This week's Bible Study - October 14, 2007
High-Impact Believers
 Background Scripture:
Matthew 5:13-20
Quote of the Week:
“The world of crime is a last refuge of the authentic, uncorrupted, spontaneous event.”
-- Daniel Boorstin
A number of surveys have been taken in the past to identify religious
beliefs of people. Many people claim to be Christian - many more than
what would normally darken a door to a church on any given Sunday. The
views of what a Christian really is must vary from person to person.
However, it matters less what a person actually thinks and more what
actually is. We could all add two numbers. If we came up with
different results, would it mean that we were all right? Obviously, two
plus two is always four, even if you really wanted it to be five.
The term Christian was first used in the church at Antioch - and it
literally meant 'little Christs'. Today, some think it means they live
in America, a 'Christian' nation. Some think it means you attend a
church or believe in God. Some think it means you believe that Jesus
existed. However, what really matters is what the Bible says. The
Bible is our standard and source of truth, even when we may think or
feel differently.
What does it mean to be a Christian? What distinguishes an authentic
Christian from one who is only acting? There are facts that a Christian
must believe, but it has to be more than simply head knowledge. A
Christian believes that all have sinned, and that there is a penalty for
sin. A Christian acknowledges that they are unable to stand before God
on their own, in their own goodness. A Christian acknowledges that
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, truly existed in human form on this earth,
living a sinless life and paying the penalty for sin on the cross. A
Christian accepts that Jesus has become the substitute and allows Jesus
to become the Savior and Lord of their life. I believe that there are
folks who will mentally assent to those statements, but they've only
said the words. An authentic Christian is impacted in the core of their
life and shows tangible evidence of their faith in Christ, in the way
they choose to live their life.
Jesus uses some metaphors to describe the life of a believer. The
first, shown in this passage, is salt. A Christian is the salt of the
earth. What is salt used for? Most people will think of salt as adding
flavor to food. Those of us with high blood pressure tend to stay away
from too much salt, but a little salt does improve the taste of many
foods. However, salt has been used throughout history as a preservative
for many foods, such as meat. The characteristics of salt were
different than the food and it acted as a preserving agent. Without the
effect of salt, meat would rot and would need to be thrown away.
Obviously, Jesus is not saying that Christians add flavor to food, or
that Christians would keep meat from rotting. If you lose power with a
freezer full of meat, you probably wouldn't call all of your Christian
friends to come over and hold the meat, so that it doesn't go bad,
right?
In the time of Christ, as in the time of today, the world is rotting
away. Given to their own devices, mankind eventually destroys one
another. You can open any major city newspaper and find numerous
examples of a lost world in how people deal with others, what people say
about others, the different types of crimes and perversions that exist
and how a general depravity of life has become more and more acceptable.
As believers, we have been changed - we are new creatures, yet we live
in the old world with our old tendencies still alive.
We must be careful in at least two ways. First, we must realize that we
should not hole up in our homes and only be around other believers to
avoid the world. Granted, sometimes that might seem like a good idea.
Just form a monastery of sorts and isolate ourselves from the world.
However, in the analogy of salt, what good is salt if it is not rubbed
into the meat that it is meant to preserve? Secondly, we need to
realize that though we live in the world, we are not to become of the
world. Our values and ideals and standards are not that of the world -
but the more we become part of the world, those values tend to be
altered. We can see the things that become more important to our
society - and if not careful, they become our goals. If you watch
commercials or not, or if you look at any type of advertising, you will
see a general push towards materialism, and the desire to have more. We
weren't created to have more, and if that becomes what the body of
Christ looks for, we've lost some of that distinctiveness.
Realistically, what difference can you make? Just as salt needs to
rubbed into meat to be effective, you need to have relationships with
non believers, so that you can have an impact on their lives. Think
again of what salt can do - it can preserve - the Christian impact on
our secular society can be huge. It may be a cause of irritancy at some
point, but we are called to follow Christ and not to be 'one' with
society. Salt is also used for flavor. You can surely find examples
of happiness outside of Christians, but I would say that you will never
find the joy outside of Christ - it is independent of circumstances.
Even when we fail and suffer consequences, God still gives us joy and
offers hope to us - and to those around us. Salt has many other
benefits, but one last one we will discuss is that is causes a person
to become thirsty. As we have relationships with nonbelievers, they
will see a difference, and while you may not notice it for quite a
while, there will come a time when life bears down on them. When that
time comes, they will recall your life and they will begin to thirst for
what you have. Are you being salt to those around you?
The next analogy that Jesus used was that of light. We are to be the
light of the world. Jesus talked about the city on the hill that could
not be hidden, because of light. If you have driven at nighttime, you
have a very good idea of when you are coming upon a city. The light
penetrates the darkness. Jesus also talked about lighting a lamp in
your house and letting it shine, as opposed to hiding it. Light it
often disregarded until it is not available. We live in well lit homes
and most of our neighborhoods have street lights, lighting up the night.
However, when the electricity goes out at night, you begin to appreciate
light. When I went on my last mission trip to Vancouver, I waited
until the night before the trip to pack. A storm came through, soon
after it got dark and we lost our lights. Packing for a longer trip in
the dark is not very fun. Even with a flashlight.
Have you ever considered why it is called a flashlight? Assuming it is
powered with working batteries, a beam of light from a flashlight will
always penetrate darkness. In the middle of the day, there is no such
thing as a flashdark, emitting a beam of darkness. Light always
penetrates darkness. As light penetrates darkness, so are believers to
penetrate the darkness of the world. I've had non believing friends
who went to church with me, but they thought the walls would crumble.
Darkness never overcomes the light - the church walls were fine.
Think of the different types of light for a moment. We've already
talked about streetlights and city lights and flashlights. However, in
your home and in other areas, you can think of different types of light
that are appropriate. If you are working with metal, a welding torch
provides very intense light. If you going into a dark basement, the
most appropriate light may be a soft light. If you open your
refrigerator, you need a fairly bright light to see what you have. If
you are going to have enough light to walk around your house, you need a
different amount of light than if you were going to read. If you have a
front porch light, you need a different light, or if you drive at night,
your headlights need to be bright enough to illuminate the roadway. I'm
sure you can think of even more types of light.
Jesus is saying we need to be light, but in saying so, I believe that we
are to all be different types of light. Just as a welding torch is not
appropriate to light up a dark basement, not all light is the same.
This is an area where Christians start looking at their own gifts or
something about their own life and belittling someone else who isn't the
same. This is a wrong attitude, similar to the Pharisee who prayed,
thanking God that he was not like the beggar. God places us all in
different positions, around different people. What we all, as
believers, need to do is to be the light that God has given us, but what
is very detrimental is if we think we are all the same light. Source
source of light, yes, but different types of light. There are some who
may be more like the nightlight - but their source of light is very much
appreciated - and they still shine. Others may be like the welding
torch, on the front line of evangelism - and their light is required for
the job.
Jesus tells us that we are to let our lights shine before men, so that
they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Are you
shining your light? Are you pointing others to Christ?
Jesus also wanted to let his followers know that he was not intending to
do away with the Law and the Prophets. His purpose was to fulfill them.
There is a tendency among some people to think that Christianity is an
easy believism religion. You accept Christ and you basically have
yourself covered. There are no rules for living any more - just go and
do what you want and live it up. However, Jesus Christ was the
fulfillment of the law.
The purpose of the law did change. It was originally intended to show
what God required of man, and the main point was that man could not
adhere to what God required. The penalty for not following God's
resulted in a series of sacrifices to wash away sins. It never made man
complete - it was temporarily getting the relationship with God back
together. Christ paid the ultimate penalty to restore our relationship
with God.
However, even though the Law is not used in the same manner anymore, the
standards of life are still applicable. God didn't provide an arbitrary
set of rules for us to follow, just to show we couldn't. The law
provides the keys to life - if you think of the 10 Commandments - what
problems would be averted if we didn't break any of those?
The danger we have today is on both sides. There is a push towards
legalism, that, although we are forgiven and cleansed by the blood of
Christ, people will continue to have a dogged adherence to the law. The
problem is that there law continues to expand to the point of not being
able to follow. Legalism robs the sense of freedom in life. The other
side involves those who start to change the laws, so that they are more
achievable. This is basically following the trends of society and
changing 'God's' ways to match. In the end, none of us can adhere
perfectly to the law. But, our inability to adhere should never drive
changing the standard. Jesus has some stern warnings to those who
neglect God's word and teach it to others.
Closing
Would you classify yourself as an authentic Christian? Are you salt and
light to those you are around? If you did a mini-survey of your
neighbors, family, friends and co-workers, what would they say? For
some reason, I think we're missing it a little if at least somebody
doesn't classify us as a kook! As true believers, we probably do cause
some amount of irritability in others who are opposed to Christ.
What are you striving for in life? Sometimes, I think of a dartboard
on a wall. When people throw darts, they are aiming at the board.
However, they don't always hit the board. Should they move the board?
I've been bowling with people who consistently roll the ball down the
right hand side. Maybe they should play a new game that has all of the
pins stacked up there. I guess that there is a key point here. You
play any sport and you strive for the same goals. When you start moving
the goal to be what you can easily reach, you've changed the game. Who
are we to change the game? Just like in any sport, there are sometimes
failures. In a baseball season, only one team wins the World Series -
most people forget who they played against. But, the next season, all
of the teams start back up.
As you and I go through life, there is something we strive for. There
will be times where you won't hit what you aimed for. Will you stop?
Or, will you keep going? And, what about others? What about those who
have failed in their past - what to do with them? Should they be
exempt from getting back in the game? The thing I've learned multiple
times in my life, unfortunately, is that when I have failed, I grow the
most in my spiritual walk. God speaks to me in those times in ways that
I would never have understood in previous times.
Let us live as authentic believers and seek to follow God all the days
of our lives.
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