What Would Jesus Say to Today's Religious Leaders?
Hello, I’m Brannon Howse, and welcome to the Worldview Weekend Hour. Tonight I want to speak to you on the topic of Twisted Scripture, Twisted Theology Number 49. Twisted Scripture, Twisted Theology Number 49, which is Matthew 5:13-16. Matthew 5:13-16. Now, to get the correct context of Matthew 5:13-16, we’re going to start out with Matthew Chapter 1, so you might want to get your Bibles.
I would also title this presentation “What Would Jesus Say to Today’s Religious Leaders?” What would Jesus say to today’s religious leaders? What would Jesus say to today’s religious leaders? We’re also, as I said, going to untwist Matthew 5:13-16, which is often twisted by many within what I call the new religious right, or the religious right.
Well, what is Matthew 5:13-16? Here’s what we read in Matthew 5:13-16:
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Is it then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men? You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Well, to have the correct context of Matthew 5:13-16, again, I think we need to go back to Matthew 5:1. Let’s start with verse 1 and get the context of what’s really going on by the time we get to Matthew 5:13. So, let’s go back up to Matthew 5:1. Here’s what we read, going back to Matthew 5:1.
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Now, we need to get the correct understanding of what is being said here. A lot of things being said here. What is meant by “the poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” and “blessed are the meek?” Let’s get a correct understanding of Matthew Chapter 5, starting at verse 1, so that we have a correct understanding of Matthew 5:13-16.
All right, so, let’s go to Matthew 5:1 and slow down and look at these verse by verse. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” What is meant by that? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Jesus here is teaching on what is known as The Beatitudes. The Beatitudes. This is also known as the Sermon on the Mount.
And notice, by the way, that he sits down. That his disciples come to him, and he sits down. That was very common with Jewish teachers, who would sit and they would sit. And that is the setting we see in verse 1 and 2. And then verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Well, biblically this means to acknowledge one’s spiritual bankruptcy. To acknowledge one’s spiritual bankruptcy. To acknowledge you’re depraved, that you are sinful.
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There’s no one good, no, not one.” Even our righteous deeds look like wickedness to God, apart from Jesus Christ, our faith repentance, and the life of Jesus Christ, His righteousness being imputed into my account. Apart from that, apart from Christ, apart from faith and repentance, apart from Christ’s life and his righteous being imputed into my account, apart from all of that, even my righteous deeds look like wickedness to God.
But because of Christ, because of faith and repentance in Christ alone, because His righteous life is imputed into my account, then and only then will my righteous deeds be seen as being good works, righteous deeds. Apart from Christ – apart from Christ, even my righteous deeds look like wickedness to God. You see, I understand my spiritual bankruptcy. And that is what it’s saying here, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Blessed are those who acknowledge that there’s nothing they can do to save themselves; they are spiritually bankrupt.
Very interesting. Blessed are the poor in spirit, because in that culture, so much of their status was based on their riches or their wealth. In fact, in that culture, at that time, it was thought that the richer you were, the more blessed of God that you were. Many believe that your riches was a sign of your spiritual condition, your spiritual wherewithal, your spiritual place and favor that you had with God. The fact that you had wealth, many believed, proved that you were spiritually blessed of God.
Yet many of these people were not believers. Jesus called them “white-washed tombs, dogs, vipers.” So, for Jesus to say to them, and we’ll look at who the “them” is, the spiritual group that is assembled there. There are people from various spiritual groups or spiritual or religious leadership. There’s professional religious groups that are represented in this text. So, for Jesus to say to them, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” that would have been very counter to the thinking of many of them. But that’s what Jesus is saying here, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” those who acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy, and there’s nothing that they can do to save themselves; it’s all Christ. It’s Christ alone.
And then He says, in verse 4, “Blessed are those who mourn.” What does that mean? Blessed are those who mourn. By the way, another word for blessed is happy. Happy. Happy are those who are poor in spirit. Happy are those who mourn. That seems awfully odd, doesn’t it? Happy are those who mourn. Blessed is another word for happy. You want to understand how to truly be blessed or truly be happy? Jesus is teaching so here in The Beatitudes. You want to really be happy or blessed? Acknowledge your spiritual bankruptcy and that your only hope is salvation in Christ alone. You want to be truly happy or blessed? Mourn. Have godly sorrow that produces – what? – godly sorrow that produces repentance unto salvation. That’s what 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 speaks of, doesn’t it? Godly sorrow produces repentance unto salvation. Godly sorrow or mourning over our sinful state, mourning over our spiritual bankruptcy, going back to verse 1 – isn’t that interesting how they tie together? Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who are aware of their spiritual bankruptcy. Blessed are those who mourn. They acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy; they acknowledge their spiritual depravity; they mourn over their sin. Blessed or happy are those who acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy. Blessed or happy are those who understand godly sorrow that produces repentance unto salvation.
