Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: You are the light of the world. That's what Jesus says to us. We're the light of the world. Think about that. That's what Jesus said about himself. In John chapter 8, in John chapter 9, Jesus said that in his great I Am statements, where Jesus is proclaiming to be the perfect God-man. He says, "I am the light of the world."

Well, here in Matthew chapter 5, he says about us, "We're the light of the world."

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the Senior Pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in Biblical Studies at Biola University.

Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled The Religion of Jesus. Let's listen in as JP gives part two of Counter Culture.

JP Jones: Jesus says this in Matthew chapter 5 verses 13 to 16. "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 by men. You're the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

You see, Jesus is stating what is true. He's shifted from the third person to the second person. He's still speaking about you. This is what he says about you. He says to those ragtag collection of disciples, "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world."

2,000 years ago, Jesus invested his entire kingdom mission in the lives of those disciples because he said, "You're the salt of the earth and you're the light of the world." Today, Jesus invests his kingdom mission in this generation, in us.

Because if Jesus was standing right here looking at us, he'd say, "You're the salt of the earth. You're the light of the world." That's who we are.

Because the truest thing about us is what? What God says is true. God says we're salt and we are light. And so, be who you are in effect is what Jesus is saying. You are the salt, be the salt. You are the light, be the light. It's who we are.

The word salt, by the way, Jesus picks two very very common products in his world. They're still common today. And he picks two products that were crucial to life.

In the Bible, salt is used in a lot of different ways. It was used to cleanse. Jewish babies were rubbed in salt after birth as a hygienic cleansing. It didn't have a spiritual significance. It was for purely medicinal, hygienic purposes.

Salt was used to offer sacrifices. Sometimes salt itself was a sacrifice. Other times people were told to salt their meat in sacrificing it. Salt was a sign of the covenant. Sometimes God would make a covenant with people and salt would be used as a symbol representing that covenant was ratified and established between God and man.

Salt was a symbol for judgment. Salt was used in the Roman world to pay wages. Instead of money, soldiers sometimes were given salt, and that's where the phrase, "You know, he's worth his salt," comes from.

In fact, after the service this morning, the first service, Daniel Carlini came up to me, and being from Italy, he said, in Italian, salt is the word "sal," and we get the word "salary." That's where we get getting paid, paid our salary because being paid in salt.

It had value in the ancient world. And salt was used to flavor and salt was a preservative.

Jesus says, looking at his followers, Jesus says to us as his followers, "We are the salt of the earth."

But then Jesus says, "If salt loses its saltiness, what can make it salty again?" Well, you know, the Jewish people, the people that he was speaking to, they had a ready resource for salt, the Dead Sea.

In fact, if you go to Israel, you see it there. If you come with us on this mission trip in May, you'll probably be able to see it. The Dead Sea, the Jordan River comes into it, there's no outlet. All these mineral deposits over the years have just formed an unbelievably mineral-rich environment and you can just go to the very shore of the sea and scoop up salt. And that's what they did.

So, they had plenty of salt, but there was also a lot of other minerals in that mixture. And whenever it got diluted by water, sodium chloride, which is salt, was the mineral that most quickly depleted from it. It was a white material, but sometimes the actual salt would be depleted, but it would still look like salt. But it wasn't salt anymore.

And so Jesus says, "You kind of maybe look like salt, but if you're not salty, what good are you?" That's what he says.

In fact, "You're not even good to be thrown into the manure pile to fertilize something. It's good for nothing."

See, I'm a pastor. I get paid for being good. You're just good for nothing. I needed to put a little comedy in there because if you think about what Jesus says, it's pretty powerful, it's pretty convicting.

He says, "You're the salt of the earth, but if you're not living like salt, you're good for nothing. You're of no use to me in my kingdom mission."

"You are the salt, be salt." He says, "You're the light of the world." You are the light of the world. That's what Jesus says to us. We're the light of the world. Think about that. That's what Jesus said about himself in John chapter 8 and John chapter 9. Jesus said that in his great I Am statements, where Jesus is proclaiming to be the perfect God-man. He says, "I am the light of the world."

