In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus lets us know how we should present ourselves to the world when he says, “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.” (NIV).
To begin, why would we need to be light in a world that was already lit brightly? The first part of verse 14 lets us know that this world is shrouded in darkness. This is not visual darkness, but a spiritual and moral darkness that covers the world. When there is darkness, there is only one way to remove it. Since light is the absence of darkness, the only way to remove darkness is to add light.
What does it mean to be the light of the world? We know Christ and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Due to this, we as Christians have had the spiritual veil lifted from our eyes. We no longer live in darkness. More than not living in darkness, with the aid of the Holy Spirit in us, we have the ability to glow like beacons of hope to others.
We glow like beacons by living for Christ. We live for Christ by being the city built on a hill, the lamp placed high upon a stand. How? We stand out from the rest of the world by being spiritually and morally different. We should not blend in with everyone else. Our light should shine before men!
There are many ways our light should shine. Going to church twice a week does not make my light shine. Getting dunked in water by a pastor is not enough. Doing the right thing out of obligation or guilt isn’t the way to brighten the world. Sitting in the front row, having the Bible memorized, singing the loudest and raising hands in worship do not cause our light to shine.
If I want to illumine those in the dark, I must live dynamically outside of the church. Dynamic living is getting yelled at but not yelling back. It is refraining from joining in the gossip at work. It is not judging someone by how they look or dress, or what they have financially. It is saying a kind word and being nice to the person you least want to because it is the right thing to do.
If I live dynamically, I will apply the golden rule and then some. I would challenge you to treat others BETTER than you want to be treated. That is letting your light shine.
Being dynamic is being open and honest about my relationship with Christ. Living dynamically and having a personal relationship with Christ that I keep to myself are diametrically opposed ways of existence.
I can no more hide my relationship with Jesus Christ than you could hide that city on a hill in broad day light. I want others to know the incredible power of change and hope gifted by the Holy Spirit.
Sin extinguishes our light. “Thou shall not lie” means that we should not even tell little white lies. “Thou shall not steal” refers to cheating on our taxes too. Lust is cheating. Pride, greed and coveting seem to be common. We are called to be uncommon!
Inaction is a huge sin. When we see a wrong and do nothing to make it right, that is a sin. Being silent about my faith when it is my duty to be vocal and lead by example, to always be the bigger person when a situation could go south, is sin.
If we are the light of the world, we are to live our lives well. People should know that we are Christians by our love, compassion, hope and how we live our lives. That is how we become the beacon of light to a dark, dark world!
can be seen on the Global University 360 Harvest Blog here: http://www.harvest365online.org/2013/06/light-of-the-world/
This blog is about my experience with childhood physical, emotional and sexual abuse that led me to addictions and mental health issues and how I found a #BetterLifeInRecovery.I share the tools that have taken me #FromDealingDopeToDealingHope in the hopes you can use them to rebuild your life! Together we are #TransformingLivesBySharingRecovery! #HopeDealer #StigmaKiller
Showing posts with label Matthew 5:14-16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew 5:14-16. Show all posts
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday, September 21, 2012
Faith Without Works is Dead
In James 2:26 James says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." A lot of people wonder what does that mean. After all, in Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it it the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." So how can both of these scriptures be valid?
We need to look at what James 2:26 is really saying, so let's break it down. If we are alive physically, there are obvious signs. We have brain activity, our heart beats, we take in oxygen. Those are signs that we are alive. If we are physically dead, then those things and many others do not occur. The same can be said about our faith. If we are alive spiritually, there should be obvious signs also. We will live our lives differently than if we are dead spiritually.
If our faith is alive, then we will see positive manifestations. We will live our lives Christ-like. Will we make mistakes? Of course, it is all about progress not perfection. That said, the way we live our lives will be different than it was before we came to Christ. If we are living our lives exactly the same as before we came to Christ, than we are spiritually dead.
Paul is not saying that works are the CAUSE of salvation, but that works are the EVIDENCE of salvation. When we are saved we live our lives differently. It is not enough to simply go to church, know that Christ was resurrected, and spout scripture. We need a different yard stick than those, and there are some pretty good reasons why.
For starters, sitting in church no more makes you a Christian than me standing in my garage makes me a car. Secondly, Satan and his minions know that Jesus was resurrected. Finally, the Devil has been known to quote scripture. Like I said, those are things that don't signify a Christian. Atheists donate large sums of money to worthy causes, so tithing is out. I have seen secular singers raise their hands in the air while singing, so I feel even worship is out. These are all pieces of the puzzle, but we need to be whole?
That said, what makes us whole? We are told in Matthew 5:14-16, "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." How are we to do this?
WALK THE WALK!!! Don't just pay lip service to Christ. Be a Christian inside and outside of church. Guard your tongue, be mindful of what you watch on television and at movie theaters, be careful of the things you listen to and read. Remember GIGO, garbage in garbage out. If we take in garbage, it is sure to come out of our mouths and in our actions. Don't just talk about it, be about it!
Next week we will look at the beatitudes and how they can guide our lives so that we can learn to walk as Christians in our daily lives.
We need to look at what James 2:26 is really saying, so let's break it down. If we are alive physically, there are obvious signs. We have brain activity, our heart beats, we take in oxygen. Those are signs that we are alive. If we are physically dead, then those things and many others do not occur. The same can be said about our faith. If we are alive spiritually, there should be obvious signs also. We will live our lives differently than if we are dead spiritually.
If our faith is alive, then we will see positive manifestations. We will live our lives Christ-like. Will we make mistakes? Of course, it is all about progress not perfection. That said, the way we live our lives will be different than it was before we came to Christ. If we are living our lives exactly the same as before we came to Christ, than we are spiritually dead.
Paul is not saying that works are the CAUSE of salvation, but that works are the EVIDENCE of salvation. When we are saved we live our lives differently. It is not enough to simply go to church, know that Christ was resurrected, and spout scripture. We need a different yard stick than those, and there are some pretty good reasons why.
For starters, sitting in church no more makes you a Christian than me standing in my garage makes me a car. Secondly, Satan and his minions know that Jesus was resurrected. Finally, the Devil has been known to quote scripture. Like I said, those are things that don't signify a Christian. Atheists donate large sums of money to worthy causes, so tithing is out. I have seen secular singers raise their hands in the air while singing, so I feel even worship is out. These are all pieces of the puzzle, but we need to be whole?
That said, what makes us whole? We are told in Matthew 5:14-16, "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." How are we to do this?
WALK THE WALK!!! Don't just pay lip service to Christ. Be a Christian inside and outside of church. Guard your tongue, be mindful of what you watch on television and at movie theaters, be careful of the things you listen to and read. Remember GIGO, garbage in garbage out. If we take in garbage, it is sure to come out of our mouths and in our actions. Don't just talk about it, be about it!
Next week we will look at the beatitudes and how they can guide our lives so that we can learn to walk as Christians in our daily lives.
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