Then in verse 5, He says, “Blessed are the meek.” Blessed are the meek. Another word for meek would be humble, be humble. Another word could be – another way to describe it would be power under control. But I like the definition of humble. Blessed are the meek, or blessed are the humble. Again, going very much against the culture of the day then and the culture today in our society.
It’s not the meek that are applauded. It’s not the meek that are respected. People who are humble or meek are often seen for being weak. You know the old saying, “Good guys finish last?” It’s those who are not humble, it’s those who are not acknowledging their sinfulness, their depravity, their dependence on Christ that society and culture upholds as the standard of success – the exact opposite. And much was the case there in that culture. Those, again, who were thought to be blessed of God were those who were rich, and yet they weren’t blessed of God; they were cursed of God. Those who were proud and haughty in attitude in spirit, that was considered a good thing in many regards, this self-righteousness, this hypocrisy. But Jesus is turning all of their thinking upside down on its head, and he says, “Blessed are the meek,” or the humble, “for they shall inherit the Earth.”
Then to verse 6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Happy. You’re happy if you hunger for righteousness or thirst for righteousness. Where do we find the prescription for righteous living? In God’s Word, right? How does a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed to the Word of God. There is only righteousness found in Christ – right? – when His righteous life is imputed into my account.
But if I hunger and thirst for righteous, then what do I do? I study God’s Word. Right? If I want to walk in obedience, sanctification, faithfulness, and obedience, that’s done through studying of God’s Word. So, those who hunger to live, or those who thirst or hunger to live a righteous life, they’re going to be into God’s Word. They’re going to be happy and blessed as they’re in God’s Word and hungering and thirsting for righteousness, right living, for they shall be filled. This is God’s standard. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who hunger for God’s standard. And where is God’s standard found? In His Word. His Word being a reflection of a character and nature.
Now, look at verse 7. “Blessed are the merciful; they shall obtain mercy.” What does this mean, “Blessed are the merciful?” It means those who have compassion and grace and service. Remember, we looked in one of our last television programs on the spiritual fruit. The spiritual hallmarks of a maturing Christian is love is kind. Love is patient, love is kind. Remember studying that? And that word kind in that context or that Scripture is what? Full of service. Love is kind. It doesn’t mean you’re just a nice person that greets people. Love is kind. It means you are full of service to others. That’s humility, right? You seek to serve others, full of service. It goes right with this. Verse 7, “Blessed are the merciful.” Again, the correct context would be more, in the original language, would be a world that really shows compassion or grace, or service to others, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the merciful, then, for they shall obtain mercy.
Look at verse 8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Another way to describe that would be blessed are those who are sanctified. The only way to be pure in heart is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Right? It is through salvation. Otherwise, what are we? Our righteous deeds are counted as wickedness. Right? “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The only way to be pure in hot is through having a new heart; your stony heart replaced, and a new heart given to you. Old things pass away. Behold all things become new and you’re made a new creation in Christ. That only comes through salvation, justification, and then the sanctification process. Right? Faithfulness and ongoing obedience. That’s the sanctification process. Faithfulness and ongoing obedience to God’s Word. And you want to be sanctified; you want to grow in sanctification? Study God’s Word. Blessed are the pure in heart, those who are being sanctified. And it’s those who are justified and the sanctified that shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Isn’t that interesting? Blessed are the peacemakers. Well, what is that talking about? Blessed are those who are preaching the Gospel of peace. Isn’t that how they Gospel is described many times in the Scripture? As the Gospel of peace.
How do you bring peace to someone? By preaching the Gospel and them being justified and sanctified, and their sin debt being paid through their faith and repentance. Faith and repentance in Jesus Christ alone. Then they have peace. In fact, the Bible describes it as a peace that surpasses as all understanding. So, as we preach the Gospel of peace, we are peacemakers. That’s the only way to have peace is through Christ alone. And those of us who preach the Gospel of peace can be called peacemakers. So, you want to be a peacemaker? Then preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the Great Commission. Right? Preaching Christ and Christ alone. Blessed are the peacemakers, those who preach the Gospel of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Then we go on to verse 10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted.” “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Well, you know, the Bible says, in 2 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will –” what? “– suffer persecution.” All those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. This clearly is not a man-centered message that’s going to be accepted today. Right? This is a Christ-centered message. This is a Gospel-centered message. This is a self-denial, dying-to-self message.