Well, here in Matthew chapter 5, he says about us, "We're the light of the world." See, Jesus is in us and we're in Jesus in this mystical relationship that we come to God by faith when we accept his offer of forgiveness and we invite Christ to come into our lives. We're spiritually born again. Christ is in us and we're in Christ. Christ is the light of the world, so we're the light of the world.

He says, "You don't take a light and put it under a bowl. You put it a place where it will shine." "You're a city on a hill."

You know, a lot of politicians have picked up that phrase and kind of used it to paint a vision of America. I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that, an allusion. But you've got to go back to what Jesus meant when he first said it. His followers, Christians, believers, disciples, us, we're the light of the world.

And so, he says, "Let your light shine." In fact, "Let your light so shine before men that others may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

You see, when Jesus spoke these words, as Jesus is speaking again to his church today, he's calling out his followers to be salt and light before this world, to live lives of such impact, to speak words of such impact that we cause others to come into the company of salt and light.

My father-in-law sent me an email of a story of a football coach, Coach Mark Richt. He's the head coach at University of Georgia, and he's a follower of Christ. And it's his testimony. It's a story of how he came to know Christ. Interesting story.

He was a high school football player in the South, got recruited by the University of Miami. And he kind of had, you know, a grandiose view of what life was going to be like. He says in his own personal story that he thought his freshman year he'd be the starting quarterback at the University of Miami. His sophomore year he'd make All-American. His junior year he'd win the Heisman Trophy, and he'd opt out of his senior year and just go straight into the NFL for a productive career in the NFL. This is what he said he thought was going to happen.

Now, anything that turned out is his freshman year he went to the University of Miami on a football scholarship, but they also recruited another quarterback at the same time, a guy named Jim Kelly. And if you keep up with football, Jim Kelly had a very successful NFL career.

And so Mark was the backup to Jim Kelly his entire experience while a collegiate athlete. But he was a really good quarterback. And so after he graduated, even though he never started, he got an offer to play for the Denver Broncos. And so he went to the Broncos that year, but they signed another quarterback, a guy named John Elway.

So he got cut by the Broncos, but he thought he still had the right stuff, so he kept training and working out. And the next year he had another opportunity and he got signed by the Miami Dolphins. So they brought in another quarterback, Dan Marino.

So at every turn he was stifled, and he was about to give up sports altogether and the coaches at the Dolphins said, "You know, we think you'd make a great coach." So they made some contact and they contacted the head coach at Florida State, Bobby Bowden. And he got hired on Bobby Bowden's staff to be an assistant football coach.

And he said in his own words, "For the first time in my life, I met a real Christian."

And he said, "I observed every day in practice, on and off the field, Bobby Bowden. He was a real Christian." He goes, "One day during the season, my first year coaching there, one of our players died in a tragic accident. And Bobby Bowden called all the players together and because I was a graduate assistant coaching the quarterbacks, I sat in with Coach Bowden and he'd shut the doors and no one else was in, no press and no coaches."

And Bobby Bowden just kind of talked to the players about this tragic death of this athlete. And then he said, "All of a sudden Coach Bowden started talking about spiritual things." And he started telling us about how this guy who played had been a Christian.

And Coach Bowden took a chair, an empty chair that we had set out to represent our fallen player. And Coach Bowden said, "Imagine yourself, if you were sitting in this chair, and you died right now, do you know for sure you'd go to heaven?"

And he goes, "I sat there with all the other players on that team and thought about that. And for the next 20 minutes Coach Bowden talked about how he had given his life to Jesus Christ and he knew with certainty that he was going to heaven. And he shared with us how it was that we could know Christ, know we could go to heaven. And I realized I didn't know that."

"And so the next day I made an appointment with Coach Bowden and asked him if I could talk to him about it. And I told him that I wanted to know I could go to heaven."

"And Coach Bowden opened up his Bible that he kept on his desk and explained to me the way of salvation. And on my knees with Coach Bobby Bowden, I invited Jesus Christ into my life." And then he went on to become the head football coach at the University of Georgia.

And he says this in his testimony that he shares, "Bobby Bowden changed my life. Not only did he give me my first job as a coach, but far more importantly, he led me to have an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ."

