’s righteousness,
merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, ridiculed, persecuted, or slandered
because of Christ. Jesus compares them to salt and light..
B. The other group consists of the unbelievers of this world. They are
proud, self–sufficient, and do not understand their own unrighteousness
before a Holy God..
II. The believer influences the unbeliever by what he is, not by what he
has..
A. Christ did not say, “You have salt and light to dispense,” but rather “Ye
are the salt. . . . Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14). The
believer’s very presence in the world acts as salt and light, preventing
corruption and exposing error..
B. Being blessed means having God’s nature within (2 Pet. 1:4). Because of
Christ, the believers are no longer “fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners” (1
Cor. 6:9, 10). Rather, they “are washed . . . sanctified . . . justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11)..
Indeed, they are “a peculiar people” (Titus 2:14) who are observed by
unbelievers. The word translated “peculiar” is perioúsios which means “who
constitute His possession.” It is the difference in their character which
distinguishes them..
C. The adjective makários (blessed) means not only indwelt by God because
of Christ, but also being fully satisfied. Having obtained peace with God
through Christ, the believer is more fulfilled than if he had all the world
as his possession (Matt. 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25). Seeing the believers’
contentment despite poverty and physical suffering, the unbelievers are
amazed (2 Cor. 6:10). It may even cause them to see their own lack of
spiritual security in spite of worldly goods (Rev. 3:17)..
III. The believer must interact with this world of corruption and darkness
in order to act as salt and light..
A. Just as salt is derived from the earth, so every believer is to remember
that he is earthly, epígeios (2 Cor. 5:1). However, in Christ he becomes
“free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). Thereby, he acts as a
preservative in the decaying world around him. Should he lose his
Christ–likeness, “his savor” (Matt. 5:13), he would no longer be of any use..
B. Likewise, the believer is light because Christ is the “light of the
world” (John 8:12). He can only reflect Christ’s light. Therefore, Jesus
admonishes him, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). One
day the total universe, kósmos (John 8:12), will be completely transformed
by Christ. The believer’s life should manifest the beginning of that
transformation..
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr.Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