The man-centered gospel of today – the man-centered gospel of today is what? “I want to be happy. I don’t to be persecuted. I want my best life now. I want to be a part of the group. I want group consensus. I don’t want to go against the fray; I want to go with the stream.” Right? But Christ says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness,” standing for that which honors the Lord, which is according to His righteous standard. And you’re going to be persecuted. And yet if you say to folks, “Come forward, receive Christ and begin to be persecuted,” you’re not going to get a lot of people coming forward are you?
And so, what do you see in most of our churches today and most of the revivals or most of the religious events that are held, the crusades, if you will, that are held? “Come to Christ and get something. Come to Christ and get something.” And it’s kind of like this false teacher, Myles Monroe. I have a video of him saying, “People ain’t interested in no blood. People ain’t interested in blood. They don’t want to hear about the blood of Christ.” He says, “They don’t want to hear about the blood in the boardroom. They don’t want to hear about the blood on the playground.” Myles Monroe, this prosperity false teacher. I have a video; I’ll show it in another program in the coming weeks.
But he says, “People ain’t interested in no blood.” He says, “Don’t preach Jesus.” He says that, folks. “Don’t preach Jesus. Preach the kingdom. Preach what He can do for them. He can put them on top. He can give them dominion.” And see, that’s the man-centered gospel today – your best life now. What Christ can do for you becomes the genii in a bottle, if you will. Your royal butler to give you what you want.
But we preach the real Gospel, which is what? The real Gospel is, “Those who are justified, those who are being sanctified, those who are merciful, those who are meek, those who are peacemakers – guess what? You’re going to be persecuted. Come forward and receive Christ and let the persecution begin.” How many would come forward, right?
James – in the book of James it says that the trials and tribulations for a believer are like sparks up from a fire. Come to Christ to let the tribulation begin. Many would not come forward, would they? They would not join the club of many of our churches in America and around the world that are not true New Testament churches; they’re false churches led by hirelings, not pastors. And so today, people have marketed the Gospel around a man-centered psychology, a man-centered pop psychology. They teach a false gospel, which creates false converts, because the real Gospel will include persecution, and Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”
Now, look at what verse 11 says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Again, Jesus here is concentrating on the internal, not the external. Jesus was confronting really several religious groups here. We’re going to look at four specific religious groups he was confronting.
And I thus believe I have an answer to the question, “What would Jesus say to today’s religious leaders?” I believe we have the answer right here in Matthew 5, where Jesus is preaching these Beatitudes here on the Sermon on the Mount, and I believe that we’re going to see in just one minute what Jesus was saying to the religious leaders of that day is the same thing he would say to the religious leaders of today, which first and foremost is, “I am concerned about the heart. I want to focus on the heart. I want to focus on internal, not so much your external religious traditions, your religious pietism, your religious formulas, your religious agendas, your religious campaigns. I want to focus on the heart.” If we get the heart right, then everything else will fall right into place. Everything else will fall right into place.
But you see, Jesus here is preaching internal, not external. Look at verse 21, because I think that proves it. There are several things Jesus says here in this text that shows that he’s preaching the internal, not the external. But look at Matthew 5:21-22. Here’s what we read:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.” But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
Notice here what Jesus is saying. If you’re angry, that’s internal. That’s internal. If you’re angry with your brother, if you have hatred toward your brother equal to murder, that is internal. Look at Matthew 5:27-28. 27-28:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that whoever look at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
You see, that is internal. You’ve committed adultery in your heart. Now, isn’t it interesting to notice that the word heart and mind are often interchangeable in the Scriptures? Some 800 times – more than 800 times – you see the reference to heart and mind in the Scriptures, and oftentimes these are interchangeable, the heart and mind. From the heart proceeds – from the mouth – the mouth reveals what’s in the heart, right? The mouth shows – what comes from the mouth shows what’s in the heart. “With the heart one believes unto salvation.” There’s lots of Scripture that deals with the heart. Lots of Scripture that deals with the mind. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.” And so the word heart and mind in the Scriptures are often interchangeable.
But right here in Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus again is going to the heart. He is saying the heart of the matter is the heart. The heart of the matter is the heart. You get the heart right spiritually, everything else will fall into place. You get the heart right spiritually, everything else will fall into place. He’s dealing with the internal, not the external. And he’s saying, “If you have lust in your heart, it’s equal to committing adultery.” He’s dealing with the internal.
Look at Matthew 5:43-44. Here’s what we read:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies –
See, that’s internal. That’s internal.
