Sermon Series: “Light of the World”
(Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee)
Matthew 5:14-16 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Introduction: Darkness
Perhaps many of you have been affected by the description of the attack of the terrorists in Russia this last week. Apparently more than 200 children lost their lives in this horrific situation. The world that we live in is a dark place. We could look at many other current events or things that have happened in past years in order to illustrate this point. I think of a passage I was recently reading in Matthew’s gospel. A man with a shriveled hand was healed by Jesus, and Christ’s enemies wanted to kill the Healer. Listen to these two verses (Matthew 12:13-14). “Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” Darkness. Lots of it. Is there any way out of it?
Our Text: “You are the Light of the World”
You – When we look at the context of these words we see that Jesus is teaching His disciples in the hearing of a larger crowd. It is very clear that the “you” here are the faithful who hear the word of God, believe, and follow Jesus Christ. The church is to be the “you” in this saying of the Lord. There has to be some contrast between the “you” and “the world” in this passage, or it does not make any sense (See Heidelberg Catechism 86).
The World – If the church is commanded to be the light of the world, what is meant by the word “world?” The Greek word here is “cosmos.” It is used in Scripture to speak of the “world, world order, universe, world inhabitants, mankind (especially of men hostile to God)… or a way of life (especially as opposed to the purpose of God).” This is what you as the church have come out of through the Word of God and the work of the Spirit of God. You were once against God and His ways, but now you love God, and are thankful for the cross of Christ, and rejoice in His resurrection. You were in the world, but now you are in the church. We see this contrast between the church and the world in so many places in the Bible. Luke 16:8 distinguishes between “the people of this world” and “the people of the light.” In John 3:19-21 the contrast is between “men” who have “loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil,” and the one who “lives by the truth” and therefore “comes into the light, so that it can plainly be seen that what he has done has been done through God.”
Now we have to note that people are very uncomfortable with this kind of distinction in our day. It sound too much like “us” and “them” for our present sensibilities. The solution is not to pretend that there is no difference between the church and the world, but to admit that all of us in the church have come from the world. With that humility in our hearts, the solution is to be the light of the world.
The Light of the World – What does it mean that you in the church are the light of the world? It means that there really is a way out of darkness, and we testify that the Way has found us. We testify to this Light in the midst of a world full of darkness. There is a Way out, and that Way is through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Here again, we have come upon something that is very unpopular in our day. How could it be that Jesus Christ is the only way to the purpose, freedom, and assurance that God provides for us? How could this be when there are so many other religious perspectives? The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world, and that He has chosen to shine His light through the church. Jesus has made us to be the light of the world. Somehow through our lives, the reality of Christ as the only Messiah becomes visible and plausible. Somehow people see that the Lord is good – all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds and every kind of diversity that you are capable of thinking about – They are brought to say, I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.
Application: What a privilege! Isn’t it amazing that Jesus would use us! It is a staggering thing. How could it be, that we who were part of the world, would now be the light of the world? It is clear that Jesus is the answer. He is not just another religious leader. He is God made man. By the Holy Spirit, Christ, the Light of the World is in His church, and we are the light of the world. In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” In John 12:44-46 Jesus says, “When a man believes in me he does not believe in me only, but in the One who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
You must be in Christ. He is the source of all this glorious light for the world, and you need the glory of the Lord shining on you if you want to be the light of the world. He came as the long-expected Savior. In the words of Isaiah the Old Testament prophet, it is now high time for us to shine. He says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60:1-3). Do you see the reflected glory of the church in the brilliant radiance of Jesus Christ? More to the point of our text, does the world see the glory of the Lord shining in us.
The world must have you in view. Do you understand how this imagery works in our passage? If you are to be the light of the world, the world needs to be able to see you. This is something I will have more to say about next week, when we investigate the question of how we are to relate to the world. At a minimum, we need to note this morning that hiding from the world while we enjoy our friendships with one another in the church is no way for us to fulfill this central Christian mandate to be what we are – the light of the world. The reason for this is that in this world of darkness, the only hope for anyone is in Jesus Christ. Somehow people in a very secular age, where involvement in a believing church seems to make little sense – somehow unbelieving people need to be able to see your light. Your light cannot simply be that you are a good neighbor and a hard worker, as important as these things are. Somehow people need to see Jesus Christ.
Before we get frightened by the prospect that we are being called to be visible to a world that is hostile to God and opposed to His purposes, let’s remember what we concluded earlier. It is a tremendous privilege for the church to be the light of the world! Remember what I said about the terrorist attack in Russia at the beginning of this message? You know that there is great darkness in this world. You know that God has not placed you on this earth to simply complain about the world. He put you here to be a light of Christ as a part of his glorious church. It is a tremendous privilege for you to be a part of that endeavor! You see the mess. You want to help, don’t you? As you see people’s lives placed in danger from two hurricanes in Florida, you would love to do something to stop the wind and the waves that would assault their property and threaten their lives. What about the eternal danger of God’s judgment? The hurricane illustration falls far short for two reasons. One, there is nothing we can do to stop the weather, and two, the damage that a storm like that brings is only limited to this life. In the case of fruitful Christian living, we can do something today that will make a difference, and the rescue is from a danger that is eternal. There is a task ahead of us. If we are to make progress in this glorious task we will need some practical assistance. I have three practical thoughts for you on this. For these I am indebted to Randy Pope, the pastor of Perimeter Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.
Some practical assistance:
1. Prepare your heart. You need to consider whether you really want to be the light of the world. Do you want to be more fruitful in your contact with those who do not yet know the Way, the Truth, and the Life? We know that God is completely in charge of bringing people to himself. Have you begged God to give you a more fruitful life of shining forth the light of Christ in a dark world?
2. Determine your goal. Your goal needs to be in line with the great commission. We need to yearn for nothing less than disciples of Jesus Christ – people who have actually turned the corner, believed in Jesus as their Savior, and resolved to follow what He commands as their Lord. This must be your goal. It is great to simply be there with the world, and it is necessary. But it is not enough. It is great to speak with people about your beliefs, and it is necessary. But it is not enough. It is great to convince someone that Christianity is right, and it is necessary. But it is not enough. We must be satisfied with nothing less than the fruitfulness of God making disciples by shining His light through us.
3. Select a field. If you are going to be used by God as a light of the world, you need to have some field that you labor in. You are not going to be fruitful unless you are planting spiritual seed in some field. Have you selected a field where you can identify people, pray for them, and invest your time and love in their lives? If you say, “I think so,” that’s not really good enough. You need to be able to say, “Yes, absolutely!” It may be your work, a recreational interest, a civic involvement, a neighborhood, or some mix of individuals that you are concerned for.
Conclusion: An assignment – I want to leave you with that one assignment. Come up with some field where you can apply the things that I will be saying to you over the next two weeks. Remember that Christ, your Light, has shined His light upon you. Now is the time for you to shine. You are the light of the world!