Salt, Light, and the Law

So far Christ has been equipping and preparing His Christians to live and suffer in the world. Even apart from this, however, every Christian should be ready at all times to take a stand, to confess his Lord and to represent his faith, always being armed against the world, the devil, the sects, and whatever else may be lined up against him. Now He goes on. He commits the office to them and teaches them how to carry it out; later on He will also put into their mouths what and how they to preach. These are the elements that go in to make a Christian complete: that he lives properly and suffers in all sorts of ways and that he properly carries out his office, in which he is to serve and help other people. So now He adds on to this ~

The Salt of the Earth

Read 5:13.What did they used to use salt as?

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What do we use it for?

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What does salt do when it is put in a cut on your arm?

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This is the application Luther touches upon. If it is understood to be used in this way, how can we be the salt of the earth?

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According to the previous verses, what will happen to us when we try to salt the earth?
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Luther: Without being willing to suffer and be slandered, a preacher will only be a salt without bite. He will be useless. The world could tolerate it if we proclaimed Christ and all the articles of faith correctly. But if we want to seize it and salt it by showing that its wisdom and sanctity are worthless, indeed, blind and damned, this it cannot and will not tolerate. It accuses the preachers of doing nothing but criticizing and biting, of causing revolutions and discord, and of maligning the clergy and good works. But what can we do? Salting has to bite. (LW 21:55)

So according to Luther’s explanation, how can a Christian, as salt, “lose it’s saltiness?”
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Why would it be easy for a preacher to lose his saltiness?
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What did Jesus say should happen to salt that “loses it’s saltiness?” What does Jesus mean by this?
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How can you tell if a Christian has lost his or her saltiness?
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The Light of the World

Read 14-16.Why isn’t this a contradiction of John 8:12 Jesus. . . said, "I am the light of the world.”?
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What is the only way someone can shine with good works?
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Why are cities often set on hills, and lights put on lamp posts?
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What are some of the “cop out” phrases we sometimes use to excuse ourselves from being a light that is seen?
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What is usually the reason for us to hide our Christianity
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Notice the verb and the tense that Jesus uses. What does this tell us?
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What if someone said, “I don’t want to be a role model. I don’t want to be a light. I just want to sit and listen.” What would you say?
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A good question to ask yourself would be? “if you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to prove it?” Do your neighbors know you are a Christian? Your co-workers - by the way you live?

Albrecht: Note that Jesus doesn’t say he wants us to be salt and light. He tells us that is what we are. We cannot cease to be salt and light and remain Christians. Even if the ungodly ridicule our godly ways here and now, the time will come when they will have to acknowledge our works to be good. Looking forward to the day of judgment, Peter encourages us: 1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (PB 70)

The Law

Having given the apostles a serious command and having commissioned them to the ministry, the Lord Christ now takes the next step. He Himself starts salting and shining as an example to teach them what they should preach. He also attacks the doctrine and the life of the Jews, to rebuke and reform their delusions and deeds. He doesn’t discuss the chief doctrine of faith here. Instead, He begins from the bottom by clarifying and commending the Law, which the Pharisees had obscured and distorted.

Read 5:17. What did the Pharisees probably accuse Jesus of?
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How did Jesus answer them?
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What was Jesus referring to when He talked about the “Law and Prophets”?
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Have you ever heard that the Old Testament is no longer useful?
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What is the key word that Jesus used here?
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How did Jesus FULFILL the Law and the Prophets?
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What do we call this?
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In reality, the Pharisees were the ones who had abolished the Law by subtracting from it. They reduced the Law to mere acts of outward obedience, instead of getting to the heart of it. Instead of abolishing God’s Word, Jesus preached it in it’s truth. Not only did He do this, but also obeyed the Law perfectly, thus fulfilling it. Their accusations couldn’t be further from the truth. This is the same thing that happens today. Mormons accuse us of abolishing the Law, when we preach grace by faith. But they are the ones who subtract from the Law when they say that we have to “try to be perfect,” and not BE perfect.

Read 5:18.When will there be no more Law?
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What does Jesus mean by “Law” here?
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Why won’t we need it any more in heaven?
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How can this prediction give us comfort today?
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Read 5:19. The literal word for “break” in the Greek is luo - it means to loosen or untie, like you would untie or loosen a knot. Luther’s translation says, “whoever then, relaxes one of the least of these commandments.

How is that translation more applicable to what is happening today?
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What did Jesus say would happen to those who abolished God’s Word?
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Does this mean that they won’t go to heaven?
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Do you agree with him?
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1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.(NIV)

Albrecht: Anyone who deliberately contradicts what he knows to be God’s truth cannot even be a Christian. But even a sincere believer may become guilty of unwittingly teaching contrary to God’s Word. This may be due to ignorance or to a faulty way of attempting to interpret the Scriptures, such as trying to explain in a logical way mysteries of God that are clearly beyond our comprehension. (72)

What would be some examples of people that will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven?
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How can we know whether they will still go to heaven or not?
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So the two things to take into consideration are -
1) is the person preaching out of ignorance?
2) is his foundation on Jesus Christ?
If the answer is no to either of these, then he will not even go to heaven.

Read vs. 20. What does Jesus admit about the Pharisees in this verse?
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Albrecht: The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were commonly regarded as examples of righteousness. They believed that God should be fully satisfied with their personal righteousness and that their place in God’s kingdom was secure.

What did Jesus say about their righteousness, however?
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So where will they all go, if they aren’t better than the Pharisees?
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What was Jesus ultimately trying to teach them?
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Only Christ can provide the righteousness that God demands. Through faith in Christ, you have the perfection that God demands. Thank God that Jesus came to fulfill the Law.