– love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you –
Pray for them. Pray for them. That’s internal. Again, Jesus is concerned about the internal, not the external. He knows if you get the internal right, the external will be correct. That’s so true. As we teach about biblical worldview, we teach that the foundation of all your values and your conduct is your worldview. At the foundation is your worldview. Your worldview, your theology, the doctrine, the teacher instruction that you’re taking in, your theology, your view of God. Theology is the truth revealed in God’s Word. You have biblical theology; you study biblical theology. You study biblical doctrine, biblical teaching or instruction, you’ll have a biblical worldview. And on the foundation of your worldview, your theology, and your doctrine is your values. And your values impact your conduct.
But if you have it right o the foundation, you have the right foundation, built on the solid rock of God’s Word – and the Word is what? – a reflection of God’s character and nature. “Thy Word is truth. He who sent me is true.” We have our foundation of our worldview built on the foundation of the rock of Christ and His Word, then your values are fine and your conduct should be fine. But it all goes back to the foundation.
And so, Christ is teaching the heart. It’s internal; it’s not external. But yet so many of our religious leaders today are focusing on the external – the external – the external. They believe if they can get society to act the way they want society to act, if they can get control of Congress, the House and the Senate, and the White House, and the governor’s mansion, and the state legislatures – and I know we have people watching us all over the world. I’m speaking now and using a American terms, but the same would be true in whatever nation you’re in.
So many believe if they can get a hold of their parliament, or their prime minister’s office, if they can get control of their leaders and their nation, then they can begin to make cultural change. But you see, they’re focusing on the external, not the internal. And Jesus always goes to the internal.
And yet, many of the religious right today completely twist the Scripture, and they say that we need to be salt and light. Yes, we need to be salt and light. In fact, we don’t need to be salt and light; we are salt and light if we are Christians that are living out The Beatitudes. Yet you will year many of the religious right today teaching about how they are involved in Christian activism because they are being salt and light. Are they really being salt and light? You see, they equate being salt and light with being politically active, “Well, we’ve got to be salt and light, so we’ve got to pass this legislation. We’ve got to be salt and light, so we have to pass this political measure. We have to be salt and light, so we need to win this election, and we need people to run for office and hold this job. That’s being salt and light.”
Can I tell you something, folks? I believe we should indeed go out and vote for the best candidates that uphold the purpose of government. Romans 13 says that the purpose of government is to reward the righteous and punish the wicked. God created family government; God created civil government; and God created Church government. But Christ, in The Beatitudes, teaching The Beatitudes, teaching the Sermon on the Mount here in Matthew 5 is not calling for political activism. In fact, to the contrary. He’s saying the issue is not external; the issue is internal. Get the heart of people right, the other things will fall into line.
And yet, much of the religious leaders of today are not being salt and light, because they’re not preaching a biblical Gospel. If they are, they’re preaching a biblical Gospel while they then undermine the Gospel with their false teaching in certain areas, as well as their ecumenical enterprises. There are many within the religious right today here in America that never teach the Gospel. They teach political activism. They teach Christian Activism. They rarely, if ever, teach the Gospel and give the Gospel. If they do, they then confuse people by mixing a true Gospel with those who represent another Jesus and a false Gospel in their ecumenical enterprises. Yet they claim what they’re being is salt and light. The reference to salt and light in Matthew 5:13-16 is not a reference to Christian activism.
You see, the religious right oftentimes twist Matthew 5:13-16 to say, “It’s your duty to be involved in Christian activism. It’s your duty to be involved in moralizing, boycotting people and companies to act the way we want them to act, because that’s being salt and light. False. That is not what is salt and light. Let’s get a context of what is salt and light. Matthew 5:13-16, it says this – we read this:
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Let’s make it very clear. The “good works” that are being described here are not works of political activism. Now again, we can defend the life of the unborn; we can fight active euthanasia; we can biblically be opposed to same-sex marriage and do so out of a deep biblical understanding and defense of biblical truth. But this is not a call of Christian activism. Jesus is saying if you want to be the salt and light of the Earth, then you know what? You must be exhibiting The Beatitudes.
If you want to be salt and light, then be poor in spirit. Acknowledge your spiritual bankruptcy. You want to be salt and light? Be someone who has mourned or had godly sorrow over your depravity. Godly sorrow that produces repentance unto salvation. You want to be salt and light? The thirst and hunger for righteousness, God’s standard, His Word. You want to be salt and light? Then be someone who has compassion and is full of grace and service – biblical grace and service and compassion.
Do you want to be salt and light? Then be pure in heart. Be someone who is being sanctified – ongoing faithfulness and obedience. You want to be salt and light? Be a peacemaker, someone that preaches the Gospel of the kingdom of God, someone that preaches the Gospel of peace. That’s what it means to be salt and light. You see any Christian activism here? You see lobbying? You see any agitating? You see any boycotting? You see any revolution or overthrowing of governments or changing someone from the one leader to another? No. And yet, that’s how much of the religious right today speaks when they speak of being salt and light.
