Matthew 5
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
As a Christian you are a person of relationships. You wear many different hats. You wear the hat of a parent, you wear another hat at work, you wear another when you are playing on a sports team, another as a friend, another as a neighbor, and another as a driver.
Our relationship with Christ is to permeate every area of our lives. There Bible doesn’t teach that Christianity is worn like a coat of paint. We don’t have this thin layer of Godly attitude and action that gets scrapped off by every little thing that irritates us. In other words, veneer Christianity doesn’t cut it, we need hardwood Christianity…the grain of our faith needs to run all the way through our lives.
Jesus addressed the superficial godly paint that the religious leaders had in the first century:
Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
There is no place for whitewashed Christians. There is no place for my veneer.
The hats you wear are the hats of a:
· Christian parent
· Christian businessman
· Christian sports team member
· Christian friend
· Christian neighbor
· Christian driver
I have used hats as the way of recognizing that we have different relationships. That is what Jesus is addressing in Matthew 5. He addresses three relationships that all of us have. He gives us guidelines for each of those relationships.
1. How to relate to the world
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
As a Christian I am to be salt and light.
I want to give you three characteristics of each.
3 Characteristics of salt
· Enhances flavor
As a believer we are to bring flavor to the world. You have this incredible thing called the joy of the world. The wonderful thing about joy is that it is contagious…you my friend are a carrier. Start an epidemic!
· Preserves
Salt prevents decay…salt was a main ingredient in the Egyptians were mummification process. Prior to the days of refrigeration salt was used to cure and preserve meat. God is using you to preserve the world.
· Creates thirst
You can’t ingest very much salt without becoming thirsty. God wants to use you to create a thirst in others for Him.
3 Characteristics of light
· Dispels darkness
When the light goes on the darkness disappears because light drives out darkness.
· Illuminates
You can see things clearly in the light. Things obscure and unclear become understandable and comprehensible when they are brought into the light.
· Warms
When you open your blinds in the morning you know what happens; that light shines in and you feel the warmth of the sun.
When it comes to us relating to the world, we are salt and light. Jesus told us how our salt and light seen by the world.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
2. How to relate to the law
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let’s revisit the Law for a moment, and let’s be reminded of a few facts.
The Purpose of the Law
· To give God’s standard of behavior
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law . For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet."
· To help us to see our sin
Galatians 3:10-11 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident…
· To show us that we are guilty
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
· To point us to the Savior
Galatians 3:23-25 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law , kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
We are no longer under condemnation from the Law because we have been forgiven. Does that mean that we can tell people that adultery is permissible?
Or that you can steal?
Or that you can covet?
Or that you can lie?
That is not what verse 19 says:
“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)
God has not said that He has removed the standards of right and wrong, but He has freed us from the judgment breaking the Law brought us.
Galatians 3:13-14 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We are not cursed, we are blessed, and for us the law has been fulfilled, just as Jesus said in verse 17.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
Our relationship to the Law is one that says, “Thank you” for leading me to Christ, and “Thank you” for continuing to show me right from wrong.
3. How to relate to each other
We need continual help when it comes to our relationships with others. Just when we think we have it down, and we will never have a problem again with anyone ever, we experience a relationship breakdown.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.”
Whenever there is a problem between you and someone else…action needs to be taken, and you need to take the action.
You must always bear one thing in mind:
THE OBJECTIVE OF YOUR ACTIONS IS RECONCILIATION
The objective is not for you to save face
The objective is not for you to be proved right
The objective is not for everyone to recognizes what a good person you are
The objective is not to be able to blame the other person
THE OBJECTIVE IS RECONCILIATION
Listen to what Jesus taught about reconciliation:
Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”
It does not matter who started it. You are responsible for attempting to fix it.
Jesus told us in Matthew 18 that we are responsible for making three attempts at reconciliation
Matthew 18
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'
17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
Let’s look at each of the steps
3 attempts at reconciliation
Step 1 One on One
Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”
This first attempt is taken by you individually without anyone else knowing, and if the relationship is mended, then no one else ever needs to know.
Make sure you approach them the right way. Listen to what Paul wrote to Timothy.
2 Timothy 2
23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.
Don’t come in an accusatory and argumentative way.
24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
You must approach the other person in a gentle, patient, humble way.
26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
The last thing you want to see happen is for the enemy to take advantage of situation to permanently ensnare either of you with bitterness.
3 attempts at reconciliation
Step 2 Involve Others
Matthew 18:16 “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'”
A couple of things:
· This is the second step not the first.
When someone has hurt us we are quick to share that hurt with others. One of the problems with that is that if that person comes to us one on one, and we forgive them, the people you shared with are left holding an emotional garbage bag that they can’t seem to put down.
· You want these other two or three people to be people of character.
Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
· These two or three others are to be impartial
You are not to bring two or three of your closest friends.
Proverbs 24:23 It is not good to show partiality in judgment.
James 2:9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
3 attempts at reconciliation
Step 3 Involve the Church
Matthew 18:17 “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
The final attempt is when you get the church involved. The reason for this is because the church has authority that Jesus said is backed up from heaven.
That is why Jesus said these words next:
Matthew 18:18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Just always remember:
THE OBJECTIVE IS RECONCILIATION
But if the church has cut ties with him, how is that going to be something positive? Look at what happened to that man that was put out of the church because he was having sexual relations with his father’s wife:
2 Corinthians 2:6-8 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.
What was the goal?
THE OBJECTIVE IS RECONCILIATION
In the verses we read today Jesus talked to us about our relationship and specifically:
1. How to relate to the world
2. How to relate to the law
3. How to relate to each other