Now, whatever you may think of Bobby Bowden or his football program, or maybe you've never even heard of him. You know what? He's a guy who's being salt and light. He's not a pastor. He's not a missionary. He's a football coach. But he's living a life and speaking words that are salt and light, and God is using him to change the world.

And you know what? God can use us. In fact, God wants to use us because he has said we are salt and we are light. So let your light shine, God says. Let it shine before men that others may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus in this introduction to this sermon, the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived, he gives us the absurdity of the kingdom. He gives us the impact potential of being salt and light. And then he talks about the standard of personal righteousness.

And Jesus says this in Matthew chapter 5, starting at verse 17. "Do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the prophets. I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

This past week at our men's study, Next Step, we were talking about this passage. We read it in our small group. And I responded by saying after we looked at that passage, "Now, if you hear that teaching of Jesus and immediately start to think, 'Well, gosh, what do I have to do? Because the Pharisees were pretty religious guys, so what more do I have to do for my righteousness to surpass them?'"

"If that's what you're thinking, you're already buying into the very thinking Jesus says is opposite to his kingdom." See, religion says, "What do I need to do?" Jesus says, "What have I already done? What have I already done for you?"

The way of Jesus is countercultural to the way of religion. The way of Jesus is countercultural to the way of this world.

Jesus in this passage says righteousness. When you look at the totality, because this idea of righteousness is pretty significant. We are to Matthew 5:6, "We are to hunger and thirst for righteousness." Matthew 5:10, "We are blessed if we're persecuted for righteousness." Matthew 5:20, "Our righteousness should surpass the scribes and the Pharisees." Matthew 6:1, "Don't practice your righteousness before men." Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

So this is an important topic. In the flow of scripture, the Apostle Paul and the New Testament writers, they describe in particular that this righteousness of God, this demanding standard of God is impossible to meet on our own. There's only one person who's ever met it, Jesus Christ.

And Jesus said in Romans chapter 8 verses 3 and 4, "What the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteousness of God might be met in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit."

Jesus in this sermon, in this context, speaking to this audience, is saying, "True righteousness, the kind of righteousness that surpasses and exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees, is not outside in, it's inside out."

"It begins not in the things that we do, but it begins in a changed heart. And a changed heart produces a changed life." There are acts of righteousness that we are to perform. We're going to see that when we get into Matthew chapter 6. But Jesus says, "Don't perform them before men." That's religion. Perform them privately, secretly with God. That's true relationship. That's the religion of Jesus, you see. It's inside out.

If we think, "What do we need to do? What more things can we do to be the kind of religious people that please God?" That's the wrong way of thinking. We need to think, "How can I be poor in spirit to have my heart changed? How can I hunger and thirst for righteousness, to have God do in me what I can't do for myself? How can I practice and teach God's law, which Jesus says when we do, we're great in the kingdom of heaven?"

Because Jesus said, "You think I came to abolish the law?" It's as if he's kind of anticipating what some of his critics might be saying based on the things that he said, because he's talking about the heart. He's talking about the inner life and the transformation of the inner life.

He said, "I didn't come to abolish. I came to fulfill." In fact, not one, as the old King James says, jot or tittle. Not the smallest letter or the stroke of a pen. Jesus is referring to the Hebrew alphabet. The smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet is yod. It's like a little apostrophe.

And then the smallest stroke of a pen in some of the written alphabet in Hebrew, letters are distinguished by just a little tiny stroke. The Hebrew letter for daleth and the Hebrew letter for resh are separated by just one tiny little stroke. So Jesus says, "Everything is going to be fulfilled, even down to the tiniest letter and the smallest stroke of a pen."

I got a good friend who's a professor at Wheaton College. And when he did his ordination exams, he was asked a question about his view of scripture. Did he believe in the inspiration of scripture and the authority of scripture? And he was asked if he believed in what's called the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture. That means word for word, God inspired every word of scripture. Do you believe in the word for word inspiration of scripture?