Well, what is meant by salt and light in this context? Well, salt has many properties, doesn’t it? Salt preserves. Salt can purify. Salt can sting when it gets into a wound. Salt makes one thirsty. So, let’s deal with these, because indeed, these are the possible applications of what Jesus was talking about when he was talking about salt. And then we’ll look at what is meant by light here in this context, and we’ll see that none of it has anything to do with Christian activism or political activism. Then we’re going to look at the four groups I believe Jesus was addressing, and how it applies to today, and thus what Jesus would say to today’s religious leaders.
But salt, yes, it acts as a preservative. You put it on meat to stop the rot. Right? And so, Christians when they live out The Beatitudes, when they live according to this biblical description Jesus is giving, they can be a preservative within the land, within the culture. Yes, the culture is simply a group of people living their lives as they do. And oftentimes, the culture war is nothing more than a spiritual sampling, if you will, the spiritual fruit of what is going on within a culture. The culture war is just the symptom. The culture war is just the symptom of the spiritual condition of that nation or land or people. And when Christians act as they’re called to act, biblically speaking, then what they do can, in some ways, stop the rot.
I also believe that Christians being in a nation can put off or cause God to not judge or delay in judging a nation. Let me say that again. Christians living within a nation can cause God to show mercy and grace onto that nation by not bringing divine judgment, extreme judgment, not giving them over, as we see in Romans 1. Because of the Christians that are there, He may choose to [break in audio 0:30:57] them more grace, that nation, because of the Christians that are there.
In other words, the Christians can act as a preservative in preserving that nation from judgment for a period of time. But even – at some point, God will judge a nation – and can and does judge nations, and Christians are there, and Christians will be a part of that. It’s not God judging them, but judging that nation, and Christians are there. And Christians can use that judgment to say, “You think eternal judgment is bad? Look at the national judgment that is happening.”
Even in the midst of judgment by God – Romans 1, giving them over, giving them over, giving them over – we as Christians have an opportunity to preach the Gospel. But there is, I believe, times when Christians within a land, God gives that nation more time and does not give them over. He allows them to be preserved for a period of time because of the Christians. So, when Christians are acting as they should, they can help preserve a nation. But salt stops the rot.
Think of all the positions Christians are in today – in the military, in media, in education, in finance, in law enforcement – where because Christians are in those positions, acting biblically, they’re able to stop something from happening that otherwise would be very detrimental. Think of the – in past years, I’m not so sure about today, but in past years I think of the men that were generals in our military in America that were doing the right thing by our military and carrying out the purpose of a constitutional military, because there were men there of strong moral character that were Christians acting as they should.
I’ve told you many times I grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, as a child, knew men that were in the FBI and men that were in the CIA. And I’ve known people that work in the National Security Agency, the NSA. And I have a friend of mine today that works in the FBI that’s a strong Christian. And I know that these people are there, making decisions that otherwise would not be made in a biblical way. They stop certain things that are happening that otherwise would happen, and they stop them from happening because they are a voice that speaks up and says, “No, no, we’re not going to do that.” And so, they’re, in some ways, preserving the government by having it carry out its biblical purpose, its constitutional purpose, being what the Bible says.
Now, let’s not confuse the Bible and the Constitution, but we do have a Constitution here in America that understands, “What is the purpose of government?” And that, of course, comes from the Scriptures. We know what the government’s supposed to do, based on the Scriptures, “Reward righteousness and punish wickedness.” Right? And there are people in key positions within our nation and around the world that are Christians, that because they’re there, they are helping to preserve what otherwise would be a more rot-filled nation and land.
So, we’re not talking about being pious – spiritually pious, where we stand off and have nothing to do with the culture. I’m not saying that. But we’re saying the key that Jesus is preaching here is that Christians can impact a nation not first and foremost by being political activists or agitators, but by being true Bible Christians that preach the Gospel of the kingdom, that hunger and thirst after righteousness. So, salt – Christians can be a preservative within a nation, yes.
Salt can purify. You get it into a wound, salt can purify. If you get salt into a wound, you can clean out a wound by mixing salt with water. It can be a purifier. Salt can sting, too, when it gets into a wound. Right? And the Church, true believers, should, in some ways, sting the conscience of unbelievers. Did you hear what I just said? Christians should, by gracious Christian living, sting the conscience of unbelievers.
We know the moral law’s written on the heart and mind of every person. Romans 1, 2, and 3 speaks to the fact they are without excuse on the Day of Judgment because the moral law is written on their heart and mind. That’s why universally everyone knows that murder is wrong, lying is wrong, rape is wrong, adultery is wrong. Right? And so, their conscience should be pricked. And we – by preaching the Gospel, living the Christian life – should be pricking their conscience. Oh, yes, we should be stinging their conscience with the Gospel that we’re preaching to them in a biblical manner. So, salt stings, and yes, biblical Christians/the Church should sting the conscience of those who are perishing and bring them the Gospel.
