Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-16 (main)

Title: How to Live out the Beatitudes Today

Heavy credit: David Platt and Douglas Sean O’Donnell (See below for bibliography)

Summary of passage: Coming out of who Citizens of the Kingdom are in the beatitudes, Jesus describes what those citizens get to do in a dark and tasteless world.

Bottom Line: Jesus follows how to BE like Christ with how to DO like Christ. (Fruitfulness Matrix) (draw?)

Discussion questions for group and personal study.

Reflect and Discuss in your groups:

1. British pastor and author John Scott said at the Cape Town Lausanne Conference, “The greatest hindrance to the advance of the gospel worldwide is the failure of the lives of God’s people.” What do you think about John Stott's claim? Do you agree or disagree, and why?

2. Where do you see decay around you? Where do you see darkness?

How can you be salt and light in these places?

3. What is the connection between the Beatitudes and Jesus's call in verses 13-16?

4. How does a pure life impact our witness to the gospel? How might impurity also affect our witness?

5. What might it look like for your life to be "useful" in the kingdom?

6. What are some ways we can lose our saltiness and become useless in the kingdom of God?

7. How does this passage command and inspire international missions?

8. How do many Christians hide their light under a basket? What causes us to do that?

9. How does the light of the Christian lead to God's glory?

10. Consider the questions at the end of this chapter. Which strikes you as most convicting? Why?

Final Questions

• What is God saying to you right now?

• What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Opening to Sermon:

There is a salt and pepper shaker collection in our home that has generated much conversation over the years.

• Who gets them when mom kicks the bucket?

• Why are the ones on the table always empty?

• Which ones will we use next?

• Who gave us that set?

Use matzah to help people taste no salt. As each person comes into the room, give out to each person along with a slip of paper that says:

This cracker is to eat at sometime in this service. The explanation will come during the message. Feel free to eat it now or when I explain it in the message. God bless you.

The idea will be to show people a sample of how bad tasteless is.

We move from the beatitudes where Jesus describes to us what his people look and act like. We get more detail to this as we work through the entire sermon on the mount. But Jesus laid the foundation in verses 1-12. We’ll pick this up in v. 13 but I’m going to start reading in v. 10.

In v. 13-16 we’re going to answer the questions that Jesus answers on behalf of his fellow Kingdom citizens:

1. Who am I? (In light of being a kingdom citizen), and

2. What do I get to do as a kingdom citizen?

““You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:13-16‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.13-16.NIV

Notice right away that the words “You are” are grammatically emphatic. Jesus says what is true. You can reject it or you can believe and embrace it. But he says what is true. In Christ, you are salt and light. The question is, do you receive and believe this? (John 1:12)

Once again we see that Jesus acts as one with “All Authority.” This series is called “All!” because Matthew wants us to see that Jesus has all authority so that all nations will give him all of their allegiance. This is seen throughout the book of Matthew.

1. Who am I? What do I get to do?

   1. This is a question of identity. We ask this question more than we think. Because intuitively we know that what we do flows from who we believe we are. Not necessarily from who we want to be or someone tells us we are. But who we really believe we are. This is why faith is so important.

   2. Also, it’s not you CAN be salt and light. You ARE salt and light. You have all that you need in Christ to do what these imply you can do.

   3. Jesus answers this question in 2 ways using metaphor:

      1. We are the salt of the earth.

         1. Why salt? Salt can do a lot of things. One commentator listed 11 things that salt does. But I agree with Hughes who tells us the passage gives us the one that matters to Jesus here. Salt flavors things. Salt is NaCl and it flavors things. Which is why you don’t usually choose to eat unsalted food. (Health reasons not withstanding)

         2. Warning: Don’t lose your saltiness (i.e. usefulness—flavoring power)

         3. Our flavoring power is a metaphor for us to bring flavor of Christ into our world. Now we still acknowledge that flavor can be received one of two ways:

            1. Some will like it.

            2. Some will hate it.

            3. People respond to Christ in one of two these ways when he confronts them with the gospel.

               1. They gladly receive it or

               2. They reject it.

      2. We are the light of the world. “This little light of mine” (sing?)

         1. Why light?

            1. Jesus said he is the light of the world in John 8:12. So why this? Jesus chooses to reveal himself to the world through his people. This is his strategy of blessing the world through us to bless us in the process.

            2. Light does a lot of things too. But again context pushes towards the more obvious thing: Light shines. Light illuminates.

         2. Warning: Light was meant to be seen. Therefore, don’t hide it. This implies we will be tempted to not “let” our light shine. If we don’t, what happens?

            1. Good works don’t happen in our world in and through us. (Sin)

            2. God doesn’t get the glory (light!) he deserves and uses to bless.

2. How does this fit with 1-12? When we live this way—meaning it’s the pattern of our lives—we will be persecuted.

   1. Ex. When a husband loves and serves his life well in another country where maybe men don’t typically do that, he will stand out.

      1. Some men will make fun of him and even be angry with him for suggesting this is appropriate.

      2. Some men will see the good in it and change. Maybe even repent and believe.

3. Imagine a church—or a movement of churches—where everyone lived salty, bright lives in dark places! Boy wouldn’t they stand out! Like a bright city on a hill!

   1. And yes there would be fireworks! Some would lead to peace-filled lives.

   2. And some would lead to conflict where we’d have to love our enemies publicly.

   3. But both would bring glory to God.

Conclusion

“David Brainerd, missionary to the American Indians, died at the age of 29. Reflecting on his life and calling from God, he said, Here I am, Lord, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth! send me even to death itself, if it be but in thy service, and to promote thy kingdom. (Edwards, Life of David Brainerd, 224)” —Akin, p. 21

“Ion Keith-Falconer (1856-1887) was a Scottish missionary and Arabic scholar who died at the age of thirty-one. He won the world cycling championship in 1878 at the age of twenty-two but would leave all that behind and go to Egypt and later Yemen as a missionary for Jesus. He died from malaria after being married to his missionary wife Gwendolen for only three years. In the preface to his biography, Robert Sinker wrote,

A career of exceptional promise was early closed in the death of Ion Keith-Falconer. The beauty of his character, his ardent missionary zeal, his great learning, form a combination rarely equaled. . . . How noble a life his was. (Memorials, v)

What was it in this man that would cause him to give up all for the glory of King Jesus and the lost among the nations? I suspect it was this conviction buried deep in his heart that settled the issue:

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light." As was true of Ion Keith-Falconer, may it also be true of us: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine!" —Akin, p. 22

References/Bibliography:

“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes

“Matthew” by RC Sproul

“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)

“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)

Outline Bible, D Willmington

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)

ESV Study Bible

ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)

"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey

“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson