Tag: Matthew 5

The Most Powerful Influencers

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Culture & Conviction, Faith & Discipleship, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

Matthew 5 puts Jesus’ people right in the middle of a watching world and says, “You are the light of the world.” Jesus does not say, “Go try to be light,” or “see if a little light can be brought in.” Jesus says that is who his people are because Christ is in them, just like he had already said they are the salt of the earth.

The influencer craze in today’s world shows how badly people want to be seen, followed, and known. Jesus takes that desire for influence and turns it toward the kingdom of God. The question is not whether somebody is influencing people, because somebody is always watching. The question is whether that influence is causing people to look at a life and glorify the Father in heaven.

The image of a city set on a hill makes the point plain. A city like that cannot be hidden, especially when darkness settles in and even a little light shows up from far away. Christ’s people are meant to be visible, not covert Christians, not “double o six” believers hiding behind private spirituality. The light is supposed to be seen, because God has pulled sinners out of a mess and put them on display as trophies of grace.

The lamp under the basket shows how foolish it is to hide what Jesus has lit. God puts the light in a person through the gospel, through repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The hard part is not making the light shine, because God does that. The hard part is getting self, attitude, pride, words, and behavior out of the way so the light can actually be seen.

The darkness of sin is pictured like a house after the power is gone, so black that a person cannot see even someone close by. Into that kind of darkness, the Spirit positions believers so the light reaches real people in real moments. Good works are not for earning salvation, proving greatness, or showing off Christian achievement. Good works are meant to open a window where people can see God and say, “Glory be to God.”

Jesus’ call ends with purpose. The light shines “in such a way” that people see the works and glorify the Father. The Christian life is not about living a best life, making a name, or becoming impressive. Christ lives his life in his people, and the right prayer becomes, not a desire to be a great Christian, but a surrendered desire for God to be glorified through whatever he wants to do.

Watch full sermon videos here: Salt and Light Sermon Series Videos

Key Takeaways
  1. Influence belongs to the kingdom Jesus does not leave influence in the hands of fame, platforms, and public attention. The believer is already shaping somebody’s view of God, whether that is intentional or not. Kingdom influence asks a better question than “Who is watching?” It asks whether the watching world is being pointed toward Christ or away from him.
  2. Light is identity, not performance Jesus says, “You are the light,” not “try harder until light appears.” That means the believer’s visibility begins with Christ’s presence, not personal effort or religious image management. The danger is not that the light is weak, but that self can stand in front of what God has already lit.
  3. Darkness makes little light obvious The world’s darkness is not just inconvenience, but the blindness of sin and separation from God. In deep darkness, even a small light gets attention and changes what can be seen. God places his people in ordinary roads, homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods because real darkness needs real light nearby.
  4. Good works aim at God’s glory Good works are not spiritual trophies for the believer to polish. Jesus gives them a direction, so that people see them and glorify the Father in heaven. The work may pass through human hands, but the praise must land on God, because only God cleans up the mess and makes a sinner new.
  5. Surrender gets self out of light The biggest struggle is often not knowing what God should do, but letting God do it without self taking over. Pride, fear, attitude, and old habits can block what the Spirit is trying to show. Dying to self is not vague religious talk here, but the daily work of moving out of the way so Christ can be seen.

Stay Salty

On By Archie L. GilmerIn Culture & Conviction, Faith & Discipleship, Life & PerseveranceLeave a comment

Jesus stands on the side of the hill and says what the kingdom of God is like. Jesus does not tell His disciples to try real hard to become salt. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” That little word “are” matters. The disciple’s usefulness begins with what Christ has already made true, not with religious effort trying to manufacture something fake.

Salt was valuable, necessary, and understood. Salt preserved meat from decay, brought flavor to food, and even served as payment in the Roman world. Jesus uses that picture to say that believers matter in the world. Salt preserves what is right and healthy, slows down the rot sin brings, and adds something that gets people’s attention. The Spirit of God in the believer is the real saltiness. Christ in the believer is what changes lives, blesses people, and makes a disciple different from the world.

Romans 12 says not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. God is the one holding the salt shaker. The disciple is the vessel, and the Holy Spirit is the one who brings the flavor. Ephesians 2 says believers are created in Christ for good works prepared ahead of time. The Christian life is not a bunch of Christians running around trying to bless people in their own strength. The Christian life is disciples walking around letting Jesus in them preserve life and change people.

Jesus also warns that salt can become tasteless. That should get a believer’s attention. Compromise does not always look like open rebellion. Compromise often looks like gradual dilution, like water leaking into a barrel of salt until the salt washes away and only gray useless grit remains. A person can look full and still be full of dirt. A disciple can say the right words, show up at the right times, and still stop being useful if the world has been allowed to dilute the life of the Spirit.

James calls friendship with the world hostility toward God because giving the heart to the world after belonging to Christ is spiritual adultery. Jesus says tasteless salt is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. That warning is serious, not because Christ’s sacrifice was weak, but because Christ died to make His people useful to the Master. The call is simple and weighty: be salty, stay salty, stay close to God, pray in the Spirit, walk in truth, and let the world see something real enough to make it thirsty for Jesus.

Watch full sermon videos here: Salt and Light Sermon Series

Key Takeaways
  1. Salt is identity before activity Jesus says disciples “are” the salt of the earth, not that they should strain to become it. Christian usefulness begins with union with Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, not with self-made religious energy. A disciple learns to live out what God has already made true, like learning how to wear what has already been given.
  2. The Spirit brings the flavor The believer is not the one shaking the salt all over the world. God holds the shaker, and Christ in the believer is what actually affects lives. That truth humbles spiritual ambition and also removes fear, because usefulness depends on surrender to the Spirit, not on personal strength.
  3. Compromise usually dilutes slowly Compromise does not always arrive as loud rebellion against God. More often, it seeps in like rainwater through a leaky roof, slowly washing away the salt until the barrel still looks full but has become useless grit. The danger is not merely looking worldly, but becoming so mixed with the world that Christ is no longer recognizable.
  4. Usefulness belongs to surrendered vessels Second Timothy says a cleansed vessel becomes useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. The point is not endless recommitment like a revolving door, but a yielded life where the Spirit is allowed to rule. A life surrendered to the Holy Spirit becomes available for God’s purposes in ordinary moments.
  5. Distinct lives create holy thirst Salt makes people thirsty, and a Spirit-filled life can awaken thirst for Jesus in people who do not even know what they are looking for. The world does not need slightly better versions of itself. The world needs lives so clearly changed by Christ that people begin to wonder whether God is real and whether His truth can be trusted.