And then salt makes one thirsty. The way we live should make people thirst or hunger for right living or righteousness. And so, I believe this is a few examples of what Christ meant when he spoke about being salt.
Notice though, what Jesus says here in verse 13:
But if the salt shall lose its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Well, what does that mean? John MacArthur’s study Bible has on this verse 13 this note, “Pure salt cannot lose its flavor or effectiveness.” That’s interesting. Pure Christians, true Christians, Christians who are living the Christian life according to the standard – The Beatitudes here, they can’t lose their flavor or their effectiveness. Isn’t that interesting? The same is true with salt. Pure salt cannot lose its flavor or effectiveness, but the salt that is common in the Dead Sea area, where Jesus was teaching there, is contaminated with gypsum, other minerals, and may have a flat taste or be ineffective as a preservative. Such mineral salts were useful for little more than keeping footpaths free of vegetation. In other words, it was really useless for its intended purpose. It was thrown down onto the paths or trails, walking paths, to keep down the weeds or the vegetation. So, if the salt loses its savor, it’s no good; it’s just thrown out and trampled on. We don’t want to be Christians that lose our savor, our flavor, our purpose, our effectiveness. And here’s the reality: true Christians won’t lose their effectiveness if they are walking in faithfulness and obedience and fulfilling The Beatitudes here.
What four religious groups was Jesus speaking to there when he was giving the Sermon on the Mount and giving The Beatitudes? Well, there were numerous groups represented I’m sure, but four specific groups that really made up the religious professionals of the day: your Pharisees, your Sadducees, your Essenes, and your Zealots. And I believe, to answer the question, “What would Jesus say to the religious leaders of today,” we only need to understand what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day there in Matthew 5.
He has clearly, first of all, been speaking to the believers. He’s been speaking to the believers, as well as the non-believers, but He’s speaking to the believers about what is a true Christian to be like, and the non-believers are hearing this as well. Then He’s speaking directly to the believers when He says, “You are the salt and light of the Earth.” But remember now, unbelievers are mixed into this crowd, and they’re hearing this. And that includes the religious professionals, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. And what He is saying is going so much against their tradition.
Remember, to be poor in spirit – oh, wait a minute. They thought someone who was financially rich was more blessed of God. And He begins to talk about being poor in spirit, understanding your spiritual bankruptcy. He talks about being someone that is meek, and many people that day were anything but meek; they paraded their religious pietism; they paraded their religious and financial status. So, so much of what He is teaching about – what is a true believer and the hallmarks and the attributes and the fruit of a true believer – is contrary to what the religious professionals lived in their own life.
Let’s understand these four groups. First, the Pharisees. What were they? They were the legalists. They were the legalists. They were very legalistic. They were into tradition and legalism. Do we have people today that are into tradition and legalism? Yes. We know that many of the fundamentalists of the years gone by were very much into the external. They were into how you dressed, how your hair was cut. You know, the things you did not do. It was external, and there was great legalism and tradition.
Not that I would have disagreed with some of the fundamentalists in the way that one should act and conduct themselves, but the way they act and conduct themselves should be an issue of the heart, an outgrowth of the heart, not out of concentrating on the external. You concentrate on the internal, the externals will take care of themselves. But many didn’t focus on the heart; they didn’t focus on people’s motifs; they didn’t focus on teaching them theology, and doctrine, and good discipleship that produces the kind of external Christian living we want to see. They didn’t concentrate on this teaching of Scripture as much as they taught on the dos and the don’ts: legalism, external, and tradition. And the Pharisees were much like that.
Then there’s the Sadducees. They would have been the liberals of the day. They would have been what today we have as the emergent church, or the post-moderns, or the ’50s and ’60s. It would have been your modernist. Your modernist that thought that reason and the knowledge could solve the issues of the day, and the modernists that often rejected the essential Christian doctrines, and undermined the authority of the Scripture, and downplayed the cross, downplayed Calvary, downplayed the true Gospel. That was your modernist. They didn’t look to the Scripture for solution; they looked to human reason for solution. That’s your modernist. And then today, your post-modernist. They’ve gone so far as to say – to some kind of reason. Today the post-modernists say, “What do you mean by reason? Truth and reality are created by man, not by God. Everyone has their own idea of what is truth.”
So, your Sadducees were your liberals, and today we would have our religious liberals, modernists, post-modernists. We’ve seen these throughout the years, and now we’ve moved from a modernist society to a post-modern-dominated society, the emergent church. Your religious liberals. That would be your Sadducees.
