Matthew 5:14-16.  ¹⁴ You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. ¹⁵ Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Quick explanation of salt and light

Salt adds flavor to the world around us.  The world is a better place because we are in it. 

Salt preserves.  We have salt that we can share with others so they can be preserved.

Light opens people’s eyes to their surroundings so they can get a better grasp of what is going on…

-         that they have sin and need a savior

-         that the Christian life is different than their life

Light makes things known so people can see clearly what they need to do.

Overall, this verse is telling us to bump elbows with the world around us. 

We are not to be secret Christians living in a commune, separated from the world.

When we live out our faith,

-         we are reflecting Jesus to those around like a mirror reflects light and

-         like adding salt to a pot of food effects the taste of the whole pot.

-         we are permeating Jesus to those around us.  (like when I eat garlic)

What is the best way to be salt and light?

(16) in the same way ….that you are salt and light… 

…let your good deeds shine for all to see

The best way to be salt and light is by doing good deeds to others.

Why is it important for us to do good deeds?

James 2:14-26.  ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  ¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  ²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless^[d]? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"^[e] and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.  ²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

What is he saying?

In one breath he is telling us that we are saved and declared righteous through our beliefs and in the next breath he is saying that we need to have good deeds.

How is that possible? 

Look at it this way.  If you are a Christian, you will naturally want to do good deeds, not because it gains you salvation but because it is a result of your salvation. 

A person who has no desire to care for those in need is probably not a Christian. 

You cannot have one without the other.  Faith and works co-exists.

A person who believes but refuses to reach out to others might as well be dead.  Their faith is as good as dead to those around them.

As salt is useless when it is left in the salt shaker, so is our “faith” useless when we only have faith in words and belief. 

Words mean nothing unless they are backed by actions. 

Say what you want but people will believe what they see.

Our faith is proved to those around us by what we do, not by what we believe or say.

When people see that being a Christian is more than just another belief, they will invest themselves in it but if they see little difference between you and me, they will ignore it.

How are we to do good deeds? 

1. We must take our light out from under the basket.

Matthew 5:15-16.  ¹⁵ Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see

Once again we have to adjust our lives to do this. 

We have to step outside of our comfort zones. 

Not always, but sometimes.  I believe that God often put people in your path that you can serve “as you are going”

Matthew 28:19a.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations

          As you are going, as one is on his way

We shine our light so people will recognize you are a Christian. 

They recognize there is something different about you. 

That puts the ball in their court.  That opens them up to come to you with questions.

2. We must do good deeds for the right reasons

Matthew 5:16.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

It is not about us.  It is about bringing glory (letting it point) to the father and His Son.

3. We must do it with the right attitude

What should our attitude be like when doing good deeds?

A. The same as Christ

Philippians 2:1-8.  ¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  ⁶Who, being in very nature^[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the very nature^[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.  ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

-         Everyone else is better than you

-         We must empty ourselves

o       Remember in John 13, Jesus stooped to the position of a servant and washed His disciples feet as an example to us and then He told us to go and do the same

-         Once again, our purpose in life is to bring others to Jesus

B. Love

1 John 3:16-20. ¹⁶This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ¹⁹This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  

God loved us, we are to love others.

When we do for others, we are sharing God’s love with them.

C. Worship

Matthew 6:19-24. ¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  ²²"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money."

We are here to serve God. 

In our service for Him, He commands us to let go of money/material positions when He tells us to. 

His commands are greater than our desires. 

Because of what He did for us and because of our love for Him our desire is to serve Him and not material things. 

When our desire is to serve Him, it becomes pretty easy to let go of our earthly things for the sake of doing good to others.

Do you know what makes doing this real easy?

When we understand the following, giving away what e have to do for others is a lot easier.

Psalm 24:1.  The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

James 1:17.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

4. We must do it in the right way

Matthew 6:1-4.  “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. ³ But when you give to someone, don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

This verse is not as much a literal command as it is an attitude to have. 

Ask yourself, why are you helping someone?  If it is to bring honor and recognition to the Father, than you are right, but if it is to bring honor and recognition to yourself, you are doing it wrong.

Luke 6:27-36.  ²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.  ³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

-         Especially do good to your enemies/ the lost

-         What would happen if you give to everyone who asks? 

o       What would happen if you don’t expect repayment?   

§        You’d empty yourself and that’s the point

2 Corinthians 96-15.  ⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:    "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."^{[a] 10}Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  ¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

-         we do good to others as our heart leads us to do. 

o       (the heart is to be led by the Holy Spirit)

o       Not because the preacher puts a guilt trip on you

-         The more the Holy Spirit asks us to do or give, the more He supplies us with!

-         When we do good and give to others, he continues to supply us with what we need to continue to do good and give to others….when we stop, the flow stops

Once again, the whole reason why we are here is to bring people to Jesus and according to verse 13, that is why “do what we do”

Closing

Doing something for someone when they do not deserve it or expect it shows people grace.

Doing something when someone is in need shows them God’s Love.

We must give our church away. 

We must give ourselves away. 

Our church and the people of our church are resources for those who need to come to Jesus.

Ask Him today if you have been holding back your faith and what you need to do to change that.  Who can you serve this week?  God and do it?