And he looked at the examiners in his ordination exam, and he said, "No, I don't." And it was kind of like, "Whoa. Whoa, whoa. Time out." And before they could ask a follow-up question, he says, "I believe in the letter for letter inspiration of scripture." And he quoted this passage from Matthew chapter 5, where Jesus says, "It's not just the words. It's the very letters, the very stroke of a pen. It's all authoritative and it will all come to pass."

Jesus said this. His word has binding, absolute authority. And then in the flow of this message, we're going to look at it next week. Jesus says, "You have heard it said, but I say to you. You have heard it said, but I say to you. You have heard it said, but I say to you." Now, think about the logic of what Jesus said.

Absolute binding authority is in the word of God. God's word is what has ultimate authority. And then Jesus said, "You've heard it said, but I say to you. I say to you. I say to you." In just the space of a few lines of speech, Jesus said to everyone that was listening to this sermon, "My words are God's words. My words are God's words."

The source of true righteousness is in Christ himself. It's in Christ himself. The only way our righteousness will ever surpass the scribes and the Pharisees is not by doing more, but by being transformed by Jesus Christ, by having his righteousness within us, and having that righteousness expressed as we practice and teach his commands. Because Jesus says that's when we'll be great in the kingdom of heaven.

There's an absurdity about the kingdom. There's an impact of being salt and light, and there's an unbelievable expression of personal righteousness, not in doing more, but in being a transformed person.

You see, when my son was about 13, I coached his Pop Warner football team. Anybody who tried out, anybody who signed up could be on the team. You sign up, you're on the team. Now, being on the team meant you had to come to practice. And you had to block, you had to tackle, you had to do gassers and you had to do reindeer drills.

At the end of that season, from that Pop Warner football team, we've looked back. We had about 15 kids. We had a good team. We had about 15 kids from that Pop Warner football team go on to play varsity football in local high schools, starting positions. A few of those kids are actually playing in college right now.

There was one kid I remember though. He played defensive line for us. He wasn't a very good athlete. In fact, he was really out of shape. At the beginning of that Pop Warner football season, he could only do one push-up. At the end of that Pop Warner season, he could do 25 push-ups on his own.

Now, he never really played that much. I doubt if he went on to play in high school. But I'd be willing to bet when he's old like me and thinking back about his Pop Warner season, he'll remember how it changed his life.

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is just a matter of saying yes to Jesus, and you're in the kingdom, accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Following Jesus will change your life. His righteousness will transform you.

Some of us here, maybe we'll go on, quote-unquote, to be varsity players. But all of us can learn to do more push-ups. All of us, every one of us, as we follow Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath.

Please join us every Sunday at 9 or 11 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. We're looking at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. This is the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived. It is the religion of Jesus. It's the teaching of Jesus in terms of what it means to be in a relationship with God.

I've heard it said that it costs nothing to become a Christian, but it'll cost you everything to live as a Christian. You see, becoming a Christian is by grace through faith. It is trusting in Jesus Christ and his atonement on the cross. It is believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again from the dead, and in humble faith, receiving Christ into your life. But living as a Christian is walking every day under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The Sermon on the Mount is describing both the entrance requirements of the kingdom and what it means to live in the kingdom. It is a statement of kingdom living, of kingdom discipleship. It is describing what it means to live as a follower of Jesus Christ.

If you've never come to faith in Jesus Christ, then your first step is a step of faith. It is receiving Christ as your Savior and Lord. It is trusting in God's grace alone to save you. But if you've taken that step, then every step after that, it is also a step of faith, but it is the faith that is translated in obedience to the commands of Jesus. It is faith that is expressed in following the Lordship of Christ.

And in this sermon, Jesus says that the way of the kingdom is the way of following Christ, and it is the way of walking in the light because Jesus Christ is the light, and his light is in us and his light shines through us. In fact, Jesus says, "We are the light of the world." As followers of Christ, we represent the master, who is the light, and we are the light of the world.

If that is true about you, live in the light. If that is true about you, follow Jesus. If that is true about you, live as the kingdom citizen you'd become. Jesus Christ is the Lord of life. He is the light of the world, and in him, we, as his followers, are the light of the world as well.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.