And then you have the Essenes. These would be your isolationists. They literally would want to move out geographically and be separated from everyone, have no contact with the culture or other people. They believe that they were pious and they had a religious pietism, I believe. And they lived in this isolationism that they thought somehow revealed their true spiritual elitism.
So, the Essenes. Do we have that today? Yes. People that move out away from any big cities – and not that it’s so wrong to not live near a big city, but there’s this growth within Christianity that says, “You need to go out and move far away, out into nowhere and live in a small little group or a commune,” and that somehow there’s righteousness in that, there’s spiritual elitism in this, “We’re going to isolate from everyone and everything and live in a bubble.”
Well, we’re to be in the world, but not of the world. And yes, there are certain things we should be dumb about and not know about. And there are certain things we definitely don’t participate in, and we don’t want to see those things. But there’s not to be this isolationism, where we somehow think we can live in a bubble, and if we live in this bubble, out and away from everybody, and we look a certain way, and we dress a certain way, then we’re spiritually – everything’s okay. And in fact, that’s not [break in audio 0:42:43] spiritually speaking at all. It doesn’t work. It’s concentrating on the external, not the internal.
Isn’t it interesting – here we are filming in July of 2014. In the last few months there have been stories of at least two religious leaders in America, that are heavily known for this long list of legalism – how you dress, how the men dress, how the women dress, how their families are constructed, what their families do and don’t do. “If you follow these formulas – if you follow these formulas, then you’re spiritually – you’ve arrived.” And it’s a concentration on formulas and rules, not the internal. It was a concentration on the external. And yet, what has happened to the leader of that organization? He’s been accused of some rather embarrassing and troubling behavior.
There was another leader who was known for this same thing. The men dressed a certain way; the women dressed a certain way. Everybody only ever wears – the women always wear dresses. And the men do this; the women do that. And you dress up like you’re pioneers and founding fathers. And it’s just this worship of family, this worship of the father, this – really the idea of isolationism and living according to some legalistic rules. Not that everything they did was a problem, but this heavy emphasis on the external instead of the internal. And what has happened to the leader of that organization? He is reportedly, again – this one, a different leader – also been accused of being involved in immoral behavior. See, this whole isolationism thing isn’t the solution. That’s not the solution either, but that’s what your Essenes were doing; they were isolationists. So, your Pharisees were the legalists. The Sadducees were the liberals. The Essenes were the isolationists.
And then the fourth group was your Zealots. These were your political activists. Your Zealots. They wanted political power. They thought the solution was to concentrate on political power or revolution. And that’s much of our religious right today, isn’t it? The emphasis is on political power; it’s on winning the next election; it’s on boycotting the corporations that don’t agree with us. And so, you ask the question, or I ask the question, “What would Jesus say to today’s religious leaders?” I think He would say exactly what He said to the religious leaders of His day, the religious legalist, the religious liberal, the religious isolationist, the religious activist. He would say the same thing, “Concentrate on the internal. Concentrate on the internal. Be salt and light.”
And salt and light is not political activism. Being salt and light is doing what we see Christ teaching in The Beatitudes. That’s when we’re salt and light, not when we’re being political agitators. Now, am I saying we shouldn’t be involved politically? No. Here’s the key: balance. Balance.
Someone called into my radio program this week and asked, “Well, Brannon, what is then your belief on how much we should be involved politically? Should we vote?” Yes, go out and vote. You’d be crazy not to vote. There have been people who died in our nation, here in America, so we could have the freedom to vote and choose our elected officials. I’m becoming more convinced, however, some of these elections are not as – the tallies aren’t kept quite like they should, when I’ve seen the last presidential election, more people voting in districts than actually lived in those districts. I’m starting to really question the electoral process here. But, yes, go vote.
Should we support measures that uphold the purpose of government? Absolutely. Why would you not do that? Why would you not vote in favor of ordinances in your town, or initiatives on ballots, or encourage elected officials to support legislation that defends the family, the definition of family, that it keeps the airwaves open for the proclamation of the Gospel, that it protects parental authority, that protects the pulpit and keeps it free? Why would you not support initiatives and measures like that? You would. The key, though, is balance.
And you want to know how to have that balance? Take care of the internal. Take care of the internal, and anything else will fall into place. Involved in the internal, the issues of the heart, then you won’t have a problem wondering about, “How balanced should I be?” The key is internal. Jesus was speaking about the heart.
And again, I want to stress when the religious right says, “Oh, we need to be salt and light, salt and light,” notice how seldom that involves them then preaching the Gospel. Notice how seldom then that involves them preaching the Gospel. They tie being salt and light, every time almost, to political activism.
I looked up the other – I typed in “the religious right” and “salt and light” and found a ton of articles where these guys are writing, “We need to be salt and light; pass this measure.” “We need to be salt and light; lobby for this.” “We need to be salt and light; boycott that.” Not one of them, not one of the articles I read used salt and light in the context of what Jesus was saying here in Matthew 5. Be salt. Make people thirst for righteousness. Prick their conscience and make it sting with the truth of God’s Word, with the Gospel, with the moral law. Make them thirst and hunger for righteousness.
Be light. Christians are to be light. The Gospel – representing the Gospel. Christ is the light of the world, and those of us who accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior through faith and repentance are to exhibit the light of the Gospel. And yet, how many of these religious right leaders do that? How many of these pro-family leaders do that? Very few of them. In fact, many of them undermine the Gospel by mixing it with false teachers. They interview people from the Word of Faith. They interview people from New Apostolic Reformation. They interview Catholics. They interview Mormons. They enter into spiritual enterprises with Mormons like Glenn Beck to – quote – save the country. They enter into spiritual enterprises with Catholic priests and Catholic groups.
They are involved in one initiative after the other, one event after the other, that undermines the Gospel, and yet they want to say they’re being salt and light. No, they’re not. If they were really being light, they would be proclaiming the Gospel. But what they do is undermine the Gospel. They’re not salt and light. Many of them aren’t believer, so they can’t be salt and light. Many of them are goats, not sheep. They can’t be salt and light. “You are the salt of the Earth; you are the light of the world,” it says. That’s believers. Many of them talk about being salt and light. They can’t be salt and light, because they’re not believers. I pray they come believers and can be salt and light and will proclaim the light of the Gospel.
But notice, as you look up online, how many of these folks preach about being salt and light, and it’s always Christian activism. Jesus is not preaching Christian activism at all. He’s saying Christians will naturally be salt and light when they live according to the biblical standard. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determine not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Paul didn’t call us to political activism, to boycotting. He called us to preach Christ. That is what it means to be again a peacemaker. “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Who’s a peacemaker? One who preaches the Gospel of peace.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received –” a voter guide. A voter guide, that’s what I received first, and that’s what I’m going to give to you, a voter guide and a petition to sign. Yeah, a petition to sign, a company to boycott.
No, it said:
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Paul says, “I preached Christ crucified, buried, and risen again first and foremost.” And yet, what do many of our pro-life, pro-family religious right leaders do today when they talk about salt and light? They talk about Christian activism. You never hear them preaching Christ crucified, buried, and risen. You never hear them preaching repentance – faith and repentance. You never hear them preaching biblical repentance, godly sorrow. “Blessed are those who mourn.” Blessed are those who are sorry, have godly sorrow over their sins that produces repentance unto salvation. But Paul did.
In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16:
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
That much of those today that are preaching that we need to be salt and light, they are an aroma that stinks to the world. Their aroma is one of stench, of lost people claiming to be religious, just as much of the leaders of Jesus’ day had a religious stench to them. Whitewashed tombs. They were dogs. They were vipers Christ called him. Had a religious stench to them. But Christians are to have a sweet aroma to them, as we exhibit The Beatitudes and preach the Gospel of peace. Don’t let people twist the Scriptures and say, “Oh, you need to be salt and light, and therefore that means you need to be involved in political activism.” That’s not what’s being taught here.
You will be salt and light. You are salt and light if you’re a biblical Christian and living a biblical life, exhibiting what Jesus taught there about The Beatitudes on the Sermon on the Mount. We now know what is meant by being salt and light, and we now know what Jesus, I believe, would say to the religious leaders of today. How? By studying the Word of God in context.
[Break in audio 0:52:38] appreciate our program, and that we go to great lengths each week to bring you a brand new program. Here we are again in the month of July. Many ministries have taken off for the summer; they’re not producing any new television programming, yet here we are. Why? Because, again, I believe the hour is late. I believe there’s much we need to do to encourage the saints, equip the saints, and produce edifying programming, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. I also have a lot to learn, and I thorough enjoy studying God’s Word, and I thoroughly love getting in front of you each week, through this medium of television, and teaching what I have learned the week prior. So, thank you for that privilege and honor.
Well, I look forward to bringing you another program, Lord willing, next week here on the Worldview Weekend Hour. Till next week, thank you so much for watching. Thank you for telling your friends about our broadcast. Tell them about our free app, too, won’t you? Worldviewweekend.com/app, worldviewweekend.com/app. They can get our free app for Android, iPhone, and iPad. Till next week, I’m Brannon Howse. Thanks for watching, take care.
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